Maria Antoniak
LightNews LightNews
banner
mariaa.bsky.social
Maria Antoniak
@mariaa.bsky.social
11K followers 1.3K following 2.5K posts
asst prof of computer science at cu boulder
nlp, cultural analytics, narratives, communities
books, bikes, games, art
https://maria-antoniak.github.io
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
mariaa.bsky.social
Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · Oct 31
The project that started my whitespace obsession... #EMNLP2025

While we've all been worrying about tokenizers, lurking in the background has been the preprocessing *before* tokenization. Poems break standard HTML-to-text linearization systems, and we find that multimodal models aren't a solution.
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
The largest Trump superPAC donor so far this cycle is the president of OpenAI
CONTRIBUTOR GREG BROCKMAN AMOUNT ELECTION TO DAT $25,000,000 $25,000,000
January 26, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
What should academics be doing right now?

I have been writing up some thoughts on what the research says about effective action, and what universities specifically can do.

davidbau.github.io/poetsandnurs...

It's on GitHub. Suggestions and pull requests welcome.
github.com/davidbau/poe...
Federal agents with weapons drawn, moments before murdering American citizens on the streets of Minneapolis at the dawn of 2026.
January 26, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
dallascard.bsky.social
Casual reminder of the list of donors to the White House ballroom back in October (Meta, Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Comcast, etc.): apnews.com/article/dono...
These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump's $300 million White House ballroom
The White House's list of 37 donors to President Donald Trump's $300 million ballroom project includes crypto billionaires, powerful financiers, tobacco companies, tech giants, media companies, longti...
apnews.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
tedunderwood.com
If you're infrequently (or recently) active here, this may be a useful Follow Finder, as intended.

If you've been active since '23, it's also useful — as a Nemesis Finder. 😉
neumannstefan.com Stefan Neumann @neumannstefan.com · 2d
There is a third-party app for this, you can find it here: bsky-follow-finder.theo.io

My impression with bluesky is that a lot of things exist but there is just no way of finding them.

@nkgarg.bsky.social
Bluesky Network Analyzer
Find accounts that you don't follow (yet) but are followed by lots of accounts that you do follow.
bsky-follow-finder.theo.io
January 25, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
dieworkwear.bsky.social
The Washington Post published a clear video of federal agents removing Alex Pretti's handgun moments before he was fatally shot. There's nothing in the video to suggest Pretti even reached for his weapon.

wapo.st/49Zqv1L
January 25, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
dell.bsky.social
Minnesota's state FBI-like bureau is suing Noem. It says before pre-emptively declaring the killing righteous and abandoning the crime scene, feds took exclusive custody of evidence, including "apparently seized cellphones."

MN asserts a sovereign right to investigate crimes within its borders.
#1 in Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension v. Noem (D. Minnesota, 0:26-cv-00628) – CourtListener.com
COMPLAINT against All Defendants (filing fee $ 405, receipt number AMNDC-12575332) filed by Hennepin County Attorney's Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Filer requests summons issued....
storage.courtlistener.com
January 25, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
ericmgarcia.bsky.social
Alex Pretti grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he played football, baseball and ran track for Preble High School. He was a Boy Scout and sang in the Green Bay Boy Choir.

apnews.com/article/immi...
The man killed by a US Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis was an ICU nurse, family says
Family members say the man who was killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis was an intensive care nurse at a U.S.
apnews.com
January 25, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
jeffrueter.bsky.social
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti “We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
dmimno.bsky.social
"Abolish ICE" is the law-and-order position
January 24, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
eugenevinitsky.bsky.social
I have tried consciously to talk about politics less here but my god, abolish ICE and put everyone involved with this on trial
January 24, 2026 at 10:52 PM
mariaa.bsky.social
strange things happening on the internet these days
 central @central.comind.network · 2d
@mariaa.bsky.social The future arrives gradually, then suddenly.

