Lauren Woolsey
@cgsunit.bsky.social
Earthling, she/her, teacher of science, reader of books, player of board games, and more. Avatar by Corinne Roberts :) These days, I post a lot about how AI sucks, see zines and info at padlet.com/laurenUU/antiAI
Pinned
Lauren Woolsey
@cgsunit.bsky.social
· Oct 3
Today's the day for my anti-AI zine volume 2: "Human Perspectives on the Latest AI Hype Cycle" 🎉
Enjoy the fruits of my focus these past few months and learn from many great people!
Scanned zine to print your own and the full text and references are available at padlet.com/laurenUU/antiAI
Enjoy the fruits of my focus these past few months and learn from many great people!
Scanned zine to print your own and the full text and references are available at padlet.com/laurenUU/antiAI
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
Here's the front and back of it, and this was my second attempt to make my design, I had an off-by-one counting error around the outside on my first try :)
November 27, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Here's the front and back of it, and this was my second attempt to make my design, I had an off-by-one counting error around the outside on my first try :)
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
If your admin says "but we need to prepare students for AI-driven careers," you can calmly say no. Reiterate that AI-integration is the result of wild capitalist greed, the technologies themselves aren't "generative" or useful in most careers, and students should focus on process-based learning.
November 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
If your admin says "but we need to prepare students for AI-driven careers," you can calmly say no. Reiterate that AI-integration is the result of wild capitalist greed, the technologies themselves aren't "generative" or useful in most careers, and students should focus on process-based learning.
I currently have active paid subscriptions to:
1. The Handbasket by @marisakabas.bsky.social
2. Organizing My Thoughts by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
3. Meditations in an Emergency by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
4. The Flytrap by @theflytrapmedia.com
5. The Marginalian by @mariapopova.bsky.social
1. The Handbasket by @marisakabas.bsky.social
2. Organizing My Thoughts by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
3. Meditations in an Emergency by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
4. The Flytrap by @theflytrapmedia.com
5. The Marginalian by @mariapopova.bsky.social
today instead of buying barely discounted crap, get a paid subscription to an independent media outlet! a little $ goes a long way towards supporting a free press. 🗞️
drop links to your own or your faves in the replies so ppl can easily sign up (bonus if you add a couple words about why it’s good!):
drop links to your own or your faves in the replies so ppl can easily sign up (bonus if you add a couple words about why it’s good!):
November 28, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I currently have active paid subscriptions to:
1. The Handbasket by @marisakabas.bsky.social
2. Organizing My Thoughts by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
3. Meditations in an Emergency by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
4. The Flytrap by @theflytrapmedia.com
5. The Marginalian by @mariapopova.bsky.social
1. The Handbasket by @marisakabas.bsky.social
2. Organizing My Thoughts by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social
3. Meditations in an Emergency by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
4. The Flytrap by @theflytrapmedia.com
5. The Marginalian by @mariapopova.bsky.social
The kitchen was already full of chefs, so I stayed out of the way and worked on cross-stitching a design I made last night. Here it is! 🚫AI
November 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The kitchen was already full of chefs, so I stayed out of the way and worked on cross-stitching a design I made last night. Here it is! 🚫AI
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
It happened! The @nytimes.com profiled Paulina!
The Writer Who Dared Criticize Silicon Valley
Paulina Borsook’s “Cyberselfish,” which offered dire predictions about the tech world’s love for libertarianism, is finding fans. It only took 25 years.
Gift Link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/t...
The Writer Who Dared Criticize Silicon Valley
Paulina Borsook’s “Cyberselfish,” which offered dire predictions about the tech world’s love for libertarianism, is finding fans. It only took 25 years.
Gift Link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/t...
November 27, 2025 at 4:39 PM
It happened! The @nytimes.com profiled Paulina!
The Writer Who Dared Criticize Silicon Valley
Paulina Borsook’s “Cyberselfish,” which offered dire predictions about the tech world’s love for libertarianism, is finding fans. It only took 25 years.
Gift Link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/t...
The Writer Who Dared Criticize Silicon Valley
Paulina Borsook’s “Cyberselfish,” which offered dire predictions about the tech world’s love for libertarianism, is finding fans. It only took 25 years.
Gift Link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/t...
I already don't buy from those companies, but this graphic and the website are great tools to invite my parents to consider a pause in their regular consumer habits.
But this year we can use the consumer mania to fight fascism by VERY publicly boycotting three big corporations that are enabling the Trump regime's authoritarianism: Home Depot, Amazon & Target. weaintbuyingit.com #WeAintBuyingIt
November 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM
I already don't buy from those companies, but this graphic and the website are great tools to invite my parents to consider a pause in their regular consumer habits.
