Hacker News with Generative AI: Social Commentary

GPT-4o draws itself as a consistent type of guy (danielpaleka.com)
When asked to draw itself as a person, the ChatGPT Create Image feature introduced on March 25, 2025, consistently portrays itself as a white male in his 20s with brown hair, often sporting facial hair and glasses.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Social Commentary
19 points by dpaleka 2 days ago | 9 comments
Rust is indeed woke (dreamwidth.org)
Hello, you've been (semi-randomly) selected to take a CAPTCHA to validate your requests. Please complete it below and hit the button!
Programming Languages, Opinion, Social Commentary
15 points by pabs3 4 days ago | 2 comments
Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo (yimbyaction.org)
“Too many goods created a bad.”
Politics, Economics, Social Commentary
340 points by viajante1882 6 days ago | 512 comments
Is Your Son a Computer Hacker? (2001) (gwern.net)
As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. I encourage them to join team sports. I attend their teen parties with them to ensure no drinking or alcohol is on the premises. I keep a fatherly eye on the CDs they listen to and the shows they watch, the company they keep and the books they read. You could say I'm a model parent.
Parenting, Technology, Social Commentary
3 points by JPLeRouzic 6 days ago | 3 comments
The mana of digging a grave (2024) (thespinoff.co.nz)
On learning an underappreciated but vitally important skill.
Life Skills, Social Commentary, New Zealand
6 points by NaOH 11 days ago | 1 comments
Non-Consensual Consent: The Performance of Choice in a Coercive World (qualiaadvocate.substack.com)
Consider the following scenario: You're sitting in a job interview for a position you desperately need to pay rent. The interviewer asks, "Why are you passionate about working in insurance claims processing?" Despite feeling nothing resembling passion, you fabricate enthusiasm, carefully crafting a narrative about your deep interest in risk assessment and customer service.
Ethics, Social Commentary, Power Dynamics, Coercion
21 points by QualiaAdvocate 13 days ago | 7 comments
The School Car Pickup Line Is a National Embarrassment (collegetowns.substack.com)
The school car pickup line is a national embarrassment.
Parenting, Education, Social Commentary
265 points by trevin 18 days ago | 377 comments
You are witnessing the death of American capitalism (YouTube) (youtube.com)
Economics, Social Commentary, United States
17 points by nickcotter 23 days ago | 6 comments
AI is becoming 'yes-men on servers' (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.
Artificial Intelligence, Social Commentary, Technology
94 points by marban 23 days ago | 6 comments
It is as if you were on your phone (pippinbarr.com)
It is as if you were on your phone is an almost speculative game about an incredibly near future in which we’re all simultaneously under significant pressure to be on our phones all the time, but also to not be on our phones all the time.
Mobile Technology, Speculative Fiction, Social Commentary
852 points by bookofjoe 24 days ago | 132 comments
There Are Other People in the World (defector.com)
You are at the supermarket. You push your shopping cart up and down the aisles, filling it as desired. You are making good time, especially in a crowded store, but suddenly you need to stop, because you need to reach something on a high shelf, or because you want to compare a few different items, or perhaps because you ran into a friend you haven't seen in a while and want to chat.
Social Commentary, Everyday Life, Relationships
7 points by zdw 26 days ago | 0 comments
From Statecraft to Soulcraft (noemamag.com)
Nearly 450 years ago, a French philosopher wrote a book that feels like a precursor to “The White Lotus,” HBO’s hit TV show set in a luxury resort that follows various groups of guests as tensions build among them.
Philosophy, Television, Social Commentary
4 points by corimaith 26 days ago | 0 comments
A shirt whose price increases by 1 euro with every purchase (driesdepoorter.be)
A shirt whose price increases by 1 euro with every purchase.
Art, Social Commentary, Economics
63 points by tomsonj 27 days ago | 36 comments
The Rise of the Brutal American (theatlantic.com)
This is how the bad guys act.
Politics, America, Social Commentary
67 points by petethomas 27 days ago | 40 comments
From MAGA to monarchy: How tech billionaires are engineering American autocracy (salon.com)
Thomas Paine, The Father of the American Revolution, wrote in opposition to the British Monarchy and in favor of American independence. We live in a period of revolution that is rapidly moving toward a return to a monarchy. In our modern times, it is not to have the return of a king, but to an all-powerful executive surrounded by loyal and very wealthy oligarchs. Paine’s writings were both educational and influential in shaping public opinion.
Politics, Social Commentary, Technology, History
14 points by doener 29 days ago | 0 comments
With Great Power Came No Responsibility: Enshittification in the Trump Age (pluralistic.net)
Last night, I traveled to Toronto to deliver the annual Ursula Franklin Lecture at the University of Toronto's Innis College:
Politics, Social Commentary, Trump Administration, Responsibility
21 points by croes 30 days ago | 1 comments
A 'joyful' Japan? Ishiba's slogan sparks the opposite feelings (japantimes.co.jp)
When Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addressed parliament on Jan. 24, he sought to lay out a vision for a new Japan.
