🚨The video recording of the AI and the Politics of Extraction panel is now live! Watch this fascinating 1.5 hour discussion with @naomiaklein.bsky.social, @profwhw.bsky.social, @mysdick.bsky.social, and @profhvdv.bsky.social as they explore the risks of unfettered AI implementation.

Finally something on this argument current and future school teachers keep throwing at me - no, underserved groups are not currently or ever going to benefit from LLMs.

Resisting GenAI and Big Tech in Higher Education - Tuesday 25th Nov, free registration, great panel, big focus on climate justice. Register here: lmula.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

I awoke to the headline this morning that Ottawa and Alberta are reportedly “close” to a deal that includes a new heavy oil pipeline to the northwest coast of BC… It feels timely to share that my book is out now with UBC Press, available open access www.ubcpress.ca/mega-pipelin...

💬 Reminder to save your spot for "AI and the Politics of Extraction" at UBC's Centre for Climate Justice. I'm on a panel moderated by Carol Liao, and we will be discussing the complex political and legal issues raised by AI-enabled resource extraction. 🗓️Nov. 20 🕰️2-3:30pm 📍In-Person & Zoom

Can the world quit #coal? #COP30 #energy #ActOnClimate #Brazil #China #India @matpaterson.bsky.social @leahstokes.bsky.social theconversation.com/can-the-worl...

Whoever said that digital tech is neither bad nor good, just depends on how you use it, should read this article. www.404media.co/google-has-c...

❗ AI skeptics: don't miss this hybrid event.❗ Register here: climatejustice.ubc.ca/events/event...

I believe this is what those in the biz call a 'flywheel.' Basis for a paper? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...

Do you find the environmental polycrisis spooky? 👻 🎃 You're not alone. Check out my latest article with Peter Dauvergne: Surging Eco-Anxiety: Consequences for Global Environmental Politics. Our conclusions will haaaaaauunt you. 🧛 👿 doi.org/10.1162/GLEP...

Pretends to be shocked www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

“AI will help us solve climate change”

Great business model! They have to turn a profit somewhere, right? Get the audience (of lonely and poorly socialized males) addicted on an investor-subsidized product (of personalized porn) and then, slowly but inevitably, turn up the cost.

Proposals to build data centers are facing growing opposition across the country. Local leaders are weighing concerns about data centers’ water and electricity use with the hefty community investments that developers often offer to sweeten their deals.

Nice to be interviewed by CBC's The House. Catch me talking about the environmental impacts of AI around minute 30 here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

I saw the dot coms crash from a front row seat. AI is running out of money way faster. The evangelism is insecurity from people who made the wrong bet. I’ve seen it before. futurism.com/future-socie...

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

🚨🚨Conference Alert! Abstract Submissions Due Soon!🚨🚨 “Globalizing Political Economy: Launching the Global Political Economy Network", Happening July 2026, University of British Columbia. Open to all Topics Within a GPE Framework. Lots of Travel Funding Available. Details: tinyurl.com/2nv8st73

—>the report estimated that emerging technologies "could destroy nearly 100 million U.S. jobs in a decade," replacing 47 percent of truck drivers, 64 percent of accountants and 89 percent of fast food and counter workers.

Newsletter: This is The Case Against Generative AI, a comprehensive analysis of a financial collapse built on myths I’ll dispel, the markets’ unhealthy obsession with NVIDIA's growth, and the fact that there is not enough money in the world to fund OpenAI. www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...

For those looking for ways to push back against the blind adoption of AI in universities, I recommend this piece: zenodo.org/records/1706...

🚨 New paper: Will global environmental governance survive Trump? @rakhyunkim.bsky.social and I argue that its high complexity makes it more resilient than other governance systems. We give hegemonic stability theory a complexity science twist. 📖 Open Access: doi.org/10.1111/1758...

Lmaooooooo

This is very generous and a nice writeup of some of the tech critical media crowd, including yours truly

Social media was once positioned as the great connecting force that would improve our world. If it ever did that, it certainly isn’t now. We must rein in these platforms, and deceptive narratives aimed at stopped regulation isn’t helping. Age restrictions are an experiment worth trying.

