Erica "digifox" Kovac
@digifox.binaryden.net
Software Engineer | Social Democrat | Pro-Nuclear, Pro-Growth | in the vicinity of "Tomboy Transfemme", she/her | Opinions are mine, not my employer's.
Pfp by @nicnak044.bsky.social
Pfp by @nicnak044.bsky.social
Pinned
let the version of the industry that does this repent through bankruptcy; if I pay for technology I expect it to serve *my* interests, not those who wish to control and surveill me
Software is a tool, and tools should serve the user above all else.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Yes, immigration agents not only took Arnoldo's phone, the 10th grader had to use Find My Phone to locate it — in a vending machine for used electronics, close to an ICE detention center.
Read the full story here:
www.propublica.org/article/vide...
Read the full story here:
www.propublica.org/article/vide...
January 14, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Yes, immigration agents not only took Arnoldo's phone, the 10th grader had to use Find My Phone to locate it — in a vending machine for used electronics, close to an ICE detention center.
Read the full story here:
www.propublica.org/article/vide...
Read the full story here:
www.propublica.org/article/vide...
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
the empirical evidence is *extremely* strong that as much as left-liberals *want* to say "the birth rate collapse is because of affordability!!" it just has no relationship to empirical reality
Basically this is to say: it would be very, very expensive to pay people to have more children and as educational opportunities increase it gets more expensive because people would rather spend additional income on improving the education of existing children than having more children
January 13, 2026 at 11:03 PM
the empirical evidence is *extremely* strong that as much as left-liberals *want* to say "the birth rate collapse is because of affordability!!" it just has no relationship to empirical reality
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
I *think* that appealing to the basic decency of most Americans in the aftermath of Renee Good's murder is smart politics. But mostly I think it's worth doing because if that decency really isn't there then this whole rebuilding democracy thing isn't going to work.
January 13, 2026 at 1:36 AM
I *think* that appealing to the basic decency of most Americans in the aftermath of Renee Good's murder is smart politics. But mostly I think it's worth doing because if that decency really isn't there then this whole rebuilding democracy thing isn't going to work.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
In 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a Florida home, pledging it would be his principal residence. Seven weeks later, he attested a neighboring property would also be his principal residence.
In reality, he does not seem to have lived in either home.
In reality, he does not seem to have lived in either home.
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
www.propublica.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:00 AM
In 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a Florida home, pledging it would be his principal residence. Seven weeks later, he attested a neighboring property would also be his principal residence.
In reality, he does not seem to have lived in either home.
In reality, he does not seem to have lived in either home.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Just ease immigration for 18-30 year olds.
Nobody really wants to hear this but the only even remotely palatable solutions to the "birthrate crisis" involve penciling in substantial technological change: artificial wombs, at least somewhat automated childcare, etc
January 13, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Just ease immigration for 18-30 year olds.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Hearing many stories now of ICE going to the homes of observers and activists to menace them.
January 12, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Hearing many stories now of ICE going to the homes of observers and activists to menace them.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
"Warren is well known in MA's LGBTQ community for showing up at Pride events and dancing around in a feather boa. But when her queer and trans constituents asked her to meet with us about legislation that could harm the most vulnerable members of our community, she wouldn’t even look us in the eye."
It appears that some members of the Democratic Party are supporting KOSA.
The act purports to be about protecting children, but it could weaponize Trump's FTC to target LGBTQ+ content on the internet.
Evan Greer writes for EITM in this latest op-ed.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
The act purports to be about protecting children, but it could weaponize Trump's FTC to target LGBTQ+ content on the internet.
Evan Greer writes for EITM in this latest op-ed.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Op-Ed: With KOSA, Elizabeth Warren is Betraying the Trans Youth She Claims to Protect
Evan Greer writes for EITM: "KOSA’s re-emergence comes during a moment of existential crisis for the Democratic party."
www.erininthemorning.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:15 PM
"Warren is well known in MA's LGBTQ community for showing up at Pride events and dancing around in a feather boa. But when her queer and trans constituents asked her to meet with us about legislation that could harm the most vulnerable members of our community, she wouldn’t even look us in the eye."
