Kristjana Ásbjörnsdóttir
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kristjana.bsky.social
Kristjana Ásbjörnsdóttir
@kristjana.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.3K following 440 posts
Epidemiologist, feminist, lottery immigrant 🇮🇸🇺🇸, nerd. She/her.
Associate Prof at University of Iceland via University of Washington.
Goddamnit, you've got to be kind.
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kristjana.bsky.social
Several things jump out when reading this article.

1) The number of times officials refuse to comment or simply say "that's not true".

2) However arbitrary, uninformed, disorganized and cruel you thought the process of destroying USAID was, it was worse.

www.propublica.org/article/usai...
The next night, a Friday, staff at the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, the division of USAID that dealt with emergencies and ran nearly all of the programs in South Sudan, were working late, scrambling to keep emergency programs operational. Suddenly, they noticed Borkert making changes to a key spreadsheet. To create the spreadsheet, DOGE had sidestepped career staff, pulling information from databases made for project management. It was so rudimentary that it was often impossible to tell what a program did from descriptions as vague as “extension No. 4” or “allocation of funds,” according to people who saw the spreadsheet. Rubio and his aides had already terminated hundreds of programs in preceding days. Staff were bracing for another round of cuts, but many of the line items remaining in the file were for programs that provided food, clean water or essential medicines. Veteran USAID officials watched as Borkert scrolled down the spreadsheet, turning rows red, yellow or green every few seconds, never asking a single question. Realizing the red programs were slated to be cut, they frantically started editing descriptions so that Borkert would at least know what those programs did. Within minutes, he’d flagged dozens of them for termination. (Borkert declined to comment.)
December 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Predatory journal strategies: if you can't catfish'em, flatter'em.
A screenshot of an email inbox showing two unread messages. 1. From Leonardo DiCaprio, subject line reads ++ CURRENT SCIENCE JOURNAL ++ 2. From Biostatistics and B., subject line reads Well Established Author Dear Asbjornsdottir Kristjana
December 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
My magnificent articles bring all the predatory journals to the yard
Dear Professor, I trust that all is progressing smoothly for you. Due to shortage of article, we need your support and wish to have any of your magnificent articles to get published in our journal before December, 6 2025 the successful release of our Volume 8 Issue 2 towards our journal. Hope to receive your contribution and dedication soon.
December 1, 2025 at 11:20 AM
kristjana.bsky.social
But, upon further evaluation, the White House determined it was cheaper and more structurally sound to demolish the East Wing to construct the ballroom, rather than build an addition, the official said. The new structure will also have enhanced security features, the official said. Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin, with enormous gilded dollar sign on the front.
October 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Well, in at least one case:

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
In April, Alexander told his father that Juliet had been killed by OpenAI. He was distraught and wanted revenge. He asked ChatGPT for the personal information of OpenAI executives and told it that there would be a “river of blood flowing through the streets of San Francisco.” Mr. Taylor told his son that the A.I. was an “echo chamber” and that conversations with it weren’t based in fact. His son responded by punching him in the face. Mr. Taylor called the police, at which point Alexander grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen, saying he would commit “suicide by cop.” Mr. Taylor called the police again to warn them that his son was mentally ill and that they should bring nonlethal weapons. Alexander sat outside Mr. Taylor’s home, waiting for the police to arrive. He opened the ChatGPT app on his phone. “I’m dying today,” he wrote, according to a transcript of the conversation. “Let me talk to Juliet.” “You are not alone,” ChatGPT responded empathetically, and offered crisis counseling resources. When the police arrived, Alexander Taylor charged at them holding the knife. He was shot and killed.
June 18, 2025 at 6:48 AM
kristjana.bsky.social
Great article (and thread by the author shared below).
This passage in particular is the argument I’ve been making; AI may be a useful tool for experts but it is not itself an expert nor is its use a replacement for expertise. I worry that decision makers fail to appreciate that.
Of course, A.I., if applied properly, can save lives. It has been useful for producing medical protocols and spotting patterns in radiology scans. But crucially, that kind of A.I. requires people who know how to use it. Speeding up interpretations of radiology scans helps only people who have a medical doctor who can act on them. More efficient analysis of experimental data increases productivity for experts who know how to use the A.I. analysis and, more important, how to verify its quality. A.I.’s most revolutionary potential is helping experts apply their expertise better and faster. But for that to work, there has to be experts
March 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Post a fictional character who you think would be an antivaxxer.

