This is also a toolkit for refusal — or, rather, for resurgence after Big Tech and AI explode like supernovas 😈 Imagine: low-power radio, atlases that cultivate spatial awareness, literature and movies and music you (or your library) *own* and control, gadgets you can take take apart and fix!

Stephanie Porras@periodeye.bsky.social · 3d ago

This is a triggering image of a museum display in the natural history museum in DC about life before smartphones. Me and a fellow 40+ person were laughing at how we are now LITERAL MUSEUM PIECES. MY teen was like did you have a clear phone? An address book? A book of maps. Yes, yes I did. 🫠🫠🫠

As I was looking something up and bypassed the AI overview to go to a reputable site for the info I needed, it occurs to me that a significant cultural problem is prioritizing “efficiency” over accuracy — something that tremendously benefits the people in power who care little for truth.

Some formerly great economists and social scientists getting their brains cooked by LLMs and AI hype, really sad to see

Signed!

Colette Delawalla, PhD@cdelawalla.bsky.social · 2d ago

OK FOLKS! We all know the Fauci hearing was meant to intimidate scientists…holding him in contempt of court was a HUGE BAD PRECEDENT. So, we are yelling. @standupforscience.net SIGN OUT PETITION TO SENATE TO REVERSE HOLDING DR FAUCI IN CONTEMPT: zurl.co/SLjT8

In the latest entry in the Hype Studies series on Tech Policy Press, philosopher of technology and media scholar Eugenia Stamboliev writes that AI hype operates as "a gendered regime of visibility," normalizing synthetic images of women while erasing real women from view.

How AI Hype Helps Render Women Invisible

AI images are a new form of structural violence, writes Eugenia Stamboliev—not through what we see, but through whom we do not see.

techpolicy.press

@rweingarten.bsky.social, this is a horror. Teachers cited in this article say they're using "A.i." to develop lesson plans for kids with disabilities and imply that they're feeding student data into LLMs. This is using untested, dangerous teach on vulnerable kids AND possibly violating privacy law.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 4d 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.”

seeing how everybody is married to AI overviews for their screenshots is concerning

“In our capacity as academics, perhaps the most radical thing we can do is our job itself. How can anybody in their right mind notice the growing damage to universities & instead of stand against this, facilitate the destruction of expertise, of learning skills, and of academic integrity?”

Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ@olivia.science · last wk.

If useful, here's my attempt to process my feelings about how I feel sadly kinda — or rather very — sick from all this AI fascist nonsense as an academic. 😶‍🌫️ I'd be pleased if even one person finds something useful because there's something to be said for processing this all together, so, um, enjoy?

the thing is both my grandmas were librarians and one grandpa was an engineer that built bridges and I think if I studied and worked really hard I could do either of those

Revan@revan.eurosky.social · 2w ago

Enough “what would you do on the commune questions” If you got sent back 100 years and were given your grandparent’s job, what are you doing?

Odyssey this. Odyssey that. We Odyssey ICE abolished.

First thoughts: Hmm, this sounds like an ad for AI, but let's reserve judgment. Article: "The faculty that it [AI] is going to put out of a job are those that continue to resist and don’t experiment." Nope, this is an ad for AI.

Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 2w ago

Why One Professor Abandoned the AI Resistance Scott Latham has embraced the new technology and shifted his focus to measuring the AI readiness of colleges and universities. https://bit.ly/3S0WTfh #EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd

Everyone: The Odyssey, The Odessey Me: *purposefully not saying a word* Me: *quiet, quiet* Me: *head starting to inflate from hot air* Me: YOU KNOW, THEY DID A PRETTY GOOD ADAPTATION OF THE ODYSSEY ON XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS

from the twisted mind of homer...

Hypertext implies the existence of hypotext

chatgpt is not a search engine girl its unnecessary get help

Ironically, as @mart1oeil.eu showed, there are telltale signs that the piece was edited with ChatGPT: many links include "?utm_source=chatgpt.com" If even Science editorial team cannot afford good human editing, that's worrying

Jed Brown@jedbrown.org · 3w ago

Editor in Chief of Science: AI in scientific publishing: Slower, worse, and more expensive.

Psst. Valorizing grindset culture is ableist.

Today is something called AI Appreciation Day (wut) and I’m seeing apocalyptic photos across my timeline of wildfire smoke coloring the skies orange and gray, so here’s the Against AI and Its Environmental Harms library one more time:

look sometimes people tell a girl like me “you should use genAI” and it just has the same energy as them telling me “you should smile more”

Stop carrying water for fucking AI.

This is why I give bombastic side eyes to the (few) historians who happily proclaim that gAI does/will do better history than historians do right now; I know you're an incredibly shallow thinker, immediately

Amalia S. Levi, PhD@amaliasl.bsky.social · 4w ago

📢 Once more for the people in the back: - Most [more than 95%] of archives have not been digitized. - Most of humanity's knowledge and memory is *not* reachable by LLMs. - Believing that AI can provid you with comprehensive, definitive, "intelligent" results is folly.

this is why I'm pretty uncomfortable with people insisting mcconnell's dead or must be lying about what happened to him. people insisting they can common sense their way to understanding other people's health problems is part of how ableism works.

Julia Métraux@juliametraux.bsky.social · 4w ago

I spoke to polio survivors and health experts about the importance of Mitch McConnell speaking about the impact polio has on him in the current anti-vax landscape. But, at the same time, he’s no healthcare hero. Like at all. Latest for @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

On the subject of etiquette, there's also this, covered in a previous Picnic: when reading is more expensive than "writing", the asymmetry makes sending someone unsolicited AI slop nothing short of rude.

It's rude to show AI output to people | Alex Martsinovich

Feeding slop is an act of war

distantprovince.by

We insist that our library kids get to grow old. Protect them at all costs. Let them play, let them learn, let them be loved, keep them safe 💛

"rapists should not hold organizational power over others for very obvious reasons" is just basic logistics and yet everybody hates women too much to listen

*sighs Jewishly*

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News@froomkin.bsky.social · last mo.

Platner alleging a conspiracy to set him up is not something I was expecting.

I can say this as someone who was born and raised there: this is EXUDING new jersey energy. iykyk

blaine@jblainefoster.bsky.social · last mo.

need you all to see this deeply indescribable cooking video

It's good to see the influential voices who offered such full-throated support to Platner disavow him and apologize for their error. But unless they interrogate what it was about his performance of race, class and masculinity that so seduced them, they'll be just as susceptible to it next time.

I cancelled my monthly WFP dues after they endorsed Platner. I'm glad to see this now, but the red flags were there before. I also find it disappointing that this statement comes nearly a day after the Maine Democratic Party. WFP needs to do some real work to live up to its stated mission.

Working Families Party 🐺@workingfamilies.org · last mo.

The sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner are extremely serious and troubling. Our party is rescinding our endorsement of Mr. Platner’s campaign and calling on him to withdraw from the race.

stephen king has had some iffy takes for awhile; he also supports cemetery dance press, which is terrible, unprofessional, and borderline scammy, making it harder for writers to voice their concerns