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Technology & Ethics

Standing with Dr. Timnit Gebru (Google Walkout for Real Change)

The December 2020 open letter from Google Walkout for Real Change supporting Timnit Gebru after her departure from Google's Ethical AI team, with its list of signatories. An advocacy document written by her supporters.

#ai ethics#labor#primary source
googlewalkout.medium.comAdded Sep 27, 20260 opens
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Technology & Ethics

The Internet's Coldest Case

Manuel Cebrian's essay on "Markovian Parallax Denigrate" — hundreds of identically titled, meaningless posts that flooded Usenet in August 1996 and have never been explained. It walks through each theory in turn: a Cold War-style numbers station, a cipher, a mail-server fault, or an early Markov-chain text generator in the lineage of the Mark V. Shaney experiment, and what the trail of headers actually supports.

Why I recommend it: A enjoyable read, and a useful one: machine-generated nonsense has been circulating for thirty years, and this is a case study in how hard attribution is once it does. The author is careful to label what is evidence and what is speculation — which is more than most write-ups of it manage. Medium sometimes meters free reading, so tell me if it asks you to sign in.

#internet-history#markov-chains#mystery#usenet#generated-text
cebrian.medium.comAdded Sep 23, 20260 opens
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Marketing & Platform Tools

Medium

Open publishing platform for essays and articles. Writing and publishing are free; reading is limited by a metered paywall unless you pay for a membership, and the Partner Program requires a paid membership to earn.

From the site: On Medium, anyone can share insightful perspectives, useful knowledge, and life wisdom with the world.

Why I recommend it: Free to publish and build a portfolio of writing. Be aware readers may hit a paywall on your posts, so cross-post anything you want widely read.

#audience-building#blogging#content-strategy#creator-economy#free#personal-branding#writing#tool
MediumAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
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AI & Assistive Tools

I Ran Gemma 4 as a Local Model in Codex CLI

A hands-on write-up of wiring Google's open Gemma 4 model into the Codex command-line coding agent so it runs locally instead of calling a hosted API.

From the site: I wanted to know whether Gemma 4 could replace a cloud model for my day-to-day agentic coding. Not in theory, in practice. I use Codex CLI…

Why I recommend it: Useful if you want to try coding agents without paying per token — local models are slower, but free and private.

#ai#ai ethics#codex#coding-agents#developer-tools#gemma#llm#local-models#open-models#privacy#tutorial
MediumAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
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Technology & Ethics

What Is RLCD? Reinforcement Learning from Contrast Distillation

A plain-language explainer on RLCD, a way of aligning language models by learning from contrasting outputs rather than human ratings alone.

From the site: RLCD is a method developed to adjust language models to human preferences without using human feedback data. This approach aims to address…

Why I recommend it: Good background reading if you want to understand how the models you use are actually steered.

#ai#ai ethics#ai-alignment#ai-safety#explainers#llm#machine-learning#model-training#reinforcement-learning#research#rlhf
MediumAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeEvent
Marketing & Platform Tools

Medium Day

Sep 18, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026Medium

Free virtual community gathering from Medium with over 100 sessions of writing and publishing insight from writers, editors, and experts, plus live product demos, writing workshops, and meetups with Medium staff and writers. Speakers include Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine and writers such as Zulie Rane.

Why I recommend it: A good low-risk day to invest in your writing if you are building a personal brand. Pick two or three sessions rather than trying to watch everything, and use the meetups to actually meet editors.

#events#live-event#online-event#free#writing#content-creation#personal-branding#creator-economy#medium#publishing#community#networking
medium.comAdded Sep 13, 20260 opens
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Career & Professional Optimization

Start It Up on Medium

Formerly The Startup — Medium's largest active publication, covering career advice, entrepreneurship, and the creator economy.

Why I recommend it: Wide range and easy to submit to if you want writing samples with reach.

#articles#career#career-development#creator-economy#entrepreneurship#free#medium#publisher#startup
medium.comAdded Aug 29, 20260 opens
FreePublisher
Career & Professional Optimization

Marker on Medium

Business publication covering work culture, career navigation, and the forces shaping the business world.

