Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Dani Dilkes

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Aug 31

Remember, kids: A real big goal of "AI" is to entirely sever capital from labor, and no, there will be no universal basic income, you can all just starve and die, thanks

www.axios.com/2025/08/26/a...

AI is already taking jobs away from entry-level workers

Software and customer service are most at risk right now and could be the canary in the coal mine.

www.axios.com

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amy brown @amybrown.xyz · Aug 22

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · Aug 20

Yes!!!

Sam Biddle @sambiddle.com · Aug 20

i.e. I don't think we're helping our readers by describing an LLM as "thinking" or "believing" something. I think these are often inadvertent tics/shorthand for commonsense understandings of how computers work ("the printer said it's out of ink!"), but the stakes are much much higher now.

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Reposted by Dani Dilkes

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · Aug 2

'It is less that AI is the cause of degradation in reading and thinking, and more that the creation of a culture that views knowledge primarily in an instrumental manner has made it easier to misuse AI.'

AI thrives where education has been devalued | The Observer

A culture that views knowledge as a means to an end invites the misuse of new technology

observer.co.uk

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

True story 😂

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

I think that's wise. I'm in a phase of dissertation writing where I feel like I'm running out of time, so I'm trying to do both things. Which I think is actually taking MORE time....

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

This popped to the top of my feed as I was avoiding writing myself. I like the way you've set up the goal! Is there a quality metric as well? Or just word count?

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rom comrade @savasavasava.myatproto.social · Jul 31

enjoying being in community with folks who are, if not hardline refusers, at least extremely critical of AI in ways that are hopeful and intent on shifting perspectives of those who uncritically take to AI tools. appreciate what @civicsoftech.bsky.social is doing to foster this conversation :)

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

I presented on the Domains of AI-Awareness framework that I've been working on as a tool for critical engagement with GenAI. teaching.uwo.ca/genai/posts/...

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

I took a short break from my self-imposed writing isolation today to attend the @civicsoftech.bsky.social conference today.

I love the conversations on resisting Ed Tech narratives.

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jul 31

Thank you for coming. I feel like we keep ending up in the same spaces!

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Valerie @valerie-knebel.bsky.social · Jan 23

Credit: @liberaljane.bsky.social

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Jan 7

A friend shared the following exhibit with me that highlights the legacy of techno-trash. What will we leave behind? How will nature reclaim it?

The exhibit focuses on material waste (electronics), but it got me thinking about information trash as well.

nathanielstern.com/artwork/the-...

The World After Us - nathaniel stern

The World After Us: imaging techno-aesthetic futures is a traveling solo exhibition...

nathanielstern.com

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · Dec 11

Every future imagined by a tech company is worse than the previous iteration. www.vox.com/technology/3...

TECHNOLOGY
An AI that sees what you see
Microsoft wants an AI companion to follow you around the web. This is only the beginning.

To me, though, the ambition here feels somewhat limitless. What if an AI assistant could see your whole world, know what was what, and help you navigate it? That’s the big idea behind Copilot Vision. Letting an AI watch you browse the web is just a step toward putting an AI companion on your shoulder everywhere you go.

In a recent interview, Suleyman explained why collaborating with AI is the future of computing. This is frankly something I’ve heard tech companies pitch for years. But the way things are heading, I’m finally starting to buy it.

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Dec 11

If inclusivity is not in the best interest of the self-preservation of the institution, what impact does that have on real commitment to EDI work?

Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Dec 11

New blog post from #HESA speaks volumes to how elistism is a design feature of HE institutions. As higher education institutions reduce barriers to access, they are becoming less prestigious & less appealing, which threatens their financial security.

higheredstrategy.com/the-meaning-...

The Meaning of 2025 | HESA

So, was that a fun year, or what? From Marc “Tonya” Miller and the federal government knee-capping the postsecondary sector … Continued

higheredstrategy.com

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Dec 9

A candid moment with ChatGPT today which admitted that "It's a simulation of understanding, not the real thing."

(I was going to say "who admitted..." but it's not really a "who" is it?

Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Dec 5

Today was listening to fantastic presentations at Innovations in Education, facilitating with an amazing colleague on the importance of an intersectional approach to inclusive pedagogy, and.... snow.

mi.mcmaster.ca/innovations-...

A snowy street in a residential neighbourhood where the entire image is nearly whited-out due to snow. There are trees and houses barely visible due to the blowing white flakes.

Reposted by Dani Dilkes

Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · Dec 4

Most folks don’t realize this, but a single pound of beef is responsible for about 100 pounds of greenhouse gas pollution.

That’s 50x worse than coal, on pound for pound basis.

Project Drawdown @projectdrawdown.bsky.social · Dec 4

"Beef is probably the most polluting substance you and I will ever have flowing through our homes." - Jonathan Foley

www.thestar.com/podcasts/sma...

@globalecoguy.bsky.social
#torontostar
#sustainableag
#bigbeef

Beef is the worst food for the climate. Can it be done better?

Eating in a climate-conscious way is often reduced to "cut the beef." But not all beef is created equal, and regenerative cattle grazing has benefits that farmers say are being

www.thestar.com

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Nov 25

I'm honoured to be included on a list of amazing educators. Great place to start for folks rebuilding community on BlueSky!

Maha Bali, PhD @mahabali.bsky.social · Nov 25

Experimenting with starter packs...
I was planning to do the first 150 educators I find, but then I also filtered to prioritize women and non-white/north people when I found them.
I think I can find 150 more...
go.bsky.app/F7xedrV

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Accessibility Awareness @a11yawareness.bsky.social · Nov 19

A common question about alt text is whether or not it's appropriate to mention attributes like race or skin tone. A common response is, "It depends." In this post, Tolu Adegbite explains how race can be relevant and important in providing context.
ux.shopify.com/the-case-for...

ux.shopify.com

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Nov 19

A return to Bluesky which seems to be having a mass influx (is there not a better antonym for exodus?)

Let’s get to know each other better. What is your all time favorite TV Show?

Quote share your answer only in GIF form.

Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Feb 17

I fear that a lot of points are going to be missed if we focus too much on what AI can do and not enough on what AI should be used for.

A post on Twitter with an image of a partially finished Keith Haring painting. The text reads "Keith Haring died of aids aged 31 on 16 Feb 1990. His last piece of art, Unfinished Painting, was deliberately incomplete, reflecting the devastating, I quantifiable loss to the arts due to aids".

A Twitter conversation.
"Whenever I see this now, I fear the 3rd para is going to be that AI can fix this".
"It's happened. AI has 'completed' the painting".
"AI is really good for missing the point".

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Dani Dilkes @danid.bsky.social · Dec 21

Arguing with GenAI today about making a picture face right instead of left. It strikes me that spatial orientation might be a very human concept. It has me wondering what human concepts are simply never going to be machine translatable.

A conversation with ChatGPT where it provides a picture of a purple robot facing right. Then provides exactly the same picture facing the same direction, but states that it's facing left.

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