Last night I was on ITV News at Ten for all of 5 sec (for an item about Catherine Zeta-Jones using her Welsh accent in her new show). My mom, who lives in Switzerland and definitely doesn't get ITV, texts about a minute after saying she'd heard from a friend I was on tv & why hadn't I told her 😂

Admittedly there are potential risks in the rapid development of Dalek tech: extermination, loss of civilisation, possible destruction of all human life. But we must consider potential benefits in productivity, medicine, scientific discovery. And even if we DO slow down, other countries might not...

Translation: Oh AI! I’m sure it was worth: - destroying the environment - making millionaires richer - using stolen work - wasting drinking water

Gery7 - ファシストより豚になりたい@gery7.bsky.social · 2w ago

Chaque fois, j’utilise cette image qui a été partagée ici, je ne sais plus par qui. Mon entourage proche ne m’en envoie plus 😁

@madeley.bsky.social I had to check you weren’t the one who reposted this

Rex Huppke@rexhuppke.bsky.social · 3w ago

This is spectacular, folks. We live in a moment in American history when the president and his administration are so racist and dumb that a toy company has to put out a statement saying: "OUR GIANT ROBOT THAT TURNS INTO A TRUCK DENOUNCES RACISM AND HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE CURRENT PRESIDENT."

From The Crimson editorial board: “…to encourage unfettered use of AI, especially for “writing-intensive” courses, is antithetical to promoting learning and jeopardizes the purpose of a liberal arts education.”

Don't Tell Us To Write Our Papers With AI | The Harvard Crimson

It’s still unclear how AI could be used to support academic writing without meaningfully outsourcing one’s thinking. Professors might not be able to enforce a prohibition on its use for larger take-ho...

thecrimson.com

How do they know? I finally (and slightly belatedly) sent off my review for a research grant about an hour ago. Guess what just pinged into my inbox? A request to review a grant (from a research body in a completely different country from the first one, but still)

What's bothering me about AI on Bluesky, and which for the sake of civility I have been biting my tongue about probably more than I should, is the increasing number of people willing to turn a blind eye to the fact that *all of these products* are built with stolen labor and copyright violations.

Micah@rincewind.run · 3w ago

I am in a weird middle ground on AI on bluesky in that I work in software and I see how capable it is in that field and I also feel like a crotchety old man who doesn’t want to spend time learning how to manage agents and would rather retire to play video games

As someone has noted - there are not 10,000 Trans people in Wales so this is the time we need to step up and protect those more vulnerable than us. These surgeries were scheduled by DOCTORS for ADULTS who had often been waiting years. Stop this cruelty.

Philippa East (Author)@philippaeast.bsky.social · 4w ago

Petition to the Senedd: petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...

Ha! This is exactly the kind of "your research output changed our practice" confirmation academics need for REF impact case studies.

Joe Tidy BBC News@joetidy.bsky.social · 4w ago

This was surreal. I emailed the proton mail of the hacker group that breached the UK airports yesterday and they replied overnight with this...

The definition of 'juice' in Scotland is really wide. It includes fizzy drinks like Irn Bru and Coke, iced tea, etc. Some syrups for diluting, such as Ribena - all of which would be classed as 'juice' - are not unlike actual fruit juice. But others...

#linguistics instance of the Scots diluting juice (ie squash) in the wild. (North?) American English speakers squash is kind of cordial/juice concentrate you add water to to make a drink. French speakers, squash is similar but less syrupy than sirop

New York City Public Schools, the largest school system in the country, has banned student-facing generative AI tools in classrooms through eighth grade for this school year, adopting one of the most aggressive AI policies in the nation. https://wapo.st/46EjUbw

I really cannot think of a greater honor than to have the Muppets say this about you upon your passing

I'm going to Montreal for a conference (yay #nwav54) and I've never been before. I'll have about a day at the end to see stuff - what should I do? Je vais à Montreal pour la première fois et j'aurai un jour pour visiter - faut que je fasse quoi?

So many things to choose to do with your one wild and precious life. Living so you’re remembered for your kindness is the only goal worth anything.

I think the universal grieving comes in no small part from the fact she represented the best of what America could be, and that she never stopped chasing that ideal, artistically and socially

Goddammit. Dolly Parton of all people deserved to outlive him.

Twenty years ago today, Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. Discovered in 1930, it was considered to be the ninth planet in our solar system until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to reclassify it. Image: NASA, PD, Wikimedia Commons

parents in ancient mesopotamia 🤝parents in contemporary america "damn these kids playing with their tablets"

We went to a nearby park for the eclipse - it was lovely, so many people together to (not exactly) stare at the sun. Got to give the two spare pairs of glasses we had to friends of small person and shared mine here and there with people who didn’t have any.

and i think teaching is an inherently hopeful calling. it demands that we cede our own cynicism and jadedness. i don’t know about y’all, but i don’t prepare students for this world. why? it’s shit. i do, however, want to give them the tools to imagine and then build better worlds.

Hi there, an educator here. We don’t need training on AI. We know what it is. We’re holding on for dear life until private equity decides to move on to the next shiny thing. I just hope there are enough of us still around to pick up the pieces.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2mo ago

“Teaching educators about AI is a ‘moral imperative’, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president.” “And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big tech’s money or doing nothing, she said.”

No professional accomplishment has ever made me happier than this. theonion.com/translator-o...

Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation

PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” ...

theonion.com

Emily is a genius; I am extremely, genuinely thrilled for her! But also: as The Odyssey sells out books and theaters alike, Classics departments and language classes are being decimated across the US. If you want more Emily Wilsons we have to FUND SCHOLARSHIP and FUND TRANSLATION AND TRANSLATORS.

Ignacio Gallup-Diaz@igallupd.bsky.social · 2mo ago

“A Penn professor thought she’d sell 1000 copies of her ‘Odyssey’ translation. She sold a million this year alone, thanks to Christopher Nolan.” “West Philly's Emily Wilson, who penned a highly acclaimed translation of the epic poem in 2017, is having a big summer.”

A particular problem in Welsh history. Is there anyone under 40 teaching Welsh history in a university on a permanent contract?

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 3mo ago

In addition to today's data on staffing in UK HE, @britishacademy.bsky.social has produced several briefings, including one on the very significant decline in early career academics, 2012-24: bit.ly/4wGBTcl History has seen a 32% decline in early career staff numbers since 2012/13 #Skystorians 1/2

So. I did it. Lotta people gonna be mad about this one. Show it some love?

A Jewish Case for AI work exemptions

or: why should CHICAGO POPE have all the fun

lifeisasacredtext.com

Hi. We're in the Age of Diarrhea. I'm a global health expert on helping children survive diarrhea. Here's what to do if you might have picked up cyclospora. 🧵 1. Call your primary care if possible. 2. Take oral rehydration therapy, which isn't just drinking fluids. 1/

Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 2y ago

welcome to the Age of Diarrhea

Tentative save the date: 8-10 September 2027 for the next UK Language Variation and Change conference (UKLVC 16) in Birmingham! More information and confirmation of these dates to follow. Please get in touch if you know of any clashes with other events planned at this time.

Florida folks: If you have O- blood and are of African or African American descent, OneBlood is searching for donors who have a rare antigen that matches with a teenager with sickle cell disease who needs 50 units of blood so she can have a bone marrow transplant.

Rare blood needed to save life of Florida teen needing bone marrow transplant

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WFLA)— Blood donors of African descent are needed to save the life of a Florida 18-year-old fighting an aggressive form of sickle cell disease, OneBlood announced. Gigi Felix,…

wfla.com