Janet D. Stemwedel
@docfreeride.bsky.social
Academic philosopher, lapsed chemist, occasional science writer, perpetual ethics booster. All views my own. (she/her)
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
the people who spread the “female brains are bad at math and spatial reasoning” lies should be tried at the Hague
Another fun wrinkle from that period (that might still exist): I was good at math and loved it and then my geometry teacher told me that I'd probably struggle because female brains were bad at spatial thinking. I kept loving math & being good at it but assumed that would end so I ended it first.
Those who weren’t resigned to the Math Idiot Garbage Bin as kids may not grasp how much “if you’re bad at math, you’ll die in a ditch and all will be better off for it” sentiment was floating around in the 90s and 2000s, but it sure felt real to me.
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
February 11, 2026 at 2:41 PM
the people who spread the “female brains are bad at math and spatial reasoning” lies should be tried at the Hague
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Here's an interview with a woman targeted by AI-nudifiers using Grok, who then made an OnlyFans account of her
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans
Kylie Brewer isn't unaccustomed to harassment online. But when people started using Grok-generated nudes of her on an OnlyFans account, it reached another level.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Here's an interview with a woman targeted by AI-nudifiers using Grok, who then made an OnlyFans account of her
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
'The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:' Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans: www.404media.co/grok-nudify-...
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
We got people pushing infinity hard on personhood for computers before Black people.
Experiments conducted with the A.I. system Claude are producing fascinating results—and raising questions about the nature of selfhood. Gideon Lewis-Kraus reports from inside the company that designed it, Anthropic. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rOfXjg
February 11, 2026 at 4:12 PM
We got people pushing infinity hard on personhood for computers before Black people.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Good lord, we live in a vast ocean of (largely male) moral idiots
Social media is awash with videos of men filming themselves approaching women in public spaces and attempting to flirt. In many cases, the videos are filmed and uploaded without the women’s consent. https://cnn.it/4qtIsvB
February 11, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Good lord, we live in a vast ocean of (largely male) moral idiots
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Also I’m sorry but I don’t think this is Claude developing a personality or ethical values. It is *simulating* those things because that is what humans value and reward. The programmers are falling for their own Clever Hans trick!
February 11, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Also I’m sorry but I don’t think this is Claude developing a personality or ethical values. It is *simulating* those things because that is what humans value and reward. The programmers are falling for their own Clever Hans trick!
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Ada Lovelace was/is/will always be right: “The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.” Every AI dude seems to forget that some instructions have unintended consequences. But intention isn’t all that matters.
February 11, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Ada Lovelace was/is/will always be right: “The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.” Every AI dude seems to forget that some instructions have unintended consequences. But intention isn’t all that matters.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
it's a math problem, which does not have selfhood
Experiments conducted with the A.I. system Claude are producing fascinating results—and raising questions about the nature of selfhood. Gideon Lewis-Kraus reports from inside the company that designed it, Anthropic. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rOfXjg
February 11, 2026 at 4:11 PM
it's a math problem, which does not have selfhood
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
it is funny to so explicitly describe this as a design choice—you can make one that says 'i lost a dog once', or one that says 'i have no experience of that', or one that says 'i understand', just by fiddling with the training—and then go 'wow, it says it understands'
To me the chatbots pose zero interesting questions about the ‘nature of selfhood’ but dozens about the nature of manipulation. Here the Claude team pretends they are programming the robot for ethical responses but they land on one that is false and disingenuous.
