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joanne mcneil
@jomc
wrote Lurking and the novel Wrong Way (coming soon). mastodon: @jomc@friend.camp (friend.camp/web/@jomc)
joannemcneil.comJoined December 2006

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Unchecked tech builds reckless boondoggle empires atop hallucinogenic silver bullets, totally divorced from the average person's lived experience/wants/needs. I loved hearing from writers and speak about their experience at CES.
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It was so great talking with and about the realities and unrealities of driverless cars! Check out our episode recorded amid the spectacle of CES autonocast.com/blog/2023/1/26
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New (very special) episode now live: @Tweetermeyer invited two authors of AV-focused science fiction, @jomc and @PatrickMMcGinty, to CES to get their perspectives on the state of mobility technology, the spectacle of its de facto trade show and much more autonocast.com/blog/2023/1/26
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Come listen to me, and discuss the fact, fiction and spectacle of mobility technology over beers in a Las Vegas sports book during CES! I mean, why not?
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New (very special) episode now live: @Tweetermeyer invited two authors of AV-focused science fiction, @jomc and @PatrickMMcGinty, to CES to get their perspectives on the state of mobility technology, the spectacle of its de facto trade show and much more autonocast.com/blog/2023/1/26
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It was so great talking with and about the realities and unrealities of driverless cars! Check out our episode recorded amid the spectacle of CES autonocast.com/blog/2023/1/26
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New (very special) episode now live: @Tweetermeyer invited two authors of AV-focused science fiction, @jomc and @PatrickMMcGinty, to CES to get their perspectives on the state of mobility technology, the spectacle of its de facto trade show and much more autonocast.com/blog/2023/1/26
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Short but crucial thread on roboslop and curation. I'd also really argue, without reservation, that these dudes think they should have a world made just for them. It's really about control more than consideration at all.
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I think a lot, if not most “AI art” practitioners, just aren’t accustomed to considering an artist’s intentions.
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this btw is where the Napster comparison falls apart (that was about distribution, not the work itself). And as for “ai art is marginalized just like photography was at the beginning”— already decimated that one
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I don't give a shit about "is it art" or style or aesthetics fellas, photography wasn't built on the backs of hundreds of uncompensated painters it's a bad comparison
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Excited for this! Jan 19 at Wonderville
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The first WordHack of 2023 is next week, Thursday 1/19 7pm at our new home @wondervillenyc with an amazing lineup of talks and performances from @jomc @kellianderson @agermanidis and @herdimasanggara, and the open projector too! wonderville.nyc/events/wordhac
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90s internet feels a bit like 8-tracks, minidisc, laserdisc - half-forgotten format. But given the size, scope, cash involved and role AOL played in e.g. the dotcom crash this seems stranger. Is it because generally a lot of 90s/00s aesthetic isn’t looked back on fondly?
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I wrote about the rise and fall of AOL for @thenation special issue on the 90s. On the fickle nature of ad-backed online communities and how the juggernaut online service paved the way for other walled gardens like Facebook thenation.com/article/societ
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Having had the immense pleasure of hanging out with Joanne during CES I don't doubt any of these things but will be ordering the book anyway
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You doubt my respect for Elon’s brilliance, ingenuity and humble efficiency? ok then pre-order my novel about a self-driving car scam us.macmillan.com/books/97803746
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Love this article. Captures the now alien feel of the net before the web and social media.
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I wrote about the rise and fall of AOL for @thenation special issue on the 90s. On the fickle nature of ad-backed online communities and how the juggernaut online service paved the way for other walled gardens like Facebook thenation.com/article/societ
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sometimes the lights in the tunnel are blue, sometimes the lights are pink, sometimes even yellow. What else can I say, the man’s a genius
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Tesla’s recklessness makes headlines, but Google is a trillion dollar company accountable to virtually no one. It should be transparent about human driver assistance in Waymo vehicles
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It was raining the day I tried out Waymo robotaxis. In each of my 4 trips, the safety driver drove from start to finish. While I appreciate humans driving in what would be unsafe AV conditions, anyone outside the car might have believed it was operating autonomously. #WrongWay twitter.com/jomc/status/16…
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My guess is if Waymo branches out north, it will involve massive teams of “remote operators”
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Replying to @jomc
like 20% why I rationalize staying in MPLS is bc of how hard it will be to run self-driving cars & robots outside every other 6 mo for the foreseeable future. reverse Persephone freedoms
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This was also my experience. With the window glare, only inside the car could I confirm the safety driver was driving 100%. The rain had stopped at this point and anyone outside the Waymo might have assumed it was operating autonomously
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Replying to @jomc and @Waymo
Gotcha. I was in San Francisco over the holiday with my kid and saw a self driving car. Pointed it out & wanted to see if it was one without any driver at all b/c that would be way more exciting. Was very hard to see. Perhaps windows were tinted. Just a mess of shadows inside.
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you might want to work on light rain in Chandler, Arizona first
driver of Waymo
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This week, NYC received 8+ inches of snow in an enormous winter storm. As the city begins to thaw, we’ve been collecting data for winter-performance analysis of the Waymo Driver across our stack. Check this out!
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If the weather presents an issue, that’s understandable. But I’m confused why maintains the theater of driverless cars in conditions when they cannot operate safely. Imagine if airlines pretended their jets operated perfectly in snowstorms…
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If you see a Waymo driverless in the rain, a remote operator might be heavily assisting with it. In the meantime, if you hail a Waymo in Chandler, AZ today, you’re likely to experience a fully-unself-driven driver-drove extremely un-autonomous journey
Screenshot of Waymo app showing message “Autonomous specialist is accompanying this ride”
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AVs with no safety drivers inside might appear impressive, but until Waymo clarifies how much control “remote operators” have over the vehicles, it’s hard to tell how much it’s resolved issues with left turns, puddles, etc.
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It was raining the day I tried out Waymo robotaxis. In each of my 4 trips, the safety driver drove from start to finish. While I appreciate humans driving in what would be unsafe AV conditions, anyone outside the car might have believed it was operating autonomously. #WrongWay
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Replying to @brianwilt and @Waymo
I hailed four Waymos in Chandler. In each vehicle, the safety driver controlled the vehicle from start to finish. My understanding is these drivers typically work as a remote operators but since it was raining yesterday they were called in to drive 100%
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Replying to and
I hailed four Waymos in Chandler. In each vehicle, the safety driver controlled the vehicle from start to finish. My understanding is these drivers typically work as a remote operators but since it was raining yesterday they were called in to drive 100%
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