Alex
@alexamarchives.bsky.social
librarian, health sciences;
genre fiction & films
genre fiction & films
Today, in “playing both sides of the conflict”
December 8, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Today, in “playing both sides of the conflict”
Reposted by Alex
I wish a notice like this wasn't necessary.
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
Important notice: AI-generated archival references
www.icrc.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:27 AM
I wish a notice like this wasn't necessary.
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
www.icrc.org/en/article/i...
Reposted by Alex
we were so close to having a generation or two with undamaged brains after leaded gas got banned and then covid happened and here we are again
December 8, 2025 at 3:49 PM
we were so close to having a generation or two with undamaged brains after leaded gas got banned and then covid happened and here we are again
Reposted by Alex
Terribly stupid idea that will satisfy faux-populist urges to dunk on public servants while simultaneously making the lives of public servants and the service itself so much worse.
Goofy stuff.
Goofy stuff.
Carney says back-to-office plan for federal civil servants coming soon nationalnewswatch.com/2025/12/08/c...
Carney says back-to-office plan for federal civil servants coming soon
National Newswatch: Canada's most comprehensive site for political news and views.
nationalnewswatch.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Terribly stupid idea that will satisfy faux-populist urges to dunk on public servants while simultaneously making the lives of public servants and the service itself so much worse.
Goofy stuff.
Goofy stuff.
Reposted by Alex
Wow, thanks Google AI, I had no idea that the North American population of turkey vultures is larger than the worldwide population!
December 8, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Wow, thanks Google AI, I had no idea that the North American population of turkey vultures is larger than the worldwide population!
Reposted by Alex
Reposted by Alex
This is one of the reasons we always ask guests on @lingthusiasm.bsky.social how they got interested in their research topic: not only does this lead to fun stories, but it also leads to explaining the research process and leaves room for uncertainty
New study finds that public health messages that acknowledge uncertainty and explain the scientific process lead to greater perceived trustworthiness and understanding compared to basic fact-based messages.
journals.lww.com/jphmp/abstra...
journals.lww.com/jphmp/abstra...
journals.lww.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:17 AM
This is one of the reasons we always ask guests on @lingthusiasm.bsky.social how they got interested in their research topic: not only does this lead to fun stories, but it also leads to explaining the research process and leaves room for uncertainty
Reposted by Alex
This thread up and down.
Also, I've been beating this drum about the danger to the information ecosystem for six and half years now. A few links below:
Also, I've been beating this drum about the danger to the information ecosystem for six and half years now. A few links below:
Here's the reality this example illustrates:
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
December 7, 2025 at 9:54 PM
This thread up and down.
Also, I've been beating this drum about the danger to the information ecosystem for six and half years now. A few links below:
Also, I've been beating this drum about the danger to the information ecosystem for six and half years now. A few links below:
Reposted by Alex
December 6, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Alex
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Here's the reality this example illustrates:
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
December 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Reposted by Alex
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
December 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
Reposted by Alex
[A post appears at the top of my feed that I want to see] Instagram: oh gosh let me refresh that for you. Nothing but brand new content for our favourite user!
[a post appears that causes me incalculable psychic damage] Instagram: we’re gonna leave this up here for a while. For you to enjoy forever
[a post appears that causes me incalculable psychic damage] Instagram: we’re gonna leave this up here for a while. For you to enjoy forever
December 5, 2025 at 9:31 PM
[A post appears at the top of my feed that I want to see] Instagram: oh gosh let me refresh that for you. Nothing but brand new content for our favourite user!
[a post appears that causes me incalculable psychic damage] Instagram: we’re gonna leave this up here for a while. For you to enjoy forever
[a post appears that causes me incalculable psychic damage] Instagram: we’re gonna leave this up here for a while. For you to enjoy forever
Reposted by Alex
Being alive right now is trying to balance “I want to stay informed” with “this is actively destroying my mental health”
December 5, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Being alive right now is trying to balance “I want to stay informed” with “this is actively destroying my mental health”
Reposted by Alex
I fucking love memes you can understand through the language barrier, holy shit
December 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I fucking love memes you can understand through the language barrier, holy shit
Reposted by Alex
"You have no chance, no chance as an average reader to try to understand what is going on in the scientific literature. Your signal-to-noise ratio is basically one. I can barely go to these conferences and figure out what the hell is going on."
