Great thread by Prof. Bender on AI doomerism, especially worth reading since our "AI Minister" is now engaging in this whole conversation too. #Cdnpoli #Canada #NoAI

Emily M. Bender@emilymbender.bsky.social · 2d ago

AI Doomerism has been in the news lately, especially with the loud, viral resignation of Jacob Coxon from Anthropic. Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen any statements from CEOs and other execs who are more on the AI Booster side of the ledger. >>

🎉 Updates! Updates! 🎉 Don't settle for their empty promises! Vancouver deserves better than that, BC deserves better than that, WE deserve better than that! Don't forget OCTOBER 3rd! International Day of Protest! Save that date for us! Donate @ no.ai.in.vancouver@gmail.com

2,000+ signed a petition asking for a pause on AI in BC. The BC Ministry of Education and Childcare took the easy way out and said it's not their responsibility to pause AI use in classrooms. With enough public support and political will, we can make them care. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pa...

Pause on Generative AI in BC Schools

We demand that the Ministry of Education and Child Care enact a two-year pause (moratorium) on AI usage in classrooms in British Columbia. This means that for two years, in schools in BC: - Students...

actionnetwork.org

👏 OCTOBER 3rd! 👏 Mark it on your calendar for an INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST! 🌐 We'll be working hard to get this event bigger and better for everyone! If you can't come DONATE! no.ai.in.vancouver@gmail.com #noai #vancouver #local #townhall #protesting #election

Thank you all that have participated! We'll be contacting the winners via their preferred method *Please claim your prize within 72 hours to claim your prize! October 3rd is our International Day of Protest. Please keep that day empty for us. 😊

Hi folks! Quick update: we won't be hosting a beach hang tomorrow. We've just wrapped up another brainstorming townhall today, and we'll be sharing news about the next event soon!

No AI Vancouver@noaivancouver.bsky.social · 3w ago

Hi folks! Unfortunately with the weather looking poor, we are going to delay this event. We're tentatively looking at August 30th, weather permitting.

We got updates! August 29th - Collaborative discussion food and water will be present! To get tickets go to linktr.ee/no.ai.vancou... October 3rd - International Day of Protest! Stay tuned for that! Raffle is still going! $2 per ticket with no limit E-transfer to no.ai.in.vancouver@gmail.com

Hi folks! Unfortunately with the weather looking poor, we are going to delay this event. We're tentatively looking at August 30th, weather permitting.

No AI Vancouver@noaivancouver.bsky.social · 4w ago

🌺 Beach time! And we're hosting a potluck! We wanna have some fun and get some memories on the old camera! 🌺 We'll be bringing some snacks and drinks! Please brings some snacks to share! Bring some drinks, food, snacks, whatever you can! 🍎 🍊 **WEATHER DEPENDANT! CONFIRMATION ON THURSDAY**

Hosting a raffle to raise funds for marches and events! Runs Aug 19-30, winner announced Aug 31 on IG $2 per raffle ticket No limit to amount of tickets bought Buy raffle ticket by e-transfer no.ai.in.vancouver@gmail.com write RAFFLE and your IG handle, if you don't have IG, will contact via email

🌺 Beach time! And we're hosting a potluck! We wanna have some fun and get some memories on the old camera! 🌺 We'll be bringing some snacks and drinks! Please brings some snacks to share! Bring some drinks, food, snacks, whatever you can! 🍎 🍊 **WEATHER DEPENDANT! CONFIRMATION ON THURSDAY**

You may have noticed that this account has been quiet lately! We're not dormant, but we have capacity challenges. We have one person who updates both our Bluesky and Mastodon accounts, alongside many other tasks and employment. If you're in Vancouver and interested in helping, please reach out!

#noaivancouver @noaivancouver.bsky.social

Our first Town Hall, moderated by two SFU professors, is tomorrow! Don't miss out! www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-data-ce... #Vancouver #VanPoli #NoAI

The big tech industry is always on the lookout for ways to completely detach from democratic oversight. Its leaders have been exploring build-a-new-country schemes for years, when they're not sabotaging democratic states and institutions.

Gil Durán@gilduran.com · last mo.

A Tech Founder Wanted to Start a New Country. An Actual Country Got in the Way. Wall Street Journal covers Network State cult founder Balaji Srinivasan. “Federal records indicate he and his wife renounced American citizenship in 2023.” 👀 Gift link: www.wsj.com/tech/a-tech-...

