Jan Lehnardt 

“Nobody asked for NFTs or the fucking Metaverse. Nobody asked for lying chatbots instead of getting to reach an actual support person that could solve your problems.”

And:“…people are challenging the notion that we all have to do AI now. Because we don’t. It’s a choice. A choice that mostly benefits monopolists.”

— @tante in https://tante.cc/2025/01/28/quoted-in-ars-technicas-article-on-tarpits-for-ai-crawlers/

Quoted in Ars Technica's article on tarpits for AI crawlers

I am quoted at length in a new article on Ars Technica (a website I have been reading for years and years) on an in-depth article on tarpits for AI crawlers. But people who know my MO will already guess that even being quoted at length is only the tip of the iceberg and Ashley […]

Smashing Frames
Jan 29, 2025 at 9:44amWeb
Show threadMarijke LuttekesJan 29, 2025
@janl @tante A-fcking-men.
Show threadMark HarrisJan 29, 2025
@janl @tante To be honest, I was asking for the metaverse the first time I read Snow Crash. I think Neal should have sued Zuck for copyright infringment to advertise a substandard product.
Show threadJan Lehnardt Jan 29, 2025
@nzlemming @tante I’m okay with not relitigating 2023.
Show threadmathewJan 29, 2025
@nzlemming @janl @tante Second Life still exists. Sony had their own version that they shut down due to lack of interest. I didn't hear any good argument for why Zuck's one would be more compelling.
Show threadFrank Bennett 🇯🇵Jan 29, 2025
@janl @tante Okay. Okay. How about autonomous flying cars?
Show threadincommunicadoJan 29, 2025
@janl @tante but in the same way the industry makes people believe they really REALLY need that 3 ton SUV to buy some groceries at the store…in the exact same way they will make us believe we need this sh*t AI stuff. Let’s wait for the “demand engineers” in marketing to come up with some ridiculous ideas.
Show threadBrokarJan 29, 2025

@janl @tante

Saying that for years. AI and all the other stuff is a 'nice to have', not a 'must have'.

Anyone still remembers "there's no way around blockchain"? Where are they? Sactly.

Show threadDieuJan 29, 2025

@janl @tante "But efforts to poison AI or waste AI resources don't just mess with the tech industry. Governments globally are seeking to leverage AI to solve societal problems, and attacks on AI's resilience seemingly threaten to disrupt that progress."

"Progress" is a curious spelling for "pipe dream".

Show threadbewitchedmindJan 29, 2025
@janl Which goes to show how those techbros think about consent in general. @tante
Show threadRaysOfRedJan 29, 2025
@janl @tante The Metaverse is the funniest one because we already had “Metaverses.” Habbo Hotel was the real Metaverse.
Show threadWillow 🏳️‍⚧️🏴🇵🇸Jan 29, 2025
@janl @tante i would like to know why the f asked for this.
Show threadWilliam B PeckhamJan 29, 2025
@janl @tante I keep telling people it is not AI, it is BG. (BS Generators with lots of advertising). And I don't see why it's exciting that China can work faster and cheaper using the same data to get the same wrong answers.