Justin Hendrix
@justinhendrix.bsky.social
Concerned with tech, media and democracy. CEO & Editor at Tech Policy Press. Research & Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Opinions mine.
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
It's #GivingTuesday. If you support independent media with your charitable giving, consider donating to Tech Policy Press. Your donation will help us continue to build and serve a global community of contributors and readers concerned with tech and democracy! www.techpolicy.press/donate/
December 2, 2025 at 6:23 PM
It's #GivingTuesday. If you support independent media with your charitable giving, consider donating to Tech Policy Press. Your donation will help us continue to build and serve a global community of contributors and readers concerned with tech and democracy! www.techpolicy.press/donate/
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
check out what my buddy @imaginaries.bsky.social has to say about the relationship between hype and venture capital
Introducing a new series on Tech Policy Press, Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves examines how hype operates within venture capital and private equity and why it has become such a powerful political instrument. The orientation provided by AI hype is guiding us towards an oligarchic future, he writes.
Why Tech Hype Is Rising and What Venture Capital Has to Do with It | TechPolicy.Press
Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves examines how hype operates and explains why it has become such a powerful political instrument today.
www.techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 6:33 PM
check out what my buddy @imaginaries.bsky.social has to say about the relationship between hype and venture capital
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
Wherein I ask to be at the front of the line when the basilisk arrives
Huge thanks to @justinhendrix.bsky.social for hosting this!
techpolicy.press/what-happens...
Huge thanks to @justinhendrix.bsky.social for hosting this!
techpolicy.press/what-happens...
What Happens When 'Superintelligence' Doesn't Appear in a Few Months? | TechPolicy.Press
We must question the motives of the techno-optimists and their political goals, writes Cole Donovan.
techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Wherein I ask to be at the front of the line when the basilisk arrives
Huge thanks to @justinhendrix.bsky.social for hosting this!
techpolicy.press/what-happens...
Huge thanks to @justinhendrix.bsky.social for hosting this!
techpolicy.press/what-happens...
The pursuit of 'superintelligence' is a project that should immediately lead people to question the motives of the techno-optimists and their political objectives, writes Cole Donovan. Their political project has clear goals; their emerging technology does not.
What Happens When 'Superintelligence' Doesn't Appear in a Few Months? | TechPolicy.Press
We must question the motives of the techno-optimists and their political goals, writes Cole Donovan.
www.techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 4:24 PM
The pursuit of 'superintelligence' is a project that should immediately lead people to question the motives of the techno-optimists and their political objectives, writes Cole Donovan. Their political project has clear goals; their emerging technology does not.
As data centers scale across Mumbai, the city faces mounting energy pressure and persistent inequality, revealing the uneven costs of India’s digital ambitions, Sushmita reports for Tech Policy Press.
Mumbai’s Data Center Dreams Run on Coal and Inequality | TechPolicy.Press
As India positions itself as a global data center hub, Mumbai’s data center growth fuels coal dependence and exposes widening inequality, reports Sushmita.
www.techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
As data centers scale across Mumbai, the city faces mounting energy pressure and persistent inequality, revealing the uneven costs of India’s digital ambitions, Sushmita reports for Tech Policy Press.
Introducing a new series on Tech Policy Press, Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves examines how hype operates within venture capital and private equity and why it has become such a powerful political instrument. The orientation provided by AI hype is guiding us towards an oligarchic future, he writes.
Why Tech Hype Is Rising and What Venture Capital Has to Do with It | TechPolicy.Press
Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves examines how hype operates and explains why it has become such a powerful political instrument today.
www.techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Introducing a new series on Tech Policy Press, Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves examines how hype operates within venture capital and private equity and why it has become such a powerful political instrument. The orientation provided by AI hype is guiding us towards an oligarchic future, he writes.
