Shannon Vallor
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shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor
@shannonvallor.bsky.social
17K followers 2K following 2.5K posts

Philosopher/AI Ethicist at Univ of Edinburgh, co-Director @technomoralfutures.bsky.social and BRAID @braiduk.bsky.social, author of Technology and the Virtues (2016) and The AI Mirror (2024). Views my own. Humble servant to Carol and Puffin. .. more

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Shannon Vallor is an American philosopher of technology. She is the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. She previously taught at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California where she was the Regis and Dianne McKenna Professor of Philosophy and William J. Rewak, S.J. Professor at SCU. .. more

Neuroscience 30%
Computer science 22%
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shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 15h
When I moved to the UK I thought that ‘sticky toffee pudding’ sounded horrific, like a car crash of sugar slop and goo

Then I tasted one and had to just sit and be quiet for a while. I had no idea. This man knows his business.
wafflecut.bsky.social Waffle 🧇 @wafflecut.bsky.social · 22h
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Anna O. Law, Dorothy Bishop , and 7 more

wafflecut.bsky.social
Waffle 🧇 @wafflecut.bsky.social · 22h
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 23h
I kept looking for the ‘this content has been sponsored by Anthropic’ footnote but you must have accidentally left it out.

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 1d
So disappointed with the New Yorker Anthropic piece. No critical probing or context, just gullible parroting of a self-serving corporate marketing pitch. This needed a hard Chotinering
biblioracle.bsky.social John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 1d
It is simply not true that LLMs are "black boxes." Not knowing everything about something doesn't make it a black box. The architecture was developed prior to their invention. They are iterated via intentional design. This is not a black box. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

biblioracle.bsky.social
John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 1d
It is simply not true that LLMs are "black boxes." Not knowing everything about something doesn't make it a black box. The architecture was developed prior to their invention. They are iterated via intentional design. This is not a black box. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

karlbode.com
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1d
OpenAI fired a female employee for sexual discrimination because she raised questions about the company's pivot toward automated erotica engagement slop
Exclusive | OpenAI Executive Who Opposed ‘Adult Mode’ Fired for Sexual Discrimination
Ryan Beiermeister, who served as the vice president leading OpenAI’s product policy team, had raised concerns about the upcoming launch of erotic content.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

newyorker.com
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 1d
Experiments conducted with the A.I. system Claude are producing fascinating results—and raising questions about the nature of selfhood. Gideon Lewis-Kraus reports from inside the company that designed it, Anthropic. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rOfXjg

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 1d
I love this man so much
daviddylanthomas.bsky.social David Dylan Thomas @daviddylanthomas.bsky.social · 1d
Don't give anything an Emmy until it's as good as this.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

ugarles.bsky.social
Sen. Lemon Gogurt @ugarles.bsky.social · 1d
It really is funny watching AI people talk about AI as intelligence. Like Jim Henson telling everyone on Sesame Street how scared he is of "the thing that lives in the can."

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Paul E. Smaldino, Kathleen Kennedy

daviddylanthomas.bsky.social
David Dylan Thomas @daviddylanthomas.bsky.social · 1d
Don't give anything an Emmy until it's as good as this.

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 1d
not our fault
2015 Tweet from Dr Charlotta Lofqvist SJ: god: i have made Mankind angels: you fucked up a perfectly good monkey is what you did. look at it. it’s got anxiety

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Samuel L. Perry, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham , and 2 more

colindickey.com
Colin Dickey @colindickey.com · 2d
The morning so far
Old tweet from @shelfcomedy: me: god, why must you give me your hardest battles god: i don't. you are my weakest soldier and these battles are so easy. it's an email why are you crying

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

vaishakbelle.bsky.social
Vaishak Belle @vaishakbelle.bsky.social · 2d
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-use-of...

if you are in Edinburgh, drop by to our discussion on the growing concerns around the use of AI in research -- www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
https://lnkd.in/eDQ84i4t if you are in Edinburgh, drop by to our discussion on the growing concerns around the use of AI in research | Vaishak Belle
https://lnkd.in/eDQ84i4t if you are in Edinburgh, drop by to our discussion on the growing concerns around the use of AI in research
www.linkedin.com

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

philipcball.bsky.social
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2d
This though. This is the sort of thing that really bugs me. "There is no guarantee" - sure, since we don't understand how the human mind works. There's no guarantee we're not all Boltzmann brains. But there are good reasons to think this is not how we work. (cc @shannonvallor.bsky.social)

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Shannon Vallor, Scott L. Greer , and 4 more

rocher.lc
Luc Rocher @rocher.lc · 2d
⚠️ Despite all the hype, chatbots still make terrible doctors. Out today is the largest user study of language models for medical self-diagnosis. We found that chatbots provide inaccurate and inconsistent answers, and that people are better off using online searches or their own judgment.
Banner image with screenshot of scientific article from nature Medicine, as well as two panels from the study method and results

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

pookleblinky.bsky.social
Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 3d
At the current rate, by the end of the year the UK will go through over 50 prime ministers, each one worse than the last, until the last one is literally just Gollum devouring raw fish in an abandoned coal mine under Wales. He will also be in the Epstein files.

