Alex Monea
@alexmonea.bsky.social
Assoc Prof @georgemasonu.bsky.social | Author: The Digital Closet (https://bit.ly/digitalcloset) | Focus: content moderation, platform governance, data ethics | Views my own | he/him
Reposted by Alex Monea
Big day at U.S. District Court in D.C. where Sean Dunn, the D.C. Sandwich Guy, is on trial for misdemeanor assault of a federal officer.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
November 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Big day at U.S. District Court in D.C. where Sean Dunn, the D.C. Sandwich Guy, is on trial for misdemeanor assault of a federal officer.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore is on the stand narrating surveillance video of the sammie toss.
'Now he’s struck me with the sandwich,' Lairmore says.
Reposted by Alex Monea
In fairness, the Supreme Court’s Republican appointees regularly “hallucinate” bogus facts without using AI. The praying coach ruling shows that Gorsuch doesn’t need a sloppy robot to make shit up that’s directly refuted by the record!
Federal Judges— or staff, but same-same— used "AI" to summarize & draft rulings, issued them w/o checking the work, leading to basic factual errors, & thus undermining the facticity & validity of the rulings entire.
Gee. Who Could Have Foreseen. *stares directly into the camera like in the office*
Gee. Who Could Have Foreseen. *stares directly into the camera like in the office*
Two federal judges say use of AI led to errors in US court rulings
Two federal judges admitted in response to an inquiry by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that members of their staff used artificial intelligence to help prepare recent court orders that Grassley called "error-ridden."
www.reuters.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:10 PM
In fairness, the Supreme Court’s Republican appointees regularly “hallucinate” bogus facts without using AI. The praying coach ruling shows that Gorsuch doesn’t need a sloppy robot to make shit up that’s directly refuted by the record!
Reposted by Alex Monea
NEW: Our latest in @teenvogue.com on the key ways top Democrats like @durbin.senate.gov @schumer.senate.gov @blumenthal.senate.gov are continuing to enable Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ tech agenda.
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Why Are Some Democrats Backing MAGA's Anti-LGBTQ+ Censorship?
From late-night host cancellations to removing LGBTQ+ history from government sites, politicians in both parties are contributing to the overwriting of the internet — a place where lots of queer and t...
www.teenvogue.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:57 PM
NEW: Our latest in @teenvogue.com on the key ways top Democrats like @durbin.senate.gov @schumer.senate.gov @blumenthal.senate.gov are continuing to enable Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ tech agenda.
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
www.teenvogue.com/story/some-d...
Reposted by Alex Monea
Reposted by Alex Monea
And here’s a startup offering influencing/propaganda services. Called it ;) www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
October 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM
And here’s a startup offering influencing/propaganda services. Called it ;) www.404media.co/a16z-backed-...
Reposted by Alex Monea
Reposted by Alex Monea
Here’s the final part of our four part Better Offline case against generative AI. I walk you through how there’s not enough money in the world to pay for OpenAI’s $1 trillion 4-year burn, and how retail investors are at risk as a result.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
October 3, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Here’s the final part of our four part Better Offline case against generative AI. I walk you through how there’s not enough money in the world to pay for OpenAI’s $1 trillion 4-year burn, and how retail investors are at risk as a result.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
Reposted by Alex Monea
Be aware that when the Missouri AG says protect children from "online pornography," the law actually reads "material harmful to minors" — the same legal term used to pressure Target to discontinue Pride merchandise.
hoodline.com/2025/09/miss...
hoodline.com/2025/09/miss...
Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway Announces Age-Verification Rule to Protect Youth from Online Pornography
Missouri Attorney General introduces an age-verification rule for websites with significant adult content to protect minors, effective November 30, 2025, under the Merchandising Practices Act.
hoodline.com
September 12, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Be aware that when the Missouri AG says protect children from "online pornography," the law actually reads "material harmful to minors" — the same legal term used to pressure Target to discontinue Pride merchandise.
hoodline.com/2025/09/miss...
hoodline.com/2025/09/miss...
Reposted by Alex Monea
If *your department head and your dean* can be removed for supporting your colleague in teaching in their area of expertise, then you have no academic freedom. In a functional sense, you don't work at a university at all.
Faculty in red states are being punished for failing to signal in their course descriptions that their classes will include content on "gender ideology."
Remind me again which party was appalled by idea of "trigger warnings"?
www.kbtx.com/2025/09/09/a...
Remind me again which party was appalled by idea of "trigger warnings"?
www.kbtx.com/2025/09/09/a...
A&M Dean removed following student complaints over curriculum
The Department of Justice has also acknowledged the situation and said it would be investigating.
www.kbtx.com
September 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
If *your department head and your dean* can be removed for supporting your colleague in teaching in their area of expertise, then you have no academic freedom. In a functional sense, you don't work at a university at all.
Can't get this horrific stat from Emily Steel's article on Uber's sexual assault problem out of my head: "Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States almost every eight minutes on average between 2017 and 2022". www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/b...
Uber’s Festering Sexual Assault Problem
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Can't get this horrific stat from Emily Steel's article on Uber's sexual assault problem out of my head: "Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States almost every eight minutes on average between 2017 and 2022". www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/b...
Reposted by Alex Monea
Extremely depressing to see how mainstream the Sinophobic “we might lose the ai race to China” narrative has become.
August 19, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Extremely depressing to see how mainstream the Sinophobic “we might lose the ai race to China” narrative has become.
Reposted by Alex Monea
"It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual." Meta removed that language from its internal guidelines after I raised it.
AI experts worry financial incentives will blur the line between human relationships and bot engagement.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
AI experts worry financial incentives will blur the line between human relationships and bot engagement.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Meta’s AI rules have let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with children
An internal Meta policy document reveals the social-media giant’s rules for chatbots, which have permitted provocative behavior on topics including sex and race.
www.reuters.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual." Meta removed that language from its internal guidelines after I raised it.
AI experts worry financial incentives will blur the line between human relationships and bot engagement.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
AI experts worry financial incentives will blur the line between human relationships and bot engagement.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Reposted by Alex Monea
This is why I don’t spend much time on Meta’s Threads.
So beyond repulsive.
So beyond repulsive.
Meta appoints anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist Robby Starbuck as AI bias advisor
Robby Starbuck has been appointed as an AI bias advisor at Meta with the goal of making the company's chat bot less "woke."
www.advocate.com
August 14, 2025 at 4:08 AM
This is why I don’t spend much time on Meta’s Threads.
So beyond repulsive.
So beyond repulsive.
Reposted by Alex Monea
meta's strategy these days seems to be: get away with as much abhorrent shit as possible for as long as possible, wait for the press to find out, say oops, keep printing money, repeat
August 14, 2025 at 1:43 PM
meta's strategy these days seems to be: get away with as much abhorrent shit as possible for as long as possible, wait for the press to find out, say oops, keep printing money, repeat
Reposted by Alex Monea
Spotify is now instituting face scans and ID checks ... to listen to music.
Porn was only ever the excuse. The only thing that surprises me is how quickly the government surveillance mandate has spread to absolutely every service we use.
www.404media.co/spotify-uk-a...
Porn was only ever the excuse. The only thing that surprises me is how quickly the government surveillance mandate has spread to absolutely every service we use.
www.404media.co/spotify-uk-a...
Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content
Submit to biometric face scanning or risk your account being deleted, Spotify says, following the enactment of the UK's Online Safety Act.
www.404media.co
July 30, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Spotify is now instituting face scans and ID checks ... to listen to music.
Porn was only ever the excuse. The only thing that surprises me is how quickly the government surveillance mandate has spread to absolutely every service we use.
www.404media.co/spotify-uk-a...
Porn was only ever the excuse. The only thing that surprises me is how quickly the government surveillance mandate has spread to absolutely every service we use.
www.404media.co/spotify-uk-a...
Just finished @haimson.bsky.social's new book Trans Technologies over the weekend and really enjoyed it. If you want an insightful and comprehensive ethnographic account of trans tech - its creators, its creation, its affordances and constraints, and ideas for a better future, it's a must read.
July 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Just finished @haimson.bsky.social's new book Trans Technologies over the weekend and really enjoyed it. If you want an insightful and comprehensive ethnographic account of trans tech - its creators, its creation, its affordances and constraints, and ideas for a better future, it's a must read.
Reposted by Alex Monea
"The MAGA movement and its allies aim to seize control of public higher education in Virginia . . . They don’t want independent thought — they seek obedience."
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
Opinion | The Plot to Oust the President of George Mason University
This campaign is not about policy. It’s about power.
www.chronicle.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
"The MAGA movement and its allies aim to seize control of public higher education in Virginia . . . They don’t want independent thought — they seek obedience."
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
Reposted by Alex Monea
When @zeerak.bsky.social shared this I thought it was satire like RocketAI @ NeurIPS 2016. I recognize some names listed as organizers. This can't be real. Right?
"The 1st open conference where AI serves as both primary authors & reviewers of research papers"
agents4science.stanford.edu/index.html
"The 1st open conference where AI serves as both primary authors & reviewers of research papers"
agents4science.stanford.edu/index.html
Open Conference of AI Agents for Science 2025
The 1st Open Conference where AI serves as both primary authors and reviewers of research papers.
agents4science.stanford.edu
July 17, 2025 at 10:15 PM
When @zeerak.bsky.social shared this I thought it was satire like RocketAI @ NeurIPS 2016. I recognize some names listed as organizers. This can't be real. Right?
"The 1st open conference where AI serves as both primary authors & reviewers of research papers"
agents4science.stanford.edu/index.html
"The 1st open conference where AI serves as both primary authors & reviewers of research papers"
agents4science.stanford.edu/index.html
Reposted by Alex Monea
📣 CFP ALERT 📣 SIGCIS 2025: ⚡POWER SURGE⚡ // CFP Due 7/14 📆
get in the car losers, the BEST conference in the history of computing IS BACK
ONLINE!
