I think in the next 5 years, most jobs in my field – data analysis and visualization – will be replaced by AI. So I've been thinking about different careers I could jump to that would be better “insulated” from AI replacement.

Apple recently announced an upcoming feature for their new Apple Watches called “Audio Intelligence,” which will always be listening to and transcribing conversations in the background and summarizing them at the end of the day. While Apple have implemented some protections and safeguards to protect the privacy of the watch owner, anyone who talks to someone who has an Apple Watch with “Audio Intelligence” enabled could potentially be recorded without their knowledge or consent.

I recently wrote a post about quitting Twitch. I still think my reasons are valid, but after taking more time to think through things, I realize that my reaction was knee-jerk and the situation is more complicated than I want it to be.

Last week Twitch announced that it had automatically opted all of its user accounts into using all content for training Amazon's generative “AI” models. They didn't send their users an email or notify us within Twitch. They posted about it on X, a platform I don't use, acting like they were doing us a favor by allowing us to opt out. Furthermore, they made it opt-out knowing most of us are skeptical about “AI” and would never opt in – and they clearly don't care. This is a gross violation of privacy and betrayal of trust. Therefore, because they clearly do not respect their users, I am quitting Twitch both as a streamer and viewer.

I received my pre-ordered Clicks Power Keyboard this week. It's a quality iPhone accessory and it made my thumbs very happy. But a Clicks account is required for firmware updates, and that's a deal-breaker for me.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

It's a quote that's often misattributed to Gandhi. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on who said it, but that doesn't make it any less of a good quote. And it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and trying to make some changes with it in mind.

One of the things I chose to abstain from for Lent was Twitch – both streaming and viewing other streams. But it has cut me off socially from good friends I enjoy interacting with there, and it occurred to me during a sleepless night last night that I'm feeling socially isolated.

People are freaking out over Ring cameras being used by ICE. But privacy advocates have been warning that this exact scenario was possible – even inevitable – ever since Ring cameras were first released. And now there are rumors of Apple working on an AirTag-sized AI pin you can wear that has multiple cameras and a microphone. What could go wrong?

Back in mid-November I decided to try using a Linux laptop as my daily driver for at least the rest of the year. Things were going pretty well until the laptop stopped booting into Pop!_OS.

I'm a few days late to the party, but I just heard about the new product announcements from Clicks – the company that makes physical keyboard cases for smartphones – and I haven't been this excited about mobile device announcements since the BlackBerry KEY2 (2018).