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Anne Pasek

@apasek.bsky.social

STS, cultural studies, media, environment, climate, energy Bikes, cats, synths, barbells, good recipes

496 Posts743 Follower573 Folgt
Anne Pasek@apasek.bsky.social · yesterday

Reposting, in part, to appreciate this excellent robot costume, used to excellent effect at an Amazon community information session. The heroes we need.

Stand.earth@stand.earth · yesterday

Nothing brings people together quite like a mutual rejection of Big Tech’s AI data centers. “Each overstep brings legions more into the big tent of data center resistance,” writes Todd Paglia, executive director of Stand.earth in his op-ed in @commondreams.org. #GreenSky

Anne Pasek@apasek.bsky.social · 4d ago

It took 4 years but we finally published a study breaking down the climate impacts of subsea telecommunication cables. Please clap. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Greenhouse gas emissions of subsea telecommunications cables: A comparative study of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific systems

Subsea cables are critical for international data exchange. Yet lifecycle assessments (LCA) remain scarce, leaving a critical gap in understanding bot…

sciencedirect.com

Nick Seaver@nickseaver.website · last wk.

reminds me of what Helmreich calls "informalisms" here: journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca... The question in anthro of science is often whether the metaphors are just for public communication (whether that's simplifying or gaslighting) or if they reflect/inform how practitioners actually think.

Travis LaCroix@travislacroix.bsky.social · 4mo ago

New paper pre-print, accepted at FAccT 2026, wherein @fintanmallory.com , @sashamtl.bsky.social , and I argue that hype-laden AI terms like “hallucination”, “reasoning”, and “agent” are doing strategic, rhetorical work, which we call "glosslighting".

Image of title, authors, and abstract for "Strategic Polysemy in AI Discourse: A Philosophical Analysis of Language, Hype, and Power" (Travis LaCroix, Fintan Mallory, and Sasha Luccioni). "This paper examines the strategic use of language in contemporary artificial intelligence (AI) discourse, focusing on the wide- spread adoption of metaphorical or colloquial terms like “hallucination”, “chain-of-thought”, “introspection”, “language model”, “alignment”, and “agent”. We argue that many such terms exhibit strategic polysemy: they sustain multiple interpretations simultaneously, combining narrow technical definitions with broader anthropomorphic or common-sense associations. In contemporary AI research and deployment contexts, this semantic flexibility produces significant institutional and discursive effects, shaping how AI systems are understood by researchers, policymakers, funders, and the public. To analyse this phe- nomenon, we introduce the concept of glosslighting: the practice of using technically redefined terms to evoke intuitive—often anthropomorphic or misleading—associations while preserving plausible deniability through restricted technical definitions. Glosslighting enables actors to benefit from the persuasive force of familiar language while maintaining the ability to retreat to narrower definitions when challenged. We argue that this practice contributes to AI hype cycles, facilitates the mobilisation of investment and institutional support, and influences public and policy perceptions of AI systems, while often deflecting epistemic and ethical scrutiny. By examining the linguistic dynamics of glosslighting and strategic polysemy, the paper highlights how language itself functions as a sociotechnical mechanism shaping the development and governance of AI."
Anne Pasek@apasek.bsky.social · 2w ago

A lovely way to spend your evening would be to curl up with your knitting/physiotherapy exercises/cat (yes I am getting old) and get all the gossip on Hamilton's data centre moratorium campaign. These organizers got further than anyone else in Canada has yet + have a ton of great lessons to pass on.

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Nick Tsergas@nicktsergas.ca · 3w ago

The datacentre debate is spreading across Canada. Are you a city councillor wondering what you can do to protect your community. Or maybe a very cool person who wants to stop one or more datacentres?

Image promoting webinar discussing Hamilton, Ontario’s datacentre pushback, the story and tactics. July 27 at 7pm. Info in thread.
shaun@shaunvids.bsky.social · 3w ago

"why does the UK change leaders so often?" there are diminishing returns wrt how long each vessel can house thatcher's spirit. by the end of the century we'll be getting through 1000 prime ministers a day

Anne Pasek@apasek.bsky.social · 4w ago

hahaha... ok so I teach science communication classes, and now I have an example about the importance of message discipline. Sometimes the glib thing you mention in passing to a reporter becomes part of the byline... www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

New York is pausing new data centres. Could that happen in Canada? | CBC News

More companies are looking to Canada to build out hyperscale data centres meant to power AI, launching a debate over whether the facilities are a net benefit for the country. Here's a look at whether ...

cbc.ca

T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦@tryangregory.bsky.social · 4w ago

Reminder that Carney has cut funding for Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and Indigenous Services. And he has rolled back climate protections, abandoned emissions targets, and is building more pipelines.

Carney: "The wildfire situation has escalated significantly over the last three weeks across the country, and particularly in Northwestern Ontario. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their communities, not knowing if their homes will survive. On behalf of Canadians, I want to thank the brave firefighters, first responders, Indigenous and local leaders who are working tirelessly to keep people safe. Our government is in close contact with provincial, municipal, and Indigenous partners and stands ready to provide any additional support as needed."
Hester Blum@hesterblum.bsky.social · 4w ago

I wish I could tell you that I have consumed any other culture/thought about anything else in six months but I haven’t, and here’s a little bit about why. Thanks to @publicbooks.bsky.social and anyone who has allowed me to talk at them about HR and MD: www.publicbooks.org/heated-rival...

“Heated Rivalry” Is the “Moby-Dick” of Canadian Gay Hockey Shows - Public Books

The literary genre of contemporary MM romance realizes an imagined world that Melville was trying to write into being.

publicbooks.org

Anne Pasek@apasek.bsky.social · last mo.

After spending time in Montreal and Berlin I have come to the opinion that it is extremely reasonable to get a bunch of black line tattoos. I have started collecting ideas in a little folder full of jpegs, as one does. But I think I need a new folder for this one.

A medival illuminated manuscript from 1100. It features two giant monsters of ambiguous nature--maybe giant pigs or wolves? Their mouths are wide open and their faces are pressed together, with the snouts touching and forming (accidentally? nay!) a cute little face. Inside their jaws are a bunch of people being tormented by devils. The whole scene is enclosed in a border, with a door with a key on one side. An angel is unlocking the door with a very knowing look on its face.