The always wonderful Becca Rothfeld: "This is the kind of public intellectualism that makes the public hate intellectuals." Gift link: To Steven Pinker, human knowledge is just a game wapo.st/42sXloK

If you can't not pepper spray someone just for being mouthy you don't deserve to carry pepper spray (or whatever it is they carry)

Putting aside the question of AI personhood, a slur requires a history of dehumanization. In order to fuction, the slur has to call into being that history of dehumanization for its injurious force. There is no such history for LLMs, regardless of claims otherwise.

Actually, this discourse has given me new tools with which to torment my colleagues who are specialists in philosophy of language. "Can you slur an AI," is bound to make many of them lose their shit at both the premise and the philosophical implications of trying to answer the question.

Pope Leo urged the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on Sunday to care for immigrants, pressing ahead with a message of welcome for migrants days after criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's hard-line anti-immigration policies. For @reuters.com:

ICE is deeply unpopular and getting less popular by the day! stop giving them the legitimacy of an unstoppable secret police force, they don’t have it, they don’t even have black hundreds legitimacy.

The tip: when you go out for drinks with people from work, never forget that they’re out for drinks with someone who can fire them, because I promise you they haven’t forgotten that. Similar note here: Jay is never not the CEO of Bluesky when she’s skeeting.

I have been saying for a few years now that people really need to take a seriously long look at the center of that venn diagram where the circles are marked "AI Culture" and "Disregard For/Violation Of Consent." The whole "AI Actress" situation is more of why.

I don’t really care what those other people tried to make this country. the people I choose as my spiritual forebears tried to make it free.

Six weeks ago, I picked up a year-old tawny owl with a broken leg off the main road near our home and dropped him off at our nearest vet. After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵

today is Snoopy's 75th anniversary 🥲

as a girl with a PhD in natural language processing and machine learning it's actually offensive to me when you say "we don't know how LLMs work so they might be conscious" I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge. We know exactly how LLMs work.

Seriously if this is what he actually believes, then invoke the insurrection act, round up the governor, the mayor, and your own judge, and see how it goes. You're in charge now, asshole. Get the party started

I am not going to be scolded by someone who doesn't even accept the premise and implications of their own argument, nor am I going to be Three Card Monte'd into agreeing that two entirely different thoughts are "similarly shaped" and thus somehow equivalent

Do I have it right that people who are trying to create digital slaves are telling other people not to use "eugenics language" toward computer programs

If you really think chatbots are alive or self-aware you’re engaging in a form of forced labor, yes?

Sincerely. I don't know Daniel. There is no immediate or urgent message that this happened to Black folks. And of course not everyone there was Black. They were not white, and if they were white, they were poor and/or friends with Black and brown folks. It's critical to understand this.

While I've never considered myself a big Alannis Morisette fan "All I really want is" is definitely on my "oh it just came on, time to crank the volume up" list. (It just came on while I was listening to WRPS Rockland 😁)

BREAKING NEWS: We just secured a court order blocking the president’s order to deploy federalized National Guard troops to Portland when a federal judge granted our request for a Temporary Restraining Order. Read our statement. #orpol #nationalguard #portland #portlandoregon

This young person has gotten multiple warnings from state cops for defiantly moving into the street while most of the crowd has been pushed into “first amendment zones” on the sidewalk. Someone is playing “Springtime for Hitler” through a loudspeaker.

Reports indicate there has been a week-long gas leak at Bluesky HQ

*man looking at butterfly* is this OCD?

...I *may* have been slightly irresponsible at the Renaissance Festival today. 😅

NEW: Judge Immergut BLOCKS Trump's federalization of the Oregon National Guard, writing that the govt has "made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I reiterate: every single person, regardless of the year they were born, has to make a conscious effort not to shit on the following generations the moment they realize they themselves are approaching middle age or older. It’s not just boomers and X that are susceptible.

I think the biggest bang-for-your-buck on basically any video shoot is hiring a professional hair and makeup person. People spend money on all kinds of wacky shit that would be better spent on having someone dedicated to "does the person standing in front of the camera look ok"

As an internet culture journalist, I think it’s important for me to continue to observe the depravity that goes viral on X, but one of the reasons I’m glad I stopped posting there is because I think it helps me avoid normalizing the rhetoric celebrating the political brutality in America right now

Back when things were made with the intention of them working for...ever.

The caption said, "A 43 top...Why would you not split the ticket 😭"

the dmv REFUSED to write charlie kirk on my drivers license because it’s “not my legal name” smdh wokeness must be stopped

grizzly stuff

And then I donated! opencollective.com/blacksky

TIL that Blacksky has an alternate server for non-Black folks. Fukin’ 👍

Due to recent trolling by the Bluesky CEO, I finally decided to try out another server - namely the myatproto.social server offered to non-Black users by Blacksky. Followed the transfer instructions below and it went fine! (Had to use my DID id instead of my username, but other than that, all good!)

I did it! Testing it on my work account, @gregpak.com. Seamless so far!

"The fights for trans rights and Palestinians are over and we lost" is something I'm seeing over and over from cis white progressives. And I'm seeing variations of this popping up about racial justice, marriage equality, and disability rights too. Sorry, but fuck that.

i think bluesky needs to decide what they're making. if they're making a protocol, like some of their developers say, they should shut down the social media app that's causing them so many problems. if they're making a social media app, they have to engage with it like adults.

Reading Rainbow emphasis is encouraging kids to read. The focus is not on teaching them to read. The mission is reading should be fun! We are all readers, worthy of literacy. LeVar Burton said “but you don’t have to take my word for it” because he wanted us to look to the books. That’s the beauty 💚

“Why would you wanna live in a city?” I give you exhibit “A” (1 of 4,001,625)

Saw a Jeep detailed to look like a Jurassic Park vehicle blasting soca and reggae down Flatbush Avenue. Like a @mminthecity.bsky.social fever dream.

Oh nah. Management needs to be cursed out for this.

For anyone who doesn’t know: “Siri, report speed check” *press side button* “report speed check” It’s that simple.

Again, patriotism isn’t about loving America as is, it’s about believing it can be something better. Also, anyone who says my grandfather fought in a segregated unit at Normandy for fascism can take a hike.

And were known to be even more cruel than their male counterparts to “prove themselves”

i employ a bunch of zoomers and they work as hard or harder than anyone. if you think zoomers don't work, it's because your job sucks. skill issue.

ICE reportedly opened fire on rapid responders on the southwest side this afternoon. There are *very few* details on this available at this time. Treat all rumors with caution until verified. This Sun-Times article cites a DHS statement that should be treated, as always, with extreme skepticism: