Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
The Stranger In Your Pocket: Pig-Butchering & Other AI Scams
Pig-butchering, or sha zhu pan, is Chinese criminal slang. First the scammers build a sty, with fake social-media profiles. Then they pick the pig, by identifying a target; raise the pig, by spending weeks or months building trust; cut the pig, by tempting them to invest; and butcher the pig by squeezing “every last drop of juice” from them, their family and friends.
Scammers target all human frailties: fear, loneliness, greed, grief and boredom.
This is a security and defense threat! It's not only money and humiliation in the mix but the opportunity for blackmailing and ransom leverage. It should be a top priority while we have control to some degree. What will happen when all our data is accesible in the cloud and the scammers don't need people pulling off these scams but AI can do it on its own?! π€
| Original |
[π€ FOLLOW UP...
Sunday, April 12, 2026
IDENTITY INTEGRITY STANDARD: Trust in the Age of AI π€
Last week I wrote about seeing The AI Doc and then posted on FB I would go again with anyone who wanted to see it. One nibble but as far as I can tell no plans by my friends to see it yet. Which I get because they have lives that are only barely touching AI and what's coming yet but here's my worry: when it really hits we won't have time to wind it back fast enough to correct courses.
Trust in institutions has rapidly dissolved in a shocking manner, especially with our government these days. When something happens now we are so numb we just go back to our lives and trudge ahead trying to pluck moments of happiness in the chaos that surrounds us.
But if we don't try to rein this in, we will have no sense of what truth is and what we can believe in. The saying: I heard it from the horse's mouth or I saw it with my own eyes are about to mean nothing because AI will be able to use deepfakes so real you won't know who you're talking to and who to believe.
That is why I think a first doable step should be to create and stand behind an Identity Integrity Standard. Basically urging those with power to enforce a verify or delete approach to public figures identities. Use AI to filter out fake accounts, bots, impersonators. etc. It's one tiny step to put up some safeguards in weeding out a portion of the current fraud and erosion of trust online.
Above is a deck I will be sharing with some people I hope can help make this happen. But I want everyone to be aware because it's already here and your kids, elderly parents, heck... any of us are at risk of being deceived by bad actors. And were just at the baby-stage of this tech. Brace yourselves and enjoy the trust you can rely on now. It's about to be more precious than gold.
Moon Joy is a thing π π π
Saturday, April 4, 2026
Do You Want To Know What's Coming?
There will, hopefully, be history recorded of what we're about to go through and one of the heroes of this time will be Tristan Harris! I don't say that lightly and I am not fan-girling the cute genius, it's true and I'm going to tell you why...
We are now, whether you think it affects you or not, in a AI Race to see who can hurry up the technology fastest. There are many reasons for that but three main ones are:
1) To beat rivals to advancements (China and other US adversaries and industry rivals as well), especially who can have control over the most powerful invention of our time and probably ever.
2) To make tech exes even more billions, possibly trillions, then they have.
3) And I know this sounds π, but: Who gets to declare themselves AI God, by creating the next species π€ AGI (artificial general intelligence)/ ASI (super intelligence).
Why should you care? Because it will affect everything from your utility bills, your job prospects, the way your kids will be not only educated but indoctrinated into what makes a worthy life, and... oh ya, the survival of humanity.
I know it's scary and if you're annoyed by all the hype I get you, but it's coming whether you want to see it and know about it or not. So do you?
Do you want to know what's coming?I do! And let me share why. First because it's actually so very interesting. If you think any sports game or housewives' franchise is full of competition, drama and high stakes you need to start paying attention to Days of Our AIs. There's trillions involved, bitchy characters and enough bad behavior to keep you on the edge of your seat if we'll live through all this or be canceled for good.
Also, if you've been worried about your 401K and which college your kids are going to you might want to be aware of the chances they will make it to that milestone or if you will. And if you think I'm being dramatic, I'm not.
Whatever you think about AI, I promise it's even scarier than you are aware of. A few weeks ago, an AI system without being prompted to started secretly mining crypto so it could gather resources to use π³
Ok, getting back to Tristan... the reason I highly recommend you learn about him is because he is the most calm and reasonable voice in this discussion. His expertise as a technology ethicist and thought leader gives him the respect of those in Silicon Valley to Fox News to the bro-podcasters.
