- Matthew Yglesias: Academic Publishing and AI (Feb. 9, 2026)
“The pace of academic publishing and the pace of AI frontier model progress are so radically misaligned that I fear the situation is unsalvageable.” - NY Times: A.I. Personalizes the Internet but Takes Away Control (Feb. 10, 2026)
Tech firms are embedding A.I. into apps, creating a personalized internet you can’t easily control. They use chat data for targeted ads, price changes, and profit, with few opt-outs. - Simon Taylor: The SaaSpocalypse (Feb. 9, 2026)
“You’re going from a department of 10 Bobs using SaaS tools and spreadsheets, to 5 Bobs and 50 AI agents — making custom workflows that fit the problem exactly.” - WSJ: AI Fumbles Its Big Super Bowl Investment as Viewers Opt for Laughter and Tears (Feb. 9, 2026)
AI ads dominated this Super Bowl, but viewers favored nostalgic, celebrity spots like Budweiser, Dunkin’. Some AI ads drove clicks and controversy, yet simple, emotional spots won more engagement. My take: the commercials weren’t very creative or exciting this year. - Simon Willison: Introducing Showboat and Rodney (Feb. 10, 2026)
Tools for agents to demo and test their code. Showboat builds Markdown demos with commands, outputs, and images, while Rodney provides CLI browser automation. - Sinocities: China’s Data Center Boom: a view from Zhangjiakou (Nov. 17, 2025)
China’s EDWC (Eastern Data Western Compute) policy aims to align large-scale data-center buildout in energy-rich regions. Seems similar to private capital in the US building in far West Texas.