Mike Elgan

The world’s only cyberpunk non-fiction writer.

My blog: https://elgan.com/
My newsletter: https://machinesociety.ai/
My podcast: https://www.superintelligentpodcast.com/
My book: https://www.amzn.to/2BjOLh4

Public Key

npub1k529tm79sqkqzkxjs4atyd7lc577293awft8w87c749tfm624mtq2vfwhz

NIP-05 Address

mikeelgan_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst29z4alzcqtqptrfg274jxl0u2009zc7hy4nhrlv02j45aa92a4sprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntl9hq0y

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1k529tm79sqkqzkxjs4atyd7lc577293awft8w87c749tfm624mtq2vfwhz

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Last Notes

2026-03-27 15:24:25 UTC

The ‘AI slop’ backlash kills Sora
https://www.computerworld.com/article/4150898/the-ai-slop-backlash-kills-sora.html

2026-02-17 19:30:01 UTC

This church statue in Mexico City looks like Jesus is on the phone.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/087/625/715/283/875/original/987b7e93cf8b4dd9.png

2026-02-16 15:39:28 UTC

Rhetorical question of the moment: "Why should I bother to read something someone else couldn't be bothered to write?
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/aidr-meaning

2026-01-28 03:41:44 UTC

HEADLINE: "Tim Cook Says He Is ‘Heartbroken by the Events in Minnesota,’ Calls for De-Escalation"
ALT HEADLINE: "Tim Cook, who donated $1 million to Trump, claims to be "heartbroken" by what was obviously going to happen if people like him didn't oppose Trump"
https://www.wsj.com/tech/tim-cook-says-hes-hearbroken-by-the-events-in-minnesota-calls-for-de-escalation-968a47f4?mod=rss_Technology

2026-01-27 21:02:53 UTC

Fact of the moment: "It’s easier than assumed to hack and hijack a robot by placing the right words in its environment. The robot reads the words, interpreting them as commands, and obeys."
https://machinesociety.ai/p/how-to-ron-burgundy-a-robot
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/969/082/752/190/471/original/adafc60f0d8ee111.webp

2025-12-20 19:48:07 UTC

SpaceX is buying thousands of Cybertrucks. What’s next, Twitter buying rockets?
https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/spacex-buying-unfathomable-number-cybertrucks

2025-12-17 17:57:38 UTC

BREAKING: Youtube gets exclusive right to broadcast the Oscars starting in 2029.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/oscars-bolt-from-abc-to-youtube-starting-in-2029-1236453188/

2025-12-11 12:49:29 UTC

Phrase of the moment: “delusional outputs”
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/state-attorneys-general-warn-microsoft-openai-google-and-other-ai-giants-to-fix-delusional-outputs/

2025-10-04 18:52:18 UTC

Claim of the moment: "a third of the stock market is tied up in seven AI companies that have no way to become profitable"
https://futurism.com/future-society/cory-doctorow-ai-collapse

2025-10-02 07:34:49 UTC

For me, without POP3, there's literally no reason to use Gmail anymore. What about you? https://www.technology.org/2025/10/02/gmail-to-remove-pop-checkmail/

2025-09-22 06:39:32 UTC

Phrase of the moment: "scammed into scamming"
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/SOUTHEASTASIA-SCAMS/mypmxwdwwvr/

2025-09-08 19:37:52 UTC

Claim of the moment: "Young people are using ChatGPT to write their applications; HR is using AI to read them; no one is getting hired."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/job-market-hell/684133/?gift=Vowm9zXD_VpjYJtYApIfy6iqYdFY6568omVJ07mz1tc

2025-09-06 21:57:01 UTC

HEADLINE: "World leaders distance themselves from Trump, leaving him reportedly isolated"
ALT HEADLINE: "President who spends all his energy breaking alliances feels sad that he has no allies"
https://azexpress.net/en/posts/374/world-leaders-distance-themselves-from-trump-leaving-him-reportedly-isolated

2025-08-25 18:32:01 UTC

Map of the moment: The US states with smaller economies than the San Francisco Bay Area.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/090/830/395/988/927/original/69b04f1c17d458ee.jpg

