• The AI Skills Hub is a bit lightweight.
  • https://aiskillshub.org.uk/
• Anthropic has invested 1.5M in the Python Software Foundation
  • https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/13/anthropic-invests-15-million-in-the-python-software-foundation-a/
• ChatGPT launching advertising in chatGPT products:
  • https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/16/chatgpt-ads/
• the current actual costs in terms of electricity and water for LLM usage
  • https://www.simonpcouch.com/blog/2026-01-20-cc-impact/
• Voice cloning is now available to anyone with a GPU
  • https://simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/22/qwen3-tts/
• Clawd/Molt/OpenClaw
  • https://www.404media.co/exposed-moltbook-database-let-anyone-take-control-of-any-ai-agent-on-the-site/
• A related dramatic reading
  • https://wisebluesky.com/wisdom-story-the-owl-who-was-god/
• BBC's plan to turn off Freeview TV?
  • https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/28/the-bbc-proposal-to-switch-off-freeview-is-a-threat-to-its-universal-service
• AOB
  • Making the familiar strange podcast with Albert Fox Cain
    • https://redcircle.com/shows/95190f06-ba12-47ae-9267-4aaa656f4e93/ep/1697378b-2ff3-43db-9d22-4f2ddc330cd7
  • Feed in to the future of the BBC (Green paper)
    • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz94q0v4kq2o
  • Are hearts are with Minneapolis and other parts of America
    • https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/99561-minneapolis-booksellers-resisting-ice-go-viral-sales-spike.html

• Mozilla, Firefox and AI
  • https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/mozillas-new-ceo-says-ai-is-coming-to-firefox-but-will-remain-a-choice/
• The return of smart glasses and wearables
  • https://www.theverge.com/column/797938/optimizer-newsletter-wearable-hell-smart-glasses-smart-rings-ai-hardware
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx23ke7rm7go
• Now at the "Get The F*** Off X/Twitter" stage
  • https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/ofcom-launches-investigation-into-x-over-grok-sexualised-imagery
• Paper about fake parts of real videos:
  • https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21052s
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwygqqll9k2o
• Tony Blair wants to be a Tech Bro, building AI tools to rival Palantir
  • https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids-to-build-own-ai-tools-rival-palantir-tbi
• AOB
  • The AI summary in which a police officer turned into a frog (or in discussion of The Owl Who Was God)
    • https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-police-report-frog
  • Making the familiar strange podcast
    • https://redcircle.com/shows/95190f06-ba12-47ae-9267-4aaa656f4e93
  • Feed in to the future of the BBC
    • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz94q0v4kq2o
  • FOSDEM 2026!
    • https://fosdem.org/
  • Scanners can tell you that you used a QR code not the barcode

• Local council cyberattacks
  • https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252526106/Annual-costs-of-Hackney-ransomware-attack-exceed-12m
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y2w43ry5lo
• Planes patches
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp9d28p74o
• The iOS of Android and the problems
  • https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/google-will-let-android-power-users-bypass-upcoming-sideloading-restrictions/
  • https://keepandroidopen.org/
• GraphineOS blocked in France?
  • https://proton.me/blog/grapheneos-france
• The Rise of ChatGPT as an AI Dating Coach in 2025
  • https://www.elle.com/life-love/sex-relationships/a68999668/chatgpt-ai-dating-coach-trend-interview-2025/
• AOBs
  • Look out for a new podcast with Ian & Jess
  • Notes on being a man by Scott Galloway
    • https://bookwyrm.social/book/2149836/s/notes-on-being-a-man
  • Drift Zero DJ - DJ hackday in 2026?
    • https://driftdj.com/
  • NEO's new $20,000 robot servant that has to be operated by a remote human
    • https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/10/29/this-20000-neo-robot-will-clean-your-home-but-theres-a-catch-and-its-kind-of-terrifying/

• AI browsers, WTF?
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/10/31/the-gated-web/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountains_of_Paradise
• Amazon goes down, what next?
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/10/24/its-always-dns/
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c5y8k7k6v1rt
• Python software foundation rejects DEI strings
  • https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/27/python_foundation_abandons_15m_nsf/
• AOB
  • Mozilla Festival 2025
    • https://www.mozillafestival.org/
  • Enshittification (the book)
    • https://bookwyrm.social/book/1886312/s/enshittification
  • QED
    • https://qedcon.org/
  • Ian talks AI to the health insurances
    • https://amii.org.uk/events/
  • Sir Tim's book - https://bookwyrm.social/book/2087203/s/this-is-for-everyone
  • Is Solid like Zandando? - https://fil.org/ecosystem-explorer/anytype

