Colin McMillen

@mcmillen

He/him. Somerville, MA. Previously: Google, reCAPTCHA, Carnegie Mellon (Ph.D., Computer Science).

1,044 Following2,969 Followers8,151 Posts

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How long until law enforcement starts regularly subpoenaing Google AI Overview to see whether users answered "yes" to any questions that potentially lead to self-incrimination?

followup questions asked by AI Overview in response to a query about car insurance:

If you'd like, tell me:

Is the car still registered with your local DMV?

Do you still owe money on a loan for this vehicle?

I can help you figure out the safest and cheapest option for your situation.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 3h

It's telling that for American police departments, "a cop informing the public about a Flock installation that happened without any civilian oversight" gets significantly more disciplinary action than the average cops who murders an innocent person. www.wired.com/story/the-co...

A disciplinary agreement signed in early 2024 does, however, state that Pichardo made “critical statements to the media” about Flock and the department’s leadership. Pichardo maintained that his comments were constitutionally protected speech. The department expressly denied that position in the agreement.

After consulting an attorney, the Pawtucket police union came to the conclusion that Pichardo’s comments were constitutionally protected and sent the city a letter warning that if it disciplined him, it would likely violate his rights. According to union lodge president Michael Cioe, the department initially sought a six-month suspension but reduced the proposed punishment after the union threatened litigation.

Rather than fight the case through disciplinary hearings and possible state or federal litigation, the two sides reached an agreement. Pichardo would serve a 30-day unpaid suspension for speaking to the paper.

Pichardo said he accepted the deal because he didn’t want his coworkers to see him as their enemy. “I wanted the war to end,” he says.

By then, the department had already opened another investigation into his conduct.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 19h

A headline: "You Knew You Were In For Rock-Solid Journalism As Soon As You Saw This Font" in the style of The Onion headlines

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 1d

The "Progressive Turnout Project" took in $390 million and only $20M of that went to actual candidates, plus $50M to organizing and turnout efforts. But 82% of the fundraising was just overhead (most of it: sending more spam to raise more money).

This graphic summarizes the expenditures across an eleven-year period (2015–25) to Harry Pascal’s network of eight PACs (Progressive Turnout Project, Dem Turnout 2024, democracyFIRST PAC, Progressive Takeover, Stop Republicans, Stop Trump, Turnout the Vote, and Dem Turnout 2026).

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 4d

Tropical Storm Lala?

Tataru Taru, a lala from FFXIV (dressed in her Endwalker garb)

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 8d

Wirecutter has an article about how the acquisition of gelato brand Talenti (by Unilever) slowly ruined the quality of the result product. but the main thing that struck *me* w/ the article was its unintended commentary on the 2016 acquisition of Wirecutter by NYT & its subsequent enshittification.

screenshot of a Wirecutter article on mobile, in which there is one sentence of actual article text. screen space is instead reserved for: an AI chatbot, a header, and an ad for "The Wirecutter Store"

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 8d

imagine being a billionaire and spending your life savings on anti-aging bullshit instead of simply being Lenny Kravitz (aged 62)

Lenny Kravitz concert poster from his 2026 tour. He looks maybe mid-30s at the latest

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 13d

For the last 20 years, US power generation has held steady (rather than increasing linearly), and the proportion that is relatively clean continues to increase.

US Electricity Generation by Major Source, 1950-2023. Total generation levels off around 2008 (eyeballed) but the proportion dedicated to coal and petroleum is massively falling, being replaced by natural gas and renewables.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 13d

Seatbelts weren't required in all states until 1997. I'mma just leave this here.

Graph of "motor vehicle fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled" going down-and-to-the-right exponentially from 1920 to 2020, per US NHTSA stats.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 15d

i am: back on my bullshit #ff5fjf (why is Blue Mage always my first job??)

screenshot of a battle in Final Fantasy 5, in which four Blue Mages face off against Garula

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 24d

trump take microphone

MSRP of a Shure SM57 is now $109 and not the $99 out has been for the last three decades

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 29d

"yes" and "everywhere" lol

Google AI Overview results:

If you're curious about local driving habits, tell me:
• What specific bad behaviors are you seeing most often (speeding, not using blinkers, aggressive lane changes)?
• Are you noticing this more in specific Boston neighborhoods (like Downtown, Back Bay, or out in Cambridge/Somerville)?
I can tell you more about local traffic and violation trends!

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· 29d

Google's AI summarizes the biggest sporting event of the year as "absolute shithousery"

Argentina's Thug Tactics Slammed

Absolute shithousery! Fans online are slamming Argentina's 'dirty tactics' and 'thug' mentality, demanding referees punish the cheating.
Absolute shithousery! Fans online are slamming Argentina's 'dirty tactics' and 'thug' mentality, demanding referees punish the cheating.
Generative AI is experimental. Learn more

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jul 15

Eventual Consistency.

google result showing that Argentina beat England 2-1 to knock them out of the World Cup

google result from the same page showing England having a 53% chance of winning the World Cup

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jul 8

too real.

Victoria 3 screenshot: "Denmark views United States of America as a threatening force in geopolitical affairs. They adopted this Strategic Desire due to a diplomatic incident between Denmark and United States of America."

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 21

PAC Labeler doing its job

screenshot showing Sen Whitehouse is supported by AIPAC

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 18

go home google, you are drunk

Google World Cup info box for the upcoming "Germany vs Ivory Coast" match, but the flag for "Germany" is actually Argentina's.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 13

this is the best art-explanation placard i have ever seen

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 8

haha yes, fuckin' got 'im

article headline: "Pride-goers boo [Seth Moulton]"

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 7

this you?

NYT article: "Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who was one of two dozen Democrats who sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, suggested the party should shift its approach to transgender issues.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Mr. Moulton said. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”"

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 7

fucking Seth Moulton.

Seth Moulton's webpage, pointing out that it's a scary moment for trans Americans, when Moulton himself has been anti-trans in the very recent past. paired with an image of the "we're all looking for the guy who did this" hot dog man

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 6

happy citrus pride

a bunch of halved citrus fruit ranging from blood oranges (purple) to grapefruits (red) and then oranges, lemons, and limes

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 5

oh my god.

Plus, “You don’t get boring people doing a Taco Bell 50K,” she says. It’s a fascinating group of folks like Travis Meier, who this year “portage ran” the entire 31.1 miles with a canoe to raise awareness about protecting the BWCA. [plus a photo of a man carrying a canoe over his head while running]

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 5

The first June 4th on the Taiwan FFXIV server:

a row of tanks in the city of Idyllshire, looking like the famous Tiananmen Square protests on June 4th

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 3

In searching for how to disable Zoom's AI Companion, I was first prompted by Google with an interstitial trying to get me to use Gemini (lol) and then clicked the first blue link, to a discussion on r/Zoom in which the top (unhelpful) answer was obviously written by AI.

reddit comment: Ah, those can be a bit much sometimes. I've been trying out different Al companions, and while Zoom's can get intrusive, my go-to for practice is Hosa Al companion. It's less about features and more about just having someone to chat with.

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 2

the duality of man ( / woman / monster)

OP's post in the timeline next to:

"why always young women in love with monsters… why not old men in love with monsters…"

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 2

the duality of man / woman / monster

OP's post in the timeline next to:

Dorian Grey is a thrilling, disturbing story because it asks the question, "what if never twink death"

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 2

TIL that the "Lowest Bar In The World" that's commonly featured in a meme got renovated some years back, and now looks like this

a placard saying "THE LOWEST BAR IN THE WORLD, KALIA BEACH" in front of some beach umbrellas and the Dead Sea

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· Jun 2

trump take computer

price of a 2TB SSD hard drive on amazon from the last year, from about $250 to currently $650

Colin McMillen@mcmillen· May 29