Photini Vrikki
@photini.bsky.social
I think and write about the impact of technology on society // I teach and do digital humanities at the department of Information Studies at UCL.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
In case you’re worried about the synthetic text extruders becoming conscious and farming us Matrix-style: this is an excellent and very accessible piece on why those concerns are probably overblown. 👇
Hinton has been talking about “maternal instincts” in AI, but that’s a symptom of a larger issue: he worries about AI’s power to persuade us, even as he believes in what it tells him. mail.cyberneticforests.com/thoughts-on-...
Thoughts on Hinton
On Consciousness in Programs
Geoffrey Hinton recently won a Nobel Prize for his work on backpropagation, a foundational piece of research that contributed to the emergence of contemporary artificial ...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:51 AM
In case you’re worried about the synthetic text extruders becoming conscious and farming us Matrix-style: this is an excellent and very accessible piece on why those concerns are probably overblown. 👇
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
in the 90s I used to be like "the idea of digital drugs is kind of a dumb sci-fi conceit" and now in the 2020s I'm like "everyones high on GPT and its giving tehm severe brain damage"
October 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
in the 90s I used to be like "the idea of digital drugs is kind of a dumb sci-fi conceit" and now in the 2020s I'm like "everyones high on GPT and its giving tehm severe brain damage"
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
People have actual problems that need solving, and I would like S. Altman to stop making up new ones, please and thank you.
October 14, 2025 at 8:51 PM
People have actual problems that need solving, and I would like S. Altman to stop making up new ones, please and thank you.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Definitely nothing can go wrong with OpenAI having a full record of your sexy chatbot interactions.
October 14, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Definitely nothing can go wrong with OpenAI having a full record of your sexy chatbot interactions.
🌱 Mine and Güneş's new paper calls for DH practices that prioritise environmental accountability, decolonial perspectives, and ethical collaboration.
Read here: dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/3/000...
#DigitalHumanities #Sustainability #EcologicalCare #EnvironmentalJustice
Read here: dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/3/000...
#DigitalHumanities #Sustainability #EcologicalCare #EnvironmentalJustice
September 23, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🌱 Mine and Güneş's new paper calls for DH practices that prioritise environmental accountability, decolonial perspectives, and ethical collaboration.
Read here: dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/3/000...
#DigitalHumanities #Sustainability #EcologicalCare #EnvironmentalJustice
Read here: dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/3/000...
#DigitalHumanities #Sustainability #EcologicalCare #EnvironmentalJustice
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
I and @photini.bsky.social have a new publication The article reconceptualises London as ‘A Learnt City’, a dynamic learning ecosystem shaped through digital mediation, affective experience, and embodied practices.
Read OA here: www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15...
#DigitalUrbanism #urbanpedagogies
Read OA here: www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15...
#DigitalUrbanism #urbanpedagogies
www.mdpi.com
September 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
I and @photini.bsky.social have a new publication The article reconceptualises London as ‘A Learnt City’, a dynamic learning ecosystem shaped through digital mediation, affective experience, and embodied practices.
Read OA here: www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15...
#DigitalUrbanism #urbanpedagogies
Read OA here: www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15...
#DigitalUrbanism #urbanpedagogies
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
ARt-Z: Unlock the Unseen
1–23 May UCL East
Zeyu Zhao's exhibition, supported by IAS Octagon fund, presents 10 digitised paintings from the V&A’s Chinese Export Watercolours Collection. By integrating augmented reality it offers new ways to experience historical artworks
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...
1–23 May UCL East
Zeyu Zhao's exhibition, supported by IAS Octagon fund, presents 10 digitised paintings from the V&A’s Chinese Export Watercolours Collection. By integrating augmented reality it offers new ways to experience historical artworks
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...
May 2, 2025 at 11:18 AM
ARt-Z: Unlock the Unseen
1–23 May UCL East
Zeyu Zhao's exhibition, supported by IAS Octagon fund, presents 10 digitised paintings from the V&A’s Chinese Export Watercolours Collection. By integrating augmented reality it offers new ways to experience historical artworks
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...
