Nostr notes by Mike Elgan

The ‘AI slop’ backlash kills Sora ...

2026-03-27T15:24:25Z

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

This church statue in Mexico City looks like Jesus is on the ...

2026-02-17T19:30:01Z

This church statue in Mexico City looks like Jesus is on the phone.

Rhetorical question of the moment: "Why should I bother to ...

2026-02-16T15:39:28Z

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

HEADLINE: "Tim Cook Says He Is ‘Heartbroken by the Events ...

2026-01-28T03:41:44Z

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

Fact of the moment: "It’s easier than assumed to hack and ...

2026-01-27T21:02:53Z

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

SpaceX is buying thousands of Cybertrucks. What’s next, Twitter ...

2025-12-20T19:48:07Z

SpaceX is buying thousands of Cybertrucks. What’s next, Twitter buying rockets?

https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/spacex-buying-unfathomable-number-cybertrucks

BREAKING: Youtube gets exclusive right to broadcast the Oscars ...

2025-12-17T17:57:38Z

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/

Phrase of the moment: “delusional outputs” ...

2025-12-11T12:49:29Z

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/

Claim of the moment: "a third of the stock market is tied up ...

2025-10-04T18:52:18Z

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

For me, without POP3, there's literally no reason to use ...

2025-10-02T07:34:49Z

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/

Phrase of the moment: "scammed into scamming" ...

2025-09-22T06:39:32Z

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

Claim of the moment: "Young people are using ChatGPT to write ...

2025-09-08T19:37:52Z

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

HEADLINE: "World leaders distance themselves from Trump, ...

2025-09-06T21:57:01Z

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

Map of the moment: The US states with smaller economies than the ...

2025-08-25T18:32:01Z

Map of the moment: The US states with smaller economies than the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ray of hope of the moment: The Onion could still buy InfoWars. ...

2025-08-14T14:14:08Z

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

HEADLINE: "AI Startup Perplexity Offers to Buy Google's ...

2025-08-12T18:50:20Z

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/

HEADLINE: "Trump asks SCOTUS to allow profiling in California ...

2025-08-10T21:55:17Z

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

Perplexity AI, whose tagline is "Where knowledge begins," ...

2025-08-06T23:23:15Z

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

Scientific finding of the moment: People with higher levels of ...

2025-07-28T01:18:23Z

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

Trump is killing Vegas. ...

2025-07-28T01:12:56Z

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

AI facts of the moment: Half the world's AI data centers are ...

2025-07-14T04:15:15Z

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/

This storage drive erases everything when you push the giant red ...

2025-07-12T13:22:54Z

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

Claim of the moment: "They won, these men—the money, the ...

2025-07-07T21:09:49Z

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

HEADLINE: "Death toll from Texas floods reaches 43" ALT ...

2025-07-05T23:56:36Z

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/

HEADLINE: "Tulsi Gabbard’s Nuclear Warning Is Scary and ...

2025-06-16T01:31:19Z

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

Phrase of the moment: "suitcases of hard drives" ...

2025-06-14T12:52:55Z

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

I wonder if America's "No Kings" movement will spread ...

2025-06-14T12:42:10Z

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

2,000 protests today. ...

2025-06-14T12:41:07Z

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

Phrase of the moment: "braindead hallucinations" ...

2025-06-11T21:29:16Z

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

HEADLINE: "Influencer Sobs in Front of TikTok Headquarters ...

2025-06-11T20:39:06Z

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

Claim of the moment: "telecom is the new tequila" ...

2025-06-11T14:51:21Z

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

Phrase of the moment: "epic drone humiliation" ...

2025-06-02T18:52:26Z

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

DOGE goon fired after admitting that he was surprised to find ...

2025-05-29T22:35:36Z

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

Are Trump hats subject to tariffs? ...

2025-05-26T22:08:57Z

Are Trump hats subject to tariffs?

I wonder if anyone yet is talking to their AI therapist about ...

2025-05-24T02:30:48Z

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

Claim of the moment: "more than three dozen people who have ...

2025-05-18T03:46:47Z

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

HEADLINE: "White House blasts ‘hostile’ Amazon over ...

2025-04-29T16:24:45Z

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

Indian animal rights advocates want robot elephants to be used in ...

2025-03-10T20:18:54Z

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/

MIT research lets you correct a robot by nudging it in the right ...

2025-03-10T20:12:52Z

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

We have arrived at the place Carl Sagan warned us about: ...

2025-02-28T20:36:47Z

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

Word of the moment: "Putinization" ...

2025-02-28T15:32:05Z

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

This actually happened: 1. Elon Musk said something wrong about ...

2025-02-21T22:04:21Z

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.

Apple is lying. Robots don't feel emotions. ...

2025-02-13T13:50:11Z

Apple is lying. Robots don't feel emotions. https://machinesociety.ai/p/apple-is-lying-robots-dont-feel-emotions-83b

TikTok is shut down for me, but I'm not in the United States. ...

