Reclaiming flattery; publishers’ take on AI; grift proliferates: Newsletter 21 October 2026
Newsletter 173. AI excels at superficial flattery; let’s make compliments human again. Plus, Elizabeth Holmes as a modern-day role model, Tesla/SpaceX merger, three people to follow, and three books to read. Beyond superficial flattery AI has enabled a flood of formulaic and fawning flattery. It’s an AI tell far more dependable than em dashes. And…