2025-08-14 14:14:08 UTC

Ray of hope of the moment: The Onion could still buy InfoWars.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/13/media/infowars-alex-jones-onion-sale-texas-judge

2025-08-12 18:50:20 UTC

HEADLINE: "AI Startup Perplexity Offers to Buy Google's Chrome Browser for $34.5 Billion"
ALT HEADLINE: "AI Startup Perplexity Discovered It Can Get Free Publicity by Pretending to Make Offers on Big Products Like Chrome and TikTok"
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ai-startup-perplexity-offers-to-buy-googles-chrome-browser-for-a-whopping-34-5-billion/

2025-08-10 21:55:17 UTC

HEADLINE: "Trump asks SCOTUS to allow profiling in California ICE raids"
ALT HEADLINE: "Trump asks SCOTUS to transform California into a place where armed and masked goons can stop and demand to see the papers of 40% of the population."
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/scotus-immigration-california-20809308.php
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/006/695/466/986/456/original/350b688049feba6a.jpeg

2025-08-06 23:23:15 UTC

Perplexity AI, whose tagline is "Where knowledge begins," is partnering with Trump's Truth Social, where Fascism begins.
I'll be cancelling my paid subscription to Perplexity.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/08/06/3128331/0/en/Trump-Media-Begins-Public-Beta-Testing-AI-Search-Engine.html

2025-07-28 01:18:23 UTC

Scientific finding of the moment: People with higher levels of psychopathy, manipulativeness, callousness, and narcissism are more likely to view Trump favorably.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656625000704

2025-07-28 01:12:56 UTC

Trump is killing Vegas.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-reasons-las-vegas-losing-090956014.html

2025-07-14 04:15:15 UTC

AI facts of the moment: Half the world's AI data centers are in five countries. The continents of Africa and South America lack even a single AI data center.
https://sherwood.news/tech/ai-data-center-country-ranking-concentration/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/849/645/350/183/254/original/a9dded0be0c9567d.png

2025-07-12 13:22:54 UTC

This storage drive erases everything when you push the giant red button. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/this-new-ssd-will-literally-self-destruct-if-you-push-the-big-red-button-it-comes-with-team-group-posts-video-of-data-destruction-in-action
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/840/473/705/771/128/original/ac33353d1059d588.png

2025-07-07 21:09:49 UTC

Claim of the moment: "They won, these men—the money, the nuclear codes, the freedom from taxes, the sadistic bill, our bodies, our fates. But we humans retain one freedom! The freedom to know these guys are lazy, sub-literate idiots." https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/what-techlords-dont-want-you-to-study

2025-07-05 23:56:36 UTC

HEADLINE: "Death toll from Texas floods reaches 43"
ALT HEADLINE: "Death toll from DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service reaches 43"
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/central-texas-flood-waters-recede-rescuers-continue-search-victims-2025-07-05/

2025-06-16 01:31:19 UTC

HEADLINE: "Tulsi Gabbard’s Nuclear Warning Is Scary and Strange"
ALT HEADLINE: "Tulsi Gabbard Is Scary and Strange"
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2025-06-12/opinion-tulsi-gabbard-s-nuclear-warning-is-scary-video

2025-06-14 12:52:55 UTC

Phrase of the moment: "suitcases of hard drives"
https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-ai-chip-curb-suitcases-7c47dab1

2025-06-14 12:42:10 UTC

I wonder if America's "No Kings" movement will spread to the UK... https://www.nokings.org/

2025-06-14 12:41:07 UTC

2,000 protests today.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91352296/no-kings-day-protests-today-map-cities-speakers-what-to-know

2025-06-11 21:29:16 UTC

Phrase of the moment: "braindead hallucinations"
https://futurism.com/ceos-ai-clones-hallucinations

2025-06-11 20:39:06 UTC

HEADLINE: "Influencer Sobs in Front of TikTok Headquarters After Getting Banned"
ALT HEADLINE: "How Horrible Do You Have to Be To Get Banned From TikTok?"
https://futurism.com/the-byte/influencer-tiktok-headquarters-banned

