Ian G. Williams
@igraywill.bsky.social
Personal account. Social worker, PhD student @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social. Read & think about tech ethics, digital literacy, innovation, inequality, & social change. Find refuge & inspiration in the humanities & #openscience.
Pinned
Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance
Social Innovation, Social Enterprise, and Social Entrepreneurship in Social Work and Human Services. Volume 49, Issue 5 of Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance
www.tandfonline.com
Neat! The full collection of the Social Work Innovation Network special issue of Human Service Organizations that I was a guest editor for is now out: www.tandfonline.com/toc/wasw21/4...
Going to enjoy chatting about this over the next few days at #10EMESConf.
@thegraduatecenter.bsky.social
Going to enjoy chatting about this over the next few days at #10EMESConf.
@thegraduatecenter.bsky.social
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
OpenAI says they aren't liable for the suicide of a user their chat bot urged to kill himself because suicide is a violation of the TOS
Additionally, OpenAI argues its not liable because Raine, by using ChatGPT for self-harm, broke its terms of service
November 26, 2025 at 4:43 AM
OpenAI says they aren't liable for the suicide of a user their chat bot urged to kill himself because suicide is a violation of the TOS
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
US states sue to block Trump administration from restricting homelessness funding reut.rs/4impN21
US states sue to block Trump administration from restricting homelessness funding
A group of U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block President Donald Trump's administration from placing new restrictions on
more than $3 billion in grant funding used to provide permanent housing and other services to homeless people.
reut.rs
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 PM
US states sue to block Trump administration from restricting homelessness funding reut.rs/4impN21
It feels uniquely American to see organizations representing one's field defending it's status a profession to push back against the government imposing student loan limits, with no mention of the out of control costs of higher education & institutionalized practice of required unpaid internships.
November 25, 2025 at 5:47 AM
It feels uniquely American to see organizations representing one's field defending it's status a profession to push back against the government imposing student loan limits, with no mention of the out of control costs of higher education & institutionalized practice of required unpaid internships.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
Some good popular sociology here on another important revelation of the Epstein files: elite networks and their mechanics of exchange. The article describes "capital conversion" and laundering across forms-money, prestige, research, access and intel. Echoes of C. Wright Mills, Bourdieu, Shamus Khan.
Well-written essay from Anand Giridharadas, showing how power and influence corrupt completely, regardless of party or affiliation.
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Gift article below:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Some good popular sociology here on another important revelation of the Epstein files: elite networks and their mechanics of exchange. The article describes "capital conversion" and laundering across forms-money, prestige, research, access and intel. Echoes of C. Wright Mills, Bourdieu, Shamus Khan.
Last week I gave a guest lecture on policy entrepreneurship & the work that led up to The Digital Equity Act for a friend's class in another state. Was fun looking up local city council issues & meeting records, plus using the various state Digital Equity Roadmap tools, while preparing. #swtech
November 23, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Last week I gave a guest lecture on policy entrepreneurship & the work that led up to The Digital Equity Act for a friend's class in another state. Was fun looking up local city council issues & meeting records, plus using the various state Digital Equity Roadmap tools, while preparing. #swtech
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
📣 Social Workers—we need to hear from you!
How is AI showing up in your practice? Share your experience in our short survey.
⏱️ 10–20 mins
🔒 Confidential
🎁 Option to enter a drawing for an incentive
👉 Take the survey now: tinyurl.com/73dv6n86
How is AI showing up in your practice? Share your experience in our short survey.
⏱️ 10–20 mins
🔒 Confidential
🎁 Option to enter a drawing for an incentive
👉 Take the survey now: tinyurl.com/73dv6n86
November 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
📣 Social Workers—we need to hear from you!
How is AI showing up in your practice? Share your experience in our short survey.
⏱️ 10–20 mins
🔒 Confidential
🎁 Option to enter a drawing for an incentive
👉 Take the survey now: tinyurl.com/73dv6n86
How is AI showing up in your practice? Share your experience in our short survey.
⏱️ 10–20 mins
🔒 Confidential
🎁 Option to enter a drawing for an incentive
👉 Take the survey now: tinyurl.com/73dv6n86
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Ooooooh, these look interesting.
Anthology's series "Avant-Garde Ads” features "filmmakers – even those who seem [to exemplify] anti-commercial purity and radicalism[, e.g.,] Stan Brakhage, Peter Kubelka, Jordan Belson, Bruce Baillie, Nathaniel Dorsky – have made ads, corporate films, PSAs, or other sponsored works."
Avant-Garde Ads: Part 1
The particular realm of cinema that Anthology Film Archives was put on earth to preserve, present, and celebrate is one that has famously been difficult to label, with filmmakers, programmers, and sch...
www.screenslate.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Ooooooh, these look interesting.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
Apps are open for our spring session of the Cross-Reference Coalition! We're exploring Search & Discovery! "Our journey will encompass the history of exploration + cartography, legacies of inquiry, tools of discovery, theories of curiosity, and counter-algorithmic means of 'finding things out.'"
