The Vatican named it plainly: a few hold power over credit, jobs, services — opaque, unaccountable. That's not theology. That's a legal brief waiting for litigators to pick it up. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-vaticans-indictment-of-ai

The Vatican's Indictment of AI

Magnifica Humanitas is more technically literate than any law Congress has passed. Whether it becomes the moral foundation of an AI New Deal depends entirely on who picks it up.

theripcurrent.com

Magnifica Humanitas is more technically literate than any AI law Congress has passed. The real test is whether accountability researchers and civil rights litigators use it the way labor organizers used Rerum Novarum in 1891. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-vaticans-indictment-of-ai

The Vatican's Indictment of AI

Magnifica Humanitas is more technically literate than any law Congress has passed. Whether it becomes the moral foundation of an AI New Deal depends entirely on who picks it up.

theripcurrent.com

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical names what Congress won't: algorithmic control over credit and employment, data colonialism, hidden labor, autonomous weapons with no accountability. The Vatican out-legislated the U.S. government. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-vaticans-indictment-of-ai

The Vatican's Indictment of AI

Magnifica Humanitas is more technically literate than any law Congress has passed. Whether it becomes the moral foundation of an AI New Deal depends entirely on who picks it up.

theripcurrent.com

The safety work got quietly dismantled in a reorg. The believer kept building. Sutskever's testimony in Musk v. Altman is a map of how an industry convinces itself the incentives and the mission are the same thing. TheRipCurrent.com

Ilya Sutskever, under oath: the systems his company Safe Superintelligence is racing to build "don't exist" and nobody knows how to build them. Here’s why that makes all the difference in the Musk v Altman case. TheRipCurrent.com

Prediction markets were sold as democracy's crystal ball. But strip away the hype and you find the same old story: insiders with better information taking money from people who think they're playing a fair game. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/prediction-markets-were-supposed

Do Prediction Markets Forecast the Future? A New Study Says They're a Shakedown.

The paper dismantles the industry’s core defense — just as a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier is charged with using classified military intelligence to make $400,000 on Polymark

theripcurrent.com

I have the job, but as anyone in this business can tell you you don’t really have the job until you’ve met the people. #cnn #ripcurrent #journalism Full episodes and analysis → YT

I have one of 30 public seats inside the courtroom for Musk v Altman. After a break — in which I washed my hands next to Sam Altman, I love courthouses — we’re back, with Musk on the stand being cross-examined by OpenAI’s lawyer.

Day 2 of Musk's testimony, and he's on the stand. I got here at 5:30am to join the line of reporters in the dark, and am seated in the courtroom. Here's what's happening...

Yesterday Musk told the jury he thought of OpenAI, named it, hired the first people. Today he gets cross-examined. Meanwhile the journalists are being very polite and orderly. Good job everyone. #musk #samaltman #openai #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier just got criminally charged for using classified military intelligence to place $409,881 in bets on Polymarket. This is the first-ever criminal prosecution for insider trading on a prediction market. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/prediction-markets-were-supposed

Do Prediction Markets Forecast the Future? A New Study Says They're a Shakedown.

The paper dismantles the industry’s core defense — just as a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier is charged with using classified military intelligence to make $400,000 on Polymark

theripcurrent.com

The secret to finding good lunch and quick vibes in an unfamiliar city. This has worked for me in Vegas, Detroit, Tulsa, Dallas, and dozens of other new places, and today it paid off again in Omaha. #citylife #urbanexplorer #shoppinghacks #travelhack #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

The deepfake era isn't just about technology — it's about who gets legal protection and who doesn't. Famous actors can trademark their likeness. Unknown performers have zero rights. Classic Hollywood power play dressed up as innovation. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-dead-and-the-famous

The Famous and The Dead

A.I. is resurrecting Val Kilmer, enriching the powerful, and strip-mining talent in Hollywood. In an A.I. future, will anyone be able to make it in movies who hasn't done so already?

theripcurrent.com

The pattern is predictable: new technology emerges, industry promises self-regulation, then lobbies for laws that look like oversight but preserve the status quo. We're watching it happen with AI in real time.

DHS runs 238 AI surveillance programs with almost zero oversight. Facial recognition on every agent's phone. Predictive policing from your 911 calls. This is the architecture of the surveillance state, built in plain sight. https://theripcurrent.substack.com/p/the-ai-surveillance-shopping-spree

The AI Surveillance Shopping Spree

Hacktivists breached DHS and published the agency's AI surveillance shopping list. Every American should read it.

theripcurrent.substack.com

The AI resurrection debate misses the real issue: McConaughey can trademark his voice and likeness. Background actors can't. This isn't about technology — it's about who gets to own themselves in the digital age. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-dead-and-the-famous

The Famous and The Dead

A.I. is resurrecting Val Kilmer, enriching the powerful, and strip-mining talent in Hollywood. In an A.I. future, will anyone be able to make it in movies who hasn't done so already?

theripcurrent.com

David Sacks went from crypto venture capitalist to White House AI czar in record time. Today's framework reads like his wish list — preempting state laws before they could bite. https://www.theripcurrent.com/p/the-ai-industry-got-what-it-wanted

The AI Industry Got What It Wanted Today...Again

A "minimally burdensome" national standard that wipes out the only laws we have around A.I. deregulates the industry before we even tried to regulate it.

theripcurrent.com

The real story isn't the hack — it's that DHS operates 238 AI surveillance programs with virtually no oversight. Congress has been asleep while an entire digital panopticon got built with taxpayer money. https://theripcurrent.substack.com/p/the-ai-surveillance-shopping-spree

The AI Surveillance Shopping Spree

Hacktivists breached DHS and published the agency's AI surveillance shopping list. Every American should read it.

theripcurrent.substack.com

It’s creators and brands and media and impact and earned media and core competencies and thrashgrass and brisket and alcoholism and… #sxsw #austin #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

But no really I’m not that guy. Not yet. #sxsw #austin #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

Come say hi at The Belmont (which turns out not to be a hotel, my bad, but it doesn’t change anything) in Austin for SXSW this weekend. I’ll be there midmorning to midafternoon. Come talk surveillance, AI war, and corporate accountability with me! #sxsw #ripcurrent #austin Full episodes and

The majority of adults want to slow down AI development, even if it means falling behind other countries. But it doesn't matter to the White House, it seems, nor to the folks making the money off it. #AI #Technology #Future #Debate #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

If you're going to be in Austin for SXSW and you want to talk about surveillance tech, AI weapons, or corporate power — I'm holding what I'm calling The Lobby at The Belmont Hotel, March 13 through 15. Walk up, or book a 30-minute slot at jacobward.com/sxsw2026. Come find me. #SXSW2026 #SXSW

Decisions shaping our lives are made by unseen people, using unknown tools, in closed rooms. Let's go, democracy. #ripcurrent #FutureTech #Transparency #Democracy #TechPolicy Full episodes and analysis → YT

Pentagon's Jetson tech spots individuals 200m away using infrared laser to read unique cardiac signatures. Heartbeat ID is more stable than facial recognition. #Tech #Innovation #FutureTech #Biometrics #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

No wonder the Pentagon is buzzing about wanting no guardrails! WiFi sees through walls, lasers read heartbeats, cameras know you by your walk. It's all here, right now. #Pentagon #Tech #Innovation #FutureTech #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

I'm going to SXSW and I'm not doing panels. I'm doing The Lobby — a daily open hangout March 13-15 at The Belmont in Austin where anyone can show up and have a real conversation about surveillance, corporate power, and AI weapons. No badge. No ticket. Just come find me. jacobward.com/sxsw2026🎙️

Israel built AI targeting systems in Gaza — approved kills in 20 seconds, 10% error rate accepted. Now those same systems are running over Iran and being exported all over the world. I’m calling this “lethal beta,” and there’s an arms industry IPO-ing off the back of it. Full breakdown at

I don’t want to trigger the designers here, but this is the phrase that has always worked for me. #collaboration #creative #relationships #ripcurrent Full episodes and analysis → YT

The President banned an AI company from the entire government because it wouldn't let the Pentagon use it for mass surveillance. But Anthropic walked into this. They partnered with Palantir to get into classified systems. They took the $200M contract. And now every other AI company has to decide if