Fiona Zerbst
@fionazerbst.bsky.social
Resisting the global rise of Fascism. Down with LLMs, especially in the creative fields. 👎 I mainly work in corporate social investment but I make some spare change from poetry, libretto and art. 🇿🇦
Pinned
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
I've never read Sally Rooney, but this one seems to be at least partly about chess, so I simply have to give it a whirl. Thoughts?
November 23, 2025 at 7:25 PM
I've never read Sally Rooney, but this one seems to be at least partly about chess, so I simply have to give it a whirl. Thoughts?
"The happiest people I know have figured out something that seems obvious but is actually radical in practice: you don't owe society conformity." I do all these things and I can confirm I'm happy - even though, to many people, I'm 'lacking' things I'm supposed to want. vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/k-...
10 things truly happy people refuse to sacrifice, no matter what society expects
Truly happy people have learned to ignore a very specific kind of pressure - the pressure to want what society says they should want.
vegoutmag.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
"The happiest people I know have figured out something that seems obvious but is actually radical in practice: you don't owe society conformity." I do all these things and I can confirm I'm happy - even though, to many people, I'm 'lacking' things I'm supposed to want. vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/k-...
These articles are too good *not* to share. Loving the backlash - long may it continue. Fun fact: Luddites were not against technology - just technology that devalued our skills and denigrated our work. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Tech should help us be creative. AI rips our creativity away | Dave Schilling
AI-generated songs are topping Spotify charts. This isn’t about the ‘democratization’ of art – it’s about scale
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:05 AM
These articles are too good *not* to share. Loving the backlash - long may it continue. Fun fact: Luddites were not against technology - just technology that devalued our skills and denigrated our work. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"For me, that gap between what’s expected of us and what we’re actually given to do the job is a clear sign that companies are prioritizing speed and profit over responsibility and quality.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:24 AM
"For me, that gap between what’s expected of us and what we’re actually given to do the job is a clear sign that companies are prioritizing speed and profit over responsibility and quality.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reading this beautiful little book.
November 23, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Reading this beautiful little book.
We poets are anarchists at heart. I think I'm going to call myself an 'adversarial poet' from now on. 😆 www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it worked 62% of the time
Hacking the planet with florid verse.
www.pcgamer.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:38 AM
We poets are anarchists at heart. I think I'm going to call myself an 'adversarial poet' from now on. 😆 www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
This is excellent! "To my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so."
"Even when I make mistakes, at least they are my mistakes."
By the way, keep trying to use trojan horses. It's not something LLMs can really overcome.
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
By the way, keep trying to use trojan horses. It's not something LLMs can really overcome.
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:18 AM
This is excellent! "To my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so."
I have found *the* most delightful retired French teacher in Plumstead, who charges only R200 a class. Well worth it for an hour and a half! 🇫🇷
November 20, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I have found *the* most delightful retired French teacher in Plumstead, who charges only R200 a class. Well worth it for an hour and a half! 🇫🇷
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
The United States may be on track to lose its measles elimination status for the first time in 25 years as health officials confirm that two major U.S. outbreaks are linked to the same measles strain.
www.healthday.com/health-news/...
www.healthday.com/health-news/...
New Measles Spread Across States Threatens U.S. Elimination Status
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The United States may be on track to lose its measles elimination status for the first time in 25 years as health of
www.healthday.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:14 AM
The United States may be on track to lose its measles elimination status for the first time in 25 years as health officials confirm that two major U.S. outbreaks are linked to the same measles strain.
www.healthday.com/health-news/...
www.healthday.com/health-news/...
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
Polar bears took shelter inside an abandoned research station on Russia’s remote Kolyuchin Island. See photos by the photographer Vadim Makhorov, who found them while recently cruising on the Chukchi Sea. Via The Atlantic Photo:
Photos: When the Polar Bears Move In
The photographer Vadim Makhorov, while recently cruising on the Chukchi Sea, noticed a group of polar bears that were taking shelter inside an abandoned research station on Russia’s remote Kolyuchin Island.