1–23 May UCL East
Zeyu Zhao's exhibition, supported by IAS Octagon fund, presents 10 digitised paintings from the V&A’s Chinese Export Watercolours Collection. By integrating augmented reality it offers new ways to experience historical artworks
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Delighted to be included in UCL’s 2025 Student Choice Awards Roll of Honour—I’m honoured to be listed alongside fantastic colleagues Lucy Brownson, @alisonhicks0.bsky.social , @photini.bsky.social, Ahmad Goheer & Daniel Onah! What a way to end year! 🥳
May 1, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Delighted to be included in UCL’s 2025 Student Choice Awards Roll of Honour—I’m honoured to be listed alongside fantastic colleagues Lucy Brownson, @alisonhicks0.bsky.social , @photini.bsky.social, Ahmad Goheer & Daniel Onah! What a way to end year! 🥳
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Women's appearance and behaviour is about to get even more highly policed in the UK, with a few people doubtless being emboldened to "take action". This whole billionaire-funded enterprise dials back gender equity by decades.
April 20, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Women's appearance and behaviour is about to get even more highly policed in the UK, with a few people doubtless being emboldened to "take action". This whole billionaire-funded enterprise dials back gender equity by decades.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
April 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL.
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
April 1, 2025 at 6:55 AM
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL.
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
ICYMI: King’s College London is hiring 20 open-ended posts at L/SL level (Asst/Assoc Prof level) in AI + any subject. (Yes, that includes critical studies.) It’s 3 years of 80% “protected” research time, then 2 years to the standard requirements for an open-ended post. www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/role/ki...
April 1, 2025 at 4:44 PM
ICYMI: King’s College London is hiring 20 open-ended posts at L/SL level (Asst/Assoc Prof level) in AI + any subject. (Yes, that includes critical studies.) It’s 3 years of 80% “protected” research time, then 2 years to the standard requirements for an open-ended post. www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/role/ki...
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL.
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
April 1, 2025 at 6:55 AM
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL.
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
"It’s worse than you think because by the time the courts catch up the damage will already have been done. It’s worse than you think because the people running the government seem to have no higher mission than to watch it burn"
www.wired.com/story/doge-w...
www.wired.com/story/doge-w...
The DOGE Takeover Is Worse Than You Think
What’s happening to the US government right now is bad. What comes next is worse.
www.wired.com
March 1, 2025 at 8:47 AM
"It’s worse than you think because by the time the courts catch up the damage will already have been done. It’s worse than you think because the people running the government seem to have no higher mission than to watch it burn"
www.wired.com/story/doge-w...
www.wired.com/story/doge-w...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
When I worked in UK academia I recall hearing of a Japanese man who was baffled at how Britain had decided to run its universities like firms. “Why? Your universities are excellent and your firms are terrible.”
To repeat: "A country so stupid it actively trashes one of things it's good at and famous for."
Today's university slashing and burning is Edinburgh, where about 10% of the budget will be cut. There'll be another case every single day until UK govts actually do something. A country so stupid it actively trashes one of things it's good at and famous for.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
February 25, 2025 at 10:24 PM
When I worked in UK academia I recall hearing of a Japanese man who was baffled at how Britain had decided to run its universities like firms. “Why? Your universities are excellent and your firms are terrible.”
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Years ago, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I interviewed a former fb employee, and I remember her continually emphasizing that these tech bros weren't evil geniuses, but were, in fact, dangerous because they were utterly clueless, totally reckless, and had too much power.
February 19, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Years ago, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I interviewed a former fb employee, and I remember her continually emphasizing that these tech bros weren't evil geniuses, but were, in fact, dangerous because they were utterly clueless, totally reckless, and had too much power.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Cribbed from LinkedIn.
February 18, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Cribbed from LinkedIn.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
BBC just released damning research on AI assistants' news accuracy.
Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐
www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social
Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐
www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social
February 11, 2025 at 7:22 AM
BBC just released damning research on AI assistants' news accuracy.
Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐
www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social
Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐
www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
While more tech companies race to the bottom to kiss Trump's ass, they manage to finally show the public what us internet scholars have been shouting for years - that technology is never neutral or objective and is motivated by political and mainly capitalistic motives.
Google Calendar has removed key cultural events from their site including:
• Pride Month
• Black History Month
• Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Jewish Heritage
• Hispanic Heritage
• Indigenous People Month
• Pride Month
• Black History Month
• Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Jewish Heritage
• Hispanic Heritage
• Indigenous People Month
February 11, 2025 at 9:15 AM
While more tech companies race to the bottom to kiss Trump's ass, they manage to finally show the public what us internet scholars have been shouting for years - that technology is never neutral or objective and is motivated by political and mainly capitalistic motives.
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org
February 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org/files/lee_20...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
“In response to the shocking news predicting up to 10,000 imminent job losses across the UK higher education sector, we write to flag up a fact that the article largely misses: the degree to which arts and humanities subjects are bearing the brunt of these cuts.” ⮛ #academicsky
The deep cultural cost of British university job cuts | Letters
Letters: Arts and humanities are being hit hardest by cuts in higher education, write Prof Thea Pitman and Prof Emma Cayley, and Dr Ronan McLaverty-Head and another letter writer comment on cuts at Ca...
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2025 at 11:57 PM
“In response to the shocking news predicting up to 10,000 imminent job losses across the UK higher education sector, we write to flag up a fact that the article largely misses: the degree to which arts and humanities subjects are bearing the brunt of these cuts.” ⮛ #academicsky
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Heritage Foundation has always worked to influence and control media communications, to favor conservatives.
NOW they're starting to do the same with *information resources*, putting Wikipedia editors in the crosshairs for purported left-leaning bias re anti-semitism
forward.com/news/686797/...
NOW they're starting to do the same with *information resources*, putting Wikipedia editors in the crosshairs for purported left-leaning bias re anti-semitism
forward.com/news/686797/...
Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
The conservative think tank told prospective donors that the project was part of its work to combat antisemitism.
forward.com
January 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Heritage Foundation has always worked to influence and control media communications, to favor conservatives.
NOW they're starting to do the same with *information resources*, putting Wikipedia editors in the crosshairs for purported left-leaning bias re anti-semitism
forward.com/news/686797/...
NOW they're starting to do the same with *information resources*, putting Wikipedia editors in the crosshairs for purported left-leaning bias re anti-semitism
forward.com/news/686797/...
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
If you wanted no leaks you should have gone into Settings -> Security -> Configure privacy & security -> Privacy options -> Other -> Configure -> Media interface and clicked “Disallow.”
The Leak setting is on by default but we understand your privacy is important so we’ve made it easy to opt out
The Leak setting is on by default but we understand your privacy is important so we’ve made it easy to opt out
"Everything I say leaks," Zuckerberg says in leaked meeting audio. "It sucks"
www.404media.co/zuckerberg-s...
www.404media.co/zuckerberg-s...
Zuckerberg Says 'Everything I Say Leaks' in Leaked Meeting Audio
"There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so I’m not going to talk about those."
www.404media.co
January 30, 2025 at 10:07 PM
If you wanted no leaks you should have gone into Settings -> Security -> Configure privacy & security -> Privacy options -> Other -> Configure -> Media interface and clicked “Disallow.”
The Leak setting is on by default but we understand your privacy is important so we’ve made it easy to opt out
The Leak setting is on by default but we understand your privacy is important so we’ve made it easy to opt out
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
When it is darkest, an angel will appear, rotating a gyro
it's been a rough week so i thought i'd rotate a gyro for everyone. as a treat
January 29, 2025 at 11:31 PM
When it is darkest, an angel will appear, rotating a gyro