The Neo-Luddite (almost) Weekly - Issue #2

I knew that making this a weekly thing would be difficult. Well, at least I warned you!

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it's probably because you missed this post:

Introducing the "Neo-Luddite (sort of) Weekly"!

The Neo-Luddite Weekly, issue one. October 18, 2026. (Name is subject to change.)

Liminal WebDavid Billa

So, yeah, it took almost three weeks for the second issue of a series that was supposed to be weekly. Oh well.

Beyond the usual excuse, I only have three links to share with you today. However, two of them are quite lengthy articles, and I didn't want to share them without first reading them carefully.

Let's get started, shall we?

Today's topic will be a recurrent one here, I'm afraid. I'm talking about so-called

AI

As a reminder, I say "so-called" because pretty much none of the things called "AI" nowadays are actually AI, which is nothing else than a marketing term at this point.

Our first article is from Ed Zitron's blog/newsletter:

The AI Hater's Manifesto

If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, $18 a quarter, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 10,000 to 18,000 words, including vast, detailed analyses of NVIDIA, Anthropic

Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed AtEd Zitron

I suppose the title of the article speaks for itself.

If you're not familiar with Ed Zitron, he's an important voice talking about the scam that is "AI," often focusing on the economic and business aspects.

In addition to his blog listed above, here are a few more links about him:

• His Wikipedia page to know more about him.
• His YouTube channel.
• His Bluesky account.

An article from Esther Weidauer with another self-explanatory title, in which the author debunks a lot of the claims and arguments from people promoting or something simply using "AI":

Why I Resist Generative “AI” – Esther Weidauer

Everything, from the ecological to the psychological to the weird

Esther WeidauerEsther Weidauer

I don't really know her beyond this article, but I'll try to read more from her.

Finally, after two rather long articles, here is a much shorter one, though not the most uplifting. It's a sobering reminder that AI could destroy the world as we know it. However, it won't happen the way "AI doomers" (who are and have always been AI boosters in disguise) predict. Rather, it's the IMF itself warning us about how it could destroy the entire world's economy.

IMF Warns That AI Bubble Could Take Down the Entire World Economy

The International Monetary Fund issued a stark warning about the global economy's vulnerability to an AI market correction.

FuturismFrank Landymore

I never promised that this series would be very optimistic.

Regarding the cover image: I wasn't sure what to use. I don't want to use too many "generic" ones, nor do I want to use the same one every time. To make things a bit less full of doom and gloom, I decided to use some old pictures that I've never posted before. It's also a reminder that real art is one of the most important things in this world, and AI will never be able to create real art because one needs to be human for this.

As always, if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and contacts on your preferred platforms. It would mean the world to me, as would your subscription to the newsletter (it's free, although you can also help me pay the bills if you can afford it).
In this day and age, when you can no longer rely on search engines to be discovered, and when the web is becoming increasingly full of AI slop, it's more important than ever to know that you are read and followed by real humans. This is what still motivates me to write online.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time.

David