Daily Tech News 17 August 2026

Top Story

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the AI backlash is fundamentally a crisis of trust and also that water is wet. (Tech Crunch)

Well... Yes.
Anthropic is planning to watermark text produced by their AI systems. (Bleeping Computer)

At fault is the European Union, as usual.

Tech News

Bluesky has shrunk by 50% in 18 months as the crazies come crawling back to Twitter. (Tech Crunch)

Damn.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Zone of online speech known as Threads continues to lie about its numbers.
Also now extinct: Audrey Hepburn and neutrinos.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Poit.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 w00t

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 04:33 AM (odBC9)

2 G'Day everyone
Its Monday again, isn't it?

Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2026 04:34 AM (Ia/+0)

3 Thank you, Pixy!

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 04:35 AM (odBC9)

4 I am thinking the ocean in Solaris can give you what you imagine as reality. Hari was real to the 2 others yet a recreation. His past on Earth at end was recreated on Solaris but twisted.

Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2026 04:42 AM (Ia/+0)

5 from a couple of months ago:

AI has hacked the code of human civilization | Yuval Noah Harari (46:51)

Main point (I think): AI is not a tool, it's an agent

A thought piece; good source of vocabulary. Commenters point out where he's gone off the rails.

https://tinyurl.com/2rkkexr5

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 04:42 AM (odBC9)

6 Long commutes all week to Animal Hospital. Its nice work, just a long haul to get there and home

Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2026 04:43 AM (Ia/+0)

7 Should be able to pop in occasionally
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2026 04:49 AM (Ia/+0)

8 You, too, Skip.

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 04:50 AM (odBC9)

9 Good morning,

Slow tech news day. Anthropic CEO seems more strange every time he speaks on the record.

Or maybe his product really does co-opt your information and independence

Posted by: Pete Bog at August 17, 2026 04:58 AM (ussCl)

10 Redbone - Wovoka

About halfway through there's a dead ringer for Iron Eyes Cody as he looked in the Crying Indian ads.

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 04:58 AM (odBC9)

11 Evening and morning, all! Yes, unfortunately, it's Monday. But remember:

"Compared to being on the wrong side of the ground, even a bad Monday is pretty small kumquats, nicht wahr?"

(And I wrote that with only two typos. A good omen for the day, perhaps?)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:04 AM (wzUl9)

12 Local band for prom in the ancient times started with Come and Get Your Love.

Posted by: clarence at August 17, 2026 05:04 AM (zRghv)

13 12 Local band for prom in the ancient times started with Come and Get Your Love.
Posted by: clarence at August 17, 2026 05:04 AM (zRghv)

earworm!

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:05 AM (odBC9)

14 I woke a little early, not from a dream but from dozing and imagining walking through the new house for the first time. Open all the windows and doors, let some fresh air blow in. And in my imagination, my next-door neighbor, who looks like the young Patricia Neal, takes me under her wing to show me what Indiana is like.

(Yes, my imagination has no governor on it and is likely to rev out of control; stipulated. But it's fun to race it around the corners.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:09 AM (wzUl9)

15
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 17, 2026 05:11 AM (AMvSw)

16 Hayden Panettiere of Heroes has died -- at 36! No cause of death given yet.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:11 AM (wzUl9)

17 "Also now extinct: Audrey Hepburn and neutrinos."

I doubt I'll miss the neutrinos. Audrey is another story. We watched the DVD of Breakfast at Tiffany's from 1961 last night, and I found her charming all over again.

I think my favorite commercial artist, Robert McGinnis, did the poster of her in black dress with cigarette holder for the movie. Not sure; he did some later, for How to Steal a Million and several of the Bond flicks, as well as a slew of paperback covers as I grew up.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:15 AM (wzUl9)

18 Disclaimer: Poit.

Rejoinder: Narf!

