Also thinking the others mimic Epstein’s style as flattery, a way to ingratiate themselves.

Everyone should read this to understand the stakes of privileging aesthetics over design in government.

Southern Ocean current reverses for first time, signalling risk of climate system collapse A major ocean current in the Southern Hemisphere has reversed direction for the first time in recorded history, in what climatologists are calling a ...

“The stunning reversal of ocean circulation in the Southern Hemisphere confirms the global climate system has entered a catastrophic phase>'

This is very very bad news: www.intellinews.com/southern-oce...

Touchstone for these times — “In the Who Cares Era,” the most radical thing you can do is care.”

> @cnbc.com

This 💯

I wish I could heart your comment a million times!

Good thread - a world in which AI “answers” are understood as the end of human enquiry is an abdication of enquiry itself. I also very much like this phrase — “profanity against social good”.

Amazing thread if you want to understand why rewriting SSA code in a few months is a virtual impossibility.

This idea is astonishing in its hubris.

More than 10 million on various income based plans. studentaid.gov/sites/defaul...

Looking for a U.S. apt after living in Vienna for 5 yrs. All bowling alleys with no breeze, bathrooms + bedrooms w/o windows, no privacy, no outdoor space, located on high traffic streets I’m afraid to cross. It makes me cry every time I step into one of these so-called homes.

This is so short sighted and shows they have spent zero time understanding the SSA audience. People who’ve had a stroke may not be able to type effectively ( like my elderly parent). This will fail miserably bc they likely will not build a human escalation path where you can talk to a real person.

Very cool!

If trading cards for Congresspeople existed, I would totally trade for @smith.senate.gov.

My head is exploding. Many employees have already submitted bullet points. Now they learn their bullet points will be subject to arbitrary criteria applied by a mystery LLM nobody can check or confirm. Hope this gets included in the CA lawsuit.

A lot of things are problems right now. But this is the biggest problem you can have in a democracy. It is exactly the statement uttered by all autocrats right before everything falls apart, by which I mean taken apart piece by piece.

tbc I'm not suggesting Mark Cuban is a narcissist or resentful. I just think it's challenging to talk about LLMs when many of us see them as tools designed specifically for mimicry (which degrades expertise). I might have more thoughts about this later...

The Death of Government Expertise Why Trump and Musk are on a firing spree

I read this The Atlantic article before I read today's dustup about LLMs. The juxtaposition between them was illuminating. Have a read. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Government Gen AI Product & Delivery Technologist in Residence at U.S. Digital Response About U.S. Digital Response U.S. Digital Response (USDR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping governments and civic institutions respond quickly and efficiently to support the...

Thanks to the support of the Knight Foundation, USDR is hiring a unique role —we are seeking someone *who has recently exited the Federal government* to lead our Generative AI portfolio. us-digital-response.breezy.hr/p/2c75788aae...

Normalize doing this!

Finding a lot of inspiration in cities doing work on housing.

Idea: When parties or individual congresspeople send emails requesting money, they should also send an itemized breakdown of where they spent last month’s donation money.

Love this desert and park so much… views of Saguaros for miles takes your breath away.

It is infuriating that “sternly worded letters” are Democrats’ only praxis. Well, that and vacuous fundraising emails.

Statement posted to the USAID website: • usaid.gov USAIDI USAID FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST). For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents' school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming. Thank you for your service.

💔 USAID
www.usaid.gov

Thank you for your service.
🫡🇺🇸

the attempted culling of career service workers has a very... Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums feel to it.

The tariffs revoked the de minimis exception for packages sent from China. Also the recent episodes on changing demographics were great!

Working on moving from Twitter to Bluesky today...

Agree. I’ve found it challenging to understand the mental model in some cases, and there’s limited info to help me make good choices. Unfortunate if this is to be a tool for a wide audience…