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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD
@ubiquity75.xyz
23K followers 2.2K following 12K posts

Professor, researcher, author. VP Association of Internet Researchers, synth lover, fan of many things, gay lady. Wrote a book called Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media (Yale 2019), and Meta stole it to train its LLM. .. more

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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · Oct 22
A thread…
ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · Oct 20
There are so many elements that have made his ascension possible: co-opted corporate media; social media’s unregulated environment; the overwhelm from the sheer number of misdeeds; coordinated foreign interference; destruction of K-12 education; racist grievance culture; unchecked gross inequity.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 6h
No, a coconut dessert, which is obviously a Brazilian version of that kind of use in English.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 13h
Disclaimer: I was using the Portuguese menu. I don’t use stuff like this if I can help it.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 14h
And that one is already pretty shit.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 14h
What assumptions had to be, pardon the pun, baked in to the query (the request for translation) such that that was the best choice of result? This is what @safiyanoble.bsky.social means by algorithms of oppression. These tools necessarily presuppose a much worse world than the one I want to inhabit.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 14h
AI is truly stupid, though, but this example is also a demonstration of how it reinforces entrenched social inequities and raises up a normative vision that hardly works for all. Who is searching for and the likely target for that translation? Is it someone with my profile? If not, then whose?
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 14h
…Portuguese, that it shares the same name with a certain coconut desert, and that the statistical presence of the latter meaning to the former is much higher on the internet.

All of which tells us: AI is BS and the internet makes us dumb.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 14h
I might add that we’ve learned something here tonight about stochastic parrots ( @emilymbender.bsky.social @alexhanna.bsky.social ) and language: although I don’t know enough about these matters in several directions, I feel confident that there is a slang word for that sexual term in Brazilian…
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 16h
It’s not the restaurant, it’s the AI translation in (maybe) Safari.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 16h
I’m cry laughing. Meanwhile, my friend tells me that there is a restaurant in her husband’s hometown in Brazil that uses English to be fancy and the restaurant name is:

SOFT BEEF
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 16h
As real as it gets. In real time.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 16h
Translation work is an art. Context is everything.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 16h
When AI translation goes _sorely_ awry.
9:15 Salads. beta.livemenu.app Kids Desserts. Gelates. Whole Pie Truffled Chocolate Pave Pie R$ 35,00 Code: 9124 Slice of pie with delicious layers of truffled chocolate lotion bread and.... Individual Pistachio Blondie R$ 39,00 Code: 9162 Classica brownie recipe with white chocolate and pistachio.... Cumshot to the Oven with Ice... R$ 44,00 Code: 9016 Made with fresh grated coconut and condensed milk. Golden in the ove... Cocada ao Forno R$ 35,00 Code: 9019 Made with fresh grated coconut and condensed milk. Golden in the ove... Milk Pudding "O Best in the... R$ 35,00 Code: 9053 With homemade jam of black plums
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Reposted by Sarah Roberts

shannonmattern.bsky.social
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 1d
Rdg through A Toolkit for Gathering, I’m remembering all of my favorite events — incldg most recently @stacyewood.bsky.social + @ubiquity75.xyz’s Peer2Peer @ the Feminist Center for Creative Work. Plus, my friend Mel, a 🎞️maker/potter made clay pendants for all attendees of the Flaherty film seminar…
A spread from the book addressing the importance of choosing an appropriate site Choose a Site PEOPLE ANO PLACE D A. CHOOSE A SITE Compare your list to the attributes of similarity and difference on the previous page. Are there gaps? CHOOSING A SITE can feel overwhelming. Start by asking practical questions: Can we afford it? Is it available? Does it have the spaces and amenities we need? Is it accessible? Then, use your goals to evaluate a potential site: What is the site's vibe? Does it fit our goals? Is it appropriate for intentional collaborative activity? What would we need to change or rearrange? What new ideas does it give us? The site, facilitation, and programming have to work together to reinforce your goals. If the goal is to dig into deep and difficult work at a retreat, but the site is an office space, it's going to feel more like a conference than a retreat. Find a site that is special enough to put people into a new headspace, but not so remote that it becomes inaccessible to those with money, time, or mobility concerns. Distance is a powerful way to escape the norm, demonstrate intentionality, and create a bonding experience, but it can reinforce existing power systems around resources and access. There are ways… A spread from the book addressing the value of meaningful swag Stuff We All Get (SWAG) POOLS FOR PLANNING D 13. SWAC THE SWAG GIFT is one of the most enduring rituals of planned gatherings. Swag is an opportunity to create an identity for your gathering and to signal its vibe. At its best, swag amplifies the nature of an event and is a wonderful way to thank participants. At its worst, swag is mass-produced junk that's headed straight for the landfill. It's hard to say something original in the vocabulary of swag: the cheaply made t-shirts, pins, lanyards, single-use plastic name tags, notebooks, water bottles, pens, tote bags, stress balls, flashlights, and use drives we know so well. When thinking about what keepsakes to give your participants, ask the same questions you asked at the start of your planning process: What is the goal (TOOL 2)? What are all the ways that swag can achieve that goal? It could be that your answer is: no swag.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
I don’t think we can reasonably conclude that they didn’t.
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
This from a Netflix tv show just now:

