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Cory Doctorow

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The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life after AI

The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life after AI

A short, provocative guide to what's good, bad, and stupid about AI and the discourse around AI, by the author of Enshittification.

2026

Stories

Cory Doctorow

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1d ago

Object permanence

Remix Public Enemy; Hungary’s Cold War cartoons; America is unpaving its roads; Olympic overruns are world champions; Vivendi lobbyist is…

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

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1d ago

Why aren’t AI companies competing directly with their customers?

Why sell picks and shovels if you’ve already struck gold?

Three gold rush miners standing around a mule wagon piled high with mining supplies. They are surmounted by a Gold Rush-era advertisement reading ‘GOLD MINING will be the leading business in the Northwest this year/EVERY MERCHANT can be prepared to supply his customers and keep his Profits and Money at home by inspecting/OUR LINE. It is complete. Send for our prices. Prompt shipments made.’ The three miners’ heads have been replaced with the heads of robots ganked from old pulp sf magazines. In

Cory Doctorow

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2d ago

Object permanence

Pro-logging Lorax; Anti-DRM picture book; Whose cops did America train? Day on a Device; Theresa May x Fresh Prince; Ratfucking Corbyn…

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

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3d ago

Object permanence

“Alanya to Alanya”; ToS are the internet’s biggest lie; Soviet jokes; Fox rapists v gag orders; GBAO is the future; “Fun Family”; Sacklers…

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

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3d ago

Workplace “flexibility” isn’t

What the gig economy calls flexibility is just risk-shifting.

A giant arachnoid woman arched backwards on the banks of a tropical river alongside which stand armed men. Behind loom palms, mountains and a smoking volcano. Rain sleets down over the scene.

Cory Doctorow

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3d ago

Object permanence

Awkward questions for the entertainment industry; ISP v record label death penalty; Coming out on Splash Mountain; Negative Swiss bond…

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

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3d ago

“Rights for robots” and the AI slavery fantasy

When we were robots in Egypt…

A Dore engraving of Samson toppling the temple, in which a loincloth-clad Samson pushes aside the columns holding up an Egyptian(ish) temple as people flee the collapsing roof. The image has been altered: Samson’s head has been replaced with the head of a pulp magazine robot, while in the background trudge away many other robots. Samson is gold-tinted, and has been limned with a nova of golden light. The rest of the image has been hand-tinted.

Cory Doctorow

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5d ago

Object permanence

Workplace email spying; Record label internet death penalty; News should be cheap, free and chaotic; “Jughead”.

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

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5d ago

Post-political

What a “leftist” is.

The icy chamber at the center of Dante’s hell, dominated by Satan, massive and peering around with his chin propped on his elbows, which rest of the ice-sheet. From the ceiling of the chamber dangles a massive, decapitated head, suspended by the hair. Beneath it is a pile of corpses in middle ages armor. On the opposite side of the chamber stands a suburban housing plot; another group of (living) soldiers in armour aim a giant catapult at it. Image: Lewis Clarke (modified) https://commons.wikim

Cory Doctorow

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5d ago

Object permanence

MSFT x OSCON; Parental spyware; “Resurrection Man”; Brexit do-over petition.

Object permanence

Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow

Book Author

Writer, blogger, activist. Blog: https://pluralistic.net; Mailing list: https://pluralistic.net/plura-list; Mastodon: @pluralistic@mamot.fr

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