Hard mode: No villains

A twofer.
Phoebe Buffay and Rachel Green from Friends
March 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Repost with alt text:
From the American Association of University Professors Dear AAUP Member: Recent news reports suggest that the Trump Administration may implement a new travel ban (primarily targeted at Muslim-majority countries, but possibly also including Venezuela and Haiti) as early as next week. If you are currently living or traveling in a country that might find itself on this list, we believe it is prudent for you to make plans to return to the United States as soon as possible. US citizens have the right to re-entry, but the vetting process may be extreme and chaotic. If you reside in the US but are a national of Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Palestine/Gaza, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, or Yemen, we believe you should consider not leaving the US. If travel abroad is necessary, please be in touch with an immigration attorney prior to leaving the US. While we do not know if such a travel ban will be implemented, when it may be implemented, or what countries will be included on the list, the administration's preference for sudden decision making compels us to send this message. Sincerely, The AAUP
March 8, 2025 at 11:33 AM
kristjana.bsky.social
Happy Solstice! We’ve made it through the darkest day and gain 11 seconds of daylight tomorrow. Don’t forget your sunscreen.
Screenshot showing sunrise and sunset times in Reykjavík, Iceland in December 2024. December 21st: sunrise 11:21, sunset 15:29, daylength 4:07:07 December 22nd: sunrise 11:22, sunset 15:30, daylength 4:07:19, difference +0:11.
December 21, 2024 at 11:45 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Are you kidding me with this? It’s is not AI’s job to “translate my work accurately”. Also it is terrible at it.
Email from Springer Nature. Subject: Start a 30-day trial of your AI writing assistant Dear Kristjana Hrönn Ásbjörnsdóttir, As a valued contributor to journals from the Springer Nature family, you are invited to enjoy innovative tools, resources, and benefits crafted for you. Discover the latest enhancement to your personal benefits today. Start a 30-day trial of your AI writing assistant Revise your paper with ease and translate your work accurately. Streamline your research with AI-powered manuscript edits, translation services, and time-saving revision tools. Designed for academic writing and used by over 3,000 laboratories, institutions, and journals.
December 5, 2024 at 3:47 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
This model got all the worst looks. Or the best? I can’t tell I don’t know the standards by which the target audience is judging him.
A bearded, barefoot male model is modeling an absolutely enormous oversized blue mohair turtleneck sweater whose hem comes down to his knees and sleeves trail along the floor. Price is listed as 350-392 euro. A bearded male model looks saucily at the camera with one hand on a hip, modeling a pink alpaca turtleneck romper.
November 30, 2024 at 8:02 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Iceland has been showing off lately. Volcano glow on the bottom, aurora on the top.
A photo taken at night over a snowy landscape. There’s a red glow over the horizon which fades into a green glow in the sky above.
November 24, 2024 at 1:08 PM
kristjana.bsky.social

Enginn flokkur til í að taka harða afstöðu í þessu máli? Sko ég skil heimahagataugar og elska Akureyri (þar sem jólin búa og ég myndi gera það líka ef það væri hið minnsta praktískt) en. En. Sama hvað það kostar, krakkar? Í alvöru? Milljarða á milli gosa og stöku manneskja ofan í sprungu?
Mynd af öllum íslensku stjórnmálaflokkunum að vera frekar sammála eða frekar ósammála því að "Stjórnvöld eigi að gera allt sem í þeirra valdi stendur til að tryggja að fólk geti áfram búið í Grindavík, sama hvað það kostar.“
November 20, 2024 at 1:40 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
“Kennedy's approach will be to insist on what he terms "accurate science"”
Panel 1: closeup of the face of a goose overlaid with the words “accurate according to who” Panel 2: the goose is chasing a person who is running out of the frame, overlaid with the words “According to who you science denying conspiracy theorist quack”
November 15, 2024 at 10:05 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
"Despite the media's effort to silo this movement into fringe areas like vaccines or fluoride or things like that”
[…]
“Kennedy's approach will be to insist on what he terms "accurate science"”
Panel 1: closeup of the face of a goose overlaid with the words “accurate according to who” Panel 2: the goose is chasing a person who is running out of the frame, overlaid with the words “According to who you science denying conspiracy theorist quack”
November 15, 2024 at 9:57 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
To be fair I’m angrier than usual this week but this infuriates me. The idea that people with less power need to appeal to me as a cis woman not to jump on board the train that may be coming to run them over? Never in a million years. What’s divine about the feminine is sisterhood, not biology.
Screen shot from Tumblr user busket reading: garden variety conservative transphobia is going to get worse but radical feminism is also going to get worse. if youre a cis women terfs are going to try to recruit you and make you believe that the reason your rights are at stake is because of trans people. they're going to tell you that all men are your violent oppressors and they're going to include trans women in that category. they're gonna tell you about women who are gender traitors and joined the enemy and they're going to point to trans men. don't believe them. trans people are not your enemy, we have no power over you, and we desperately need your support and your solidarity. be aware of radfem pipelines and dog whistles too. be skeptical of anyone that talks about the divine feminine or correlates birthing, menstruating, or female reproductive organs with womanhood. be especially skeptical of people who use those biological things as reasons to why women are more spiritual, or more in tune with nature, or just that they're better than men (read: anyone they decide is a man) radical feminism is an expected reactionary outcome from cis women who are being oppressed by conservatives, especially when all they practice is ciscentric, liberal, white feminism. they feel the need to be radicalized but don't have the experience and information to pinpoint the true source of their suffering. trans people are not your enemy, AMAB people are not your enemy, anyone who identifies as a man is not your enemy. we're all being crushed under the same stone
November 10, 2024 at 10:03 PM
kristjana.bsky.social

*still convinced it wasn’t
Two panels of Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly looking pensive. Text says: 1. May have been on the losing side. 2. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.
November 7, 2024 at 1:49 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Without downloading any new pics, where are you mentally
A possum sits on a desk with his mouth wide open, apparently screaming at the keyboard. The caption says AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A letterboard sign labeled Miller Community Center boldly proclaims WE GOT THIS, but several of the letters are crooked or falling down and it is not at all clear that we do, in fact, got this
November 5, 2024 at 11:46 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
My first time voting in a presidential election!
Dear Voter, Thank you for your email. We have received your submission for the November 5, 2024 General Election. Please note: If you are in the military or voting from overseas, you have successfully submitted your ballot.
November 4, 2024 at 10:05 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
I’ve been a Washington Post subscriber for years. I had concerns about Bezos’s ownership but thought he’d know better than to mess with the paper’s contents. Guess I was wrong.
A screenshot of a cancelation confirmation from the Washington Post “thanking me for my feedback”. Yeah, they are welcome.
October 25, 2024 at 8:49 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
This is a huge step forward toward access for the most vulnerable and I’m thrilled it’s happened so quickly. But still glad the International AIDS society is continuing to push for universal access.
3 October 2024 (Geneva, Switzerland) – IAS – the International AIDS Society – applauds moves by Gilead Sciences to make generic injectable lenacapavir for HIV prevention widely available, but cautions that the current agreements still leave out millions around the world. Gilead announced on 2 October 2024 that it had signed royalty-free, non-exclusive licensing agreements with six generic manufacturers to increase access to lenacapavir for HIV prevention in 120 high-incidence, resource-limited countries. “The licensing agreements enabling generic versions of the HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, in certain countries is an important step forward, but large parts of the world remain excluded, including countries where trials were conducted,” IAS President Beatriz Grinsztejn said. “We are hopeful that the speed with which these agreements were reached will be maintained, and that the rest of the world will soon benefit from similar agreements to make lenacapavir more affordable…
October 3, 2024 at 1:35 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
[Everyone disliked that]
September 27, 2024 at 9:23 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
A picture of Oliver Twist holding out his bowl, captioned “Please sir, I want some less”
September 27, 2024 at 9:09 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
A tweet by @OddOblivion showing well-executed artwork of a face with many eyes and multiple razor toothed mouths stretching off it in all directions. The caption says “Happy 3 years to this funny thing I drew in the psych ward with crayola twistables” A reply from @OddOblivion says “They did up my meds for this thank u for asking” feels like if cicadas are allowed to just sit in a tree and scream i should also be A meme featuring a picture of a raven with its beak open and the words “QUOTH THE RAVEN WHAT THE FUCK” A picture of an innocent looking blue and yellow bird. Text says: “ girls only wear makeup and dress nice for guys”. FALSE. I preen for Satan.
September 26, 2024 at 5:57 PM
kristjana.bsky.social
Just so excited there are more ways for me to contribute to the effort to make science scientist free!
Dear colleague, I hope this email finds you well. My name is (redacted), and I am reaching out on behalf of (redacted) ai team. We are preparing for the next phase of our platform’s development, focusing on optimizing research protocols with the invaluable insights of domain experts like yourself. We are excited to share that we have applied for funding through the Eurostars program to support this critical phase of the project. As part of Work Packages 2 and 3 (WP2 and WP3), we are seeking to gather detailed feedback from experts to ensure (redacted).ai’s custom AI models meet the needs of researchers and offer real-world, applicable solutions. How You Can Contribute: Your expertise can provide essential guidance as we refine our AI-driven platform for protocol discovery and optimization. We aim to ensure the tool is tailored for accuracy, reproducibility, and enhanced user experience. What’s in It for You: Shape the Future of Scientific Research: Your insights will direct
September 25, 2024 at 10:48 AM