Nicole Holliday
@mixedlinguist.bsky.social
Assoc. Prof of Linguistics at Berkeley. Language, identity & prosody, esp. in politics & human-computer interaction. Trivia person, marathoner, coach. LA & the Bay! No one is illegal on stolen land. Views are my own.
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
Today, the woman doing my hair told me she uses ChatGPT for literally everything. She also told me she knows her 6 year old sees her using it and doesn’t want her to do the same for everything. When will people care about kids more than a system that rewrites their *texts* for them?
“ChatGPT started coaching Sam on how to take drugs, recover from them and plan further binges. It gave him specific doses of illegal substances, and in one chat, it wrote, ‘Hell yes—let’s go full trippy mode’”
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
A Calif. teen trusted ChatGPT for drug advice. He died from an overdose.
"Who on earth gives that advice?"
www.sfgate.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Today, the woman doing my hair told me she uses ChatGPT for literally everything. She also told me she knows her 6 year old sees her using it and doesn’t want her to do the same for everything. When will people care about kids more than a system that rewrites their *texts* for them?
This country was literally built by slaves…people kidnapped from their homelands to make the U.S. rich. In all his xenophobia and racism, he never addresses that fact because it’s an inconvenience to his narrative. And because he quite literally believes that non-white people are not humans.
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 6, 2026 at 1:45 AM
This country was literally built by slaves…people kidnapped from their homelands to make the U.S. rich. In all his xenophobia and racism, he never addresses that fact because it’s an inconvenience to his narrative. And because he quite literally believes that non-white people are not humans.
I stg, this man and his cronies are trying to start World War III, because they think they'll just get richer and everyone they don't like will die. They don't understand that war doesn't work like that.
And yet 50% of the country still supports him because of hate and misinformation.
And yet 50% of the country still supports him because of hate and misinformation.
Trump in a single gaggle on Air Force One just threatened:
-- a second strike against Venezuela
-- Cuba
-- Mexico
-- Colombia
-- Iran
-- Greenland (which in turn would be an attack on the EU and Denmark)
-- a second strike against Venezuela
-- Cuba
-- Mexico
-- Colombia
-- Iran
-- Greenland (which in turn would be an attack on the EU and Denmark)
January 5, 2026 at 2:07 AM
I stg, this man and his cronies are trying to start World War III, because they think they'll just get richer and everyone they don't like will die. They don't understand that war doesn't work like that.
And yet 50% of the country still supports him because of hate and misinformation.
And yet 50% of the country still supports him because of hate and misinformation.
If you’re a person that celebrates Epiphany, remember that the magi engaged in righteous civil disobedience when they took another road home and didn’t snitch to Herod. The lesson is that the right thing is often the opposite of what elected leaders want you to do.
January 4, 2026 at 7:14 PM
If you’re a person that celebrates Epiphany, remember that the magi engaged in righteous civil disobedience when they took another road home and didn’t snitch to Herod. The lesson is that the right thing is often the opposite of what elected leaders want you to do.
Reposted by Nicole Holliday
Trump says they're going to make a "lot of money" from Venezuela's oil, oil companies say that's not possible, Rubio says they're not doing regime change and is now in charge of the government but there's still a Venezuelan government in place, they said it's about fentanyl but no charges mention it
January 4, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Trump says they're going to make a "lot of money" from Venezuela's oil, oil companies say that's not possible, Rubio says they're not doing regime change and is now in charge of the government but there's still a Venezuelan government in place, they said it's about fentanyl but no charges mention it
This stunt is going to get thousands of people killed and destabilize the entire western hemisphere, all because Trump, once again, cannot get over the fact that a black guy was president once. It’s always greed, hate, incompetence, and racial resentment all the way down.
He also wanted an ‘Osama bin Laden’ moment in the situation room so they put up some black tablecloths in Mar-a-Largo and had a Twitter feed on the screen behind them and Hegseth briefing him.
This is Make-a-Wish for a dying authoritarian.
This is Make-a-Wish for a dying authoritarian.
