YES IT MATTERS! Because AI tools aren’t free (or increasingly will not be), have huge environmental impacts, carry security risks, etc. You know what carries no such problems? Simply memorizing your address and phone number. You know, like a gazillion past humans have and still do just fine…

Matt Ford@mford.bsky.social · 12h ago

Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...

4 research talks in Hungary (1 more to go) & 1 keynote in Slovakia done. W/ a cold brewing, I was looking forward to settling in early tonight. Obviously thrilled to find my hotel locked & dark. Better yet, when I called they said there was no reservation for me. I sorted it, but still. 😵‍💫

Ok Microsoft, I admit to being mad that you intrusively added copilot AI tools to Office apps instead of making them opt-in features. But guess what will NOT soften my anti-AI stance—making Office app browser logins redirect to a Copilot chat agent instead of the Office app I actually logged in to 😤

Getting a flat in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language was not a stress I needed today. However, I was grateful to have my hope in humanity restored after a Good Samaritan graciously saved the day. Similar to my Romanian experiences 25 years ago, Hungarians too are a generous people.

Even in the Netherlands my Dutch surname is rare, so it’s silly that I was secretly hoping the agents at passport control would say something like, “Hey! You’re Dutch! Welcome back!” Now, time to see if there’s a fresh stroopwafel place in the airport and break a calories-per-hour record.

Hoping to see others boycotting attendance in solidarity.

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 6d ago

UPDATE: CNN now says it has ALSO been denied White House access.

Preach. We love it. Better yet, the students love it.

Rebecca Colesworthy@rcolesworthy.bsky.social · 7d ago

PSA: you know what scholars love? Talking about their books! You know what you can do? Invite them to your class to do so. It’s great! You absolutely do not have to use AI or tell students to use AI to understand their books. You can get the actual real life person to help with that! For free!

In which AI use almost starts a war. Hmm. Where have I heard that before?

WarGames: Nuclear Tic Tac Toe

ALT: WarGames: Nuclear Tic Tac Toe

static.klipy.com

Dave Karpf@davekarpf.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is the type of AI disaster scenario that I ACTUALLY worry about. (1) AI industry oversells the capabilities of its products to score fat government contracts. (2) govt puts the AI in charge of critical shit. (3) AI fucks up, because it has a nonzero error rate. (4) shit, now we’re at war.

Ok, hear me out. A Lord of the Rings remake, but with these two taking the One Ring to Mordor:

Gregory A. Hargreaves@bordergroves.bsky.social · last yr.

Ok, hear me out. A Lord of the Rings remake, but with these two taking the One Ring to Mordor:

Some crazy loud thunder shaking the Kimball Tower here at BYU. My windows rattled, I swear.

Saw a dude walking across campus using a spoon to eat out of a 1/2 watermelon. After each bite he did a flamboyant high leg kick, tilted back, & went “Mmm!” When I was student here 25 years ago there was yo-yo guy, unicycle guy, etc. Now BYU has watermelon guy. New generation, new eccentrics.

So, he’s always had a strong hat game.

Shana@shanamd.bsky.social · last wk.

I am SORRY for sharing something that was posted on the other place, but this is too good.

RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.

Alex Winter@alexwinter.com · 2w ago

RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.

On paper it doesn’t seem like CAKE covering Black Sabbath’s War Pigs should work as well as it does. youtu.be/NhmvKYbi7iY?...

War Pigs

YouTube video by Cake - Topic

youtu.be

Oh hooray! The @librarycongress.bsky.social website's search function is down. 😭 Surely, this won't cause undue stress for my students who have weekly assignments requiring them to use it to find primary documents! 🤦

Campus HVAC shoulder season is here—when nighttime temperatures aren't low enough to trigger the system to enable heat the following day but cold enough in my office to make me consider wearing gloves.

