RE: https://mastodon.sboots.ca/@sboots/117446091056210663

“We realized that the problems we were running into weren’t technology problems, they were organizational and policy problems: HR and classification, procurement, leadership selection, decision-making processes, project management and approval gates, organizational culture.”

👆🏾 All stuff I used to work on at the Ontario Digital Service before they shut us down.

Would love to be able to work on that stuff again, somewhere.

"I suggest the social action: shame. Shame these people. Their actions are shameful. AI bros hate being shamed and they try to make rules against shaming — because shame works.

None of these people doing shameful things deserve a place in polite company. They should be shamed for their shameful choices.

The AI industry is also running a PR push to redefine common word usage. The word “slop” is also super effective — so the bros really hate “slop” and try to define it to mean slop they don’t like.

But all AI output is slop. It’s social spam. That’s what it’s for. It’s slop! Say “slop” every time."

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/10/14/linux-kernel-goes-full-ai-slop-code-hides-chatbot-commits/

every so often i nostalgically visit old websites i used to maintain or frequent, and i click on all the external links to find out which still work.

has anyone done research about this? i don't know how to systemize the method exactly, but i want to know things like, "what percentage of links [over what dataset?] still work", "what are the different ways things are broken/how many in each category", "what technical/organizational decisions/circumstances impact url longevity in what ways"

New blog post! 👨‍💻 “I hoped the system would have had more capacity for institutional reform than it has.” (on the launch of Digital Transformation Canada) https://sboots.ca/2026/10/14/hoped-the-system-would-have-had-more-capacity-for-institutional-reform/ #GCdigital

From Geoffrey Bercarich (link)

Edit: this isn't even all the police cars; I've heard people estimate ~30.

#bikeTO #BikeTooter #Toronto

I know it's rare for locals to want outsiders to weigh in but I'd like to hear from people not from Toronto: 1) where are you from, and 2) what do you think about the provincial government removing bike lanes along a major street in Canada's largest city, purportedly to reduce traffic?

edit: I have enough opinions now, thank you. I will contact winning opinion-havers for permission to link/quote in forthcoming blog post. Yes I know this won't stop anyone.

Up-to-date Star story (🎁)

#bikeTO #BikeTooter #Toronto

“…the federal internal accountability regime in a nutshell: a dense web of rules, sign-offs and reporting that slows the public service down far more than it holds it to account for results. Government never measures the effort spent complying with processes against the effort spent doing the actual work.” Profs. Amanda Clarke & Étienne Charbonneau: https://irpp.org/research-studies/functioning-federal-accountability-regime/ #GCdigital

“Wikimedia’s volunteers are the ones who come in first contact with, and clean up the mess left behind by AI agents. ... Wikimedia’s volunteers have stayed resilient so far in tackling emerging challenges on our platforms, but we also want to say: it doesn’t need to be this way.”

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/10/05/openai-rogue-agent-activities-found-on-wikimedia-projects/

#Wikimedia #OpenAI

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@ifin/117434320955324418

For non-state actors, sharing information is almost always a benefit.

Webscale: a chalky residue deposited on architecture when ordinary software is repeatedly exposed to trace amounts of Google engineering blog posts.

Commonly found on:

• Kubernetes clusters serving 11 requests/minute
• Kafka installations whose entire event stream could fit in a flatfile or SQLite
• 14 microservices performing the duties of one medium-sized daemon
• Globally distributed databases where all users live in the same state
• Service meshes connecting 3 services
• Organisations with 4 engineers and a Platform Engineering Team

Removal usually requires a strong solution of “what problem are we actually solving?” and a wire brush.

Severe cases may require application of a harsh cleaner known as Monolith™. Apply liberally until the architecture becomes understandable again.

For deeply embedded Webscale deposits, use PostgreSQL at full strength. Do not dilute with Cassandra.

I guess it's unreasonable for me to want Mastodon's UI layout to stay stuck in 2014 forever but (1) I sincerely think 2026 web design is worse than 2022 web design which is worse than 2018 web design which is worse than 2014 web design which is, arguably, not an improvement on 2010 web design, and (2) I am under no obligation to be reasonable

RE: https://phire.place/@phire/117355660113108103

“If unions didn’t work, there wouldn’t be so much effort spent on crushing them.” PREACH!

You can and should find 9 minutes to watch @phire’s talk about shifting the balance of power in tech; not a second of filler in the whole thing

Wow, LinkedIn's algorithm really doesn't want people to read @sarahgilbert's article about keeping the Internet human in the era of AI

Out of the 10,200 impressions the feed gave my posts last week, it only gave 65 to Sarah's *important* article in @techpolicypress

As Sarah writes, "If AI content is allowed to drive out human content and prevent people from connecting with each other, we risk dual and intertwined crises of knowledge and community."

https://www.techpolicy.press/millions-of-volunteers-are-keeping-the-internet-human-for-now/

Mikey Dickerson with a super interesting comment on a widely repeated principle in #gcdigital circles: "meet the public servants where they are":

"I can still recite the values: Hire and empower great people. Find the truth, tell the truth. Go where the work is. Design with people, not for them. Optimize results, not optics. And create momentum.

I must still care about these, because I get mad when I think they’ve been forgotten. For example, I heard that for reasons of convenience, we have reinterpreted “go where the work is” to mean “meet the public servants where they are.” But I meant literally. If all the work is happening in some horrific beige office building in Iowa, then you need to go to Iowa. That’s where they’re doing work. You need to see it with your own eyes."

https://usdigitalserviceorigins.org/interviews/mikey-dickerson/#:~:text=I%20can%20still,eyes

I gave a talk last week about tech billionaires (we really don't like them) and how to fight them (labour organizing, it's always labour organizing). Come take a 9-minute break from producing shareholder value and watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDyAygsYXhE

I think people do this because it helps them feel righteous about their position, which is a small measure of comfort/control in the face of overwhelming odds. You may be helpless but at least you're morally correct!

But choosing community with other flawed human beings over moral correctness is how we become less helpless, collectively

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@evacide/117350373613684501

Trying to separate people into the groups "deserves to be exploited by big tech" and "does not deserve to be exploited by big tech" will not in fact prevent anyone in the latter group from being exploited by big tech

”There’s another, uglier explanation for the CSS disrespect: It’s considered a 'feminine' language. There’s the obvious undertone that dealing with style and beauty is Female Work, along with the recycled joke that a CSS developer is 'a freak in the style sheets.'”

https://www.wired.com/story/justice-for-css/