Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
@bmitra.bsky.social
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 AM
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Idiom Origin
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
This was originally *sarcasm* & meant to convey that the act was impossible.
A boot strap is a loop used to help put your boot on.
This 1921 cartoon from the “Nonpartisan Leader” showcases that you can’t pull upward on your boots to levitate.
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
This was originally *sarcasm* & meant to convey that the act was impossible.
A boot strap is a loop used to help put your boot on.
This 1921 cartoon from the “Nonpartisan Leader” showcases that you can’t pull upward on your boots to levitate.
January 20, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Idiom Origin
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
This was originally *sarcasm* & meant to convey that the act was impossible.
A boot strap is a loop used to help put your boot on.
This 1921 cartoon from the “Nonpartisan Leader” showcases that you can’t pull upward on your boots to levitate.
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
This was originally *sarcasm* & meant to convey that the act was impossible.
A boot strap is a loop used to help put your boot on.
This 1921 cartoon from the “Nonpartisan Leader” showcases that you can’t pull upward on your boots to levitate.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Anytime I mention this story theres a few dozen people who never heard about it, so for those unaware
Tesla engineer was concerned about known thermal runaway problems in the batteries, elon and his head of security concoted a mass shooter threat pretending to be him, leaked it to the press and got a bolo issued to tried to get him swatted, Elon then stiffed his head of security
November 11, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Anytime I mention this story theres a few dozen people who never heard about it, so for those unaware
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
is that good?
November 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
is that good?
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Love the phrases "Cognitive Cost" and "Executive Function Theft" to pinpoint how exhausting it is to be constantly bombarded with apps telling you to use AI. I've been calling it "Corporate pressure" and "Force feeding". It's quite a lot right now. Seems a bit desperate tbh.
The #ExecutiveFunctionTheft of having to opt out.
Feeling annoyed at the cognitive cost of having to dismiss all the offers of "AI" assitance every time I use Acrobat to provide feedback on documents my students wrote. (NO I do NOT want an "AI" summary of this. In what world???)
Decided to check settings:
Decided to check settings:
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Love the phrases "Cognitive Cost" and "Executive Function Theft" to pinpoint how exhausting it is to be constantly bombarded with apps telling you to use AI. I've been calling it "Corporate pressure" and "Force feeding". It's quite a lot right now. Seems a bit desperate tbh.
Proud to be a signatory on this. Please read and sign if you agree. ✍🏽
Scientists and scholars in AI and its social impacts call on von der Leyen to retract #AIHype statement.
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
Scientists call on the President of the European Commission to retract AI hype statement
Experts in AI call on the President of the European Commission to retract unscientific AI hype statement she made in the budget speech.
www.iccl.ie
November 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Proud to be a signatory on this. Please read and sign if you agree. ✍🏽
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
the @ec.europa.eu's President von der Leyen is uncritically echoing AI hype & corporate PR, particularly that “AI would approach human reasoning in 2026”. we find this unacceptable & ask the Commission President to retract it. please sign this open letter if you agree
Scientists and scholars in AI and its social impacts call on von der Leyen to retract #AIHype statement.
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
@olivia.science
@abeba.bsky.social
@irisvanrooij.bsky.social
@alexhanna.bsky.social
@rocher.lc
@danmcquillan.bsky.social
@robin.berjon.com
& many others have signed
www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
Scientists call on the President of the European Commission to retract AI hype statement
Experts in AI call on the President of the European Commission to retract unscientific AI hype statement she made in the budget speech.
www.iccl.ie
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
the @ec.europa.eu's President von der Leyen is uncritically echoing AI hype & corporate PR, particularly that “AI would approach human reasoning in 2026”. we find this unacceptable & ask the Commission President to retract it. please sign this open letter if you agree
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
It'll be okay, little buddies
Two-day-old zebrafish larvae, as seen through a scanning electron microscope
November 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
It'll be okay, little buddies
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Data centers are not the frontline of innovation. They are the dirty structures that nobody - certainly tech leaders in Silicon Valley - wants to live next to.
November 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Data centers are not the frontline of innovation. They are the dirty structures that nobody - certainly tech leaders in Silicon Valley - wants to live next to.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Weird way to spell capitalist donors
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
November 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Weird way to spell capitalist donors
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
wow
it’s still wild to me that diseases we effectively began controlling and eliminating during my childhood are coming back. how very very sad.
it’s still wild to me that diseases we effectively began controlling and eliminating during my childhood are coming back. how very very sad.
It's official: Canada has lost its measles elimination status because of an outbreak that has persisted for more than 12 months. Country can regain status only if on-going spread is of measles interrupted for more than a year. www.cbc.ca/news/health/... via @cbcnews.ca
November 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
wow
it’s still wild to me that diseases we effectively began controlling and eliminating during my childhood are coming back. how very very sad.
it’s still wild to me that diseases we effectively began controlling and eliminating during my childhood are coming back. how very very sad.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
If you ever see one of Schumer’s Eight Traitors, you have a basic responsibility to make sure they are never comfortable showing their faces in public again without being loudly reminded that they are disgusting sell outs to Trump responsible for killing 50,000 people a year.
No rest for the wicked
No rest for the wicked
November 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
If you ever see one of Schumer’s Eight Traitors, you have a basic responsibility to make sure they are never comfortable showing their faces in public again without being loudly reminded that they are disgusting sell outs to Trump responsible for killing 50,000 people a year.