Pleeeeease
Woah: Hochul wants New York to build *5 GW* of nuclear power, up from 1 GW she announced last year. That’s more than has been built in the US in the past 30 years.
via @syracuse.com:
via @syracuse.com:
Hochul ratchets up NY’s nuclear plans, aims to lead U.S. in building new reactors
Last year, the governor called for 1 gigawatt of new nuclear capacity. Now she wants 5 GW.
www.syracuse.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Pleeeeease
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
NEW: I wrote for @erininthemorning.com about how my Senator @warren.senate.gov threw trans people under the bus by co-sponsoring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
Our MA-based LGBTQ coalition begged Warren to meet to hear our concerns.
She ghosted us 😡
www.erininthemorning.com/p/op-ed-with...
Our MA-based LGBTQ coalition begged Warren to meet to hear our concerns.
She ghosted us 😡
www.erininthemorning.com/p/op-ed-with...
Op-Ed: With KOSA, Elizabeth Warren is Betraying the Trans Youth She Claims to Protect
Evan Greer writes for EITM: "KOSA’s re-emergence comes during a moment of existential crisis for the Democratic party."
www.erininthemorning.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM
NEW: I wrote for @erininthemorning.com about how my Senator @warren.senate.gov threw trans people under the bus by co-sponsoring the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
Our MA-based LGBTQ coalition begged Warren to meet to hear our concerns.
She ghosted us 😡
www.erininthemorning.com/p/op-ed-with...
Our MA-based LGBTQ coalition begged Warren to meet to hear our concerns.
She ghosted us 😡
www.erininthemorning.com/p/op-ed-with...
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
The question is “do they satisfy and delight?” which LLMs clearly do, in addition to doing some effective work. I don’t think this is pedantic, because i think the gap between “working tool” and “satisfier + delighter” is where a LOT of the friction in some LLM convos emanates from.
January 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM
The question is “do they satisfy and delight?” which LLMs clearly do, in addition to doing some effective work. I don’t think this is pedantic, because i think the gap between “working tool” and “satisfier + delighter” is where a LOT of the friction in some LLM convos emanates from.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
anyway as i have said many times — and literally just wrote on saturday — i think we should abolish ICE as well as unravel DHS and i welcome elected officials who embrace both outright but i am also aware that any senate majority will contain moderate and conservative democrats who need an on-ramp.
January 12, 2026 at 5:23 PM
anyway as i have said many times — and literally just wrote on saturday — i think we should abolish ICE as well as unravel DHS and i welcome elected officials who embrace both outright but i am also aware that any senate majority will contain moderate and conservative democrats who need an on-ramp.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
woke 1 never got to the name of the hydraulic cylinder that moves your clutch around when you press the pedal but woke 2 probably will. also i guess i need a new one of those, which is fun
January 12, 2026 at 5:13 PM
woke 1 never got to the name of the hydraulic cylinder that moves your clutch around when you press the pedal but woke 2 probably will. also i guess i need a new one of those, which is fun
100% this
I want this next generation of software development tools to run on my own computer. Vim and Emacs helped democratize software development and made it accessible. We shouldn't allow this AI wave to take us backwards.
I really hope the open source community can keep pace.
I really hope the open source community can keep pace.
