CouldThisHappen?
@couldthishappen.bsky.social
Science/tech writer, professional plant fanatic (esp. orchids), space enthusiast, sci-fi geek, probable cylon, ice hockey fan, tree-hugger, animal lover, and lecturer of writing / rhetoric at Boston University. www.joellerenstrom.com
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
100%
I believe the original sin Democrats, and especially the Biden administration, made after January 6th was viewing January 6th as the *end* of something, rather than the *beginning* of something. My post on how to remember this somber anniversary for democracy: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/five-ways-...
Five Ways To Remember January 6th
Too many people saw January 6th as the final aggrieved death throes of Trumpism. We can now understand it was the start of something much darker.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
January 6, 2026 at 5:21 PM
100%
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
10/10. No notes.
January 6, 2026 at 5:27 PM
10/10. No notes.
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
UK Government demands Musk's X deals with 'appalling' Grok AI deepfakes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government demands Musk's X deals with 'appalling' Grok AI
Grok is being used to digitally remove women's clothing - something victims describe as
www.bbc.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 3:23 PM
UK Government demands Musk's X deals with 'appalling' Grok AI deepfakes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Officer Harry Dunn: "They are gaslighting us...We don't need politicians, pundits, and talking heads to tell us what happened on January 6th. You can literally just press play on the TV...If we're not being honest about it, we're doomed to repeat that history."
January 6, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Officer Harry Dunn: "They are gaslighting us...We don't need politicians, pundits, and talking heads to tell us what happened on January 6th. You can literally just press play on the TV...If we're not being honest about it, we're doomed to repeat that history."
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
We need to grapple with the reality that we're very close to living in a police state.
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
Preschool Teacher, 22, Arrested on TV After Condemning Trump
Cops moved in with handcuffs while the teacher was still on camera.
www.thedailybeast.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM
We need to grapple with the reality that we're very close to living in a police state.
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
"Officers repeatedly pressed her on whether she was Venezuelan, what her connection to Venezuela was, and why she had attended the protest. Plichta claimed they tried to get her to identify other demonstrators."
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
NYT Reporter 👇🏽
January 6, 2026 at 2:35 PM
NYT Reporter 👇🏽
if only someone hadn't just signed an executive order banning AI regulations...
this is definitely, horrifyingly happening unless someone makes a law against it and enforces it
Pervert glasses + AR tech + LLMs that will nudify on request seems a pretty bad, and likely, scenario TBH
January 6, 2026 at 1:25 PM
if only someone hadn't just signed an executive order banning AI regulations...
New year, same feelings about AI, especially in the educational context. I will never stop resisting this madness. And among other things, I got to shout out South Park, which has been an unexpected light in the darkness.
www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
AI makes us overestimate our knowledge and performance
What happens when massive numbers of people think they know more about a subject or are better at something than they actually are? Joelle Renstrom says we're about to find out.
www.wbur.org
January 6, 2026 at 12:49 PM
New year, same feelings about AI, especially in the educational context. I will never stop resisting this madness. And among other things, I got to shout out South Park, which has been an unexpected light in the darkness.
www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
silence, peasants, the queen is flexing
A hacker known as Martha Root broke in and deleted three white supremacists websites at the end of a talk during the annual hacker conference Chaos Communication Congress in Germany.
Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live on stage during hacker conference | TechCrunch
A hacker known as Martha Root broke in and deleted three white supremacists websites at the end of a talk during the annual hacker conference Chaos Communication Congress in Germany.
techcrunch.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
silence, peasants, the queen is flexing
What a great idea! ChatGPT actively encourages suicide and provides the most horrifying mental health "advice" out there (ie, engagement, not safety), so we'll just translate it into other languages and spread the psychosis. What could go wrong?! www.bbc.com/news/article...
January 5, 2026 at 1:32 PM
What a great idea! ChatGPT actively encourages suicide and provides the most horrifying mental health "advice" out there (ie, engagement, not safety), so we'll just translate it into other languages and spread the psychosis. What could go wrong?! www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Fewer crashes, lighter traffic, more easily available parking, and importantly: Better quality of life. People enjoy environments with fewer cars!
By every metric, congestion pricing has been a huge success.
By every metric, congestion pricing has been a huge success.
January 5, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Fewer crashes, lighter traffic, more easily available parking, and importantly: Better quality of life. People enjoy environments with fewer cars!
By every metric, congestion pricing has been a huge success.
By every metric, congestion pricing has been a huge success.
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
The way A.I. is being used to make it seem like Venezuelans are uniformly in support of Trump’s invasion should alarm us all
January 5, 2026 at 1:05 PM
The way A.I. is being used to make it seem like Venezuelans are uniformly in support of Trump’s invasion should alarm us all
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
They kidnapped the head of a Latin American country, replaced him with an insecure white racist who has spent his entire life arguing that Latinos are subhuman, and made clear that their primary aim is to plunder the country for its resources.
If it isn't yet clear, yes, we're the fucking baddies.
If it isn't yet clear, yes, we're the fucking baddies.
Per WASH POST, Stephen Miller will play an “elevated role” in Venezuela (what could go wrong!) and Machado won’t be president because she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Trump wants (yes, seriously)
Couldn’t make it up if we tried
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Couldn’t make it up if we tried
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 12:53 PM
They kidnapped the head of a Latin American country, replaced him with an insecure white racist who has spent his entire life arguing that Latinos are subhuman, and made clear that their primary aim is to plunder the country for its resources.
If it isn't yet clear, yes, we're the fucking baddies.
If it isn't yet clear, yes, we're the fucking baddies.
I teach first-year college students writing and research and yep, this is entirely true. Students use ChatGPT for literally everything--summaries of readings, "research," answers to discussion questions, answers to life questions...and they're not nearly skeptical enough of the slop it dispenses.
But teaching a first-year seminar this past semester really opened my eyes to just how toxic it's already been for younger students. I'm not some knee-jerk tech skeptic and I didn't hold this view 12 months ago. But now? I'm raising the alarm.
January 5, 2026 at 1:26 PM
I teach first-year college students writing and research and yep, this is entirely true. Students use ChatGPT for literally everything--summaries of readings, "research," answers to discussion questions, answers to life questions...and they're not nearly skeptical enough of the slop it dispenses.
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
I’m proud of the work we did on the House January 6th Committee.
January 6th should’ve been the end of a political movement based on a cult of personality, conspiracism, extremism & lies. Instead, it is now in power.
I’m proud of the work we did on the House January 6th Committee.
January 6th should’ve been the end of a political movement based on a cult of personality, conspiracism, extremism & lies. Instead, it is now in power.
January 5, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
I’m proud of the work we did on the House January 6th Committee.
January 6th should’ve been the end of a political movement based on a cult of personality, conspiracism, extremism & lies. Instead, it is now in power.
I’m proud of the work we did on the House January 6th Committee.
January 6th should’ve been the end of a political movement based on a cult of personality, conspiracism, extremism & lies. Instead, it is now in power.
Boston's roads are bonkers and were designed for horses and buggies. But that doesn't make Dallas a role model. Why lionize highways and vehicular traffic when the future is anything but?
another extremely hot take from Jeff “climate change has upsides too, like making Siberia arable” Jacoby
TL;DR "One. More. Lane. Bro."
An all-time Jeff Jacoby classic.
An all-time Jeff Jacoby classic.
January 5, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Boston's roads are bonkers and were designed for horses and buggies. But that doesn't make Dallas a role model. Why lionize highways and vehicular traffic when the future is anything but?
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Literal “war is peace.”
Tom Emmer: "Donald Trump is the president of peace and what he's doing is stabilizing the region"
January 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Literal “war is peace.”