November 18, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Apps are open for our spring session of the Cross-Reference Coalition! We're exploring Search & Discovery! "Our journey will encompass the history of exploration + cartography, legacies of inquiry, tools of discovery, theories of curiosity, and counter-algorithmic means of 'finding things out.'"
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
I used to handle interlibrary loans for a public library. ILL is a magnificent expression of the idea that readers deserve books, and books deserve readers. It’s libraries everywhere pooling their resources for the benefit of everyone.
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries IMLS
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries
Press Release: Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down the Trump Adm...
librarytechnology.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I used to handle interlibrary loans for a public library. ILL is a magnificent expression of the idea that readers deserve books, and books deserve readers. It’s libraries everywhere pooling their resources for the benefit of everyone.
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Killing IMLS could have killed ILL.
This is great news. 📚
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
How many times exactly does Trump have to hand billions to rich people or destroy the safety net before the media stops calling him a populist?
Every article by a 'savvy' political analyst reads like a focus group transcript with a low-information voter.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
November 22, 2025 at 2:07 PM
How many times exactly does Trump have to hand billions to rich people or destroy the safety net before the media stops calling him a populist?
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
Our flash sale ends in a few hours! Last chance to grab a beautiful book for yourself or a friend at 40% off from a site that isn't Amazon. mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/flash_sale
November 22, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Our flash sale ends in a few hours! Last chance to grab a beautiful book for yourself or a friend at 40% off from a site that isn't Amazon. mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/flash_sale
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
“Challenging scientific orthodoxy” is valorizing language. It suggests bold, innovative, out of the box thinking, not a self-obsessed crackpot operating with no scientific legitimacy whatsoever.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 7:13 PM
“Challenging scientific orthodoxy” is valorizing language. It suggests bold, innovative, out of the box thinking, not a self-obsessed crackpot operating with no scientific legitimacy whatsoever.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
this is the world's most confusing day for centrist Democrats who just voted to condemn socialism and tried to sink Mamdani's campaign for months
Trump on Mamdani: "I think he's gonna surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people he won't surprise because they already like him."
November 21, 2025 at 9:09 PM
this is the world's most confusing day for centrist Democrats who just voted to condemn socialism and tried to sink Mamdani's campaign for months
Whoa...
The New School is now a place where students cannot major in History, Anthropology, Sociology, Global Policy & International Affairs, Global Studies, Urban Studies, or Environmental Studies. And more pauses, closures, and mergers coming down the pike this week. The future is uncertain.
November 20, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Whoa...
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
The Trump admin’s latest plan to dismantle the DOE includes splitting services across multiple federal departments and diverting funds away from schools that depend on them. The UFT joins the AFT and our allies in opposing this move, which will undermine public schools and hurt kids nationwide.
AFT President @rweingarten.bsky.social issued the following statement responding to the announcement today revealing President Donald Trump’s plan to move multiple parts of the U.S. Department of Education to other federal departments:
AFT’s Weingarten on President Trump’s Order to Dismantle the Education Department
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement responding to the announcement today revealing President Donald Trump’s plan to move multiple parts of the U.S. Department of E...
www.aft.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:27 PM
The Trump admin’s latest plan to dismantle the DOE includes splitting services across multiple federal departments and diverting funds away from schools that depend on them. The UFT joins the AFT and our allies in opposing this move, which will undermine public schools and hurt kids nationwide.
Collaborative #scicom & academic social media in action: @sswrorg.bsky.social has been brought into existence. #SSWR2026
How about ARNOVA? #ARNOVA2025 is this week in Indianapolis & there's lots of overlap between attendees & epistemic circles (+ few colleagues from @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social).
How about ARNOVA? #ARNOVA2025 is this week in Indianapolis & there's lots of overlap between attendees & epistemic circles (+ few colleagues from @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social).
Intrigued that ARNOVA & SSWR still have not created Bluesky accounts at this point in 2025. It integrated into @altmetric.com (unliked LinkedIn) & increasingly preferred by academic & scientific institutions & networks. No platform is perfect but... #AcademicSky #ARNOVA2025 #SSWR2026 #SSWR26 #SWTech
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Collaborative #scicom & academic social media in action: @sswrorg.bsky.social has been brought into existence. #SSWR2026
How about ARNOVA? #ARNOVA2025 is this week in Indianapolis & there's lots of overlap between attendees & epistemic circles (+ few colleagues from @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social).
How about ARNOVA? #ARNOVA2025 is this week in Indianapolis & there's lots of overlap between attendees & epistemic circles (+ few colleagues from @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social).
Huzzah! #SSWR2026, there is now an official account.