The feds "may" use "AI tools" to summarize public input on AI transparency. Which tools? How do they work? What do they cost? How are results validated for omissions and hallucinations? Is the stack secure and sovereign? 🤷 Transparency*, by Mark Carney. #Canada #CdnPoli #NoAI #BigTech

Now that overwhelming public interest has caused Council to refer the Mt Pleasant AI data centre rezoning to city staff, British Columbia's October elections are also Vancouver's next chance to have a say in whether we want the dead weight of data centres stamped onto our city. #Vancouver #VanPoli

Canada's National Observer@nationalobserver.com · 2mo ago

Data centres are shaping up to be a major election issue for voters in Ontario's upcoming municipal elections.

We've cracked 20,000 signatures on our petition against Big Tech steamrolling our democracy, our privacy, our labour market, our climate, and our local communities. Let's drive that number up, and make the House of Commons hear us. #CdnPoli #Canada #NoAI #BigTech #DataCentres #Climate #Privacy

Nobody wants predictive data models to stop working for the people in medicine. Or translating ancient Pompeii texts. Or the other ways we were already using it. We want it to stop replacing workers, killing the environment, and stealing from artists. Hope that clarifies.

"Students using AI just need to double-check everything it outputs." So why use it in the first place? Why not just start with the reputable sources?

Hundreds of millions for a gas-guzzling AI machine to power Mark Zuckerberg's advertising business. So much for "sovereignty." That sum is pocket change to Meta, but the federal government thinks lending them this money is a good use of public funds. #Canada #CdnPoli #NoAI #DataCentres #BigTech

Canada's National Observer@nationalobserver.com · 2mo ago

NEW: Export Development Canada provided between $100 million and $200 million in project financing for the gas-fired plant that will power Meta's data centre in Sturgeon County, Alta., Canada's National Observer has discovered.

Hugely thankful for being able to speak at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social rally today! Stopping AI data centres from ruining our city, and stopping chatbots from harming students, are things we can achieve in solidarity 💪 actionnetwork.org/petitions/pa...

Note for those checking socials on July 26th: we won't have anyone monitoring this account during the rally. If you need something urgently, look for a marshall or other volunteer on-site.

Join us today at 1PM at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Street side, by the giant stairs), rain or shine! We'll have a rally, speakers, and time to connect and prep for next steps. The data centres are an election issue, so let's organize! #Vancouver #VanPoli #BCPoli #NoAI #DataCentres #BigTech

Join us tomorrow at 1pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery; this time, it's a rally, not a march! We'll be celebrating the referral of the Mount Pleasant data centre rezoning, hearing speakers talking to us about why this all matters, and organizing our next steps. #Vancouver #VanPoli #NoAI #BCPoli

One of the best ways to show how LLMs function is to see how they fail, often spectacularly. ChatGPT today still fails the well-known "riddle" of "the doctor is the mother" when the genders of the parents are reversed.

We will be speaking at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social rally this Sunday July 26, from 1pm, @ the Vancouver Art Gallery. Hope to see you there!

These companies, and the tech oligarchs leading them, are completely out of control. The Carney government is committing a grave error by embracing corporate generative AI with no controls, regulation, or red lines whatsoever.

Communities across Canada are getting frustrated with data centres — and for good reason! I was on CBC’s Front Burner this morning to speak with Jayme Poisson about Canada’s hyperscale data centre boom and why Canadians are right to be concerned about it.

Canada's data centre boom, and backlash | CBC Radio

Why Canadians across the country are pushing back against AI data centres in their communities.

cbc.ca

But we know the fight isn't over. Join us on July 26th, 1PM at the Vancouver Art Gallery. We'll celebrate this win, and talk about what the next steps are, and why this fight matters to so many of us. #VanPoli #Vancouver #BigTech #NoAI #BCPoli #CdnPoli #DataCentre

No AI Vancouver@noaivancouver.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Good news: the rezoning for the Mt. Pleasant AI data centre has been referred back to staff, likely relaying the approval hearing until after the October election - due to "huge public interest"! Thanks to our friends at @cag938.bsky.social for the graphic! #Vancouver #VanPoli #NoAI #BigTech