The Pond

AI & the Environment

I write a lot about AI’s effects on the environment.

When AI builds itself

Our progress toward recursive self-improvement, and its implications.

AI, Ethics, and Society — Home

233. "The Illusion of Thinking" — Thoughts on This Important Paper

This is a fantastic paper. I just love it. tl;dr AI is not human. Anthropomorphization has been bad for AI, LLMs, and Chat. Clippy walked so today's AI could run.

Import AI 455: AI systems are about to start building themselves.

The first step towards recursive self improvement

Co-Existence and the End of Co-Intelligence

Also: how pitch a book to an AI!

Is there something it is like to be an AI?

Posted on Wednesday 2 Jul 2025. 1,593 words, 6 links. By Matt Webb.

"AI" and Productivity

[I keep bringing these up on Bluesky, so I think it’s time to gather them up and make a post out of them.] This is a collection of articles...

Import AI 463: Self-improving robots; a 10k Chinese GPU cluster; and an elegiac essay for the human era

What eras bookend our interregnum?

What Would “Good” AI Look Like? - Anil Dash

A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

AI is not superhuman

What metaphor should drive the field of AI research?

Wherein I Find Myself Writing About Writing

Most everyone finds writing to be challenging (especially those who say they enjoy it). This is because writing is an intentional, thoughtful act. This is as it should be, but “AI” has recently exacerbated the misbelief that writing is simply an output. In fact, it's a creative process that has merit in and of itself.

I wrote an AI textbook — how long until AI can do it better?

Reflections on AI's writing ability and how AI models get more capable.