It was a week of mostly quiet work, that involved focusing on some personal matters, whether it was paperwork (tax day is approaching) or some annual medical check ups, like keeping tabs on my vision. Life was mundane. And that was reflected in my writing this week as well. Just a solitary essay and two short notes. Even my reading was sporadic and intermittent.

Here are a few articles that I did read, and thought were worth sharing. Hope you get to enjoy them this weekend.

The Biggest Scandal in Chess — Vanity Fair

I am looking forward to Ben Mezrich’s new book, Checkmate. Vanity Fair’s excerpt about the time 19-year-old Hans Niemann beats Magnus Carlsen in 2022 has me waiting in anticipation. Chess is brutal. (There is a documentary on Magnus on TubiTV and PlutoTV, if you want to watch something.)

Leave Big Tech Behind — The Guardian

It is the Guardian, so no wonder it is a little preachy, but the information is useful. The Guardian walks through real alternatives to Google, Amazon, Meta, X, and Apple. We like the idea of alternatives, but acting on it is another question. (Read my essay on how we are addicted to the convenience of technology.)

Jimi Hendrix Was a Systems Engineer — IEEE Spectrum

Edge-computing architect Rohan Puranik ran circuit simulations on every pedal in Hendrix’s signal chain and concludes that he was a systems engineer who iterated fast on a modular analog signal chain. This is the best thing I’ve read in weeks.

“Anything Good Is Kind of Costly” — Dezeen

Marc Newson argues in this Dezeen interview that “Anything good is kind of costly.” I would argue that is usually true, but not always.

When You Don’t Die — Ottawa Citizen

A quiet, devastating piece about people who outlive a terminal prognosis. What happens when you’ve given away your art collection, said your goodbyes, rearranged your entire inner life around dying, and then you don’t?

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Social Media — New York Magazine

A Clemson University study identified 62 fake accounts across X, Instagram, and Bluesky linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Within 24 hours of the strikes beginning, they all pivoted to pro-Tehran war propaganda. The coordinated flip happened across platforms at once. Some of the accounts were broadcasting AI-generated videos of Trump and Netanyahu as LEGO minifigures. NY Mag’s inside account of the operation connects to the Time piece below, and the two read well together.

The New Age of AI Propaganda — Time

Renée DiResta’s essay in Time is the most important piece I read this week. Her core argument: modern propaganda is no longer about persuasion. It is about virality. The goal is not to change your mind but to dominate your attention. This should remind you of my recent essay about the velocity of information. Mine was less moralistic.

From CrazyStupidTech

Behold, an AI Startup with a Real Business

Fred wrote about Audioshake, a company that uses AI to split any song into its component stems. They have real revenue, real customers, real use cases. The quote I keep thinking about: “If this whole AGI thing is going to happen, machines need to be able to see. But they also need to be able to hear.”

ICYMI

Sam Always Wins
I noticed CFO Sarah Friar and AGI chief Fidji Simo were doing the press rounds last week. Not Sam. Which was strange, because Sam loves the spotlight. So I asked: was something going on? Turns out, yes.

Upstream Speeds, Needs Up Again
A quick follow-up to my earlier piece on upload speeds. New OpenVault data shows fiber upstream crossed 100 GB for the first time in Q1 2026, reaching 106.7 GB. DOCSIS subscribers on the same systems used 56.9 GB, an 87% gap, up from 66% just a quarter ago. The upstream nation thesis is holding.

Banksy, Satoshi & The Unmasking Impulse

I wrote this after Reuters unmasked Banksy and the Times named Adam Back as Satoshi. Both investigations bother me for the same reason: they confuse exposure with accountability. Banksy’s anonymity is the art. Satoshi’s anonymity is the architecture.

April 12, 2026. San Francisco