My mood as I roll into Austin for #SXSW.

Here is my sneak preview of the #SXSW XR Experience programmer with curator Blake Kammerdiener. We talk about every project in competition and the spotlight as well. I’ll be on site seeing all of the things and recording oral history interviews with immersive artists.
voicesofvr.com/1712-preview...

"Whether or not it draws on new scientific research, technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science. " Paul Goodman, "New Reformation: Notes of a Neolithic Conservative" (1969) via Neil Postman's "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology" (1992)

That was a great manifesto / philosophy of tech rant mixed with a lot of pithy writing, stylized glitch art, & raw emotion.

Love the quote "technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science." from Paul Goodman's "New Reformation" (1969) via Neil Postman's "Technopoly" (1992).

"Whether or not it draws on new scientific research, technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science. " Paul Goodman, "New Reformation: Notes of a Neolithic Conservative" (1969) via Neil Postman's "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology" (1992)

That was a great manifesto / philosophy of tech rant mixed with a lot of pithy writing, stylized glitch art, & raw emotion.

Love the quote "technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science." from Paul Goodman's "New Reformation" (1969) via Neil Postman's "Technopoly" (1992).

Iran and the immorality of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Plus: ICE support melts; America wins coveted title.

I did see this piece on Substack with some pointers: www.nonzero.org/p/iran-and-t...

VR Forever | 2026 Submission Form // Hosted by Creature + Future Friends // Contrary to what you heard, VR is actually NOT dead. VR Forever is coming back after a successful first edition last year and this time we are open for submi...

Contrary to what you heard, VR is actually NOT dead. VR Forever is coming back after a successful first edition and submissions are open now:

forms.gle/fvU8BhqVPYfo...

Submission Deadline: March 31st

#VRForever is hosted by @creaturedotpage.bsky.social and @futurefriendsgames.com #VR #gamdev

OpenAI’s legal agreement already enables an AI Big Brother.

They say “any handling of private information will comply with the Fourth Amendment,” but fail to mention the Third Party Doctrine, where there’a “no legitimate ‘expectation of privacy’” for data given to them.
openai.com/index/our-ag...

The AI Big Brother has already started within the context of private companies, but with the outdated Third-Party doctrine of the Fourth Amendment, then any data given to a third party has “no legitimate ‘expectation of privacy’.” From UNITED STATES v. MILLER (1976): “The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the obtaining of information revealed to a third party and conveyed by him to Government authorities.” So the US government can request almost any data shared with a third party without a warrant, and given Big Tech’s cozy relationship to a democratically-backsliding US government, then who knows what kinds of backroom deals are being made to automate data sharing.

Worth mentioning the Third Party Doctrine relative to the Fourth Amendment because any data given to a third party has “no legitimate ‘expectation of privacy’.” IANAL, but I wrote this up here:
voicesofvr.com/1710-when-in...

My previous interview with the ACLU on it:
voicesofvr.com/676-aclus-je...

The six UNSCRs – 1696, 1737, 1747, 1803, 1835, and 1929 – were reimposed on September 27, 2025, following the Iranian regime’s continuing “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments. The UNSCRs include provisions that require the Iranian regime to suspend uranium enrichment-, heavy water-, and reprocessing-related activities; prohibit Iran from using ballistic missile technology; prohibit Iranian arms imports and exports; reimpose travel bans and global asset freezes on listed persons; and authorize the seizure of prohibited cargo being transferred to and from Iran.

The State Dept is claiming it can "reimpose" UNSC resolutions, which it doesn't seem like the US has the authority to do so, right?
www.state.gov/releases/off...

This is the same trick they pulled with Iraq.
See: scholarship.law.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiup...

LEAKED: Trump's Executive Order to RIG the 2026 Election YouTube video by Democracy Docket

As the corporate media continues to be consolidated by billionaires, then it's vital to look to independent coverage from folks like @marcelias.bsky.social & @democracydocket.com protecting election integrity & calling out voter suppression tactics. An important watch
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGqB...

The presumption of regularity at the SotU is was so uncanny.

See the thread from @anatosaurus.bsky.social for some great context.

It also reminded me of Barthes and what happens when rules-based boxers go up against wrestlers and the logic of spectacle.
archive.thinkprogress.org/this-french-...

