Teresa Heffernan
@tjheffernan.bsky.social
Literature prof; author; current project: how literal readings of fiction by the tech industry are destroying the world. Let's read/interpret fiction as fiction. Boycott generative AI (chatbots etc); Website: https://www.socialrobotfutures.com/
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
The paradox of the network state (why it’s better read as symptom than proposal) is it is the dream of the apex predator that represses its dependency on the entire food web below it.
January 6, 2026 at 2:55 PM
The paradox of the network state (why it’s better read as symptom than proposal) is it is the dream of the apex predator that represses its dependency on the entire food web below it.
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
There is really a 1:1 venn circle overlap between the "don't focus on fossil supply, just focus on demand" guys and the "AI data centre growth providing new demand for fossil fuels is a nothingburger, stop being hysterical" guys
In some other universe this would come across as hypocritical 🫠
In some other universe this would come across as hypocritical 🫠
A ridiculous attendee list for this AI / energy meeting. There is no longer any space between big tech and the fossil fuel industry - they're blended into one single entity now.
Both faced with the anxiety of looming demand collapse, both keeping each other alive
www.axios.com/2025/06/16/c...
Both faced with the anxiety of looming demand collapse, both keeping each other alive
www.axios.com/2025/06/16/c...
January 5, 2026 at 9:23 AM
There is really a 1:1 venn circle overlap between the "don't focus on fossil supply, just focus on demand" guys and the "AI data centre growth providing new demand for fossil fuels is a nothingburger, stop being hysterical" guys
In some other universe this would come across as hypocritical 🫠
In some other universe this would come across as hypocritical 🫠
Canadian government? Canadian universities? We don't have to subject citizens and students to surveillance tech.
January 5, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Canadian government? Canadian universities? We don't have to subject citizens and students to surveillance tech.
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
This is an excellent guide in how to detox from various kinds of US services. I would add that using non-US streaming services also exposes you to non-US programs and series, which in itself is great! For Asian dramas etc I would for instance recommend Viki Rakuten 🇯🇵.
Silicon Valley’s alliance with Donald Trump was a mask off moment and showed the world we can’t depend on US tech companies.
For the past few months, I’ve been trying to get off US tech and I put together a guide so you find alternatives too. I hope you find it helpful!
For the past few months, I’ve been trying to get off US tech and I put together a guide so you find alternatives too. I hope you find it helpful!
Getting off US tech: a guide
I’m in the process of dropping US tech services. Here’s how I did it, and options you should consider.
www.disconnect.blog
January 5, 2026 at 2:14 PM
This is an excellent guide in how to detox from various kinds of US services. I would add that using non-US streaming services also exposes you to non-US programs and series, which in itself is great! For Asian dramas etc I would for instance recommend Viki Rakuten 🇯🇵.
@melhogan.bsky.social "DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services in the United States and Canada."
DTE is building a data center in the Detroit suburbs that will tie up resources. When asked to share contract details, DTE and it's clients broke the law and redacted most of the it.
January 5, 2026 at 1:45 AM
@melhogan.bsky.social "DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services in the United States and Canada."
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
Every time I see a news article about ChatGPT pushing vulnerable people to harm themselves and others, I want to know how the universities who have eagerly proclaimed their partnerships with this company intend to account for the increasing evidence of the harms of this tech
He put his complete trust in a chat bot that turned him into a savage murderer.
Disturbing Messages Show ChatGPT Encouraging a Murder, Lawsuit Alleges
A lawsuit against OpenAI reveals the chilling ChatGPT messages that drove a middle aged man to kill his 83-year-old mother.
trib.al
January 4, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Every time I see a news article about ChatGPT pushing vulnerable people to harm themselves and others, I want to know how the universities who have eagerly proclaimed their partnerships with this company intend to account for the increasing evidence of the harms of this tech
Great interview with @gilduran.com
In the 1940s, Prof. Hartree warned against Turing's claim that a computer could substitute for human intelligence: "The fashion which has sprung up in the last 20 years to decry human reason is a path that leads straight to Nazism."
