John Sands
@iohn.bsky.social
information•society•cats
Opinions my own
Opinions my own
@jkbjournalist.bsky.social making trouble with @postbaron.bsky.social at #kmf26
@knightfoundation.org
@knightfoundation.org
February 12, 2026 at 9:47 PM
@jkbjournalist.bsky.social making trouble with @postbaron.bsky.social at #kmf26
@knightfoundation.org
@knightfoundation.org
Reposted by John Sands
When I wrote Section 230 I did so knowing it would be critical for protecting free speech online. 30 years later and it’s one of the last things standing in the way of Republican censorship of the internet. Here’s to many more years of defending this vital safeguard of free speech.
February 8, 2026 at 6:28 PM
When I wrote Section 230 I did so knowing it would be critical for protecting free speech online. 30 years later and it’s one of the last things standing in the way of Republican censorship of the internet. Here’s to many more years of defending this vital safeguard of free speech.
Reposted by John Sands
From the bestskeeting author of the Bluesky-famous six-week Bad Bunny 101 comes this essential close reading of the halftime show! 🧵
First shot: sugarcane
The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times
Still used to make rum of course!
The backbone of Puerto Rico's agricultural economy since colonial times
Still used to make rum of course!
February 9, 2026 at 3:54 AM
From the bestskeeting author of the Bluesky-famous six-week Bad Bunny 101 comes this essential close reading of the halftime show! 🧵
Reposted by John Sands
I was really hoping that halftime show from a stellar Peurto Rican artist would have beem more political.
Bad Bunny should have looked at the camera and said loudly in English "End the Jones Act Now"
Bad Bunny should have looked at the camera and said loudly in English "End the Jones Act Now"
February 9, 2026 at 2:04 AM
I was really hoping that halftime show from a stellar Peurto Rican artist would have beem more political.
Bad Bunny should have looked at the camera and said loudly in English "End the Jones Act Now"
Bad Bunny should have looked at the camera and said loudly in English "End the Jones Act Now"
Reposted by John Sands
Unpredictable
Head-turning
Majestic...
Head-turning
Majestic...
Words That Could Conceivably Be Used to Describe Both the Super Bowl and a Superb Owl
Unpredictable Head-turning Majestic Fast-paced Expensive Bone-crunching Spirited A hoot
buff.ly
February 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Unpredictable
Head-turning
Majestic...
Head-turning
Majestic...
February 8, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by John Sands
Holy cow. This 5th Circuit ruling on U.S. copyright overriding other countries' copyright laws, while a little arcane in its details, is a huge mess for everything from basic commercial licensing to national sovereignty and comity.
A Volcanic Opinion in the Fifth Circuit Destabilizes International Copyright Law—Vetter v. Resnik (Guest Blog Post) - Technology & Marketing Law Blog
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa [Eric’s note: this is another Long Read post from Prof. Ochoa, clocking in at over 10k words.] Territoriality is a fundamental principle of international intellectual prop...
blog.ericgoldman.org
February 6, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Holy cow. This 5th Circuit ruling on U.S. copyright overriding other countries' copyright laws, while a little arcane in its details, is a huge mess for everything from basic commercial licensing to national sovereignty and comity.
Reposted by John Sands
The biggest threats to journalism in this country, and to the possibility of an informed and empowered electorate, stem from the political economy of the media. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Washington Post undergoing significant layoffs as part of ‘strategic reset’
Employees were told Wednesday that the paper’s sports desk would close among other cuts and restructurings
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:17 PM
The biggest threats to journalism in this country, and to the possibility of an informed and empowered electorate, stem from the political economy of the media. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Reposted by John Sands
Troublemaker is my middle name.
February 1, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Troublemaker is my middle name.
@philorch.bsky.social and @nezetseguin.bsky.social in top form tonight. Breathtakingly perfect Ravel.