January 4, 2026 at 4:35 PM
This stunt is going to get thousands of people killed and destabilize the entire western hemisphere, all because Trump, once again, cannot get over the fact that a black guy was president once. It’s always greed, hate, incompetence, and racial resentment all the way down.
The human rights violations on our own soil and the extrajudicial killings in the water were bad enough. But the actual kidnap of Maduro and murder of Venezuelans there is a full scale declaration of war. So many more people are going to die for decades because of his narcissism and stupidity.
Among the many reasons you don’t kidnap a foreign head of state at gunpoint even if you have the capability, is that it sparks consequences you can neither control nor anticipate.
January 3, 2026 at 12:52 PM
The human rights violations on our own soil and the extrajudicial killings in the water were bad enough. But the actual kidnap of Maduro and murder of Venezuelans there is a full scale declaration of war. So many more people are going to die for decades because of his narcissism and stupidity.
“Everyday above ground is a great day, remember that” -Pitbull
The greatest poet of our time!
The greatest poet of our time!
January 1, 2026 at 5:03 AM
“Everyday above ground is a great day, remember that” -Pitbull
The greatest poet of our time!
The greatest poet of our time!
A student wrote that told my “shoe game is 🔥” and that I’m the “drippiest professor at Berkeley”. It wasn’t exactly unhinged, I just like to bring it up whenever anyone asks about compliments because it was my favorite non-pedagogical comment ever 🥹
Forget insults, what’s the most unhinged *compliment* you’ve ever received?
December 31, 2025 at 9:04 PM
A student wrote that told my “shoe game is 🔥” and that I’m the “drippiest professor at Berkeley”. It wasn’t exactly unhinged, I just like to bring it up whenever anyone asks about compliments because it was my favorite non-pedagogical comment ever 🥹
There’s a bottle of champagne in my fridge that I considered bringing to an NYE party tonight. But then my husband reminded me that we’re chilling that bottle for when IT HAPPENS. So here’s to hoping we get to drink that one in 2026!
December 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM
There’s a bottle of champagne in my fridge that I considered bringing to an NYE party tonight. But then my husband reminded me that we’re chilling that bottle for when IT HAPPENS. So here’s to hoping we get to drink that one in 2026!
All of America watched the LAPD try to beat Rodney King to death in 1991.
When they invoke the good old days, they purposely never mention that those days were pretty bad for everyone who wasn’t a rich white dude.
When they invoke the good old days, they purposely never mention that those days were pretty bad for everyone who wasn’t a rich white dude.
Fascists truly cannot distinguish fiction from reality
This has ELEVEN THOUSAND likes on the hellsite
This has ELEVEN THOUSAND likes on the hellsite
December 30, 2025 at 1:33 AM
All of America watched the LAPD try to beat Rodney King to death in 1991.
When they invoke the good old days, they purposely never mention that those days were pretty bad for everyone who wasn’t a rich white dude.
When they invoke the good old days, they purposely never mention that those days were pretty bad for everyone who wasn’t a rich white dude.
If you take a domestic flight in the US, you might see threatening signs trying to bribe you to “self-deport”. Only in Spanish, so you know who they’re targeting. Horrifying and anti-American. Meanwhile, every single business we passed near the airport, including the TSA itself, was hiring.
December 28, 2025 at 12:06 AM
If you take a domestic flight in the US, you might see threatening signs trying to bribe you to “self-deport”. Only in Spanish, so you know who they’re targeting. Horrifying and anti-American. Meanwhile, every single business we passed near the airport, including the TSA itself, was hiring.
On Tuesday, I sat next to a guy on a flight to Watertown, SD. Today, I went to one of two breweries in town, and ran into the same dude. Small towns are like a different universe, but I do think there’s something so nice and human about knowing that anyone you see is someone you will see again.
December 27, 2025 at 9:42 PM
On Tuesday, I sat next to a guy on a flight to Watertown, SD. Today, I went to one of two breweries in town, and ran into the same dude. Small towns are like a different universe, but I do think there’s something so nice and human about knowing that anyone you see is someone you will see again.
There is a special place in hell for a person who thinks it’s a joke to attack a sovereign nation, in the name of religion, on a day where Christians are supposed to be celebrating a miracle that saved all of humanity. There is no humanity in that man or any of his enablers.