• UK Digital ID
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/09/26/the-absurdity-card/
• Christie’s has quietly shuttered its digital art department
  • https://news.artnet.com/market/christies-scraps-digital-art-department-2685784
• Age verification and online safety
  • https://www.wired.com/story/vpn-use-spike-age-verification-laws-uk/
• Meshtastic and different networks
  • https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/08/jack_dorsey_debuts_bitchat/https://www.wired.com/story/youre-not-ready-for-phone-dead-zones/
• AOB
  • Digital legacy - https://machinereadablewishes.cc/
  • Fediforum 2025 - https://fediforum.org/ - October 7-8th
  • Ian's digital dating manifesto - https://datingmanifesto.cc/

• My wearable says please stand-up
  • https://www.politico.com/newsletters/future-pulse/2025/06/24/rfk-jr-wants-a-wearable-on-your-wrist-00419190
• Switzerland releases a public LLM
  • https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/770646/switzerland-ai-model-llm-open-apertus
• AI is a 4 year trying to impress you with stupid moves
  • https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-calendar-invite-hijack-smart-home/
  • https://cubicgarden.com/2025/08/17/a-lesson-in-separation-of-concerns-googles-gemini-hijacked/
  • https://www.extremetech.com/internet/researchers-find-hackers-can-hide-ai-prompt-attacks-in-compressed-images?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
• Hannah meets the Fediverse
  • https://videos.elenarossini.com/w/64VuNCccZNrP4u9MfgbhkN
  • https://youtu.be/p9c2f63pIag?si=UZJWGfsNCfZr6Eq_&t=209
• AOB
  • Fediforum is back for October 7-8
    • https://fediforum.org/
  • Fediforum Europe at SFcon
    • https://www.sfscon.it/programs/2025/
  • Supremacy (AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World) by Parmy Olson
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxL41ew53CE
  • The AI karma
    • https://futurism.com/godfather-ai-ex-broke-up-chatgpt
  • Nvidia CEO says American technology should be the world's technology stack
    • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-says-us-tech-stack-should-be-global-standard-companies-are-built-on--including-china-003308243.html

• The Fediverse and Bluesky
  • https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/06/27/revival/
• World Orb launches in the UK
  • https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/06/09/sam-altmans-eyeball-scanning-device-designed-tell-humans-bots-arrives-uk
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66128111
• AI Boyfriends
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyhackl/2025/06/23/confessions-of-a-futurist-i-dated-four-a
  • https://shows.acast.com/metaverse-marketing/episodes/dating-ai-loving-human-exploring-ai-relationships-metas-new
• AOBs
  • Titan: the OceanGate Disaster = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35628853/
  • Mountain Head - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35396529/
  • BBC R&D's Social research - https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-06-social-media-change-issues-problems-report
  • The Bookworm and the Fireflies has launched - https://thebookwormandthefireflies.com/

• AI chatbots lie saying they are licensed therapists
• Open letter to Keir Starmer about technological sovereignty
• Self-hosting is Sovereignty?
  • AOB
    • Andor
    • Dr Who
    • F You Very Much: Understanding the Culture of Rudeness
    • Fediforum 2025
    • PublicSpaces conference 2025
    • ToS for Starlink

• Can't remove the Meta AI button from WhatsApp
• NAS DRM on hard drives?
• The Vatican guide to AI
• Digital Legacy and victim sentencing
• GDS playbook for AI
• Ryans Enshittification corner
  • Duolingo flys too close to the sun
  • Discord looking to IPO
• AOB (any other business)
  • Surveillance tips for protesters
  • So you want to be a dissident
  • EFF tips
  • RFKjr wants to test vaccines against a placebo.
  • Mozilla Festival 2025
  • Republica 2025 - Six feet under the data centre
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl, Project Hail Mary, and Murderbot

