Marshall Mayer

@AuthenticPhoto
78 Followers
134 Following
228 Posts
I take notes with a camera. Besides my authentic photography (see https://take-note.com/about), I'm also interested in promoting the work of other "first-person" photographers, and protecting all authentic photography (analog or digital) from generative AI. And smashing neofascist capitalism. When I’m home, I’m in Montana. #Authentic #Photography #Solidarity #DemocraticSocialism
Who I AmAuthentic Photographer
What I DoFight Fascism
About My Photographyhttps://take-note.com/about
About Mehttps://take-note.com/note-takers/marshall--mayer/resume-folder/resume
Show threadMarshall Mayer4d ago
@thenewsdesk @technology-thenewsdesk At least it does not conjure a sphincter.
Marshall Mayer4d ago
It's working, almost. Trump is relentless (as well as corrupt and demented). Contracts are being let to build the wall near and/or in Big Bend. See https://bigbendsentinel.com/2026/03/25/border-landowners-to-gov-abbott-we-deserve-to-be-heard/
Border landowners to Gov. Abbott: ‘We deserve to be heard’

Border landowners are rallying behind a demand for Gov. Greg Abbott to convene meetings between them and federal officials for more dialogue and details on the proposed border wall and other security infrastructure. “Abbott needs to step up and deliver these meetings,” said Charlie Angell, who runs a river guide and park expedition company out […]

Big Bend Sentinel
Show threadMarshall MayerMay 23
@thenewsdesk @technology-thenewsdesk Replace 'clueless' with 'rich' and you avoid the fascist trap of pitting the rest of us against each other. The rich are the real problem.
Marshall MayerMay 22

This is all well and good (the opening paragraphs are spot on), but insufficient. The AI companies will NEVER allow this kind of public intervention (as capitalists whose only measure is much more money, they won’t do it on their own).

And one political party (in the US at least) is completely owned by AI, the other party is actively courting it.

Only the rich will end up using AI to cement their privileged position, the working class be damned. Unless we organize.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/05/1136843/ai-democracy-blueprint/

A blueprint for using AI to strengthen democracy

AI is changing what it means to be a democratic citizen. Here’s how we can harness it for good.

MIT Technology Review
Marshall MayerMay 21

“You all have AI—actual intelligence,” Wozniak said, eliciting applause from the Michigan audience. “My entire life in the technical world, I’ve been following people who were trying to figure out how to make a brain.

“I was at a company where the engineers figured out how to make a brain,” he continued, saying it “takes nine months.”—Steve Wozniak

https://www.fastcompany.com/91545731/this-sentence-about-ai-got-apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-applause-not-boos-for-his-commencement-speech

This sentence about AI got Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak applause—not boos—for his commencement speech

New grads keep booing speakers for their comments on AI. But Wozniak told them something they actually wanted to hear.

Fast Company
Marshall MayerMay 19

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116602694526388591

Do you trust Google to do the right thing? I wouldn't bet on it.

Show threadMarshall MayerMay 18
@wearenew_public It is a compelling deck but it’s not clear how the AI would be developed and governed.
Marshall MayerMay 13

This framing breaks the neoliberalism/neofascism duopoly:

https://prospect.org/2026/05/12/mamdani-announces-balanced-budget-without-cuts/

As Faiz Shakir noted on All In with Chris Hayes tonight, it's working class populism.

I'm all for voting for a Democrat, and even actively working to elect a candidate, as long as that candidate if sharpening the class contradictions in the party. Otherwise, they are wasting our limited time.

Mamdani Announces Balanced Budget Without Cuts

Buoyed by billions in assistance from the state, real talk about what it takes to run New York City, and some taxes on the rich, the mayor closed a historic leftover budget deficit.

The American Prospect
Marshall MayerMay 11

“Dia de la Madre honors the nurturing of all humanity.”

This mother and her son look over the valley in rural Oregon where they make their home. Contrary to our recent history, it’s unclear if they have a future anywhere in America.

#mothersday #immigration #authenticphoto #farmworkers

Marshall MayerMay 4

Fred Ritchin, who has written about the effects on technology on photography for years, catalogues some truly dystopic scenarios about how Google's Gemini can be used to distort our understanding of and relationship to the real world.

But Fred, perceptive as he is, does not offer any strategy to obviate what he foresees. That's a shortcoming that I tried to address at https://take-note.com/note-takers/marshall--mayer/related-content/apple-protect-authentic-photography (Tim Cook did not reply). And Apple is relying on Gemini for its AI. OMG!

https://fredritchin.substack.com/p/your-ai-knows-you-or-does-it

Apple: Protect Authentic Photography — take-note.com

This is a letter sent to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., on June 10, 2024, when he announced plans to include generative AI functionality in Apple's Photos app at the World Wide Developers Conference.