Ron Swanson Feeling Frigid

ALT: Ron Swanson Feeling Frigid

static.klipy.com

Politics always provide material for comedians to parody and satirists to poke at, but never has an administration so regularly written the jokes for them. You can’t make this stuff up. 🤦‍♂️

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · 3w ago

I like that this design appears to show the birth date of liberty as 1776, and its death as 2026

Somehow it's September already, the 1st day of the semester at BYU, and 1st day of college for my daughter. Grade 38ish for me. This morning my son said he hoped I "teach super awesomely." Me too son, me too. All the best vibes to my coworkers and students. See y'all on the other side!

When the rising generation looks to our nation’s leaders, do they see a direct enough correlation between integrity and success. If anything, they see endless examples of how cheating pays off and negative consequences are few and far between for many.

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 4w ago

College students’ increasing reliance on AI, John Paul Rollert argues, is teaching them a “knack for cutting corners, a disdain for community rules, and an assumption that a spirit of integrity, and the sacrifices it assumes, is the reserve of suckers and wimps”:

It's always a treat to do these episodes with friends, especially when I've been following the progress of their book projects for years.

Writing Westward Podcast@writingwestward.bsky.social · 3w ago

🚨New Episode Alert🚨 A timely discussion w/ history Prof. @michaelchilders.bsky.social (Colorado State Univ.) about his new book, "The Mountains are Calling: Tourists and the Unmaking of Yosemite National Park" (@univnebpress.bsky.social 2026). writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/090-michae...

Today’s AM grocery store stop: they were playing this jaunty tune that my kids have liked dancing to in the car. My saxophone-hating wife even agrees it’s a banger. Unsure about the lyrics, but on vibes I’m taking it as a good omen for the semester, which starts Wednesday. youtu.be/bc3Sw3sJQYw?...

SAINT MOTEL - My Type

YouTube video by SoundRecording TM

youtu.be

Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃‍♂️⛰@brendenwrensink.bsky.social · last mo.

I stopped by a grocery store on my way to campus this morning for some weekly lunch supplies & they were playing George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” I’m taking that as a good omen for the week. All Things Must Pass is my favorite post-Beatles album. Probably by a long shot. youtu.be/nrCSqbqDYrk?...

Boo, to say the least

Patricia Zengerle@reuterszengerle.bsky.social · 4w ago

Which article of the Constitution that says a president can sell off national parks

Honored to accept a Public Scholarship Award today in recognition of my work at the @byureddcenter.bsky.social, hosting the @writingwestward.bsky.social podcast, & managing the Intermountain Histories digital public history project. I’m so lucky to have institutional support for such endeavors.

Moved daughter in to her freshman apartment. My child is a college student. How terrifying and exciting! Nice view too!

I’m giving these BYU American Studies Program custom chucks my award for best faculty swag ever. 😍

The internet made so much info available & advanced search tools like Boolean operators enabled sifting through it. Now, separating true from false, useful from useless, reputable from dubious, etc, is a mess. We’re just supposed to trust what tech companies feed us We can’t have nice things.

Chris Person@papapishu.bsky.social · last mo.

Sorry chatbot lovers but the waning of Boolean operators in most search functions on websites has made my life actively worse. You can't find anything, you can only have things suggested to you.

universities are not run by leftist profs they are run by corporate profiteer board members siphoning public $$ to tech partnerships "An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards." www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

TLDR; using generative AI (even in supervised educational contexts) is allowing students to complete tasks quickly but greatly impeding their actual comprehension Duh

Does AI stop children from learning?

New data show the peril and promise of the technology

economist.com

1 of 2 talks I'm giving in Debrecen, Hungary. I've learned a lot in the past by presenting my scholarship to & engaging with foreign audiences about transnational & international aspects of my work. If any friends coincidentally happen to be in town, let me know! www.facebook.com/events/27377...

I’ve always said that if I could have any mental superpower, it would fluency in every language on earth. After 2,000 days, I’m not quite there yet. It’s been fun though. I could have been very happy as a foreign language or linguistics scholar (especially historical linguistics).