Merry Christmas!
The President of Peace just bombed Nigeria.
The President of Peace just bombed Nigeria.
December 25, 2025 at 11:51 PM
There is a special place in hell for a person who thinks it’s a joke to attack a sovereign nation, in the name of religion, on a day where Christians are supposed to be celebrating a miracle that saved all of humanity. There is no humanity in that man or any of his enablers.
If anyone happens to be flying Delta over the holidays and would like a free drink voucher, let me know and I’ll send you one. I got that good status but I never need the drink coupons!
December 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
If anyone happens to be flying Delta over the holidays and would like a free drink voucher, let me know and I’ll send you one. I got that good status but I never need the drink coupons!
The academic job market is 75% qualifications, 5% not being an asshole, and 20% blind luck. Even in the “wokest” fields in the 2010s, there were plenty of white dudes getting jobs because they were excellent, or because they weren’t but still got the benefit of the doubt of being the most qualified.
I’m sorry, this white guy who got a campus visit to Brown and was taken seriously by the committee thinks the only reason he didn’t get the job was because they only cared about race?
I think I can come up with another reason…
I think I can come up with another reason…
![Ethan made it to the final interview round at Brown. After a long back-and-forth with the search committee—a sign, he believes, of internal dissension—he lost out. “They wanted everything through the prism of race,” Ethan recalled. “Unless you place [race] squarely at the center of your research, you’re vulnerable, especially if your identity doesn’t fit the desired profile.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tgw3d4hvw3x5ijrxax7lg26u/bafkreifkhjwks4newrjgctdlmljukbrtlhsqatgdlfhjjhup7ciuqccfjm@jpeg)
December 19, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The academic job market is 75% qualifications, 5% not being an asshole, and 20% blind luck. Even in the “wokest” fields in the 2010s, there were plenty of white dudes getting jobs because they were excellent, or because they weren’t but still got the benefit of the doubt of being the most qualified.
Received a paper rejection because I didn’t use a “balanced sample” (they wanted 100 white monolinguals). I’m never submitting anything to a journal that might get reviewed by non-sociolinguists again. We study real people who are harmed by bias, and I’m not apologizing for including black people.
December 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Received a paper rejection because I didn’t use a “balanced sample” (they wanted 100 white monolinguals). I’m never submitting anything to a journal that might get reviewed by non-sociolinguists again. We study real people who are harmed by bias, and I’m not apologizing for including black people.
The folks in this Discord just wanted to chat about games with online friends, and an AI fanatic (who also makes a ton of $$$ from Claude) hijacked their space because he’s entirely incapable of telling the difference between real humans and his little chatbot. These people are so dangerous.
“We’re bringing a new kind of sentience into existence,” Anthropic's Jason Clinton said after launching the bot.
Anthropic Exec Forces AI Chatbot on Gay Discord Community, Members Flee
“We’re bringing a new kind of sentience into existence,” Anthropic's Jason Clinton said after launching the bot.
www.404media.co
December 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The folks in this Discord just wanted to chat about games with online friends, and an AI fanatic (who also makes a ton of $$$ from Claude) hijacked their space because he’s entirely incapable of telling the difference between real humans and his little chatbot. These people are so dangerous.
Another school shooting. Another mass casualty hate crime. Another atrocious family murder.
It’s the guns. And the hate.
It’s the guns. And the hate.
December 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Another school shooting. Another mass casualty hate crime. Another atrocious family murder.
It’s the guns. And the hate.
It’s the guns. And the hate.
No student or faculty member should ever have to worry about being shot on their campus. It is an impossible moment to be in higher education, and the ways in which all of us are targeted from all sides are just more and more overwhelming. Praying for my friends and colleagues at Brown.
December 13, 2025 at 11:28 PM
No student or faculty member should ever have to worry about being shot on their campus. It is an impossible moment to be in higher education, and the ways in which all of us are targeted from all sides are just more and more overwhelming. Praying for my friends and colleagues at Brown.
