Climber, biker, cocktailer, polyglot, vagabond. Ex EIC WIRED & MIT Technology Review, now writing about the future of democracy at https://futurepolis.substack.com. NYC/SF. He/him/Sir.https://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3mm4z32m5ts2gIf you want to have a story published alongside some of the leading names in speculative fiction, now's your chance. @mitpress.bsky.social has agreed to publish an anthology linked to the Protopian Prize, a fiction contest for hopeful future visions of democratic governance... [1/2] https://protopianprize.com18 May 2026 13:44 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm4z32m5ts2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3mgly5zihw22qI often see this claim: we're just like AI, only with more data. Once AI is embodied (as Fei-Fei Li and others are working on) and can experience the world in as much detail as we do, the only way to argue it isn't conscious is to retreat into mysticism. I think this is incredibly simplistic. 🧵 [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Mar 2026 04:06 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgly5zihw22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lsfojmz2hc2k“Out of touch” — this from the party whose only contender for mayor has been wearing the same red beret for 45 years25 Jun 2025 03:34 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsfojmz2hc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lsbmqnpr4c2pPerhaps I’ve missed it, but in all the talk about whether the attack on Iran has stopped its nuke program, I haven’t seen anyone point out that Trump played a huge role in creating the threat in the first place when he pulled out of the JCPOA23 Jun 2025 12:51 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsbmqnpr4c2phttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lrl2pr4rqk2uThis is in small font at the very bottom of the #NoKings website. It needs to be in large type at the very top.14 Jun 2025 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrl2pr4rqk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lrkzbm66gc26It's time. #NoKings https://futurepolis.substack.com/p/its-now-or-never-to-stand-uppeacefullyto14 Jun 2025 13:04 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrkzbm66gc26https://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lpu6z6dyrc2jThere's a difference between laws saying how cars should be built and laws saying how fast people can drive them. The proposed moratorium on state-level AI laws would be the equivalent of banning states from having speed limits. My latest: https://www.techpolicy.press/why-both-sides-are-right-and-wrong-about-a-moratorium-on-state-ai-laws/23 May 2025 17:51 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpu6z6dyrc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lphadget622jMy latest for Bloomberg: Trump’s AI deals with the UAE and Saudi Arabia may be good business in the short term but bad geopolitics in the long term (gift link) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-05-18/trump-ai-deal-with-middle-east-could-hand-china-a-win?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0NzU3NzM5NywiZXhwIjoxNzQ4MTgyMTk3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTV0dIQ1REV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMEE2MkNCQkU3MjI0QUQyOEQxQjdGMEQ0REIyOTY1RiJ9.9l-nbQ30Rx5RTAyd6RCC3xqJvheCy9sw-lg7qdWTnDw18 May 2025 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lphadget622jhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lp5hsy25gk2pThe story of what DOGE is doing will henceforth be all about this: not about firing people or cutting supposed waste, but making US data privacy an even greater nightmare than it already was. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 May 2025 16:57 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp5hsy25gk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lp5hppc4rs2pThere have been a lot of good analyses recently about what the "real" purpose of DOGE is. But what did Elon Musk *think* it was? My latest, for Foreign Policy (gift link) https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/14/elon-musk-donald-trump-doge-russell-vought/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=ZWxvbi1tdXNrLWRvbmFsZC10cnVtcC1kb2dlLXJ1c3NlbGwtdm91Z2h0&pid=PNINzQGOyq8waqm14 May 2025 16:55 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp5hppc4rs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lmpf2idh7s26People who claim AGI is imminent mean a wide range of different things by it. For Bloomberg, I write that this AGI hype is obscuring our ability to talk intelligently about the big changes that are actually coming. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/features/2025-04-13/when-will-ai-be-smarter-than-humans-don-t-ask?srnd=phx-opinion13 Apr 2025 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmpf2idh7s26https://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lmfjfx6qt222If you're in the SF Bay Area, come to City Lights tomorrow to hear me interview Ray Nayler about his latest book, Where the Axe is Buried, a near-future science fiction novel that's also a critique of both authoritarianism and Western technocratic government. https://citylights.com/events/ray-naylor/09 Apr 2025 17:31 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmfjfx6qt222https://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3llr75gamak2qYou had me for a second @garymarcus.bsky.social01 Apr 2025 15:34 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3llr75gamak2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lkfa4m74q22hToday I learned that (a) “greenhushing” is now a thing (b) we’re all getting measurably stupider and (c) the whole universe might be inside a black hole. Not sure how much weirder things can get15 Mar 2025 03:55 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkfa4m74q22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3ljb2ugfe7s2yRight now most attention is on the damage. But I don't think it's too early to start thinking about what could rise from the ashes. One day—maybe a long way off—people will realize they want a functioning government and better ways of having a say in it. https://futurepolis.substack.com/p/a-scenario-for-american-democracy28 Feb 2025 18:45 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljb2ugfe7s2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3liflinyb5k2vFound on the sidewalk. I can’t help thinking that putting this issue on the top was deliberate17 Feb 2025 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3liflinyb5k2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3li55mh2ia22i"When hackers penetrate a computer system, security experts patch the vulnerability within hours. Trump has been using the same exploit for more than eight years. What’s our excuse?" In which I analyze the meaning of the Gaza plan and the media's response. https://futurepolis.substack.com/p/trump-is-a-hacker-and-there-is-a14 Feb 2025 11:58 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3li55mh2ia22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lhlqknxajc2mIn which I wrestle with the problem of how to explain "public AI" to the public and decide that the best metaphor might be... supermarkets? https://futurepolis.substack.com/p/like-bridges-but-for-ai-the-naming07 Feb 2025 13:49 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhlqknxajc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lhhmdojaic2yThat thing about how Trump's supporters take him "seriously but not literally"? That's clearer than ever when it comes to his nutso plan for taking over Gaza:05 Feb 2025 22:23 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhhmdojaic2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lgejamfi6c2iAnyone know if incoming presidential administrations normally delete the archives on whitehouse.gov from the previous one? I ask because this EOP budget request from 2022 is no longer available. It was last saved by archive.org on January 16. https://web.archive.org/web/20250116120110/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FY-2023-EOP-Budget-Submission.pdf22 Jan 2025 23:24 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgejamfi6c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lgegznfyuk25Bold claim from @rbreich.bsky.social https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-muskrat-strikes-back22 Jan 2025 22:45 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgegznfyuk25https://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lga535prgk2iIf I’m reading this right, the headline everyone should be writing but nobody has is: “Trump Decrees That There Are No Transgender People Any More” https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/21 Jan 2025 05:36 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lga535prgk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lfxii2gums2iWith the inauguration just days away, I took a look at something the Trump administration ought to love: a report from Jen Pahlka and Andrew Greenway via the Niskanen Center on how to make the US govt less bureaucratic, slow-moving, and generally incapable. https://futurepolis.substack.com/p/reforming-government-in-the-trump17 Jan 2025 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfxii2gums2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/glichfield.bsky.social/post/3lfbq3l4ork2iSo, are just heading towards a force-based international order now? Russia takes Ukraine, US takes Greenland and Panama Canal, China takes Taiwan…?09 Jan 2025 03:24 +0000at://did:plc:f45ediaixx3fvuglyof5udgx/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfbq3l4ork2i