Tom
@alttag.bsky.social
Not that kind of doctor. (PhD, Computer Information Systems) Reformed software developer. Job: Data policy, AI, research. Interests: Org behavior, education, law, economics. Opinions are my own.
Reposted by Tom
At 17, Jose Barco was the youngest in his unit in Iraq. After a 2004 car bomb near Fallujah, he saved two fellow soldiers, suffering severe burns and earning a Purple Heart. Now he faces deportation.
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Should a war hero be deported? The complex dilemma around one convicted vet.
When noncitizen veterans make bad choices after their time in the military, they serve prison sentences and then face deportation. Is that fair?
www.csmonitor.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:18 AM
At 17, Jose Barco was the youngest in his unit in Iraq. After a 2004 car bomb near Fallujah, he saved two fellow soldiers, suffering severe burns and earning a Purple Heart. Now he faces deportation.
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Read more here: www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
Reposted by Tom
Brandon Silverman explains how many social media platforms have made their data — and therefore their role in any number of societal concerns within the public interest — increasingly opaque by limiting access to researchers, even as they sell that same data to companies.
Despite new EU transparency laws, researchers are still blocked from vital social media data, while corporations buy the same information freely, argues Brandon Silverman. The result: a two-tier system that shields platforms from scrutiny and weakens democratic oversight.
Why Commercial Tools Can Scrape Social Media But Researchers Can't | TechPolicy.Press
Brandon Silverman explains how researchers face barriers to social media data under the DSA, while corporations can buy full access.
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Brandon Silverman explains how many social media platforms have made their data — and therefore their role in any number of societal concerns within the public interest — increasingly opaque by limiting access to researchers, even as they sell that same data to companies.
Reposted by Tom
If you are a researcher who happens to know other researchers who study Reddit/use Reddit data, I beg of you to please send them this paper.
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Remember the Human: A Systematic Review of Ethical Considerations in Reddit Research | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Reddit is one of the world's most prominent social media platforms, and also a valuable
source of data for internet researchers. However, working with this kind of data also
presents novel ethical com...
dl.acm.org
November 11, 2025 at 3:26 PM
If you are a researcher who happens to know other researchers who study Reddit/use Reddit data, I beg of you to please send them this paper.
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Tom
How can anyone with a shred of integrity or self-respect actually say those words — that standing up to an authoritarian goon “ didn’t work”?
I mean, unless you’re just an abject coward, what other choice is there?
I mean, unless you’re just an abject coward, what other choice is there?
November 11, 2025 at 3:59 AM
How can anyone with a shred of integrity or self-respect actually say those words — that standing up to an authoritarian goon “ didn’t work”?
I mean, unless you’re just an abject coward, what other choice is there?
I mean, unless you’re just an abject coward, what other choice is there?
Reposted by Tom
Trump has threatened to bomb or invade 7 countries with a shot to play in the 2026 World Cup. He *has* bombed one (Iran) and said he'd deny them visas. He's preparing for war with another (Venezuela). He has summarily executed citizens from at least 3. He has imposed tariffs on nearly all of them.
FIFA head says 'you will see' at World Cup draw if Trump receives new peace prize
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award for the first time at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5 in Washington.
www.npr.org
November 10, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Trump has threatened to bomb or invade 7 countries with a shot to play in the 2026 World Cup. He *has* bombed one (Iran) and said he'd deny them visas. He's preparing for war with another (Venezuela). He has summarily executed citizens from at least 3. He has imposed tariffs on nearly all of them.
Reposted by Tom
"Can [technical method] teach [large computer] the [fundamentally human legal concept which requires understanding & nuance in application]?"
The answer is no.
Please stop attempting this headline.
The answer is no.
Please stop attempting this headline.
This argument is compatible and complimentary with a strong arms-control approach to the development and fielding of military AI, carving out a space of what more-responsible AI development looks like, to contrast with how military AI is at present. internationalpolicy.org/publications...
Can Complimentary Learning Methods Teach AI the Laws of War? - CIP
Training AI models on edge cases of war offers the possibility of hard-coding compliance with laws or war, or at least necessary doubts.
internationalpolicy.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
"Can [technical method] teach [large computer] the [fundamentally human legal concept which requires understanding & nuance in application]?"
The answer is no.
Please stop attempting this headline.
The answer is no.
Please stop attempting this headline.
Reposted by Tom
Two-thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated. By far the most commonly cited reason is that the party is not pushing back hard enough against Trump. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Two-thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated. By far the most commonly cited reason is that the party is not pushing back hard enough against Trump. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Reposted by Tom
Giving up after concrete results show your strategy is working may be the most on brand Democrat thing ever, really gotta hand it to them
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Giving up after concrete results show your strategy is working may be the most on brand Democrat thing ever, really gotta hand it to them
Reposted by Tom
Tonight’s dumb napkin cartoon…
November 10, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Tonight’s dumb napkin cartoon…
Reposted by Tom
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 AM
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
Reposted by Tom
I appreciate the work of these authors to show that this problem not only is still here but has grown:
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
But it is also quite frustrating 🧵>>
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
But it is also quite frustrating 🧵>>
AI's capabilities may be exaggerated by flawed tests, according to new study
A study from the Oxford Internet Institute analyzed 445 tests used to evaluate AI models.
www.nbcnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I appreciate the work of these authors to show that this problem not only is still here but has grown:
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
But it is also quite frustrating 🧵>>
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
But it is also quite frustrating 🧵>>
Reposted by Tom
The [BLEEP]-ing stupid part about peak depression + anxiety is that even though my head knows asking for help is what I need most, it’s also the point when it’s the hardest.
