A researcher conducted empirical measurements of orphaned software across multiple ecosystems (Chrome extensions, PyPI packages, npm, WordPress plugins, GitHub projects) to test whether AI could economically exploit unmaintained code. Findings showed that most inactive projects lack active maintainers due to time constraints or life circumstances rather than high maintenance costs, and AI-assisted takeover offers are already being treated as spam. The scarce resource in maintenance is human authority to publish, not code work itself.
An attorney who became a foster parent to help vulnerable teenagers describes taking in 17-year-old Clayton, who seemed content initially but lied frequently. After eight months, Clayton ran away to find his father in Texas, leaving the narrator to grapple with feelings of betrayal and failure despite her efforts to provide a stable, trusting home.