Ben Werdmuller

Senior Director of Technology at ProPublica. I write speculative fiction and think about the future of news and technology at werd.io.

🌉 bridged from 🦋 werd.io, follow @bsky.brid.gy to interact

Last Notes

2026-04-15 12:49:45 UTC

I wrote a piece explaining why open protocols are even more important in a world where everyone can build their own software - and what that might mean for social. werd.io/one-size-fit...
One size fits none: let commun...

2026-03-21 21:35:08 UTC

"Teams from Google and leading universities found that large-language models change the voice, tone and intended meaning of human authors." werd.io/ai-is-changi...
AI is changing the style and s...

2026-02-28 20:55:11 UTC

More people live in Tehran than New York City. It’s a bustling metropolis. The people who live there have a thriving culture despite their own government and the machinations of ours. They do not deserve to be bombed by us.

2026-01-26 13:53:45 UTC

There's a common thread disparaging people who might move away in this moment. All I'll say is that many of the wave of immigrants who came to the US 80+ years ago are also people who moved away. People get to do what's right for them to keep their children safe.

2025-05-08 15:57:52 UTC

I’ve written before about what I’d do if I ran Bluesky or Mastodon. But what if I started from scratch? What would it look like to build a new open social platform - one that's private-by-default, human-centered, and sustainable from day one?
Here’s the blueprint I’d follow: werd.io/2025/if-i-st...
If I started fresh

2025-03-18 13:38:52 UTC

Wired is going to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. #Media
Wired is dropping paywalls for...

2025-03-16 23:03:16 UTC

This is absurdly great, but I haven't read a single news article about it. A fully open source, offline-first alternative to Notion that's a collab between the French and German governments because they want to host docs securely and on their own terms. THIS is what Europe should be doing.
Docs

2025-03-09 17:43:33 UTC

"As an engineering leader, you should be constantly working to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete one cycle of a feedback loop." This is good, actionable advice. #Technology
Feedback loops | Joe Woods

2025-02-16 17:54:25 UTC

"Unfortunately for American tech workers, the layoff train isn't slowing down." It used to be easy to find a job in tech. Not anymore: #Technology
Silicon Valley Software Engine...

2025-02-16 13:53:05 UTC

"Being “in tech” in 2025 is depressing, and if I’m going to stick around, I need to remember why I’m here." Every word of this resonated for me. #Technology
Tech continues to be political

2025-02-11 20:49:02 UTC

"Automattic confirmed to TechCrunch that when the migration is complete, every Tumblr user will be able to federate their blog via ActivityPub." I didn't realize this was still happening! #Fediverse
Tumblr to join the fediverse a...