Jacob Ward

I'm launching a tech-literate, historically informed, fuck-it-let's-go Substack today, and I'm calling it The Rip Current. Here's the first post! Please subscribe, and check out theripcurrent.com to see the ethical standards I'll be observing in this new phase of life.

238 AI programs. Zero meaningful oversight. DHS built the largest surveillance apparatus in US history while Congress wasn't looking. theripcurrent.substack.com/p/the-ai-surve…

The White House just handed the AI industry exactly what it wanted: a federal framework that preempts state laws before we ever tried real regulation. David Sacks gets his deregulated playground. theripcurrent.com/p/the-ai-indus…

Val Kilmer's AI resurrection in a new film looks sympathetic — his estate consented. But it creates a template where McConaughey can trademark himself while unknown actors get nothing. Hollywood's pulling up the drawbridge. theripcurrent.com/p/the-dead-and…

Meta reportedly preparing to lay off 16,000 workers to fund AI spending that could hit $135 billion this year. The math doesn't work: even optimistic layoff savings cover less than 6% of AI costs. theripcurrent.substack.com/p/metas-layoff…

Hacktivists just leaked 6000+ DHS AI surveillance contracts. ICE agents have facial recognition on every phone. Palantir uses Medicaid data to map neighborhoods for raids. 238 AI programs, almost zero oversight. theripcurrent.substack.com/p/the-ai-surve…

After a week like this one, it felt like the right time to announce: The Rip Current is going paid. Here's what that means. open.substack.com/pub/theripcurr…

We just aren’t mature enough as a society to make these choices, even as we give ourselves the technology to make them. That’s what I’m learning. #tech #technology #ai #genetics #medicine

Thank you Scholar for having me! See you tonight, Monday, Jan 12, at Mad Oak in Oakland at 6:30pm!

🇨🇦 I have come full circle on my opinions about self-driving vehicles, and I think they’ll change car ownership forever. That’s one disruption I’m looking forward to! #tesla #robots #robotcars #autopilot #notthisone

Robots that can improvise, lift, and replace human labor are headed to U.S. factories by 2028 — and nobody voted on it. #Robots #AI #FutureOfWork #Automation #CES #TechPolitics #Labor #HumanoidRobots #TheRipCurrent

Robots that can improvise, lift, and replace human labor are headed to U.S. factories by 2028 — and nobody voted on it. #Robots #AI #FutureOfWork #Automation #CES #TechPolitics #Labor #HumanoidRobots #TheRipCurrent

Every oil empire says this time will be different. History says: absolutely not. From Iraq to Suez to Algeria to Nigeria — oil doesn’t make empires rich. It bankrupts them. Venezuela won’t be the exception. Read and watch the whole thing on my channel and at

It’s a preview of what’s to come, folks. What happened at the Kolkata stadium wasn’t really about soccer. It was about expectation, exclusion, and betrayal. People paid real money to be promised proximity — to something global, elite, and Western — and then watched it vanish

It’s a preview of what’s to come, folks. What happened at the Kolkata stadium wasn’t really about soccer. It was about expectation, exclusion, and betrayal. People paid real money to be promised proximity — to something global, elite, and Western — and then watched it vanish

Americans don’t “hate” AI for no reason. The benefits are vague. The job losses are not. And the safeguards keep failing. 2026 is when the backlash gets real. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #AIRegulation #Grok #ElonMusk #FutureOfWork #TechPsychology #TheRipCurrent

I try to remember that your brain takes its cues from your environment, that good choices feel bad in the moment, and that your benefits accrue over time. Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday. #alcoholic #depression #mentalhealthmatters

One episode of Graham Norton Show would have convinced Paul to steer clear of Joshua #boxing #jakepaul

One episode of Graham Norton Show would have convinced Paul to steer clear of Joshua #boxing #jakepaul

The unspoken promise of AI is that you get to pass its work and ideas off as your own - and that makes our brains far more gullible and suggestible. Thinking out loud here. 🤷‍♂️ Would love your take. #AI #ChatGPT #TechEthics #MediaLiteracy #Journalism #CreatorEconomy

The unspoken promise of AI is that you get to pass its work and ideas off as your own - and that makes our brains far more gullible and suggestible. Thinking out loud here. 🤷‍♂️ Would love your take. #AI #ChatGPT #TechEthics #MediaLiteracy #Journalism #CreatorEconomy