February 1, 2026 at 2:11 AM
@philorch.bsky.social and @nezetseguin.bsky.social in top form tonight. Breathtakingly perfect Ravel.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Derrida
2. Music & Cognition
3. Modern Political Thought
4. 20th C. Architecture History
5. Southern Literature
1. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Derrida
2. Music & Cognition
3. Modern Political Thought
4. 20th C. Architecture History
5. Southern Literature
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. History of Science from Galileo to Newton
2. Kant's First Critique
3. Game Theory and Politics
4. Tolkien and Modern English Culture
5. Theological Hermeneutics
1. History of Science from Galileo to Newton
2. Kant's First Critique
3. Game Theory and Politics
4. Tolkien and Modern English Culture
5. Theological Hermeneutics
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
January 31, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Derrida
2. Music & Cognition
3. Modern Political Thought
4. 20th C. Architecture History
5. Southern Literature
1. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Derrida
2. Music & Cognition
3. Modern Political Thought
4. 20th C. Architecture History
5. Southern Literature
Reposted by John Sands
In 2025, as Bluesky grew from 25M to 42M users, we took actions to keep it welcoming, using proactive design to reduce toxic content by 79%. Our 2025 Transparency Report shares how we're building a safer platform while keeping a transparent and human-centered approach: bsky.social/about/blog/0...
2025 Transparency Report Overview - Bluesky
In 2025, as Bluesky grew from 25 million to 41 million users, we improved the trust and safety infrastructure to better enable our mission. Here's what that looks like in plain language.
bsky.social
January 30, 2026 at 2:08 PM
In 2025, as Bluesky grew from 25M to 42M users, we took actions to keep it welcoming, using proactive design to reduce toxic content by 79%. Our 2025 Transparency Report shares how we're building a safer platform while keeping a transparent and human-centered approach: bsky.social/about/blog/0...
Reposted by John Sands
For more than a century, scientific journals have been the pipes through which knowledge of the natural world flows into our culture, Ross Andersen writes—now they’re being clogged with AI slop:
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Science Is Drowning in AI Slop
Peer review has met its match.
www.theatlantic.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:18 PM
For more than a century, scientific journals have been the pipes through which knowledge of the natural world flows into our culture, Ross Andersen writes—now they’re being clogged with AI slop:
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Reposted by John Sands
The right move. And an excellent, forceful statement: "We have asked the court to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use. Anything less would license future newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant.”
wapo.st/4jUxQEe
wapo.st/4jUxQEe
Washington Post demands government return materials seized from reporter
The Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.
wapo.st
January 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
The right move. And an excellent, forceful statement: "We have asked the court to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use. Anything less would license future newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant.”
wapo.st/4jUxQEe
wapo.st/4jUxQEe
Reposted by John Sands
New course, new blog post: "Where Should We Live?" - Will Climate Change Alter Where Americans Choose to Live? ethanzuckerman.com/2026/01/21/w...
"Where Should We Live" - a new class on cities, migration and climate change - Ethan Zuckerman
How is climate change going to alter where Americans choose to live? Can we predict a move back to the industrial midwest?
ethanzuckerman.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:10 PM
New course, new blog post: "Where Should We Live?" - Will Climate Change Alter Where Americans Choose to Live? ethanzuckerman.com/2026/01/21/w...
Reposted by John Sands
Please share - multiple summer 2026 in-person undergrad internship opportunities at @pewresearch.org!
- religion
- digital
- social trends
- data journalism
- global
- news
- internet
- AI
- admin
- race
- science
- methods
- politics
Apply soon!
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
- religion
- digital
- social trends
- data journalism
- global
- news
- internet
- AI
- admin
- race
- science
- methods
- politics
Apply soon!
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
January 20, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Please share - multiple summer 2026 in-person undergrad internship opportunities at @pewresearch.org!
- religion
- digital
- social trends
- data journalism
- global
- news
- internet
- AI
- admin
- race
- science
- methods
- politics
Apply soon!
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
- religion
- digital
- social trends
- data journalism
- global
- news
- internet
- AI
- admin
- race
- science
- methods
- politics
Apply soon!
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
Reposted by John Sands
Needed this today. Thank you cow.
