If you're here, I likely don't need to rehash the entire melodrama that WordPress has entered since Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg declared "war" on WPEngine. But the most recent events (as of this writing) involve some rather drastic moves by Mullenweg that signal disengagement with the WordPress project.
That's a scary situation, if you're a WordPress user.
The year is 2025 (or it's about to be). That's a fake year. That's a year that should only exist on moonbases and undersea colonies. Frankly it's offensive that it's 2025 and the only science fiction dream that came true was a plutocracy killing the planet.
Oh, and hacking is a job you can have.
Well, maybe.
In Part 1, we discussed the broad debate around the nature of Bluesky as it relates to openness, independence, and safety. But here's the thing: only dorks like me (and I guess you, if you read it) care about those aspects of social media. We may think, or wish, users cared more, but that isn't the state of play. Those Big Ideas are not the primary concern for social media users. They just want an enjoyable, informative experience surrounded by people they like.
What is the value of a social network? What is the value of a decentralized social network? And why is it that for some, the only acceptable and moral kind of technology is the kind nobody can own?
I'm just a teacher. I'm no political expert; I have no special understanding of voter motivations, policy implications, procedural levers, or anything else you want an expert on right now. I'm just a teacher, but I've taught in the mad era of normalized school shootings.
Seems to me, there's an armed madman in the building.
When I was about nine, I saw the way-underrated movie "Explorers," starring a very young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix (!) for the first time. The movie involves creating a spaceship out of a very hacked-together Apple computer and a Tilt-A-Whirl.
There's nothing a user interface designer loathes more than complexity. Every design—at least, every modern design—seeks to minimize clicks, icons, visual noise. What if instead of a button, we had a borderless icon? What if instead of navigation controls, we used gestures?
And what if—hear me out—instead of search results, we had language model-distilled text delivered to you, hot and fresh?
Count me among those who are alarmed about the implications of "AI," such as it is. But I am not among those who worry about machines taking over. I see no signs of intelligence—either from the large language models being hyped right now, or from those doing the hyping. My concern around this technology is more mundane than apocalypse, but more profound than simple economic impact.
I'm terrified we're about to lose the war for truth.