All The Things

I'm not sure how to feel about all this. On the one hand, my talents have never been more valuable, as AI has amplified my talents without (yet) subsuming them, but on the other hand I feel like I may have forever lost the permission to engage in a certain form of craftsmanship. To find a full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content, go here . To subscribe to...

Ideally those charged with the safety, security, and efficacy of systems would proactively monitor and analyze leading indicators that hint of tragedy to come. Second best, then, is at least to have a framework, workforce, mandate, and will to diagnose the root cause of a tragedy once manifested, in the hopes of preventing not just similar ones but also understanding what other hazards lurk just b...

The playbook takes shape. For a full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2026/01/24/the-kill-and-smear/ To subscribe to the blog:  https://blog.awgibbs.com/subscribe/

I tried to beam some positive energy into the world on Wednesday with a video of Little Kitty reveling in a fresh feather attached to the wand. Having posted a clip to social media, I then headed out for an afternoon's skiing, but when I later pulled up Facebook in the lodge I was, alas, greeted not by happy reactions to feline frivolity but rather a clip from CNN of ICE fatally shooting Renee Nic...

Three Years Of LLMs: The Run-Up, Realities, Risks, and Road Ahead For a full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2026/01/06/agency-accountability-architecture-autarky-alignment/

So many genies are long out of the bottle and just can't go back. Three and a half billion years into an unceasing arms race on this ball of rock, that is just the inescapable nature of things. Authoritarian regimes episodically make a run at controlling these genies but ultimately fail because the controls prove too horrifying, the temptations toward abuse too great, and the complexity ultimately...

As the world grows ever more complex and the leverage of various products and services to help us navigate this complexity becomes ever more compelling, the temptation to outsource our thinking becomes enormous… but all it takes to realize the risks of such dependency is to accidentally close Google Maps on your phone when beyond the reach of cell towers. I gather most people have experienced this...

Watching the rising clamor around the Venezuelan boat debacle, I feel reflexively tempted to perform the "Orange Man Bad" ritual, because the situation strikes me as legitimately bad both in principle and precedent, to say nothing of the capriciousness and hypocrisy, but I don't imagine we will have a useful conversation that transcends present tribalism without zooming out to an historical arc th...

Rule number one when getting kidnapped is really quite simple — never get in the car. Full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/11/14/reaping-the-whirlwind-or-whats-in-your-loot-box/

Imagine a world where a distant actor can't so readily turn your house upside down. Full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/10/22/our-increasingly-fragile-world-or-death-bed-the-bed-that-eats-people/

Twenty years ago, at the outset of over a decade’s service at the department recently re-branded from “Defense” to “War”, I swore an oath to the Constitution of a country that day-by-day I find increasingly difficult to recognize. Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/10/19/this-is-not-fine/ To Kill A Democracy: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/09/11/to-kill-a-democr...

We don't speak enough about path dependency.  The order in which you learn things can, sometimes literally, make or break you. Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/09/27/path-dependent-perils/

At times when we most need open, vigorous, and respectful debate, so, too, does the temptation to demonize and quash dissent prove greatest. Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/09/11/to-kill-a-democracy/ Gavin Newsom interview of Charlie Kirk: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-gavin-newsom/id1798358255?i=1000698060445 Rümeysa Öztürk Op-Ed: https://ww...

When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/09/05/process-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/ Goodhart's Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law Brian Armstrong's Twitter Post: https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1963315806248604035?s=46 On The Cruelty Of Really Teaching Computer Science: https://...

When Good Enough Isn't Enough Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/09/02/combating-complacency-when-good-enough-isnt-enough/ Protecting Oneself From Oneself: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2023/12/04/protecting-oneself-from-oneself/

The hits keep coming. Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/30/another-govie-bites-the-dust/ Borges' Resignation Letter: https://whistleblower.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/bpRYEnf-Imgur.jpg Borges' Whistleblower Disclosure: https://whistleblower.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/08-26-2025-Borges-Disclosure-Sanitized.pdf Explain The Deep State To Me Like I'm (Th...

Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/27/go-to-the-fucking-gym/ Referenced MIT research: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872 Join a conversation here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-w-gibbs_ai-is-making-you-stupid-mit-just-proved-activity-7366570795713642496-2BUO?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAO6Z-sBv-BbROckFtoN...

Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/23/lies-damned-lies-and-llm-statistics/ From Chunky To Smooth: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/17/from-chunky-to-smooth-or-long-is-the-way-and-hard-that-out-of-hell-leads-up-to-light/ Farewell To Punch Cards: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/06/05/farewell-to-punch-cards/

Full multi-media version of this episode: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/22/how-to-lose-friends-and-influence-people/ Explain The Deep State To Me Like I'm (Thirty) Five: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/01/25/explain-the-deep-state-to-me-like-im-thirty-five/ Learning To Talk With Each Other Again: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2024/11/07/learning-to-talk-with-each-other-again/

Full multi-media version: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/19/oops-ice-did-it-again/ Explain The Deep State To Me Like I'm (Thirty) Five: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/01/25/explain-the-deep-state-to-me-like-im-thirty-five/ From Signal Pete To Deepfake Rubio: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/07/13/from-signal-pete-to-deepfake-rubio-the-struggle-to-bootstrap-and-protect-trust/ 404 Media Story:  https:...

Full multi-media version:  https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/17/from-chunky-to-smooth-or-long-is-the-way-and-hard-that-out-of-hell-leads-up-to-light/

Full multi-media version: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/08/the-hamfisted-hegemon-or-how-to-irreversibly-squander-a-centurys-hard-won-privileges-for-fun-and-profit/

Full multi-media version: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/08/03/the-data-engineers-struggle-in-a-fragmented-and-politicized-world-or-confronting-a-crisis-of-credibility/

Full multimedia version --  https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/07/27/why-security-and-scalability-are-two-sides-of-the-same-coin-or-how-to-win-friends-and-starve-invading-armies/

Full multimedia version --  https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/07/19/waking-up-to-the-real-challenges-of-ai-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-a-big-mess/