February 11, 2026 at 4:13 PM
it is funny to so explicitly describe this as a design choice—you can make one that says 'i lost a dog once', or one that says 'i have no experience of that', or one that says 'i understand', just by fiddling with the training—and then go 'wow, it says it understands'
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Stories like these are written identically as “person trapped in sinking boat somehow manages to make it ashore by lashing themselves to sea turtle and driftwood”, as if a fiendishly exploitative labor market is just a force of nature, which would make the CEOs and policy makers gods
February 11, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Stories like these are written identically as “person trapped in sinking boat somehow manages to make it ashore by lashing themselves to sea turtle and driftwood”, as if a fiendishly exploitative labor market is just a force of nature, which would make the CEOs and policy makers gods
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
A little sad at how much generational analysis is just “look at these self-starters who know exactly how to work seven jobs to afford a carrot”
‘I am never off the clock’: inside the booming world of gen Z side hustles
‘I am never off the clock’: inside the booming world of gen Z side hustles
More young Americans are taking on side gigs to explore their passions and make extra cash while navigating an unstable job market
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:37 PM
A little sad at how much generational analysis is just “look at these self-starters who know exactly how to work seven jobs to afford a carrot”
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
The only "good" AI is doing in Software Engineering is exposing the people who cut corners to get their jobs
If people are wondering why everything is getting enshittified:
If people are wondering why everything is getting enshittified:
Hi, I'm a Bacherlors in Software Engineering
You tech bros are grifting tools and I wish you'd stop
You are the antithesis of engineering
You tech bros are grifting tools and I wish you'd stop
You are the antithesis of engineering
February 10, 2026 at 11:40 PM
The only "good" AI is doing in Software Engineering is exposing the people who cut corners to get their jobs
If people are wondering why everything is getting enshittified:
If people are wondering why everything is getting enshittified:
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Enslaved persons did often work on ships but 1) All three cultures used sails to maximize wind power 2) most Roman rowers were not enslaved & thetes in Athens were poor but free men 3) most Punic rowers were freeborn. Slavery is so important to understand but let’s be intentional and factual.
February 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Enslaved persons did often work on ships but 1) All three cultures used sails to maximize wind power 2) most Roman rowers were not enslaved & thetes in Athens were poor but free men 3) most Punic rowers were freeborn. Slavery is so important to understand but let’s be intentional and factual.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
"With that in mind, any serious push to account for the actions of this government — to abolish the president’s private army, restructure immigration enforcement and punish anyone responsible for wrongdoing — must include recompense and repair for its victims. " www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
Opinion | We Have to Face What ICE Has Done to Us
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:09 PM
"With that in mind, any serious push to account for the actions of this government — to abolish the president’s private army, restructure immigration enforcement and punish anyone responsible for wrongdoing — must include recompense and repair for its victims. " www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Flu kills half a million people every year
FDA refuses to review Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine arstechnica.com/health/2026/...
FDA refuses to review Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine
The move comes amid RFK Jr.'s relentless efforts to enact his anti-vaccine agenda.
arstechnica.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Flu kills half a million people every year
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
The El Paso airport borders Mexico-which Trump previously threatened to invade-and is used by ICE to run deportation flights
The airport is now closed, with the area designated as “national defense airspace”
Are we going to attack Mexico
Will we see mass deportation flights
This is very ominous
The airport is now closed, with the area designated as “national defense airspace”
Are we going to attack Mexico
Will we see mass deportation flights
This is very ominous
February 11, 2026 at 12:59 PM
The El Paso airport borders Mexico-which Trump previously threatened to invade-and is used by ICE to run deportation flights
The airport is now closed, with the area designated as “national defense airspace”
Are we going to attack Mexico
Will we see mass deportation flights
This is very ominous
The airport is now closed, with the area designated as “national defense airspace”
Are we going to attack Mexico
Will we see mass deportation flights
This is very ominous
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Since learning the acronym DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender), I've taught it to students in my 'Environmental Communication' class because it's also used by climate-change deniers. Regardless of why it's deployed, knowledge of DARVO as a method protects against its intended effects.
TIL what DARVO means, a helpful term for this hearing:
"An acronym for 'Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender,' a reaction that perpetrators of wrongdoing, such as abusers or sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior."
"An acronym for 'Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender,' a reaction that perpetrators of wrongdoing, such as abusers or sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior."