"A coalition that tried and failed to block OpenAI’s conversion earlier this year is back with a new tactic: a California ballot initiative aimed at reining in the startup’s power. The planned initiative, dubbed the California Charitable Assets Protection Act, was filed Monday with California’s AG."
OpenAI Completed Its Conversion. A New Ballot Initiative Seeks to Reverse It.
The coalition backing the effort has appealed to Elon Musk for help funding the measure.
www.wsj.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"A coalition that tried and failed to block OpenAI’s conversion earlier this year is back with a new tactic: a California ballot initiative aimed at reining in the startup’s power. The planned initiative, dubbed the California Charitable Assets Protection Act, was filed Monday with California’s AG."
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
like big tobacco funding cancer research
December 1, 2025 at 11:42 PM
like big tobacco funding cancer research
"OpenAI has taken a stake in Thrive Holdings, a private equity group set up by one of its biggest investors, in the latest of a series of circular deals that have enmeshed the $500bn start-up with its customers, suppliers and backers."
OpenAI takes stake in Thrive Holdings in latest circular deal
Deal means start-up will take share in group set up by Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital
www.ft.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"OpenAI has taken a stake in Thrive Holdings, a private equity group set up by one of its biggest investors, in the latest of a series of circular deals that have enmeshed the $500bn start-up with its customers, suppliers and backers."
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
India demands installation of government app on all smartphones
“The ministry-developed app, called Sanchar Saathi, will have access to the phone’s call log, memory and camera, according to the app’s privacy statement.”
“The ministry-developed app, called Sanchar Saathi, will have access to the phone’s call log, memory and camera, according to the app’s privacy statement.”
India demands installation of government app on all smartphones
Privacy advocates raise concerns about potential snooping
on.ft.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:47 AM
India demands installation of government app on all smartphones
“The ministry-developed app, called Sanchar Saathi, will have access to the phone’s call log, memory and camera, according to the app’s privacy statement.”
“The ministry-developed app, called Sanchar Saathi, will have access to the phone’s call log, memory and camera, according to the app’s privacy statement.”
"Emerging research indicates that content poking at two main emotions — anger and anxiety — gets more customer engagement than other approaches, according to Wendy Moe, a professor at University of Maryland who studies social media marketing."
You might hate these companies’ ads. That’s the point.
Corporate marketers are embracing a strategy perfected by online influencers: Stoke rage and watch the attention roll in.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:53 AM
"Emerging research indicates that content poking at two main emotions — anger and anxiety — gets more customer engagement than other approaches, according to Wendy Moe, a professor at University of Maryland who studies social media marketing."
"While DOGE is no longer moving across the government in a move-fast-and-break-things blitz, DOGE affiliates appear to be digging in for the long haul—and Silicon Valley–shaped fingerprints remain all over the way agencies continue to be run."
NEW: Reports of DOGE’s death aren’t highly exaggerated, they’re wrong. Follow @makenakelly.bsky.social and @telliotter.bsky.social on a voyage into the federal agencies where all your favorite young engineers are burrowed in ”like ticks.”
DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now
Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
"While DOGE is no longer moving across the government in a move-fast-and-break-things blitz, DOGE affiliates appear to be digging in for the long haul—and Silicon Valley–shaped fingerprints remain all over the way agencies continue to be run."
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
Y'all, tmrw is a BIG DAY for civil rights and tech. @markey.senate.gov, @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social, @jayapal.house.gov, @pressley.house.gov, & @repsummerlee.bsky.social are introducing the AI Civil Rights Act: the new gold standard AI bill endorsed by 85+ civil society orgs. Pull up a chair.
1/n
1/n
December 2, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Y'all, tmrw is a BIG DAY for civil rights and tech. @markey.senate.gov, @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social, @jayapal.house.gov, @pressley.house.gov, & @repsummerlee.bsky.social are introducing the AI Civil Rights Act: the new gold standard AI bill endorsed by 85+ civil society orgs. Pull up a chair.
1/n
1/n
A year after big platforms delivered their first audits and risk reports, EU regulators have mapped out the most prominent and recurrent systemic risks under the Digital Services Act. Mark Scott breaks down five key takeaways from the report.
Assessing What an EU Report Says About Systemic Risks Under the Digital Services Act | TechPolicy.Press
A year after major platforms filed their first Digital Services Act audits and risk reports, EU regulators outline recurring systemic risks, writes Mark Scott.
www.techpolicy.press
December 2, 2025 at 11:32 AM
A year after big platforms delivered their first audits and risk reports, EU regulators have mapped out the most prominent and recurrent systemic risks under the Digital Services Act. Mark Scott breaks down five key takeaways from the report.
The politics of this DoorDash Christmas ad, which I saw on some streaming service over the weekend, are something to behold.
No One Needs To Know - Holiday Gifting
YouTube video by DoorDash
www.youtube.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The politics of this DoorDash Christmas ad, which I saw on some streaming service over the weekend, are something to behold.
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
Honored to have the opportunity to join my brilliant coauthor @daniellecitron.bsky.social on the @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast to talk about trust and safety and legal endogeneity. Thanks @dwj88.bsky.social !
A podcast in which @daniellecitron.bsky.social, @ariezra.bsky.social, @jeffallen.bsky.social and I discuss the state of online trust and safety. For @techpolicypress.bsky.social
www.techpolicy.press/considering-...
www.techpolicy.press/considering-...
Considering Trust and Safety's Past, Present, and Future | TechPolicy.Press
Dean Jackson discusses the field's future with law professors Danielle Keats Citron and Ari Ezra Waldman and Jeff Allen from the Integrity Institute.
www.techpolicy.press
December 1, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Honored to have the opportunity to join my brilliant coauthor @daniellecitron.bsky.social on the @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast to talk about trust and safety and legal endogeneity. Thanks @dwj88.bsky.social !
Reposted by Justin Hendrix
ChatGPT is 3 years old this week — what was the world like in late 2022, and how did that shape what ChatGPT has become? I wrote about ChatGPT as a pandemic technology, centered on expectations of social isolation in ways that continue to define it. mail.cyberneticforests.com/what-was-cha...
What Was ChatGPT?
A Chatbot Optimized for Social Distance
Three years after the launch of ChatGPT, we can finally speak in hindsight about what it was and how it came to be. Its meteoric rise shocked the world, gather...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:16 AM
ChatGPT is 3 years old this week — what was the world like in late 2022, and how did that shape what ChatGPT has become? I wrote about ChatGPT as a pandemic technology, centered on expectations of social isolation in ways that continue to define it. mail.cyberneticforests.com/what-was-cha...
Trump's OSTP recently requested information from the public about regulations that might hinder AI adoption. With growing concern about its unregulated deployment, this is precisely the wrong question, write the Center for AI and Digital Policy's Ankit Khosla, Alice Fisher and Christabel Randolph:
OSTP’s Misguided Effort to Deregulate AI | TechPolicy.Press
With growing concern about unregulated AI, OSTP is asking precisely the wrong questions, Ankit Khosla, Alice Fisher and Christabel Randolph write.
www.techpolicy.press
December 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Trump's OSTP recently requested information from the public about regulations that might hinder AI adoption. With growing concern about its unregulated deployment, this is precisely the wrong question, write the Center for AI and Digital Policy's Ankit Khosla, Alice Fisher and Christabel Randolph:
Many journalists are tracking the procurement and deployment of new technologies and tactics, but it's hard to get the entire picture. A generational threat to civil liberties that I suspect future governments will struggle (or refuse) to roll back. Dramatic reform/abolition will be required.
The news has entirely failed to grasp the unprecedented scope of the ICE and DHS budgets. Nothing like it in modern history. A galaxy of public/private surveillance and caging institutions for $100,000,000,000s unleashed on a public that will be forever changed. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
www.brennancenter.org
December 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Many journalists are tracking the procurement and deployment of new technologies and tactics, but it's hard to get the entire picture. A generational threat to civil liberties that I suspect future governments will struggle (or refuse) to roll back. Dramatic reform/abolition will be required.
