Jessica McKenzie

@jessimckenzi

reporting, writing, editing climate change stories @thebulletin.org // outdoorsy newsletter: jessicastarmckenzie.com/newsletter // tips: jmckenzie@thebulletin.org, jsmckenzie@protonmail.com, or jessimckenzi.01 on signal

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Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 13d

ok i KNOW it's a lil bit silly to ask ai to identify ai writing and there's lots of examples of false positives or whatever but i was using the uchicago ai to check something and followed my colleague @saragoud.bsky.social's suggestion to feed it one of my own pieces as a control and...i'm so proud

That sarcastic, mildly biting tone is possible for AI to imitate, but here it feels embedded in a real writerly voice rather than pasted on.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 15d

how???

I will admit, for a mature person, A.I. can be useful. A formed mind can argue or wrangle with the machine, reject its false polish and recognize when the language it constructs to redescribe the world has become too smooth or soulless. Someone who has lived with words long enough can sense when a sentence has not been earned, and someone who has already developed a voice can use the machine without allowing the machine to become the voice.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 15d

this isn't natural imo!! (pinned tweet and two most recent)

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 15d

oh it DIDN'T?? tell me, what DID it do then?

It's an open question whether the plants arrive on Silicon Valley's optimistic timeline. But something has already changed: Big Tech didn't just find a new customer for nuclear power—it became nuclear power's most important backer. And whichever country or company figures out how to pair AI computing power with reliable, carbon-free electricity fastest may end up deciding not just what fuel wins the energy race, but what actors win the AI race, too.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 15d

i am never going to know a moment's peace again

The power won't heat homes or run factories. It will feed Microsoft's AI data centers—windowless buildings full of computer chips that need to run, without interruption, 24 hours a day.

That's not an isolated deal. In fact, it’s part of a pattern reshaping who controls America's energy future.

They're no longer just buying electricity. They're financing power plants directly, and in doing so they're succeeding where the U.S. government and the utility industry failed for 40 years: making nuclear power affordable to build again.

What's genuinely new isn't that nuclear moves faster; rather, it’s that AI has made both the near-term restarts and the long-horizon new builds bankable again—the first time in 40 years.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 20d

"Harrowing" @thebulletin.org article mentioned in a recent NYT op-ed www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/o...

The most harrowing report about Iran’s future was put out seven months ago by analysts writing in the highly regarded Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists — and it never mentioned nuclear weapons. It mentioned only the nation’s acute water crisis, which may have shut down more Iranian institutions than Israel and America combined.

“During the summer of 2025, Iran experienced an exceptional heat wave, with daytime temperatures across several regions, including Tehran, approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and forcing the temporary closure of public offices and banks,” the analysts said. “During this period, major reservoirs supplying the Tehran region reached record-low levels. … Officials warned that the capital city may even have to be evacuated if water supplies fail to recover.”

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 24d

ok weird just downloaded and only get forecast for today

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 24d

i'm salty, i'm peeved

Concert is cancelled due to the apocalypse :(

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 25d

this is such a flex

𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔰 🧲

@PerthshireMags
i made that tweet you like

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 26d

a bold but horrendously bad take, and i feel like the example they use for "slop is good" is the ai version of the surveillance app talking about finding lost dogs just no, absolutely not

A group of academics recently made a provocative argument: What if A.I. slop is good?

Eamon Duede, a philosopher of science at Purdue University and one of the authors of a paper called “Why Slop Matters,” said A.I. brought joy to people who wanted to create something that very few other people would find interesting — like images of their friends in historical scenes.

“People get an enormous amount of enjoyment and satisfaction out of creating stuff if it’s low effort,” he said. People who want to be creative, but might not be very good at it, can turn to A.I. and find “a bunch of barriers removed.”

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· 27d

shot/chaser (yes, Sierra Platform is an AI company)

Bret Taylor
@btaylor
I deeply resent that AI has forced me to eliminate em dashes from my writing for fear of signaling slop

Bret Taylor

@btaylor
Co-Founder
@SierraPlatform
. Board
@OpenAI
.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jul 2

i mean, ugh. de-extinction is a horrible bedrock basis for modern species conservation. what??

The response she has observed has been polarized. Some people have responded that scientists shouldn’t be playing God, which could reduce support for essential biomedical research in general. Others have expressed a kind of manic enthusiasm, relieved that we no longer need to worry about the biodiversity crisis because humans can just bring species back from extinction.

This latter view was espoused by none other than Interior Secretary Doug Bergum, who put out a statement that said, in part:

“The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of ‘de-extinction’ technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species. The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave. In fact, 97 percent of species that are added to the endangered list remain there. This is because the status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation… Since the dawn of our nation, it has been innovation – not regulation – that has spawned American greatness. The revival of the Dire Wolf heralds the advent of a thrilling new era of scientific wonder, showcasing how the concept of ‘de-extinction’ can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.”

Shapiro and Colossal CEO Ben Lamm told Wired that they hope media coverage of their “dire” wolves will raise awareness about the plight of the gray wolf. That’s not what I see happening—in the public sphere, or in the places it matters most, like the Interior Department.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 11

"FOR THE FEW WHO INTEND TO MATTER" ok calm down voldemort

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 9

per usual the focus is on livestock and the potential economic impacts of screwworm but it's bad for any wildlife

NWS maggots can infest any warm-blooded animal, including birds. NWS can be particularly devastating to livestock health with serious economic impacts. If you see maggots on any animal, whether livestock, pets, or wildlife, contact your veterinarian. Visit screwworm.gov for more information about NWS in animals.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 9

just reading this makes me feel itchy all over

New World screwworm infestations begin when a female fly lays eggs on open wounds or other parts of the body in live, warm-blooded animals. Most infestations occur in animals, but they also occur in people. The smell of a wound or body opening such as the nose, mouth, eyes, ears, or genitals can attract female flies. Wounds as small as a tick bite may attract a female fly to lay her eggs. One female can lay 200 – 300 eggs at a time and may lay up to 3,000 eggs during her 10- to 30-day lifespan.

Eggs hatch into maggots that burrow into the wound to feed on the living flesh. After feeding for about 7 days, larvae drop to the ground, burrow into the soil, and emerge as adult screwworm flies.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 9

not me googling to see how easy it is for humans to get screwworm since we're heading to new mexico for a two-week backpacking trip soon....

NWS infestations (presence of maggots on or in the body) do not regularly occur in the United States, but cases have occurred in travelers returning from areas where flies are present. If you travel to these areas, have an open wound and spend a lot of time outdoors, you may be at greater risk of becoming infested with NWS.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 9

stop! negging! peas!

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 9

look i know we have bigger fish to fry but this is criminal behavior

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 8

ooof launching a new newsletter project in 2026 seems like a mistake to me. maybe it's my own personal experience (as a writer of a newsletter-on-hiatus but also a longtime reader of newsletters who doesn't open any with regularity rn) i think readers have already hit peak newsletter saturation

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 5

and now that there's like, too much cheese and the price is too low, whey comes in to save the day??? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/b...

The Meissners sell the 200,000 pounds of milk their farm makes each day to Mr. Heiman at Nasonville Dairy, about six miles down the road.

Mr. Heiman is a gregarious, cheerful man with a large walrus mustache. But the economics of making cheese in Wisconsin are sobering. Although Nasonville is the largest cheesemaker in Wood County, in the heart of America’s dairyland, he says it can’t compete with West Coast dairies, where multinational conglomerates have built massive cheese plants.

“If you are making the same kind of cheese they make, you’re roadkill,” he said. “Those guys have efficiency that just spooks you.”

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 5

like, isn't it convenient that the us gov't was mega pro cheese for decades, because gov't subsidies for dairy meant the milk supply exceeded demand www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ame...

What's more, the U.S. government has a long-standing pro-cheese-eating policy, which grew out of the need to do something with the subsidized excess of milk products generated by federal pro-production dairy policy — which, in turn, has persisted for decades despite declining consumer interest in drinking milk.