February 11, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Since learning the acronym DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender), I've taught it to students in my 'Environmental Communication' class because it's also used by climate-change deniers. Regardless of why it's deployed, knowledge of DARVO as a method protects against its intended effects.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Grand jury fails to indict Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to disobey any illegal orders from President Trump. https://cnn.it/4apwQ6u
February 11, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Grand jury fails to indict Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to disobey any illegal orders from President Trump. https://cnn.it/4apwQ6u
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building looms in the background of the camp at Coldwater Spring, or Mni Owe Sni, at Fort Snelling along the Mississippi River — where the U.S. government in the mid-1800s killed hundreds of Dakota people and imprisoned more than 1,600 in a concentration camp.
Native activists set up prayer camp outside Minneapolis ICE detention center • Minnesota Reformer
Tribal members and descendents set up tipis and a fire at a Fort Snelling Park for four days of prayer for those detained by ICE
minnesotareformer.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:30 AM
The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building looms in the background of the camp at Coldwater Spring, or Mni Owe Sni, at Fort Snelling along the Mississippi River — where the U.S. government in the mid-1800s killed hundreds of Dakota people and imprisoned more than 1,600 in a concentration camp.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
I am generally dismissive of these things but this actually feels scary. This isn't just a scam email, it is an elaborately worked out and callous deception scheme, enabled by AI, and it is hard not to feel targeted.
Be careful out there, authors. Be *very* careful.
Be careful out there, authors. Be *very* careful.
February 11, 2026 at 12:08 PM
I am generally dismissive of these things but this actually feels scary. This isn't just a scam email, it is an elaborately worked out and callous deception scheme, enabled by AI, and it is hard not to feel targeted.
Be careful out there, authors. Be *very* careful.
Be careful out there, authors. Be *very* careful.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
And then you get to a whacking great page of Respurces for Writers offering model contracts, helpful articles on rights, complete guide to self publishing etc, all of which lead to the contact form that will tell them you're an easy mark.
It's a long con, only AI did the work for them
It's a long con, only AI did the work for them
February 11, 2026 at 12:05 PM
And then you get to a whacking great page of Respurces for Writers offering model contracts, helpful articles on rights, complete guide to self publishing etc, all of which lead to the contact form that will tell them you're an easy mark.
It's a long con, only AI did the work for them
It's a long con, only AI did the work for them
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
This is genuinely scary now. The plausibility still falls apart like wet paper as soon as you look into it, but considering how far this scam has evolved in what, three months, I absolutely dread where we'll be by this time next year.
February 11, 2026 at 11:59 AM
This is genuinely scary now. The plausibility still falls apart like wet paper as soon as you look into it, but considering how far this scam has evolved in what, three months, I absolutely dread where we'll be by this time next year.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
I cannot overstate that this is a multi page website that has been created out of *nothing at all* in order to look plausible to the author half-arsing her due diligence. It would have been days of work before AI.
February 11, 2026 at 11:57 AM
I cannot overstate that this is a multi page website that has been created out of *nothing at all* in order to look plausible to the author half-arsing her due diligence. It would have been days of work before AI.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Not fake like 'this is an AI generated review of a book', fake like *the book doesn't exist*. The author being interviewed doesn't exist, and nor does the book she's being interviewed about.
February 11, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Not fake like 'this is an AI generated review of a book', fake like *the book doesn't exist*. The author being interviewed doesn't exist, and nor does the book she's being interviewed about.
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
The website looks completely plausible at first glance. It's got publishing news, reviews, craft pieces, interviews, plus clickable Amazon and Goodreads links on the reviews. Proper stuff, right?
IT IS ALL FAKE.
IT IS ALL FAKE.
February 11, 2026 at 11:53 AM
The website looks completely plausible at first glance. It's got publishing news, reviews, craft pieces, interviews, plus clickable Amazon and Goodreads links on the reviews. Proper stuff, right?
IT IS ALL FAKE.
IT IS ALL FAKE.