(Also I'm having a really bad case of deja-vu typing this out...)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 17, 2026 05:17 AM (O7YUW)

19 I am going to buy a robot

Posted by: Vod Kaknockers at August 17, 2026 05:19 AM (LOZbR)

20 G&R! Thank you for mentioning computer backups yesterday! I backed up after Pixytime.

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:21 AM (odBC9)

21 The 'Net says the poster for BaT was indeed done by Robert McGinnis. Dunno if I read that somewhere, or if I recognized his style from his paperback covers and Bond movie posters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:21 AM (wzUl9)

22 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at August 17, 2026 05:22 AM (sAmhv)

23 The only tech device I want is an exoskeleton.

Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2026 05:23 AM (gIjzl)

24 'Tis 85 F. here at 4:30 am. I refuse to look at the heat index. Today I'll hold the workout down to a mile, I guess, and at least one day this week walk at the nearby mall.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:23 AM (wzUl9)

25 The only tech device I want is an exoskeleton.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2026

***
Adamantiium-laced skeleton FTW!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2026 05:26 AM (wzUl9)

26 23 The only tech device I want is an exoskeleton.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2026 05:23 AM (gIjzl)

... and the one that you're using to post comments!

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:26 AM (odBC9)

27 The natives are rising up and trying to destroy their homeland.

Oh wait, it's not them, it's the muslims and somalis and criminals from south america.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at August 17, 2026 05:27 AM (tvdD1)

28 @20/m: "Thank you for mentioning computer backups yesterday! I backed up after Pixytime."

You're welcome. Credit where credit is due though, it was Biden's Dog that first mentioned doing a backup before he did his full re-install of Windows. I was just commending him for taking that step.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 17, 2026 05:28 AM (O7YUW)

29 Anthropic CEO says AI backlash is ‘fundamentally a crisis of trust’

That, and the fact that I can't buy any memory, gpus, or storage devices for non-exorbitant prices right now, so go pound salt, Dario Amodei.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 17, 2026 05:33 AM (O7YUW)

30 The TechCrunch article seems to be all over the place. Perhaps I need Moar Covfefe.

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:35 AM (odBC9)

31 *The TechCrunch article on the Anthropic CEO

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:36 AM (odBC9)

32 Good morning, everyone!

I hope that your Monday is blessed. Every morning spouse and I read a psalm for part of our daily devotionals . This is verse 7 from Psalm 17 which we read today. KJV of the psalm:

"Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.”

And this is one of the notes from my Life Application Bible:

"Our life circumstances may cause us to question whether we are living up to God's standards for us. Like David, we can ask God to show his love to us. Like David we can ask God to show his love to us. If life seems bleak and overwhelming , ask God to remind you of his love for you today. Thos reminder may come from a friend , a song you hear , the beauty of his creation, or a Bible verse that comes to your mind. When you notice it, recognize it as a way God had chosen to communicate with you, and thank him for this sign of his love."

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2026 05:38 AM (y8wRt)

33 29 That, and the fact that I can't buy any memory, gpus
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 17, 2026 05:33 AM (O7YUW)

ewww

gpus-->GPUs

Posted by: m at August 17, 2026 05:39 AM (odBC9)

34 Greetings, everyone! Morning got started at the gym and now I deal with the beginning of the work week. SIL looked at my MRI and said that she saw arthritis and some possible tearing of the meniscus. I am not letting this stop my vacation plans, thankyouverymuch.

Went to a seminar at the dojo over the weekend. Had folks from OH, CO, NJ and TX in attendance. A lot of fun was had by all.

And I see that Google University has been running a special on certification on Naval Deployments over the weekend.

Posted by: NR Pax at August 17, 2026 05:44 AM (+4yJ5)

35 Yesterday was a lovely service at the Anglican Church, and nice conversations with some people afterwards. When we came back we stopped for an ice cream, and while walking to the car I saw a little girl who seemed like she was about four. I think she may have visited a local church and was telling her older relative, "The church was so beautiful inside." It made me glad to hear it.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2026 05:45 AM (y8wRt)

36 Posted by: NR Pax at August 17, 2026 05:44 AM (+4yJ5)

I am glad you are not letting the results of the MRI stop your vacation plans and I hope you have a lovely time! I am keeping you in prayer.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2026 05:47 AM (y8wRt)

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