Why I (Still) Boycott AI

Source: Persuasion
by Sam Kahn

“A couple of years ago, when AI had come onto the market and was clearly reshaping the society, I decided that I would have nothing to do with it—I would boycott. This decision was based partly on morals and partly on practicality—I suspected that, underneath the really impressive technological breakthrough, AI was still, essentially, a one-trick pony. And now that AI has evidently gone through another revolution, vastly improving itself in recent models and opening up a whole world of coding to the public at large, it seems like I should have to re-examine my decision to boycott—which, actually, is one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. I am more adamant about it than ever.” (03/26/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-i-still-boycott-ai

Trump Blew it on Immigration

Source: The Contrarian
by Jennifer Rubin

“No issue more defined Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns and two terms than promises surrounding illegal immigration, and no sentiment more defined the MAGA movement than vitriolic xenophobia. Getting a close look at what that means to most people seems to have repulsed Americans, thereby breaking Republicans’ grip on the issue. An enormous survey of nearly 5500 Americans (with a margin of error of only +/- 1.49%) from PRRI shows the extent of Americans’ distaste for mass deportation. Trump personally has lost the country. Overall, his approval is at a measly 36 percent (with only 28 percent from independents).” (03/26/26)

https://www.contrariannews.org/p/trump-blew-it-on-immigration

Wikipedia bans AI-generated articles

Source: The Verge

“Wikipedia will no longer allow editors to write or rewrite articles using AI. The update, which was added to Wikipedia’s guidelines late last week, cites the tendency for AI-written articles to violate ‘several of Wikipedia’s core content policies’ as the reason for the ban. The change applies to the English version of Wikipedia and will still allow editors to use AI in certain scenarios. That includes using large language models to ‘suggest basic copyedits’ to their writing, but only if it ‘does not introduce content of its own.’ Editors can also use AI to translate articles from another language’s Wikipedia into English. However, they still must follow the site’s rules on LLM-assisted translations, which require editors to have enough knowledge of the original language to confirm the accuracy of the translation.” (03/26/26)

https://www.theverge.com/tech/901461/wikipedia-ai-generated-article-ban

Does neoliberalism exist?

Source: Cobden Centre
by Anthony J Evans

“Over the last decade or so there has been a notable attempt to ‘reclaim’ neoliberalism, pushed by thinktanks and journalists. Strategically, it might make sense to jump on the bandwagon, because part of the battle of ideas is contributing to how terms are understood. Neoliberalism thus becomes a contested brand. You have your museum, we have our bright and optimistic Reddit thread. But there has also been consideration to the term from academics. The common attitude amongst pro-capitalist scholars is to dispute the validity of the concept and ignore most of the literature as being flawed and ill-intentioned.” (03/26/26)

https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/03/does-neoliberalism-exist/

Weakest case against social media succeeds, and lawyers are now circling

Source: New York Post
by Jonathan Turley

“Google once had a motto: ‘Don’t be evil’. In its reorganization in 2015, the motto was changed to ‘Do the right thing’. According to a California jury this week, neither motto stuck. In a historic verdict against both Google and Meta, a jury found that the companies maliciously designed their social media products to addict children, including the plaintiff, who was known only as Kaley or KGM. The jury heard testimony of efforts to ‘target’ young users and feed an addiction to social media and YouTube. The jury awarded Kaley $3 million in compensatory damages divided between Meta (70%) and Google (30%). It then awarded another $3 million in punitive damages. Those damages are nothing to companies worth billions. However, the verdict was like a dinner gong for plaintiffs lawyers.” (03/25/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/03/25/opinion/weakest-case-against-social-media-succeeds-and-lawyers-are-now-circling/

EU targets Snapchat over child safety

Source: SFGate

“European Union regulators are investigating Snapchat over concerns the platform isn’t doing enough to protect kids and exposing them to risks such as increased vulnerability to child predators or recruitment by criminals. The 27-nation EU’s executive Commission said Thursday it was opening a formal investigation into Snapchat under the bloc’s sweeping rule book known as the Digital Services Act that’s designed to [censor the Internet]. The European Commission said that Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 to use the platform but it suspected that the company’s ‘age assurance’ system is ‘insufficient’ at keeping them off. Regulators said the platform is also exposing teens to inappropriate content because it’s not properly checking whether a user is under 17. And they worried that age checking systems aren’t preventing adults from posing as minors.” (03/26/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/eu-targets-snapchat-over-child-safety-and-accuses-22136565.php

Black Sea: Turkey-operated tanker carrying Russian oil struck by naval drone

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“A water-borne drone struck a Turkish-operated crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul’s Bosphorus ​strait ‌on Thursday, Turkey’s transportation minister said. The incident, one of several ⁠in recent months involving Western-sanctioned vessels heading to or from Russian ports, occurred in the early hours, minister ‌Abdulkadir Uraloglu told broadcaster Kanal 24. … Other commercial tankers carrying crude oil from Russian ports have been targeted over the past year by what some experts suggest is a state-sponsored sabotage campaign using limpet mines and other explosives. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for these attacks. ” (03/26/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260326-turkey-operated-tanker-carrying-russian-oil-struck-by-naval-drone-in-black-sea