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Mike O'Neill

@mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social

With minabird.bsky.social created very first website consent platform (which actually worked). From 2012 worked on DoNotTrack spec as invited expert in W3C TPWG https://www.w3.org/2011/tracking-protection/ anti-authoritarian socialist internationalist. 🇺🇦🇪🇺🏴

333 Posts595 Follower 778 Folgt

Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · yesterday

Leaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 5d ago

Per UBS, OpenAI and Anthropic will account for 27% of Google Cloud's 2026 revenue and more than 48% of 2027's. Investors are being sold a story about diverse AI demand that is simply not true - hyperscalers spent a trillion dollars to feed money back to themselves and pretend it's real growth.

Ed Zitron@edzitron.com · 5d ago

Was awesome to join Bloomberg to talk about the lie of AI - everyone's buying into the mag7 believing CapEx is going towards diverse AI demand, when all it's really doing is supporting the circular cloud revenues of two unprofitable, unsustainable AI labs. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHcZ...

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · last wk.

Here's my interview with CNBC on how Zuckerberg's vacuous talking points about AGI and open source exist to distract from how Meta burned $180bn in capex (and more off-balance-sheet) to make also-ran LLMs that don't deliver an iota of the promise of "personal superintelligence."

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 5d ago

I can theoretically see how they came to many of the conclusions I came to and wrote tens of thousands of words about months ago in this piece on their own, but it's a little surprising to see the Times write something so similar to a piece I wrote two weeks ago www.wheresyoured.at/the-openai-b...

Oracle’s annual report in June trumpeted the success of its move into A.I. and assured investors that its cloud business was still growing and that its strong cash flow would be sufficient to cover its obligations. But the report also nodded to the precariousness of its situation. The company noted that it could not guarantee that it would be able to manage its outstanding debt, which had now grown to $130 billion. It warned that its customers might not be able to pay for its services and said the regulatory environment might change, which could jeopardize its business with China.

In July, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Oracle’s credit rating. Its debt was now just one notch above junk level. If it is downgraded once more, Oracle will become what’s known on Wall Street as a “fallen angel,” which would drive up its borrowing costs even further while shrinking its pool of potential lenders.

As a result of that, S&P Global downgraded Oracle’s credit rating to BBB/A-2, the literal lowest level before it’ll become junk-grade, meaning that one more downgrade (though it would have to be from two ratings agencies) from here would risk Oracle becoming a “fallen angel,” with investment funds (that can’t hold junk grade debt) having to jettison its debt from indexes, as happened to Ford in March 2020, leading to over $35 billion in debt being dumped and its borrowing costs skyrocketing to between 8.5% and 9.625% when it raised in April 2020. For some context, Ford reported an average interest rate of 5.2% on its long term debt in its 2019 annual report.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5d ago

Three-byline alert: 🚨 “.. a year and a half after his triumphant trip to the White House, Ellison may be poised to become something else: a cautionary tale. .. Ellison is personally worth .. $200 billion less than he was at his peak ..” @nytimes.com $ORCL www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/m...

New Scientist @newscientist.com · 5d ago

Three problems that are out of reach for conventional computers have been cracked by quantum computers and show how important the machines could become for scientific research

Quantum computers are starting to become useful as scientific tools | New Scientist

Three problems that are out of reach for conventional computers have been cracked by quantum computers and show how important the machines could become for scientific research

newscientist.com

Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · last wk.

Rejoin EU, say two thirds of Londoners (and 85% of younger people under 35!) as Sadiq Khan pushes for closer ties. www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...

Rejoin EU, say two thirds of Londoners as Sadiq Khan pushes for closer ties

Exclusive: 85% of Londoners aged 18 to 34 would vote for the UK to go back into the European Union, according to a new poll

standard.co.uk

chiller @chiller.eurosky.social · last wk.

This is ... horrific

lawsuit, Anthropic used a hydraulic powered cutting machine to neatly remove the pages from the books it procured from book resellers and then scanned them usina industrial- grade imaging equipment. In other words, it was literally ripping off authors' books to train its Al
This process took advantage of a egal concept known as first-sale doctrine, which allows a buyer to do what they want with a purchase without the original copyright holder's say-so. And since Anthropic was turning the original physicak texts into digital ones - rather than redistributing them as new copies a iudqe found this to be "transformative." and therefore
protected by fair use

One small book seller said that in April, he suddenly went from selling no more than 20 books a week to hundreds. and he's almost certain that the customers are Al labs. noting the random selection of the books and how they all have ISBNs He added that his inventory is full with rare and out of print books. meaning that an Al company could be destroying some of the few remaining copies that can be found

Lady Yapper (KJ Colt)@moistenedtart.bsky.social · last wk.

futurism.com/artificial-i... Excuse me while I go cry

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · last wk.

And this — the capex spending, the circular financing, the backstops, the cooling bond market — all comes down to one fundamental problem: the AI industry tried (and failed) to turn LLMs from a niche tool into a general-purpose tool. www.wheresyoured.at/the-more-you-buy-the-more-you-lose/

Anyway, I want you to imagine you wake up tomorrow, and nobody is talking about AI in the news. AI-related stocks aren’t dominating the market. Nobody on Twitter is discussing AI. Nobody you know or talk to is talking about AI. Nobody you know is using it, nobody you know has even heard of it.

Would you still be as excited? Would you feel the pressure to use it? Would any of this make any sense if there wasn’t someone threatening your job or scaring you in the media every day? Would any of this seem rational?

AI, as it stands, is an exercise in kayfabe — a thing people are taking seriously because the rich and powerful are saying they have to and a media ecosystem built to celebrate them says that you need to.

And the fundamental issue, to paraphrase Roger McNamee on CNBC, is that they’re trying to make a niche tool a general-purpose technology.

The trillion-plus dollars in capex and venture investment is an attempt to turn Large Language Models that generate and summarize things into something that can do anything, because the people at the top of both the organizations building and buying AI services don’t actually do real jobs and thus can’t understand that the vast majority of tasks are neither generative nor replaceable with a median version of their outputs.

Every layer of GPU (and CPU) intensive agentic bullshit is a tacit admission that LLMs are not a tool with any of the features of “artificial intelligence” anyone has dreamed of. Their greatest innovation is their symbolic ability to scare and compel people to change who they are or how they treat others as a patronage to the tech industry, or a general fealty to the powerful.

And I fear everything will end in tears, all because those with the responsibility to tell the truth or stand in the way of grifters both opened the doors and sung their praises, attacking and othering skeptics who wanted to avoid what I fear is now an inevitably painful future.

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · last wk.

First major poll to show Labour ahead of Reform since April last year, in this case by four points. Follows a series of other polls showing Labour either level with Reform or only narrowly behind

Luke Tryl@luketryl.bsky.social · last wk.

Our latest voting intention sees cross over. Labour move ahead by 4. Their first lead since March 2025 & highest share since Nov 24 🌹 LAB 28% (+4) ⏩ REF 24% (-2) 🌳 CON 22% (nc) 🔶 LIB DEM 12% (+1) 🟢 GREEN 8% (-3) 🟡 SNP 2% (nc) N = 2061| Dates 24-27/7| Change w 22/7

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · last wk.

Terrible news.

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

bbc.co.uk

ĐƠN GIẢN @letitbesimple.com · 2w ago

I'm invested deep into this long thread when I hit this post that just...pow, right in the kisser. Read this whole thing!

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 2w ago

AI is the asbestos we're shoveling into the walls of our civilization and our descendants will be digging it out for generations: pluralistic.net/2026/04/08/p... 36/

Ben Zaranko @benzaranko.bsky.social · 4w ago

An incredible detail in @paticlarke.bsky.social's piece about the battle to provide tech solutions to the UK government observer.co.uk/news/technol...

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 4w ago

In 2002, multiple memory manufacturers were punished by the DOJ for price fixing in the DRAM market, but in 2007, a crucial supreme court judgment made it much harder to both bring antitrust to court AND win. Monopolists won. www.wheresyoured.at/premium-the-haters-guide-to-the-memory-crisis/

In 2002, the US Department of Justice began a Sherman Act (America’s core antitrust law) investigation into the DRAM market, focusing on the five major players of the time: Samsung, Hynix (which became SK Hynix in 2012), Micron, Infineon, and Elpida. The suit came after Dell, Apple, and Gateway complained that artificially high DRAM prices resulted in lower profits between 1998 and 2002.