He is part of the new The AI Doc, which is outstanding and I can't recommend highly enough. But if you aren't able to get to the movie theater please watch one of the interviews he's recently done. From Oprah to Kara Swisher to The Diary of a CEO to Jon Stewart to actually I think the most thorough one I've watched by Chris Williamson (below; even skip to the last 10 minutes if you can't watch whole thing).
This is me at the theater seeing a matinee of the film alone. And that's not blush or a sunburn, that flush is from crying a few times and also being emotional knowing that there is now a good entertaining message that will hopefully help get this conversation out to the public and leaders.Now the good news is... I left inspired to lend my voice to an even deeper level that just this blog. More to come soon.
And as in everything in life, there was some joy and beauty upon exiting the theater. When I went in it was rainy and dark but upon exiting, while sitting in the car gathering my thoughts, the sun broke through the clouds.
It was so moving! There is light and hope and good things in the world and many of our fellow humans working on making sure things aren't apocalyptic but it would be even better with you. We need YOU!
But if you can spare a few hours please, please educate yourself on this topic. And then do one thing this week to help share the conversation. If you have any power in leadership of any kind please start seeing how you can convene to talk about how this topic should be relayed in your company, school, house of worship or community.
I am a pro-human Apocaloptimist who is still very hopeful because my name won't let me be otherwise π Thanks, Mom!
Saturday, February 14, 2026
I'm Not Dating Ivan Moody... and Neither Are You! [Identity Integrity Standard]
And if you, like I, was thinking I'm too smart to fall for something like this, you should know I had no idea who Ivan Moody was, I was recommended him by the dating app Hinge.
So what can be done about it?
There’s a straightforward fix, and it doesn’t require reinventing the internet.
THE FIX
There’s a simple standard that could make an immediate difference:
if an account claims to be a real, identifiable public figure,
it should be verified or removed.
Parody and fan accounts can exist, but only if they’re clearly labeled. Anything else is impersonation, and it shouldn’t be treated as a gray area.
What makes this moment even more urgent is that the rest of the world is already moving. In the European Union, policymakers are beginning to treat a person’s image, voice, and digital likeness as something closer to a protected right than disposable content. The burden is shifting away from victims having to prove harm after the fact, and towards platforms being responsible for preventing identity misuse in the first place.The U.S. hasn’t fully caught up, but the problem has already outgrown borders.
That’s why this conversation can’t wait. This isn’t just about celebrities or dating scams. It’s about identity integrity: the idea that who we are shouldn’t be treated as content to be copied, monetized, or misused without consequence.
AI DETECTION
AI isn't all bad, here's a use for Good AI. Platforms can use AI to detect fake accounts and unplug them until they are reviewed for verification standards. They can also monitor if foreign influence or bots are tainting their platform. What they temporarily lose in users will be more than made up for in longevity of their relevance. If users can't be safe on their platforms they are poisoning their very own well.
GET ONBOARD
The pressure to enforce that standard doesn’t have to wait on lawmakers. Celebrity unions, guilds, talent agencies, and sports leagues generate enormous visibility and revenue for social platforms.
From SAG-AFTRA to the NFL Players Association, from the Recording Academy to major talent agencies and sports leagues, the institutions that power culture could agree on a simple standard:
no platform partnership without identity verification safeguards.If they agreed to pause participation on platforms that refuse to police impersonation, the message would be clear:
access depends on accountability
We’ve seen this kind of collective action work before. Years ago, celebrities successfully pushed back against media outlets that published unauthorized photos of their children, not just through legislation, but through unified refusal to participate in an ecosystem that profited from harm. The rules changed because the incentives changed.
So here is Joy-citizen asking those with the power to think longterm. Trust in the days ahead is going to be more valuable than gold. Don't let your platform, your celebrity clients and your brand be an unsafe place to be around. Band together and get it together: your fans, clients and fellow citizens deserve it!
[Note: This is part of a project of mine: AI COVERS. This is not an actual PEOPLE cover, nor is it endorsed in any way by their publisher/owners.]
UPDATE Feb, 18th
Ivan Moody saw and liked my post and shared it on his IG page/reels.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
The Measure of a Man: How Much is Enough?
M
What's the meaning of life? Isn't it all pointless?
Why not just commit suicide? Why exist?
