AI does not compose my pickup lines, I do, have the t-shirt to prove it

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AI does not compose my pickup lines, I do, have the t-shirt to prove it

29 July 2026

Natalie Kaufman, writing for the Wall Street Journal, about an apparent trend in early twenty-somethings, to rely on AI agents to supply them with conversation starters, and pickup lines.

The article is paywalled, but would you really want to read about this?

I think these things are best learned through experience, and watching other people, rather than turning to AI for pointers. It gives me an idea for a t-shirt though.

Some websites and blogs sport not by AI buttons, as a way of reassuring readers their content was written by a person, and not an AI agent.

People who want others to know their conversation starters, and, where applicable, pickup lines, are their own effort, could wear a not by AI-style t-shirt, perhaps bearing the slogan “AI does not compose my pickup lines, I do”.

It might help eliminate the confusion as to what banter is AI-generated, and what is not.

For the record, my pickup lines are reserved for the only person who reads this website…

Update: Simon at Firesphere has created a mockup of my no-AI t-shirt idea. Green is an ideal colour choice to, it’s affirming, and noticeable. Awesome, thanks Simon.

My old red iPhone SE 2, no AusAlert alert, much embarrassment

28 July 2026

AusAlert is a new, nation wide, emergency warning system being rolled out by the Australian government. Should there be a crisis or disaster of some sort, authorities will be able to send warnings to mobile phones in the vicinity.

The alerts, which will be heralded by a short, but loud siren sound, are designed to override both silent, and do not disturb (DND) modes. That’s a good thing, as I avail myself of both constantly.

To test the system, an AusAlert message was to be sent to every mobile device in Australia, yesterday afternoon. It is unlikely nationwide broadcasts will occur regularly, if at all, as alerts are only intended to go only to phones in a specific region, if something is wrong. But saying every mobile device in Australia would receive the test warning was something of an exaggeration.

At 2PM AEST yesterday, my phone sat silent, even though phones all around me wailed for about ten seconds. As it happens though, AusAlerts cannot reach every phone, or mobile device, after all. For one, devices switched off, or in aeroplane mode, would not have received the test warning.

The same goes for older devices, of which mine, an iPhone SE 2, must be considered as far as AusAlert goes. I had heard “older” phones would instead receive a backup “presidential alert”, but I saw nothing. Landlines are likewise incapable of receiving the warnings, though I believe plans are in the works to include them eventually.

Later yesterday afternoon, Kristy McBain, the Australian Emergency Management Minister, said ninety-four percent of phone towers sent the alert.

That sounds a little low for what is meant to be national warning framework. It seems to me a lot of people could miss out in the event of a crisis. Still, the system is a work-in-progress, and doubtless coverage will move closer to one-hundred percent of towers.

I (still) have an iPhone SE 2, which I am reluctant to part with. It’s one of the (RED) red ones, which I had struggled to obtain. So I’m still using it. This is disassociated not Daring Fireball.

But I felt slightly embarrassed my phone didn’t join in the test. Most people knew what was happening, but some — despite pre-test publicity — seemed confused. I needn’t have fretted about my old red phone though, I doubt anyone had the slightest idea it remained mute during the drill.

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Australia, smartphones, technology

Webmentions, easier said than done?

27 July 2026

I like the idea of Webmentions, a protocol informing a blogger, website owner, that another blog/website has linked to them. Similar to pingbacks, Webmentions aren’t just another tech-gimmick though. In 2017 they were adopted as a recommendation by the W3C, the international body publishing standards for the web.

They’re also favoured within the IndieWeb/SmallWeb communities. So far, so good. The drawback however comes in their implementation.

It’s not a simple case of adding a few lines of code to a template, or, where available, installing a plug-in (something I aim to keep a minimum). The process requires jumping through a number of hoops, something, I gather, that ends up deterring a number of people.

Webmentions sound ideal for people who enjoy tinkering with their websites, but remain on the back burner here for the time being.

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blogs, IndieWeb, SmallWeb, technology

AI here to stay, accept it, says Australian government, vows artist copyright protection

17 July 2026

Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, says he wants to make Australia an “attractive destination” for investment in AI development, during a speech delivered on Wednesday.

Albanese also wants to balance the opportunities and risks presented by the technologies, particularly concerns that AI uptake will result in widespread job losses.

AI will take away jobs, he said, but will also create new and different lines of work.

Among proposals is a coordinated national framework, rather than a state-by-state approach, that will oversee matters including the construction of AI data centres.

In short, data centres will be required to generate their own power, by way of renewable energy sources, and minimise water consumption.

During his speech, Albanese also gave an undertaking to protect the intellectual property of Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists:

An artist’s creative endeavour is their work and their property. No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control. That includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work. Anything less, is theft.

