My main newsletter, Complex Machinery, includes a section called "In Other News..." It's where I list one-liners about interesting articles that didn't fit into any segments.

You can think of this list as a version of In Other News, but with a wider remit than Complex Machinery's "risk, AI, and related topics."

Above the fold

1. My friends at Hidden Door have just released Atlas, their world-builder tool. (I got a sneak peek ahead of release. It's pretty sweet.) (Hidden Door)
2. The Pope has weighed in on genAI. And he's not impressed. (The Verge, TechRadar, New York Magazine)
3. Because Americans have forgotten how to relax, here's a guide to doing a "French Sunday." A concept which loosely translates to "hey actually treat the weekend as a weekend."
4. Both Pizza Hut franchisees and Starbucks cafe teams are unhappy with the genAI rollouts forced by their respective HQs. (The Register and Restaurant Dive, respectively)
5. People are using AI-generated images to show plastic surgeons how they want to look. And they expect pixel-perfect outcomes. (The Guardian)
6. The state of Louisiana is (according to some, mis)using TIGER's model-based risk scores on parole hearings. (Verite News)
7. Venture capitalists take a page from the influencer book, building a social media following to attract portfolio companies. (Forbes)
8. Like you needed another reason to dislike the C-players at your job: they support and empower terrible leaders. (New York Times)
9. It's one thing to rent out an investment property to make some cash. Quite another to rent out your actual home to strangers. The latter can surface all kinds of feelings. (The Dial)
10. I'll just quote the headline verbatim: "Insiders at SoftBank Worry Their CEO Is Getting Conned by Sam Altman." Yes, yes, that SoftBank. Which also funded such prizefighters as WeWork, FTX, and Greensill Capital. (Futurism)

The rest of the best

• The US government is concerned that anti-datacenter sentiment may lead to violence. Other groups say any countermeasures could be used to stifle even peaceful dissent. (Wired)
• Massive scope creep is allegedly behind a Canadian health IT project going over budget. (Radio-Canada)
• France is tracking the growth of datacenter carbon dioxide emissions. And it's not looking good. (Le Monde 🇫🇷)
• Google keeps one-upping itself on genAI search goofs. For example, including the term "disregard" in a search sends the bot into a tizzy. (TechCrunch)
• Researchers have put numbers to confirm: genAI chatbots aren't reliable sources of info for news and elections. (Bloomberg)
• Ever thought about living in a pub? No, not above one. In one. Some Londoners are serving as temporary guardians of unused properties in exchange for cheap rent. (New York Times)
• Google has unveiled some AI-based changes to search. Not everyone is impressed. (Le Monde 🇫🇷)
• An author managed to include fake, AI-generated quotations into their book on troublesome AI. And yet, they want to keep using AI in future projects. (Ars Technica)
• Google's plans to incorporate ads into AI answers. (The Register)
• Several companies are talking up their genAI-based features … that aren't yet available. (Gizmodo)
• Cloudflare's CEO explains how he chose which employees to replace with genAI. (WSJ)
• Marc Andreessen is given the opportunity to explain genAI's value prop and … doesn't really say anything. (Futurism)
• In a rare example of Robots Just Getting The Job Done, here's a recap of a 200-hour marathon package-sorting session. (Sherwood News)
• Sometimes genAI costs more than the human employees it replaces. Even Microsoft and Uber are cutting back on that token spend. (Fortune)

Did I miss anything?

Have something I should read? Send the link my way.