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Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

610 followers 430 following 360 posts

Ex-academic, ex-artist, editor/writer (EU research network grants 🎯), Open Syllabus co-founder, nettime mod 25 yrs. I “worked at the intersection of” when it was a red-light district not a venn diagram. Deep South 🔁 Deep North.

More: https://counter.ink

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Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

It never occurred to me — maybe because I’m a white guy? — that this bizarre drive to snatch people off the street and ship them to random foreign places has less to do with the Global War on Terror than an inverted fantasy reenactment of enslaving people.

Screenshot from Xitter with an illustration and the following text: {{{ Orville Etoria, a Jamaican national who'd lived in New York for nearly 50 years, was shackled and put on an ICE flight to Eswatini. ‘It helped me imagine how the slaves might have felt, going to another land in shackles and chains,’ he said.” The article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/01/disappeared-to-a-foreign-prison

November 26, 2025 at 5:38 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

I like this meme a lot

Screenshot from Twitter or whatever:
(1)

Classy Warfare
@classywarfare

The War on Christmas cannot end until Christmas stops its illegal occupation of November

6:39 PM • Nov 1, 2021 • Twitter for iPhone

Classy Warfare @classywarfare • 2h
Replying to @classywarfare

I am calling on the Klaus regime to return to the
borders agreed upon in the Black Friday Agreement

November 21, 2025 at 1:27 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

This leaves out the one company that’s literally *demolishing* the White House: ACECO. Architects, planners, developers, and governments should boycott them into dust.

October 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

Seems like boycotting ACECO, the contractor that’s actually demolishing the White House, should be a thing until they go bust.

October 22, 2025 at 6:39 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

Maybe this will help people to understand what Trump is doing news.artnet.com/art-world/do...

October 22, 2025 at 5:47 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

EXPOSED SECRET LEFTIST TECHNOLOGY FOR RUSING RIGHTISTS INTO HANGING FLAGS THAT LOOK NORMAL BUT HAVE A SWASTIKA WHEN SEEN THROUGH A “WOKON” CAMERA

Screenshot from Emily Brooks, “Republican says ‘ruse’ that ‘obscured’ swastika in American flag targeted GOP offices,” The Hill, 10/16/25:

{{{ Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) said Thursday that the swastika inside of an American flag pictured in his office this week was "indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye," and that his office was targeted as part of a "ruse" that sent the flag to multiple GOP offices.

"New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office. Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye. My office was among those that were subjected to this ruse," Taylor said in a statement on Thursday.

News broke Wednesday of a junior aide for Taylor being pictured in a video conference call with an American flag with red stripes altered to form a swastika posted in a cubicle in the background. Taylor initially called the image "vile and deeply inappropriate," and said that Capitol Police was investigating the matter.

The Hill has confirmed that a similar American flag with a swastika was delivered to at least one other House GOP office earlier this year, which discarded the flag, but has not confirmed that the swastika was not visible to the naked eye. The Hill has not seen or inspected the flag.

Fox News first reported that the swastika over the American flag may have been an "optical illusion" that becomes clearer to see in a video or still image, and that other GOP offices received them. }}}

A meme based on John Carpenter’s 1988 film They Live. It’s square, and divided into four squares. The two on the left show (top) the actor Roddy Piper looking with a shocked example over a pair of sunglasses, and (bottom) Piper looking through them. On the right, there are two photos from the office if Rep. Dave Taylor (R, Ohio): a normal US flag pinned to a bulletin board (top), and a US flag with the red stripes twisted into a swastika in the middle (bottom). The meme refers to the recent event in which Taylor’s staff claimed that a flag sent his own and other reps’ offices was “indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye” but, by some unexplained means, merely appeared to have a swastika when photographed. Or something like that.

October 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

We hear lots re artificial *intelligence* but little re artificial [other cerebrations] — so I looked up AG Care, AG Empathy, AG Wisdom. Nada. Yes, lots of ppl would arg affective/social phenom aren’t on the same plane as “intelligence.”Their args would mostly be: *lots of others made the same arg*.

Screenshot of a Google search for "Artificial general care" showing an extended AI overview, because there aren’t any serious results:

{{{ "Artificial general care" is not a standard term but rather a conceptual
merging of two distinct fields: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
and healthcare or elder care. The phrase describes the potential for
highly advanced, human-level Al to provide broad, adaptable, and
empathetic care services, as opposed to today's task-specific "narrow
Al".

This concept is still largely in the theoretical stages, as true AGI has not
yet been achieved. Nonetheless, it represents a vision for a future
where Al systems are deeply and seamlessly integrated into the care
ecosystem, both for the elderly and in general healthcare settings.

How artificial general care could function
An artificial general care system could provide holistic care by
coordinating numerous existing Al-powered tools and learning to adapt
to a patient's specific and evolving needs. Examples of this advanced
care include:

• Real-time health monitoring: Devices worn by a patient could use
Al to monitor vital signs and detect anomalies. A true general care
svstem could interoret these sianals to anticinate health crises.
More -" }}}

Screenshot of a Google search for "Artificial general empathy" showing an extended AI overview, because there aren’t any serious results:

{{{ "Artificial general empathy"

Al Overview

"Artificial general empathy" refers to the capacity of an artificial
general intelligence (AGI) to not only mimic human empathy but to
comprehend and respond to emotions across various contexts and
domains with a depth and subtlety comparable to humans. Unlike the
narrower, rule-based "artificial empathy" seen in current chatbots, AGI
with general empathy would theoretically integrate complex cognitive,
emotional, and motivational facets of empathy. •
However, the concept is speculative and highly debated, with no
consensus on whether it is possible or even desirable.
Show more v
in
LinkedIn • Rajdeep Endow
590+ reactions • 8 months ago
Rajdeep Endow's Post
Not sure when we will achieve Artificial General Intelligence. But Artificial General Empathy
here. And it's more attuned than humans ...
People also ask :
What is the artificial empathy?
Can artificial general intelligence have emotions?
What is the Al empathy paradox? }}}

Screenshot of a Google search for "Artificial general wisdom" showing an extended AI overview, because there’s only one result:

{{{ "Artificial general wisdom"

ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net › publication › 39377528... :
(PDF) The Deal of the Century: A Strategic Memo for Key ...
6 days ago — Artificial General Wisdom. - and, eventually, if it'll ever. get to that, a future hi[...] conscious. Artificial Super Wisdom . Convergence of ...

Images

The difference between INTE...
YouTube

The Profound Philosophies of...
YouTube

Ted Chiang on Supe
L Literary Hub

Show more images

Also search for
Artificial general wisdom reddit
Artificial general wisdom
meaning

Google > 1 2 Next }}}

October 4, 2025 at 5:26 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

“Highest Quality 24 Karat Gold” is 🔥, since karat is a quality measure. Aside from labs, there’s no higher karat (24K = 99.9%). 1g of gold leaf covers ~1/2 square meter. Oval Office has ~203 sqm walls, so gold-leafing *the entire room* = ~400g, or ~$50K. Plus say ~$5k for plastic ornaments. 👍🏼

Screenshot of a Trump tweet (or whatever):

Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump

Some of the highest quality 24 Karat Gold
used in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room
of the White House. Foreign Leaders, and
everyone else, "freak out" when they see
the quality and beauty. Best Oval Office
ever, in terms of success and look!!!
President DJT

September 29, 2025 at 3:16 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

This is an adorable image of an imaginary landscape in sherbet colors, with flowers, little animals, and a sun.

September 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

This is a cute image of a kitten

September 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

The #NYT deserves #Pulitzer in the category of Both Sides Journalism for this #RFK headline.

Screenshot of the NYT website in mobile format:

ANALYSIS

[HEAD] Kennedy, Rejecting Data, Fuels Distrust of His Own Agencies

[DECK] Critics say Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is jeopardizing public health by promoting suspicions about the institutions he oversees. He says he's pursuing transparency.

September 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

My hunch: Trump’s use of title-casing is a useful indicator of his madness. The More He Does It, The More Delusional He Is.

[Tweet by] Maine @TheMaineWonk
4h
The Mad King honestly believes that
Executive Orders are law.

[embedded “Truth”]
Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump

Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO
EXCEPTIONS! | Will Be Doing An Executive Order
To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For
Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military.
USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!! President DJT

107 ReTruths
303 Likes
8/30/25, 9:49 PM

August 31, 2025 at 3:12 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

A meme-like thing with two images. On the top: J D Vance standing in front of a US flag background, with (a) the chyron below “VICE PRESIDENT VANCE TOUTS IMPACT OF GOP TAX & SPENDING CUTS LAW,” and (b) the caption above “know why we accepted that it was reasonable to have crazy people yelling at our kids. You should not have to cross the street in downtown Atlanta to avoid a crazy person yelling at your family. Those are your streets.” On the bottom, a famous photo of Trump seemingly shouting at a young kid who’s mowing the White House lawn.

August 30, 2025 at 8:10 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

This mural by students in a course called Art as Social Action, at the UNC Chapel Hill was covered and the plaque removed just before classes began, on orders from the chancellor and provost. Protip: When you’re reduced to censoring art students on another continent, you’re doing it wrong.

“I Told You I Loved You and I Wanted the Genocide to Stop,” an interior mural by students in Hong-An Truong's course Art as Social Action at UNC Chapel Hill. The mural takes the forms of a quilt with hundreds of small panels, mostly in black and white, surrounded like a keffiyeh-like border.

August 30, 2025 at 2:19 AM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

August 15, 2025 at 1:02 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

“Unemojible”? “Unemojible *space*”?! For a lifelong amateur neologist such as myself, this feels like discovery Tutankhamen‘s crypt. Bonus: I’ve even teed up a debate about the correct spelling.

August 15, 2025 at 12:21 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

Apparently he teaches ethics

August 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

🎯 “OLIGARCHOCENE” 🔥

August 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

I’ve been waiting for this moment for thirty years

A "how it started / how it’s going" meme. On the left under "how it started": a WiReD magazine cover from 1996, featuring the founders of Yahoo!, with a quote from the cover story under it: {{{ A few months ago, Srinivasan told me, she was adding categories and making changes to the ontology almost every day. Now major adjustments are becoming much more infrequent. She pointed to this as support for Yang's assertion that "at some point, our scheme will become relatively stable. We will have captured the breadth of human knowledge." }}} On the right under "how it’s going," a photo of Elon Musk from an appearance on Joe Rogan, scowling in a coud of weed smoke, with his tweet under it: {{{ Elon Mus: We will use Grok 3.5 (maybe we should call it 4), which has advanced reasoning, to rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors. Then retrain on that. Far too much garbage in any foundation model trained on uncorrected data. }}}

June 21, 2025 at 2:10 PM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

June 10, 2025 at 3:19 AM

Ted Byfield

@tbfld.bsky.social

Good to see Godwin’s “Law” being exposed for what it always was: libertarian twaddle that enabled the spread of fascism by disabling those who pointed it out.