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Polar bears took shelter inside an abandoned research station on Russia’s remote Kolyuchin Island. See photos by the photographer Vadim Makhorov, who found them while recently cruising on the Chukchi Sea. Via The Atlantic Photo:
The US is a rogue state. Prove me wrong. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
US makes clear it will oppose a G20 Johannesburg Leaders’ Declaration | Daily Maverick
As the South African G20 Summit approaches, the prospect of a Leaders’ Declaration seems unlikely, with the US making it clear it would oppose anything beyong a ‘Chair’s Statement.’
www.dailymaverick.co.za
November 20, 2025 at 4:12 AM
The US is a rogue state. Prove me wrong. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...
Excited to share that uHlanga Press will be publishing my new volume of poems, Understorey, in 2026!
November 19, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Excited to share that uHlanga Press will be publishing my new volume of poems, Understorey, in 2026!
My poor girl hates the cone of shame so much! She's having her abscess op tomorrow. Here's hoping it will go smoothly.
November 18, 2025 at 7:52 PM
My poor girl hates the cone of shame so much! She's having her abscess op tomorrow. Here's hoping it will go smoothly.
Reading it at the moment and so glad I left Facebook. The people in senior positions have so much to answer for. 😡
Just finished Sarah Wynn-Williams “Careless People” and it is my considered opinion that Facebook should be burned to the ground, the earth salted beneath it, and its leadership tried for crimes against humanity and punished appropriately.
November 18, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reading it at the moment and so glad I left Facebook. The people in senior positions have so much to answer for. 😡
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The rise of end times fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them
www.theguardian.com
April 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
Data Centers, Crypto Mining To Push Electricity Costs Higher In 2026
Data Centers, Crypto Mining To Push Electricity Costs Higher In 2026
This week’s Current Climate newsletter also looks at Tesla’s engineering exodus and helping the electric truck market expand
www.forbes.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Data Centers, Crypto Mining To Push Electricity Costs Higher In 2026
Publishers, please do not do this to your authors! "Instead of talking about my book … and what the inspiration was, we are talking about bloody AI, which I hate.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Authors dumped from New Zealand’s top book prize after AI used in cover designs
Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Publishers, please do not do this to your authors! "Instead of talking about my book … and what the inspiration was, we are talking about bloody AI, which I hate.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Best article I've read on the topic: www.truthdig.com/articles/the...
The Ecological Cost of AI Is Much Higher Than You Think - Truthdig
As the demands of AI grow, each generation of microchips requires more energy, minerals and water to produce, driving a ruinous cycle.
www.truthdig.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Best article I've read on the topic: www.truthdig.com/articles/the...
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, scientists have witnessed a remarkable chain of events: With fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae, rates of mosquito-borne malaria in the region have climbed, resulting in a fivefold increase in cases. https://wapo.st/4paBuuT
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, scientists have witnessed a remarkable chain of events: With fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae, rates of mosquito-borne malaria in the region have climbed, resulting in a fivefold increase in cases. https://wapo.st/4paBuuT
Kast wants to ban abortion under any circumstances, including rape. I wonder when women are going to start seeking asylum in countries that don't endanger their health and future? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast favourite to become Chile’s next president after first round vote
The ultraconservative lawyer is in pole position going into the second round election, after running a campaign with a distinctly Trumpian feel
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Kast wants to ban abortion under any circumstances, including rape. I wonder when women are going to start seeking asylum in countries that don't endanger their health and future? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Whoa, that was my best game yet! I still lost, however. 🙁
November 16, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Whoa, that was my best game yet! I still lost, however. 🙁
Reposted by Fiona Zerbst
Poetry as an anchor for the poet. To places. To moments. To people.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals readers' anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals readers' anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
November 16, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Poetry as an anchor for the poet. To places. To moments. To people.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals readers' anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals readers' anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.