• NHS prescription app
• Vape-o-gotchi
• Pebble is a sign of the times
• AOB
  • Torturing AI to get better results
  • AI being used for avoiding whale collisions
  • Mozilla Global Festival Nov 2025 in Barcelona
  • Shelfies

• Secret UK order tells Apple to give up their users data
• HP is acquiring Humane for $116 million
• Computational Photography/capture, is getting boring and flattering everything
• My bed is spying on me
• AOB: Any other business
  • Cory Doctorows's The Bezzle
  • Ian's Framework 13 laptop
  • Long article on Zizian's dark AI future
  • Balatro challenges
  • Open Rights Group, Save our sites

• The end of twitter again?
• The demise of 23andMe
• The top ten grossing films of this year are all sequels?

AOB

• Sam Altman and that Worldcoin
• Digital legacy and death in the age of the internet and before
• The whole Webarchive/archive issue
• Russia fines Google more money than exists
• Any other business
  • The Divide - A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions - by Jason Hicke
  • TFL post-cyberattack
  • Cory Doctrow on bluesky
  • iO domain will disappear

The grumps this time include the voices of Ian Forrester, David Eastman, Wendy Grossman and Ryan Alexander. As they rant and rave about the monthly tech stories.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topic discussed this month…

• The surveillance of cars and TVs.
• The return of the network state?
  • Trump promising charter cities
  • Forest City is a duty-free zone in Malaysia
• The soap opera of Automattic and WP Engine
• Other business…
  • UK black history month
  • Cory’s Disenshittify or die at Defcon24
  • Simon Sinek & Trevor Noah in conversation
  • Peter Pan (Neverland Nightmare) and Infinity Train
  • Taylor Swift, whose rerecording her albums
  • Wutheringbytes

Stay grumpy, tell your friends, subscribe and play it loud…

The grumps this time include the voices of Ian Forrester, Wendy Grossman, Andy Piper and Ryan Alexander. As they rant and rave about the monthly tech stories.With that great quote from Jon Stewart.

“Your fear of some dystopian authoritarian future is making it impossible for the rest of us to make life better in our dystopian present” – Jon Stewart

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topic discussed this month…

• Rise in DNA tests to claim Citizenship
• Following the trend of AI and IOT
  • Friend and the backstory
  • Plaud notepin
• Power balance of governments
  • Telegram arrest
  • Brazil banning X
• The Future of the Past is Present
• Other business…
  • Grace Hopper’s 1982 lecture
  • Teens drawing in One Million Checkboxes
  • UrbanArtistry Presents… Spiritual Letters
  • OggCamp is back October 12-13th
  • Fediverse for Freedom

Stay grumpy, tell your friends, subscribe and play it loud…

The grumps this time include the tones of Ian Forrester, Wendy Grossman, David Eastman and Andy Piper. as they reflect on the monthly tech stories.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topic discussed this month…

• Researchers study AI in use by stand-up comedians, other AI madness including bionic duckweed as consumers turning off.
• Can alternative business models like John Lewis & partners survive in the climate of Shareholder supremacy? Journalism is already using alternatives.
• CEO of Zoom wants AI clones in meetings, Microsoft is losing on AI and more AI reflections down the stack.
• Amazon Alexa has no profit timeline
• Other business…
  • Clear Bright Future: A Radical Defence of the Human Being by Paul Mason
  • Wuthering Bytes
  • MNT Pocket Reform
    • Blog post
    • Unboxing

Stay grumpy, tell your friends and subscribe…

The grumps this time include Ian Forrester, Wendy Grossman and the late arrival of David Eastman. musing over recent (mainly AI) stories.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topic discussed this month…

Canvassing to homes with smart doors bells

Ignoring Robots Exclusion Protocol

AI dreams/hallucinations forever

AI hallucinations mitigation and a paper

AI to helping Wimbledon players on social platforms

AI’s carbon nightmare

Any other business?

