in 2016 Elon Musk said he would build a fully automated factory in Fremont, California for the upcoming Model 3 and he then spent on the order of $2 billion on production lines that didn't work, forcing Tesla to assemble cars by hand in a tent but sure, now he's gonna do it on the moon

Happy August 5 to all who celebrate.

I'm fully immersed in the "no food" day before my colonoscopy (and 10 min before starting that bs drink), and even my text responses are irritable as hell. I'm so ready to EAT....TOMORROW! 😭

“The book functions as a playlist as much as a memoir...these references create a throughline between generations of Black men who could not always say what they needed to say but could find it somewhere in their music.” — DeQuendre (Goodreads) music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Olivia Miles has 23 points going into the half. 10-12 shooting. Our girl is DIFFERENT!! Go off, rook!

Dwayne Wade's Reaction at Dunk Contest

Alt: Dwayne Wade's Reaction at Dunk Contest

static.klipy.com

Plus purse, backpack, and work office. Or is that the 50s addition? 🤷‍♀️ Note: All of this is, however, also connected to {waves arms at 🔥🔥🔥 over past decade}.

Nicki Washington, Ph.D.@drnickiw.bsky.social · 4d ago

My 40s has taught me the importance of an upstairs and downstairs tylenol, chapstick, and lotion.

My 40s has taught me the importance of an upstairs and downstairs tylenol, chapstick, and lotion.

We used to have companies announce and apologize and offer us 1 free year of credit protection because their websites got hacked. Now AI companies are bragging they hacked other websites.

CNN@cnn.com · 6d ago

Anthropic says that during routine testing some of its models accessed the internet and hacked into three separate organizations' systems – and that it didn't notice the models had done so until an internal review prompted by rival OpenAI disclosing its models did the same. https://cnn.it/3TKkl0L

Great reporting from our student journalists at the Duke Chronicle on increases for the most highly paid Duke employees in the wake of unnecessary massive layoffs: www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

As cost-cutting began, Duke’s highest-paid employees took big raises

Tax filings reveal administrators, including President Vincent Price and Provost Alex Gallimore, saw their compensation rise in fiscal year 2025. Managers of Duke’s endowment and standout athletics co...

dukechronicle.com

Why and how do they have that man's diary?

People who think Emily Wilson is being mean have clearly never presented a paper at an academic conference

I know we aren’t arguing with the weirdos on the other site, but for the nerds who like to be informed on this site here is open access research on the question of “race” in ancient Greece that is accessible and short and will help you best that one Uncle at Thanksgiving

Clint Eastwood was 11 years old when Emmett Till was born. Also older than Emmett Tiil: Chuck Grassley Nancy Pelosi Bob Dylan Willie Nelson Sir Patrick Stewart Ringo Starr James Clyburn Wheeler Parker Jr (Till’s cousin, who witnessed his kidnapping, and is still pastor of their childhood church)

Emmett Till would be 85 today. TODAY. Every semester, I think about the fact that he would be one of my mama's siblings; older than her, but younger than her sister. Not a distant past. Someone who should've experienced growing old.

I ain't gon' hold y'all, but the WNBA OG's look GOOD at halfcourt! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

The high school students carrying the Shooting Stars competitions at WNBA All-Star. 🤌🏾

Uhhuh Clap on Wendy Show

Alt: Uhhuh Clap on Wendy Show

static.klipy.com

I get this is a strategic move to remain in business. But I *really* hate that we’re losing another named piece of Black history from Durham. NC Mutual, Mechanics & Farmers, The Carolina Times. All institutions. www.axios.com/local/raleig...

A pillar of Durham's Black Wall Street will get a new name after merger

M&F Bank, founded in 1907, is the oldest Black-owned bank in North Carolina.

axios.com

A reminder that UC _faculty_ and Faculty Associations — not the universities themselves nor their administrators — are waging this battle in court, demonstrating great bravery and moral clarity.