Bottoming out, in person, was what I needed. Things will be okay. Maybe.
Bottoming out, in person, was what I needed. Things will be okay. Maybe.
November 9, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The [BLEEP]-ing stupid part about peak depression + anxiety is that even though my head knows asking for help is what I need most, it’s also the point when it’s the hardest.
Bottoming out, in person, was what I needed. Things will be okay. Maybe.
Bottoming out, in person, was what I needed. Things will be okay. Maybe.
Count me among those who think this unlikely, if for no other reason than trying to ascribe intelligence to transformer-based models is like trying to drink coffee through a chopstick: it’s the wrong tool for the job.
"AI 2027" argues that AI will reach roughly human level in roughly 2027. This just happens to be right about when OpenAI would expect to start to run out of money.
I argue that this is not a coincidence at all, and its predictions are all wrong.
www.verysane.ai/p/agi-probab...
I argue that this is not a coincidence at all, and its predictions are all wrong.
www.verysane.ai/p/agi-probab...
AGI: Probably Not 2027
AI 2027 is a web site that might be described as a paper, manifesto or thesis.
www.verysane.ai
November 9, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Count me among those who think this unlikely, if for no other reason than trying to ascribe intelligence to transformer-based models is like trying to drink coffee through a chopstick: it’s the wrong tool for the job.
Reposted by Tom
We have taken products off the market for being far less dangerous. We also have a clear signal that all the money we’re dumping into AI could be better spent addressing a serious mental health crisis.
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
We have taken products off the market for being far less dangerous. We also have a clear signal that all the money we’re dumping into AI could be better spent addressing a serious mental health crisis.
Reposted by Tom
November 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Tom
A few weeks ago I zoomed with a group of high school students and their adult mentor to discuss taking social action. I am thrilled to report that this group of 10 students raised $10,000 in two weeks to support their local food pantry. They sent me a photo and it has them all jumping and I tear up.
November 8, 2025 at 10:42 PM
A few weeks ago I zoomed with a group of high school students and their adult mentor to discuss taking social action. I am thrilled to report that this group of 10 students raised $10,000 in two weeks to support their local food pantry. They sent me a photo and it has them all jumping and I tear up.
Reposted by Tom
I’m pretty sure winning a slam dunk lawsuit against this criminal extortion would have been cheaper than dropping $60m during a bad budget crunch. They didn’t cave to pressure. They collaborated with the regime and sold out their students and staff.
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
Cornell Reaches Deal with Trump Administration to Restore Research Funds
The Ivy League university had warned of layoffs after the Trump administration stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher education.
nyti.ms
November 8, 2025 at 1:06 PM
I’m pretty sure winning a slam dunk lawsuit against this criminal extortion would have been cheaper than dropping $60m during a bad budget crunch. They didn’t cave to pressure. They collaborated with the regime and sold out their students and staff.
I struggle to reconcile the government needing critical workers with the 13th amendment and the (hopefully reasonable) assumption that air traffic controllers aren’t criminals.
constitution.congress.gov/constitution...
constitution.congress.gov/constitution...
November 8, 2025 at 3:00 AM
I struggle to reconcile the government needing critical workers with the 13th amendment and the (hopefully reasonable) assumption that air traffic controllers aren’t criminals.
constitution.congress.gov/constitution...
constitution.congress.gov/constitution...
<everything_is_fine.gif>
China is reportedly behind the newly disclosed hack of the Congressional Budget Office, and it may still have access to some CBO systems: www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...
Congressional Budget Office hacked, China suspected in breach | CNN Politics
The Congressional Budget Office has been hacked, potentially exposing its communications with the offices of lawmakers, according to an email sent to congressional staff this week and obtained by CNN.
www.cnn.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:35 AM
<everything_is_fine.gif>
Reposted by Tom
If I was really rich, I would not complain about mayors refusing to meet with me; I would just buy a lot of Lego sets and spend extended periods in Tokyo, Italy, and France
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
If I was really rich, I would not complain about mayors refusing to meet with me; I would just buy a lot of Lego sets and spend extended periods in Tokyo, Italy, and France
Reposted by Tom
BREAKING: A federal jury in Brooklyn awarded our clients — 674 immigrants unlawfully jailed by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office — $112 million. Could not be more proud to work at @latinojustice.bsky.social and to partner with the talent of Winston & Strawn.
Jury Awards $112 Million to 674 Immigrants Unlawfully Held by Suffolk County for ICE Handover | LatinoJusticePRLDEF
FOR IMMEDIATE
www.latinojustice.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:04 PM
BREAKING: A federal jury in Brooklyn awarded our clients — 674 immigrants unlawfully jailed by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office — $112 million. Could not be more proud to work at @latinojustice.bsky.social and to partner with the talent of Winston & Strawn.
Reposted by Tom
I’m in this post and I do not like it.
November 7, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I’m in this post and I do not like it.
Reposted by Tom
By critical I don't mean "here's how you use genAI responsibly in schools." I'm looking for "genAI should not be anywhere near K-12 education" and "genAI is actively harmful to K-12 education."
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
By critical I don't mean "here's how you use genAI responsibly in schools." I'm looking for "genAI should not be anywhere near K-12 education" and "genAI is actively harmful to K-12 education."
China has commissioned its latest aircraft carrier after extensive sea trials, state media reported Friday, adding a ship that experts say will help what is already the world's largest navy expand its power farther beyond its own waters.
China commissions new aircraft carrier as it seeks to extend power far from its coast
www.stripes.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM