Data and Politics: Long Time Listener, First Time Caller

Hello!

It's Data and Politics. I'm starting this newsletter to share thoughts that need more room than 280 characters.

I've been in tech for over 20 years, starting in 2001 when I helped build Wikipedia's backend and security policies. Back then, I put one of the first machine learning models on the public internet—which now seems adorably primitive compared to what we're building today.

I write under a pseudonym because it lets me discuss both technical and personal topics freely. My days are spent in AI/ML research, seeing these technologies through both skeptical and excited eyes. I'll probably be wrong about plenty—but I'll be entertainingly wrong! Expect spicy takes on market reactions to Trump's tariffs and other current events, delivered with all the snark they deserve.

Unlike most AI commentators, I actually work and publish in the field. I've surfed enough hype cycles to maintain healthy skepticism without losing my enthusiasm for real innovation. Beyond tech, I know my way around housing politics in California, San Francisco, and Atlanta—we need WAY more housing, by the way. I'm also plugged into Democratic politics, Mexican political developments, and have a longstanding love for Japanese culture.

The online communities I've been part of have shaped me tremendously. I started on Twitter in 2016 mobilizing phone donations for voter outreach, which evolved into meaningful friendships. Now I'm creating a new space for extended conversations with curious minds. I'll share photos from my work travels (airport food reviews included at no extra charge), and perspectives from my experience in the LGBTQ+ community.

Think of this newsletter as us grabbing coffee together. I'll bring conversation starters, you bring thoughts, and we'll see where it goes! Comments are not just welcome but encouraged—I'm happy to respond and even develop posts around your data-themed questions.

If you subscribe, you're basically funding my coffee addiction and occasional moments of clarity.

I'll be writing about things as they're happening, which means sometimes I'll be hilariously wrong. But that's how we get to right—by being boldly, interestingly wrong first.