Enter the Nerd Reich.
In the 1940s, Prof. Hartree warned against Turing's claim that a computer could substitute for human intelligence: "The fashion which has sprung up in the last 20 years to decry human reason is a path that leads straight to Nazism."
Enter the Nerd Reich.
How Silicon Valley embraced authoritarianism.
My interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
My interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
January 4, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Great interview with @gilduran.com
In the 1940s, Prof. Hartree warned against Turing's claim that a computer could substitute for human intelligence: "The fashion which has sprung up in the last 20 years to decry human reason is a path that leads straight to Nazism."
Enter the Nerd Reich.
In the 1940s, Prof. Hartree warned against Turing's claim that a computer could substitute for human intelligence: "The fashion which has sprung up in the last 20 years to decry human reason is a path that leads straight to Nazism."
Enter the Nerd Reich.
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
Google “said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are ‘helpful’ and ‘reliable’”.
“…some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.”
“…some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.”
Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice
Exclusive: Inaccurate information presented in summaries, Guardian investigation finds
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Google “said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are ‘helpful’ and ‘reliable’”.
“…some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.”
“…some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.”
"In really simple terms, I believe that almost every investment in a data center or AI startup may go to zero."
I really hope the Canadian government, universities, banks are paying attention.
"AI" has been a myth from the outset when "imitation" replaced "thinking."
I really hope the Canadian government, universities, banks are paying attention.
"AI" has been a myth from the outset when "imitation" replaced "thinking."
My final newsletter of 2025: We're in The Enshittifinancial Crisis, the fourth stage of enshittification, where companies turn on their shareholders. Unprofitable, unsustainable AI threatens future of venture capital, private equity and the markets themselves.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
The Enshittifinancial Crisis
Soundtrack: Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird
This piece is over 19,000 words, and took me a great deal of writing and research. If you liked it, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, ...
www.wheresyoured.at
January 2, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"In really simple terms, I believe that almost every investment in a data center or AI startup may go to zero."
I really hope the Canadian government, universities, banks are paying attention.
"AI" has been a myth from the outset when "imitation" replaced "thinking."
I really hope the Canadian government, universities, banks are paying attention.
"AI" has been a myth from the outset when "imitation" replaced "thinking."
"The shared myth-making around the black box of AI cultivates useful confusion about what can and cannot be known. It helps to cultivate the systems as more mysterious, even sublime, than they really are."
Most read on Tech Policy Press in 2025: "The problem is that those of us outside of the AI industry don’t know what rules they are following. That’s not a black box. It’s just a policy decision." — Eryk Salvaggio.
The Black Box Myth: What the Industry Pretends Not to Know About AI | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Eryk Salvaggio says it's a problem is that those of us outside of the AI industry don’t know what rules they are following.
buff.ly
January 2, 2026 at 2:17 PM
"The shared myth-making around the black box of AI cultivates useful confusion about what can and cannot be known. It helps to cultivate the systems as more mysterious, even sublime, than they really are."
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
👇
It has been a truly upsetting revelation how many people who I thought cared about disinformation, advocating for science, etc just flipped in 0.002 microseconds after a tech company programmed a chatbot to tell them how great their questions are
January 1, 2026 at 2:54 PM
👇
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
just so it's clear: this is the exact core function of genAI
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Bob and I were among the hundreds of researchers that were supposed to conduct the 6th U.S. National Climate Assessment. Now it looks like they're gonna produce it with a few people and Grok? Communities need rigorous and accurate information about climate change. This will put communities at risk.
