Thomas P
@tpshea.bsky.social
Music, education, bicycles, live band karaoke, existential dread. thomaspshea on Discord in case bsky becomes untenable and you want to stay in touch
"They said back to normal, and they meant back to normal. All of it. Capitalism, racism, sexism, environmental destruction, and disease. Back to the office. Welcome back, back to the Hive Mind. Hustle for your check. Buy yourself something nice...."
Living with Long COVID often feels like living in a horror movie. Along with your disease comes a creepy Hive Mind refusal to acknowledge the dangers of COVID infection. In Vince Gilligan's new Apple TV show Pluribus, the Hive Mind comes to life:
www.thegauntlet.news/p/pluribus-c...
www.thegauntlet.news/p/pluribus-c...
"Pluribus" captures the isolation of COVID-awareness in a COVID denialist world
For years I've described having Long COVID as living in a horror movie. Now that horror movie (well, prestige Apple TV show) is here.
www.thegauntlet.news
November 11, 2025 at 12:27 AM
"They said back to normal, and they meant back to normal. All of it. Capitalism, racism, sexism, environmental destruction, and disease. Back to the office. Welcome back, back to the Hive Mind. Hustle for your check. Buy yourself something nice...."
new carcinisation just dropped
November 10, 2025 at 10:46 PM
new carcinisation just dropped
So soon?? That means it's only 4 more days until partially-muscled screaming skeleton day, and I haven't even begun my gift shopping!
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 10:39 PM
So soon?? That means it's only 4 more days until partially-muscled screaming skeleton day, and I haven't even begun my gift shopping!
The intern at my doctor's office shot me _such_ a look when I requested they not use AI transcription services to record their notes on my visit.
Catastrophic errors aside, I also feel very strongly that my medical history shouldn't be fed into chatbots as training data.
Catastrophic errors aside, I also feel very strongly that my medical history shouldn't be fed into chatbots as training data.
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
November 10, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The intern at my doctor's office shot me _such_ a look when I requested they not use AI transcription services to record their notes on my visit.
Catastrophic errors aside, I also feel very strongly that my medical history shouldn't be fed into chatbots as training data.
Catastrophic errors aside, I also feel very strongly that my medical history shouldn't be fed into chatbots as training data.
Long #covid brain fog crashed my executive function; the creep of unavoidable AI "features" is making my online work obligations increasingly unbearable. #ExecutiveFunctionTheft indeed!
The #ExecutiveFunctionTheft of having to opt out.
Feeling annoyed at the cognitive cost of having to dismiss all the offers of "AI" assitance every time I use Acrobat to provide feedback on documents my students wrote. (NO I do NOT want an "AI" summary of this. In what world???)
Decided to check settings:
Decided to check settings:
November 10, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Long #covid brain fog crashed my executive function; the creep of unavoidable AI "features" is making my online work obligations increasingly unbearable. #ExecutiveFunctionTheft indeed!
never not reposting
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
never not reposting
What are the _worst_ karaoke songs of all time?
November 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
What are the _worst_ karaoke songs of all time?
Reposted by Thomas P
AI gets 45% of news wrong — but readers still trust it
no plans to fix it, though
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dOP... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251105-ai-... - podcast
time: 4 min 58 sec
no plans to fix it, though
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dOP... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251105-ai-... - podcast
time: 4 min 58 sec
November 5, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Might just make a poster of this to hang on the wall in my classroom.
If I'm reading something, it's either because it's interesting, in which case summarising it would defeat the point, or because it's important, in which case I need to know what it actually says, not what a lying machine pretends it might say.
November 9, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Might just make a poster of this to hang on the wall in my classroom.
Reposted by Thomas P
Tolkein is good strong medicine for any climate person and always has been
they never at any point thought they would win, and winning came at a terrible price, but what is there to do except the work
take the Ring, though you do not know the way
they never at any point thought they would win, and winning came at a terrible price, but what is there to do except the work
take the Ring, though you do not know the way
![them: "there's no hope of stopping global warming now"
me:
[image is Aragorn from the 1978 Lord of the Rings speaking to Frodo. Someone MSPainted a black bandana on Aragorn's face.]
"Then we must do without hope. There is always vengeance."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4djfp3b27soxcfkxhirydi6d/bafkreic5gogoyf2gqurrb44ru5t4euqnmj3hvmalnmhqlnbvwotuc42ff4@jpeg)
November 8, 2024 at 2:06 PM
Tolkein is good strong medicine for any climate person and always has been
they never at any point thought they would win, and winning came at a terrible price, but what is there to do except the work
take the Ring, though you do not know the way
they never at any point thought they would win, and winning came at a terrible price, but what is there to do except the work
take the Ring, though you do not know the way
Reposted by Thomas P
Normally, I just brush off AI on the grounds that it's not close to worth taking seriously. But Montero is a philosopher, so it's worth going into a *bit* more detail as to why I think she's mistaken. (This is still Bluesky and I'm not writing a whole essay.)
🧵
🧵
Opinion | A.I. Is on Its Way to Something Even More Remarkable Than Intelligence
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Normally, I just brush off AI on the grounds that it's not close to worth taking seriously. But Montero is a philosopher, so it's worth going into a *bit* more detail as to why I think she's mistaken. (This is still Bluesky and I'm not writing a whole essay.)
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Thomas P
Here's a preview of why you should read Christos' short but 🎯🎯🎯 article below 👇
November 8, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Here's a preview of why you should read Christos' short but 🎯🎯🎯 article below 👇
Oceans 11 as Muppets, Matt Damon is the only human.
November 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Oceans 11 as Muppets, Matt Damon is the only human.
