Stephen Checkoway
@stevecheckoway.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Computer Science at Oberlin College. No kings, no nazis.
I played some time odds chess games against @pinkhairedcyn.bsky.social this afternoon. It was a blast. The big chess websites should really support that natively. (You have to play on lichess and give your opponent time in 15 second increments.) Cc. @lichess.org @chess.com
December 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I played some time odds chess games against @pinkhairedcyn.bsky.social this afternoon. It was a blast. The big chess websites should really support that natively. (You have to play on lichess and give your opponent time in 15 second increments.) Cc. @lichess.org @chess.com
I tried asking Gemini to summarize one of my papers this evening. It got the title, authors, and content wrong. I don’t understand why people find that useful.
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
I tried asking Gemini to summarize one of my papers this evening. It got the title, authors, and content wrong. I don’t understand why people find that useful.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Well, this is interesting. So they lied and got caught. And there were consequences. Hmm.
Indie Game Awards Disqualifies Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Due To Gen AI Usage
insider-gaming.com/indie-game-a...
insider-gaming.com/indie-game-a...
Indie Game Awards Disqualifies Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Due To Gen AI Usage
Sandfall Interactive and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been stripped of its wins at The Indie Game Awards due to use of generative AI.
insider-gaming.com
December 20, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Well, this is interesting. So they lied and got caught. And there were consequences. Hmm.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
67 Senators could remove RFK Jr. today but there aren’t 67 Senators who care about Americans’ lives, health, or wellbeing. Babies will die. Our leaders hate us.
BREAKING: RFKJr directs that the US instantly stop recommending all vaccinations for children. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Under RFK Jr., U.S. plans to stop recommending most vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:50 AM
67 Senators could remove RFK Jr. today but there aren’t 67 Senators who care about Americans’ lives, health, or wellbeing. Babies will die. Our leaders hate us.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
"The congressman will call and give them a kick in the ass. ... This is why we’re here, just in case we need to get a sitting congressman who happens to sit on the Homeland Security Committee involved." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-a-h...
How a ‘Habeas Machine’ Reunited One Family That Was Pulled Apart by ICE
The agents were on the hunt, but as they staked out the...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:29 PM
"The congressman will call and give them a kick in the ass. ... This is why we’re here, just in case we need to get a sitting congressman who happens to sit on the Homeland Security Committee involved." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-a-h...
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
December 17, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
The quest to implement a truly secure cryptographic algorithm in Super Mario levels continues. youtu.be/BllSbDg7Y6I?...
This Mario Maker Level is an Encryption Algorithm that is Undecipherable.
YouTube video by Ceave Gaming
youtu.be
December 17, 2025 at 6:49 PM
The quest to implement a truly secure cryptographic algorithm in Super Mario levels continues. youtu.be/BllSbDg7Y6I?...
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Ken Paxton has launched a snitch line to gather reports of supposed violations of Texas' transphobic bathroom policing law. Please do not abuse this snitch line. Please do not fill it with faff and nonsense. Please do not attach huge, unwieldy and irrelevant documentation to any reports.
Texas Women’s Privacy Act Complaint Form (SB 8) | Office of the Attorney General
The Texas Women’s Privacy Act requires a political subdivision or state agency, including public schools, open enrollment charter schools, and state institutions of higher education, to designate each...
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
December 17, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Ken Paxton has launched a snitch line to gather reports of supposed violations of Texas' transphobic bathroom policing law. Please do not abuse this snitch line. Please do not fill it with faff and nonsense. Please do not attach huge, unwieldy and irrelevant documentation to any reports.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Internships in MPC available, for both recent PhD graduates and current PhD students...
mpcinthewild.github.io
This is a project funded by the Zama Cryptanalysis Grant program
mpcinthewild.github.io
This is a project funded by the Zama Cryptanalysis Grant program
MPC in the Wild is a research project that aims to study the real-world implementation security of MPC protocols, in particular, the gap between assumptions on the theory side and implementation choices made in practice.
mpcinthewild.github.io
December 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Internships in MPC available, for both recent PhD graduates and current PhD students...
mpcinthewild.github.io
This is a project funded by the Zama Cryptanalysis Grant program
mpcinthewild.github.io
This is a project funded by the Zama Cryptanalysis Grant program
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
I don't know, Aaron. I think we need to take this seriously. In fact, after surveying hundreds of years of history in the past few days, I've written an article assessing the originalist case here:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
December 16, 2025 at 3:58 AM
I don't know, Aaron. I think we need to take this seriously. In fact, after surveying hundreds of years of history in the past few days, I've written an article assessing the originalist case here:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
It is remarkable to me that LLMs capable of churning out effectively infinite amount of text have existed for several years now and the damning fact is not one of them has produced a text so far that a meaningful number of people wanted to read.
Where is the first LLM Pulitzer or Hugo or Newbery?
Where is the first LLM Pulitzer or Hugo or Newbery?
I have grown to believe that excessive wealth does something to your brain that is analogous to a serious head injury
December 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
It is remarkable to me that LLMs capable of churning out effectively infinite amount of text have existed for several years now and the damning fact is not one of them has produced a text so far that a meaningful number of people wanted to read.
Where is the first LLM Pulitzer or Hugo or Newbery?
Where is the first LLM Pulitzer or Hugo or Newbery?
lichess's yearly recap includes the number of moves you played with a cute conversion to kg of wood moved.
December 15, 2025 at 8:20 PM
lichess's yearly recap includes the number of moves you played with a cute conversion to kg of wood moved.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
ICE sprayed a one-year-old in the face with pepper spray.
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
December 15, 2025 at 3:24 AM
ICE sprayed a one-year-old in the face with pepper spray.
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The child and parents are US citizens, but that doesn't even matter.
These monsters pepper-sprayed a baby.
We cannot allow ICE to continue this behavior, and they aren't going to reform themselves.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Thanks for giving me the push to unsubscribe.
December 12, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Thanks for giving me the push to unsubscribe.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
I will be sure to let everyone targeted by a Kavanaugh stop know that they need not fret, it was only an interim order.
I will let every trans person kicked out of the military know they needn’t worry because it is just an interim order.
I will let every trans person kicked out of the military know they needn’t worry because it is just an interim order.
December 12, 2025 at 6:37 AM
I will be sure to let everyone targeted by a Kavanaugh stop know that they need not fret, it was only an interim order.
I will let every trans person kicked out of the military know they needn’t worry because it is just an interim order.
I will let every trans person kicked out of the military know they needn’t worry because it is just an interim order.
It’s very important, in my opinion, that we publicly identify ICE agents like Samantha Camlica. Their evil deeds should follow them for the rest lives. May they never know a moment’s peace.
I appreciate Hunter’s work here.
I appreciate Hunter’s work here.
At 26 Federal Plaza, I encountered two of the more notorious ICE agents; Samantha Camlica and a man they call "The Big Guy."
I was with a court watcher as Camlica accosted him outside. I was on an elevator when "The Big Guy" gave a family a terrifying ride.
talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/new-...
I was with a court watcher as Camlica accosted him outside. I was on an elevator when "The Big Guy" gave a family a terrifying ride.
talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/new-...
The Undocumented Underground Is Fighting Back Inside New York’s Notorious Immigration Court
One day last month, a Peruvian mother and her daughter went into...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It’s very important, in my opinion, that we publicly identify ICE agents like Samantha Camlica. Their evil deeds should follow them for the rest lives. May they never know a moment’s peace.
I appreciate Hunter’s work here.
I appreciate Hunter’s work here.
This has to be a bit, right?
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 10:48 PM
This has to be a bit, right?
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Magaziner: How many US military veterans have you deported?
Noem: We have not deported military veterans.
Magaziner: We are joined on zoom by a gentleman who is an army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country. You deported him to Korea.
Noem: We have not deported military veterans.
Magaziner: We are joined on zoom by a gentleman who is an army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country. You deported him to Korea.
December 11, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Magaziner: How many US military veterans have you deported?
Noem: We have not deported military veterans.
Magaziner: We are joined on zoom by a gentleman who is an army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country. You deported him to Korea.
Noem: We have not deported military veterans.
Magaziner: We are joined on zoom by a gentleman who is an army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country. You deported him to Korea.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
all of this AND it all houses an incredible goodreads scoop
This is a really disturbing story on several levels and certainly anyone who interacts with the Pentagon specifically or the administration more generally should read it:
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
www.motherjones.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
all of this AND it all houses an incredible goodreads scoop
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
roughly the same amount I raised to publish a collection of five years worth of weekly work that I poured blood, sweat and tears into...for using an abhorrent slur and getting properly fired from your food court job...
The Cinnabon employee who was fired for calling a Somali couple the N-word in Wisconsin has now received over $130,000 in donations.
December 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
roughly the same amount I raised to publish a collection of five years worth of weekly work that I poured blood, sweat and tears into...for using an abhorrent slur and getting properly fired from your food court job...
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison
www.forever-wars.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
This is such a shitty thing for a professor to say. I would never.
Students are whole-ass adults. They have lives beyond my class. Sometimes that means they have higher priorities. Sometimes they screw up.
For aspiring professors, I recommend grace when students come to you.
Students are whole-ass adults. They have lives beyond my class. Sometimes that means they have higher priorities. Sometimes they screw up.
For aspiring professors, I recommend grace when students come to you.
"poor planning by you doesn't constitute an emergency for me" I will never forget the first (and only) time a professor said this to me, devastating, accurate, etc.
December 6, 2025 at 12:37 AM
This is such a shitty thing for a professor to say. I would never.
Students are whole-ass adults. They have lives beyond my class. Sometimes that means they have higher priorities. Sometimes they screw up.
For aspiring professors, I recommend grace when students come to you.
Students are whole-ass adults. They have lives beyond my class. Sometimes that means they have higher priorities. Sometimes they screw up.
For aspiring professors, I recommend grace when students come to you.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
It's hard to explain to normies how much effort Trump is putting into anti-trans policies.
This is like the 12th thing just this week. And there were 12 things the week before, and 12 things the week before that. There will be 12 things next week.
This is almost everything the government is doing.
This is like the 12th thing just this week. And there were 12 things the week before, and 12 things the week before that. There will be 12 things next week.
This is almost everything the government is doing.
BREAKING: Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans & intersex people, memo says. A DOJ memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) do not align with Trump’s Jan. 20 anti-trans executive order, @byadamrhodes.bsky.social reports.
Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people
A Department of Justice memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act do not align with Trump’s executive order
prismreports.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
It's hard to explain to normies how much effort Trump is putting into anti-trans policies.
This is like the 12th thing just this week. And there were 12 things the week before, and 12 things the week before that. There will be 12 things next week.
This is almost everything the government is doing.
This is like the 12th thing just this week. And there were 12 things the week before, and 12 things the week before that. There will be 12 things next week.
This is almost everything the government is doing.
Reposted by Stephen Checkoway
Such hateful, petty, bigoted trash bags. Their hate will never erase the history she made.
Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered. n.pr/48HypvT
HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait
Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered.
n.pr
December 5, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Such hateful, petty, bigoted trash bags. Their hate will never erase the history she made.