Alex Claman
@aclaman.bsky.social
Nerd, feminist, and Oxford comma user. Ancient Mediterranean, Archaeology, and SFF. Devotee of Hestia. Card-carrying union member. They/them. 🏳️🌈
Reposted by Alex Claman
I think a big thing I struggle with, and something that is an important thing for people of my generation to attempt to understand, is separating toxic nostalgia from knowledge of the actual ways in which American life has gotten appreciably worse in my lifetime
it’s so weird to look around and realize like, tech and media are materially worse than a decade ago
November 30, 2025 at 5:37 AM
I think a big thing I struggle with, and something that is an important thing for people of my generation to attempt to understand, is separating toxic nostalgia from knowledge of the actual ways in which American life has gotten appreciably worse in my lifetime
Reposted by Alex Claman
One is that teaching university students *well* requires much more work (and frankly, compassion) now than it did when I started nine years ago. 2/
November 29, 2025 at 4:20 PM
One is that teaching university students *well* requires much more work (and frankly, compassion) now than it did when I started nine years ago. 2/
Reposted by Alex Claman
It takes me 3x as long to grade assignments now, because I have to explain gently and effectively why ChatGPT style writing is boring -- they swim in this stuff now even when they don't use the tools. Maybe no one has even told them their own voice matters, so that is down to us. 3/
November 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
It takes me 3x as long to grade assignments now, because I have to explain gently and effectively why ChatGPT style writing is boring -- they swim in this stuff now even when they don't use the tools. Maybe no one has even told them their own voice matters, so that is down to us. 3/
Reposted by Alex Claman
Financial precarity. Yes university students have always been living on their last 20 bucks, but the number of students I talk to now who have *multiple* jobs in addition to being fulltime students, some of whom are taking care of family members' survival needs as well as their own, is shocking. 5/
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Financial precarity. Yes university students have always been living on their last 20 bucks, but the number of students I talk to now who have *multiple* jobs in addition to being fulltime students, some of whom are taking care of family members' survival needs as well as their own, is shocking. 5/
Reposted by Alex Claman
Sri Lanka is hit hard by Cyclone Ditwah with severe flooding across the island. Over a hundred and fifty are dead, and tens of thousands are displaced. Some ways you can help:
vajra.me/2025/11/29/c...
vajra.me/2025/11/29/c...
Cyclone Ditwah Flood Relief Sri Lanka
How to donate to Sri Lankan flood relief initiatives in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah.
vajra.me
November 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Sri Lanka is hit hard by Cyclone Ditwah with severe flooding across the island. Over a hundred and fifty are dead, and tens of thousands are displaced. Some ways you can help:
vajra.me/2025/11/29/c...
vajra.me/2025/11/29/c...
Reposted by Alex Claman
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Anecdotally on twitter seeing a big shift the last few days from every AI slop account saying every other creative field is “over” and they’re in control now to now posting about how nobody likes them and it’s not fair and they’ll persevere and real artists respect and uplift eachother
November 30, 2025 at 12:27 AM
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Reposted by Alex Claman
Great my instacart guy grabbed me a golden apple with "to the fairest" inscribed on it even tho I clearly said not to get me any golden apples that could start a huge land war
November 30, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Great my instacart guy grabbed me a golden apple with "to the fairest" inscribed on it even tho I clearly said not to get me any golden apples that could start a huge land war
Reposted by Alex Claman
THIS JUST IN: YOU HAVE TO PUT EFFORT IN TO UNDERSTAND A COMPLEX SUBJECT. MORE AT 9
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Learning With AI Falls Short Compared to Old-Fashioned Web Search
In virtually all the ways that matter, getting summarized information from AI models was less educational than doing the work of search.
buff.ly
November 30, 2025 at 9:56 AM
THIS JUST IN: YOU HAVE TO PUT EFFORT IN TO UNDERSTAND A COMPLEX SUBJECT. MORE AT 9
Reposted by Alex Claman
I get what this post is saying, but for most self-published and indie authors, bookstores won't stock our books.
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 30, 2025 at 10:19 AM
I get what this post is saying, but for most self-published and indie authors, bookstores won't stock our books.
Reposted by Alex Claman
Again, we can gawk at videos of the flooding, or we can do something. Pick any survival fund, give what you can, click “weekly” or “monthly,” share and tell everyone you know.
Just one for six families and a camp—most flooded and freezing:
Just one for six families and a camp—most flooded and freezing:
Keep Hope Alive: a Gaza Giving Circle
We are a team of volunteers in the US and UK, led by two sisters passionate about helping our friends on the ground keep their families and neighbors alive with food, water, & shelter. We saw that their...
chuffed.org
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Again, we can gawk at videos of the flooding, or we can do something. Pick any survival fund, give what you can, click “weekly” or “monthly,” share and tell everyone you know.
Just one for six families and a camp—most flooded and freezing:
Just one for six families and a camp—most flooded and freezing:
Reposted by Alex Claman
"oh, don't forget to highlight, in bright red, the two-letter word in the tagline! the two letter word that's kind of the whole point of this clever ad campaign! the two letter word that links this show to the horror movie of the same name!"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
November 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
"oh, don't forget to highlight, in bright red, the two-letter word in the tagline! the two letter word that's kind of the whole point of this clever ad campaign! the two letter word that links this show to the horror movie of the same name!"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
"no problem boss. i'm on it"
Reposted by Alex Claman
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Reposted by Alex Claman
This is right
With alt text
November 30, 2025 at 2:08 AM
This is right
Reposted by Alex Claman
I think the corollary that a lot of people miss about "write what you know" is that *you have the power to know more things.* Research and talking to people are a central part of writing!
