Cory DoctorowToday's threads (a thread)
Inside: Semantic drift versus ethical drift; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/14/pole-star/
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Support me this summer in the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop! This summer, I'm writing "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux that explains how to be an effective AI critic:
https://clarionwriteathon.com/members/profile.php?writerid=293388
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Clarion Write-a-Thon | Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER; his next nonfiction book is CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, with Rebecca Giblin, about monopoly and fairness in the creative arts labor market, (Beacon Press, 2022). In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Semantic drift versus ethical drift: Locking things open vs locking in freedom.
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/114851733343150073
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Hey look at this
* Who Goes MAGA? https://www.techdirt.com/2025/07/08/who-goes-maga/
* Using Signal groups for activism https://micahflee.com/using-signal-groups-for-activism/ (h/t Bruce Schneier)
* What To Do When You See ICE in Your Neighborhood https://theintercept.com/2025/07/12/ice-neighborhood-watch-la/
* Fintech Dystopia https://fintechdystopia.com/
* Wet Leg: Moisturizer https://wetleg.bandcamp.com/album/moisturizer
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#15yrsago New York Times and other papers use deceptive death-notice company https://idlewords.com/2010/07/the_great_legacy.com_swindle.htm
#15yrsago Riepl’s Law: how future media compost the past https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riepl's_law
#15yrsago Online video patents: an impassable thicket? https://web.archive.org/web/20100706012619/https://oti.newamerica.net/blogposts/2010/video_prison_why_patents_might_threaten_free_online_video-33950
#15yrsago Canadian copyright astroturfers own up: front for US labels https://web.archive.org/web/20100705133038/http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5164/125/
#10yrsago Fracketeering: Life in a capitalist sci-fi horror story https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jun/30/fracketeering-capitalism-power-hosing-estate-agents-cakeage
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#10yrsago How the NSA searches the world’s intercepted private communications https://theintercept.com/2015/07/01/nsas-google-worlds-private-communications/
#10yrsago Judge hires lawyer to threaten court over jury summons https://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/07/some-judges-show-some-dont.html
#10yrsago The next Librarian of Congress: a Librarian of Progress? https://librarianofprogress.com/
#10yrsago 1930s ice-cream parlour hidden in Cincinnati’s art deco railway station https://thoughtandsight.com/the-1930s-ice-cream-parlor-tucked-away-in-cincinnatis-union-terminal/
#5yrsago 1000+ accidental trigger-phrases for smart speakers https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#triggered
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#5yrsago Hong Kong law threatens people all over the world https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#be-water
#5yrsago A grifter's border wall is about to fall into the Rio Grande https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#god-hates-walls
#5yrsago Roller derby's brilliant re-opening plan https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#derby
#5yrsago Don't Believe Proven Liars https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#big-lie
#5yrsago Unauthorized seat https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#beemers
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July 3's threads: Trump's not gonna protect workers from forced labor; and more!
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/114788657920212514
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My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels
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My next nonfiction book is "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," out from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 7:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
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My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."
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Upcoming appearances:
* Virtual: ORG at 20: in conversation with Maria Farrell, Jul 16
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/events/org-at-20-cory-doctorow-in-conversation-with-maria-farrell/
* #DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, Oct 8
https://politics-prose.com/cory-doctorow-10825
* #SanFrancisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25
* #NewOrleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12, 2025
http://www.contraflowscifi.org/
* #SanFrancisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25
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Recent appearances:
* Why aren't we controlling our own tech? (Co-Op Congress)
https://www.youtube.com/live/GLrDwHgeCy4?si=NUWxPphk0FS_3g9J&t=4409
* If We Had a Choice, Would We Invent Social Media Again? (The Agenda/TVO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJw38uIcmEw
* Forward Kentucky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpMxBBMBkZs
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Support me this summer in the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop! This summer, I'm writing "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux that explains how to be an effective AI critic:
https://clarionwriteathon.com/members/profile.php?writerid=293388
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Clarion Write-a-Thon | Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a standalone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER; his next nonfiction book is CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, with Rebecca Giblin, about monopoly and fairness in the creative arts labor market, (Beacon Press, 2022). In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
WulfyHow to be an effective AI critic.
Step one, stop learning about #AI !
Freeze you knowledge around February 2024.
Ygor@pluralistic I ran a poll on that a couple of months go. Don't know if I worded it well enough, and it's not a huge sample size, but it's there for what it's worth.
Debby@pluralistic
Happy Bastille Day. 🇫🇷
Happy Bastille Day. 🇫🇷
Sunshine and Wind@pluralistic I like the post. I just wanted to point out the similarity between your last paragraph where you write "we still lack a word to express what we're for." with this paper from Orwell https://orwellfoundation.com/george-orwell/by-orwell/essays/can-socialists-be-happy/ . We know what's wrong with the current state, eg anti-this and anti-that, but defining (and Naming) the future state is hard.