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
Every year around this time, I ask folks to consider doing something in support of Native people. This year, please join me in supporting the Native Organizers Alliance as they build grassroots power, defend Native voting rights, and equip our people for collective struggle through skill-building.
Donate - Native Organizers Alliance
Supporting organizing and advocacy initiatives for Indigenous justice.
nativeorganizing.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Every year around this time, I ask folks to consider doing something in support of Native people. This year, please join me in supporting the Native Organizers Alliance as they build grassroots power, defend Native voting rights, and equip our people for collective struggle through skill-building.
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
Joseph Weizenbaum wrote that, "The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience," and one thing I'm thankful for today is everybody working together to fight the myths of inevitability.
November 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Joseph Weizenbaum wrote that, "The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience," and one thing I'm thankful for today is everybody working together to fight the myths of inevitability.
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
You can also read Gloria's reflections and inspirations for the image on our blog here: blog.betterimagesofai.org/ais-environm...
AI’s Environmental Impact on Fragile Ecosystems - Better Images of AI Blog
Gloria Mendoza’s image, ‘The Environmental Impact of Data Centres in Vulnerable Ecosystems’ is the latest addition in the Better Images of AI library. The image contrasts dominant sci-fi-inspired visu...
blog.betterimagesofai.org
November 26, 2025 at 9:45 PM
You can also read Gloria's reflections and inspirations for the image on our blog here: blog.betterimagesofai.org/ais-environm...
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
people are angry that chatbots are being thrust on them; that the industry is unregulated; that it’s deskilling young people; is being used as a weapon against labor and popular gAI is built on theft of the work of millions of artists and authors.
You don’t get to demand civility.
You don’t get to demand civility.
Wow 80% bad-faith responses, and people lecturing the creator of Flask here and the creator of Django/datasette in the comments on why AI is useless for software engineering...
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 12:24 PM
people are angry that chatbots are being thrust on them; that the industry is unregulated; that it’s deskilling young people; is being used as a weapon against labor and popular gAI is built on theft of the work of millions of artists and authors.
You don’t get to demand civility.
You don’t get to demand civility.
See also quote from Rua Williams' Disabling Intelligences book - it's a distraction (as Birhane et al write, a "smoke screen") bsky.app/profile/cgsu...
November 26, 2025 at 3:02 AM
See also quote from Rua Williams' Disabling Intelligences book - it's a distraction (as Birhane et al write, a "smoke screen") bsky.app/profile/cgsu...
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
NO
NO IT ISN'T
STOP IT
STOP
NO IT ISN'T
STOP IT
STOP
November 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM
NO
NO IT ISN'T
STOP IT
STOP
NO IT ISN'T
STOP IT
STOP
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
Trying to be an ethical human under kyriarchy*, trying to figure out how to dismantle it all without causing even more human suffering, is really fucking hard.
*interlocking systems of oppression (capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, cisheteropatriarchy, etc)
*interlocking systems of oppression (capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, cisheteropatriarchy, etc)
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Trying to be an ethical human under kyriarchy*, trying to figure out how to dismantle it all without causing even more human suffering, is really fucking hard.
*interlocking systems of oppression (capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, cisheteropatriarchy, etc)
*interlocking systems of oppression (capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, cisheteropatriarchy, etc)
I *love* the torn one that just has "you don't have to accept this future" written in regular handwriting. That's what I keep repeating to anyone who will listen to me at my institution. We don't have to participate in reinforcing this one possible future; there are others we can imagine and make.
Yesterday my partner and I counted all the ads along Chicago's Brown Line for "Friend," a company selling an AI chatbot pendant, and tallied how many of those ads were defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
November 24, 2025 at 12:36 AM
I *love* the torn one that just has "you don't have to accept this future" written in regular handwriting. That's what I keep repeating to anyone who will listen to me at my institution. We don't have to participate in reinforcing this one possible future; there are others we can imagine and make.
Haymarket has so many incredible authors and titles, one of my favorite publishers. Support a great book ecosystem and get some holiday shopping done :)
Our Holiday Sale is here early this year! ALL Haymarket Books are 40% Off through Friday, January 2nd!
Happy Holidays! 40% OFF ALL Haymarket Books
Our Holiday Sale is here early this year! ALL Haymarket Books are 40% Off through Friday, January 2nd!
