A point I frequently make when talking about chatbots is that their output only seems to make sense because we are making sense of it. And worse, we can only do that sense-making by projecting a mind behind the text, something we do reflexively. >>

Thanks for having us, Michael. Appreciate you reading the privacy policy too. We got into the fine details and all the nuance that goes into infrastructure, moderation, verification, privacy, and everything else that comes with the territory.

Michael Geist@mgeist.bsky.social · 2w ago

Everyone talks about digital sovereignty but what does it actually take to build a sovereign social network? @gandersocial.ca is trying to do it with Canadian identity systems and data controls. CEO @benjaminwaldman.bsky.social joins the week's Law Bytes podcast. www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/08/the-...

“God has a plan for you” No, thanks. I’m familiar with his work

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

Hello friend.

Pisces: The future is bright (you lost your sunglasses).

Unusually for bsky, this has attracted a lot of folks who want to argue (via QTs here and downthread) that the anthropomorphizing language is just fine, actually. Helps people understand clearly. Doesn't obfuscate responsibility. And/or is a more accurate portrayal of what the models are doing. >>

Emily M. Bender@emilymbender.bsky.social · 4w ago

This is laughable --- "reporting says", well yes, these reporters did a bang-up job anthropomorphizing the system they are talking about, and obfuscating the responsibility that OpenAI holds here. bsky.app/profile/mims... Some examples:

D&D has released an official statblock for Jimothy

Latitude and Longitude xkcd.com/3273/

Humans used blog to get their links to the top of Search. Now, AI spamming the internet, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social explains. We teamed up with the Los Angeles Public Library to talk about it on a panel with @xoxogossipgita.bsky.social and @dexdigi.bsky.social. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wLU...

Humans can form relationships with AI systems, true, but this is not at all the same thing.

Emily M. Bender@emilymbender.bsky.social · last mo.

"And unlike other non-living things, AI systems can form relationships with humans." Unlike other non-living things, AI systems are designed by coprorate interests to deceive people and make them feel that the relationships they formed are actually reciprocated. (There, fixed it for you.) >>

Banning social media for millions raises obvious constitutional risks, but the safeguards meant to save it, including age verification standards and exemptions, won't be operational when the ban takes effect. My post on why safeguards come too late to save it. www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/07/why-...

Why the Government’s Plan for a Social Media Ban in Bill C-34 Is Unconstitutional - Michael Geist

he debate over the government's proposed social media ban for under 16s has raised several difficult questions, including doubts about whether it will work, which services it will cover, and what…

michaelgeist.ca

Hello friend.

Fantastic video on the Dark Fishing Spider aka the Dock Spider in my neck of the woods. If you’re at all intimidated by these, give this video a chance to make you fascinated instead.

Travis McEnery@travismcenery.bsky.social · last mo.

This one was so much fun to make, and it's such a beautiful species. youtu.be/8tEdfXxaYJI

Good butterfly day.

The ducklings came to visit! Mama/auntie merganser keeps bringing different numbers of babies - sometimes more, then less, then more again. So I think there’s a crèche nearby. Later they completely passed out in this spot, snoozing in the sun.

Robins are almost ready to fledge. I thought this one was going to go for sure, but it changed its mind. Sometimes we need a few tries before we take big steps.

Had a painted turtle lay her eggs in our driveway! Our local turtle conservation folks came and excavated the nest. 3 eggs have gone to their facility for safe hatching.

Check out this sword stuck in a stone!!

💯 💯 “the government should be willing to call the bluff of any company bragging about the destructive potential of its products, ending the era in which these A.I. labs can simultaneously terrify the public about their technology while continuing to develop and market it without constraint.”

Jeff (Hot Type) Jarvis@jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Cal Newport -- @author-calnewport.bsky.social -- is so right. Gift link. Dear A.I. Companies: The Doom Trolling Needs to Stop www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/o...

Defaults are decisions. Algorithms are decisions. Feeds are decisions. Friction, labels, visibility, appeals, and safeguards are all decisions too. Online safety is defined by product choices long before a parent, teacher, or moderator ever gets involved.

This was a such a charming read. I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. Sweet, funny, and smart.

Zoom!

And it's why the biggest internet safety advice I give parents of teenagers is to make crystal clear that they will never blame their kid for being the victim, because that is the ONLY way they will ever know there's a problem. bsky.app/profile/raha...

rahaeli@rahaeli.bsky.social · 2y ago

Related: People I know IRL who know what I do for a living often ask what they need to know about online safety for their about-to-be-teenagers, and there's a lot of answers, but the thing I always emphasize most is: under no circumstances should you ever threaten to take access away from them.

Today’s visitor.

The hatchening has begun. Mama robin feeds the wee hatchling in the nest while papa looks on.

With AI “search” shifting attention away from websites and ads, it seems it was only a matter of time before brands started trying to manipulate LLM outputs to make up for that loss in ad views. Looks like AEO replaces SEO as the dark arts of the internet.

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New: A tiny snippet of user-generated text as short as 13 words is often enough to manipulate the AI agents that power tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI search. Shows trivially easy for companies/brands to manipulate ChatGPT results by posting on Reddit, Quora, etc www.404media.co/it-is-trivia...

There comes a point during nesting where papa robin starts to bring food items to the nest and mama robin will take them in lieu of the not-yet-hatchedlings feeding. It’s a bit of a practice/bonding thing. The first few times he doesn’t quite know what to do. He’ll get the hang of it though.

Hello neighbour!