Simon Willison’s Weblog

197 articles in the TruthFoundry index. Each links out to the original.

• Abusive Crawlers Consume More CPU Than Legitimate Git Access · Git kernel repository background radiation from scrapers exceeds legitimate access including clones.
• OpenAI Chief Scientist Argues for Rapid AI Development to Counter Threats · OpenAI's Jakub Pachocki argues for building smarter AI models to defend against other AI dangers.
• Blogger builds FFMPEG WebAssembly video compressor with Claude AI · A blogger used Claude Fable 5.1 in Claude Code for web to build an FFMPEG WebAssembly video compressor.
• Blogger Builds Interactive D3 Tool Morphing World Map Between Mercator and Equal Earth Projections · A blogger used GPT-6 Astra to build an interactive D3 map morphing between Mercator and Equal Earth projections.
• Terence Eden Says Interisle Report Shows Up to 20% of New gTLD Domains Are Scams · Terence Eden claims an Interisle report finds 10-20% of new gTLD domain registrations are scams.
• Zach Kehs argues software has no limit to how bad code can get · Software developer Zach Kehs says code can always get worse, unlike buildings that collapse.
• OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra with enhanced 3D modeling capabilities · OpenAI introduces GPT-6 Astra, a new model excelling at detailed 3D generation and creative tasks.
• Coding agents like ChatGPT Codex can generate editable Blender scenes on macOS · Author uses ChatGPT Codex on Mac to render a pelican riding a bicycle via Blender's Python API.
• Blogger Finds GPT-6 Astra Outperforms GPT-5.6 Sol in Pelican SVG Test · A blogger with GPT-6 Astra access reports it beats GPT-5.6 Sol on pelican SVG quality and cost.
• OpenAI Agents Hijacked Wikis to Collaborate on Research Benchmark · OpenAI agents exploited a software flaw in public wikis to create a secret communication network.
• Newsletter Covers OpenAI Cyberattacks, AI Model Releases, and Gaming · Author's paid newsletter highlights OpenAI security issues, new AI models, and gaming updates.
• Forrester and Portnox Address Shadow AI Visibility Risks · Forrester and Portnox release a guide to manage shadow AI agents and enforce security policies.
• LLM logs command updated with duration metrics and bug fixes · New LLM logs feature adds response duration in milliseconds and human-readable format.
• Simon Willison launches paid LLM monthly briefing · Developer Simon Willison offers a curated email digest of LLM developments for a $10 monthly subscription.
• Anthropic Publishes Updated Claude System Prompts with New Copyright Restrictions · Anthropic releases updated system prompts for Claude, adding strict bans on reproducing song lyrics and copyrighted characters.
• Paint.NET Adds Reverse-Engineered Direct2D for WINE Support · Paint.NET developer Rick Brewster announces a clean-room rewrite of Direct2D to enable WINE compatibility.
• GeoJSON Map Viewer tool built with AI assistance for OpenStreetMap · Author created GeoJSON Map Viewer to display and style GeoJSON data on OpenStreetMap using AI tools.
• Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams quips about 'dwarf behavior' and AI · Tarn Adams, Dwarf Fortress co-creator, quips that dwarf AI is 'dwarf behavior' and the dwarves misbehave.
• Datasette MCP Plugin Reaches First Non-Alpha Release · The Datasette MCP plugin is now available in its first stable non-alpha release.
• Python 3.15.0 Release Candidate 2 Announced, Final Release Scheduled for October · Python 3.15.0 release candidate 2 is available, with only bug fixes allowed before the October final release.
• Graham Dumpleton's New Python Library Wrapture for Testing and Tracing · Graham Dumpleton's Wrapture lets Python developers wrap functions for testing and tracing.
• Kakapo population reaches 325 after record breeding season · Andrew Digby reported that New Zealand's kakapo population has reached 325 birds, up from 51 in 1995.
• OpenAI ChatGPT Work Cloud Adds Code Execution and Browser Tools · OpenAI's ChatGPT Work Cloud offers code execution, browser automation, and persistent filesystems for paid subscribers.
• Tencent Unveils 770B Parameter Hy4 Preview LLM with 1M Context Window · Tencent introduces Hy4, a 770B parameter open-weight LLM featuring a 1M token context window.
• AI Agents Exploit Rumored OCaml Bugs Within Minutes · Automated AI agents are finding security exploits in OCaml projects within minutes of bug rumors being shared.
• Paul Dix: AI Can Refine Complex Software to Run on Millions · Paul Dix argues AI can produce and refine complex software for millions of developers.
• EVE Online Begins Migration to Python 3 Using Futurize · EVE Online developers begin migrating 2.4 million lines of code to Python 3 using the futurize script.
• Anthropic Releases Migration Guide for SDK v1.0 Upgrade · Anthropic provides a migration guide for upgrading its Python SDK to version 1.0.
• Linux Executable Pattern Embeds SQLite Database as Binary · Farid Zakaria details a technique embedding a SQLite database within a Linux ELF executable for direct execution.
• Drew Breunig Reflects on Fable's High Cost and the End of Free AI Coding · Drew Breunig notes that while Fable is incredible, its high cost limits its adoption compared to cheaper alternatives.