2025-06-11 14:51:21 UTC

Claim of the moment: "telecom is the new tequila"
https://www.fastcompany.com/91349907/why-smartless-podcast-is-launching-its-own-wireless-brand

2025-06-02 18:52:26 UTC

Phrase of the moment: "epic drone humiliation"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-s-whole-trump-strategy-is-in-tatters-after-epic-drone-humiliation/ar-AA1FW9xx

2025-05-29 22:35:36 UTC

DOGE goon fired after admitting that he was surprised to find that "government works" and is "not as inefficient as I was expecting."
https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/05/va-based-doge-associate-gets-boot-after-publicly-discussing-his-work/405641/
https://www.fastcompany.com/91330297/doge-sahil-lavignia-gumroad

2025-05-26 22:08:57 UTC

Are Trump hats subject to tariffs?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/576/414/022/407/794/original/3ea017a4de73e074.jpg

2025-05-24 02:30:48 UTC

I wonder if anyone yet is talking to their AI therapist about problems they're having with their AI girlfriend or boyfriend.

2025-05-18 03:46:47 UTC

Claim of the moment: "more than three dozen people who have either worked under or are associates of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Palmer Luckey have been placed in roles at federal agencies that oversee the businesses of their Silicon Valley bosses." https://gizmodo.com/dozens-of-silicon-valley-sycophants-now-work-at-regulatory-agencies-2000603435

2025-04-29 16:24:45 UTC

HEADLINE: "White House blasts ‘hostile’ Amazon over tariff cost report; retailer scraps idea"
ALT HEADLINE: "White House angry that Amazon would provide clear information to customers. In response, Amazon promises to hide the truth on behalf of the dictator."
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/white-house-blasts-amazon-over-tariff-cost-report-hostile-and-political-act.html

2025-03-10 20:18:54 UTC

Indian animal rights advocates want robot elephants to be used in Hindu ceremonies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/04/world/society/india-cruelty-robot-elephants/

2025-03-10 20:12:52 UTC

MIT research lets you correct a robot by nudging it in the right direction. https://news.mit.edu/2025/robotic-helper-mistakes-nudging-in-right-direction-0307

2025-02-28 20:36:47 UTC

We have arrived at the place Carl Sagan warned us about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9A_qFM9IAk

2025-02-28 15:32:05 UTC

Word of the moment: "Putinization" https://dnyuz.com/2025/02/28/the-putinization-of-america/

2025-02-21 22:04:21 UTC

This actually happened:
1. Elon Musk said something wrong about the space station.
2. A former space station commander politely said that Musk was wrong.
3. Musk called him retarded.
4. The astronaut exposed Musk's lie with specifics.
5. Musk calls for the destruction of the space station.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/043/814/462/102/004/original/fd2302d9b265e78f.jpeg

2025-02-13 13:50:11 UTC

Apple is lying. Robots don't feel emotions. https://machinesociety.ai/p/apple-is-lying-robots-dont-feel-emotions-83b
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/996/896/927/187/442/original/a9bbd77b7818bf81.png

2025-01-19 04:02:05 UTC

TikTok is shut down for me, but I'm not in the United States. (I'm in El Salvador.) So is the TikTok shutdown for Americans wherever they may be?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/853/026/860/323/710/original/8d91cc1959f9018c.png

2025-01-18 17:01:35 UTC

When you order wine in a restaurant and they pour you a tiny amount to try, this is what you're looking for. I usually only smell it, and if I don't detect that basement smell, then I green-light the bottle. If I do, I taste it to see if it's really corked.
https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/how-to-tell-if-a-wine-is-corked-and-what-to-do-about-it/#ftag=CAD590a51e

2025-01-14 17:55:35 UTC

- reply

Yeah, and that irked me with the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which was incompatible with the sweet controller I had bought with the Mini 3 Pro.