This article from @bryancurtis.bsky.social is bang on. Institutions bowing to Trump doesn't work. It only stokes a positive feedback loop based largely on a false perception of strength and inevitability. www.theringer.com/2025/09/19/p...

❗Now recruiting MSc and PhD students for September 2026❗ Come work @forestry.ubc.ca on indirect impacts of the internet on the environment. These are funded, thesis-based positions. Details on the positions and how to apply here: bst.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2025/0...

Draining the nation's groundwater and skyrocketing electricity prices so cheating high school and college students only need to work on their paper two hours instead of four

🌲Excellent opportunity for a senior colleague to come work with me @forestry.ubc.ca. DM me if you have questions.🌲

“the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria,thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain.”

Dystopian nightmare

must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away

This piece hits so hard: www.404media.co/teachers-are... "GenAI can...summarize readings, pull out key concepts, draft text, and even generate ideas for discussion. But that would be like going to the gym and asking a robot to lift weights for you."

Is that good

We're looking for a Research Lead for our Mitigation team! The Research Lead will work remotely and lead major Institute research projects including overseeing the work of research associates. Apply before June 15 👇 canadianclimateinstitute.bamboohr.com/careers/39?s...

hey lovelies, I finally got around to publicly sharing my compilation of big tech energy and emissions data. I'll be using it in articles, posts etc but it's yours too, free to use (w/ attribution is nice) ketanjoshi.co/2025/05/23/d...

I thought it was neat for about 15 mins but then realized it just answers questions you previously could Google, is often wrong, it is destroying the planet, costs billions of dollars while using stolen training data, and is further isolating us as a species. It is not miraculous or amazing.

More evidence that young people are tired of the tech-industrialist complex. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Great piece on the [false] promise of AI for conservation. e360.yale.edu/features/art...

BAHAHA! This ⬇️👇 www.ft.com/content/b180...

People feel more lonely, in part because so many of our relationships are mediated by social media. Instead of atoning for the harms of his platforms, Mark Zuckerberg has a new tech solution: he’s going to give us all a bunch of Meta-powered AI friends. It’s an even more dystopian future.

"AI will not democratize creativity, it will let corporations squeeze creative labor, capitalize on the works that creatives have already made, and send any profits upstream." Oldie but I still hear this bullshit. Bookmark this one from @bcmerchant.bsky.social and use it to push back if you do.

it's crazy that this is off the charts evil behavior and it's still not the most evil thing that facebook has ever done

New article in Resources Policy. #Openaccess 'Licensing to operate: Understanding variations in regulatory outcomes in the Australian mining sector' Wrote this one with Lisa Mills & Jennifer Stewart. Thanks to #SSHRC for funding support. See abstract 👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

"The damaging environmental impact of generative AI and a dislike of Big Tech mean ChatGPT is being shunned by many young people who could easily access it...other students use it sparingly but do not trust its ability to create high-quality work." #ChatGPT #AI www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

Dear US-based profs and post-docs, Tired of the attacks on universities? Come spend a semester at @ulaval.ca in beautiful Québec City. Fulbright research position in international studies: $25K USD for a 4-month stay starting in Sept 2026 or Jan 2027. www.fulbright.ca/programs/ame...

New work with the formidable Viola Provost on how TikTok misrepresents marine conservation issues. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

How is AI reshaping wildlife conservation? @forestry.ubc.ca Dr. Hamish van der Ven noted on @theverge.com that there's a tidal wave of enthusiastic research about AI application and much less critical research that looks at the costs, environmentally and socially: www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

Hey this is fucked up !! Suppression of research is one of the hallmarks of fascism !! Authoritarians will always come for universities first !! If you thought Poilievre and the Conservatives were in any way better than Trump and the Republicans, think again (and go vote).

Great article in which I offer the 🔥hottest🔥 of hot takes: "There are far more options for AI to offer bias, extract resources, and drive overconsumption than there are conservation applications. If I could wave a wand and uninvent AI, I would.” www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...