Yan Basque
@yanbasque.com
Writer, artist and musician. Queer. Critic of technology. Grad student (Information Studies at McGill). (He/him)
https://linktr.ee/yanbasque
https://linktr.ee/yanbasque
I posted a mini thread dunking on Casey Newton but like a grandpa who doesn’t know how to use his phone, I accidentally posted in in reply to another unrelated thread. So I’m gonna take it as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t worth sharing after all.
January 6, 2026 at 9:13 PM
I posted a mini thread dunking on Casey Newton but like a grandpa who doesn’t know how to use his phone, I accidentally posted in in reply to another unrelated thread. So I’m gonna take it as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t worth sharing after all.
A dozen people I’ve never interacted with have blocked me since I posted this.
I can’t believe those furry bullies drove Parker Molloy off of Bluesky. Wtf??
January 6, 2026 at 8:33 PM
A dozen people I’ve never interacted with have blocked me since I posted this.
I can’t believe those furry bullies drove Parker Molloy off of Bluesky. Wtf??
January 6, 2026 at 11:37 AM
I can’t believe those furry bullies drove Parker Molloy off of Bluesky. Wtf??
First class of the semester. Professor on use of AI: "I would encourage you not to use it, because... it's pretty crap"
I like them.
I like them.
January 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM
First class of the semester. Professor on use of AI: "I would encourage you not to use it, because... it's pretty crap"
I like them.
I like them.
Wow, The Guardian really can’t be trusted to report on any AI related issues since their partnership with OpenAI. Just basically a PR firm for AI boosterism at this point.
“Calls to the clinic helpline are being used to train an AI algorithm that researchers hope will eventually power a chatbot offering therapy in local African languages.”
The chatbot will see you now: how AI is being trained to spot mental health issues in any language
Calls to a clinic in Uganda are helping create a therapy algorithm that works in local languages, as specialists look to technology to address the global mental health crisis
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Wow, The Guardian really can’t be trusted to report on any AI related issues since their partnership with OpenAI. Just basically a PR firm for AI boosterism at this point.
Why is our prime minister still posting on that neo nazi website?!
The Canadian government celebrates the US committing the crime of aggression against Venezuela, in violation of international law and the UN Charter, even as it calls for respect for international law.
I’m not surprised: Carney took a similar approach when the US illegally attacked Iran last year.
I’m not surprised: Carney took a similar approach when the US illegally attacked Iran last year.
January 4, 2026 at 1:46 AM
Why is our prime minister still posting on that neo nazi website?!
Reposted by Yan Basque
The media needs to recognize that there is a marked difference between the endemic problem of CSAM being posted to social media platforms and a platform giving users a tool to actively create CSAM.
January 2, 2026 at 6:02 PM
The media needs to recognize that there is a marked difference between the endemic problem of CSAM being posted to social media platforms and a platform giving users a tool to actively create CSAM.
This drives me crazy!
“Grok generated synthetic text that mimics an apology in response to a user prompt” is not the same as “Grok apologized”!
Journalists need to do better.
“Grok generated synthetic text that mimics an apology in response to a user prompt” is not the same as “Grok apologized”!
Journalists need to do better.
I wrote about Grok's CSAM problem and how journalists keep fumbling the story
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been “undressing” women and children in public. Journalists are letting xAI off the hook by pretending the bot is responsible.
www.readtpa.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:05 PM
This drives me crazy!
“Grok generated synthetic text that mimics an apology in response to a user prompt” is not the same as “Grok apologized”!
Journalists need to do better.
“Grok generated synthetic text that mimics an apology in response to a user prompt” is not the same as “Grok apologized”!
Journalists need to do better.
Holy shit
In this in-depth interview Billie Jean Sweeney — a former editor at The New York Times — details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, why this was directed from the very top, how some staff pushed back and the immense damage done by the NYT legitimizing bigotry.
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 1, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Holy shit
I only have one new year's resolution: be more intentional about the media/art/information I consume. (What, when, where, how and why.) Limit my exposure to algorithms, recommender systems, infinite scrolls, streaming platforms, and subscription services. Return to physical media as much as possible
January 1, 2026 at 1:29 AM
I only have one new year's resolution: be more intentional about the media/art/information I consume. (What, when, where, how and why.) Limit my exposure to algorithms, recommender systems, infinite scrolls, streaming platforms, and subscription services. Return to physical media as much as possible
Can you still call if enshittificafion if it starts as shit and then just becomes more shit?
Also this was so predictable.
Also this was so predictable.
December 31, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Can you still call if enshittificafion if it starts as shit and then just becomes more shit?
Also this was so predictable.
Also this was so predictable.
Reposted by Yan Basque
Remember when they insisted they would never did this? lol
December 31, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Remember when they insisted they would never did this? lol
Every time I listen to a PJ Harvey album I haven’t heard before I lose my mind because I can’t believe how good it is and how I spent all this time not listening to it earlier.
December 31, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Every time I listen to a PJ Harvey album I haven’t heard before I lose my mind because I can’t believe how good it is and how I spent all this time not listening to it earlier.
I wasted a lot of time today fantasizing about buying a mechanical keyboard and shopping online for a mechanical keyboard. (I did not buy a mechanical keyboard.)