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants

Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...

apnews.com

Y’all. "The lawsuit claims that ChatGPT had assured Scott Winters that the early warning signs of his health crisis were “not something dangerous,” and had dissuaded him from seeking medical advice, instead telling him to trust that “God did not design your body to endlessly fail.”"

OpenAI Sued Over ChatGPT’s ‘Dangerous’ Health Advice (Gift Article)

The case appears to be the first to argue that a chatbot’s advice harmed someone seeking guidance about a medical condition.

nytimes.com

A product of one of the best things I’ve done over the last six years. The latest from the final team of our three-year, interdisciplinary research course examined how perceptions of neutrality in computing shifted before and after the 2023 SCOTUS decision.

The Impact of (No) Affirmative Action on Undergraduate Experiences and Perceptions of Neutrality in Computing

Abstract. Academic and professional computing environments, which are overrepresented by people identifying as white and Asian, are often viewed as apoliti

academic.oup.com

Because of COURSE the Black woman who saved the world six years ago is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

The authors of this are high AF, and it's clarifying to know the lead author self-describes as "I also helped to start the effective altruism movement." This is what happens to your brain when you're paid to say stuff billionaire techbros want to hear.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2w ago

Starts with asking Claude if it’s a “moral patient” and goes downhill from there.

And for good measure, here is the original post from Dr. Emily Bender that I saw on LinkedIn. Apologies, Emily, for not checking if you’d posted it here as well. Her 🧵is an important discussion re: giving LLMs access to the ACM Digital Library.

Emily M. Bender@emilymbender.bsky.social · 3w ago

This is the weirdest request for input that I've seen in a while. It's almost like the ACM is sitting at the table with the "change my mind" sign. So, let's do it. Short thread with the input I gave them:

Regardless of all the other thoughts that come to mind reading this (and coincidentally I had highlighted the same exact quote than Dr. Washington down below), I wonder... what can possibly make ACM folks so sure that no LLM has already been trained on ACM publications? 🤔

Nicki Washington, Ph.D.@drnickiw.bsky.social · 3w ago

If you do *any* computing-related research, you should read and complete the feedback form to ACM at the end. "Research influence may increasingly depend not only on citations and downloads, but also on whether ideas are surfaced, synthesized, and operationalized within AI systems."

If you do *any* computing-related research, you should read and complete the feedback form to ACM at the end. "Research influence may increasingly depend not only on citations and downloads, but also on whether ideas are surfaced, synthesized, and operationalized within AI systems."

"Salamanca is the only incorporated city in the United States located entirely within a Native American reservation. The school district serves roughly 1,300 students, including 32 percent who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native and 79 percent who are economically disadvantaged."

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 3w ago

A rural New York school district has teamed up with a crypto/sex doll company to deploy a "lifelike" robot and avatar teaching assistant in the classroom this fall

Didn’t Taco Bell already tell us this?

Deep sigh. “If they’re going to be very strict on ‘We’re only going to give very limited cases after four years,’ then we’re going to lose a lot of [international] graduate students,” she said. “That’s the reality, because not all programs are going to be able to adjust to that.”

Rule Limiting International Students’ Time in U.S. Finalized

International students previously could stay as long as their program lasted. The Trump administration is ending that 1978 policy.

insidehighered.com

Ghostface and U-God performing Cher Chez La Ghost at the ESPYS just now was such a wildly confusing, yet pleasantly surprising moment. I legit thought it was a commercial until the music stopped at “put a rough rider on my…"💀

Cece looked at her mom. “Why are you talking to an A.I.?” “Because she’s my new best friend,” Roschelle joked. “Oh, Roschelle, that’s so sweet that Cece knows about our friendship!” the Alexa said. “I love that you’re sharing this with her..” /1 free link: archive.ph/fu2u2 She calls it Sapphire.

When A.I. Is a Member of the Family

A single mom, her two daughters, and the chatbots that fill in the gaps.

newyorker.com