There have been some allegations from Noel Casler, who worked with him on the Apprentice, as well as an Epstein survivor who claim that Trump is really into snuff films. Listening to him tonight makes those claims seem really plausible.

bsky.app/profile/kent...

"Don't worry. Boys are hard to find." Part 1 o2 Trump/Epstein and Associated Criminal Enterprises: Victim Interviews: SR

Listening tonight makes me think that there might be some merit to the allegations from William Sascha Riley that Trump is really into snuff films. He seems to really revel in gore and violence.

Reddit Discussion:
www.reddit.com/r/UnderRepor...

Original testimony:
substack.com/@lvoldeng/p-...

I aggregated some legal and scholarly resources on the issues around UAP Secrecy. There are lots of balance of powers issues & claims that the Exec Branch is using Presidential Emergency Action Documents to create & maintain UAP secrecy without any Congressional oversight.
bsky.app/profile/did:...

UAP Disclosure Act Passed the Senate in 2024, but not in the House. It Gives Many Clues to the Structure of UAP Secrecy Unpacked by Sol Foundation

Sol Foundation Suggests "Presidential Emergency Action Directives" Are Legal Basis of UAP Secrecy & Aren't Subjected to Congressional Oversight "Given the clue in the Disclosure Act about the potential relationship between nuclear secrecy and UAP activities, any congressional inquiry into the origins of any actual UAP secrecy should make it an absolute priority to determine the truth about “MJ-12” and initial presidential awareness and decisions about UAP. If the inquiry’s findings are accurate, it will obtain a clear picture of the origins and legal foundation of UAP secrecy and its implications for the legislative branch. Any executive orders or directives turned up through the investigation — including any of those concerning urgent situations ostensibly requiring emergency powers and known today as Presidential Emergency Action Directives (PEADs) — would enlighten Congress as to the rationales for such secrecy, why it was imposed at the expense of the legislative branch, and the extent to which it is legal and constitutional. [97] Given the potentially grave implications for separation of powers of any such presidential emergency actions taken by the president to the detriment of Congress, we will discuss them later in this paper."

Brennan Center for Justice: "No evidence that [any PEAD] documents have ever been shared with relevant congressional committees." "Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) are executive orders, proclamations, and messages to Congress that are prepared in anticipation of a range of emergency scenarios, so that they are ready to sign and put into effect the moment one of those scenarios comes to pass..." "PEADs are classified “secret,” and no PEAD has ever been declassified or leaked. Indeed, it appears that they are not even subject to congressional oversight. Although the law requires the executive branch to report even the most sensitive covert military and intelligence operations to at least some members of Congress, there is no such disclosure requirement for PEADs, and no evidence that the documents have ever been shared with relevant congressional committees."

The Executive Order Must: Order Immediate Government-Wide Records Searches: Direct every federal department, military service, intelligence agency, federally funded laboratory, and government contractor to conduct comprehensive searches for all records relating to: Non-Human Intelligence (NHI) / Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ET) Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) Flying discs, disks, and flying saucers Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs) Technologies of Unknown Origin (TUO) Require Immediate Transfer to the UAP Records Collection: Mandate that all responsive materials be transferred without redaction or delay to the Congressionally established UAP Records Collection at the National Archives so independent review may begin immediately. Establish Binding Definitions: Prevent concealment through terminology by formally defining key disclosure terms across the Executive Branch, including: Non-Human Intelligence (NHI) Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ET) Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) Flying Discs / Flying Saucers Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs) Technologies of Unknown Origin (TUO) Set Mandatory Timelines: Require agencies to: Locate records within fixed deadlines Complete classification review Transfer materials to the National Archives Report compliance progress publicly Establish Clear Interagency and Congressional Oversight Roles: Direct coordinated participation by DoD, IC elements, DOE, NASA, and other agencies while affirming Congress’s oversight authority under existing law. Require Transparency and Enforcement: Mandate regular public progress reports and support enforceable penalties for noncompliance established by Congress. Disclosure Requires Action — Not Just Announcement The American people are ready. Email the White House today and respectfully urge President Trump to sign a binding Executive Order implementing full UAP records disclosure.

Some legal resources on UAP Secrecy.
UAP Disclosure Act: www.congress.gov/118/crec/202...
UAPDA Summary: uapda.org/summary
UAP Secrecy: thesolfoundation.org/publications...
PEADs: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
What's needed in an exec order: newparadigminstitute.org/take-action/...
#UFOSky

Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, Feb. 20 YouTube video by Lawfare

One issue with this segment is the presumption of regularity that a finding of illegality will stop Trump from finding another illegal legal theory that'll take another 6-12 months to stop. See @petereharrell.bsky.social's 30-min breakdown on it via @lawfaremedia.org:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1DR...

The Prospect of Executive Branch Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Secrecy: The Harm to Congress and Potential Remedies Recent congressional action on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) highlights a growing concern: long-standing secrecy within the executive branch may have concealed decades of UAP knowledge…

If you want a serious, credulous, scholarly take on UAP secrecy, then check out Sol Foundation’s white paper by anthropologist Peter Skafish: “The Prospect of Executive Branch Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Secrecy: The Harm to Congress and Potential Remedies”
thesolfoundation.org/publications...

Trump said on Truth Social: “Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

I’m a big UFO nerd. This could be a giant Epstein diversion. Or we could actually get Disclosure. We’ll see what evidence the government claims to have, what data they share, if scientists get data access to peer review & independently validate, & if NDAs are lifted for whistleblowers.

Sen. Wyden Reveals What Big Tech Won't Tell You YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz

I just joined @taylorlorenz.bsky.social's Patreon.
She's doing some incredible work on Section 230.
Killing it would free speech on the Internet

Part 1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eqt...

Part 2 w/ @wyden.senate.gov
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq5X...

Her Patreon is here
www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlor...

On my podcast about XR & immersive storytelling, then I encounter about an even mix of Anti-AI artists who are critiquing it and Pro-AI technologists who are mostly credulously using it. Either way, I find myself citing Bender & Hanna in almost every convo on AI now:
voicesofvr.com/category/tec...

Also check out The AI Con by @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social, as well as The Empire of AI by @karenhao.bsky.social.

Both are excellent in deconstructing the AI Hype, and Hao connects the dots to the colonial ways of Big Tech.

My AI Con interview:
voicesofvr.com/1563-deconst...

'Hearing someone (Carney) so clearly name the truth was cathartic, and I could draw so many parallels with how this collective story can inform our personal relationships to AI, Big Tech, and impulses of surveillance capitalism towards an all-pervasive, AI Big Brother.'

I was drawing some of the exact same parallels when I listened to it. I wrote up a bit of an essay and op-ed podcast breaking it down, especially as more and more folks turn to non-US / open source alternatives to US tech that's headed towards an AI Big Brother: voicesofvr.com/1710-when-in...

Oh wow! Feels like some of the predictions I’m making in this op-ed episode and essay are quickly coming to pass. :(

voicesofvr.com/1710-when-in...

I recorded an op-ed podcast & wrote a #longread essay on the parallels between PM Carney's Davos speech in maintaining sovereignty from hegemons & how each of us will need to preserve our sovereignty from Big Tech's surveillance capitalism morphing to an AI Big Brother
voicesofvr.com/1710-when-in...

Image search results for “anti-facial recognition makeup”

There are a variety of different anti-facial recognition make-up techniques (see below), and other more stylish anti-surveillance fashion is already emerging. See:
www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-p...

It’s only a matter of time before we see a broader Glasshole 2.0 backlash to Ray-Ban Meta glasses, especially as recording light indicators are hidden & content is created without consent. The Super Bowl streaker is a pretty apt metaphor for how AI glasses will transgress our privacy boundaries.

This is an incredible recap of Internet history & how Section 230 protects free speech. Authoritarians & surveillance capitalists are destroying it to entrench their power, & they’ll introduce government censorship, all accounts tied to IDs, & a dystopian AI Big Brother hellscape. Taylor nails it 🎯

I woke up to Qs about this—I can’t talk about it, sorry! Thank you Ian for mentioning my work, I am deeply appreciative of it!

@ianhamilton.net just finished your interview with @kentbye.com, really great discussion of the current environment, and when it comes to upload, it's kind of depressing but i admire your journalistic ethics and i hope to keep reading your writing elsewhere.