“It is a recurring mistake in modern Iranian political life — one learned painfully in the aftermath of 1979. We confuse the force that can topple a ruler with the force that can build a free society.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/o...
“I still don’t really know whether the internet as we now experience it has made it impossible for any narrative to stick with the public, and whether this, in turn, makes it impossible to tell any story that might inspire abiding dissent.”
www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
“The machinery of the regime may survive today. But the counterrevolution of yesteryear is begetting the revolution of tomorrow.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...
"Celebration and terror sit side by side." www.persuasion.community/p/fear-mourn...
"The US may achieve its immediate objectives. The more consequential question is whether it is prepared for the Iranian and regional landscape that follows." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"Often we spend so much time considering the Great Man theory of history to the detriment of the Big Tech theory of history."
This - from Nick Bryant - is one of the most thoughtful pieces I've read about this weekend's momentous world events. historyneverended.substack.com/p/a-weekend-...
Thanks a million Colm. Hope you're well
Much appreciated. So glad it landed well with you.
"We didn't really feel, with the rapid advance of AI, that it made sense for us to make unilateral commitments … if competitors are blazing ahead.” time.com/7380854/excl...
“From Q4 of 2024 to Q3 of 2025, the US Federal Reserve found that the share of wealth owned by the top 1 percent grew to 31.7 percent from 31.0”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/o...
"The source of harm is rooted in the design and incentives of the platforms. That should be the primary focus of regulation.” www.coe.int/en/web/commi...
"Agency is now the most valuable commodity in Silicon Valley. In tech interviews, it’s common for candidates to be asked whether they’re “mimetic” or “agentic.” You do not want to say mimetic."
harpers.org/archive/2026...
Nope.
"Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts" www.nature.com/articles/s41...
You had that accent and cadence down pat
“A Times editorial estimated conservatively that the Trump family has made more than $1.4 billion in documented gains by exploiting the second term of his presidency. (Others offer higher figures.)” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
Transparency and accountability are at the heart of the EU's regulation of algorithmic feeds. Time for Europe’s leaders to stand firm.
Here's why 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“When I was a larva on the early internet, and I saw things that sucked, I would think: Someone is going to fix this, and maybe it could be me.
Now when I see bad things on the internet, I’m like: This is by design”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...
It's a great new human curation community (I'm an adviser) joinspread.com/invite/K9WEng
“Bezos He bought the Post thinking that it would give him some gravitas and grace that he couldn’t get just from billions of dollars, and then the world changed. Now I don’t think he gives a flying fuck.” joinspread.com/post/a85864f...
AI and advertising you say? What could possibly go wrong?
Anthropic taking a big swing at OpenAI with a suitably creepy Super Bowl ... er ... advert
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSa...
“I heard the bastards set fire to a fireman.”
“Which bastards?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know which bastards anymore.”
If you read one thing about Iran this weekend let it be this
www.equator.org/articles/the...
“Insider trading is a core feature of the system. It’s what makes them the fastest and most accurate news source in the world” www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
Thank you to Adrian Weckler for giving me the chance to explore an alternative future in which technology is rewired for human agency.
open.spotify.com/episode/73or...
We are opening an investigation into Grok because we believe that X may have breached the DSA.
We have seen antisemitic content, non-consensual deepfakes of women, and child sexual abuse material.
In Europe, no company will make money by violating our fundamental rights.
link.europa.eu/Fh8h84
“The Gilded Age saw an eruption of scandal and corruption that accompanied and even enabled the transformation of the American economy alongside explosive changes in technology. Donald Trump’s Washington looks like the Gilded Age on steroids.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
"Within minutes of Alex Pretti being shot and killed by a federal immigration officer, the Trump administration, backed by right-wing influencers, launched a smear campaign against the victim, labeling him a “terrorist” and a “lunatic.” www.wired.com/story/the-in...
We’ve placed the available videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis today into the same synchronised timeline and are continuing to analyse further.