As promised: @sswrorg.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Huzzah! #SSWR2026, there is now an official account.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
Just released: “Documentary at Risk: Strategies for Ethics, Sustainability, and Innovation in a Time of Disruption,” the convening report from our first Documentary Ideas Symposium that took place at Harvard Kennedy School in April 2025. Read: dfpi.shorensteincenter.org/convenings/doc-ideas-2025/
Documentary Ideas Symposium 2025 - DFPI
dfpi.shorensteincenter.org
September 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Just released: “Documentary at Risk: Strategies for Ethics, Sustainability, and Innovation in a Time of Disruption,” the convening report from our first Documentary Ideas Symposium that took place at Harvard Kennedy School in April 2025. Read: dfpi.shorensteincenter.org/convenings/doc-ideas-2025/
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
It's SSMF submission time! Share your audio, visual art, research, poetry, video & films at CAMRA's Screening Scholarship Media Festival. The theme this year is.... 🫧portals🫧 @asc.upenn.edu
November 10, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It's SSMF submission time! Share your audio, visual art, research, poetry, video & films at CAMRA's Screening Scholarship Media Festival. The theme this year is.... 🫧portals🫧 @asc.upenn.edu
Intrigued that ARNOVA & SSWR still have not created Bluesky accounts at this point in 2025. It integrated into @altmetric.com (unliked LinkedIn) & increasingly preferred by academic & scientific institutions & networks. No platform is perfect but... #AcademicSky #ARNOVA2025 #SSWR2026 #SSWR26 #SWTech
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…
arstechnica.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Intrigued that ARNOVA & SSWR still have not created Bluesky accounts at this point in 2025. It integrated into @altmetric.com (unliked LinkedIn) & increasingly preferred by academic & scientific institutions & networks. No platform is perfect but... #AcademicSky #ARNOVA2025 #SSWR2026 #SSWR26 #SWTech
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
THAT'S LITERALLY HOW THE SUBSIDIES & ACA EXCHANGES WORK ALREADY.
CONSUMERS ARE INFORMED BY COMPARING POLICIES ON THE ACA EXCHANGES, THEN THEY PURCHASE ONE AND THE GOVERNMENT PAYS SOME OR ALL OF THE COST OF THAT POLICY.
I'M TEARING THE LITTLE HAIR I HAVE ON MY HEAD OUT.
CONSUMERS ARE INFORMED BY COMPARING POLICIES ON THE ACA EXCHANGES, THEN THEY PURCHASE ONE AND THE GOVERNMENT PAYS SOME OR ALL OF THE COST OF THAT POLICY.
I'M TEARING THE LITTLE HAIR I HAVE ON MY HEAD OUT.
Cassidy: "The president is proposing that we take the $26b that would be going to insurance companies if we just do an extension and give it directly to the American people in which 100% of the money is used for them to purchase healthcare on their own terms. That makes them an informed consumer."
November 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
THAT'S LITERALLY HOW THE SUBSIDIES & ACA EXCHANGES WORK ALREADY.
CONSUMERS ARE INFORMED BY COMPARING POLICIES ON THE ACA EXCHANGES, THEN THEY PURCHASE ONE AND THE GOVERNMENT PAYS SOME OR ALL OF THE COST OF THAT POLICY.
I'M TEARING THE LITTLE HAIR I HAVE ON MY HEAD OUT.
CONSUMERS ARE INFORMED BY COMPARING POLICIES ON THE ACA EXCHANGES, THEN THEY PURCHASE ONE AND THE GOVERNMENT PAYS SOME OR ALL OF THE COST OF THAT POLICY.
I'M TEARING THE LITTLE HAIR I HAVE ON MY HEAD OUT.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
I’d say that the imposition of this administrative burden is a solution in search of a problem (fraud and abuse, not a systemic issue), but it’s really a solution to a different problem: Poor people being able to exist with basic dignity.
After using hungry Americans as pawns, this will only make it more difficult for families in need to put food on the table.
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I’d say that the imposition of this administrative burden is a solution in search of a problem (fraud and abuse, not a systemic issue), but it’s really a solution to a different problem: Poor people being able to exist with basic dignity.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
This is a 52-pound 9000+ page accordion-bound artist’s book of Donald Trump’s lies, conceived, printed, and bound by Jill and Ray Nichols of @leadgraffiti.bsky.social in Delaware. Each of the 9000 pages has the text (per the Washington Post) of one or more of Trump’s lies; none are repeated.
November 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
This is a 52-pound 9000+ page accordion-bound artist’s book of Donald Trump’s lies, conceived, printed, and bound by Jill and Ray Nichols of @leadgraffiti.bsky.social in Delaware. Each of the 9000 pages has the text (per the Washington Post) of one or more of Trump’s lies; none are repeated.
Reposted by Ian G. Williams
What, exactly, does this string of words mean? Why does everyone who stands to profit from selling "AI" love to repeat it? And what's the value of slogans that masquerade as history?
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...
"The Printing Press Democratized Knowledge": When Slogans Masquerade as History — Sonja Drimmer
The phrase is said so frequently it seems, like the mechanism it celebrates, to mechanically replicate itself. It's become a favorite catchphrase among tech boosters of any sort (see my post on...
sonjadrimmer.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:51 PM
What, exactly, does this string of words mean? Why does everyone who stands to profit from selling "AI" love to repeat it? And what's the value of slogans that masquerade as history?
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...
sonjadrimmer.com/blog-1/2025/...