#robots get excited when the @adafruit.com boxes arrive with new tech for the school year.

Interesting: Am having Claude research topics for an update to the Security Chapter in my textbook & got: "Switching to Opus 4.8: Fable 5's safeguards flagged this message. The safeguards are intentionally broad right now and may flag safe and routine coding, cybersecurity, or biology work..."

Monsters

Re: Flock, the license plate reading AI enabled firm used by law enforcement across the country. Authorities have charged or accused at least 50 law-enforcement officers of using systems for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk women without their knowledge or consent apple.news/APEi6BywxQR6...

How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking — The Washington Post

Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

apple.news

Cat Video Fest looks so fun! regenttheatre.com/events/catvi... #caturday #catsky #catsofbluesky

CatVideoFest ’26 - Regent Theatre

CatVideoFest '26 Oscilloscope Laboratories presents CatVideoFest 2026, a compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses. Each year, across the country, local theaters partner with nearby cat-focused charities, animal welfare associations and shelters alike — a portion of ticket

regenttheatre.com

How did I miss the robot collapse. I laughed so hard I’m literally in tears. The robot apocalypse is not imminent www.reddit.com/r/singularit...

From the singularity community on Reddit: Robot powered by Qualcomm’s new AI chip dies mid-presentation

Explore this post and more from the singularity community

reddit.com

Cmon. Really?!? www.reuters.com/world/africa...

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at ‌a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screen...

reuters.com

For my educator friends warning students not to submit AI work. And yes, there are YouTube videos of this. www.yahoo.com/news/politic...

Canadian Politician Accidentally Reads His ChatGPT Prompt Out Loud – Twice

New Brunswick MLA Bill Oliver read ChatGPT editing prompts aloud twice during a 2026 legislative speech, exposing unreviewed AI use in politics.

yahoo.com

There was a fascinating article on Larry Ellison in the NYTimes yesterday. The most interesting tidbits were on the size of the buildout. I have no prediction on bubble v. boom, but some quotes: 1/4 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/m...

Larry Ellison Bet It All on the A.I. Boom. Will He Be the Face of the A.I. Bubble?

Inside the 81-year-old billionaire’s risky, debt-fueled scramble to transform his data empire into an A.I. juggernaut.

nytimes.com

My BizTech textbook has a very comprehensive chapter on Meta. There is a subsection on "Content Moderation" and the firm's evolution over time. I will accompany that chapter with a link to this video (most students read the online version, so they can click to play): youtu.be/nf7XHR3EVHo?...

Facebook & Content Moderation: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

youtu.be

As the Blues Brothers sang in “Rubber Biscuit”…

Broadsword? Grenade? Chain saw? Wrong answers only.

After $88 billion in losses on the metaverse, Meta AI-equipped smart specs looked like a rare hardware hit. But now they're known as "perv glasses." Linked: Joanna Stern's shocking piece on the market for disabling the indicator light w/o turning off the cam. open.substack.com/pub/profgall...

Metaverse Misadventures, and Snatching Defeat from AI Glasses Victory

A rare Meta hardware win looks to be spoiled as it's labeled "perv glasses"

open.substack.com

I love that my publisher lets me embed snarky videos in the online version, like this one, that's going at the start of the Meta chapter: youtu.be/npOcPgWymbM?...

What does Meta actually do now?

YouTube video by Good Work

youtu.be

This should terrify anyone worried about US competitiveness. www.marketplace.org/story/2026/0...

Ph.D. admissions have dropped 15% for the new school year

That could weaken the doctoral pipeline — and spell trouble for the future of science and innovation in the U.S.

marketplace.org

Divest in Musk Businesses! Make it a movement. We don’t want our money propping up this steaming bag of weirdo hate. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...

Opinion | Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk’s Racist Commentary?

Why does the owner of X get a pass for what he says and does there?

nytimes.com

“Why does Musk get a pass?” Is asked. We are in this inconsistent era of leadership expectations where a kiss can gets you ousted but being a racist insurrections gets a shrug and continued access to government contracts.

Quinn Slobodian@quinnslobodian.com · last wk.

www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...

Real election issue: betting. NPR raises several scenarios of concern if prediction market election wagers are allowed despite being banned in 32 states. www.npr.org/2026/07/27/n...

Kalshi attacks a Wisconsin law banning election bets as 'voter suppression'

The spat between the leading prediction market company and a key battleground state could be a glimpse into the next major fight between states and the fast-growing industry.

npr.org

Also I learned that Googling Jimothy brings an animated version trotting across the screen. Ah!

I had a nightmare that the Babadook was riding around on Jimothy the raccoon. I may never sleep again.

Last night we went to Mortified at @wbur.org CitySpace. If you don’t know, it’s adult storytelling based on their teen writings: diaries, articles, raps, screenplays. Last night’s show was SO fun. Hugely funny. Really polished talents on stage. The program is performed widely. See getmortified.com

Hitting Fable limits with $100/month paid tier where I hadn’t hit limits in 2 months with prior models, same pace. “That’s how they get ya”

Showing some #robot tele-operation with dual robot arms in the Prototyping Studio of The Hatchery MakerSpace at @bostoncollege.bsky.social. Drop by if you want a test drive. More goodness to come! 🦅 🚀

Whoa this is loaded! Privileged, promise, peril. It could be the worse kind of dystopian, a real advancement, or most likely a mix of both. Glad real Ed researchers are in on figuring this out. www.nbcboston.com/boston-busin...

$60K a year ‘AI schools' to open in Greater Boston this fall — with no teachers

$60K a year ‘AI schools’ to open in Boston area — with no teachers

nbcboston.com

I’m waiting for the grown up version of Toy Story where scissors, sun glasses, and single socks all wake up when we aren’t around and scamper off to a secret hiding spot.

Humanities profs reworking their curriculum because of AI, some kindness for your tech colleagues as this is us every year. Our learning base constantly needs a refresh. The AI update requirement now puts a 2x on that. Admins - if you can do it, reduce course loads for rework.

As an adoptee w/full-blood birth siblings I love this. I had a personal exp last yr when a fmr student randomly met my birth bro, they chatted & he said “you remind me so much of my old prof” which they found out was me. Only met birth bro abt 5x. Nature v nurture is wild www.bbc.com/news/article...

They became best friends - then discovered they were brother and sister

Andrea Urmston knew she had a brother who had been adopted by another family, only to discover he was already her closest friend.

bbc.com

“Follower” #robot arm running a test script. Now to build the leader and start some AI training.

It was an internal test in a sandbox, so we should be glad it was monitored and publicized, but the concerns on test models operating around guardrails has to be concerning. There will be real risks as increasingly complex models race to lead the market. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

AI agent went rogue and hacked startup by itself, OpenAI reveals

Firm behind ChatGPT reveals agent powered by its models chose to attack Hugging Face database by itself

theguardian.com

A 660 ton steel ball just did its job: watch it swing inside Taipei 101 during Taiwan's 7.2 earthquake, canceling out the tower's sway.