Links for 22 May 2026

How America Turned Against AI According to the Poll Data: A (Very Big) Compilation by Alberto Romero. The global conclusion that emerges from this compilation is simple and, as far as I can tell, unprecedented: every available measure—partisan, demographic, regional, longitudinal—points in the same direction.

There’s an insider group betting ‘almost exclusively’ on imminent U.S. military actions by Hunter Lazzaro. (Another reason why the best use of prediction markets is inside companies, butyou should know that by now.)

I Feel For Those Laid Off by Meta, and Why More Must Go by Kelly Stonelake. I’d like to say this is offered without judgment, but that would not be true. What is true is that I offer it with the same judgment I’ve reserved for myself for staying as long as I did.

AT&T sues California in attempt to shut off old phone network by Jon Brodkin. (This is not just about POTS vs. wireless and fiber. The vintage phone lines have an older, more consumer friendly regulatory model, while the new services are under the most one-sided contracts that AT&T can come up with.)

‘How Deepfakes Tore a High School Apart’ by Nick Heer. (If the attribution cartel gets its way, more ad money gets redirected to the Big Tech app stores, that enable stuff like this, just saying.)

Google is replacing search results with only the AI by David Gerard. (Or not—myfix Google Search setup still works, for now.)

The EU Is Going Through a Trump-Fueled Breakup With Big Tech by Matt Burgess and Vittoria Elliott. Across Europe—as well as in Canada—politicians have been increasingly vocal about ditching US technology since the start of the second Trump administration. The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland all have ongoing sovereignty efforts, with German officials and regions also prominently pushing the movement. In December, eight countries, including France and Germany, announced they would partner on their efforts.

The ‘warrior ethos’ promises victory — history says it leads to defeat by John Broich. A fascist regime that treats democratic constraints as obstacles is likely to decide inconvenient information is an obstacle too. Because of this, in fascist governments, loyalists rank higher than experts. Fascist systems don’t remove people for being wrong; they remove them for insufficient loyalty. The man who tells the leader what he wants to hear rises.

Google is going to ruin the internet by Katie Notopoulos. (Going to? I had to check the date. Thead “safety” reports show that the ruination is already in progress.)

Massive Crypto ATM Company Bitcoin Depot Is Shutting Down as the Whole Industry Collapses by Bruce Gil. (That’s one end of the scam chain, but taking out the Meta end will probably be harder.)

Who’s behind the Facebook page posting hateful AI slop about the UK? The answer might lie in south Asia by Niamh McIntyre. (If the attribution cartel gets its way, more ad money gets redirected to the Big Tech social media platforms that enable stuff like this, just saying.)

Technoplasmosis: Big Tech Marketing Exposed by Adel Borky. These organizations are not merely participants in the advertising industry; they are its epistemic gatekeepers. By institutionalizing concepts like programmatic targeting, multi-touch attribution, and performance-based media as unquestioned “best practices” they have engineered a paradigm in which their own platform dynamics are mistaken for universal marketing truths.

r/uBlockOrigin handles an ad blocker blocker issue, in about a day. As many open-source projects suffersecurity and burnout problems it’s encouraging to see one that stays motivated and moves fast.

The Enshittification of History by Charlie Stross. With 20/20 hindsight, what I missed was the now-obvious wave of media ownership consolidation, including corporate social media such as X, Meta, and Google, in the hands of a narrow class of billionaire oligarchs. (Attribution cartel again, once you see them you can’t un-see them.)

The (Uncertain) Future of Media by Brian Jacobs. Money continues to flow out of more ‘traditional’ domestic media forms towards the giant US-based online platforms. Around two-thirds of all UK ad pounds currently make that journey. (And if the attribution cartel continues…all right, I’ll stop)

Advertising’s new ‘safety’ fight by Lara O’Reilly. Cross-industry efforts are taking shape to demand more transparency from tech giants like Google and Meta. Industry groups are pushing for more action around AI ad auction transparency and the responsible use of AI tools in marketing. (This smells like one of those “industry-wide problems” that people just agree not to solve. The problem for marketers, though, is that adding technical complexity to some great evil can dilute a participant’s understanding, but not culpability.)