Hilary Mason
Data scientist and machine-learning researcher; chief scientist at bitly, founder of Fast Forward Labs and Hidden Door.
Hilary Mason did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
Latest Bluesky
What they believe
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AI agents can be used to shift the balance of power in complex, unfair systems back toward the individual who has to use them.
These agents are one tool that we can use to reface complex and cruel systems into something that works for us, in the ways that we need.
hilarymason.comSaid 17 Sept 2026This on korrents
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Bad-looking ideas often turn out to be the best ones, and pushing boundaries increases the odds of finding something valuable.
The best ideas often start as a bad idea. When you're willing to push the boundaries, you're more likely to stumble onto something really interesting.
hilarymason.comSaid 27 Jan 2017This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
29 September
27 September
26 September
24 September
20 September
17 September
From one piece AI agents to fight back against high-friction systems 2 beliefs · hilarymason.com
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Their words
It's also worth saying out loud that the people who can build these agents themselves today are privileged enough to have knowledge and access to do so; we should focus on making the tools open and accessible for everyone who would benefit from taking some of the power back from these systems.
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Their words
These agents are one tool that we can use to reface complex and cruel systems into something that works for us, in the ways that we need.
15 September
10 September
8 September
19 August
17 August
12 August
1 August
30 July
14 May
15 March
27 February
14 November 2019
16 July 2018
22 October 2017
27 January 2017
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Their words
The best ideas often start as a bad idea. When you're willing to push the boundaries, you're more likely to stumble onto something really interesting.
25 August 2015
11 December 2014
17 October 2013
14 January 2013
28 October 2011
27 July 2011
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Likedrcmnd.app
MoleskineTheir words
For math, I'm a fan of whiteboards, Moleskine notebooks, and Muji .38mm pens and pencils.
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Likedrcmnd.app
Muji .38mm pensTheir words
For math, I'm a fan of whiteboards, Moleskine notebooks, and Muji .38mm pens and pencils.
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Lovedrcmnd.app
MacBook AirTheir words
I also recently picked up an 11" MacBook air for travel, which was an indulgence, but I really love it!
+ 7 more
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Usesrcmnd.app
ChromeTheir words
Chrome is my browser of choice. I use gmail for e-mail, through Mail.app for long-winded responses or the web interface for quick things.
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Usesrcmnd.app
AdiumTheir words
I use Adium for IM, and Evernote for things I'd like to remember.
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Usesrcmnd.app
EvernoteTheir words
I use Adium for IM, and Evernote for things I'd like to remember.
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Likedrcmnd.app
TextMateTheir words
I like TextMate for working on projects with lots of files and dependencies, but my fingers think in vim commands, which explains why you'll occasionally see a ":wq" from me in chat windows.
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Lovedrcmnd.app
iTerm2Their words
I've recently become a huge fan of iterm2 instead of the default Terminal. The transparency is lovely, and the visual tab alerts tell me when long jobs have finished running.
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Usesrcmnd.app
screenTheir words
I'm a heavy user of screen, particularly for monitoring long-running processes and being able to use the same session from different locations.
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Lovedrcmnd.app
PythonTheir words
Programming languages aren't strictly software, but I'm a huge fan of Python along with the numeric computing libraries.
5 February 2011
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 3 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
AI agents can be used to shift the balance of power in complex, unfair systems back toward the individual who has to use them.
These agents are one tool that we can use to reface complex and cruel systems into something that works for us, in the ways that we need.
AI agents to fight back against high-friction systems Said 17 Sept 2026
The ability to build AI agents that counter high-friction systems should be made open and accessible to everyone, not just those with technical privilege.
It's also worth saying out loud that the people who can build these agents themselves today are privileged enough to have knowledge and access to do so; we should focus on making the tools open and accessible for everyone who would benefit from taking some of the power back from these systems.
AI agents to fight back against high-friction systems Said 17 Sept 2026
Bad-looking ideas often turn out to be the best ones, and pushing boundaries increases the odds of finding something valuable.
The best ideas often start as a bad idea. When you're willing to push the boundaries, you're more likely to stumble onto something really interesting.
Bad Idea Fridays: Cold Storage Said 27 Jan 2017
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 10 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Loved Python
Programming languages aren't strictly software, but I'm a huge fan of Python along with the numeric computing libraries.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Uses screen
I'm a heavy user of screen, particularly for monitoring long-running processes and being able to use the same session from different locations.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Loved iTerm2
I've recently become a huge fan of iterm2 instead of the default Terminal. The transparency is lovely, and the visual tab alerts tell me when long jobs have finished running.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Show 7 more
Liked TextMate
I like TextMate for working on projects with lots of files and dependencies, but my fingers think in vim commands, which explains why you'll occasionally see a ":wq" from me in chat windows.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Uses Evernote
I use Adium for IM, and Evernote for things I'd like to remember.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Uses Adium
I use Adium for IM, and Evernote for things I'd like to remember.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Uses Chrome
Chrome is my browser of choice. I use gmail for e-mail, through Mail.app for long-winded responses or the web interface for quick things.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Loved MacBook Air
I also recently picked up an 11" MacBook air for travel, which was an indulgence, but I really love it!