Japan, Politics, Elections, Prime Minister, Social Commentary
5 points by PaulHoule 34 days ago | 2 comments
Techno-Fascism Comes to America (newyorker.com)
When a phalanx of the top Silicon Valley executives—Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Google’s Sundar Pichai—aligned behind President Trump during the Inauguration in January, many observers saw an allegiance based on corporate interests.
Politics, Technology, Silicon Valley, Social Commentary
67 points by greenie_beans 34 days ago | 17 comments
I'm Tired of Pretending Tech Is Making the World Better (joanwestenberg.com)
I'm tired of pretending tech makes things better.
Tech, Social Commentary, Opinion
19 points by cratermoon 35 days ago | 3 comments
From Reform to Ruin in the USSR (cogitations.co)
“A nation so poorly prepared to act independently could not attempt total reform without total destruction. An absolute monarch would have been a less dangerous innovator.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
History, Soviet Union, Political Analysis, Social Commentary
81 points by waldohatesyou 35 days ago | 92 comments
'Everybody is looking at their phones,' says man freed after 30 years in prison (news.sky.com)
A man who has been released from prison after 30 years for a crime he says he never committed has been readjusting to life - and getting used to just how connected people are now.
Social Commentary, Technology, Crime, Prison, Social Change
188 points by austinallegro 38 days ago | 171 comments
New reviews for Lumina Probiotic, the genetically engineered toothpaste (sfstandard.com)
In January of last year, a handful of tech elites flew to Honduras to try a single-use toothpaste that wasn’t available in the U.S. Shelling out up to $20,000 for a dose, they hoped the genetically engineered dental rinse might permanently ward off cavities.
Genetics, Biotechnology, Dental Health, Consumer Products, Social Commentary
4 points by tomwiddles 38 days ago | 0 comments
Tell HN: Generational Gap (ycombinator.com)
Generational Gap, Social Commentary, Technology, Sociology
17 points by yonisto 39 days ago | 29 comments
America will collapse by 2025 (2010) (salon.com)
A soft landing for America 40 years from now? Don't bet on it. The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines. If Washington is dreaming of 2040 or 2050 as the end of the American Century, a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends suggests that in 2025, just 15 years from now, it could all be over except for the shouting.
Politics, Social Commentary, Future Predictions, USA
38 points by inverted_flag 44 days ago | 65 comments
Leave Billionaires Alone (m-onz.net)
"Money, money, money. It's so funny. In a rich man's world."
Wealth Inequality, Social Commentary, Economics
21 points by timothygold 45 days ago | 18 comments
We Live Like Royalty and Don't Know It (thenewatlantis.com)
At the rehearsal dinner I began thinking about Thomas Jefferson’s ink. My wife and I were at a fancy destination wedding on a faraway island in the Pacific Northwest. Around us were musicians, catered food, a full bar, and chandeliers, all set against a superb ocean sunset. Not for the first time, I was thinking about how amazing it is that relatively ordinary middle-class Americans could afford such events — on special occasions, at least.
Wealth, Privilege, Lifestyle, Social Commentary
39 points by Luc 49 days ago | 12 comments
Terence Tao on the Ongoing Process of "Enshittification" (mathstodon.xyz)
Mathematics, Social Commentary, Internet Culture
9 points by yo_yo_yo-yo 49 days ago | 0 comments
What We're Fighting For (wheresyoured.at)
A great deal of what I write feels like narrating the end of the world — watching as the growth-at-all-costs, hyper-financialized Rot Economy seemingly tarnishes every corner of our digital lives. My core frustration isn't just how shitty things have gotten, but how said shittiness has become so profitable for so many companies.
Technology, Social Commentary, Business, Ethics
35 points by dzogchen 49 days ago | 5 comments
The Mythology of Work (2018) (crimethinc.com)
What if nobody worked? Sweatshops would empty out and assembly lines would grind to a halt, at least the ones producing things no one would make voluntarily. Telemarketing would cease. Despicable individuals who only hold sway over others because of wealth and title would have to learn better social skills. Traffic jams would come to an end; so would oil spills. Paper money and job applications would be used as fire starter as people reverted to barter and sharing.
Philosophy, Economics, Social Commentary
68 points by robtherobber 50 days ago | 96 comments
The Attraction of Homelessness (2009) (nytimes.com)
FOR nearly 13 years between 1994 and 2007, I wandered the streets of New York, a nomad in the town where I was born in 1949.
Homelessness, Personal Essay, Social Commentary, Memoir
13 points by bookofjoe 52 days ago | 5 comments