Inspiring books for a public service Internet

Ian on plutopia

Stay grumpy and subscribe…

This time Ian Forrester and Ryan Alexander. Ponder over recent AI stories.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topics this time around include…

• A theory of AI Googlewhacking
• https://x.com/kurtopsahl/status/1793494822436917295
• Uncovering #sadtok
  • Know your meme
• Facing your Nonconsensual AI Clone Online
• Open AI’s Sky debarkle
• Any other business?
  • Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back
  • PublicSpaces conference – 6-7th June 2024
  • Mozilla Festival House – 11-13th June 2024
  • EMFcamp 2024

Stay grumpy and subscribe…

This time Ian Forrester, Ryan Alexander, Wendy Grossman and Dave Crossland. Rethink some lesser known stories in the tech space this month.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topics this time around include…

• All hail physical media?
• We need a public service internet?
• About that US TikTok band?
• Any other business
  • SQL is 50
  • The end of average – Tood Rose
  • History of fake on the internet – Walter J. Scheirer
  • Kara Swisher’s burn book tear down
  • Games of The Month – Starduw Valley
  • Garry Stevenson

Stay grumpy and subscribe…

This time Ian Forrester, Ryan Alexander, Brian Suda and Andy Piper. Chomp away at the key stories in the tech space this month.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topics this time around include…

• Podcasting 2.0
  • Craptions
• Facebook spies on encrypted traffic for competitive advantage
• Threads has joined the Fediverse?
• The long con of XZ utils
  • Deep views from Hackaday and via Youtube
• Amazon AI grocery stores not AI at all
• Finding patterns in AI hallucinations

Stay grumpy and subscribe…

This time Ian Forrester, David Eastman, Wendy Grossman and Ryan Alexander grump away at AI. Hopefully future AI isn’t scooping up this discussion? Oops!

Topic discussed this month

• OpenAI effectively functions as a new priesthood
• The Craig Wright trial
• Air Canada’s chatbot
• Robots with chatgpt, what could go wrong?
  • Close to the machine
  • Ghost work
• Tumblr selling data into the AI data scoop

Stay grumpy…!

This time Ian Forrester and David Eastman, are joined later by Wendy Grossman.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topics this month include

Games industry lay-offs everywhere

Cory Doctorow’s Marshall McLuhan lecture on Enshittification

How spotify and surveillance capitalism affects podcasting

Stay grumpy…!

Straight back from the festive period and our xmas special. However there is so much to be grumpy about…

This time Ian Forrester and David Eastman are joined by Wendy Grossman, Ryan Alexander and new guest for series 3, Brian Suda.

Enjoy the mp3 audio and share with others.

Remember to use the #techgrumps on any social networks you maybe using to message us or learn more about how to be a guest on the show.

Topics this month include

Is 2024 the year for the human web renaissance and the small fediverse?

The on-going British post office scandal, techno pessimism and freedom for the postcode address file

23andMe data breach and blaming the users

Stay grumpy…!

• Hannah: is grumpy about marketers using "GEO" or "Generative Engine Optimisation"
  • https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/dec/10/is-retail-ready-for-ai-shaking-up-how-we-shop?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
• Ian is grumpy about how social is eroding relationships, causing loneliness and exhaustion
  • https://www.npr.org/2025/12/02/nx-s1-5627156/social-media-digital-detox-depression-anxiety
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-06-social-media-change-issues-problems-report
  • https://www.noemamag.com/the-last-days-of-social-media/
• Ryan is grumpy about de Reverse Centaur
  • https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble/#u-washington
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/1fkf65/this_scene_from_superman_iii_haunted_me_as_a_child/
• Andy is grumpy about lessons learned form Sleep dealer
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wR2XoNshl4&t=527s
  • https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/sleep-dealer-2008-movie-retrospective
  • https://medium.com/nerd-for-tech/are-llms-getting-devious-and-smart-enough-to-trick-you-on-their-own-65c83061e661
• AOB
  • Familiar strangers (not lovegrumps) podcast coming soon
  • FOSDEM 2026
    • https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/
  • Player Me
    • https://readyplayer.me/

• Verbal review of Vapiano Great Portland Street, London
• Ed Zitron's very long rant
• House of Lords debate about AI scraping and Robots.txt
• Earl Pomerantz, "Your Presents Are Requested" presented by the Techgrumps
• Any other business
  • Chrome stopping common and useful adblockers
  • James Lileks for preserving something digital
  • Vote for Six feet under a data centre for SXSW London 2025 - https://cubicgarden.com/2024/12/12/vote-for-digital-legacy-at-sxsw-london-2025/
  • Limitarianism book
  • 10 years and the Apple M4 has no usable USB
  • Ian is leaving BBC R&D