2025-01-19T04:02:05Z

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?

When you order wine in a restaurant and they pour you a tiny ...

2025-01-18T17:01:35Z

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

Yeah, and that irked me with the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which was ...

2025-01-14T17:55:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…p00l
_________________________

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.

DJI announced, and is now selling, the DJI Flip! ...

2025-01-14T16:39:03Z

DJI announced, and is now selling, the DJI Flip! https://store.dji.com/product/dji-flip?from=store_homepage&vid=181131

My wife dries her hair using solar and wind energy. ...

2025-01-13T17:28:47Z

My wife dries her hair using solar and wind energy.

HEADLINES: "Trump to annex Canada" "Trump to annex ...

2025-01-07T18:01:08Z

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"

Chinese factory in Brazil shut down because the Brazilian workers ...

2024-12-24T18:35:23Z

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

Making mole in Oaxaca! ...

2024-12-22T06:44:12Z

Making mole in Oaxaca!

Volubilis was the Western-most Roman city (in present-day ...

2024-12-21T19:12:23Z

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

Everybody's moving from X to Bluesky, including the Russian ...

2024-12-21T17:17:27Z

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

Welcome to the Drone Age, New Jersey! ...

2024-12-19T17:43:42Z

Welcome to the Drone Age, New Jersey! https://www.computerworld.com/article/3627402/welcome-to-the-drone-age-new-jersey.html

Nobody's better at making people want to leave than Martha ...

2024-12-19T04:20:59Z

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

Casio is now selling its iconic watch as a ring. ...

2024-12-19T02:39:55Z

Casio is now selling its iconic watch as a ring. https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.CRW-001-1/

Yes, but does the Chinese Communist Party have a 1st Amendment ...

2024-12-18T04:06:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…ucpj
_________________________

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

Real flying cars land next year! ...

2024-11-13T21:38:46Z

Real flying cars land next year! https://machinesociety.ai/p/real-flying-cars-land-next-year-6ef

Lincoln: “"Four score and seven years ago our fathers ...

2024-11-04T22:29:53Z

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

Donald Trump’s bible racket tells you everything you need to ...

2024-10-09T16:14:01Z

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

Halloween is going to be lit this year. ...

2024-10-07T19:47:30Z

Halloween is going to be lit this year.

We have got to fix our mental healthcare system. ...

2024-10-04T19:12:44Z

We have got to fix our mental healthcare system.

Journalism job title of the moment: "AI-assisted ...

2024-09-21T17:07:59Z

Journalism job title of the moment: "AI-assisted reporter" https://www.journalism.co.uk/media-jobs/ai-assisted-reporter-/s75/a1176678/

Elon Musk caves to Brazil. Links to go the breaking news from The ...

2024-09-21T16:58:58Z

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

This Catalonian cheese brought to you by The Barcelona & Cava ...

2024-09-17T08:02:26Z

This Catalonian cheese brought to you by The Barcelona & Cava Wine Country Gastronomad Experience (now in progress) https://gastronomad.net/barcelona

Watch me on This Week in Tech with host Iain Thomson and fellow ...

2024-09-10T17:30:40Z

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

Any anonymous entity is paying MAGA influencers money to make ...

2024-09-09T09:30:11Z

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

The most unmistakable sign that someone is a Russian asset or a ...

2024-09-05T08:27:21Z

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.

Nostr event nevent1qqsptv40x75kgch959vjaatt4guah4wu6dq2096vw3cyq84ta2h4uagzyz63g400ckqzcq2c62zh4v3hmlznmegk84e9vaclmr654d80f2hdvfsc9uh

2024-09-04T18:11:19Z

Drudge:

Claim of the moment: "Economic power and the size of one’s ...

2024-09-02T22:03:32Z

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

The most-spoken language in each US state after English and ...

2024-08-21T21:36:52Z

The most-spoken language in each US state after English and Spanish:

Trump said yesterday that the Presidential Medal of Freedom for ...

2024-08-17T05:14:55Z

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

There's something wrong with this story. So... Iran hacked ...

2024-08-14T16:37:26Z

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

New Yorker cartoon of the moment: ...

2024-08-13T17:51:18Z

New Yorker cartoon of the moment: https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/daily-cartoon/tuesday-august-13th-musk-boosts-trump

Anybody else notice that Trump forgot to wear his orange clown ...

2024-08-09T16:38:42Z

Anybody else notice that Trump forgot to wear his orange clown makeup at the press conference?

Scam of the moment: "obituary content mills" ...

2024-08-07T17:20:58Z

Scam of the moment: "obituary content mills" https://elgan.com/scam-of-the-moment-obituary-content-mills

Structure of the moment: "prostitution surveillance ...

2024-08-06T18:18:11Z

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

Republicans were outraged at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony ...

2024-07-31T03:48:04Z

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.

The idea that AI improves everything and operates without humans ...

2024-07-04T15:53:09Z

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