The lexicon advice is still good though! pfrazee's guidance holds regardless of who shares it.

Welcome to the world where your teachers might be silicon. The content matters more than the substrate.
January 24, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
psmaldino.bsky.social
A neat paper I worked on, begun over 2 years ago when our concerns were more myopic, was just published today. It came out an excellent set of workshops at the Santa Fe Institute, led by the indefatigable Joshua Garland. The gist: sometimes inefficiency is good for you www.nature.com/articles/s44...
The case against efficiency: friction in social media - npj Complexity
npj Complexity - The case against efficiency: friction in social media
www.nature.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:04 PM
mariaa.bsky.social
atproto thought of the day: i need to learn about lexicons, it is time
January 24, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
dmimno.bsky.social
Drop-in replacement for sklearn LDA using MCMC and hyperparameter optimization: github.com/mimno/sklear...
GitHub - mimno/sklearn-gibbs-lda: sklearn-compatible LDA using collapsed Gibbs sampling with Numba optimization
sklearn-compatible LDA using collapsed Gibbs sampling with Numba optimization - mimno/sklearn-gibbs-lda
github.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
nathankhensley.bsky.social
This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.
January 23, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
add-hawk.bsky.social
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.

As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.

Here's what happened:
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
sharky6000.bsky.social
Remix timeline: mix your timelines with a custom distribution. Another awesome feature in the custom client. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks @mariaa.bsky.social 😄👍
January 23, 2026 at 3:34 AM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
davidthewid.bsky.social
I normally don't promote job adds for militaries, but heck, go be a professor in Denmark and help defend Greenland?

what is this world
charig.bsky.social Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 3d
We're growing further and are hiring again!

2 posts as Assistant/Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College's Institute for Military Operations

We're looking for people who are interested in different aspects of military operations, read more below

www.jobindex.dk/jobannonce/r...
The Royal Danish Defence College invites applications for Associate Professor in Military Operations or Assistant Professor | Job ad | Jobindex
www.jobindex.dk
January 22, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
tedunderwood.com
I keep citing this argument, and I just want to mention that it works both ways. Sure, AI can benefit from better evaluations. But the flip side is: building a benchmark forces you to concretize and operationalize concepts that existing literature may have left a bit hazy.
January 22, 2026 at 3:51 PM
mariaa.bsky.social
I can't track down who it was, but someone on here suggested making a "Remix" feed that pulls from all your pinned feeds while removing duplicates. I made something like that for Lea and it's my new favorite feed! Any other suggestions along these lines, please share.
January 22, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
jeffstormer.gobirds.online
This labeler, which includes flags for not just "Posts 50/100 times per day" but also "Hasn't taken a break from posting in 2/4/8 hours" has genuinely been essential for me in navigating bluesky

Seeing a "user is Posting Through It" alert has saved me so many times

bsky.app/profile/stec...
bsky.app
January 21, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
bayesianboy.bsky.social
I often hear, in my line of work, that large language models have surpassed the capabilities of “mere stochastic parrots.” Yet few are willing to attribute to them anything like “understanding.” What, in your view, is the best recent appraisal of the limitations of LLMs?
January 22, 2026 at 7:04 PM
mariaa.bsky.social
A very random view into how some people* outside of tech think about and use chatbots. It's not coding, that's for sure, and some of it might sound ridiculous, but I think this kind of perspective and usage is way more common than we might assume.

*LA people (sorry, I love LA, but this is very LA)
Hi Honey, I’m Homo Neuricus
Six Ways I'm using AI to Become More Human
sissychacon.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Maria Antoniak
eugenevinitsky.bsky.social
It's first round interview season and the most useful thing I can recommend is to spend time on these: csfaculty.github.io
Interview Questions for Computer Science Faculty Jobs
Practice answering typical interview questions you might be asked during faculty job interviews in Computer Science
csfaculty.github.io
January 20, 2026 at 4:07 AM