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. This article is an in-depth look at how Dutch intelligence agencies, projecting their views onto their subject of study, missed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's a painful but useful read for those involved in any kind of future planning. (Volksrant)
2. How can drones assist medical personnel on the battlefield? One US Army unit planned it out. If you read between the lines, this is also a solid guide on how to plan out technology adoption in other environments. (Say, bringing AI into a company.) (Modern War Institute at West Point)
3. I've noted before that the larger genAI models are generalist showpieces, and that smaller is the way to go. Now Microsoft is adopting that view. (The Register)
4. One CEO is asking genAI companies to make the technology more affordable. Because, apparently, replacing people with robots is expensive. (Futurism)
5. They say reading is out, so some people are bringing it back. Vive la bibliorésistance ... (Le Monde 🇫🇷)
6. NIH is using Palantir to store health data and people are, understandably, a little concerned.. (Mother Jones)
7. All of those wearable health-tracker devices would be great for doctors … if they could reliably access the data. (Health Care Dive)
8. On DC's National Mall, food trucks add a dash of crime. (Washingtonian)
9. As it turns out, genAI is a terrorist group's best friend. (New York Times)

My recent work

• I've published two blog posts on the impact of agentic code generation on the software development field: "We've always had bad code" and "Application delivery in the agentic age"
• Over on Complex Machinery, I've finally gotten around to creating the AI risk "weather report" – a snapshot of the upside opportunities and downside risks in the AI space. Part 1 is up now. Part 2 should land in a couple of weeks.

The rest of the best

Datacenters

• Meta datacenter allegedly brings bacteria to Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Business Insider)
• Some datacenter companies think their buildings' shape is the problem. So they're trying to make them more visually appealing. (WSJ)
• In Ireland, datacenters' hunger for power increases faster than that of the human population. By a fairly wide margin. (The Register)
• The state of New York places a one-year moratorium on datacenters. (NBC News)

And also …

• Pervert glasses are not welcome in New York courthouses... (Syracuse)
• … and celebrities hate the pervert glasses, too. (Gizmodo)
• Plumbing new depths of low, Instagram requires you to opt-out of letting randos use your photos in their AI-generated images. (Wired)
• A review of the "quantified self" movement highlights the blessing and curse of tracking personal metrics. (Technology Review)
• Controversial surveillance company Flock loses LAPD as a customer. (TechCrunch)
• Apple launches a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming theft of trade secrets. I wonder what impact this will have on their planned IPO … (Semafor, Le Monde 🇫🇷)
• EU regulators push Meta to dial back on features that allegedly drive addiction. (Ars Technica)

Did I miss anything?

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