Why I recommend it: Helpful context on why workplaces behave the way they do.

#articles#business#career#career-development#free#medium#publisher#work-culture
medium.comAdded Aug 29, 20260 opens
FreeArticle
Career & Professional Optimization

How I Got a Software Developer Job With No Experience and No CS Degree

A step-by-step personal account of self-teaching, portfolio building, and applying until landing a first developer role without a computer science degree.

Why I recommend it: Copy the process, not the timeline. Everyone's runway is different, and comparing yours to a blog post is a fast way to quit.

#article#career#career-development#first-person#free#no-degree-required#portfolio#reading#self-taught#software-engineering
medium.comAdded Aug 29, 20260 opens
FreeArticle
Career & Professional Optimization

From Bootcamp to Engineer

A first-person account of moving from a coding bootcamp into a professional engineering role, including the skill gaps that showed up on the job and how they were closed.

Why I recommend it: Firsthand accounts are worth more than program marketing. Note what she says about the first 90 days on the job.

#article#bootcamp#career#career-change#career-development#first-person#free#reading#software-engineering
medium.comAdded Aug 29, 20260 opens
FreeArticle
Career & Professional Optimization

Inside Connect: Airbnb's Engineering Apprenticeship Program

Airbnb's engineering team explains how Connect was designed, who it is for, how apprentices are supported and mentored, and what work they ship during the program.

Why I recommend it: The most honest look at daily life inside an apprenticeship. Use its language when you write your Connect application.

#airbnb#apprenticeship#article#career#career-development#entry-level#free#job markets#mentorship#reading#software-engineering
medium.comAdded Aug 29, 20260 opens

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Vanderbilt Frist Center for Autism and Innovation: Neurodiversity at Work Resources

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University maintains this resource hub for employers and job seekers interested in neuroinclusive workplaces. It gathers tip sheets on managing autistic employees, the Neurodiversity @ Work and Autism @ Work playbooks developed with Disability:IN and University of Washington researchers, a six-module self-paced neurodiversity curriculum, profiles of companies with neurodiversity hiring programs such as Microsoft, SAP, EY, and JPMorgan Chase, and a section of resources for job seekers on preparing for employment. All materials are free to access.

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vanderbilt.eduAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens
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Community & Government Resources

Disability:IN Learning & Development

Disability:IN's learning and development hub collects the organization's disability-inclusion programs in one place. It includes the NextGen Leaders Program, which connects emerging talent and veterans with disabilities to mentorship and career-connected development with partner companies; DOBE certification for disability-owned businesses; Veterans Initiatives for career development pathways; and digital learning modules on accessibility, neuroinclusion, and disability-inclusive AI. The page also links to free Microsoft courses on AI and accessibility. Membership and certification programs are aimed at companies; the learning modules and program pages are free to browse.

#accessibility#disability#inclusion#neuroinclusion#mentorship#training#organization#free
disabilityin.orgAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens
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Community & Government Resources

CareerDFW

Nonprofit public charity for unemployed and under-employed people in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, offering free tools, job-search resources and community support.

#job-search#nonprofit#texas#community#free
careerdfw.orgAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens
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Career & Professional Optimization

Andrew Yeung's Newsletter

Free Substack newsletter from Andrew Yeung on people, events and trends in tech and business, with tens of thousands of subscribers.

#newsletter#tech#networking#startups
andrew.todayAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens
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Entrepreneurship & Free Tools

Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program

Fellowship for women entrepreneurs offering coaching, advisors and a peer community. Applicants must hold the largest or equally largest stake in a women-owned business generating at least $75,000 a year. No application fee is listed.

#fellowship#women-entrepreneurs#small-business#coaching
toryburchfoundation.orgAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens
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Technology & Ethics

It's Time to Build

Marc Andreessen's 2020 essay arguing that the response to stalled progress is to build — new companies, institutions and technology — rather than defend what already exists.

#essays#technology#innovation#entrepreneurship#building
a16z.comAdded Sep 28, 20260 opens