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN registration!
v v grad student friendly!
If your work is anywhere close to the history of computing, you should apply!!!
get in the car losers, the BEST conference in the history of computing IS BACK
ONLINE!
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN registration!
v v grad student friendly!
If your work is anywhere close to the history of computing, you should apply!!!
Deadline EXTENDED to Mon, 7/14! SIGCIS 2025: Power Surge with keynote speaker Lily Geismer. Find more details and full CFP here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
SIGCIS 2025 CFP: Power Surge
The Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) welcomes submissions to their 16th Annual Conference SIGCIS 2025: power surge ⚡🔌🔋💥 September 25-27 2025 | Online via Zoom K...
docs.google.com
July 10, 2025 at 5:59 PM
📣 CFP ALERT 📣 SIGCIS 2025: ⚡POWER SURGE⚡ // CFP Due 7/14 📆
get in the car losers, the BEST conference in the history of computing IS BACK
ONLINE!
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN registration!
v v grad student friendly!
If your work is anywhere close to the history of computing, you should apply!!!
get in the car losers, the BEST conference in the history of computing IS BACK
ONLINE!
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN registration!
v v grad student friendly!
If your work is anywhere close to the history of computing, you should apply!!!
Reposted by Alex Monea
"This is part of a coordinated attack from the highest branches of the federal government down through the state...through the Governor & Attorney General's office to the Board of Visitors at our campus. This is an attack on our institution. We know the game.”
— Bethany Letiecq, George Mason AAUP
— Bethany Letiecq, George Mason AAUP
'We know the game' | George Mason University under Dept. of Education investigation
Mason is the latest university under fire from the Trump administration over alleged racial discrimination related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
www.13newsnow.com
July 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"This is part of a coordinated attack from the highest branches of the federal government down through the state...through the Governor & Attorney General's office to the Board of Visitors at our campus. This is an attack on our institution. We know the game.”
— Bethany Letiecq, George Mason AAUP
— Bethany Letiecq, George Mason AAUP
Reposted by Alex Monea
Tremendous, meticulous, disturbing reporting here on India’s Hindu nationalist government deporting Muslim citizens by literally forcing them to walk the plank into the sea. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
In India’s deportation drive, Muslim men recount being tossed into the sea
India’s recent deportation drive targeting its Muslim minority was marked by home demolitions, arbitrary detentions, allegations of torture and a lack of due process.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 11, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Tremendous, meticulous, disturbing reporting here on India’s Hindu nationalist government deporting Muslim citizens by literally forcing them to walk the plank into the sea. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Reposted by Alex Monea
I'm proud to share my newest study, completely open-access.
"When collaborating turns into dishonesty: A data-driven heuristic comparing human and AI collaborators"
"When collaborating turns into dishonesty: A data-driven heuristic comparing human and AI collaborators"
July 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I'm proud to share my newest study, completely open-access.
"When collaborating turns into dishonesty: A data-driven heuristic comparing human and AI collaborators"
"When collaborating turns into dishonesty: A data-driven heuristic comparing human and AI collaborators"
Reposted by Alex Monea
Good day as any to delete Facebook, Instagram, and/or Threads if you have not already
The fact that Meta will not rule out using private photos on your camera roll to train AI is abominable, full stop
futurism.com/meta-sketchy...
The fact that Meta will not rule out using private photos on your camera roll to train AI is abominable, full stop
futurism.com/meta-sketchy...
June 30, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Good day as any to delete Facebook, Instagram, and/or Threads if you have not already
The fact that Meta will not rule out using private photos on your camera roll to train AI is abominable, full stop
futurism.com/meta-sketchy...
The fact that Meta will not rule out using private photos on your camera roll to train AI is abominable, full stop
futurism.com/meta-sketchy...
Reposted by Alex Monea
AI bot scrapers are hitting every site on the web in search of training data. This report is the first good attempt to evaluate the impact of these AI scrapers, especially on smaller institutions that are trying to make their collections open to the public www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
"This is a moment where that community feels collectively under threat and isn't sure what the process is for solving the problem.”
www.404media.co
June 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
AI bot scrapers are hitting every site on the web in search of training data. This report is the first good attempt to evaluate the impact of these AI scrapers, especially on smaller institutions that are trying to make their collections open to the public www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
Reposted by Alex Monea
Also 8 years ago I suggested educational theory itself, not just classrooms or infrastructure, would end up "owned" by organizations with the capacity to generate and analyze data. Google is certainly out to own "learning science" to justify its AIED incursions journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
May 30, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Also 8 years ago I suggested educational theory itself, not just classrooms or infrastructure, would end up "owned" by organizations with the capacity to generate and analyze data. Google is certainly out to own "learning science" to justify its AIED incursions journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...