"The oil, gas and coal industries continue to downplay the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is dangerously heating the planet. It’s a strategy that has been echoed by oil-rich countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and — under the Trump administration — the United States."
Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM
"The oil, gas and coal industries continue to downplay the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is dangerously heating the planet. It’s a strategy that has been echoed by oil-rich countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and — under the Trump administration — the United States."
"Where you fall on this rapture-to-bullshit continuum likely tracks with how optimistic you are for the future. But you are waiting nonetheless—for a bubble to burst, for a genie to arrive with a plan to print money, for a bailout, for Judgment Day." - @cwarzel.bsky.social
The World Still Hasn’t Made Sense of ChatGPT
OpenAI’s chaos machine turns three.
www.theatlantic.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:19 PM
"Where you fall on this rapture-to-bullshit continuum likely tracks with how optimistic you are for the future. But you are waiting nonetheless—for a bubble to burst, for a genie to arrive with a plan to print money, for a bailout, for Judgment Day." - @cwarzel.bsky.social
On this episode of the Tech Policy Press podcast, contributing editor Dean Jackson discusses the evolution of trust and safety with law scholars Danielle Keats Citron and Ari Ezra Waldman and Jeff Allen, chief research officer at the Integrity Institute. Listen:
Considering Trust and Safety's Past, Present, and Future | TechPolicy.Press
Dean Jackson discusses the field's future with law professors Danielle Keats Citron and Ari Ezra Waldman and Jeff Allen from the Integrity Institute.
www.techpolicy.press
December 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
On this episode of the Tech Policy Press podcast, contributing editor Dean Jackson discusses the evolution of trust and safety with law scholars Danielle Keats Citron and Ari Ezra Waldman and Jeff Allen, chief research officer at the Integrity Institute. Listen:
"What he talked most about was a specific grievance in line with the focus on affordability many Democrats are taking these days, but with a unique twist: the deleterious effects of datacenters and their impact on electricity bills."
Virginia Democrat flips seat in state legislature by taking on datacenters
John McAuliff won against a Republican by focusing on something affecting all his constituents: the cost of energy
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM
"What he talked most about was a specific grievance in line with the focus on affordability many Democrats are taking these days, but with a unique twist: the deleterious effects of datacenters and their impact on electricity bills."
"A defendant who was caught at a political protest using facial recognition technology ... could be tried in a 'smart court'—which uses AI to comb through case files and provide sentencing recommendations—and end up in a prison which deploys AI to predict inmates’ emotions and state of mind..."
How China is using AI to extend censorship and surveillance
China is expanding the use of AI throughout its criminal justice system and developing tools to deepen its monitoring of ethnic minorities, a new report finds.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:49 AM
"A defendant who was caught at a political protest using facial recognition technology ... could be tried in a 'smart court'—which uses AI to comb through case files and provide sentencing recommendations—and end up in a prison which deploys AI to predict inmates’ emotions and state of mind..."
"Since January, Mr. Sacks, 53, has occupied one of the most advantageous moonlighting roles in the federal government, influencing policy for Silicon Valley in Washington while simultaneously working in Silicon Valley as an investor."
Stare into the abyss/read this article:
Stare into the abyss/read this article:
We just published a deep look into David Sacks, the White House's AI and Crypto czar. The story examines how he has been able keep hundreds of stakes in AI-related and crypto companies as he influences gov policy in those very industries.
Here's what we found:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Here's what we found:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:07 AM
"Since January, Mr. Sacks, 53, has occupied one of the most advantageous moonlighting roles in the federal government, influencing policy for Silicon Valley in Washington while simultaneously working in Silicon Valley as an investor."
Stare into the abyss/read this article:
Stare into the abyss/read this article: