Introduction

In times of AI, why write? We can now generate endless text in seconds. I'm here agonizing over a blank page with the word "introduction" at the top when a text extruder could have already filled it with "content." I type out a phrase, mull it over, delete half of it, delete all of it, put part of it back; but the text extruder churns ahead faster than the speed of thought, an avalanche of words burying John Henry, who never stood a chance.

But let's not be stupid. Writing isn't words on a page, writing is thinking. Writing is only interesting to the extent that it is the expression of human thought. Words on a page with no human thought behind them is just a digital parrot yapping at great length.

I'm writing again because I don't think people want to converse with a parrot. As traditional spaces of human interaction on the internet fill up with slop, I think people are going to seek out human connections and human thought. Not all people, but some people, and I want to meet those people and build networks with them.

I have a strong sense that we are at the end of something. The end of the open web, the end of traditional media, the end of social media, the end of I don't know what else. These are my notes from the end, which is also a beginning. Let's build something human.

What this is

This newsletter/blog is going to be a mix of things. If you follow me on Mastodon, you kind of get the idea. I am what you would call an AI critic, so I expect to write quite a bit about that. I might also leverage my Python skills to do some longer data journalism-type pieces. But I also want to center human-made stuff: blogs, movies, music, books. Expect some reviews of new things and takes on old things.

I will probably include a section of interesting links in the newsletter too. In general, as search and "social" media become less usable, my sense is that personal networks and curation are going to become more important for finding things on the internet.

Lastly, I'll be working on building what us old guys from the earlier days of the internet called a "blogroll," which in this case will be a list of links to human-made internet resources for news, information, takes, etc. More about that later, but if you want to be added to it, get in touch.

Oh, and I don't plan to write a lot about US politics. I don't think the world needs another politics newsletter, and you can follow me on Mastodon if you are really dying to see my half-cocked takes on that.

Any comments, effusive praise, or angry ranting can be sent to me on Mastodon or Bluesky. Thanks for reading! And please sign up if you want to get this delivered to your e-mail.