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
It's also wild that this hasn't ended Trump's presidency immediately. We used to be a serious country, where things mattered. Or maybe we never were, & it's just the mask being fully ripped off. Hard to tell, frankly. Observationally equivalent.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
It's wild that the PM of a NATO member feels compelled to put out a statement like this vis-à-vis the US government.
January 4, 2026 at 9:25 PM
It's also wild that this hasn't ended Trump's presidency immediately. We used to be a serious country, where things mattered. Or maybe we never were, & it's just the mask being fully ripped off. Hard to tell, frankly. Observationally equivalent.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
Want to reduce risk for dementia? Get vaccinated! 🩺
I will explain how this works...
I will explain how this works...
Oh, just get vaccinated (part 5,000)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Want to reduce risk for dementia? Get vaccinated! 🩺
I will explain how this works...
I will explain how this works...
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
The Epstein Files Transparency Act is a law, passed by Congress on November 19 with an overwhelming vote. Complying with it was not optional. The Department of Justice did not comply.
I want to make sure this is very clear.
I want to make sure this is very clear.
January 4, 2026 at 6:18 PM
The Epstein Files Transparency Act is a law, passed by Congress on November 19 with an overwhelming vote. Complying with it was not optional. The Department of Justice did not comply.
I want to make sure this is very clear.
I want to make sure this is very clear.
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
The Prime Minister of Greenland Jens-Frederik Nielsen to the United States:
“Enough is enough.”
“Enough is enough.”
January 4, 2026 at 10:36 PM
The Prime Minister of Greenland Jens-Frederik Nielsen to the United States:
“Enough is enough.”
“Enough is enough.”
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
#AI may indeed exacerbate our bad academic habits:
#LLM science summaries were nearly five times more likely than human-authored science summaries to contain broad generalizations (95% CI [3.06, 7.70], p < 0.001).
And newer models over-generalized more; not less!
doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
#philSci
#LLM science summaries were nearly five times more likely than human-authored science summaries to contain broad generalizations (95% CI [3.06, 7.70], p < 0.001).
And newer models over-generalized more; not less!
doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
#philSci
January 4, 2026 at 4:19 PM
#AI may indeed exacerbate our bad academic habits:
#LLM science summaries were nearly five times more likely than human-authored science summaries to contain broad generalizations (95% CI [3.06, 7.70], p < 0.001).
And newer models over-generalized more; not less!
doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
#philSci
#LLM science summaries were nearly five times more likely than human-authored science summaries to contain broad generalizations (95% CI [3.06, 7.70], p < 0.001).
And newer models over-generalized more; not less!
doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
#philSci
Reposted by CouldThisHappen?
The Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen to the United States:
“The Kingdom of Denmark, and thus Greenland, is a member of NATO and is therefore covered by the Alliance’s collective security guarantee.” I “strongly urge the United States to cease its threats.”
“The Kingdom of Denmark, and thus Greenland, is a member of NATO and is therefore covered by the Alliance’s collective security guarantee.” I “strongly urge the United States to cease its threats.”
January 4, 2026 at 10:29 PM
The Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen to the United States:
“The Kingdom of Denmark, and thus Greenland, is a member of NATO and is therefore covered by the Alliance’s collective security guarantee.” I “strongly urge the United States to cease its threats.”
“The Kingdom of Denmark, and thus Greenland, is a member of NATO and is therefore covered by the Alliance’s collective security guarantee.” I “strongly urge the United States to cease its threats.”
Because shoving AI down our throats is an effort at mass de-humanization and accepting Grok's alternative histories rather than encouraging independent thought.
For all that the media has spent years freaking out about what social media does to our brains, I don’t understand why there appears to be little effort to grapple with the fact that these chatbots are, for some not insignificant portion of the population, literally psychosis machines
He put his complete trust in a chat bot that turned him into a savage murderer.
January 4, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Because shoving AI down our throats is an effort at mass de-humanization and accepting Grok's alternative histories rather than encouraging independent thought.