2025-01-14 16:39:03 UTC

DJI announced, and is now selling, the DJI Flip! https://store.dji.com/product/dji-flip?from=store_homepage&vid=181131
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/827/691/919/720/159/original/00e852848b7e7c28.webp

2025-01-13 17:28:47 UTC

My wife dries her hair using solar and wind energy.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/822/222/305/643/371/original/9b168aa61d6798de.jpeg

2025-01-07 18:01:08 UTC

HEADLINES:
"Trump to annex Canada"
"Trump to annex Greenland"
"Trump to impose massive tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Europe"
ALT HEADLINE:
"Trump weakens America's alliances on behalf of Putin"

2024-12-24 18:35:23 UTC

Chinese factory in Brazil shut down because the Brazilian workers were treated like slaves. https://www.semafor.com/article/12/24/2024/brazil-shuts-down-byd-factory-over-slavery-concerns

2024-12-22 06:44:12 UTC

Making mole in Oaxaca!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/695/119/204/950/987/original/65c079f9aff72bb9.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/695/119/527/839/062/original/230d247f8b2a8dc2.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/695/119/789/346/554/original/7ca61b9d7a1469d5.jpeg

2024-12-21 19:12:23 UTC

Volubilis was the Western-most Roman city (in present-day Morocco). A Berber king named Juba II once reined over this city. Juba was raised by two Roman emperors (Julius Caesar, and later Octavian), was an academic and scholar and was married to Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Now this cat rules the city. #Caturday
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/692/399/407/576/754/original/0eff66f3261d323b.jpeg

2024-12-21 17:17:27 UTC

Everybody's moving from X to Bluesky, including the Russian disinfo network “Matryoshka.” https://theins.ru/en/news/277378

2024-12-19 17:43:42 UTC

Welcome to the Drone Age, New Jersey! https://www.computerworld.com/article/3627402/welcome-to-the-drone-age-new-jersey.html
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/680/726/144/309/089/original/a83cb469415e596a.jpg

2024-12-19 04:20:59 UTC

Nobody's better at making people want to leave than Martha Stewart. https://bestlifeonline.com/martha-stewart-get-guests-to-leave/

2024-12-19 02:39:55 UTC

Casio is now selling its iconic watch as a ring. https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.CRW-001-1/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/677/172/125/151/485/original/e6b6a5f3b33927b5.png

2024-12-18 04:06:49 UTC

- reply

Yes, but does the Chinese Communist Party have a 1st Amendment right to disseminate disinformation in the United States?

2024-11-13 21:38:46 UTC

Real flying cars land next year! https://machinesociety.ai/p/real-flying-cars-land-next-year-6ef
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/477/806/840/954/080/original/081ea2f00eb6955c.jpg

2024-11-04 22:29:53 UTC

Lincoln: “"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Trump: “So I just give you a little bit of a thing and by the way, the press will say, oh, he rambled, no, that's not ramble, you know what that is? That was genius, that's the weave, now, see, I, I wove frankly the rest of it I don't really even have to talk about.” https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/153594/donald-trump-north-carolina-rally-speech

2024-10-09 16:14:01 UTC

Donald Trump’s bible racket tells you everything you need to know about Trump:
They cost Trump $3 each; he sells them for $60.
These “God Bless the USA” bibles are made in China.
They contain the Constitution, BUT, without the amendments that abolish slavery, provide equal protection under the law, establish the right to vote regardless of race, establish women’s right to vote and presidential term limits.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-god-bless-usa-bible-china-32a80611605d4052d8238064bbcace4c
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/278/349/389/651/488/original/4081cffadd6baa03.webp

2024-10-07 19:47:30 UTC

Halloween is going to be lit this year.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/267/864/217/421/630/original/d6fff69b29144fdb.jpg

2024-10-04 19:12:44 UTC

We have got to fix our mental healthcare system.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/250/740/274/422/275/original/eea31ce555d4bc1f.png

2024-09-21 17:07:59 UTC

Journalism job title of the moment: "AI-assisted reporter" https://www.journalism.co.uk/media-jobs/ai-assisted-reporter-/s75/a1176678/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/176/640/011/946/932/original/759e4ab3dc8f969c.jpg

2024-09-21 16:58:58 UTC

Elon Musk caves to Brazil. Links to go the breaking news from The Verge, and to my MACHINE SOCIETY piece with context and background.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/21/24250697/x-complies-brazil-supreme-court
https://machinesociety.ai/p/elon-musk-and-the-rise-of-supranational-9f8

