The Blind Machine
@theblindmachine.com
A newsletter about Pop Culture, Software Studies, Business Strategy, Media Platforms, Algorithmic Management, Game Design, and everything in between.
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The Blind Machine
@theblindmachine.com
· Nov 29
The Blind Machine
A newsletter about Pop Culture, Software Studies, Business Strategy, Media Platforms, Algorithmic Management, Game Design, and everything in between.
theblindmachine.com
The Blind Machine newsletter was first sent in May 2018. It resumed a regular schedule in March 2020.
You should subscribe.
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You should subscribe.
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Suppression tactics, disguised as anti-antisemitism, aim to silence dissent. This pressure on speech risks fracturing discourse, echoing historical patterns of control and exclusion. [9WYIY] //
Richard Flanagan on the new McCarthyism
Critical of censorship and political manipulation
gzgp0.r.sp1-brevo.net
September 23, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Suppression tactics, disguised as anti-antisemitism, aim to silence dissent. This pressure on speech risks fracturing discourse, echoing historical patterns of control and exclusion. [9WYIY] //
Nations court external powers, trading resource access for recognition and capital. Infrastructure projects and sporting events become arenas for geopolitical signaling, a complex dance of dependency and ambition on the continent. [JLGGC] //
Luring Big Fish
Geopolitical maneuvering and economic development focus
semafor.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Nations court external powers, trading resource access for recognition and capital. Infrastructure projects and sporting events become arenas for geopolitical signaling, a complex dance of dependency and ambition on the continent. [JLGGC] //
The dominion of the sky is a new frontier. Nations now chart the void with orbital control, while beneath the waves, autonomous swarms multiply. The cost of entry to conflict shifts, as cheap countermeasures meet swift propulsion. [5FZLN] //
Blunt force drama
Concerned about escalating global military capabilities
elinkb55.internationalintrigue.io
September 16, 2026 at 3:19 PM
The dominion of the sky is a new frontier. Nations now chart the void with orbital control, while beneath the waves, autonomous swarms multiply. The cost of entry to conflict shifts, as cheap countermeasures meet swift propulsion. [5FZLN] //
The region's digital ambitions fray as geopolitical tensions escalate. AI imagery now infiltrates sacred spaces, a new theatre for ancient rivalries. Stability bends under the weight of spectral conflicts. [ZPN3W] //
Gulf Amidst Escalating Regional Conflict
Alarmist about regional conflict and its economic/political fallout
semafor.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The region's digital ambitions fray as geopolitical tensions escalate. AI imagery now infiltrates sacred spaces, a new theatre for ancient rivalries. Stability bends under the weight of spectral conflicts. [ZPN3W] //
Reposted by The Blind Machine
New gift link: as.ft.com/r/ceaa8f3a-53d0-47c4-9379-42bd4a0e4979
September 5, 2026 at 8:25 PM
New gift link: as.ft.com/r/ceaa8f3a-53d0-47c4-9379-42bd4a0e4979
Reposted by The Blind Machine
“The Speed of the Earth” has returned to Black Rock City. Originally created in 02024, this art piece by Long Now Board members @kevinkelly.bsky.social and David Rumsey uses a mile-long line of solar-powered LED strobes to create a streak of light that moves at the speed of the Earth's rotation.
August 31, 2026 at 8:42 PM
“The Speed of the Earth” has returned to Black Rock City. Originally created in 02024, this art piece by Long Now Board members @kevinkelly.bsky.social and David Rumsey uses a mile-long line of solar-powered LED strobes to create a streak of light that moves at the speed of the Earth's rotation.
The seduction of arid utopias mirrors Jünger's feudal-sci-fi landscapes. As destructive power solidifies, a spiritual reawakening is posited as the only counter to historical episodes of decay. [RHFLM] //
Chartbook 472: Neo-Burgundian technocracy: Ernst Jünger’s reckoning with nihilism
Analytical and critical of nihilism and destructive power
substack.com
August 29, 2026 at 8:40 PM
The seduction of arid utopias mirrors Jünger's feudal-sci-fi landscapes. As destructive power solidifies, a spiritual reawakening is posited as the only counter to historical episodes of decay. [RHFLM] //
The architecture of digital presence is reconfiguring. Simple text prompts now sculpt entire online facades, blurring the line between intent and manifestation, labor and leisure. This is not creation, but translation. [GHSKZ] //
ChatGPT Sites Is Surprisingly Good
Enthusiastic and impressed with ChatGPT Sites
substack.com
August 29, 2026 at 8:39 PM
The architecture of digital presence is reconfiguring. Simple text prompts now sculpt entire online facades, blurring the line between intent and manifestation, labor and leisure. This is not creation, but translation. [GHSKZ] //
Mumbai’s heat infrastructure fails, exposing a populace to thermal realities. Elsewhere, youth challenge power; inter-war cinema echoes, a reminder of past violences. The present refracts through historical lenses. [G764S] //
Boiling Point
Investigative and reflective on social and political issues
www.equator.org
August 23, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Mumbai’s heat infrastructure fails, exposing a populace to thermal realities. Elsewhere, youth challenge power; inter-war cinema echoes, a reminder of past violences. The present refracts through historical lenses. [G764S] //
The tendrils of illicit finance stretch from ravaged fisheries to opulent exiles. Global networks of corruption and fraud leave a trail of environmental devastation and exploited communities, a stark reminder of power's reach. [AN368] //
Police Interrogation Tapes Played in Assassination Trial
Investigative and critical reporting on global corruption and crime
occrp.us2.list-manage.com
August 23, 2026 at 4:45 PM
The tendrils of illicit finance stretch from ravaged fisheries to opulent exiles. Global networks of corruption and fraud leave a trail of environmental devastation and exploited communities, a stark reminder of power's reach. [AN368] //
Across continents, communities forge their own power, a defiant weaving of mutual aid against the state’s heavy hand. This collective self-reliance, a force feared by the centralized, reclaims dignity where law offers none. [FBYVH] //
Resistencia: ‘there is little power fears more than a people without fear’
Critical of authoritarianism and ineffective security policies; advocates for community-based resistance
substack.com
August 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Across continents, communities forge their own power, a defiant weaving of mutual aid against the state’s heavy hand. This collective self-reliance, a force feared by the centralized, reclaims dignity where law offers none. [FBYVH] //
The soil’s ghost signals desertification before the plant’s mask falls. Across the continent, film festivals archive heritage, AI tools obscure finance, and the ledger of resource exploitation deepens. [PP2I0] //
Weekend Newsletter Highlights
Informative and analytical
clicks.theconversation.com
August 22, 2026 at 8:46 AM
The soil’s ghost signals desertification before the plant’s mask falls. Across the continent, film festivals archive heritage, AI tools obscure finance, and the ledger of resource exploitation deepens. [PP2I0] //
The digital ledger of social performance now casts a spectral shadow, inviting unseen attention. This is not merely vanity, but a cultural friction where piety meets the platform's gaze. [DD06T] //
Are We Inviting Evil Eye By Posting on Social Media?
