your Pivot to AI holiday special!

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Sources:

• Demo at D9: UBeam https://allthingsd.com/20110602/demo-at-d9-ubeam/index.html
• Investors Power Wireless-Electricity Start-Up UBeam With $750K https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00020120711e87bpkd6c
• DWECK v. PERRY https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pennsylvania/paedce/2:2011cv07057/452029
• 30 Under 30: Energy https://web.archive.org/web/20120108093349/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45eldh/meredith-perry-founder-ubeam-22
• Is this woman the next Elon Musk? https://fortune.com/2015/07/29/ubeam-meredith-perry-wireless-charging/
• How putting $10M into UBeam illustrates everything that is wrong with tech investing today https://lookatmeimdanny.tumblr.com/post/101432017159/how-putting-10m-into-ubeam-illustrates-everything
• uBeam Declassifies Secrets To Try To Prove Wireless Power Is Possible https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/07/wireless-power-charger/
• Experts Still Think uBeam's Through-the-Air Charging Tech Is Unlikely https://spectrum.ieee.org/experts-still-think-ubeamrsquos-throughtheair-charging-tech-is-unlikely
• The Sausage Factory https://liesandstartuppr.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-sausage-factory.html
• Conversation with an investor https://reddragdiva.tumblr.com/post/129387704618/conversation-with-an-investor
• Exclusive: uBeam CEO Meredith Perry steps down https://www.axios.com/2018/09/20/ubeam-ceo-meredith-perry-steps-down-1537464261
• It's an ex-uBeam ... https://liesandstartuppr.blogspot.com/2021/05/its-ex-ubeam.html
• SonicEnergy Overview: Out of Business https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/54800-92#overview
• Brain Gear Is the Hot New Wearable https://www.wired.com/story/expired-tired-wired-wearables/
• How to be a technology innovator: Meredith Perry at TEDxNashville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukgnU2aXM2c
• uBeam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH742F25MHg

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

so here it is, Merry Botmas, everybody's having slop

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

• BUY the Cuban Boys: Art vs Commerce: https://cubanboys.bandcamp.com/album/art-vs-commerce-the-singles-collection
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJ5oaU940U

Sources:

• Official NORAD Tracks Santa https://www.noradsanta.org/en/map
• OpenAI and NORAD team up to bring new magic to "NORAD Tracks Santa" https://openai.com/index/norad-holiday-collaboration/
• Video Dispatch: A Use Case is a Trojan Horse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3JdvqGafAk by @fasterandworse

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• Sam Altman's Studio Ghibli memes are another distraction from OpenAI's money troubles https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/03/27/sam-altmans-studio-ghibli-memes-are-another-distraction-from-openais-money-troubles/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38T84uF771U&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Department of Defense goes to war by AI chatbot https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/10/department-of-defense-goes-to-war-by-ai-chatbot/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPh9dirnYeA&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

where 'absolutely not' means 'maybe later'

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/23/firefox-browser-falls-to-ai-what-do-we-do-now/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Sources:

• uBlock Origin by Raymond Hill https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/
  AI Chatbot, at your service https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/ai-chatbot-at-your-service/td-p/84919
• Mozilla's next chapter: Building the world's most trusted software company https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/leadership/mozillas-next-chapter-anthony-enzor-demeo-new-ceo/
• Mozilla's new CEO is doubling down on an AI future for Firefox https://www.theverge.com/tech/845216/mozilla-ceo-anthony-enzor-demeo
• Something that hasn't been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features https://bsky.app/profile/webdevs.firefox.com/post/3mab5kub3gs2b
• I've spoken to a lot of folks about what counts as opt-in https://bsky.app/profile/webdevs.firefox.com/post/3madx5u5km227
• When did I opt in to this? https://bsky.app/profile/arborelia.net/post/3mae7sqerp22c
• Manifest V3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome#Manifest_V3_2
• Mozilla boss Brendan Eich resigns after gay marriage storm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26868536
• Brave: Easy, private AI https://brave.com/ai/
• One of the last meetings I attended before leaving Apple (in 2017) https://x.com/awesomekling/status/1874518295350837401
• Let's prototype a JavaScript JIT compiler! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mxubNQC5O8&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Alternate browsers:

• Vivaldi: https://vivaldi.com
• LibreWolf: https://librewolf.net/
• WaterFox: https://www.waterfox.com/
• IronFox: https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox/-/tree/main?ref_type=heads#app-installation

Previously on Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain:

• Brave web browser no longer claims to fundraise on behalf of others — so that's nice https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2019/01/13/brave-web-browser-no-longer-claims-to-fundraise-on-behalf-of-others-so-thats-nice/
• The Brave web browser is hijacking links, and inserting affiliate codes https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2020/06/06/the-brave-web-browser-is-hijacking-links-and-inserting-affiliate-codes/

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

how many three-window rooms can one AI make

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/22/ai-image-generators-have-just-12-generic-templates/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Sources:

• Autonomous language-image generation loops converge to generic visual motifs (PDF) https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdfExtended/S2666-3899%2825%2900299-5
• AIs fail at the game of visual "telephone" https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109574

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

speaking to Kim Crawley and Ryan Wilson

CONTENT WARNING: mild salty language, concerning generative AI

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

end in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

====

Notes from StopGenAI:

Stop Gen AI is the only political activism organization that tries to provide survival mutual aid to people who have lost livelihoods to Gen AI. We're fully international!

https://stopgenai.com

Subscribe to our newsletter via our website. For membership in our inner circle, message crowgirl.84 via Signal app.

Kim Crawley was fired by a clanker. She has a new job starting in January, but for now, she's unable to pay for December's rent and have a Christmas.

Please donate to or share her Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/kimatstopgenai

Kim Crawley's upcoming book, Digital Safety in a Dangerous World, had a successful Kickstarter campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kimcrawley/digital-safety-in-a-dangerous-world

The book features tips on how to protect your privacy and safety from the American techno-fascist state. The unholy alliance between Silicon Valley and American law enforcement and intelligence agencies is a clear and present danger to ordinary people all around the world, especially for marginalized people. Under fascism, being a good person and doing nothing wrong won't protect you from criminal persecution and state violence. Kim's book makes good cybersecurity and opsec habits easy for technological laypeople to learn.

The eBook will be published later in December. Email Kim for a retail link when the book is available, it will be priced at about $9 USD:
kim.crawley@stopgenai.com

Ryan Wilson is a political activist and proud husband and father. His new blog is a great way to learn about communism:
https://wilson-reads.ghost.io/

'Well, we're building an AI lawyer'

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Patron preview of tomorrow's episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-preview-146160976

Sources:

• Robin AI https://robinai.com/
• ChatGPT can be a disaster for lawyers — Robin AI says it can fix that https://www.theverge.com/decoder-podcast-with-nilay-patel/713303/robin-ai-ceo-richard-robinson-chatgpt-ai-lawyer-legal-interview
• The UK's hottest legal tech companies in 2024 https://www.nonbillable.co.uk/posts/hottest-legal-tech-companies
• Robin AI raises $26 million Series B https://robinai.com/news-and-resources/news/robin-ai-raises-26-million-series-b
• SoftBank-backed Robin AI cuts a third of staff after failing to close $50m fundraise https://sifted.eu/articles/robin-ai-cuts-a-third-of-staff
• Interesting case in the UK where RobinAI, which used AI to review legal contracts, is up for a distressed sale just a few months after making the top 10 in a list of fastest-growing tech companies https://x.com/tracyalloway/status/2001277882748842211
• Wrecked Legal Tech Co. Robin AI Sells Managed Services Unit https://www.law360.com/pulse/legal-tech/articles/2420009/wrecked-legal-tech-co-robin-ai-sells-managed-services-unit
• Is the Collapse of Robin.AI a One-Off or a Sign of a Legal Tech AI Bubble? https://www.geeklawblog.com/2025/11/is-the-collapse-of-robin-ai-a-one-off-or-a-sign-of-a-legal-tech-ai-bubble.html
• Fake AI, long hours, and no real technology https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Robin-AI-E6711215-RVW99690394.htm
• Beware and Avoid https://miro.medium.com/v2/format:jpeg/1*9pxMV459rr3puw7tVnmztg.jpeg

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• Lawyers find more work! Cleaning up after AI bots https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/02/lawyers-find-more-work-cleaning-up-after-ai-bots/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJZcl_eRfU&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

we've got Torment Nexus at home

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/17/the-resonant-computing-manifesto-same-ai-slop-same-ai-guys/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Sources:

• A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence
• The Cluetrain Manifesto https://www.cluetrain.com/
• The Californian Ideology (PDF) https://monoskop.org/images/d/dc/Barbrook_Richard_Cameron_Andy_1996_The_Californian_Ideology.pdf
• The Resonant Computing Manifesto https://resonantcomputing.org/

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• AI screws us over again: memory shortages, Crucial shutting down https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/04/ai-screws-us-over-again-memory-shortages-crucial-shutting-down/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWNSPL6BRuY&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

[Everyone disliked that]

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/16/amazon-discovers-ai-sucks-at-automated-tv-recaps/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
• Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
• Buy me nice things: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3Q8VZW46J6DM6
• Get an extremely cool Pivot to AI shirt or mug: https://pivot-to-ai.redbubble.com

Send in your story tips: dgerard@gmail.com

Sources:

• Prime Video launches AI-powered Video Recaps to help viewers catch up between seasons https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/entertainment/ai-plot-summary-video-recaps-prime-video
• ai tv show recap video? https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/1pjnrsw/ai_tv_show_recap_video/
• The official Fallout season 1 recap is filled with AI and thinks the show is set in the 1950s https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/the-official-fallout-season-1-recap-is-filled-with-ai-and-thinks-the-show-is-set-in-the-1950s/
• Amazon's Official 'Fallout' Season 1 Recap Is AI Garbage Filled With Mistakes https://gizmodo.com/fallout-ai-recap-prime-video-amazon-2000698573
• Amazon Streamed AI English Dubs on Banana Fish, 'No Game, No Life Zero,' Pet Anime https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2025-12-03/amazon-streamed-ai-english-dubs-on-banana-fish-no-game-no-life-zero-pet-anime/.231513
• Amazon removes controversial AI dubs from multiple anime https://www.polygon.com/amazon-prime-video-ai-english-dubs-banana-fish-no-game-no-life-zero-pet-anime/

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• Pivot to AI: Hallucinations worsen as the money runs out https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2024/04/11/pivot-to-ai-hallucinations-worsen-as-the-money-runs-out/

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA