Nathaniel Poor
@natpoor.bsky.social
Internet sociologist, games scholar, in the non-profit sector.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.
www.cnbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
As every socio-technical scholar has been shouting for years....
"Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it."
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
"Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it."
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
As every socio-technical scholar has been shouting for years....
"Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it."
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
"Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it."
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Over 600 people were sanctioned for comments made after Charlie Kirk's killing. (One man spent 37 days in jail for sharing a meme about Republicans' indifference to gun violence.)
But Trump can implicitly threaten to hang Democratic members of Congress and it's old news before the weekend's over.
But Trump can implicitly threaten to hang Democratic members of Congress and it's old news before the weekend's over.
Opinion | Trump and MAGA’s rules of civility only apply to their critics
A recent report found more than 600 people faced sanctions for speech after Charlie Kirk's killing. But the president and his supporters put no limits on their own incendiary words, says Anthony L. Fi...
www.ms.now
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Over 600 people were sanctioned for comments made after Charlie Kirk's killing. (One man spent 37 days in jail for sharing a meme about Republicans' indifference to gun violence.)
But Trump can implicitly threaten to hang Democratic members of Congress and it's old news before the weekend's over.
But Trump can implicitly threaten to hang Democratic members of Congress and it's old news before the weekend's over.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Pentagon Investigates Misconduct Allegations Against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly
The review comes after Kelly, a retired Navy captain, appeared in a video with other lawmakers telling military members not to obey unlawful orders.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Targeting Kelly is one of those “this is why we’ll win” moments, bc it shows how politically impetuous this admin is.
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
Mark Kelly: "My wife, Gabby Giffords, meeting with her constituents, shot in the head. Six people killed around her, a horrific thing. She spent six months in the hospital. We know what political violence is and we know what causes it too, The statements that Donald Trump made incites others."
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Targeting Kelly is one of those “this is why we’ll win” moments, bc it shows how politically impetuous this admin is.
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
There’s clearly no adult in the room to say “wait, maybe don’t go after the charismatic war hero turned literal astronaut who ran after his wife was a victim of political violence.”
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
November 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
love this: "The question is whether adoption [of AI] follows sustainable frameworks that deliver genuine local benefit, or extractive patterns that concentrate wealth offshore while imposing infrastructure burdens and environmental costs on local communities."
mumbrella.com.au/how-australi...
mumbrella.com.au/how-australi...
How Australia's creative industries defeated the tech giants on AI copyright
In August, something remarkable happened on Melbourne talkback radio. Caller after caller phoned in—not about the housing crisis or cost of living, but about copyright law. Specifically, about whether...
mumbrella.com.au
November 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
love this: "The question is whether adoption [of AI] follows sustainable frameworks that deliver genuine local benefit, or extractive patterns that concentrate wealth offshore while imposing infrastructure burdens and environmental costs on local communities."
mumbrella.com.au/how-australi...
mumbrella.com.au/how-australi...
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, has died. She was 111.
"I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot," she told Congress in 2021.
Geoff Bennett has more.
"I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot," she told Congress in 2021.
Geoff Bennett has more.
November 24, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, has died. She was 111.
"I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot," she told Congress in 2021.
Geoff Bennett has more.
"I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot," she told Congress in 2021.
Geoff Bennett has more.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
November 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
“Garbage in, garbage out,” as they say.
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 24, 2025 at 12:27 AM
“Garbage in, garbage out,” as they say.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
This is also why the platform companies, despite very obviously being publishers, are so desperate to avoid being labeled as publishers. It's all about evading accountability for things any normal company would be burned to the ground for.
November 23, 2025 at 10:22 PM
This is also why the platform companies, despite very obviously being publishers, are so desperate to avoid being labeled as publishers. It's all about evading accountability for things any normal company would be burned to the ground for.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Cartoon by David Horsey.
November 23, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Cartoon by David Horsey.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Trump is incapable of resisting charm, (male) charisma, and - most importantly - celebrity. He has an unquenchable desire to be near it, has been chasing it his whole life.
That's mostly it. Forget all the "He's a populist!" bullshit from both the centrist commentariat and the anti-liberal Left.
That's mostly it. Forget all the "He's a populist!" bullshit from both the centrist commentariat and the anti-liberal Left.
Every article by a 'savvy' political analyst reads like a focus group transcript with a low-information voter.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
November 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Trump is incapable of resisting charm, (male) charisma, and - most importantly - celebrity. He has an unquenchable desire to be near it, has been chasing it his whole life.
That's mostly it. Forget all the "He's a populist!" bullshit from both the centrist commentariat and the anti-liberal Left.
That's mostly it. Forget all the "He's a populist!" bullshit from both the centrist commentariat and the anti-liberal Left.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
November 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Trump’s “healthcare” plan will bankrupt and kill millions of Americans.
We can eliminate the private insurance industry, and save $650B per year with Medicare for All — which would cover everyone, save families money, and include dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions and longterm care.
We can eliminate the private insurance industry, and save $650B per year with Medicare for All — which would cover everyone, save families money, and include dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions and longterm care.
November 18, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Trump’s “healthcare” plan will bankrupt and kill millions of Americans.
We can eliminate the private insurance industry, and save $650B per year with Medicare for All — which would cover everyone, save families money, and include dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions and longterm care.
We can eliminate the private insurance industry, and save $650B per year with Medicare for All — which would cover everyone, save families money, and include dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions and longterm care.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
On the livestream, someone asks how the comet could have come from so far, so fast, and not hit anything. The answer given by Nicky Fox is that it's orbital dynamics and space is really vast but I'm sure every one of the panelists was dying to quote Douglas Adams 😂 www.goodreads.com/quotes/14434...
A quote from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's,...
www.goodreads.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:55 PM
On the livestream, someone asks how the comet could have come from so far, so fast, and not hit anything. The answer given by Nicky Fox is that it's orbital dynamics and space is really vast but I'm sure every one of the panelists was dying to quote Douglas Adams 😂 www.goodreads.com/quotes/14434...
“I had not realized ... that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people.” - Joseph Weizenbaum, 1976
November 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM
“I had not realized ... that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people.” - Joseph Weizenbaum, 1976
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.
November 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
I’m still thinking about “quiet, piggy.” No president should be able to speak to a member of the press that way and remain president. That moment encapsulates how vile, misogynistic, and horrible that man is.
November 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I’m still thinking about “quiet, piggy.” No president should be able to speak to a member of the press that way and remain president. That moment encapsulates how vile, misogynistic, and horrible that man is.
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
FALLOUT! This trailer has me itching to dive back into Fallout 3 and New Vegas for a full back-to-back run. I’m absolutely jazzed for Fallout Season 2!
Fallout Season Two Official Trailer | Prime Video
YouTube video by Prime Video
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:26 AM
FALLOUT! This trailer has me itching to dive back into Fallout 3 and New Vegas for a full back-to-back run. I’m absolutely jazzed for Fallout Season 2!
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Reposted by Nathaniel Poor
Me, wisely: "But *his* emails"
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Me, wisely: "But *his* emails"