Ben Cotton (he/him)

This morning's talk rehearsal went an appropriate length, which is always a good sign. #scale23x

What job does he plan on getting, because it seems like there are a lot fewer of those to go around these days.

You were on @marketplace.org!

Whoa, there's a @mattlanza.bsky.social in my ears!

Here's my unofficial #SCaLE feed for @socallinuxexpo.bsky.social

Please follow it and give it a ❤️ so others can find it too

bsky.app/profile/just...

Democrats may not be able to prevent Mullin's confirmation, but they can certainly turn his track record of offense and stupidity into two days of televised humiliation so spectacular that he is wounded in Trump's eyes from day 1. That is the job.

You’d better start believing in supply chains because you’re in one (SCaLE 23x) At SCaLE 23x, I'll debut "You'd better start believing in supply chains because you're in one." This talk started as a silly joke, but it covers a serious and timely topic.

You’d better start believing in supply chains because you’re in one (SCaLE 23x)

At SCaLE 23x, I'll debut "You'd better start believing in supply chains because you're in one." This talk started as a silly joke, but it covers a serious and timely topic.

I just love riding trains!

Never has a Kennedy so strongly rebuked Boston since Bobby ran for senate in New York.

Ars has a union.

https://media2.giphy.com/media/JRF85A7Bcl2YU/200.gif

Land wars in Asia. Who knew?

What if it catches on fire, burns down, and sinks into the swamp?

Accidentally left my DevConf CZ travel mug somewhere in ATL. Tragic.

The Phalanx CIWS would be pretty effective against incoming drones, I would think.

If you'll be in Pasadena and want to attend SCaLE for half off, use promo code SPK23 when you register!

Other writing: February 2026

What have I been writing when I haven't been writing here? Duck Alignment Academy New metrics resource page and updated AI resources page — I made the website a little more useful. Sometimes saying less is more — If you can cut a word or phrase without losing clarity,…

🚐IND✈️ATL✈️LAX🚐🚆sister in San Diego🚆🚃#scale23x

You don't want your flash to reflect, obviously.

In fact, Amodei already answered the question: if nuclear weapons were developed by a private company, and that private company sought to dictate terms to the U.S. military, the U.S. would absolutely be incentivized to destroy that company. The reason goes back to the question of international law, North Korea, and the rest: International law is ultimately a function of power; might makes right. There are some categories of capabilities — like nuclear weapons — that are sufficiently powerful to fundamentally affect the U.S.’s freedom of action; we can bomb Iran, but we can’t North Korea. To the extent that AI is on the level of nuclear weapons — or beyond — is the extent that Amodei and Anthropic are building a power base that potentially rivals the U.S. military. Anthropic talks a lot about alignment; this insistence on controlling the U.S. military, however, is fundamentally misaligned with reality. Current AI models are obviously not yet so powerful that they rival the U.S. military; if that is the trajectory, however — and no one has been more vocal in arguing for that trajectory than Amodei — then it seems to me the choice facing the U.S. is actually quite binary: Option 1 is that Anthropic accepts a subservient position relative to the U.S. government, and does not seek to retain ultimate decision-making power about how its models are used, instead leaving that to Congress and the President. Option 2 is that the U.S. government either destroys Anthropic or removes Amodei.

Ben Thompson making a full-throated case for fascism here stratechery.com/2026/anthrop...

WTF

I'm told all the previous presidents were dumb, so maybe that's it? 🤷

Book review: Darkening Song

I received a free copy of the audiobook through a randomized giveaway on StoryGraph. I did not receive any compensation for this review. What happens when you mix a traumatic past with sudden fame? For music superstar Alora (and her intern-turned-manager Eva), the…

Time for another round of everyone's favorite game: How Dad Am I?

I am so Dad, I'm grinning because I got the sockets for my ratchets organized and de-duplicated.

I understand this wasn't the original plan, but you know what? Ed Orgeron is gonna do a great job as interim Supreme Leader of Iran

I don't even use the "auto" setting on my 2015 car. *I* decide when the lights are on.

Goo goo goo joob

Even the Pentagon is anti-Ice. Lollerskates.