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
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Wendy M. Grossman
@wendyg@mastodon.xyz
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.
1838 Followers
585 Following
30 Posts
Joined March 10, 2019
Profession:
freelance writer
Based:
London, UK (but American)
Interests:
Computers, freedom, and privacy
Website:
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It seems the explanation is that the hotel was created by a couple of friends, and it has been playing The Big Lebowski continuously since it opened, 17 years ago.
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@dgoldsmith@mastodon.social Possibly John Jonik, who Wikipedia says is a cartoonist living in Philadelphia? Now confirrmed. He drew this in 2005.
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@drdrmc@mastodon.me.uk @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk Also don't sit next to the woman next to me who texted during the first act and told me it was because she had small children at home and had to stay in touch. I did not say, "Somehow *we* lived to grow up...."
@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
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@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org @quinn@social.circl.lu And he didn't shoot the computer with it?
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@cstross@wandering.shop People tend to equate "easy" with "familiar". Creates a lot of inertia.
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
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@bellinghman@wandering.shop @cybergibbons@infosec.exchange I wasn't sure from that angle, but you're probably right.
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@cstross@wandering.shop As against that, a lot of people now "read" by listening to audio books. Do you adapt for this at all?
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@kaioviski@fosstodon.org @paulox@fosstodon.org @standardebooks@mastodon.social It probably varies by title. The last things I looked for on Gutenberg had multiple formats available, including ebooks. It's really a wonderful resource - benefits from how long it's been operating.
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@bellinghman@wandering.shop Ha! Sometimes people tell me they've been to my house and I don't remember and they're probably right. Glad that's not the case this time.
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@cybergibbons@infosec.exchange Yep. They know when garbage night is, too. Smart critters. (At least in the Richmond I'm in. Not sure where you are.)
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
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@paulox@fosstodon.org @standardebooks@mastodon.social Isn't this what Project Gutenberg already does?
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@bellinghman@wandering.shop @cybergibbons@infosec.exchange I've figured out the angle now. I remember neither the meeting nor what ACCU is!
This week's net.wars, "Change of plan" notes the abandonment of the world's largest data center-in-waiting, the tale of the Waymo and two 15-year-old boys, and the I-can't-believe-it's-still-alive 2003 case of SCO v. IBM: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2026/07/10/change-of-plan/ #NetWars
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@pethil@mastodon.social It was silent in the halls but of course you could turn up the volume on the in-room channel.