All parties pleaded guilty, with Samsung paying a fine of $300m — a penalty that was, at the time, the second-largest antitrust fine in US history. Others fared little better:

Hynix paid $185m
Infineon paid $185m
Elpida paid $84m
Micron cooperated with the government and avoided a fine — something that will become a bit of a trend, as you’ll see shortly.
The suit also saw criminal and civil charges laid at the feet of individually named employees. One guy, Sun Woo Lee, who was the Product Manager of DRAM at the time, pled guilty to violating section one of the Sherman Act and was given eight months in prison and a $250,000 fine. Two other Samsung execs also got jail time.

Across the Atlantic, The European Commission conducted its own investigation and issued its own penalties — €331m across ten manufacturers. Micron avoided a fine, because, as with the original Department of Justice Action, it turned in the other co-conspirators.

Quoting the European Commission’s press release: “the addressees of the decision are: Micron, Samsung, Hynix, Infineon, NEC, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Elpida and Nanya. Micron, however, was not fined because it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. “

Although the DOJ’s action against the DRAM industry happened more than two decades ago , it’s the most recent successful action. That’s not to say we haven’t seen other suits, but they’ve all failed — or will most likely fail — due to one very annoying reason.

This was a 2007 Supreme Court judgement that radically raised the bar to win (or even bring to trial) any antitrust case.

It says that parallel conduct — actions from companies that, from the outside, would appear to suggest that they’re working together to disadvantage new competitors, or to weaponize their market dominance at the disadvantage of consumers in a coordinated manner — is circumstantial evidence of collusion in a Sherman Act case, and such evidence is, in and of itself, insufficient to launch an antitrust investigation.

It made it so that a complaint needs to contain enough facts to show that antitrust behavior is “probable,” not just “plausible”.This is called the Twombly Test, and any case that fails to meet this standard is vulnerable to dismissal at the earliest stages.

Jones vs Micron Technology
This was a 2019 class action case against Micron, Samsung. and SK Hynix, which alleged that the three companies had colluded to tighten the supply of DRAM — resulting in sharply increased costs for consumer electronics as a result.

Note: Confusingly, there’s also a separate lawsuit from 1996 that relates to unfair dismissal called Jones vs Micron.
This alleged collusion occurred during 2016 to 2018, and the plaintiffs referred to themselves as “indirect consumers” as they weren’t buying DRAM directly, but rather buying products that included DRAM (“including Lenovo and Apple laptops and Samsung and Motorola mobile phones”).

While I’ve been unable to find the original complaint, the evidence provided included statements from company representatives made at public events, their collective participation in certain industry groups, and observable pricing trends. This was all circumstantial, and the lack of a “smoking gun” stopped the case from progressing to discovery.

As a result, it was dismissed that year, largely because it failed to meet the bar set by the Twombly rule.

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · last mo.

The personal data of millions who use the largest online UK pharmacy are routinely sent to US & foreign data brokers, who publically declare themselves as profiting from such data. We told the UK companies responsible over 6 months ago, & then the ICO in April, & no action has been taken.

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · last mo.

A modest proposal for Andy Burnham’s first reform, from @peterkellner.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

A modest proposal for Andy Burnham’s first reform

First-past-the-post used to be defensible. Now it’s dangerous

open.substack.com

Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · last mo.

Andy Burnham is being urged by business & economists to consider reversing Brexit Frontier Economics study: Rejoining EU could unlock £92 billion: a minimum 3.6% GDP boost. Much more than current “Re-set”. And benefiting the north & the midlands the most.

Best for Britain@bestforbritain.org · last mo.

New independent economic research reveals EU membership could add up to 3.6% GDP growth in the long run, equivalent to more than £92bn. https://www.bestforbritain.org/eu_membership_to_supercharge_uk_economy_by_at_least_92bn_report_suggests

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · last mo.

Today’s free newsletter is about how Silicon Valley — as exemplified by the AI bubble — has abandoned its supposed principles of rationality and meritocracy, and now more closely resembles a cargo cult desperate to recreate bygone eras of growth. www.wheresyoured.at/cargo-culture/

Cargo Culture

If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 words, in...

wheresyoured.at

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New newsletter: Generative AI is becoming the new crypto and multi-level marketing scam, promising non-techies that they can vibe-code their way to prosperity, without being candid about the costs and risks. www.whatwelo.st/p/generative...

Generative AI Is Having Its Herbalife Moment

How predatory vibe coding startups are selling false hope to young people

whatwelo.st

Luis Alberto Montezuma 路易斯·阿尔贝托·蒙特祖玛 @montezumachavez.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Commercial Court (High Court) started a three-day hearing in the @iccl.bsky.social v Microsoft Collective Redress case. You can learn about Real Time-Bidding. Documents in ICCL v Microsoft: enforce.ie/wp-content/u... @johnnyryan.bsky.social

Luis Alberto Montezuma 路易斯·阿尔贝托·蒙特祖玛 @montezumachavez.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Governor Phil Scott has officially signed both the Vermont Data Privacy Act and the Vermont Delete Bill into law.

Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The latest revelations about the scale & audacity of Russian attacks and covert interference in British politics, underline once again that their various forms of support for Brexit (money, bots, agents) may have tipped the balance in the 2016 referendum www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM, BBC reveals

Evidence shows Russians directing the plot and stoking tensions with fake far-right and Muslim groups.

bbc.co.uk

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

x.com/paulmasonnew...

Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) on X

Fascists want our kids brains filled with racist 💩

x.com

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 2mo ago

EXACTLY what everyone wants to hear right now thenextweb.com/news/carney-...

The former central banker then drew a direct parallel to the 2008 financial crisis. Carney, who led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England before entering politics, said “we have similar things in terms of model risk” and called for redundancy and diversity in AI infrastructure, the same principles regulators imposed on the banking system after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The analogy carries weight because of who is making it. Carney was governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 crisis and subsequently became the first non-British governor of the Bank of England, where he spent six years strengthening financial system resilience. When he warns that concentrated AI dependence mirrors the systemic linkages that nearly destroyed the global banking system, the comparison draws on direct experience rather than rhetorical convenience.

Techmeme@techmeme.com · 2mo ago

Canadian PM says the Anthropic ban shows the dangers of "over-reliance on certain models", and compares the risks to those that led to the 2008 financial crisis (Bloomberg) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

secure.hopenothate.org.uk/page/193695/...

Russia set Britain on fire. Demand an inquiry.

The men who tried to set fire to Kier Starmer’s house were taking orders from Russia. Our research shows this was not an isolated plot. It was part of a wider Russian operation on British soil. Add yo...

secure.hopenothate.org.uk

@jflohan.bsky.social · 2mo ago

France stopped two thirds of migrant boats bound for UK last month Pre-Brexit the UK had the right to return Immigrants to other EU countries. Now we pay millions to operate a system that operates at 2/3 success rate. Rejoin the EU regain our common sense. www.thetimes.com/article/771c...

France stopped two thirds of migrant boats bound for UK last month

A higher proprtion of illegal crossings were stopped last month, which ministers said showed the value of April’s £660m deal to pay for more beach patrols

thetimes.com

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 2mo ago

Before "agentic AI," we had the idea that software was your agent on the internet. That's why the technical term for a browser is a "user agent." Your browser acts on your behalf to retrieve and show it you information, in the format you choose. It's your agent: pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/t... 1/

A pig in a sty. It is wearing badly applied lipstick. From behind one hairy ear pokes the Android droid.

GayGuy @thethew.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The OG poster is blocking anyone who disagrees with her, I guess. I'm gonna stop engaging with this feed because she blocked all of us. Have a nice night

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 2mo ago

Sam Altman immediately trying to work out how to get ChatGPT banned

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Labour’s Coalition Has Shattered, and Starmer Needs A Theory to Rebuild It www.socialeurope.eu/labours-coal...

Labour’s Coalition Has Shattered, and Starmer Needs A Theory to Rebuild It

Labour bleeds four voters to the left for every one it loses to Reform — and cannot explain why.

socialeurope.eu

Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Mike O'Neill@mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Spot on. And its unfortunate that some reading this comment prefer social media trickery, e.g. blocking & dogpiling, to entering into constructive debate.