TechTakes

John Scalzi:

I search my name on a regular basis, not only because I am an ego monster (although I try not to pretend that I’m not) but because it’s a good way for me to find reviews, end-of-the-year “best of” lists my book might be on, foreign publication release dates, and other information about my work that I might not otherwise see, and which is useful for me to keep tabs on. In one of those searches I found that Grok (the “AI” of X) attributed to one of my books (The Consuming Fire) a dedication I did not write; not only have I definitively never dedicated a book to the characters of Frozen, I also do not have multiple children, just the one.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/ai-a-dedicated-fact-failing-machine-or-yet-another-reason-not-to-trust-it-for-anything/

https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-Extensions-Block-AI

Now they just need to add a slider for touchpad scroll speed.

ModRetro, retro gaming company infamous for being helmed by terrible person Palmer Luckey, has put out a version of their handheld made with "the same magnesium aluminum alloy as Anduril’s attack drones" (bluesky commentary, the linked news article is basically an ad and way too forgiving).

So uhh... they're not beating those guilt by association accusations any time soon.

A story of no real substance. Pharmaicy, a Swedish company, has reportedly started a new grift where you can give your chatbot virtual, "code-based drugs", ranging from 300,000 kr, for weed code, to 700,000 kr, cocaine.

editor's note: 300000 swedish krona is approximately 328,335.60 norwegian krone. 700000 SEK is about 766116.40.

The latest poster who is pretty sure that Hacker News posts critical of YCombinator and their friends get muted like on big corporate sites (HN is open that they do a lot of moderation, but some is more public than others; this guy is not a fan of Omarchy Linux) https://xn--gckvb8fzb.com/the-mysterious-forces-steering-views-on-hacker-news/

Somebody wrote an article that seems to be especially designed to piss people like us off. https://testdouble.com/insights/anyone-can-code-software-is-having-its-ratatouille-moment

I saw it and I'm spreading my pain around. (As an additional bonus, the site jumps back upwards in the text for me constantly).

A bunch of big hollywood people have started “creator’s coalition on AI”. A snarky summary of their mission: “let’s figure out how we can work with the fascists!”

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/can-ucla-replace-teaching-assistants-ai

Miller’s team also recently used software from startup StackAI to develop an AI-powered app that writes letters of recommendation, saving faculty members time. Faculty type basic details about a student who has requested a letter, such as their grades and accomplishments, and the app writes a draft of the full letter.

AI is “one of those things that you might worry could dehumanize the process of writing recommendation letters, but faculty also say that process [of manually writing the letters] is very labor intensive,” Miller said. “So far they’ve gotten a lot out of” the new app.

Anyone using this thing should be required to serve on the admissions committee. LoRs aren't for generic B+ students that you don't even remember, just say no.

I googled stackai, saw their screenshots and had ptsd flashbacks of mid 2000s alteryx. why do we keep reinventing no-code drag-and-drop box-and-arrow crap.

article in large part about our friends

https://bayareacurrent.com/meet-the-new-right-wing-tech-intelligentsia/

some of the people involved with kernel are pretty unhappy about this and claim the piece is in bad faith/factually wrong (see the replies to https://bsky.app/profile/kellypendergrast.bsky.social/post/3ma55xfq7d22y )

Purdue mandating AI to graduate: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/2025/Q4/purdue-unveils-comprehensive-ai-strategy-trustees-approve-ai-working-competency-graduation-requirement/

I'm looking for the actual curricula / docs signed off by the trustees. Looks like another domino falls.

For more lighthearted gaming-related news, Capcom fired off a quick sneer, whilst (indirectly) promoting their their latest Mega Man game:

(alt text: "As a reminder for those entering the Mega Man: Dual Override Boss Design Art Contest, please remember the rules posted at bit.ly/MMDORobotMaster. Entrants must follow this account, and please leave the AI to the robots: generative AI is prohibited for this contest.")

This had slipped under the radar for me

https://www.reddit.com/r/backgammon/comments/1k8nlay/new_chapter_for_extreme_gammon/

After 25 years, it is time for us to pass the torch to someone else. Travis Kalanick, yes the Uber founder, has purchased Gammonsite and eXtreme Gammon and will take over our backgammon products (he has a message to the community below)

:(