Mark Hurst

Host of Techtonic on WFMU: https://techtonic.fm .. Projects and bio at https://creativegood.com .. anti-Big Tech, pro-everyone who's trying to make tech better.

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Last Notes

2026-08-18 13:56:38 UTC

So now if a company goes bankrupt, all the emails and internal chats - going back years - all get sucked into an AI engine in Silicon Valley.
But don't worry, the data is all "deidentified." Right.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/google-aims-to-boost-ai-with-purchase-of-spirit-airlines-data

2026-08-02 19:09:24 UTC

"A Ton of Space Junk Tumbles Unpredictably to Earth Every Week." If only someone had issued a warning almost two years ago! ("Musk's space junk is a threat to us all" - https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/ - not to mention the tireless work @nprofile…2wxk & other astronomers have been doing)
Gift link to NYT story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/asia/space-debris-falling-crashing-earth-risk.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2VA.OGvZ.UUZefyuNJ7tT&smid=url-share

2026-05-29 19:42:35 UTC

"The time is coming when we’ll each have to declare our allegiance either to, or against, the Silicon Valley religion. This choice will be independent of whether we align ourselves with any traditional religion, or none at all: the question will simply be, do we put our faith in the ultimate authority of a machine god, built out of computer code and data centers, and owned by billionaire oligarchs?"
New from me:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/the-pope-and-the-machine-god/

2026-05-20 18:51:46 UTC

Spot-on satire of Sam Altman and the other AI oligarchs.
Here's my dramatic reading of "In Our Glorious AI Future, There Will Be No Such Thing as Money (For You)" - by Andrew Singleton in McSweeney's.
https://exquisite.tube/w/oDrvnukERr3VSpqqbUCtQp

2026-05-02 12:11:51 UTC

"The clam chowder in a New England diner and the clam chowder in a Florida diner come out of the same Sysco can."
On regional collapse in restaurants - h/t @nprofile…ugpy
https://www.worseonpurpose.com/p/your-dinner-got-worse-on-purpose

2026-04-22 13:30:40 UTC

From "What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat" by Noah Hawley:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/05/billionaire-consequence-free-reality/686588/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/448/600/339/906/254/original/9a152fbe6a52a4a2.png

2026-04-07 19:20:07 UTC

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@nprofile…awd8 see also https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/good-news-in-the-fight-against-big-tech/

2026-03-27 19:07:23 UTC

"Every step we take towards deGoogling, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction."
New from me: The first step toward getting off Google, feat. @nprofile…0egl
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/the-first-step-toward-getting-off-google/

2026-03-24 17:44:07 UTC

Excited to share my Techtonic interview with @nprofile…0egl - aka Janet Vertesi - founder of the #optout project and #techreclaimers .
Janet explains WHY and HOW to get off of Big Tech, and onto community-minded alternatives.
Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-23-janet-vertesi-founder-of-the-opt-out-project/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/285/388/350/338/019/original/46dc68679027f978.mp4

2026-03-23 13:25:20 UTC

"77% of air traffic control is understaffed, with NYC ATC staffed at 54% of the correct level."
This data point from @nprofile…ugpy today, on the dangers of understaffing, makes me think of the LaGuardia crash.
https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/22/nobodys-home/

2026-03-04 16:38:59 UTC

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@nprofile…47jv @nprofile…erjy This one is great
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/171/885/772/349/858/original/0f58a0c7700143d4.png

2026-02-21 21:17:51 UTC

Now THAT's a headline.
"The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents"
#edtech #education
https://fortune.com/2026/02/21/laptops-tablets-schools-gen-z-less-cognitively-capable-parents-first-time-cellphone-bans-standardized-test-scores/

2026-02-19 20:24:18 UTC

I spoke with Chris Gilliard - aka @nprofile…pxgx - about the Ring commercial, and the problems of spreading big tech surveillance & AI, on Techtonic this week.
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-02-16-chris-gilliard-on-amazons-admission-that-ring-spies-on-us/
Make note of that image below with the blue circles, as it will come up in the next post.
3/

2026-02-19 20:22:50 UTC

New from me: It's time to get rid of networked cameras.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/its-time-to-get-rid-of-networked-cameras/
I feel strongly about this piece, so here's a thread -
1/

2026-02-10 19:31:33 UTC

New on Techtonic: I speak w/Peter Dear about the history of science - then explain that *how we interpret AI* is in the balance right now.
Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-02-09-peter-dear-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-how-we-interpret-ai/
More Techtonic:
https://techtonic.fm
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/047/993/889/849/251/original/8a5b7485bbf03ff2.mp4

2026-02-07 14:18:09 UTC

"Streaming" is just "downloading" with the "save file" button removed.
Well said by @nprofile…ugpy in today's essay -
https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/07/aimsters-revenge/

2026-01-29 15:26:30 UTC

The difference between surveillance pricing, dynamic pricing, AI-powered price discrimination, and algorithmic price fixing - explained by Pat Garofalo:
https://boondoggle.substack.com/p/dystopian-pricing-tactics-a-primer

2025-11-17 16:47:28 UTC

"Doctorow has performed a valuable public service with 'Enshittification,'" writes @nprofile…8za8 about @nprofile…998y's book. I agree, and would add that Dave Mandl has done a service by writing such a clear & cogent review. From the LA Review of Books:
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/giant-platforms-of-shit/

2025-11-15 20:18:49 UTC

One of the best pieces I've read in awhile. Emily Bressler in @mcsweeneys.net writes "I Work for an Evil Company, but Outside Work, I’m Actually a Really Good Person":
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-work-for-an-evil-company-but-outside-work-im-actually-a-really-good-person

2025-11-06 20:10:55 UTC

The true scope of Big Tech’s surveillance, and its harms, is kept secret. That’s why I appreciate “The Secret Life of Data” by @nprofile…he69 & Jesse Gilbert - and why I’m trying to raise awareness in my on work.
New from me– What data does in secret:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/what-data-does-in-secret/

2025-10-29 19:48:31 UTC

I'm excited to announce the launch of the new Techtonic website:
https://techtonic.fm
Each episode page has an embedded audio player followed by links & resources.
RSS of episodes:
https://techtonic.fm/index.xml
You can also get the show as a podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944

2025-10-22 15:52:25 UTC

Insane image. "Model of the distribution of space debris around Earth." Read the key: 2,000 billion objects under 0.1 mm.
(from the European Space Agency, in this report: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Sounding_the_alarm_ESA_introduces_space_environment_health_index )
(via @nprofile…sep3 )
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/418/609/396/734/028/original/9b5a2a28141310b9.jpg

2025-10-20 12:30:41 UTC

A few months ago I warned that falling space junk could collide with an airliner in flight:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/
Now @nprofile…kcm7 reports that a plane just got hit:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/10/something-from-space-may-have-just-struck-a-united-airlines-flight-over-utah/
/cc @nprofile…5l40

2025-10-16 17:45:03 UTC

Low-cost, locally running AI agent - not connected to the internet, so it doesn't leak your data. (via @nprofile…998y 's newsletter today)
https://petewarden.com/2025/10/16/why-does-a-local-ai-voice-agent-running-on-a-super-cheap-soc-matter/

2025-10-14 19:25:23 UTC

Big Tech is targeting vulnerable communities for its data centers. Residents incur a huge cost in water & power and airborne toxic chemicals. Town officials sign NDAs so citizens have no awareness of the threat.
New from me: data centers and their effects.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/dont-let-the-data-center-come-to-town/

2025-06-17 13:34:12 UTC

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@nprofile…gffv 30-year tech veteran here. EXACTLY. and that is pretty much the basis of my show, Techtonic - https://techtonic.fm

2025-06-16 16:16:01 UTC

To the Cybertruck owner driving down the west side of Manhattan, hope you have a great day - you seem to be excited to stare at the surveillance phone in your hand as your three-ton dumpster rolls down the avenue

2025-06-08 15:22:13 UTC

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Speaking of AI as automation, @nprofile…xrp9 puts it well:
"Automating decisions gives power away."
A helpful essay counting the costs of AI in design, even if we might (occasionally) still use it:
https://mail.cyberneticforests.com/the-decision-not-to-decide/

2025-06-08 10:09:05 UTC

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@nprofile…vn85 not yet

2025-06-07 20:00:42 UTC

New from me: Let’s call AI something else. (drawing on "The AI Con" by @nprofile…gd2c and @nprofile…ls2h )
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/lets-call-ai-something-else/

2025-05-30 15:06:10 UTC

Google Glass is coming back to spy on us, 12 years after we thought it was killed dead. The zombie has returned.
Here's my roundup of the surveillance glasses shambling toward us from Zuck, Google, Apple, and OpenAI:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/a-zombie-wave-of-surveillance-devices/

2025-05-22 15:40:18 UTC

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@nprofile…xyvy @nprofile…m3s9 the Tech Review article quotes people asking why they should pay higher rates.

2025-05-22 14:18:29 UTC

"Between 2024 and 2028, the share of US electricity going to data centers may triple, from its current 4.4% to 12%."
Astounding that we prioritize electricity for AI over *every* *other* *possible* *use*. Housing, schools, and hospitals all have to make way for Big Tech data centers.
Important article by Tech Review:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/

2025-05-20 18:31:23 UTC

Such a pleasure to speak with
@nprofile…avuy on Techtonic yesterday. We covered luxury surveillance and Facebook's spy glasses, which reportedly will soon have facial recognition.
Stream the show by clicking "pop-up player" on the episode page:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/152175

2025-04-29 22:43:04 UTC

Yet another combination of AI and surveillance - in the NYC subway:
https://gothamist.com/news/mta-wants-ai-to-flag-problematic-behavior-in-nyc-subways
"MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said the agency plans to use artificial intelligence technology to detect 'potential trouble or problematic behavior on our subway platforms.'”

2025-04-17 14:14:07 UTC

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@nprofile…gd2c This would be a great fit for Techtonic - https://techtonic.fm - if you'd like to be on the show to talk about it!

2025-04-01 13:43:36 UTC

I'm outraged that my government is disappearing people for political dissent. On the new Techtonic, I speak about the Tufts PhD student – Rumeysa Ozturk – who was kidnapped, and the growing use of Big Tech AI & surveillance for authoritarianism.
LISTEN: https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=150627&archive=268232
Episode page: https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/150627
More: https://techtonic.fm

2025-03-26 14:22:32 UTC

Excited to share my interview with Liz Pelly about Spotify - a company that exploits musicians, spies on users, and pollutes the internet with muzak slop. Liz's book "Mood Machine" is fantastic. I also quote @nprofile…724p .
To listen, click "Pop-up player" on this page:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/150392

2025-03-18 20:41:24 UTC

The White House is now being served with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Trump officials claim it's hard to get good internet access.
At the White House.
So we're running all White House communications through the network owned by Elon Musk, who's in close touch with Vladimir Putin.
Cool cool.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/us/politics/elon-musk-starlink-white-house.html?unlocked_article_code=1.404.B0N5.hIiH4Iqy0T00&smid=url-share

2025-03-17 16:09:22 UTC

Helpful fact about Chuck Schumer from Wall Street on Parade:
"Three of Schumer's five largest campaign donors have been Wall Street megabanks – Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase":
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2025/03/four-megabanks-on-wall-street-hold-3-2-trillion-in-uninsured-deposits-which-may-explain-senator-schumers-pivot-to-the-gop-to-stop-a-government-shutdown/

2025-03-11 18:40:39 UTC

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@nprofile…fynq Lattimore! love it

2025-03-07 20:08:40 UTC

New from me: I read all of Plato. Here's what I learned.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/i-read-all-of-plato-heres-what-i-learned/

2025-02-22 17:01:12 UTC

GenAI is digital plastic. All of our regret now at filling the ocean with plastics, and our bodies with microplastics, we are now doing by flooding our media and education with genAI plastic.

2025-02-10 19:17:49 UTC

‪But do the users actually *want* AI?
Maybe they do, in some cases. But did anyone actually find out what users actually *want* before spending a trillion dollars to build it out?

2025-02-07 19:32:52 UTC

"We are witnessing a private equity-style plunder of the entire US government."
You'll want to punch the wall after you read this piece by @nprofile…qz4x -
https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/07/broccoli-hair-brownshirts/

2025-02-01 12:39:03 UTC

Happy #switchday! It's the day to get off of Big Tech services.
If you want a podcast that resists Big Tech, try my show Techtonic: https://techtonic.fm . Here's the RSS feed for open podcast players:
https://www.wfmu.org/podcast/TD.xml
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/928/668/088/183/120/original/529c730dbcfffa64.jpg

2025-01-31 01:34:16 UTC

More of Musk's space junk is raining down on people and animals - this time, over Turks & Caicos Islands:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/science/spacex-starship-explosion-debris-turks-caicos/index.html
This is exactly what I warned against in my Nov 22, 2024 column "Musk’s space junk is a threat to us all": https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/
via @nprofile…kyj5

2025-01-20 15:11:58 UTC

User experience is mostly irrelevant in our Big Tech economy. Facebook, Twitter, etc. can mistreat users without consequence.
Cory Doctorow - aka @nprofile…qz4x - puts it well today (https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/20/capitalist-unrealism/):
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/861/321/199/847/487/original/db5b24bb62607104.png

2025-01-10 21:23:18 UTC

Depends on your definition of "trusted."
I mean, by definition can spyware be "trusted"?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/806/159/697/551/067/original/d8aa397319ed8f97.jpeg

2025-01-08 16:54:59 UTC

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@nprofile…0cc2 I like how you blurred the image so that people can't read ahead and get your picks early!

2024-12-01 21:55:53 UTC

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both."
—Justice Louis Brandeis

2024-11-25 16:52:28 UTC

Elon Musk's space junk is a threat to us all. Starlink satellites will pollute the atmosphere, land in your backyard, and - a fresh new nightmare - could hit airliners at 35,000 feet.
My post explains:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/
Thanks to @nprofile…kyj5 for raising the alarm. (Re-upping to get the proper thumbnail on the post.)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/544/623/152/135/894/original/a18e7a176e4b54b7.jpg

2024-11-23 21:57:22 UTC

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@nprofile…kyj5 thanks, Sam!

2024-11-22 20:39:54 UTC

NEW FROM ME: Elon Musk's space junk is a threat to us all. Starlink satellites will pollute the atmosphere, land in your backyard, and - a fresh new nightmare - could hit airliners at 35,000 feet.
Thanks to @nprofile…kyj5 for raising the alarm (and for joining me on https://techtonic.fm this week to discuss):
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/

2024-11-19 23:04:18 UTC

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@nprofile…5e8y c'mon, Dave, if you don't pay Apple to upgrade your hardware properly, your notes deserve to be deleted!

2024-11-19 16:22:18 UTC

WARNING: Starlink satellites are starting to rain down on earth. I spoke w/astronomer Samantha Lawler - @nprofile…kyj5 - on https://techtonic.fm about their effects on the atmosphere, and who you should call if space junk lands in your yard.
Listen: https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=146229&archive=261820&starttime=0:7:42
Episode links: https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/146229
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/510/535/595/608/064/original/0e87d4f0d5fa0296.png

2024-11-15 17:15:28 UTC

I spoke with three members of the Luddite Club, a group of teenagers who avoid digital devices and social media.
There's reason for hope:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/a-gleam-of-hope-meet-the-luddite-club/

2024-07-19 15:14:55 UTC

I feel like today is a good day to remind everyone about my "how and why to switch to Linux" episode on https://techtonic.fm a few weeks back.
Here it is -
We should all switch to Linux:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/140361
(click "Pop-up Player" to listen)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/813/806/284/988/940/original/fc7363afa803c4ed.jpg

2024-07-16 17:05:24 UTC

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@npub1uw8…88kr ready to feature the book on https://techtonic.fm !

2024-05-28 19:52:08 UTC

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@npub1yhj…3h3t nice work

2024-05-23 15:58:47 UTC

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@npub17nv…96rn 👍

2024-05-09 22:52:15 UTC

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@npub1uw8…88kr that is BANANAS

2024-04-30 18:53:04 UTC

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@npub17nv…96rn I have so many comments

2024-04-25 18:21:11 UTC

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@npub17nv…96rn ASCII forever!

2023-11-08 00:51:05 UTC

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@npub17nv…96rn what?? that is not a good precedent. (ads for laundry)

2023-09-22 18:48:39 UTC

I like how @npub1typ…c8hh describes what's changed in search UX:
"For their first 25 years of existence, Internet search engines functioned as librarians. Their goal was to point us to a resource that we could ourselves ingest and learn from.
"But now, Ellandorff observes, search is becoming more like a doctor [meaning, it just gives an answer without pointers to further context]."
Read the whole piece in section 7 of Clive's recent linkfest:
https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-11/

2023-09-01 21:37:41 UTC

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@npub17nv…96rn safe travels, break a leg, etc. etc.!

2023-09-01 20:48:32 UTC

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@npub1typ…c8hh Great piece. I'm working on an Auden poem

2023-04-14 01:10:16 UTC

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#[0] another recommendation for Fastmail, *or* any of the other Gmail alternatives I list here - https://goodreports.com/post/email.html