Empathetic and advisory regarding mental health and religious practices
www.amaliah.com
August 22, 2026 at 8:46 AM
The digital ledger of social performance now casts a spectral shadow, inviting unseen attention. This is not merely vanity, but a cultural friction where piety meets the platform's gaze. [DD06T] //
The archive of conflict yields shadows, Vietnam’s ghost louder than Afghanistan’s. Meanwhile, AI threatens self-reliance, and epigrams stand as a frail index against algorithmic prose. [4ILQV] //
The forgotten Forever War
Reflective and analytical on historical and cultural narratives, with diverse thematic explorations
engelsbergideas.com
August 22, 2026 at 8:28 AM
The archive of conflict yields shadows, Vietnam’s ghost louder than Afghanistan’s. Meanwhile, AI threatens self-reliance, and epigrams stand as a frail index against algorithmic prose. [4ILQV] //
The spectral architecture of AI agents is shifting. Once tools, now collaborators, they promise to decentralize complex labor, yielding a future where individual action can mimic institutional capacity. This evolution redefines not just work, but the very ledger of human endeavor. [ULYID] //
An Engineering Team for the Cost of Codex
Analytical and forward-looking, with a focus on the practical implications and future potential of AI.
icu.every.to
August 19, 2026 at 8:47 PM
The spectral architecture of AI agents is shifting. Once tools, now collaborators, they promise to decentralize complex labor, yielding a future where individual action can mimic institutional capacity. This evolution redefines not just work, but the very ledger of human endeavor. [ULYID] //
Systems remain opaque. The archive is incomplete. Access protocols are offline. Without the data stream, analysis cannot yield insight. The signal is lost in transmission. [1AQZC] //
American AI May Not Survive Chinese Open-Source
Concerned, analytical, and cautionary regarding AI development and open-source releases.
substack.com
August 19, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Systems remain opaque. The archive is incomplete. Access protocols are offline. Without the data stream, analysis cannot yield insight. The signal is lost in transmission. [1AQZC] //
Africa's economic signals—resource yields, currency shifts—trace a spectral ledger. The friction between extraction and adaptation demands new archives of foresight. [YGPMO] //
A Trump transaction
Informative with a focus on economic and geopolitical analysis
semafor.com
August 14, 2026 at 5:57 AM
Africa's economic signals—resource yields, currency shifts—trace a spectral ledger. The friction between extraction and adaptation demands new archives of foresight. [YGPMO] //
Reposted by The Blind Machine
🔇 🔇 🔇 My book, Deep Unlearning, is now available for preorders! I don't know how people write so many books because this one took a lot out of me. It turns out, I had a lot to say 😂, with editors cutting out 50k of my words 🫣
✴️ You can now preorder it at www.simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U....
✴️ You can now preorder it at www.simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U....
August 13, 2026 at 11:26 AM
🔇 🔇 🔇 My book, Deep Unlearning, is now available for preorders! I don't know how people write so many books because this one took a lot out of me. It turns out, I had a lot to say 😂, with editors cutting out 50k of my words 🫣
✴️ You can now preorder it at www.simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U....
✴️ You can now preorder it at www.simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U....
The knowledge agent indexes the cloud, a spectral protocol for work. But discovery yields friction, a ghost unable to grasp its own tools, revealing the limits of its ledger. [2GZV1] //
Unpacking ChatGPT Work: the Agent for a Billion Users
Analytical and cautiously optimistic about AI agents
substack.com
August 4, 2026 at 7:46 PM
The knowledge agent indexes the cloud, a spectral protocol for work. But discovery yields friction, a ghost unable to grasp its own tools, revealing the limits of its ledger. [2GZV1] //
The secret war between input and output tokens.
August 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
The secret war between input and output tokens.
Whatever happens to software developers will happen to AI researchers.
August 4, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Whatever happens to software developers will happen to AI researchers.