1. Am I a Tech Bro?

Find out by answering these 18 questions.

2. VSCodium

This community-driven Free/Libre Open Source version of VSCode is free from the telemetry and AI cruft of Microsoft’s version.

3. The problem with AI is shitty human beings

I think this sanitized ethical, societal and political myopia is where a lot of the “I’m not allowed to talk about AI” blowback originates. You will start to notice a certain thematic consistency among the most bullish AI advocates: a hyper-personalized fixation on personal productivity gains to the occlusion of all else. Including factual reality, ethics, and foundational empathy.

…

Similarly, you'll find there's frequently little acknowledgement that some of the productivity gains from AI appear to be illusory.

56% of CEOs questioned in a recent PwC survey stated that AI hasn't produced revenue or cost benefits for their businesses to date. One recent Stanford study found that a greater prevalence of AI-generated slop has, in reality, made a lot of peoples' jobs harder because they now have to waste a lot of time sorting through mountains of useless cack generated by shortcut-seeking coworkers who believe they've revolutionized their workflow, dude.

Over half of CEOs haven’t seen revenue or cost benefits, yet it’s hard to find companies that don’t seem low-key obsessed with flogging AI “features”.

4. LinkedIn is illegally searching your computer

This seems bad:

The malicious JavaScript that Microsoft secretly injects into the LinkedIn website searches each user’s browser for installed software applications.

The search reveals:

• Political opinions of users, through extensions like “Anti-woke,” “Anti-Zionist Tag,” and “No more Musk”
• Religious beliefs, through extensions like “PordaAI” (blur haram content) and “Deen Shield” (blocks haram sites)
• Disability and neurodivergence, through extensions like “simplify” (for neurodivergent users)
• Employment status, through 509 job search extensions that reveal who is looking for work on the very platform where their current employer can see their profile
• Trade secrets of millions of companies, by mapping which organizations use which competitor products, from Apollo to ZoomInfo

LinkedIn has not disclosed this practice in its privacy policy. There is no mention of extension scanning in any public-facing document.

5. I quit. The clankers won.

From a purely selfish perspective it’s never been easier to stand out and assert yourself as an authority. When everyone is deferring to the big bullshitter in the cloud your original thoughts are invaluable. Your brain is your biggest asset. Share it with others for mutual benefit.

What am I up to?

• I published the first of my design process interviews, with Joshua Galinato a few weeks ago. More soon!
• My next available Unoffice Hour slot is 29 April
• I have limited availability for new projects from May.

If you enjoy discovering the links in the emails, please tell other people about it: give it a share or forward it to someone you think might like it. If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here.

If you come across a link/app you think might be of interest to other people on this list, hit reply and let me know.

Until next time,

Dave

This email doesn’t track you.

You’re receiving this email because you subscribed at davesmyth.com. If you would prefer not to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe.