As German Giants Grovel, Gamers Guard Gutsy Journalism

“Really? You perceive your newsletter as leftist?” my lunch date, a work-related contact I respect dearly, asked me on Tuesday. I was taken aback. We were sitting in a fancy restaurant in Berlin; she had travelled from New York, and I had come from my sweet, tiny hometown of Bremen. I had always considered my political affiliation to be crystal clear. But apparently, my views come off as centrist. Please tell me this isn’t so.

AI Evangelists Are the Flat Earthers of Corporate Culture

A new study from Duke University shows that people who rely on AI are deemed “less competent” by their peers. I love and hate that simultaneously. On the one hand, competence was never theirs to lose. You—yes, you—pasting AI-generated drivel into your emails: did you think your colleagues and customers wouldn’t notice? We all do. And no, it’s not the em dash; it’s the soulless, too-clean-to-be-readable structure. The study’s real revelation isn’t your laziness; you’ve conflated efficiency with thinking. Don’t mistake Ctrl+v for creativity. A social penalty for AI use can help prevent drivel and societal decline.

On the other hand, AI can be a useful tool at times. “Odds & Sods” is a one-man show, so I turn to AI to refine this newsletter: Grammarly assists me with spelling and grammar, though my dad, a former English teacher, offers sharper advice than any algorithm.

This tension between promise and peril isn’t just a matter of individual reputation; it’s playing out at the highest levels of business. Take Klarna, the fintech darling that once trumpeted its “AI-first” approach, replacing hundreds of staff with bots and boasting of cost savings. The result? Quality and customer experience suffered, and now Klarna is rehiring humans, admitting that the rush to automate went too far. They’re not alone: 42% of companies have abandoned most of their AI projects, and only one in four AI investments delivers the promised return. The lesson is as stark as it is overdue: AI is a tool, not a panacea. Used thoughtfully, it can amplify human talent. Used as a crutch, it erodes trust, quality, and the human connection that keeps businesses afloat.

As Klarna’s reversal shows, there’s no substitute for judgment, creativity, and genuine engagement—qualities that no algorithm, however advanced, can replicate. If we want to avoid both social stigma and organisational fiasco, we must integrate AI with care, scepticism, and a healthy respect for the irreplaceable value of human work.

German Backbone Crumbles under the Whiff of Trump’s Menacing Glare

German software giant SAP appears to be bowing to the demands of an American president. This feels humiliating for a multinational company that was built on European values. It is now discarding its own principles of diversity and inclusion simply because a small man in Washington has a narrow view of equality. This is particularly frustrating because SAP is readily abandoning its goal of having 40% women in leadership and is dismantling its diversity office just to pacify the legal challenges posed by a U.S. administration that views “wokeness” as a bigger danger than mediocrity.

Are we really expected to accept that the values we promote in our mission statements—like fairness and equal opportunity, which are fundamental to modern European society—are so weak that they crumble under the slightest pressure from American commercial interests? Where is Germany’s and Europe's determination?

Instead, SAP seems to have adopted the role of a submissive follower, letting its policies be shaped not by German lawmakers or European authorities, but by directives from Washington. As Europeans, we should not tolerate this behaviour. To submit so easily is to suggest that our values are up for negotiation, our advancements can be undone, and our sovereignty is handed over to American influence. If SAP cannot find the strength to uphold European values in its own country, then perhaps it’s time for all of us to make it clear, loudly and publicly, that we refuse to be subordinate to anyone, including some American leader.

The Library That Outwitted Tyrants

To compensate for my tendency to “rant and rage”, I now want to tell you about a project I love: For a testament to the resilience of free thought in the digital era, let us turn away from the sterile corridors of Silicon Valley and instead focus on the pixelated pillars of Minecraft’s Uncensored Library. It’s a magnificent, neoclassical structure built not with marble, but with millions of virtual blocks and an unwavering commitment to ensuring truth isn't suppressed. This initiative is a living archive of censored journalism, a creation by Reporters Without Borders and BlockWorks, cleverly concealed within a video game that likely eludes the attention of most repressive censors. If you understand German, there’s a good segment on it by 3Sat.

If authorities obstruct the press, then the press must infiltrate their defences, masquerading as entertainment. In this virtual refuge, articles prohibited in Russia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and numerous other countries are immortalised in Minecraft’s in-game books, displayed in grand halls, and accessible to anyone curious. This library transcends mere text collection; it mirrors a digital Alexandria, featuring rooms dedicated to the narratives of slain journalists and the press freedom index of each nation represented. The project embodies our previous aspirations for the internet: an unapologetic embrace of community. In this space, the internet transformed from a mere marketplace of outrage or a surveillance network for the powerful into a communal gathering—a haven for the young, the inquisitive, and the oppressed to read, gather, and commemorate.

The Uncensored Library is more than just a loophole; it challenges the notion that the internet must inevitably descend into a realm of clickbait and control. Ultimately, the Uncensored Library highlights that the fight for freedom unfolds not just in courtrooms or parliaments, but also in the most unexpected venues: in the curiosity of gamers, and the persistent hope that, somewhere, someone continues to read. If this isn’t the internet at its finest, what is?

As always, thank you for reading my newsletter. It still means a lot to me to receive your feedback each week.