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 3d
I have a cat who routinely sticks her whole face in my water glass and now I have a dog who can already leap vertically 4x her height

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 3d
I am resigned to never again enjoy a snack in my home in peace

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 3d
omg her face Robin

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Lisa Diedrich

jackiantonovich.bsky.social
Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 4d
This really is the epitome of trending Bluesky topics. Something British, sportsball, "political outrage" (can't phrase it better than that), something artsy fartsy, NERDS!)
A screenshot of a “Trending” panel with an upward arrow icon. It lists five items in order: 1) Morgan McSweeney, 2) Super Bowl, 3) Political Outrage, 4) Noir Films, and 5) Star Trek.

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 4d
Same - it was Y1 philosophy that humbled me too, and it took a couple of years to get past the sting and fall back in love with it.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

clancyny.bsky.social
Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 4d
Halt and Catch Fire Syllabus by @ashleyblewer.com
Incredible!
HALT AND CATCH FIRE SYLLABUS #01 #02 #03 #04 #05 #06 #07 #08 #09 #10 #. #12 #13 #14 #15 image of Cameron at a desk thinking hard README This site features a curriculum developed around the television series, Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017), a fictional narrative about people working in tech during the 1980s-1990s. The intent is for this website to be used by self-forming small groups that want to create a "watching club" (like a book club) and discuss aspects of technology history that are featured in this series. There are 15 classes, for a "semester-long" [truncated]

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social
Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 4d
Bottom view of a cat that has fallen asleep on a glass table.

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 4d
After getting through high school on zero effort, showing up to 7am AP classes on a pot of diner coffee after being out all night, my first semester of college was like the Road Runner hitting the canyon wall painted as a tunnel. Took a year to pick myself up and learn to actually work
tkingfisher.com Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 4d
Alright, where are my gifted kids at? You were smart and you never had to study and then you went to college and suddenly had to learn a new skillset overnight, that everybody else had years to learn, or flame out spectacularly?

That’s what talent is like.
auferre.bsky.social Auferre 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @auferre.bsky.social · 4d
In my experience, talent is a *detriment* to learning.

I didn't have to practice early on so I *didn't know how*. I didn't start to learn how to practice until my 30s! (When much of my life was taken up with parenting, so I didn't have time!)

I didn't start to improve as a musician until my 40s!

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 4d
Thread
volts.wtf David Roberts @volts.wtf · 4d
An observation I've been thinking about:

Around 2020, we were told that US political & corporate elites had been gripped by "wokeness" & thus become obsessed with climate change & diversity. This wokeness was alleged to be so severe & monomaniacal that it threatened the entire culture & economy.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

volts.wtf
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 4d
An observation I've been thinking about:

Around 2020, we were told that US political & corporate elites had been gripped by "wokeness" & thus become obsessed with climate change & diversity. This wokeness was alleged to be so severe & monomaniacal that it threatened the entire culture & economy.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor

tkingfisher.com
Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 4d
Alright, where are my gifted kids at? You were smart and you never had to study and then you went to college and suddenly had to learn a new skillset overnight, that everybody else had years to learn, or flame out spectacularly?

That’s what talent is like.
auferre.bsky.social Auferre 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @auferre.bsky.social · 4d
In my experience, talent is a *detriment* to learning.

I didn't have to practice early on so I *didn't know how*. I didn't start to learn how to practice until my 30s! (When much of my life was taken up with parenting, so I didn't have time!)

I didn't start to improve as a musician until my 40s!
clpolk.com C. L. Polk @clpolk.com · 5d
I'm going to say this again in case you haven't heard this one: I was a talented writer and it did *nothing whatsoever* because I hadn't put in the work, and I put in the work for ten years (subtracting the bit where I had to quit for my mental health) to write Witchmark

talent alone could *never*

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 4d
right??

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 5d
There’s so much I have to say about this, much of which is in my book. But the lack of critical questioning and the last two sentences of this article encapsulate everything wrong with tech journalism:

“Like it or not, however, we’re strapped in for the ride. At least Anthropic has a plan”
The Only Thing Standing Between Humanity and AI Apocalypse Is … Claude?
As AI systems grow more powerful, Anthropic’s resident philosopher says the startup is betting Claude itself can learn the wisdom needed to avoid disaster.
www.wired.com

shannonvallor.bsky.social
Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 5d
That’s why I’m most worried about this effect on public understanding, given the rapid substitution of LLMs for vetted, current research, or even popular science magazines, which used to be the curious layperson’s go-to source. Most laypeople will now just ask AI, without sophisticated prompting.