Two decades ago, in fact, the Clinton administration's Agriculture Department helped form a promotional organization, Dairy Management Inc., funded by a congressionally authorized, federally collected dues requirement for dairy producers. Its $140 million annual budget has helped develop such fast-food items as Pizza Hut's cheese-topped crust and Taco Bell's double steak quesadillas, as well as cheesy pizzas for the federal school lunch program.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 4

Two things I surface here that I'm not seeing get much or any coverage. 1) Two other monitoring sites off the coasts of South America were discontinued/decommissioned during Trump's first term. This got very little attention (basically none that I can find now) at the time.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 2

in retrospect making twitter and/or facebook integral parts of disaster response and communication was probably a mistake

29. Stop requiring me to have an X account to read the emergency updates that my government posts on X. I am in a hurricane. My house is in a swimming pool, and the swimming pool is in a tree. Emergency services are, for reasons I am not presently at leisure to explore, posting vital safety updates on X. When I try to read the relevant thread, the app tells me I can’t do it unless I create an account, something I would gladly do if a Kia Sorento were not flying at my face. I shall die peacefully here in my swimming-pool tree, knowing that at least I never had to talk to Grok.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· Jun 2

you don't have to live like this. just turn off smart features. gmail works *just fine* without them (once you have created one million filters to send all newsletters/promotions to their own folder) www.theringer.com/2026/05/28/t...

26. The email is one sentence. Your nonconsensual AI bubble-pest keeps asking me whether I want help summarizing it. Can you summarize the sentence “No”?

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 30

why are universities determined to make slop the norm (screenshot from the umich career center)

CONSIDERATIONS FOR INCORPORATING AI INTO COVER LETTERS

Using AI for cover letters offers benefits like saving time, providing writing guidance, tailoring content to specific jobs, and ensuring grammar and style correctness. AI boosts consistency, boosts confidence, and reduces writer's block, giving you a competitive edge in the job market. Remember, while AI helps, personalization and creativity remain important for a successful cover letter.

Check out these resources:

UM-GPT
ChatGPT, AI, and the Job Search

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 29

accidentally found out that the nyt knows i'm broke/a cheap date today. was logged out of my account last night because my comp updated, and noticed that the homepage showed me an article about flying business class, but once i logged in that article was replaced by a story about $20 wine :/

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 29

omg this is a sickness

He doubled down on his personal commitment to AI, noting that he still uses it every day. “If the only way for me to not end up with a mistake ever again is to literally stop using AI, that's just not realistic. If the answer is to stop writing, that's not out of the realm of possibility.”
I asked him whether he would rather stop writing than stop using AI in his writing process. “Yeah,” he answered.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 29

...i can think of a very good one word, two letter response www.wired.com/story/future...

Rosenbaum would not weigh in on the accuracy of Pangram’s results. In fact, he didn’t want to talk about them at all. “I don’t participate in that conversation,” he said. “It’s like saying, do you beat your wife? It’s one of those accusations that there’s no response to.”

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 28

1) def interesting (ironic even?) for a pro-ai guy to be running a "sustainable media center" even if the sustainable doesn't refer to the environmental kind 2) the whole website reeks of ai. i will defend anyone's right to use the emdash to the death but c'mon, it's kind of a lot here, right?

You are called the “sustainable media center”, but what does sustainability in media even mean?
At the Sustainable Media Center, sustainability in media means creating digital and media systems that are safe, ethical, and built to support human well-being in the long run. Just like environmental sustainability protects our planet, media sustainability protects our minds, young people, communities, and democracy.

The digital world GenZ lives in wasn’t designed for them. It was built to maximize engagement, harvest data, and keep users hooked.

Today, social media feeds reward outrage. Algorithms amplify lies. AI is being trained to optimize those same incentives—faster, and with fewer guardrails.

The result? A system that profits from harm while young people carry the cost.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Tools with values. Platforms with purpose. A digital future GenZ gets to shape—not just survive.

We call it Social Intelligence—a new framework for designing technology that puts people first. It’s about building systems that understand context, protect autonomy, and earn trust.

Not because it sounds good—but because GenZ deserves better than the world they’ve inherited.

OUR MISSION:

Our mission is to act as a catalyst for change—partnering with GenZ to give them agency over the digital world they navigate, create, and influence every day.

From social platforms to generative AI, today’s digital environment shapes how we connect, communicate, and understand what’s true.

We believe young people deserve more than protection—they deserve power.

Through tools, funding, and cross-generational support, we help GenZ lead the way—guided by a framework we call Social Intelligence: technology built with values, purpose, and human insight.

Jessica McKenzie@jessimckenzi· May 28

not to brag but