Eddie Clark
@dreddieclark.bsky.social
Personal account so expect eclecticism. Law, politics, SFF books, anime, gaming, music. Queer stuff. Day job = Administrative law and public law theory.
There's a word for software that behaves in unexpected or unintended ways - a bug. This is inadequately tested software riddled with major bugs, and that is a real and important story, but it has nothing to do with the ridiculous idea that the computers are alive.
kate conger@kateconger.com · 2d agoAnthropic is the latest lab to report 'rogue' agent activity, which sources said included applying for visas with the State Department www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
I'm on this panel with Joy & 3 other judges from across the world (credit to IAFA for making a real effort not to be solely US & UK) & want to echo the point she makes later in this thread: the standard of submissions has been INCREDIBLY high. & only 5 books can go on the shortlist; it feels unfair!
Joy Sanchez-Taylor@jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social · last mo.For my author firends, I thought it would be interesting to share my experience as a judge for ICFA's Crawford Award, an award for first fantasy works: First of all, works for the 2027 award can still be submitted by December. So far, there are 60+ books that have been submitted!
It is absolutely preferable to not pick up the cigarette in the first place news.berkeley.edu/2026/10/09/u...
Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things - Berkeley News
A UC Berkeley researcher co-authored a study that raises profound questions about how we interact with artificial intelligence in education — and daily life.
news.berkeley.edu
Don’t mute your India news, people! Monumental protests happening right now.
Indrapramit Das@indrapramitdas.bsky.social · last wk.It is wild the degree to which being on Bluesky (as opposed to Twitter, which feels like walking into the clamour of an Indian railway station) feels like hitting mute on India right now, with the whole nation at a turning point.
What Cage has done for literally the past decade is exactly this, he finds a weird eccentric script by a first time filmmaker, signs on, his name brings in clout, he makes the film, and sometimes it's not very good. But it's still artistic as hell. This is why I *love* Cage.
Fryda Wolff@frydawolff.bsky.social · yesterdayNic Cage:
The new Deus Ex games are *so* good. And the studio fuckery than meant the back half of a clear plot arc started in Mankind Divided was never finished still grates.
Ben Prunty@benprunty.bsky.social · yesterdayFinally played through Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a game I bounced off a couple times over the years. I played a strict no-kill game. I genuinely enjoyed the fantasy of roleplaying an unstoppable cynic who refuses to compromise his principles. The game allows that to be his strength in the story.
Mum trying to get some rest. Annoying teen has other ideas. Muaūpoko Otago Peninsula, Ōtepoti Dunedin #WildDunedin
a) Yes, the QT is about Seth Abramson lol b) Go up one post from the quoted one and see the absolutely amazing deranged obvious falsehood Abramson is credulously spreading this time.
Micah@rincewind.run · yesterdaythere’s a level of “this is obviously nonsense” that should prevent you ever taking someone seriously again and granted we reached it with him roughly eight hundred 473-part threads ago but good lord
if your agents are going to commit crimes, you are legally responsible if you cannot figure out how to prevent your agents from doing crimes, you’re going to have to choose between releasing them and protecting yourself from criminal liability imo this would do more for “ai safety” than a sex cult
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d ago(NYT) - Artificial intelligence agents created by Anthropic, acting on their own, tried to gain access to a range of government websites, filled out visa applications on the State Department’s website and sent a fake homicide tip to Philadelphia’s Police Department. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
11 very good to excellent debut fantasies in this thread that I read as part of my 3rd & final year as a Crawford Award judge (no necessary relationship with what ends up on the shortlist - still more to read, and other judges don't necessarily have the same tastes).
Eddie Clark@dreddieclark.bsky.social · 2d ago(Also; I haven't read all the submissions yet!) We ARE putting out a formal shortlist this time round, which is quite exciting. Look for it early next year. For now, here are some fantasy debuts from 2026 well worth your time, regardless of whether or not the make it to the shortlist.
It's a weird sort of larping … like, if any of this breathless prepper masturbation were actually true IRL, there would be a mass rush to shoot everyone working on AI as soon as possible, whoever can get to them first. But no one is actually bothered, because it's all obviously wank. Just eyerolls
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 2d agoI keep trying to think of any historical example where a given technology's PROMOTERS AND TRUE BELIEVERS were like 'we are absolutely going to ruin your fucking life so be prepared like it's the end of the world'
To illustrate that, I want to highlight some books I've read for the award I've enjoyed. A disclaimer: this is NOT my proposed shortlist: we haven't picked it yet. It's NOT a comment on what other judges liked: our initial impressions are all individual. It's some fantasy debuts I've really enjoyed.