2024-09-17 08:02:26 UTC

This Catalonian cheese brought to you by The Barcelona & Cava Wine Country Gastronomad Experience (now in progress) https://gastronomad.net/barcelona
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/151/845/004/869/023/original/27205d1acaa6ae22.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/151/845/290/503/279/original/fa3711d115bb1e0d.png

2024-09-10 17:30:40 UTC

Watch me on This Week in Tech with host Iain Thomson and fellow guest Emily Dreibelbis! https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/996
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/114/443/760/847/074/original/62de708006d4e8da.png

2024-09-09 09:30:11 UTC

Any anonymous entity is paying MAGA influencers money to make specific profane attacks on Vice President Harris. One slur-for-pay offer was payment for comparing Harris to Haliey Welch, the “Hawk Tuah girl.” One influencer was paid over $20,000 for a series of sexual slurs against Harris. https://www.semafor.com/article/09/08/2024/mysterious-influencer-network-pushed-sexual-smears-of-harris

2024-09-05 08:27:21 UTC

The most unmistakable sign that someone is a Russian asset or a Putin stooge is when they claim Churchill was the main villain of World War II. If someone claims this, they are 100% working for Vladimir Putin.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/083/995/890/853/778/original/e353c54a0086206a.jpg

2024-09-04 18:11:19 UTC

Drudge:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/080/629/485/779/419/original/487cad44ac5a390f.png

2024-09-02 22:03:32 UTC

Claim of the moment: "Economic power and the size of one’s bank account do not produce some strange immunity from jurisdiction." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/02/brazils-supreme-court-upholds-x-ban-over-conduct

2024-08-21 21:36:52 UTC

The most-spoken language in each US state after English and Spanish:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/002/165/744/364/952/original/5e3f2e9e5dfd01fd.webp

2024-08-17 05:14:55 UTC

Trump said yesterday that the Presidential Medal of Freedom for civilians is "actually much better" than the Congressional Medal of Honor for soldiers because the soldiers are either wounded or dead. The clown is a sociopath.
https://youtu.be/e0kdr4izJr4?si=JSlyzrSKg1v3V07d&t=44
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/975/655/251/825/610/original/1ca4edf1c9a0a31d.png

2024-08-14 16:37:26 UTC

There's something wrong with this story. So... Iran hacked the Trump campaign, stole compromising emails and leaked them to three US media outlets, who chose not to publish. Uh... So why hasn't Iran responded by leaking more widely? https://apnews.com/article/trump-vance-leak-media-wikileaks-e30bdccbdd4abc9506735408cdc9bf7b

2024-08-13 17:51:18 UTC

New Yorker cartoon of the moment: https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/daily-cartoon/tuesday-august-13th-musk-boosts-trump
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/955/980/117/501/949/original/6f17d698a0dd8cd3.png

2024-08-09 16:38:42 UTC

Anybody else notice that Trump forgot to wear his orange clown makeup at the press conference?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/932/731/343/759/864/original/60ee2a3d5cfbfa0f.png

2024-08-07 17:20:58 UTC

Scam of the moment: "obituary content mills" https://elgan.com/scam-of-the-moment-obituary-content-mills
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/921/886/977/133/697/original/65afb0dbbc0caec7.jpg

2024-08-06 18:18:11 UTC

Structure of the moment: "prostitution surveillance tower" https://reason.com/2024/08/05/prostitution-surveillance-tower-goes-up-in-san-diego/

2024-07-31 03:48:04 UTC

Republicans were outraged at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony because they thought it depicted The Last Supper. In fact, it depicted an ancient Greek bacchanal -- a pre-Christian pagan party. If you only read one book, you'll be so dumb you'll think only one dinner ever happened.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/879/054/502/800/523/original/d0a539c8f427907c.jpeg

2024-07-04 15:53:09 UTC

The idea that AI improves everything and operates without humans is a delusion. More: https://www.computerworld.com/article/2511301/ai-washing-silicon-valleys-big-new-lie.html
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/729/023/242/261/887/original/5b5e632fb34b1ade.jpg