Bob Shields (he/him)
@bobcatshields.bsky.social
Keeping calm and carrying on.
"Be mindful of those around you." How? Throw my watch in a lake?
Apple quietly dropped a ton of detail about the Apple Watch’s new always-on don’t-call-it-transcription feature and it is FASCINATING. support.apple.com/en-us/148354
September 9, 2026 at 7:47 PM
"Be mindful of those around you." How? Throw my watch in a lake?
Really Apple? You're reusing the names of failed Microsoft Surface devices (Neo and Duo)? Why is everyone who works at a big tech company an unimaginative hack?
This thing should obviously be called the BiPhone.
This thing should obviously be called the BiPhone.
September 9, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Really Apple? You're reusing the names of failed Microsoft Surface devices (Neo and Duo)? Why is everyone who works at a big tech company an unimaginative hack?
This thing should obviously be called the BiPhone.
This thing should obviously be called the BiPhone.
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.
September 7, 2026 at 10:33 PM
"people are anthropomorphizing LLMs because they are so astonishingly good at processing human thought and language" people will anthropomorphize a chair if you put the stitches in the right place.
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
found this in the top posts and it succeeds in being very funny while also inducing a borderline homicidal rage
September 4, 2026 at 4:53 AM
found this in the top posts and it succeeds in being very funny while also inducing a borderline homicidal rage
Apparently I talk like I’m from Portland. mydialect.us/quiz-standar...
September 4, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Apparently I talk like I’m from Portland. mydialect.us/quiz-standar...
What if the AI insurance agent sees how recklessly I drive in GTA? Or how much I enjoy the rock music that’s corrupting our youth?
August 26, 2026 at 2:05 AM
What if the AI insurance agent sees how recklessly I drive in GTA? Or how much I enjoy the rock music that’s corrupting our youth?
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
I know you're not allowed to say this during the current debate, but the reason the left dominates academics, art, comedy, and music is that the right has stupid, discredited ideas, they're not funny, and dull resentment does not make for good art. No grand conspiracy required.
August 15, 2026 at 7:46 PM
I know you're not allowed to say this during the current debate, but the reason the left dominates academics, art, comedy, and music is that the right has stupid, discredited ideas, they're not funny, and dull resentment does not make for good art. No grand conspiracy required.
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
Word not used in this article: bioterrorism.
Um…
“For the first time, scientists have used artificial intelligence to create new kinds of viruses, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the disturbing possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens.”
Gift link:
“For the first time, scientists have used artificial intelligence to create new kinds of viruses, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the disturbing possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens.”
Gift link:
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature (Gift Article)
Scientists trained artificial intelligence on libraries of DNA and then asked the model to create recipes for viral genomes. Sixteen of them were viable, yielding new viruses.
www.nytimes.com
August 6, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Word not used in this article: bioterrorism.
I’m partial to the “who gives a fuck it’s only sport“ response.
i think a lot of well-meaning people fall into a rhetorical trap where they take the bait and argue about male vs. female performance in sports rather than arguing for the value and dignity of women’s athletics generally. don’t let yourself be dragged into a bad faith framing.
the best HS teams in the country have multiple guys who will be in the NBA in a couple of years. they aren't normal high schools, they're basketball factories. but this literally doesn't matter. the value of women's sports isn't contingent on their performance vis a vis men.
August 4, 2026 at 6:52 PM
I’m partial to the “who gives a fuck it’s only sport“ response.
Selfish people ruin everything. This was the grand finale.
July 26, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Selfish people ruin everything. This was the grand finale.
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
“Is that… good?” is quickly becoming the third Decoder question
July 10, 2026 at 1:19 PM
“Is that… good?” is quickly becoming the third Decoder question
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
Oh hell yes.
Court holds Google liable for false claims in AI Overviews. Seems significant.
"A regular search engine just points to outside websites. But AI overviews generate 'independent, new, and substantive statements' by evaluating and combining content from various third-party sites" the-decoder
"A regular search engine just points to outside websites. But AI overviews generate 'independent, new, and substantive statements' by evaluating and combining content from various third-party sites" the-decoder
Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers
A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previous limited liability protections for search engine operators don't apply to AI overviews. In this case, Google's AI had falsely linked two publishers to fraud and made claims that didn't appear in any of the linked sources. The ruling could set a precedent for AI-generated content liability worldwide.
the-decoder.com
June 11, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Oh hell yes.
Wow, I guess the guy from Halo retired and started a takeaway in England.
May 28, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Wow, I guess the guy from Halo retired and started a takeaway in England.
This rules.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed throughout this commencement speech at the University of Arizona for his praise of AI. This comes just a week after another commencement speaker who mentioned AI was booed at a school in Florida.
Read more: www.404media.co/ucf-ai-comme...
Read more: www.404media.co/ucf-ai-comme...
May 17, 2026 at 11:28 PM
This rules.
I’m just saying ladies, little cans of spray paint. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Man in smart glasses filmed me in London then told me to pay'
Alice says the video was posted on social media and viewed about 40,000 times.
www.bbc.co.uk
May 7, 2026 at 4:17 PM
I’m just saying ladies, little cans of spray paint. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How come this review doesn’t mention this thing’s appearance at all? You all see it right?
www.theverge.com/tech/908962/...
www.theverge.com/tech/908962/...
Dyson’s handheld fan is more powerful and louder than I expected
A welcome upgrade as summer brings the heat.
www.theverge.com
April 18, 2026 at 2:17 PM
How come this review doesn’t mention this thing’s appearance at all? You all see it right?
www.theverge.com/tech/908962/...
www.theverge.com/tech/908962/...
This is not that surprising considering that he was also out of his depth in a doughnut shop.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
‘Popesplaining’ Vance out of depth in argument over whether Iran is a just war
Trump administration has riled head of Catholic church over use of theology to justify conflict in Iran
www.theguardian.com
April 17, 2026 at 4:42 PM
This is not that surprising considering that he was also out of his depth in a doughnut shop.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
Incredible sequel. Edge of my seat!
April 14, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Incredible sequel. Edge of my seat!
I watched Avatar 3 last week. I've already forgotten almost all of it.
April 10, 2026 at 5:45 PM
I watched Avatar 3 last week. I've already forgotten almost all of it.
Reposted by Bob Shields (he/him)
I think "protecting minors from encrypted communications" is possibly the the most brain dead attempt to politicize privacy and surveillance that I've ever seen.
You're probably right just based on the proposed remedies of the case
March 25, 2026 at 7:38 PM
I think "protecting minors from encrypted communications" is possibly the the most brain dead attempt to politicize privacy and surveillance that I've ever seen.