Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
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mbirna.bsky.social
Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
@mbirna.bsky.social
Computer Scientist @utwente.bsky.social #LogicBasedAI #MultiAgentSystems | Intimate Computing #values #vulnerability https://intimate-computing.net | Disability | Towards a caring and inspiring digital society
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
In other words: If AI does one thing well, it's making explicit what «being human» means under current conditions. The answer cannot lie in a return to a supposedly universal humanism, but rather in a radical critique of these conditions that understands the role of AI systems in maintaining them
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July 27, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
So-called «artificial intelligence» is essentially an explication machine, rendering explicit not only latent patterns in masses of data, but also fascist tendencies in liberal democracies as well as the exploitative, extractivist, and ultimately destructive business models of platform capitalism
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July 27, 2025 at 8:39 AM
“the US has a history of eradicating the disabled. Eugenics – the pseudoscientific belief that humans should breed for “desirable traits” and suppress the undesirable ones – rose to popularity in the US and globally during the late 19th century.”
July 25, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
The Ugly Laws, a series of state laws at the turn of the 20th century, banned disabled, mentally ill and unhoused people from public places. This + other eugenic law like forced sterilization and interracial marriage bans were such comprehensive body of legislation the Nazis studied and cited them.
July 25, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
This is extremely fucking bad. It’s intentionally ambiguous.

Language used:
- addiction
- homelessness
- mental health conditions
- substance use disorders
- risk to self or public
- living on the streets
- cannot care for self

Please study the American Eugenics Movement. They won’t stop here.
There's a new dangerous executive order signed today that intends to ignore the Olmsted decision in order to encourage civil commitments of people with mental health disabilities or substance use disorders, particularly if they are homeless. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose and
www.whitehouse.gov
July 24, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
I signed this letter. Maybe worthy of your signage as well?
July 21, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Faschismus = Selbstentgrenzung - die Wirklichkeit trägt (zu Recht) zahlreiche ethisch-moralische Ansprüche an ein Individuum heran, diesen gerecht zu werden, kostet Energie. Eine faschistoide Absage an diese Ansprüche ist für manche wahrscheinlich eine Lusterfahrung.
July 18, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
This fits perfectly, as the default aesthetic of #AIslop already owes a lot to Kinkade: If you look at algorithmically curated databases used to fine-tune AI models such as «LAION aesthetics,» you'll find Kinkade's paintings ranked higher than almost anything else in terms of «aesthetic score»
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July 2, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
A short blogpost detailing my experience of censorship at the AI for Good Summit with links to both original and censored versions of slides and links to my talk

aial.ie/blog/2025-ai...
AI for Good [Appearance?]
Reflections on the last minute censorship of my keynote at the AI for Good Summit 2025
aial.ie
July 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
I sat down and chatted with the AI for Good keynote speaker @abeba.bsky.social about how her talk was censored, how this undermines the spirit of the summit, and what the industry can do to build fairer, more just systems.

thebulletin.org/2025/07/ai-f...
AI for good, with caveats: How a keynote speaker was censored during an international artificial intelligence summit
Q&A with Abeba Birhane on how she was censored during the AI for good summit and how the industry can do better.
thebulletin.org
July 10, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
A strong statement of resistance to the relentless marketing of "AI" in education spaces. I encourage all educators to have a look and consider signing on:

openletter.earth/an-open-lett...
An open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education
openletter.earth
July 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
'Vacations.'

The word is 'vacations.'
July 7, 2025 at 5:53 PM
“De principes zijn: eerlijkheid, nauwgezetheid, transparantie, onafhankelijkheid, en verantwoordelijkheid. “AI” berust op oneerlijk verkregen data, nodigt uit tot afraffelen, is ondoorzichtig in plaats van transparant, maakt mensen afhankelijk, en leidt tot verlies van eigenaarschap.”
July 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Wel heb ik ooit @aob.nl hoe komt die AI-prietpraat in het onderhandelingsakkoord, en hoe krijgen we die er zo snel mogelijk uit? #cao #universiteiten ideophone.org/waarom-ik-ni... (ht @irisvanrooij.bsky.social)
Waarom ik niet instem met het onderhandelingsakkoord voor de CAO universiteiten – The Ideophone
ideophone.org
July 2, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
A lot of the signatories to this letter are in the Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence department, and other scientific fields. They supply links to papers that support their concerns.
“Even the term 'Artificial Intelligence' … is widely misused, with conceptual unclarity coopted to advance industry agendas and undermine scholarly discussions. It is our task to demystify and to challenge 'AI' in our teaching, research & engagement with society.” openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
openletter.earth
June 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) als toekomstscenario voor AI zoals Alexander Klöpping betoogde bij Eva? Een ideologisch problematisch en technisch onjuist narratief, aangewakkerd door grote AI en tech bedrijven. Mijn reactie op mijn blog: intimate-computing.net/kritische-re...
Kritische reflectie Eva-item Klöpping 'AI in de toekomst' | Intimate Computing
Op 22 mei 2025 was Alexander Klöpping te gast in het programma 'Eva' van de AVRO/TROS. Hij presenteerde daar een 'toekomstscenario' waarin AI 'slimmer'
intimate-computing.net
June 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
It’s ok to rest.

It’s ok to unplug.

It’s ok to take a break.

Rest is resistance.

Ableism has conditioned us to believe that taking care of ourselves is somehow lazy or wrong.

It’s not. It’s necessary.

If you don’t take breaks, your body will force you.

Give yourself permission to rest.
June 30, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Hello & HAPPY FRIDAY, as promised an open letter by my lovely colleagues and myself. Everybody, feel free to sign this even if you are not NL-based and ‼️ share ‼️ (anonymous signature is poss):

Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia

openletter.earth/open-letter-...
June 27, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
“Transphobia is not f**cking feminist”

Kate Nash's powerful speech during her performance at Glastonbury.
June 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
"In our writing, we drew on our lives: the losses of our parents, the births of our children, every love affair we’ve lived or imagined. Stories of human heroism and human depravity. These stories were stolen from us and used to train machines" #AIEthics #authors

lithub.com/against-ai-a...
Against AI: An Open Letter From Writers to Publishers
To Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, and all other publishers of America: We are standing on a precipice. At its simplest level, our job as …
lithub.com
June 27, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Dr. M. Birna van Riemsdijk
Het is niét de schuld van jongeren zelf, wanneer je een beperking hebt, mentale problemen of chronisch ziek bent. En je uitvalt doordat passende begeleiding bij onderwijs, stage of werk ontbreekt.

Daarom willen we betere begeleiding en voorzieningen. Zodat iedereen kan meedoen! 🙌🏽
June 27, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The videos about our project Disconnections and Relationships mediated through Intimate Technologies (DiscReTe) are online! 💃 We investigated through dance how Intimate (Wearable) Technologies can support social connection through human-technology partnership. intimate-computing.net/news/videos-...
Videos about DiscReTe published! | Intimate Computing
I am delighted to share with you that the videos of our project ‘Disconnections and Relationships mediated through Intimate Technologies (DiscReTe)’ have
intimate-computing.net
June 27, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Many thanks Olivia and colleagues for the initiative and leadership! I wholeheartedly support this letter. Sign too if you want to resist the uncritical adoption of AI technologies in academia 👇
Hello & HAPPY FRIDAY, as promised an open letter by my lovely colleagues and myself. Everybody, feel free to sign this even if you are not NL-based and ‼️ share ‼️ (anonymous signature is poss):

Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia

openletter.earth/open-letter-...
June 27, 2025 at 12:10 PM