These are words Australian artists and creatives wanted to hear.

Protections will doubtless be included in upcoming legislation, but after rampant marauding of creative material by AI scraper bots in recent years, the move might come too late.

The proposed laws might protect work created in the future, but what of copyrighted content that has already been copied, and digested, by AI agents?

Will AI companies who used creative work in the past be required to offer retrospective remuneration? Will these entities, many of whom are based outside Australia, be the slightest bit concerned by these proposals?

Australian government proposes AI national framework, standards

16 July 2026

Clare Armstrong, writing for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):

Australia will seek to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence without losing control of it by tackling challenges such as data centres, copyright, and jobs through a new national framework.

Buoyed, no doubt, by the… success of the social media ban for Australians aged under sixteen, the Australian government is setting its sights on AI.

But I shouldn’t be so cynical.

An Office of AI will be established within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and will be tasked with drafting standards guiding development and deployment of the technologies.

Use the AI compass to chart your AI archetype

7 July 2026

Find out where you sit on the AI compass, which is a little similar to the vote compass.

There are thirty AI classifications including sceptic, Luddite, conscientious objector, doomsday prepper, founder, and prophet. Each has a patron saint. Mine is Amanda Askell, though I’m not entirely sure I agree with my archetype, “The True Believer”, but who knows.

Simon Willison — should we dub him Mr AI? — is, according to the compass, “The Garage Tinkerer”, whose patron saint is none other than… Simon Willison. What are the chances?

Australian authors, songwriters, musicians demand payment from AI companies

7 July 2026

Individuals, educational institutions, and other organisations have to make payment in some form or other to access the work of writers, musicians, artists, and other creatives.

It seems like a naive question, but why should it be any different for the tech companies who are presently helping themselves to whatever material they can get their hands on, so as to train their AI agents? Particularly if the same tech companies expect users to pay to access their AI products.

Of course all writers, artists, musicians, etc, wherever they are, should be receiving compensation if any of their work is being used to train AI agents.

Chloe VS History: time travel that delivers a glimpse of the future

2 July 2026

Perhaps we see something of the future when we look to the past.

Chloe VS History, a YouTube channel, presents significant chapters of our history, hosted by a buoyant young woman named Chloe, a would-be time traveller, and seen through the lens of what is presumably a smartphone.

While it’s moot point, the smartphone, or whatever recording device Chloe uses, seems to go unnoticed by the multitudes of people she encounters. Be that Ancient Rome, on board the Titanic, or in Tudor age London, capital of the United Kingdom, among other places. Could it be the locals — where there are people present — think she is holding a hand mirror of some sort?

Regardless, Chloe’s enthusiasm for her subject matter is infectious. I studied history in my final year of high-school, and have the feeling the class would have been at least ten times more engaged, if we’d had the option to learn about historical events in this fashion.

The concept, the brainchild of British content creator Jonathan Laramy, may not be entirely unique, there’s a lot to say about the execution. To date, only five “full-length” features have been produced, though there are nearly forty “short” videos.

Of course, just about all of what we see in the Chloe VS History series, including Chloe herself, is created using AI powered applications. And while a substantial amount of research also goes into each production, I’ll take a punt that AI is only doing some of this work.

The educational merits of resources like this are obvious. And not just for history either, but other — sometimes not so exciting — subjects on a school’s curriculum also.

So far, there are only five in-depth Chloe VS History features, but doubtless the number will grow, given there’s a lot of history to explore from across the globe.

I don’t know a whole lot about reality headsets, such as, for instance, Apple’s Vision Pro, but I wonder what the experience of viewing these sorts of videos on reality headset devices would be like. Immersive, to say the least, if device support is available.

AI does not so much take work away as it changes the way we work

30 June 2026

CJ Chilvers:

Before influencers, there were bloggers. Before bloggers, there were TV stars, rock stars, and movie stars. Call them whatever you want, but individuals have always been the drivers of engagement and trust.

This is a point Alex Cowen reiterated in a recent talk given in the UK. It seems to me you don’t so much need a great of knowledge of AI — hard to gain when the technology is ever evolving — than you do a distinct personal brand. In whatever your field of endeavour is.

Nominations for Tiny Awards, for personal web projects, open now

22 June 2026

Nominations for the 2026 Tiny Awards, are being accpted until the end of the month, June.

Entry is open to websites of a non-commercial and/or personal nature, launched between July 2025 and July 2026. Submissions from brands and agencies are not accepted. The same goes for apps.

Given only relatively new websites are eligible, I’m thinking recent events across the world will form the focus or subject matter of a number of nominations.

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