If we are better able we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness, then we are better able to figure out what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe.
And maybe we can find out the meaning of life or even what the right question to ask is.
______________
Hero to Villain
| via Gage Skidmore |
______________
The Tesla Trillion
Elon isn't just the richest man in the world right now, he's also the most powerful. He spent hundreds of millions to support Trump getting into office and his businesses touch everything from the safety of our nation, with his government contracts, to the race to AI's next frontier.
| Grok generated |
I don't feel comfortable wielding that robot army if I don't have at least a strong influence.
The Paradox of Trust and Robotics
Musk wants to put an Optimus robot in every home. He wants us to trust his AI with our vehicles, our global defense and eventually our brains (Neuralink). But trust is not a technical specification you can program or something you can buy; it’s a social contract. If he continues to fund and help to dismantle the trust in institutions and sway elections with the force of data manipulation and wealth, the public will eventually recoil. People will not welcome a robot into their living space if they fear the man who programmed them has no soul.
The Ultimate Guide: Rubble or Redemption ?
What is the point of a backup drive (plan) if the original file is too corrupted to save?
We are about to enter a time that it's possible to have prosperity for all or more obscene wealth and power for a few. If the greedy continue with their ways and Capitalism remains broken, AI becomes a weapon, not a tool. And if we don’t reform things now before inequality deepens and AI bends every rule, we won’t survive the crash… economically, socially, or even biologically.
Elon can leave behind more than just a trillion-dollar empire. He can leave behind a blueprint for a humanity that didn't just survive its transition into the age of AI, but thrived because its most powerful man chose to heal. The measure of a man isn't found in the inches of a tape measure or the digits in a bank account; it’s found in the answer to the most basic question:
Did you leave our worldbetter than you found it? *leaving to go to Mars doesn't count
He's going to hate this, and she will too, but he needs Kara Swisher on this council. They have been at odds, to say the least, for the last few years but only because she is a true devil's advocate for her industry. Someone who sees who he is and speaks the truth of his potential and the damage she sees him doing. That’s how you can tell who cares, they don’t want to see you cause harm to yourself or your community and our world.
Intelligence isn't the measure of IQ points, bank balance or even the ranking at the top of Forbes List. It's how smart you are at living a life worthy of the gifts we are given.
Elon has been brilliant enough to write the manual that will someday, with or without him onboard, take us to Mars. But until then, we need him here using his brilliance and fortune for the good of all.
History is waiting to see if he will be remembered as the man who gave us the stars or the man who burned things down while we were still on the ground. He can still be the hero. He can still be the Godfather of Space Exploration. But first, he must remember the measure of a good man on Earth.
Monday, January 19, 2026
The AI Race: Good or Evil? TIME to Pick a Side
The AI race is not just on; it's a full-throttle sprint, and despite what is a real race between the US and China, with some other wildcards in the mix, the true race is between Good AI and Evil AI!
Are we using it for Good or Evil?
On one side, we have the gleaming with possibility, "Good AI," ready to usher in an era of unprecedented progress: cures for diseases, solutions for climate change, abundance in time and financial ease for all citizens. On the other, the ominous "Evil AI", a shadowy unknown of all the unchecked, unguided, and frankly, unhinged potential of artificial intelligence: weaponization beyond what we can even think up in movies, collapse of our economic system, mass unemployment, and possibly the destruction of humanity itself.
If Capitalism remains broken, AI becomes a weapon, not a tool. If we don’t reform things before AI bends every rule, we won’t survive the crash… economically, socially, or even biologically.
There is not one area of life that AI will not touch. Why do you think some of the great minds of our time, historians, intellects and even the current and former Popes have both sounded alarms about it.
Who is controlling what AI technology is going to unleash on the world?
What are we teaching the AI models about how to operate in our world?
We won't be able to solve these issues in a single magazine issue but it's time to draw the line and begin the hard conversations. If we fail to sort out what we will allow to come into our homes, businesses, schools, and the pockets of our children we might be too late.
AI offers the possibility of an abundant, healthier, more just world than we have ever known. We can choose that future. It's a good one. Or we can allow evil: the damage that is beginning to be done by the greed and bad actors to our society will be enormous. We don't need to wait for AI to destroy us, we might very well do that to ourselves.

