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Liked Muji .38mm pens
For math, I'm a fan of whiteboards, Moleskine notebooks, and Muji .38mm pens and pencils.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Liked Moleskine
For math, I'm a fan of whiteboards, Moleskine notebooks, and Muji .38mm pens and pencils.
usesthis.com 27 Jul 2011
Where they publish
Blog hilarymason.com Her site.
Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
Bluesky hilarymason.com Where she posts.
Recent
- "magestic horse" is the worst giphy search ever: giphy.com/search/mages... It was a genuine typo but I do NOT recommend. 29 Sept 2026
- There is nothing inevitable about today's GenAI companies or market or product design or power dynamics. It's based on decisions, made implicitly and explicitly, by people. To imagine a better way we must realize how arbitrary all of this is. And who it serves. 27 Sept 2026
- Overnight I trained a Jev-like model to output probability distributions over a set of 40 emoji, which runs in RAM at ~150ms per query. This was super easy and cost ~$10. It works pretty well on a weak training set, and with a day or two of work I could make this sing. 26 Sept 2026
Show 17 more
- we put a bit of world-building magic on our homepage today 24 Sept 2026 hiddendoor.co
- It definitely felt that way! 24 Sept 2026
- Also at 40. 20 Sept 2026
- Yesterday I flew LAS->NYC, noticed a white woman at the lounge with a sticker like the "I voted!" stickers but it said "I like ICE". Then she and her husband pushed aside wheelchairs to "preboard", announcing they were in first class Then they were rude to the flight attendants. The worst people. 17 Sept 2026
- If we held people personally and criminally liable for the "autonomous" actions of the AI systems they create and deploy, I bet the risky behavior would evaporate overnight. 15 Sept 2026
- It seems like there's a wave of cool advent calendar design (LEGO! jams! puzzles!), but do any companies make a version that isn't anchored on Christmas? 15 Sept 2026
- This is well-said, and the heart of this conflict is what drives status in any professional role, and how that ties into professional identity. 10 Sept 2026
- AI products are basically just software, but now it has moods. 8 Sept 2026
- This thread helped me understand that the outrage about Anthropic's watermarking is the confluence of a lack of understanding of how LLMs (or any statistical language model) works and general angst at the current economics. 19 Aug 2026
- Excellent work from 404. Respect for books is such a basic value that signals so many things about people. 17 Aug 2026
- Has anyone curated a static download of the good bits of Wikipedia/YouTube/etc. for being able to learn or explore new things offline? We could call it "The Good Place". 12 Aug 2026
- So much AI journalism feels like gaslighting if you know anything about machine learning pre-2020. Come. On. 1 Aug 2026
- There are smart people working at these companies, and yet they keep launching deeply ill-considered products. It's such an obviously bad idea if you think about it for even a second. I'm fascinated by this. 31 Jul 2026
- I have a headache today and I finally understand dark mode. 30 Jul 2026
- Help me bluesky — What’s the easiest way for me, a plant dummy, to grow these herbs at home? I love cooking with fresh herbs and hate not trusting my produce. 24 Jul 2026
- I miss being able to Google my more interesting typos to see how many people also made them 10 Jul 2026
- Is opening a fire hydrant and playing in the street a specifically NYC thing? Or an American city thing? This is a genuine question, I am talking to a friend from the UK who has no context for it. :) 9 Jul 2026
Link verified 5 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
LinkedIn hilarymason Her professional profile.
Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
GitHub hmason Her code.
Recent
- nanoclaw-reactions — Emoji reactions for NanoClaw — the agent reads reactions and can answer with one. Installable skill. 30 Jul 2026
- gremlins — Chaos gremlins for your code. 14 May 2026
- lunaralarm 15 Mar 2026
Show 10 more
- beepcopy — Listen to your data. 27 Feb 2026
- introbot — A python script to generate the text of intro e-mails. 14 Nov 2019
- randomness_beacon — A python module for using the NIST randomness beacon, generating 512-bits of randomness every 60 seconds 16 Jul 2018
- botomatic — easily create twitter bots in python 22 Oct 2017
- OpenTabCount — The OpenTabCount Firefox extension. 25 Aug 2015
- ml_class — code for my O'Reilly masterclass videos 11 Dec 2014
- datastorytelling — NYU ITP data storytelling 17 Oct 2013
- bookbookgoose — the code for bookbookgoose.com. browse randomly. 14 Jan 2013
- gitmarks — delicious-like bookmarks on github. 28 Oct 2011
- gitmarks_hm — Hilary's bookmarks - see http://github.com/hmason/gitmarks 5 Feb 2011
Link verified 5 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
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