Neil Turkewitz
@neilturkewitz.bsky.social
I write mostly about the intersection of tech & art/culture which these days means I spend nearly all my time trying to address the exploitation underlying current AI models. A secular humanist interrogating modern religions.
Well done!
a sea otter is swimming in the water with its head above the water
ALT: a sea otter is swimming in the water with its head above the water
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Well done!
Trump gave an undeserved gift of something that wasn’t his to give away. That’s not mercy or belief in second chances. It’s rotten to its core. It stinks through and through.
December 3, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Trump gave an undeserved gift of something that wasn’t his to give away. That’s not mercy or belief in second chances. It’s rotten to its core. It stinks through and through.
No one could have seen this coming, amirite? Talk about out of the blue!
December 3, 2025 at 2:21 PM
No one could have seen this coming, amirite? Talk about out of the blue!
Tell me about it! When I first posted this seemingly obvious parody, I called it “Breaking News.” I had to add “Not Breaking” after several calls.
[Not] Breaking News: Trump Files Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus with Supreme Court, Demanding Immediate Cessation of his Unlawful Incarceration
[Not] Breaking News: Trump Files Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus with Supreme Court, Demanding Immediate Cessation of his Unlawful Incarceration
[Not] Breaking News: Trump Files Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus with Supreme Court…
Reporting by Neil Turkewitz
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Tell me about it! When I first posted this seemingly obvious parody, I called it “Breaking News.” I had to add “Not Breaking” after several calls.
[Not] Breaking News: Trump Files Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus with Supreme Court, Demanding Immediate Cessation of his Unlawful Incarceration
[Not] Breaking News: Trump Files Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus with Supreme Court, Demanding Immediate Cessation of his Unlawful Incarceration
As you should have!
ps: I find it truly tragic that / s was necessary, but…💔
ps: I find it truly tragic that / s was necessary, but…💔
December 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
As you should have!
ps: I find it truly tragic that / s was necessary, but…💔
ps: I find it truly tragic that / s was necessary, but…💔
She’s safe. Hegseth has her back.
/s
/s
December 3, 2025 at 3:54 AM
She’s safe. Hegseth has her back.
/s
/s
Annotated, with illustrations!
December 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Annotated, with illustrations!
Hard disagree from me…
The Fair Use Tango: A Dangerous Dance with [Re]Generative AI Models
By Neil Turkewitz
medium.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Hard disagree from me…
If AI companies were focused on developing tools for people with disabilities, we would be having a very different conversation. But the hype, investment and valuation of AI companies has nothing to do with such nobility of purpose. Let’s dream & debate with our eyes open.
December 2, 2025 at 4:14 PM
If AI companies were focused on developing tools for people with disabilities, we would be having a very different conversation. But the hype, investment and valuation of AI companies has nothing to do with such nobility of purpose. Let’s dream & debate with our eyes open.
FWIW, Lessig & I have disagreed for years over copyright, and aside from Google v Oracle, his arguments have never persuaded the Supreme Court. I think his POV on copyright has been consistently wrong. He has historically failed to adequately consider how copyright serves the public interest.
December 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
FWIW, Lessig & I have disagreed for years over copyright, and aside from Google v Oracle, his arguments have never persuaded the Supreme Court. I think his POV on copyright has been consistently wrong. He has historically failed to adequately consider how copyright serves the public interest.
🙏🏼 for explaining your POV. I think it’s rooted in a misunderstanding of copyright & fair use. Copyright doesn’t protect facts, only original expression. And the richest companies in the world misappropriating the work of global cultural workers isn’t fair in any sense. And 🙏🏼 for keeping it civil! 💙
a man with a beard is smiling and saying `` i appreciate you '' in a black and white photo .
ALT: a man with a beard is smiling and saying `` i appreciate you '' in a black and white photo .
media.tenor.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
🙏🏼 for explaining your POV. I think it’s rooted in a misunderstanding of copyright & fair use. Copyright doesn’t protect facts, only original expression. And the richest companies in the world misappropriating the work of global cultural workers isn’t fair in any sense. And 🙏🏼 for keeping it civil! 💙
More reasonable than what? Artists, musicians, singers, writers, actors etc. have been challenging the use of their creative output to train AI without their consent—forcing them to be unwilling partners in the creation of a synthetic world they did not choose. Is that unreasonable?
December 2, 2025 at 2:58 AM
More reasonable than what? Artists, musicians, singers, writers, actors etc. have been challenging the use of their creative output to train AI without their consent—forcing them to be unwilling partners in the creation of a synthetic world they did not choose. Is that unreasonable?
Hegseth apparently thinks that stabbing someone in the back is a way of “having someone’s back.”
Who’d have guessed that a serial adulterer, hard-drinking, former Fox News personality, wouldn’t turn out to be a virtuous stand-up guy? I mean, completely unforeseeable, amirite?
Who’d have guessed that a serial adulterer, hard-drinking, former Fox News personality, wouldn’t turn out to be a virtuous stand-up guy? I mean, completely unforeseeable, amirite?
December 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Hegseth apparently thinks that stabbing someone in the back is a way of “having someone’s back.”
Who’d have guessed that a serial adulterer, hard-drinking, former Fox News personality, wouldn’t turn out to be a virtuous stand-up guy? I mean, completely unforeseeable, amirite?
Who’d have guessed that a serial adulterer, hard-drinking, former Fox News personality, wouldn’t turn out to be a virtuous stand-up guy? I mean, completely unforeseeable, amirite?
Indeed. Removing the journey from life and art is not such a great idea.
“Using AI is itself stupid. It’s stupid because it valorizes the destination while eliding the journey. It’s stupid because current AI models are rooted in massive exploitation of our fellow human beings — from the cultural workers whose expression is misappropriated to train AI models, to…”
“In short — AI, at least in its present incarnation, is a deeply toxic tree, the fruit of which is poison to our minds and dulls our senses, replacing originality with derivative output based on predictability. It is, almost by definition, a stupidity-producing machine.”
medium.com/@nturkewitz_...
medium.com/@nturkewitz_...
December 1, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Indeed. Removing the journey from life and art is not such a great idea.
Definitely the biggest issue facing America. So glad to see the White House with its finger on the pulse. How do they manage to always be so on point and timely? /s
December 1, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Definitely the biggest issue facing America. So glad to see the White House with its finger on the pulse. How do they manage to always be so on point and timely? /s
They’re eating the pets!
December 1, 2025 at 5:55 PM
They’re eating the pets!