January 1, 2026 at 7:11 AM
just so it's clear: this is the exact core function of genAI
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
"I'm the kind of person who is skeptical of the power of individual action to force change, but I also believe that if enough of us commit to it that it can make a difference — and hopefully show our governments they should be doing more." me too.
newsletter@disconnect.blog
newsletter@disconnect.blog
January 1, 2026 at 6:38 AM
"I'm the kind of person who is skeptical of the power of individual action to force change, but I also believe that if enough of us commit to it that it can make a difference — and hopefully show our governments they should be doing more." me too.
newsletter@disconnect.blog
newsletter@disconnect.blog
Emile Torres @xriskology.bsky.social and Vandana Singh on the billionaire transhumanist death cult:
www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...
www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...
The 'dangerous' promise of a techno-utopian future | CBC Radio
The Silicon Valley is rife with rich and powerful men who have a philosophical commitment to "longtermism" which entails re-engineering the human organism. An expert in existential risk says we should...
www.cbc.ca
December 30, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Emile Torres @xriskology.bsky.social and Vandana Singh on the billionaire transhumanist death cult:
www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...
www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
Top 3 funders of fossil fuels:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
Top 3 banks holding NYC’s public deposits:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
We need a public bank.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
Top 3 banks holding NYC’s public deposits:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
We need a public bank.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
World’s largest banks pledged $869bn to fossil fuel firms in 2024, new report finds
Two-thirds of the biggest 65 banks increased financing by $162bn from 2023 to 2024, walking back climate promises
www.theguardian.com
June 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Top 3 funders of fossil fuels:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
Top 3 banks holding NYC’s public deposits:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
We need a public bank.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
Top 3 banks holding NYC’s public deposits:
– JPMorgan Chase
– Bank of America
– Citibank
We need a public bank.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
@mark-carney.bsky.social please tell them we don't want their illegal guns polluting our country
Canada is catching a US plague - illegal guns from the US are driving up homicides. 90% of weapons seized in Ontario come from south of the border.
Out of gift articles for this month if someone else can add a gift link in replies.
Out of gift articles for this month if someone else can add a gift link in replies.
As U.S. Guns Pour Into Canada, the Bodies Pile Up
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:32 AM
@mark-carney.bsky.social please tell them we don't want their illegal guns polluting our country
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
And the same pattern with cancer research. These people aren't interested in reducing suffering, they find it rhetorically useful for their empire-building.
December 23, 2025 at 1:22 AM
And the same pattern with cancer research. These people aren't interested in reducing suffering, they find it rhetorically useful for their empire-building.
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
This is fabulous. Now my go to referral for anyone who brings up CCS. I wonder if our 🇨🇦 government has seen this.
“CCS is an unnecessary, expensive, wasteful diversion away from a modern, efficient renewable-powered economy with good jobs for all.”
— Peter Montague
“CCS is an unnecessary, expensive, wasteful diversion away from a modern, efficient renewable-powered economy with good jobs for all.”
— Peter Montague
It’s a dangerous fiction.
For those wanting a whole website of vetted science on all the ways it’s both dangerous and fictional and also scammy, my colleagues and I put one together:
www.carboncapturefacts.org
For those wanting a whole website of vetted science on all the ways it’s both dangerous and fictional and also scammy, my colleagues and I put one together:
www.carboncapturefacts.org
Carbon Capture and Storage Facts
An independent, investigative perspective on “carbon capture and storage” (CCS). The site provides peer-reviewed studies and verifiable facts, many of which refute misleading information about CCS tha...
www.carboncapturefacts.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
This is fabulous. Now my go to referral for anyone who brings up CCS. I wonder if our 🇨🇦 government has seen this.
“CCS is an unnecessary, expensive, wasteful diversion away from a modern, efficient renewable-powered economy with good jobs for all.”
— Peter Montague
“CCS is an unnecessary, expensive, wasteful diversion away from a modern, efficient renewable-powered economy with good jobs for all.”
— Peter Montague
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
Thread on why GOP is killing wind and solar. Hint: restricting supply of energy (when AI demand is going up) makes prices shoot up, which then benefits Oil and Gas industry. bsky.app/profile/70sb...
Puzzled by why GOP is all-in on AI, yet closes Renewable projects? @interfluidity.com:
"understand they have an ideological, economic, political stake in the fossil fuel industry, which enjoys when energy demand increases while energy supply competitors are restrained."
bsky.app/profile/cost...
"understand they have an ideological, economic, political stake in the fossil fuel industry, which enjoys when energy demand increases while energy supply competitors are restrained."
bsky.app/profile/cost...
It’s pretty simple:
- AI is driving electricity demand up
- The Trump Administration is restricting new electricity supply from being built
- When demand goes up and supply goes down, you pay more for electricity.
- AI is driving electricity demand up
- The Trump Administration is restricting new electricity supply from being built
- When demand goes up and supply goes down, you pay more for electricity.
August 25, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Thread on why GOP is killing wind and solar. Hint: restricting supply of energy (when AI demand is going up) makes prices shoot up, which then benefits Oil and Gas industry. bsky.app/profile/70sb...
I hope the Canadian government is paying attention and stops hyping the AI industry and expecting tax payers to bail it out:
"AI startup Cohere and CoreWeave plan multibillion-dollar data center in Canada; Government to help fund the project"
So tired of the corporate welfare model...sigh
"AI startup Cohere and CoreWeave plan multibillion-dollar data center in Canada; Government to help fund the project"
So tired of the corporate welfare model...sigh
So basically what they learned from big auto, airlines AND banking: you don't need a functional business just govt bailouts youtu.be/rrsZ0k7FPss
The Exact Moment The AI Bubble Burst…
YouTube video by Fads
youtu.be
December 21, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I hope the Canadian government is paying attention and stops hyping the AI industry and expecting tax payers to bail it out:
"AI startup Cohere and CoreWeave plan multibillion-dollar data center in Canada; Government to help fund the project"
So tired of the corporate welfare model...sigh
"AI startup Cohere and CoreWeave plan multibillion-dollar data center in Canada; Government to help fund the project"
So tired of the corporate welfare model...sigh
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
"Having an AI do it and fail half the time isn't exactly a winning alternative."
www.extremetech.com/computing/mi...
www.extremetech.com/computing/mi...
Microsoft Scales Back AI Goals Because Almost Nobody Is Using Copilot
Google's Gemini is on pace to push Copilot into third place.
www.extremetech.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:09 AM
"Having an AI do it and fail half the time isn't exactly a winning alternative."
www.extremetech.com/computing/mi...
www.extremetech.com/computing/mi...
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
November 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
The Koch empire wants AI’s future built on fossil fuels—and Trump is listening.
The Koch Network Is Pushing Trump to Accelerate AI, Documents Show - Truthdig
The right-wing group Americans for Prosperity, backed by billionaire Charles Koch, sees data centers as part of a pro-fossil fuel agenda.
www.truthdig.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The Koch empire wants AI’s future built on fossil fuels—and Trump is listening.
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
I wrote this brief talk on why “augmenting diversity” with LLMs is empirically unsubstantiable, conceptually flawed, and epistemically harmful and a nice surprise to see the organisers have made it public
synthetic-data-workshop.github.io/papers/13.pdf
synthetic-data-workshop.github.io/papers/13.pdf
December 16, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I wrote this brief talk on why “augmenting diversity” with LLMs is empirically unsubstantiable, conceptually flawed, and epistemically harmful and a nice surprise to see the organisers have made it public
synthetic-data-workshop.github.io/papers/13.pdf
synthetic-data-workshop.github.io/papers/13.pdf
Reposted by Teresa Heffernan
The History department at the University of Toronto is searching in the field of Ukrainian history.
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
University of Toronto - Associate Professor/Professor - John Yaremko Chair in Ukrainian History | H-Net
The Department of History in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in Ukrainian History. The appointment will be at t...
networks.h-net.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:08 AM
The History department at the University of Toronto is searching in the field of Ukrainian history.
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...