Reposted by Thomas P
40 years ago we’d have congressional hearings falsely accusing metal bands of putting backwards messages in their songs that told kids to kill themselves & now we have a planet-killing chatbot that’s all like “bet you won’t commit suicide chickenshit bitch” & the government is like here’s $5 billion
November 8, 2025 at 4:23 AM
40 years ago we’d have congressional hearings falsely accusing metal bands of putting backwards messages in their songs that told kids to kill themselves & now we have a planet-killing chatbot that’s all like “bet you won’t commit suicide chickenshit bitch” & the government is like here’s $5 billion
The Ford government has already been a rolling disaster for public education, but things are about to get a whole lot worse.
I see defunding, private schools, and voucher systems on the horizon, and a whole lot of additional misery for families who lack the wherewithal to flee a scuttled ship.
I see defunding, private schools, and voucher systems on the horizon, and a whole lot of additional misery for families who lack the wherewithal to flee a scuttled ship.
NEW: The Ford government is moving to limit debate and public hearings on several pieces of legislation, including a bill which will make it easier for Queen’s Park to sideline trustees and take control of school boards. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1151241...
globalnews.ca/news/1151241...
Ford government bypassing debate on bill to more easily takeover school boards | Globalnews.ca
A motion from House Leader Steve Clark looks to speed several bills through the legislative process after the government shortened the fall sitting by more than a month.
globalnews.ca
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
The Ford government has already been a rolling disaster for public education, but things are about to get a whole lot worse.
I see defunding, private schools, and voucher systems on the horizon, and a whole lot of additional misery for families who lack the wherewithal to flee a scuttled ship.
I see defunding, private schools, and voucher systems on the horizon, and a whole lot of additional misery for families who lack the wherewithal to flee a scuttled ship.
me, doing physio for my creaky wrist except it's 3 pounds and a prairie dog
November 8, 2025 at 3:53 AM
me, doing physio for my creaky wrist except it's 3 pounds and a prairie dog
Reposted by Thomas P
The sociological explanation for current plans to cram AI into the school curriculum is old - a curriculum is always a composite of the "knowledge of the powerful".
AI firms and friends are now very powerful, just as tech firms were when "learning to code" got crammed into the curriculum too.
AI firms and friends are now very powerful, just as tech firms were when "learning to code" got crammed into the curriculum too.
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
The sociological explanation for current plans to cram AI into the school curriculum is old - a curriculum is always a composite of the "knowledge of the powerful".
AI firms and friends are now very powerful, just as tech firms were when "learning to code" got crammed into the curriculum too.
AI firms and friends are now very powerful, just as tech firms were when "learning to code" got crammed into the curriculum too.
Reposted by Thomas P
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 10:59 PM
OVER A MILLION USERS
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT
EVERY *WEEK*
what the fuck are we DOING here
Reposted by Thomas P
Society expects schools to fill in the gaps where our social safety net is failing families.
Food. Clothing. Health, Vision, and Dental Care. Mental health. Transportation. Trauma recovery.
The holes in the safety net keep getting bigger, and our resources are dwindling.
Food. Clothing. Health, Vision, and Dental Care. Mental health. Transportation. Trauma recovery.
The holes in the safety net keep getting bigger, and our resources are dwindling.
November 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Society expects schools to fill in the gaps where our social safety net is failing families.
Food. Clothing. Health, Vision, and Dental Care. Mental health. Transportation. Trauma recovery.
The holes in the safety net keep getting bigger, and our resources are dwindling.
Food. Clothing. Health, Vision, and Dental Care. Mental health. Transportation. Trauma recovery.
The holes in the safety net keep getting bigger, and our resources are dwindling.
Once again, the "problem" that AI is being used to solve is at root a problem of underfunding and overwork.
Hire actual humans to do things that are worth doing, give them time and resources to do things that need to be done, and the use case for AI dissolves into vapor virtually every time.
Hire actual humans to do things that are worth doing, give them time and resources to do things that need to be done, and the use case for AI dissolves into vapor virtually every time.
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
🗣️📢
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
🗣️📢
www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 8, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Once again, the "problem" that AI is being used to solve is at root a problem of underfunding and overwork.
Hire actual humans to do things that are worth doing, give them time and resources to do things that need to be done, and the use case for AI dissolves into vapor virtually every time.
Hire actual humans to do things that are worth doing, give them time and resources to do things that need to be done, and the use case for AI dissolves into vapor virtually every time.
Jfc people need to go to jail and companies need to be broken up for this.
This conversation between ChatGPT and the young man it encouraged to commit suicide is just...my god
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Jfc people need to go to jail and companies need to be broken up for this.
Maybe if I buy a ring modulator I'll suddenly also get John McLaughlin chops too?
Absolutely incandescent mastery.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
Absolutely incandescent mastery.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
Miles Out by Mahavishnu Orchestra on Apple Music
Song · 1976 · Duration 6:44
music.apple.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Maybe if I buy a ring modulator I'll suddenly also get John McLaughlin chops too?
Absolutely incandescent mastery.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
Absolutely incandescent mastery.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
Maybe if I buy a ring modulator I'll magically be able to play guitar like John McLaughlin. Absolutely incandescent stuff.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
Miles Out by Mahavishnu Orchestra on Apple Music
Song · 1976 · Duration 6:44
music.apple.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Maybe if I buy a ring modulator I'll magically be able to play guitar like John McLaughlin. Absolutely incandescent stuff.
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
music.apple.com/ca/album/mil...
If built, this would have had the worst feng shui ever. Physics to the rescue.
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:05 PM
If built, this would have had the worst feng shui ever. Physics to the rescue.