No rest for the wicked
No rest for the wicked
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Oxford and Harvard libraries now publishing their own diamond open access journals. Love it. ❤️
Paying hundreds of millions to big commercial publishers isn't the only way of supporting researchers to publish their research.
Oxford: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/shox#collapse5381526
Harvard […]
Paying hundreds of millions to big commercial publishers isn't the only way of supporting researchers to publish their research.
Oxford: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/shox#collapse5381526
Harvard […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Oxford and Harvard libraries now publishing their own diamond open access journals. Love it. ❤️
Paying hundreds of millions to big commercial publishers isn't the only way of supporting researchers to publish their research.
Oxford: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/shox#collapse5381526
Harvard […]
Paying hundreds of millions to big commercial publishers isn't the only way of supporting researchers to publish their research.
Oxford: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/shox#collapse5381526
Harvard […]
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Sanders: Let’s be clear… If this vote succeeds, over 20 million Americans are going to see at least a doubling in their premiums… if resolution is passed tonight, we are on a path way to throw 15 million Americans off of medicaid and the affordable care act, 15 million.
November 10, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Sanders: Let’s be clear… If this vote succeeds, over 20 million Americans are going to see at least a doubling in their premiums… if resolution is passed tonight, we are on a path way to throw 15 million Americans off of medicaid and the affordable care act, 15 million.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
The most dull miserable rich man on earth.
November 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
The most dull miserable rich man on earth.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
"Common Crawl’s executive director, Rich Skrenta, has publicly made the case that AI models should be able to access anything on the internet. 'The robots are people too,' he told me."
bitch no they not
bitch no they not
The Company Quietly Funneling Paywalled Articles to AI Developers
“You shouldn’t have put your content on the internet if you didn’t want it to be on the internet,” Common Crawl’s executive director says.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM
"Common Crawl’s executive director, Rich Skrenta, has publicly made the case that AI models should be able to access anything on the internet. 'The robots are people too,' he told me."
bitch no they not
bitch no they not
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Sorry to do litmus tests but I want candidates who understand and say out loud that the big tech industry is a hive of evil charlatans who get rich pumping poison into the world
November 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Sorry to do litmus tests but I want candidates who understand and say out loud that the big tech industry is a hive of evil charlatans who get rich pumping poison into the world
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
The world would be immensely better if more religions and their believers had even a tenth of the dedication the Sikhs do to doing good for people with no gatekeeping or expectations of anything other than "you are a fellow human in need and we can help you"
Folks, if you are hungry, please contact your local Sikh gurdwara. Or just show up for langar, which most gurdwaras do several times a week, for a free meal. Lots also do weekly or monthly drives giving out groceries.
No conversion necessary. Feeding anyone who is hungry is a key part of Sikhism.
No conversion necessary. Feeding anyone who is hungry is a key part of Sikhism.
A lady on TikTok has been calling churches pretending to be a mother with a baby who needs formula and several churches turned her away. But wouldn’t you know that when she called a Mosque (Islamic Center of Charlotte) they immediately said yes.
[Source: www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMpoxsaW/ ]
[Source: www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMpoxsaW/ ]
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 AM
The world would be immensely better if more religions and their believers had even a tenth of the dedication the Sikhs do to doing good for people with no gatekeeping or expectations of anything other than "you are a fellow human in need and we can help you"
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Here's the staggeringly irresponsible thing: if you put these kinds of keywords into Google even post enshittification it will pop up a hotline and resources before ever pointing you at a how to *even if the surrounding keywords indicate a benign purpose*. This was a solved problem.
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 12:08 AM
Here's the staggeringly irresponsible thing: if you put these kinds of keywords into Google even post enshittification it will pop up a hotline and resources before ever pointing you at a how to *even if the surrounding keywords indicate a benign purpose*. This was a solved problem.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
We wrote a paper that used double helix metaphor, "Our findings illustrate that both educator response & education policy create a double helix of oppression...that make it incredibly difficult for Black girls to be protected from racialized sexual harassment"-this was our note on Watson's citation
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM
We wrote a paper that used double helix metaphor, "Our findings illustrate that both educator response & education policy create a double helix of oppression...that make it incredibly difficult for Black girls to be protected from racialized sexual harassment"-this was our note on Watson's citation
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
"I'm making billions, and, if it fails, taxpayers will bail me out"
November 7, 2025 at 6:14 PM
"I'm making billions, and, if it fails, taxpayers will bail me out"
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Spotify is crashing HARD because of the boycott. Their stock dropped 11% in value over the last month. Let’s keep this going!
Tell everyone you know to boycott Spotify. There are plenty of alternatives that don’t run ICE advertisements and screw over artists.
We made it easy at boycottspotify.com.
Tell everyone you know to boycott Spotify. There are plenty of alternatives that don’t run ICE advertisements and screw over artists.
We made it easy at boycottspotify.com.
November 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Spotify is crashing HARD because of the boycott. Their stock dropped 11% in value over the last month. Let’s keep this going!
Tell everyone you know to boycott Spotify. There are plenty of alternatives that don’t run ICE advertisements and screw over artists.
We made it easy at boycottspotify.com.
Tell everyone you know to boycott Spotify. There are plenty of alternatives that don’t run ICE advertisements and screw over artists.
We made it easy at boycottspotify.com.
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Not now, carnivorous death ball
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Not now, carnivorous death ball
Reposted by Bhaskar Mitra | ভাস্কর মিত্র
Chat, are AI Principles Hamas?
November 7, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Chat, are AI Principles Hamas?