Artificial intelligence research has a slop problem, academics say: ‘It’s a mess’
AI research in question as author claims to have written over 100 papers on AI that one expert calls a ‘disaster’
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
"You have no chance, no chance as an average reader to try to understand what is going on in the scientific literature. Your signal-to-noise ratio is basically one. I can barely go to these conferences and figure out what the hell is going on."
Reposted by Alex
A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud
December 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM
A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud
Reposted by Alex
A few months ago I read that many datasets used to train these AI models are full of porn to ensure “women aren’t underrepresented in the dataset.” Once you know, you see it everywhere.
This was just sent to me by an LAUSD parent. A 4th grader was assigned to design a book cover for Pippi Longstocking using Adobe for Education. Here is what the AI tool generated:
December 6, 2025 at 4:06 AM
A few months ago I read that many datasets used to train these AI models are full of porn to ensure “women aren’t underrepresented in the dataset.” Once you know, you see it everywhere.
Reposted by Alex
Really love how this guy posted this on TikTok thinking the woman who broke his Meta glasses would come off as the villain, as opposed to him, the guy recording her without her consent for social media content via a surveillance device made by one of the worst companies on earth
Woman Hailed as Hero for Smashing Man's Meta Smart Glasses on Subway
A New York subway rider has accused a woman of breaking his Meta smart glasses. She was later hailed as a hero.
futurism.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Really love how this guy posted this on TikTok thinking the woman who broke his Meta glasses would come off as the villain, as opposed to him, the guy recording her without her consent for social media content via a surveillance device made by one of the worst companies on earth
Reposted by Alex
Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
December 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
Reposted by Alex
In terms of what’s understood to be socially acceptable behavior, normalizing the filming/taking pictures of people in public who are minding their own business (and putting it online) is one of the worst developments of the past 15 years.
Woman Hailed as Hero for Smashing Man's Meta Smart Glasses on Subway
A New York subway rider has accused a woman of breaking his Meta smart glasses. She was later hailed as a hero.
futurism.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:52 PM
In terms of what’s understood to be socially acceptable behavior, normalizing the filming/taking pictures of people in public who are minding their own business (and putting it online) is one of the worst developments of the past 15 years.
Reposted by Alex
Carnegie Mellon has cancelled hosting the Code4Lib conference this year because Code4Lib has scholarships supporting diverse attendees. Some lame fuckery indeed.
Carnegie Mellon deciding at the last minute that they can't host the annual Code4Lib conference is some lame fuckery.
December 5, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Carnegie Mellon has cancelled hosting the Code4Lib conference this year because Code4Lib has scholarships supporting diverse attendees. Some lame fuckery indeed.
Reposted by Alex
this encapsulates the essential relationship between the people running universities, the people doing academic work in universities, and the people looking to smash and grab as much as possible from universities while we're on the way down
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 1:51 AM
this encapsulates the essential relationship between the people running universities, the people doing academic work in universities, and the people looking to smash and grab as much as possible from universities while we're on the way down
Reposted by Alex
I have become incredibly radicalized against gambling
Fuckin people watching Netflix making prop bets on what minute of the episode we’re first gonna see Vecna. People betting on whether it’s gonna be a Toyotathon commercial or an Activia commercial. Just a little QR code in the bottom corner of every show asking you to bet on everything.
December 4, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I have become incredibly radicalized against gambling
Reposted by Alex
The always-in-the-know @billhuntbits.bsky.social at The Digital Bits explains why it’s been so difficult to buy movies on 4K and Blu-ray disc. If you think the answer is “short-sighted greed and corporate ego,” you’d of course be right 🔔
thedigitalbits.com/columns/bill...
thedigitalbits.com/columns/bill...
December 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
The always-in-the-know @billhuntbits.bsky.social at The Digital Bits explains why it’s been so difficult to buy movies on 4K and Blu-ray disc. If you think the answer is “short-sighted greed and corporate ego,” you’d of course be right 🔔
thedigitalbits.com/columns/bill...
thedigitalbits.com/columns/bill...
Reposted by Alex
Sometimes I lose sleep thinking about how Charlie Brooker could have called his show "Don't Create The Black Mirror" and we'd still be here.
The co-founder of Kalshi says: " The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion."
December 4, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Sometimes I lose sleep thinking about how Charlie Brooker could have called his show "Don't Create The Black Mirror" and we'd still be here.