December 30, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I wasted a lot of time today fantasizing about buying a mechanical keyboard and shopping online for a mechanical keyboard. (I did not buy a mechanical keyboard.)
Every day, a new article is published featuring the same "responsible use" argument, and they continue to be wrong.
Generative AI can be a valuable aid in writing, editing and peer review – if you use it responsibly, says Dritjon Gruda
go.nature.com/4ahSVpq
go.nature.com/4ahSVpq
Three ways ChatGPT helps me in my academic writing
Generative AI can be a valuable aid in writing, editing and peer review – if you use it responsibly, says Dritjon Gruda.
go.nature.com
December 30, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Every day, a new article is published featuring the same "responsible use" argument, and they continue to be wrong.
This is so grim. Fuck openAI and every single person peddling this technology.
our data story visualizing the rabbit hole people can fall into with chatGPT is on the cover of today’s @washingtonpost.com @kevinschaul.bsky.social
December 30, 2025 at 4:23 AM
This is so grim. Fuck openAI and every single person peddling this technology.
I sometimes get a notification from spammy accounts asking for donations. The post just shows up in my notifications, even though I am not tagged in it, they are not replying to me, I don't follow them and they don't follow me. How does this work? Are they hacking Bluesky notifications somehow?
December 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I sometimes get a notification from spammy accounts asking for donations. The post just shows up in my notifications, even though I am not tagged in it, they are not replying to me, I don't follow them and they don't follow me. How does this work? Are they hacking Bluesky notifications somehow?
Yes!
To get spicy about it, the same social, political & economic factors driving lack of access to adequate health resources are behind the creation of AI in the specific form it’s taken and its forced deployment throughout society as an authoritarian utopia. It’s a continuation of the same phenomenon.
December 28, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Yes!
Reposted by Yan Basque
Completely disconnected from the reality of how these tools operate. It's astonishing how many people fall for it.
Erin Underwood: Open Letter to the Science Fiction Writers Association and Community on AI
file770.com/erin-underwo...
Erin's core thesis is "There are responsible ways to use AI that support creators without replacing creative labor."
file770.com/erin-underwo...
Erin's core thesis is "There are responsible ways to use AI that support creators without replacing creative labor."
Erin Underwood: Open Letter to the Science Fiction Writers Association and Community
Hi Friends, Erin Underwood After writing the letter below, I thought rather than sending it to SFWA only, I’d share it with Mike at File 770 along with a note that read: “Am I crazy? Will this blow…
file770.com
December 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Completely disconnected from the reality of how these tools operate. It's astonishing how many people fall for it.
Gross!
Congratulations to Stephen Macedo & Frances Lee, whose book In Covid's Wake has been recognized as:
⭐ A @newyorker.com Best Book of the Year
⭐ An @economist.com Book of the Year
⭐ A @wsj.com Best Book of the Year
Learn more about this eye-opening book: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
⭐ A @newyorker.com Best Book of the Year
⭐ An @economist.com Book of the Year
⭐ A @wsj.com Best Book of the Year
Learn more about this eye-opening book: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
December 27, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Gross!
Reposted by Yan Basque
The internet is getting flooded with AI slop. Browsers have AI integrated. Devices have AI integrated. AI boosters have infiltrated all areas of human activity, from the corporate world to schools to government. It's a relentless assault on all fronts.
Firefox browser falls to AI. What do we do now?
where ‘absolutely not’ means ‘maybe later’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c40i... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251223-fir... - podcast
time: 9 min 39 sec
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/23/f... - blog post
where ‘absolutely not’ means ‘maybe later’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c40i... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251223-fir... - podcast
time: 9 min 39 sec
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/12/23/f... - blog post
December 24, 2025 at 1:29 AM
The internet is getting flooded with AI slop. Browsers have AI integrated. Devices have AI integrated. AI boosters have infiltrated all areas of human activity, from the corporate world to schools to government. It's a relentless assault on all fronts.
"...so AI tools can benefit not harm..."
This is the wrong framing. So-called AI can only harm. There is no benefit.
This is the wrong framing. So-called AI can only harm. There is no benefit.
We know students, like the rest of the world, are using AI. Teachers need to be equipped to deal w/all the issues AI creates. Our approach starts with maximizing safety & privacy and empowering educators to make educational decisions, so AI tools can benefit not harm www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
AI has become the norm for students. Teachers are playing catch-up.
At a New York City training session, educators explored how artificial intelligence could support teaching while also discussing their concerns around the technology.
www.nbcnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:22 AM
"...so AI tools can benefit not harm..."
This is the wrong framing. So-called AI can only harm. There is no benefit.
This is the wrong framing. So-called AI can only harm. There is no benefit.
Every time I point out how bad everything AI generates is, some guy tells me it's because you have to know how to use it. It's so silly. Who was it that compared prompt engineering to repeatedly opening the fridge door until you're hungry enough to eat whatever's in there? @olivia.science maybe?
I find the idea that you need to know “how to use” AI tools really funny, as if it isn’t incredibly easy to type in prompts and the marketing these tools is that literally anyone can do it
December 23, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Every time I point out how bad everything AI generates is, some guy tells me it's because you have to know how to use it. It's so silly. Who was it that compared prompt engineering to repeatedly opening the fridge door until you're hungry enough to eat whatever's in there? @olivia.science maybe?