Andrew Haglund

Cristina Criddle and Hannah Murphy, at the Financial Times, via Nick Heer and Manton Reece:

[Characters generated by AI] will fill its social media platforms in the next few years … “They’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform … that’s where we see all of this going,” [Meta’s Connor Hayes] added.

Nick Heer:

Imagine how little you will see from the friends and family members you actually care about. Imagine how much slop you will be greeted with — a feed alternating between slop, suggested posts, and ads, with just enough of what you actually opened the app to see. Now consider how this will affect people who are more committed to Meta’s products, whether for economic reasons or social cohesion.

Facebook’s plan freaks me out because to so many people Facebook might as well be The Internet. They’ll just slowly boil the frog by introducing fake AI-generated users who are posting fake AI-generated content and you’ll see less of your friends and family. If you don’t think the good folks at Facebook will succeed, just replace the “AI stuff” with “ads” and you’ll see a company who has a track record of giving you less of what you want over time. People notice but don’t care enough to leave.

This idea of replacing real stuff with fake stuff reminded me of the story back in November of Spotify slowly adding AI-slop to their top playlists. Spotify will justify their actions because it saves them money (by decreasing how much they pay real artists) and they’ll be more profitable. Facebook will justify their actions by saying it’s more engaging (aka more eyeballs looking at ads). Both business models incentivize this gross behavior. So if you’re doubtful of this coming to pass, don’t be: this unwanted AI takeover will absolutely happen.

People spend so much time on these platforms and they’re just going to slowly rot to a majority of AI-slop. My concern is that the people will not revolt. They won’t vote with their feet and find a new home online. The network effects are just too strong. On a more optimistic note (it is New Years Eve, after all) my hope is that it opens the door for smaller companies like Micro.blog who believe in a people-first web. There is a small but mighty cohort of people writing and posting to their own site and following along via RSS. The problem is it’s the absolute smallest minority and I believe it should be the majority.

This was a big year of change for our family: we had our first kid in May! Wild times. 7 months later and the before times feel like a distant memory. It’s true what they say about your life changing with kids.

Gaming has mostly taken a back seat to ensure evening downtime is spent with my wife. I usually steal a few minutes in bed with the Retroid Pocket 5 to bounce between a few games like Pokémon Emerald Seaglass, Chrono Trigger, or Zelda Wind Waker with Hypatia’s texture pack.

I also migrated my site to Micro.blog and have really enjoyed the cross-posting and easy posting (compared to 11ty).

I have so much to be thankful for: we spent Christmas with grandparents, cousins, and life-long friends. If you’re out there reading this, I hope you have a wonderful new year.

Movies and TV Here’s what I watched in quarter 4 of 2024:

• Finished season 2 of Shrinking and Bad Sisters on Apple. Shrinking is a such a wonderful heartfelt show with a fantastic season finale that had me in tears.
• Almost done with Silo on Apple.
• Rewatched The Grinch (with Jim Carrey) on Christmas Eve.
• Started Skeleton Crew and X-Men ‘97 on Disney.
• All 4 seasons of A.P. Bio with Glenn Howerton and the unforgettable Paula Pell on Netflix. So fun and weird.
• The excellent The Night Manager (2016) with Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Elizabeth Debicki, and Olivia Colman on Amazon Prime. Merlin raved about this so I finally had to watch it. Outstanding. BBC says it’s coming back for two more seasons.
• Rewatched all of Slow Horses on Apple with Gary Oldman. I couldn’t get my wife to watch it the first time around but my glowing review of no it’s really good got her hooked on it!
• The Penguin on HBO Max with Collin Farrell and Cristin Milioti was a good time. Excited to see how it’s woven into the next Batman movie.
• Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett on Apple was a slow burn and we kept wondering, when it going to become a thriller? but it gets there by the end.
• We watched seasons 1 and 2 of Hacks with Jean Smart on HBO Max. Loved it! Took a break afterwards but will watch season 3 soon.
• English Teacher with Brian Jordan Alvarez is an FX show on Hulu. We found it hilarious.
• Season 2 of The Big Door Prize on Apple.
• Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon. Spoilers(?) but it was so obvious that “the stranger” was Gandalf. Who else would it have been?
• Sunny on Apple with Rashida Jones was interesting but not sure it “stuck the landing.”
• Really enjoyed Penelope on Netflix. This caught my attention after hearing Mark Duplass’ interview on The Town where I learned it was self-funded and he retains the rights — not Netflix.

This is very “investing 101” but I thought I’d share my perspective for people who might be new to the game. You might hear people occasionally¹ yell, “the market is down!” with the urgency of Chicken Little. While it’s true that the S&P 500 was down 1.1% compared to yesterday it’s up 24.8% compared to one year ago.

If you’re investing for the long-haul (which you should be) then days like today are just another wave in the ocean. It is good knowing if the market is down today² but remember that the sky is not falling.³

A friend this year taught me the term dollar cost averaging which says to invest regular amounts of money in regular time intervals. Don’t hem and haw over when to invest $100. Instead put in $1 a day and stop stressing.

Imagine settling in at your desk for a bit of work on a cold winter’s morning when you realize your coffee has grown cold. Teeth clattering you hobble to the stove, shambling shamelessly in your threadbare sweatpants, to pour recently chilled bean water into a small pot. After a few moments of the stovetop’s hot glow this pitiful leftover coffee dribble is warmed to your satisfaction.

This was life in our apartment of 5 years without a microwave.

The place didn’t come with one and we never figured out a good place to put one. Slowly over time we began to pride ourselves in our ability to patiently warm liquids and foodstuffs with a stove. There is a certain disdain towards the microwave. Those without are quick to let you know, similar to people who brag that “don’t have a television because we read.”¹ I write these words, dear reader, because I want to share the sheer joy I have for the low-end, piano black Hotpoint microwave in our kitchen.

What happened? Well two years ago we moved into a house with a microwave. The magic of the “+30 seconds” button² brought a convenience and immediacy to warmness that we sorely missed. After having a baby the last 7 months, it’s been an absolute godsend for quickly sanitizing bottles, warming pumpkin or frozen corn, and yes, even a cup of damn good coffee that’s grown cold.

This past weekend after a long day of work and child rearing, we reached in the freezer for a quick dinner: two of Amy’s banh mi wraps.³ This frozen delicacy’s cooking instructions, printed on its transparent plastic wrap, tells you everything you need to know about why I love microwaves and why I, in the ever waning days of 2024, am writing this piece:

Microwave Oven: Place the wrap on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a microwave-safe plate. Cook for 1 minute. Flip. Cook for 30-45 more seconds. Let sit 1 minute. Serve.

Oven: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove overwrap. Wrap in foil. Bake the wrap for 50-55 minutes. Let sit 1 minute. Serve.

Ain’t nobody got time for that shit.

In another life we might have waited nearly an hour to eat a too-small burrito-like substance. That is not the life I want for myself. It certainly is not the life I want for my child.

Thank you, microwaves.