This is the first recorded instance of a bovine using tools from her environment to relieve an itch—leaving scientists astonished. www.wired.com/story/veroni...
‘Veronika’ Is the First Cow Known to Use a Tool
This is the first recorded instance of a bovine using tools from her environment to relieve an itch—leaving scientists astonished.
www.wired.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Needed this today. Thank you cow.
Reposted by John Sands
We just published the methodology behind CoPE, our 9B parameter model that matches GPT-4o at content classification at 1% the size! The model is already open source, but now we're sharing our training technique. blog.zentropi.ai/how-we-built... 🧵 1/6
How we built CoPE
We just published the methodology behind CoPE. This is the model that powers Zentropi, and we think the approach might be useful for others working on policy-steerable classification systems.
We had ...
blog.zentropi.ai
January 15, 2026 at 6:51 PM
We just published the methodology behind CoPE, our 9B parameter model that matches GPT-4o at content classification at 1% the size! The model is already open source, but now we're sharing our training technique. blog.zentropi.ai/how-we-built... 🧵 1/6
Reposted by John Sands
Apple and Google have previously removed apps providing nudify services from their app stores.
So why havent they taken action against X and Grok?
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social reports
So why havent they taken action against X and Grok?
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social reports
Why Are Grok and X Still Available in App Stores?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been used to generate thousands of sexualized images of adults and apparent minors. Apple and Google have removed other “nudify” apps—but continue to host X and Grok.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Apple and Google have previously removed apps providing nudify services from their app stores.
So why havent they taken action against X and Grok?
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social reports
So why havent they taken action against X and Grok?
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social reports
Reposted by John Sands
Bill Siemering, founding program director of NPR, author of its mission statement, has asked me to inquire if any profs might be interested in a Zoom class visit? No honorarium necessary. Bill founded All Things Considered, Fresh Air, won a MacArthur, etc.
A Founding Father of NPR Worries About Its Fate
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Bill Siemering, founding program director of NPR, author of its mission statement, has asked me to inquire if any profs might be interested in a Zoom class visit? No honorarium necessary. Bill founded All Things Considered, Fresh Air, won a MacArthur, etc.
Reposted by John Sands
We underestimate how impactful harassment and threats of violence are on politicians. Clear, large uptick in the number of major incumbent politicians not running/retiring specifically due to harassments and threats of violence. The harassers are like 0.1% of the population but hugely impactful.
January 6, 2026 at 2:50 AM
We underestimate how impactful harassment and threats of violence are on politicians. Clear, large uptick in the number of major incumbent politicians not running/retiring specifically due to harassments and threats of violence. The harassers are like 0.1% of the population but hugely impactful.
Reposted by John Sands
Has a court ruled on whether, under Section 230, a web site’s AI generating content based on a user prompt is treated as the web site’s speech? Seems to me it should be, just as if the site operator published speech answering someone’s question.
BWEPRA
BWEPRA
I am not a Section 230 expert but being that Twitter is creating and publishing these photos I wonder if they actually have any civil legal protection? @kenwhite.bsky.social ? @akivamcohen.bsky.social ?
What X is allowing Grok to do is unlawful or regulatory-illegal in multiple jurisdictions, creates clear DSA violations, and continues despite regulator scrutiny. The images do not need to be pornographic, non-consensual sexualised or intimate depictions are enough.
January 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Has a court ruled on whether, under Section 230, a web site’s AI generating content based on a user prompt is treated as the web site’s speech? Seems to me it should be, just as if the site operator published speech answering someone’s question.
BWEPRA
BWEPRA
“Major platforms are already experimenting with ads embedded in conversations where…there’s no way to distinguish neutral information from paid influence. AI companions will nudge users toward purchases, beliefs, and behaviors that serve the interests of the highest bidder.”
January 5, 2026 at 2:25 PM
“Major platforms are already experimenting with ads embedded in conversations where…there’s no way to distinguish neutral information from paid influence. AI companions will nudge users toward purchases, beliefs, and behaviors that serve the interests of the highest bidder.”