Bandcamp have put policy measures in place against GenAI
“Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp. Any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited in accordance with our existing policies prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement.”
https://blog.bandcamp.com/2026/01/13/keeping-bandcamp-human/
Something which 100% is going to cause bad outcomes in business is you can ask Microsoft 365 Copilot to write a Word document supporting the dumbest idea ever, and it will do it, and won’t label itself Copilot generated.
You can ask it for a 100 page document justifying not having a security team and it’ll do it. Forward that report upwards, save £3m, leave a year later with big bonus. 🫡
Chief of police is going to lose their job methinks after using a report from Microsoft 365 Copilot which had errors throughout.. then lying about it to press. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c394zlr8e12t
Consider Amira Zairi, a self-professed “AI educator” and “ambassador” for Adobe, LeonardoAI, and TripoAI, who posted a scathing rant this week on X-formerly-Twitter to her 49,000 followers. Her complaint? Other people were “plagiarizing” her unique AI prompts.
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-prompt-plagiarism-art
WaPo reports:
"The FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials."
"The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was at her home in Virginia at the time of the search. Federal agents searched her home and her devices, seizing her phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch. One of the laptops was her personal computer, the other a Washington Post-issued laptop."
"It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to conduct searches at reporters’ homes. Federal regulations intended to protect a free press are designed to make it difficult to use aggressive law enforcement tactics against reporters to obtain the identities of their sources or information."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/
Guardian piece: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/fbi-raid-washington-post-hannah-natanson
Hab mir gedacht ich fange jetzt auch mal mit diesem Server Rack Zeug an, mache ich das richtig? #fedihelp
UPDATE: I just had a talk with two of the owners (whom I've known for years) and one of the young developers who was on yesterday's call. She confirmed that this manager's behavior was unmanageable. High-strung and narcissistic, he had apparently been let go from his previous company due to his inability to work with colleagues and owners alike. It seems he was even trying to boss the owners around.
To make a long story short, the entire sysadmin team threatened to quit if I stopped collaborating with the company. As a result, the owners summoned the manager in the late morning, and he resigned. They are reverting to the previous management structure (led by one of the owners). They might drop a few projects, but they said they prefer returning to a more "human" way of running the business - which is what always set them apart in the past.
I told them I'll think about it. If things are truly as they say (and I have no reason to doubt them yet), I'll propose a 6-month trial collaboration to see how things actually evolve. I'm aware it's easy to "pass the buck" - was it really just the manager's fault, or are the owners using him as a scapegoat now that things went south? However, given our history, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
UPDATE: One of the company owners (whom I've known for many years and is a good person) has asked to speak with me in about fifteen minutes. I've agreed. I'm curious to see what he has to say. I'll update this post after the call.
Original post:
Yesterday I lost a client. And I couldn't be happier about it.
It's a long-standing client, but the management changed a few months ago. On Monday, they requested an emergency intervention, which I handled immediately.
On Tuesday (yesterday, evening), they asked for a non-urgent enhancement to be closed by Wednesday evening. I explained that due to various reasons (including urgent family matters), I wouldn't be able to finish the task before Friday. That's when the lecturing started: they told me they set tight deadlines even for non-emergencies because "that's the proper way to do things", and anyone working with them must respect them without exception.
I requested a video call to clarify. I explained that the work requires nearly a full day and that I simply couldn't close it by Wednesday. Even the physical time required to copy the data exceeded their deadline. But the new management believes that by applying pressure, you can overcome anything. Even the laws of physics.
Their response was sarcastic: "Our requests take priority, even if you are dying". I smiled and reiterated that I had no other way. "We will therefore have to find a new consultant who respects our timing", they said.
My response: "Okay. Our agreement expired on 31st December. I was waiting for a renewal, but it never arrived. Meaning, I have no legal obligations toward you. You have the data, the passwords, everything. Have a great day.".
The manager, annoyed and failing to understand the implications, replied: "Fine, we’ll look for someone younger with fewer family ties to manage.".
This morning, the phone rang. It was the manager, asking me to reconsider. His tone remained contemptuous, so I told him my decision was final. Two minutes later, I got a call from their biggest client - the one responsible for over 50% of their revenue. They had been notified I was leaving and informed the company they would also leave if I was no longer the one supervising their machines.
I called the manager back, friendly, trying to see if they were willing to change their attitude - to move from peremptory orders to requests between human beings. He started talking about "suing for damages" if they lost their main client because of me (to be clear: I am not taking that client for myself).
I don’t know how this story will evolve, but right now, I'm just enjoying a breath of fresh air outside my window.
#IT #FreelanceLife #WorkLifeBalance #ToxicManagement #TechLife #Consulting #SelfEmployed