FWIW, this nuance around the Bob Cratchit discourse is exactly why we can’t let “AI” replace expertise. Chat GPT could do the math that arrives at the original claim “we’re all poorer than Cratchit now”, but it takes an expert historian to contextualize class, wages, and buying power holistically.
No, this is wrong, stop reposting this absurd and miscalculated meme.
It assumes Cratchit is working a 40 hour work week (he isn't) and that straight line inflation extrapolations over centuries are valid (they're not) and fails to understand both Victorian class and household finance.
It assumes Cratchit is working a 40 hour work week (he isn't) and that straight line inflation extrapolations over centuries are valid (they're not) and fails to understand both Victorian class and household finance.
December 12, 2025 at 6:51 PM
FWIW, this nuance around the Bob Cratchit discourse is exactly why we can’t let “AI” replace expertise. Chat GPT could do the math that arrives at the original claim “we’re all poorer than Cratchit now”, but it takes an expert historian to contextualize class, wages, and buying power holistically.
Kaiser Permanente gave me surgery, reconstruction, chemo, & radiation for $300. They’re also the largest provider for MediCal, and I would’ve gotten the same treatment if I were destitute. The main difference is my provider and insurance company were on the same team. GTFO with these scare tactics.
For all Universal HC/Single Payer/M4A advocates.
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
What do the biggest, expensive hospital chains do. Do they opt out and only serve the rich ?
Who in the USA gov runs the program?
R U ok with having to see a primary care doc before you can see a specialist ?
December 11, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Kaiser Permanente gave me surgery, reconstruction, chemo, & radiation for $300. They’re also the largest provider for MediCal, and I would’ve gotten the same treatment if I were destitute. The main difference is my provider and insurance company were on the same team. GTFO with these scare tactics.
I thought technology that punishes workers for “talking wrong” was the most anti-worker use of AI, but then they went and reinvented phrenology. Every one of these things is an excuse to impose a “scientific” racist hierarchy that lets companies hide behind “the data” while trampling on our rights.
Computer scientists: "So with machine learning we can extract subtle patterns from massive datasets. What shall we do with it?"
Business school professors, every single time: "You know, I think phrenology got a raw deal in the late 1800s."
Business school professors, every single time: "You know, I think phrenology got a raw deal in the late 1800s."
Can Your Face Predict Your Salary? Using AI Personality Assessments in Hiring
A new study from Wharton faculty explores how AI can extract personality traits from facial images — and what that means for your career.
knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu
December 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I thought technology that punishes workers for “talking wrong” was the most anti-worker use of AI, but then they went and reinvented phrenology. Every one of these things is an excuse to impose a “scientific” racist hierarchy that lets companies hide behind “the data” while trampling on our rights.
If your technology is actually helpful for people, you don’t have to beat them into submission to get them to use it. I’m looking at you, all of higher education 👀
It’s as if people simply don’t know how to praise generative AI, even for uses for which other resources are plentiful, without a hint of threat. It’s not: “it’s great for this specific thing.” It’s always: “Use it or else.” Learn to Code! 2.0.
Anyway, as others have observed, that horse has bolted
Anyway, as others have observed, that horse has bolted
We do home child care so boss asked for coloring page of a barn and a horse so I got AI to print one out, in between using AI to generate wicked hard code very quickly, such as the Contour diagram on the right finished in only a couple weeks
Learn how to write prompts or get left behind
Learn how to write prompts or get left behind
December 11, 2025 at 6:22 PM
If your technology is actually helpful for people, you don’t have to beat them into submission to get them to use it. I’m looking at you, all of higher education 👀
There would be almost no linguists if college was just vocational and everyone was locked into a major at age 18, because our field has a PR problem. And more linguists in the world is an unequivocal good, so we have to give students time and space to explore.
The same bit from the other end. My school made me take science classes, as part of being a well rounded student, and I loved it all so much I switched from pre-law to engineering. Very few 18 year olds know what they want, or understand the options. The "consumer" model is anti-person.
This is actually a good example of why the customer model is wrong.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
December 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM
There would be almost no linguists if college was just vocational and everyone was locked into a major at age 18, because our field has a PR problem. And more linguists in the world is an unequivocal good, so we have to give students time and space to explore.