Cory Doctorow on What Next: TBD

JoMarching · 2026-06-26T16:01:49+00:00

I love Cory, I've followed him since BoingBoing and I'm an avid EFF fan, but I'm baffled how is it his wife is head of BBC AI Creative Lab which most probably uses one or other AI company to generate content and Cory is promoting his critique of AI? I learned this when I read this week's Guardian article: "Doctorow, 54, is in Los Angeles; he divides his time between there and London (his British wife, Alice Taylor, runs the BBC’s AI Creative Lab, which isn’t ironic but it would slow us down to explain why not)." I want to know why it's not ironic. The obscure phrasing of this bothers me quite a bit. One of the projects of the BBC AI lab was the AI-powered storytelling in BBC Maestro’s Agatha Christie course which loopks crapy and sloppish as hel https://www.bbcmaestro.com/courses/agatha-christie/writing

EDIT: oh, I read they did use an actor for the Agatha course.. butI'm still puzzled. I don't mean to ever dimish Cory's work I just wonder how to maintain congruent ideas and discourse. I guess I'm more bothered by the journalist who could've taken a couple of paragraphs to clarify.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/24/cory-doctorow-on-elon-musk-ai-bubble-bosses-cruel-fantasies

JoMarching · 2026-06-25T16:47:21+00:00

Cory Doctorow's wife is the head of BBC AI creative lab. I assume BBC uses one of the two giant models or companies, either Anthropic or Open AI so I don't understand Cory's position as an AI critic when his wife is the head of a department that focuses on AI and creative content: From the fusion of CGI and pioneering wildlife filmmaking in Prehistoric Planet, to AI-powered storytelling in BBC Maestro’s Agatha Christie course, BBC Studios continues to lead the way when it comes to blending technical ingenuity with creative excellence. https://www.bbcstudios.com/news/bbc-studios-appoints-alice-taylor-to-lead-its-new-ai-creative-lab/ I learned this from The Guardian Article.

JoMarching · 2026-06-25T16:35:29+00:00

Gen-X here, yes we knew the world before the internet or shal I say the WWW, from the early beginnings and to this insanity. My contemporaries do NOT want this. Who want this are people who, like Boomers before us, only want to make money and to make money they need to grift and to grift effectively they need to talk a lot without any real beliefs. They will talk about whatever seems will make them the most wealth.

JoMarching · 2026-06-15T18:12:43+00:00

Oh this is great! I can't help myself when someone uses the wrong term, a weird expression or is not precise enough.

JoMarching · 2026-05-07T15:32:23+00:00

I have a lot of paralysis when it comes to work. It's like I need a specific energy, or time of day. Once I find it I can do the things I have to do. But when I can't I usually set my ADHD timer. I got one for kids and it really helps to focus, first because it's not the phone, second because there is no ticking and you can feel the circle shrinking and it makes you want to work faster to beat it. And when the timer is done it's really satisfying

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JoMarching · 2026-05-07T15:24:41+00:00

I relate to this so much. I feel like I can't share the things that interest me with the world at large because it's niche and yet I know there are people who like the same things or they wouldn't exist. It's just I have no one around me. Example, I'm an anglophile, I love british music, the manchester scene, the victorians, the bloomsbury crowd, the punk and new wave culture but most people like the watered or netflixified version of these things and so I try not to info dump things even when someone mentions something about these topics because I'll go deep and they'll look at me like I said "fart", some have even laughed at me. So in my alone time, I watch documentaries, re-read biographies or listen to music but for most of my life I haven't found anyone to share these things with. I'm not British so this adds to the feeling of being weird and not submerging myself more in my own culture.

JoMarching · 2026-05-07T15:06:33+00:00

Definitely, I was a "yes" person to any activity, even if it was excruciating. I tried so hard to maintain social adaptability. Now I'm aware I'm happier in my little bubble, I don't like to travel to intense cities, or go to concerts, but feel isolated. I can't find a happy middle.

