Charlie Alford

AI companies are destroying rare books for profit

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:28 July 2026
Post last modified:29 July 2026

As a result of a legal loophole, AI companies have taken to sourcing rare books which they are subsequently scanning and destroying. And as people have highlighted, it could mean many texts are being lost to us forever: So AI labs are buying old books by the pallet, slicing them apart, scanning the pages, and pulping what's left. The orders are keyed to ISBNs and blind to scarcity. Nobody in the pipeline checks whether the book being shredded is one of the last copies on earth. Some of them… https://t.co/3WECoCQ7wG — Brad Carson (@bradrcarson) July 27, 2026 AI companies carry out…

Stop the War slams media platforming generals and arms companies

Post author:The Canary
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

Keir Starmer announced his defence investment plan (DIP) today and while the media is welcoming it with open arms (pun intended), the Stop the War (StW) Coalition has rightly called out the BS. The FT said the increase in defence spending of approximately £15 billion was recently raised by £1 billion in the wake of John Healey’s resignation as defence secretary this month. It has apparently been signed off by Starmer’s expected successor, Andy Burnham. Stop the War: ‘Never mind the cost of living crisis…’ Stop the War (StW) Coalition posted on X that generals and arms companies have been all…

PM hopeful Al Carns threatens more austerity to enrich arms companies

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:14 June 2026
Post last modified:14 June 2026

According to former ministers like Al Carns, the UK is facing the imminent threat of war. In a sense, this is always true, because the UK and the US regularly initiate conflict. And while we could simply stop committing ourselves to these illegal wars of aggression, Labour MPs like Carns and Lisa Nandy are instead proposing a fresh round of austerity: Nandy: "We've got to significantly increase the amount we're spending on defence" Over the last several days I haven't seen a single interviewer question this claim. Instead the challenge to politicians making it is, are you increasing it fast enough/by…

Companies abandon AI as prices skyrocket

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:4 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

For the past few years, billionaires and their media lackeys have told us that the AI revolution is inevitable. Opposing this narrative, some are warning that the ‘generative AI’ technology in question lacks the competence or cost-effectiveness for such a transition. And the emerging signs are proving those naysayers correct: NEW: Uber is reportedly capping employee use of AI vibe-coding tools at $1,500 per month after blowing through its AI budget. — Polymarket (@Polymarket) June 2, 2026 Why now? Over the past few weeks, anyone who follows the AI industry will have noticed a big increase in stories like this: Microsoft…