this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2025
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Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.

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Want to wade into the sandy surf of the abyss? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

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[–] Architeuthis@awful.systems 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

What's a government backstop, and does it happen often? It sounds like they're asking for a preemptive bail-out.

I checked the rest of Zitron's feed before posting and its weirder in context:

Interview:

She also hinted at a role for the US government "to backstop the guarantee that allows the financing to happen", but did not elaborate on how this would work.

Later at the jobsite:

I want to clarify my comments earlier today. OpenAI is not seeking a government backstop for our infrastructure commitments. I used the word "backstop" and it mudlled the point.

She then proceeds to explain she just meant that the government 'should play its part'.

Zitron says she might have been testing the waters, or its just the cherry on top of an interview where she said plenty of bizzare shit

[–] slopjockey@awful.systems 2 points 6 days ago

Sounnds like she used her internal voice externally

[–] pikesley@mastodon.me.uk 10 points 1 week ago

@Architeuthis @o7___o7

"I don’t think there’s enough exuberance about AI"

Tinkerbell needs you all to wish harder, boys and girls

[–] o7___o7@awful.systems 6 points 1 week ago

Every horrible person in my life "tests the waters" like that before going mask-off 100% asshole.

It gives that feeling, doesn't it?

[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 4 points 1 week ago

exuberance

Truly a rightwing tech, after getting all the attention, money and data they now are mad people dont love it enough.

[–] mjj@mstdn.dk 3 points 1 week ago

@Architeuthis @o7___o7
“I don’t think there’s enough exuberance about AI"? Wow.

[–] BlueMonday1984@awful.systems 3 points 1 week ago

What’s a government backstop, and does it happen often? It sounds like they’re asking for a preemptive bail-out.

Zitron's stated multiple times a bailout isn't coming, but I'm not ruling it out myself - AI has proven highly useful as a propaganda tool and an accountability sink, the oligarchs in office have good reason to keep it alive.

Between this and the IPO talk it seems like we're looking at some combination of trying to feel out exit strategies for the bubble they've created, trying to say whatever stuff keeps the "OpenAI is really big" narrative in the headlines, and good old fashioned business idiocy.