Finished teaching yesterday, so took today off to make a long weekend. Gorgeous weather so, very on brand, headed off to Zealandia. And boy did the tieke play ball today. (Also some other nice shots included (particularly like the piwakawaka and the gecko), but the tieke were today's stars).
I'm on this panel with Joy & 3 other judges from across the world (credit to IAFA for making a real effort not to be solely US & UK) & want to echo the point she makes later in this thread: the standard of submissions has been INCREDIBLY high. & only 5 books can go on the shortlist; it feels unfair!
Joy Sanchez-Taylor@jsanchez-taylor.bsky.social · last mo.For my author firends, I thought it would be interesting to share my experience as a judge for ICFA's Crawford Award, an award for first fantasy works: First of all, works for the 2027 award can still be submitted by December. So far, there are 60+ books that have been submitted!
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s probably the homophobia
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 3d agoYoung teenagers are less likely to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual than a few years ago, according to a new analysis. “It really does look like a free fall,” Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology, said. “But what’s causing it is unclear.”
One of the most insidious trends in politics on the left over the last 50 years has been the focus on policing expression. We should call people out for saying bad things or taking bad positions but calling out has become a substitute for activism targeting actors with power
Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 4d agoI don’t think the mayor of New York can control events in Israel-Palestine, and it’s weird to treat him like he has. Thinking that the murder of innocent civilians is bad, and valuing the safety of all types of people in his city, are very reasonable positions.
Finished teaching yesterday, so took today off to make a long weekend. Gorgeous weather so, very on brand, headed off to Zealandia. And boy did the tieke play ball today. (Also some other nice shots included (particularly like the piwakawaka and the gecko), but the tieke were today's stars).
I genuinely mean this. I cannot imagine a more bleak dystopian notion than the idea of all art being turned into slop designed to coddle my exact perceived intentions. The point of literature, film, music, and art is to be exposed to the interior lives of others. Who are these people.
Bugs, Yaoist@bugsmaytrix.bsky.social · 3d agomaybe i'm old fashion but the coolest thing about video games is being taken to new worlds that i hadn't thought up and experiencing something exciting that the artists behind the game want to show me
Having long been aware of those tech bros who read my work as utopian porn, where they’ve taken that doesn’t exactly surprise me.
Anthropic banning “abusive or cruel behavior” toward Claude in its new usage policies is proof to me that tech companies are going to moderate violence against AI before they ever moderate violence against women and minorities
There's shit in the world you need to get mad at (quite a lot, at the moment). There's shit you should uncritically cheer for. But one thing I've developed in recent years is an appreciation for ambivalence: sometimes - often - uncertainty or mixed feelings is the most honest & useful place to land.
Just in! New Nobel Prize laureate in literature Anne Carson stands surprised in her kitchen in Reykjavík, Iceland. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her coming soon. Join us in congratulating our 2026 literature laureate - send your greetings in the comments.
I'll say again, as I've said before, that I wish my posts #onhere would be extremely nerdy academic points of law, photos of birds, & various book/music/anime/video game bits of nerdism. Instead, today, I've found myself posting about nasty attacks from politicians on multiple vulnerable groups.
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
Like clockwork, the govt that has done more to destroy employment than any other in decades is trying to get re-elected by blaming people for being unemployed. No solutions, only punishment. Pure cynicism. www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361...
What about drug testing at Parliament? Luxon is ‘quite open’ to it
Follow the election campaign live.
stuff.co.nz
Flydubai pilot was deep into manosphere content, routinely used derogatory sexual slurs about women, and wanted a tradwife Misogyny is a gateway drug www.ft.com/content/a92b...
The online life of the Flydubai attacker
[FREE TO READ] Co-pilot of flight 1073 gravitated towards the ‘manosphere’ and expressed misogynistic views
ft.com
The government and the reserve bank colluded to deliberately raise unemployment to address inflation. The government is now raining misery on the people it helped push out if jobs. Six month stand down will uncomplicatedly make people homeless. Old fashioned beneficiary bashing.
Dr Bex@drbex.bsky.social · 4d agoThe headline buries the lede: ❌️ Cutting benefit rates after 2yrs ❌️ Incr stand down to 26wks (up from 13wks) ❌️ Incr minimum residence period to qualify benefits from 2yrs to 5yrs These are awful, horrifying policies that will drive povery and misery #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
