A few days ago, I attended a debate featuring experts delving into the emerging threat of “Techno-Fascism” and how the manipulation of big data can sway elections and public opinion. I went in hoping to gain fresh insights into possible alternatives to this looming issue. However, about two-thirds of the event felt like preaching to the choir - lots of analysis, but not much in the way of actionable solutions.

It was assumed the audience was already familiar with current events (Quote: “I hope that I don’t have to remind you here in Berlin about the historic connections between capitalism and fascism, between technology and Nazism. I hope you know very well the connections between Henry Ford and IBM on the one hand and Nazism and Holocaust on the other hand”), and much of the discussion reiterated known analyses. In my perception, this sidestepped the hard question: “OK, what are we doing now?”

As of right now, I have way too many browser tabs open. In all this chaos, it’s highly likely that some of them have become irrelevant—maybe the content is gone, the topic is out of date, or I simply forgot why I had it open in the first place. So I decided to occasionally collect a few snippets here and add some thoughts from the tabs I found interesting over the last few weeks.

The days around New Year’s Eve are usually a time for me to review the past year and reflect on things. Last year, I tried something different - an experiment, really - where I journaled everything I did for a whole year. To my surprise, I was astonished to see that I reached more goals than I thought (though, of course, there were plenty I missed as well). Journaling helped me focus on new goals and resolutions, and also to re-evaluate some things along the way.

The first half of the year is almost over, and so far it’s been a busy one for me. It’s still a bit difficult to find the time and energy to post regularly, but I’m eager to keep trying. So I want to use the Pentecost break to look back and forward - reflect on where I want to go, and evaluate some changes I’d like to try, like new formats, platforms, or content.

The last few days, I’ve had a lot of discussions about AI image generators and art. With tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion, you can create images from just a short description and some parameters - though I think “AI” is a misleading term here. These algorithms aren’t intelligent or sentient; they’re more like remix generators, fed with existing knowledge (the training data). Since the beginning of the month, I’ve had a Midjourney subscription to test one of the generators. I’ve used it often to get a feel for the process and its potential. The surreal images and the open, social nature of Midjourney are really interesting and feel unique, but after a while, I’m not sure what to think about these image generators if I want to have a sophisticated opinion. One thing is for sure: they are a gamechanger.