January 12, 2026 at 6:06 PM
100% this
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
AI is tbe greatest tool ever made to detect Dunning-Krueger Effect Blind Spots
For the record the hardest part of opening and running a restaurant isnt the name or even the menu. Its the staffing. Which we have not creatednthe machines to handle that yet
For the record the hardest part of opening and running a restaurant isnt the name or even the menu. Its the staffing. Which we have not creatednthe machines to handle that yet
January 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM
AI is tbe greatest tool ever made to detect Dunning-Krueger Effect Blind Spots
For the record the hardest part of opening and running a restaurant isnt the name or even the menu. Its the staffing. Which we have not creatednthe machines to handle that yet
For the record the hardest part of opening and running a restaurant isnt the name or even the menu. Its the staffing. Which we have not creatednthe machines to handle that yet
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
in fact, as someone who could be fairly accused of occasionally agreeing with moderates on policy, the main thing that differentiates me from them is that I understand someone can be annoying and also not matter that much, while the far right is the scourge of all mankind and must be obliterated
January 11, 2026 at 12:02 AM
in fact, as someone who could be fairly accused of occasionally agreeing with moderates on policy, the main thing that differentiates me from them is that I understand someone can be annoying and also not matter that much, while the far right is the scourge of all mankind and must be obliterated
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
The elephant in the room is that mayors and governors across the country have very good reason to question the loyalty and allegiances of the state and local police forces and that’s one of the impediments to doing anything about the current occupations
January 10, 2026 at 1:28 PM
The elephant in the room is that mayors and governors across the country have very good reason to question the loyalty and allegiances of the state and local police forces and that’s one of the impediments to doing anything about the current occupations
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Honestly Sweeney's (no relation) point makes sense except that the politicians are not asking for X to receive special treatment from these closed, walled-garden platforms, but that X be treated the same as every other app
So how we feelin' about that Epic ecosystem nowadays?
We all feel confident that Fortnite is a good spot for kids to hang out?
We all feel confident that Fortnite is a good spot for kids to hang out?
January 10, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Honestly Sweeney's (no relation) point makes sense except that the politicians are not asking for X to receive special treatment from these closed, walled-garden platforms, but that X be treated the same as every other app
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
NEW: A teacher called over a dozen therapists to find mental health care following a miscarriage.
An EMT spent months looking for one after a suicide attempt.
They couldn’t find any in-network provider able to see them. Now they're suing their insurer.
An EMT spent months looking for one after a suicide attempt.
They couldn’t find any in-network provider able to see them. Now they're suing their insurer.
They Couldn’t Access Mental Health Care When They Needed It. Now They’re Suing Their Insurer.
A new lawsuit alleges that an insurer’s ghost network hindered New York City employees from accessing the mental health care they sought — and harmed the reputation of psychiatrists wrongly listed as ...
www.propublica.org
January 9, 2026 at 1:00 PM
NEW: A teacher called over a dozen therapists to find mental health care following a miscarriage.
An EMT spent months looking for one after a suicide attempt.
They couldn’t find any in-network provider able to see them. Now they're suing their insurer.
An EMT spent months looking for one after a suicide attempt.
They couldn’t find any in-network provider able to see them. Now they're suing their insurer.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
it was very obvious to me from the early terf wars that there was a kind of bigotry black hole: the transphobes all became racists. the racists were all misogynists. the misogynists were all authoritarians. much of my work since then has been devoted to trying to understand why.
you know how if you try and make LLMs more racist, they also end up more sexist and pro-genocide? this is the human example of that. evil isn't a single thing, if you start down one path you keep ending up at the same destination.
Graham's all about 'protecting women'
January 9, 2026 at 10:23 PM
it was very obvious to me from the early terf wars that there was a kind of bigotry black hole: the transphobes all became racists. the racists were all misogynists. the misogynists were all authoritarians. much of my work since then has been devoted to trying to understand why.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
For a literal decade the official CBP policy has been “don’t stand in front of or behind vehicles” because the decade before that their internally commissioned studies found that agents were putting themselves in front of vehicles so as to shoot the occupants
Because he put himself in front of the car to have an excuse to shoot!
January 10, 2026 at 12:01 AM
For a literal decade the official CBP policy has been “don’t stand in front of or behind vehicles” because the decade before that their internally commissioned studies found that agents were putting themselves in front of vehicles so as to shoot the occupants
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
It's almost like the App and Play Stores have never been about moderation or keeping users safe, they've been about control and taxing developers wherever possible
January 9, 2026 at 9:39 PM
It's almost like the App and Play Stores have never been about moderation or keeping users safe, they've been about control and taxing developers wherever possible
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
i actually do think that tim apple & sundar google could stop a significant portion of all this shit anytime they wanted by simply enforcing against a few big apps the way they do little ones
It's almost like the App and Play Stores have never been about moderation or keeping users safe, they've been about control and taxing developers wherever possible
January 10, 2026 at 12:08 AM
i actually do think that tim apple & sundar google could stop a significant portion of all this shit anytime they wanted by simply enforcing against a few big apps the way they do little ones