Using technology skills for positive change 
Ben Werdmuller
Using technology skills for positive change
Let's help build the world we want to see.
Ben Werdmuller
benwerd@nos.social
npub183ng...4n09
I lead technology at ProPublica and write speculative fiction. This is a personal account.
Every day, I write about tech, democracy, and society at https://werd.io.
More about me: https://about.werd.io
WordPress for newsrooms 
Ben Werdmuller
WordPress for newsrooms
From self-hosted WordPress to managed solutions
Can newsrooms become social platforms? 
Ben Werdmuller
Can newsrooms become social platforms?
How community-first thinking can help newsrooms survive AI
GregoryAI aims to improve the lives of researchers and patients alike 
Ben Werdmuller
GregoryAI aims to improve the lives of researchers and patients alike
An open source project aimed at making medical research easier.
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community 
Ben Werdmuller
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
A new survey suggests that scientists vastly prefer Bluesky to X - and to its other alternatives.
More UK news publishers are adopting 'consent or pay' advertising model
Ben Werdmuller
More UK news publishers are adopting 'consent or pay' advertising model
"Sixteen of the 50 biggest news websites in the UK are now using a “consent or pay” model to allow users to pay to reject personalised advertis...
Political Pollsters Are Trying to Save Money by Polling AI Instead of Real People, and It’s Going About as Well as You’d Expect
Ben Werdmuller
Political Pollsters Are Trying to Save Money by Polling AI Instead of Real People, and It’s Going About as Well as You’d Expect
"Obviously, any campaign that used only that AI-generated data would miss the mark — instead of looking at the views of real respondents, it woul...
Ask a newsroom technology leader 
Ben Werdmuller
Ask a newsroom technology leader
From startup CTO to newsroom leader: Ask me anything.
How Do We Tell the Story of Gaza’s Murdered Journalists?
Ben Werdmuller
How Do We Tell the Story of Gaza’s Murdered Journalists?
"Now, nearly two years and more than 250 assassinations later, I can count the names of the living journalists in Gaza I follow on one hand."
Perplexity Makes Longshot $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome
Ben Werdmuller
Perplexity Makes Longshot $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome
"Artificial-intelligence startup Perplexity offered to purchase Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as it works to challenge the tech giant...
Lifelogging under fascism 
Ben Werdmuller
Lifelogging under fascism
How self-tracking became self-incrimination
"But the “fear of being left behind” argument is particularly dangerous: it suggests that you should pick a technology first and then find problems for it to solve. That’s always backwards." In case you missed it, how I think about AI - in terms of vendors, tech, and power: 
Ben Werdmuller
Evaluating AI technology: a CTO's framework
How to think about vendors, technology, and power
Japan: Apple Must Lift Browser Engine Ban by December
Ben Werdmuller
Japan: Apple Must Lift Browser Engine Ban by December
Japan, the EU, and the UK all now require Apple to support third-party browser engines. That's great news for the open web.
Silicon Valley’s Dream Tech Job Is Disappearing
Ben Werdmuller
Silicon Valley’s Dream Tech Job Is Disappearing
“We’re seeing right now why tech needs unions.”