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dylan baker

@dylnbkr.bsky.social

Lead research engineer @dairinstitute.bsky.social, social dancer, aspirational post-apocalyptic gardener 🏳️‍🌈😷 I run workshops @dairfutures.bsky.social. Always imagining otherwise. they/he

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dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 6d ago

Adding this to the list of reasons that synthetically generating probable text in situations where very specific word choice *really really matters*— e.g. law and medicine— is a terrible idea.

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Dan Greene@dmgreene.bsky.social · last mo.

It's union or bust, folks. This is expensive, we need taxes to make it happen. This is labor-led, we need need labor power to make it happen. Same dynamic in primary and secondary ed, in hospitals, in libraries, in childcare, etc etc

Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa@benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social · last mo.

A really interesting piece on reducing AI cheating in the classroom from a Professor of English and former Dean of Humanities at University of Utah. The solutions? Smaller classes, lower teaching loads for faculty, and in-person classes.

dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"Ok I know about all these harms of generative AI. But what about when their coding tools are actually useful? I built this amazing thing that wouldn't have existed otherwise, what do you think about that?" I've had a lot of these conversations with socially-aware engineers and I have thoughts: 🧵

dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Reading a lot of speculative fiction where the preface is like "we must tell our own stories of hope, activism is world-building" and then the stories are like "yes, the plague after the fourth nuclear war had worsened the racism in Impoverishment City. But we never stopped dancing."

dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Super excited to be speaking tomorrow at my alma mater! axl.hmc.edu/conference.h... The keynote I'll be giving is a talk I've been developing for quite a while— phrases like "AI Ethics" have come to mean a *lot* of different things. How do we actually orient ourselves in tech ethics conversations?

Conference 2026 | (Re)Imagining Education in the Age of GenAI

A two-day conference at Harvey Mudd College for faculty, administrators, and students. May 21-22, 2026 in Claremont, CA.

axl.hmc.edu

dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"we know the mechanistic structure of such models because we designed and built them" thank youuuuu

Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ@olivia.science · 4mo ago

Preprinted! Been working on this for ~1 year w wonderful coauthors Nancy & Mark: > Understanding Artificial Neural Networks: Mysterianism about Known Mechanism is Mysticism doi.org/10.5281/zeno... Have you noticed many experts say they don't understand AI? What's going on? 🤯 Let us tell you... 1/

Understanding Artificial Neural Networks: Mysterianism about Known Mechanism is Mysticism Olivia Guest1,2, Nancy Abigail Nuñez Hernández3, and Mark Blokpoel1,2 1Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Radboud University, The Netherlands 2Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 3Facultad de Estudios Superiores Acatlán-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico Mysterianism is the idea that human cognition, mind, cannot be understood. Taking this concept and applying it to known mechanism — such that claims are made that we do not know how engineered systems, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs), work, or that they constitute black boxes that we can only open with difficulty — is inappropriate at best and malicious at worst. We do know the mechanistic structure of such models because we designed and built them. We also do know their functional role (what they are for) as well as the mathematical function they are asked to approximate (map inputs to target outputs). Because mysterianist beliefs about known systems, such as ANNs, are often expressed, scientists need to sit up and take notice. We provide an error theory as to what is going on to help unpick this metatheoretical blunder. Ultimately, the problem is that ‘understanding’ is not a technical term in these cases: the word is co-opted for a specific narrative to sell ‘artificial intelligence’ through mystification. All computational systems, from pendulums to databases, will behave in ways we cannot predict or control — this is not a unique property of ANNs — and experts do indeed grasp the computational properties of these systems nonetheless. Keywords: artificial neural networks; mechanism; black box; epistemology; artificial intelligence; understanding
dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I wanted to share a blackout poem I made at the last Possible Futures workshop bc it captures how I feel a lot of the time: "I'm often accused of being an optimist, and it's true As angry as I may be As disappointed as I may be My heart is a strategic opening" [excavated from a Reagan speech]

A blackout poem on a torn-out page of a book. The book title at the top of the page is "Speaking My Mind", and the page number is 337. The visible text reads: I'm often accused of being an optimist, and it's true As angry as I may be As disappointed as I may be My heart is a strategic opening
dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Psst I'm over making videos on ig now @dylantechnofutures, follow me and you can catch great content such as: me ranting about "critical" Substack bros shilling for the Torment Nexus in their hand-wringing thinkpieces while walking my dog www.instagram.com/reel/DXKz5ty...

Dylan Baker on Instagram: "come walk my dog with me because I have some Thoughts on "Torment Nexus Critical" Substack bros (dog reveal at the end 🐕) ✨keep imagining otherwise✨"

4 likes, 0 comments - dylantechnofutures on April 15, 2026: "come walk my dog with me because I have some Thoughts on "Torment Nexus Critical" Substack bros (dog reveal at the end 🐕) ✨keep imagining...

instagram.com

dylan baker@dylnbkr.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I'm still thinking about one of my favorite tech demos from SXSW this year. Are you also stressed about the e-waste of single-use vapes getting tossed every day? Turns out, you can turn them into rechargeable, universal tool/e-bike batteries!! Other things are possible ✨ 2ndchancemnd.com

Text from Second Chance's website. It reads: Our Solution From Waste to Universal Power Packs We transform discarded vape batteries into a product line of different universal power packs for consumer electronics that range from 12V to 48V Battery packs. These battery packs are compatible with major tool brands like Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita, along with various E-bike and E-Scooter makes and models. Our recycled battery packs deliver the same performance as OEM batteries while keeping harmful waste out of landfills. 01. Collection Partner shops collect used vapes in our specialized bins 02. Processing Batteries are safely extracted and tested for capacity 03. Remanufacturing Quality cells are assembled into tool battery packs 04. New Life Power tools, leaf blowers, and more run on recycled energyA booth at sxsw labeled "Second Chance Material & Design". There is a table covered in power tools and large white 3d-printed batteries. There are also two clear plastic bins, one of which contains used vape cartridges (many look like Elf Bars), and another contains many circuit boards.
Timnit Gebru@timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 5mo ago

🔇🔇🔇 On Friday April 17th (9am PDT/5pm CET/7pm EAT), we'll have a virtual event introducing our Refugees, Migrants and AI research program which centers the lived experiences of refugees and migrants and puts power back into their hands🧵 ☘️☘️☘️ Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/refugees-a...

Refugees and AI

Centering the lived experiences of refugees and their power building work in fighting against surveillance technologies.

eventbrite.com

Ana@anthrotechana.bsky.social · 5mo ago

PNW folks, please consider joining us at PDX 350 for an in-person art-making workshop. @dylnbkr.bsky.social and I will lead this event, designed to prompt us to imagine alternative technofutures and be in community at such difficult times. Registration/Info: www.eventbrite.com/e/dair-data-...

DAIR + Data & Society Present: Imagining Possible Futures, Portland

Imagine alternative technofutures with the Distributed AI Research Institute and Data & Society in this free, in-person art-making workshop.

eventbrite.com