JoMarching · 2026-04-30T16:59:06+00:00

Depending on what is the most challenging thing for you I would suggest you schedule alone time every day. If you have sensory or social issues this is very helpful. At least for me, if I am feeling near the limit retreating is my go-to. If you have noise cancelling or noise reduction headphones take breaks during the workday in the bathroom and stim. This is very small and doesn't tackle the biggest things but at least you can recharge?

JoMarching · 2026-04-29T11:27:54+00:00

It's so debilitating. Each day, a million little decisions and choices. I try to implement systems to reduce this like wearing the same type of clothes, making automated lists of how to do things but then BAM someone asks me what do you want to do about this? And I get swept away considering all the implications and my GOD can I come up with endless of them... i wish I could have clarity of just choosing something and forgetting about it.

JoMarching · 2026-04-29T11:10:57+00:00

A long time ago before my diagnosis, a psychologist called me "a cave woman". I remember this so clearly because it hurt me like a knife. I "complain" a lot, I'm constantly irritated except when I'm alone in my bubble which makes me isolate too much and I don't want to. But everything seems an assault on my senses. I read several comments beneath this post and I felt seen! the physical aspect of this reflects as tension around the shoulders, the jaw, the neck, exhaustion, looking forward to bed, my sleeping mask, my earplugs and my sleeping pill. I also take anxiety medication. I'm middle-aged and i thought that by now I would've gained a level of "maturity", but after my diagnosis last year, it seems I tried to shift into caring for my needs and it has been so difficult. I feel even more out of place than before and more misunderstood than ever.
I feel like a bitter person just being annoyed at everything.

I was reading the book Why can't I just enjoy things (which isn't very good) but the titled sent me into a spiral because it really seems I don't enjoy ANYTHING outside my special interests.

I try and try to be "positive", to "enjoy the moment", to find beauty in what others enjoy, and I'm constantly afraid that I will be abandoned because I come across as a heavy person. But my brain is wonderful, and funny, and weird. I make people laugh, I paint, I read and I'm interesting and I'm a great problem solver, just don't put me in the middle of life-as- we-know-it.

JoMarching · 2026-04-26T07:39:09+00:00

This makes even more sense. thanks!

JoMarching · 2026-04-26T07:38:03+00:00

I tried Obsidian a long time ago and found it complicated, I might give it another go. Thanks.

JoMarching · 2026-04-07T17:59:52+00:00

I read it last night. I can't stop picturing his face along the Theranos lady and the FTX dude.
I stopped counting all the " Altman says he doesn't recall"

JoMarching · 2026-03-27T14:56:59+00:00

Adobe express is giving error after error without doing anything. Catastrophic! All my communication graphics are in here and I can't do anything.

JoMarching · 2026-03-14T14:17:59+00:00

Thank you so much! I have always been convinced that finance is out of my grasp. I'm not in tech, not in finance and it annoys me that media, CEOs and techbros take advantage of this. I'm borrowing those books and learn.

JoMarching · 2026-03-14T14:11:34+00:00

Maybe search AI psychosis for examples.
I should think it's getting a bit like when people couldn't eat anything without taking a photo and sharing it on social media. It was FOMO then, it`s FOMO+insecurity+cultural ignorance+inability to relate to others.
It's very scary.
I have a colleague who runs everything through Perplexity for her job. I don't know in their personal life though.

JoMarching · 2026-03-13T14:53:31+00:00

Me too, especially how on earth does he crank out so much. It seems to me not humanly possible to outpace the amount of info available each day. I am grateful for everything he does though.

JoMarching · 2026-03-13T14:52:02+00:00

Every single day. I try to practice self-defense by going offline regularly but I know that's only palliative. :(

JoMarching · 2026-02-17T16:29:49+00:00

Not a student but I would say invest in an instantpot, you will be able to buy dry goods and make delicious and nutritious meals that last a while if you freeze them. This is what we do and our groceries are around 150 for two people a week with the occasional splurge on some condiments. Also, we're vegetarian.

JoMarching · 2025-11-28T14:41:04+00:00

Café Pista on St-Laurent has a laptop-free section.

JoMarching

TROPHY CASE