“write only what you know” is bullshit because a man wrote silent hill f and this shit rocks!!!! its feminist core resonates SO strongly if you’re a woman!!!!
November 30, 2025 at 1:57 AM
I think the corollary that a lot of people miss about "write what you know" is that *you have the power to know more things.* Research and talking to people are a central part of writing!
Reposted by Alex Claman
The people who make the plagiarism machine are deliberately reinforcing this conflation. It helps them if these actual good use cases are tied to their vapid product, for exactly this sorry of reason
part of the reason i am genuinely irritated with the gAI/AGI cult is because there is real societal benefits in using ML techniques in medical care + weather analysis, and instead people get annoyed with anything that gets lumped in with the plagiarism machine
November 29, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The people who make the plagiarism machine are deliberately reinforcing this conflation. It helps them if these actual good use cases are tied to their vapid product, for exactly this sorry of reason
Reposted by Alex Claman
ICE garage blockaded in lower Manhattan with dozens of agents stuck inside as more and more New Yorkers gather.
NYPD observed staging on Canal & Broadway, expected come over for crowd control.
NYPD observed staging on Canal & Broadway, expected come over for crowd control.
November 29, 2025 at 4:49 PM
ICE garage blockaded in lower Manhattan with dozens of agents stuck inside as more and more New Yorkers gather.
NYPD observed staging on Canal & Broadway, expected come over for crowd control.
NYPD observed staging on Canal & Broadway, expected come over for crowd control.
Reposted by Alex Claman
it's the same vibes as dudes who become vocal feminists because they had a daughter and realized women are people
My hot take is that I do not like it when politicians do a thing, particularly if it’s completely unrelated policy, just because It Happened To Me, Personally
You all know where I stand on these issues but I get the same feeling of instant revulsion when someone is suddenly pro gay rights because…
You all know where I stand on these issues but I get the same feeling of instant revulsion when someone is suddenly pro gay rights because…
h/t @adamwren.bsky.social
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
Michael Bohacek, a Republican state senator from Indiana who has a daughter with down syndrome, says he will vote against redistricting in Indiana after Trump used the word "retarded."
November 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
it's the same vibes as dudes who become vocal feminists because they had a daughter and realized women are people
Reposted by Alex Claman
They want to murder children. Plain and simple they want as may children to die as possible from with this policy change.
Big change: FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements under RFK Jr ally
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
Vinay Prasad signaled changes to annual flu shots, concurrent vaccines + more
Prasad said his team found link between covid-19 shots and kids' deaths, necessitating a new approach overall
with @rachelroubein.bsky.social
FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements, claiming child covid shot deaths
Vinay Prasad, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, said his team concluded that coronavirus shots were linked to children’s deaths, necessitating a new approach.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:16 PM
They want to murder children. Plain and simple they want as may children to die as possible from with this policy change.
Reposted by Alex Claman
The purpose of a system of is what it does.
OpenAI's Sora Is Letting Teens Generate Videos of School Shootings
OpenAI's Sora 2 easily allows teenagers to generate videos of school shootings and other harmful content, despite repeated claims of safety.
futurism.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The purpose of a system of is what it does.
Reposted by Alex Claman
i cannot take life seriously like this
The markets are staying afloat right now on the hope that AI will destroy American workers. What a bleak thing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
November 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
i cannot take life seriously like this
Reposted by Alex Claman
Another one for the "we are ruled by hollowed-out husks who believe in nothing but their own untouchability" files
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Another one for the "we are ruled by hollowed-out husks who believe in nothing but their own untouchability" files
Reposted by Alex Claman
“I say Jeeves, my mate from Stanford has a cracking idea for a startup. It’s a fixed route, multi-passenger ride sharing company”
“Forgive me, sir. But I believe what you are describing is a bus. They are already quite common.”
“Forgive me, sir. But I believe what you are describing is a bus. They are already quite common.”
rich dudes got freakier after butlers fell out of fashion, like say what you will about having domestic servants but clearly it was some sort of moderating force on old rich dudes having a fancy man follow you around saying shit like "oh dear sir, that wouldn't be very becoming"
November 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
“I say Jeeves, my mate from Stanford has a cracking idea for a startup. It’s a fixed route, multi-passenger ride sharing company”
“Forgive me, sir. But I believe what you are describing is a bus. They are already quite common.”
“Forgive me, sir. But I believe what you are describing is a bus. They are already quite common.”
Reposted by Alex Claman
Oh wow, this is an excellent point
You can't realistically have universal basic income in a society that tolerates the existence of the gambling lobby. For UBI to prosper, the gambling industry has to be smashed.
November 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Oh wow, this is an excellent point
Reposted by Alex Claman
Write and be significantly less stressed. I would probably still teach. I would just be less stressed *laugh sob*
Honest question: If everyone got Universal Basic Income, no strings attached, what would YOU do with it?
Re-post with your quote or drop your take below.
Re-post with your quote or drop your take below.
November 29, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Write and be significantly less stressed. I would probably still teach. I would just be less stressed *laugh sob*
Reposted by Alex Claman
I'm gonna go ahead and interpret this as 87% of executive tasks can be easily automated but only 27% of productive tasks can be
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I'm gonna go ahead and interpret this as 87% of executive tasks can be easily automated but only 27% of productive tasks can be