what i read this week - week 23 2026

I've read less this week than the prior one. I was catching up on a lot of recorded talks from re:publica 26, which I couldn't attend (those talks will get their own post!). I was also a tad busy with meeting people and doing the ring class, and also unfortunately struggling with depression. I didn't manage reading a lot of the stuff I meant to read. Oh well. Here goes! online articles Character.AI enshittification - good example of what will arrive at other models and use cases soon, inevitably, especially since this stuff is so expensive. EU's Digitalisation Push: Surveillance, control, exclusion - Made me learn about the concept of the increasingly "digital welfare state" and how governments worldwide are using tech to automate, predict, and "optimise the delivery of social protections". This means people most vulnerable, who need state safety nets the most, are also most at risk of having their privacy violated, their data collected and sold, and their behavior automatically…