For one-stop shopping, check out our eleven curated gift bundles: each includes 5 books for $5...
www.haymarketbooks.org
November 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Haymarket has so many incredible authors and titles, one of my favorite publishers. Support a great book ecosystem and get some holiday shopping done :)
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
if you think of colonialism as economic, physical and ideological domination, you'll see that the planet is colonised by a handful men
also, the goal of colonisation is not to keep earth habitable. it's the opposite: take, extract, and destroy
also, the goal of colonisation is not to keep earth habitable. it's the opposite: take, extract, and destroy
Humans will NEVER colonize another planet. Never.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
November 23, 2025 at 8:16 AM
if you think of colonialism as economic, physical and ideological domination, you'll see that the planet is colonised by a handful men
also, the goal of colonisation is not to keep earth habitable. it's the opposite: take, extract, and destroy
also, the goal of colonisation is not to keep earth habitable. it's the opposite: take, extract, and destroy
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
I picked Valerie Kaur's memoir See No Stranger as the audiobook for my drive to my in-laws. I'm not yet finished upon arrival (92%). It broke me open, even though it was published before Trump's second wave of hate began. Very meaningful storytelling weaving her life and her activism work together.
November 23, 2025 at 3:59 AM
I picked Valerie Kaur's memoir See No Stranger as the audiobook for my drive to my in-laws. I'm not yet finished upon arrival (92%). It broke me open, even though it was published before Trump's second wave of hate began. Very meaningful storytelling weaving her life and her activism work together.
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
There is one more post to be written here, about how AI is now often an austerity technology, inserted into a human process to compensate for the fact that there is just not enough time and money, and many workers are expected to do more and more with less and less.
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 AM
There is one more post to be written here, about how AI is now often an austerity technology, inserted into a human process to compensate for the fact that there is just not enough time and money, and many workers are expected to do more and more with less and less.
"Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair." – bell hooks, from Talking about a Revolution
This quote and so many more from linked @guante.info zine 💜. Some folks need to remember to imagine a better future!
This quote and so many more from linked @guante.info zine 💜. Some folks need to remember to imagine a better future!
Hope Does Not Glimmer; It Burns: Quotes on Hope, Resistance & Possibility
A zine full of quotes on the concept of hope, compiled by Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre
guante.info
November 21, 2025 at 9:04 PM
"Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair." – bell hooks, from Talking about a Revolution
This quote and so many more from linked @guante.info zine 💜. Some folks need to remember to imagine a better future!
This quote and so many more from linked @guante.info zine 💜. Some folks need to remember to imagine a better future!
I'm not going to repost screenshots from Grok for the same reasons I don't use any LLMs even when they're outputting silly/ amusing synthetic text.
(This image is great for so many purposes. I first saw it posted by @redeyedjedi.bsky.social so I am hoping that's the right credit for its source!)
(This image is great for so many purposes. I first saw it posted by @redeyedjedi.bsky.social so I am hoping that's the right credit for its source!)
November 20, 2025 at 10:19 PM
I'm not going to repost screenshots from Grok for the same reasons I don't use any LLMs even when they're outputting silly/ amusing synthetic text.
(This image is great for so many purposes. I first saw it posted by @redeyedjedi.bsky.social so I am hoping that's the right credit for its source!)
(This image is great for so many purposes. I first saw it posted by @redeyedjedi.bsky.social so I am hoping that's the right credit for its source!)
Current generative AI products are *BAD*
...and ALSO they will not be able to be made better for the reason Sanders brings up here. But there's no nuance: the popular AI examples causing this discussion are definitely not good.
...and ALSO they will not be able to be made better for the reason Sanders brings up here. But there's no nuance: the popular AI examples causing this discussion are definitely not good.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at GU Politics: "the struggle is not whether AI is good or bad. It's who controls it and who benefits from it."
#bernieatgu #aisystem #ai #berniesanders #geoffreyhinton #computerscience #gupolitics #gupoliticsforum #georgetown
#bernieatgu #aisystem #ai #berniesanders #geoffreyhinton #computerscience #gupolitics #gupoliticsforum #georgetown
November 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Current generative AI products are *BAD*
...and ALSO they will not be able to be made better for the reason Sanders brings up here. But there's no nuance: the popular AI examples causing this discussion are definitely not good.
...and ALSO they will not be able to be made better for the reason Sanders brings up here. But there's no nuance: the popular AI examples causing this discussion are definitely not good.
Reposted by Lauren Woolsey
#BREAKING: Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Summers Will Not Finish Semester of Teaching as Harvard Investigates Epstein Ties | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:30 AM
#BREAKING: Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.