Clare Downham
@downham.bsky.social
Medievalist, Liverpool. She/Her. All DMs are blocked (Bluesky ID issue)
Reposted by Clare Downham
More stories about the second-life of used books please.
Just got a used book in the mail: really well and thoughtfully annotated, and the person wrote their name on the front pastedown. Naturally I looked them up. They teach at a Uni in California now, and I think this is very cool. Cheers to you, [name redacted]!
December 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
More stories about the second-life of used books please.
Reposted by Clare Downham
Yep. Joyless. That AI vid of a crow sliding down a roof is precisely what prompted me to post this bsky.app/profile/rhod...
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
December 19, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Yep. Joyless. That AI vid of a crow sliding down a roof is precisely what prompted me to post this bsky.app/profile/rhod...
Reposted by Clare Downham
Hey, if you’re feeling down during the holidays, you’re not alone. If you are alienated and hurting, you still belong. You still matter. It is worth being gentle with yourself.
December 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Hey, if you’re feeling down during the holidays, you’re not alone. If you are alienated and hurting, you still belong. You still matter. It is worth being gentle with yourself.
Reposted by Clare Downham
The recently filled Chair of Canine Studies. -- Happy Holidays 2025!
December 25, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The recently filled Chair of Canine Studies. -- Happy Holidays 2025!
Reposted by Clare Downham
In case you need a positive reminder:
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very
From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history
www.theguardian.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:51 AM
In case you need a positive reminder:
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘AI…saves time, spares effort & crucially offers a new way to offload responsibility. …Fromm argued that the rise of fascism could be explained in part by people preferring to surrender their freedom in exchange for the reassuring certainty of subordination. AI offers a new way of surrendering’ #ai
'We don’t really know how AI reaches its conclusions – even the programmers admit as much. Nor can we verify its reasoning against clear, objective criteria. So when we follow AI’s advice, we are not guided by reason. We are back in the realm of faith.'
Our king, priest and feudal lord – how AI is taking us back to the dark ages | Joseph de Weck
Since the Enlightenment, we’ve been making our own decisions. But now AI may be about to change that, says Joseph de Weck, a fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute
www.theguardian.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
‘AI…saves time, spares effort & crucially offers a new way to offload responsibility. …Fromm argued that the rise of fascism could be explained in part by people preferring to surrender their freedom in exchange for the reassuring certainty of subordination. AI offers a new way of surrendering’ #ai
Reposted by Clare Downham
The lesson of history is that tyrants cannot be appeased.
Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power.
Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable.
But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless.
Remember this.
Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power.
Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable.
But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless.
Remember this.
December 25, 2025 at 12:14 AM
The lesson of history is that tyrants cannot be appeased.
Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power.
Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable.
But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless.
Remember this.
Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power.
Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable.
But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless.
Remember this.
Reposted by Clare Downham
As #AI increasingly brings people the news, it does more than simply pass along information.
Large language models subtly highlight certain viewpoints while minimizing others, often without users realizing it. buff.ly/bEvfU8c
Large language models subtly highlight certain viewpoints while minimizing others, often without users realizing it. buff.ly/bEvfU8c
People are getting their news from AI – and it’s altering their views
Even when information is factually accurate, how it’s presented can introduce subtle biases. As large language models increasingly bring people the news, this bias is a looming problem.
buff.ly
December 24, 2025 at 11:03 PM
As #AI increasingly brings people the news, it does more than simply pass along information.
Large language models subtly highlight certain viewpoints while minimizing others, often without users realizing it. buff.ly/bEvfU8c
Large language models subtly highlight certain viewpoints while minimizing others, often without users realizing it. buff.ly/bEvfU8c
Reposted by Clare Downham
First Minister John Swinney has called on Scots to show kindness towards each other as we live through 'uncertain and challenging times' this Christmas
In his message to the nation, Swinney encouraged people to check in on their neighbours, stressing 'small acts can make a big difference to others'
In his message to the nation, Swinney encouraged people to check in on their neighbours, stressing 'small acts can make a big difference to others'
December 24, 2025 at 10:38 AM
First Minister John Swinney has called on Scots to show kindness towards each other as we live through 'uncertain and challenging times' this Christmas
In his message to the nation, Swinney encouraged people to check in on their neighbours, stressing 'small acts can make a big difference to others'
In his message to the nation, Swinney encouraged people to check in on their neighbours, stressing 'small acts can make a big difference to others'
Reposted by Clare Downham
The Trump Administration:
They lie so convincingly, almost like it's natural to them.
They lie so convincingly, almost like it's natural to them.
December 24, 2025 at 10:40 AM
The Trump Administration:
They lie so convincingly, almost like it's natural to them.
They lie so convincingly, almost like it's natural to them.
Reposted by Clare Downham
MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.
MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing
There’s a stark difference in success rates between companies that purchase AI tools from vendors and those that build them internally.
fortune.com
August 20, 2025 at 4:52 AM
MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.
Reposted by Clare Downham
They got caught. They’re backing down. But this isn’t over.
There needs to be a class action lawsuit.
Instacart admitted it was using AI to charge different people different prices for the exact same items. Algorithmic price gouging. That scam could cost a family of four $1,200 more a year.
There needs to be a class action lawsuit.
Instacart admitted it was using AI to charge different people different prices for the exact same items. Algorithmic price gouging. That scam could cost a family of four $1,200 more a year.
December 24, 2025 at 4:13 AM
They got caught. They’re backing down. But this isn’t over.
There needs to be a class action lawsuit.
Instacart admitted it was using AI to charge different people different prices for the exact same items. Algorithmic price gouging. That scam could cost a family of four $1,200 more a year.
There needs to be a class action lawsuit.
Instacart admitted it was using AI to charge different people different prices for the exact same items. Algorithmic price gouging. That scam could cost a family of four $1,200 more a year.
Bobby the dog at Buttermere. The odd shape globular pebbles on the shore are evidence of medieval iron working nearby #cumbria #archaeology #dogs
December 24, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Bobby the dog at Buttermere. The odd shape globular pebbles on the shore are evidence of medieval iron working nearby #cumbria #archaeology #dogs
Reposted by Clare Downham
Can you help a local historian locate and map examples of historic Gaelic inscriptions on Scottish gravestones?
Read the latest blog on our website here that explains more about this interesting project 👇
www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/in-sear...
Read the latest blog on our website here that explains more about this interesting project 👇
www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/in-sear...
December 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Can you help a local historian locate and map examples of historic Gaelic inscriptions on Scottish gravestones?
Read the latest blog on our website here that explains more about this interesting project 👇
www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/in-sear...
Read the latest blog on our website here that explains more about this interesting project 👇
www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/in-sear...
Reposted by Clare Downham
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip reports that Israeli forces have committed 875 violations over 74 days of the ceasefire, killing 411 Palestinians and injuring 1,112 as they also arrested 45 people.
December 23, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip reports that Israeli forces have committed 875 violations over 74 days of the ceasefire, killing 411 Palestinians and injuring 1,112 as they also arrested 45 people.
Reposted by Clare Downham
Shocking new Epstein files link Trump to flights on pedophile's 'Lolita Express' https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/12/23/2359727/-Shocking-new-Epstein-files-link-Trump-to-flights-on-pedophile-s-Lolita-Express?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=
Shocking new Epstein files link Trump to flights on pedophile's 'Lolita Express'
No wonder Donald Trump fought with every fiber of his being to keep the Epstein files sealed. The Department of Justice on Monday released another tranche of files, as required by law, which included numerous mentions of Trump himself. The document...
www.dailykos.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Shocking new Epstein files link Trump to flights on pedophile's 'Lolita Express' https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/12/23/2359727/-Shocking-new-Epstein-files-link-Trump-to-flights-on-pedophile-s-Lolita-Express?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=
December 23, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Clare Downham
The point was never to save money. That was only ever a convenient justification for an effort to decimate the public sector and dismantle the US social safety net.
On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM
The point was never to save money. That was only ever a convenient justification for an effort to decimate the public sector and dismantle the US social safety net.
Reposted by Clare Downham
🚨 A taster of what's to come in 2029 unless we all wake up, especially the Labour party... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform council’s plan to shut eight care homes ‘a betrayal of local people’
Announcement after proposed sale falls through prompts backlash and union says more than 200 jobs at risk
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
🚨 A taster of what's to come in 2029 unless we all wake up, especially the Labour party... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Feeling festive in #morecambe #dogs
December 23, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Feeling festive in #morecambe #dogs
Reposted by Clare Downham
School districts are rushing to adopt "one chatbot per child" models, but decades of research shows learning is fundamentally social.
Here’s why isolating students with AI tutors may undermine the classroom interactions that actually support brain development. buff.ly/gv76wEl
Here’s why isolating students with AI tutors may undermine the classroom interactions that actually support brain development. buff.ly/gv76wEl
The ‘one chatbot per child’ model for AI in classrooms conflicts with what research shows: Learning is a social process
AI tutors are often held up as an ideal, but prioritizing individualized teaching can detract from the benefits of learning in social environments.
buff.ly
December 22, 2025 at 11:03 PM
School districts are rushing to adopt "one chatbot per child" models, but decades of research shows learning is fundamentally social.
Here’s why isolating students with AI tutors may undermine the classroom interactions that actually support brain development. buff.ly/gv76wEl
Here’s why isolating students with AI tutors may undermine the classroom interactions that actually support brain development. buff.ly/gv76wEl