mastodon 4.5.19Freelance writer specializing in computers, freedom, and privacy, aka "net.wars", published every Friday at netwars.pelicancrossing.net. (#NetWars). Contributing editor, Plutopia News Network podcast. Regular visitor to the Tech Grumps podcast. Founder The Skeptic (UK). Folksinger. See https://www.pelicancrossing.net for more. also @wendyg@mastodon.xyz on Bluesky. New folk music CD 2024: The Last Trip Home, https://www.pelicancrossing.net/lasttriphome.htm. Will be live at Princeton Folk Society 2026-12-18.
This week's net.wars, "The soul in the machine", considers Richard Dawkins' expressed belief that his interactions with Anthropic's Claude show that the chatbot is conscious: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/05/08/the-soul-in-the-machine/ #NetWArs #AI
@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk I've gone off musicals over time. As a child I was lucky enough to see original productions of Camelot (julie Andrews!"), My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music on Broadway. These days...I still like the movies of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Among recnet ones the only one that stands out is The Book of Mormon.
This week's net.wars, "Long Island AI", calls the peak of AI mania: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/17/long-island-ai/ #NetWars #AI #StupidFinanceTricks
This week's net.wars, "Saving no one", finds that 3D printing is enabling puzzle-making and ponders the mess of the Information Commissioner Office's fine against Reddit: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/02/27/saving-no-one/ #NetWars #OnlineSafetyAct
This week's net.wars, "Intimacy capitalism", goes to the We Robot 2026 workshop day, and finds new things to worry about: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/04/24/intimacy-capitalism/ #NetWars #WeRobot #AI #robots
At Gathering4Gardner's YouTube channel, @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz and I talk about skepticism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktPuBFIdQDE @TheSkeptic@mas.to