“There was an incident between he and another student.”
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
I decided to wear orange socks, among other things.
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
One fellow comes around the corner, sees my somewhat campy outfit and exclaims, “¡Ay, qué elegancia, la de Francia!”

That is the best gay line I have ever heard in Spanish and I shall use it henceforth whenever possible.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
In up-to-the-minute very local news, I am at the Miami airport and as soon as you get here it’s easiest and best to just speak Spanish with everybody. I’ve been killing time and chatting with personnel while waiting, and as one might expect, most of them are gay, too.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
Aiuiuuigh noooooooo

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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
She could have just stopped at “for women” under this regime, but it’s cool.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
Please let them know. I’ve seen KS drum at shows out here a few times. We live in the same town, I believe.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
The “compact” is extortion.

www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
Virginia Senate leaders express “unequivocal opposition” to Compact
The letter calls upon the University to immediately cease consideration of the Compact, and if not, the state will work to negatively impact the University’s funding.
www.cavalierdaily.com
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
I have so much respect for those ladies. Wore out my copies of all of their records. And of course the Beasties. But LJ is special.
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
The values of those in power are on full display, and they are disgraceful.
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
The whole thing is unserious.
profhuq.bsky.social
profhuq.bsky.social @profhuq.bsky.social · 2d
Nobel Prize winner praises Trump, a fascist. 🤢 www.cnbc.com/2025/10/10/t...
Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado praises Trump after White House criticizes snub
Some of Trump's Republican allies have called for him to get the Nobel Peace Prize, though the nomination deadline passed early in his current term.
www.cnbc.com
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Reposted by Scott A. Imberman, Sarah Roberts

nytimes.com
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 2d
The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up dozens of scientists with expertise in infectious diseases that have pandemic potential. But after The New York Times reported the dismissals, a federal health official said many of them had been fired in error and would be brought back.
Trump Administration Will Rehire Scores of Experts Fired in Error
Friday’s layoffs swept up scientists involved in responding to the measles outbreak and running an influential journal. An official acknowledged the mistakes on Saturday.
nyti.ms
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
And when whom you ask is the New York Times…
kenwhite.bsky.social
Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 2d
Should the New York Times be sold to Pennysaver and its editors sent to work in Amazon warehouses? It depends on who you ask.
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ubiquity75.xyz
Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d
Yes, I know she does.
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Reposted by Sarah Roberts, Monisha Bajaj

profhuq.bsky.social
profhuq.bsky.social @profhuq.bsky.social · 2d
Nobel Prize winner praises Trump, a fascist. 🤢 www.cnbc.com/2025/10/10/t...
Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado praises Trump after White House criticizes snub
Some of Trump's Republican allies have called for him to get the Nobel Peace Prize, though the nomination deadline passed early in his current term.
www.cnbc.com
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Reposted by Anna O. Law, Steven Heydemann, Joseph Schafer , and 11 more

alandettlaff.com
Alan Dettlaff @alandettlaff.com · 2d
Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum. This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.
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