Annie Bilancini
@abilancini.bsky.social
Teacher. I published some fiction during Obama's second term.
This is the energy I'm taking into the classroom this fall.
My latest newsletter is about why being anti-genAI is to be pro-human.
It's about why it's time to fight. Why we need to fight. And it's about the cost of failure.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
It's about why it's time to fight. Why we need to fight. And it's about the cost of failure.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/people-are...
People Are The Point
I... uh... I think I wrote a manifesto.
whatwelost.substack.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:57 PM
This is the energy I'm taking into the classroom this fall.
This is why the AFT's new "A.I." training hub feels so misguided. There is no ethical use for a technology predicated on the kind of treatment of humans (and our world) that LLMs require. It's impossible to hand-wave this in the name of giving our students some nebulous competitive edge.
July 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This is why the AFT's new "A.I." training hub feels so misguided. There is no ethical use for a technology predicated on the kind of treatment of humans (and our world) that LLMs require. It's impossible to hand-wave this in the name of giving our students some nebulous competitive edge.
"We trust their values, not because they try to dominate us but because they are vulnerable with us. They put themselves in a position where they might be hurt. They walk humbly with their God."
@thrasherxy.bsky.social considers how Mahmoud Khalil and Zohran Mamdani show us a better way through the politics of vulnerability.
Mahmoud Khalil, Zohran Mamdani, and the Politics of Vulnerability
Last Friday, June 20, after 104 days of unlawful incarceration, former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was released from an ICE prison in Jena, Louisiana. Mahmoud returned to New York City, where h…
buff.ly
June 24, 2025 at 4:53 PM
"We trust their values, not because they try to dominate us but because they are vulnerable with us. They put themselves in a position where they might be hurt. They walk humbly with their God."
Before I left Facebook, I mostly posted about GenAI's rotten effects on writing, thinking, truth, human flourishing, etc... This essay is like the molten center of all the rage I felt trying to get people to understand last year what a problem "AI" poses. I wish I could share it even more widely.
Honestly I don't care whether "AI" works, whether it "reasons." I care that it harms 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/war-pigs/?re...
War Pigs
While I was pleased to see millions of Americans turn out for last weekend's protests, I have to say I've spent this week more depressed and more worried than ever about the road ahead. Perhaps it was...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
June 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Before I left Facebook, I mostly posted about GenAI's rotten effects on writing, thinking, truth, human flourishing, etc... This essay is like the molten center of all the rage I felt trying to get people to understand last year what a problem "AI" poses. I wish I could share it even more widely.
Helping students navigate info digitally has gotten demonstrably more difficult over the past decade of teaching. 2 things about this: We assumed that "digital native" meant that teens had evolved at the rate of tech and understood it intuitively. We assumed that reading had to be shaped by tech.
An underrated factor in how we got ourselves into this mess is that Americans are increasingly relying on computers and the internet instead of their own critical thinking faculties (AI is making this even worse), and as a result are uninformed and easy to manipulate.
April 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Helping students navigate info digitally has gotten demonstrably more difficult over the past decade of teaching. 2 things about this: We assumed that "digital native" meant that teens had evolved at the rate of tech and understood it intuitively. We assumed that reading had to be shaped by tech.
I've called/emailed Sen. Bernie Moreno (OH) almost daily since January. I have spoken to an actual human once (who was very low energy and eager to end the call). When I email, I receive the same form response within an hour. Just putting this out into the void: Moreno is the living worst. 0/5 stars
April 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I've called/emailed Sen. Bernie Moreno (OH) almost daily since January. I have spoken to an actual human once (who was very low energy and eager to end the call). When I email, I receive the same form response within an hour. Just putting this out into the void: Moreno is the living worst. 0/5 stars
I wrote an essay about language, operationalized listening, my contrived smart speaker battle, and Glenn Close.
The Machine Can Only Apologize
On Listening and Learning
nasturtium-cosmos-3ae641.beehiiv.com
March 30, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I wrote an essay about language, operationalized listening, my contrived smart speaker battle, and Glenn Close.
What a great way to start my spring break. (I have basically zero social media presence, but I think the majority of my Bluesky presence from now on will be campaigning for @amyactonoh.bsky.social for governor and reminding people that the way Ohio funds education has been illegal since 1997).
BREAKING: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed into law a massive higher education overhaul to ban diversity efforts, regulate classroom discussion, and prohibit faculty strikes, among other things. The law will take effect in 90 days.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signs higher ed bill regulating classroom discussion and banning diversity efforts • Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a massive higher education bill that would ban diversity and equity and prohibit faculty from striking into law into law Friday afternoon. The bill will take effect in 90…
buff.ly
March 28, 2025 at 11:09 PM
What a great way to start my spring break. (I have basically zero social media presence, but I think the majority of my Bluesky presence from now on will be campaigning for @amyactonoh.bsky.social for governor and reminding people that the way Ohio funds education has been illegal since 1997).
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
BREAKING: SB1, the college education overhaul bill banning DEI, has passed the House.
It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence, then to Gov. Mike DeWine.
@news5cleveland.bsky.social @ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence, then to Gov. Mike DeWine.
@news5cleveland.bsky.social @ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
Ohio House bans DEI, passes education overhaul bill
Ohio House Republicans have passed a bill overhauling the higher education system. It bans diversity initiatives, limits how "controversial topics" can be taught and eliminates tenure.
www.news5cleveland.com
March 19, 2025 at 9:17 PM
BREAKING: SB1, the college education overhaul bill banning DEI, has passed the House.
It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence, then to Gov. Mike DeWine.
@news5cleveland.bsky.social @ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence, then to Gov. Mike DeWine.
@news5cleveland.bsky.social @ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
Okay, so I'm wondering if the growth mindset model has been subtly damaging (in education, etc..) because it suggests the only sign of improvement is an expansion in size and scope. The line on the graph goes up, up, up. Maybe a better framing (more anti-capitalist?) is change/revision mindset? Eh?
February 23, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Okay, so I'm wondering if the growth mindset model has been subtly damaging (in education, etc..) because it suggests the only sign of improvement is an expansion in size and scope. The line on the graph goes up, up, up. Maybe a better framing (more anti-capitalist?) is change/revision mindset? Eh?
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Weak men cannot compromise. Weak men cannot build consensus. Weak men think that leadership means force. Weak men build nothing that lasts.
February 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
May all your public infrastructure be mostly boring, very convenient, completely accessible, and just a little bit cheeky. (Do Cleveland public transit next!)
the mundanity of sewers and embracing certainty in uncertain times.
Embrace boring.
Sewers and finding certainty in uncertain times.
neorsd.medium.com
February 8, 2025 at 5:01 PM
May all your public infrastructure be mostly boring, very convenient, completely accessible, and just a little bit cheeky. (Do Cleveland public transit next!)
Ohioans, take note.
This #Ohio Republican State Rep sent me a shameful tweet mocking dying children around the world
I offered to let him delete it. He responded by declaring that only American kids count as children
Call: 614-466-2960
Email: rep40@ohiohouse.gov
Twitter: x.com/RodneyCreechOH
Fax: 614-719-6940
I offered to let him delete it. He responded by declaring that only American kids count as children
Call: 614-466-2960
Email: rep40@ohiohouse.gov
Twitter: x.com/RodneyCreechOH
Fax: 614-719-6940
February 6, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Ohioans, take note.
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
Due to America’s history, the path for working class liberation is the path of Black liberation.
There has been no greater working class fight than abolishing chattel slavery.
The laws that hurt working class Americans are often rooted in & pushed forward by anti-Blackness.
There has been no greater working class fight than abolishing chattel slavery.
The laws that hurt working class Americans are often rooted in & pushed forward by anti-Blackness.
February 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Due to America’s history, the path for working class liberation is the path of Black liberation.
There has been no greater working class fight than abolishing chattel slavery.
The laws that hurt working class Americans are often rooted in & pushed forward by anti-Blackness.
There has been no greater working class fight than abolishing chattel slavery.
The laws that hurt working class Americans are often rooted in & pushed forward by anti-Blackness.
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
I wrote about Musk and this bureaucratic coup as plainly as I could. There's reporting in here & the particulars are overwhelming but what's happening is so clear: He's not trying to run the federal govt like a software company He's trying to turn it into a political weapon. (gift link)
Elon Musk’s Bureaucratic Coup
Welcome to the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” of the United States government.
www.theatlantic.com
February 3, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I wrote about Musk and this bureaucratic coup as plainly as I could. There's reporting in here & the particulars are overwhelming but what's happening is so clear: He's not trying to run the federal govt like a software company He's trying to turn it into a political weapon. (gift link)
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
We worked for months with USAID to build an $85,000,000 project to end TB in two regions of the Philippines.
The project is funded by private money, the Philippine government, and matching USAID funds.
It could provide a blueprint for eliminating TB worldwide--except it's...not happening.
The project is funded by private money, the Philippine government, and matching USAID funds.
It could provide a blueprint for eliminating TB worldwide--except it's...not happening.
February 3, 2025 at 10:13 PM
We worked for months with USAID to build an $85,000,000 project to end TB in two regions of the Philippines.
The project is funded by private money, the Philippine government, and matching USAID funds.
It could provide a blueprint for eliminating TB worldwide--except it's...not happening.
The project is funded by private money, the Philippine government, and matching USAID funds.
It could provide a blueprint for eliminating TB worldwide--except it's...not happening.
🎵Musk eats the sun and drinks the skies, / and they both go with him when he dies🎵
every time i read about musk and his young turd engineers i think of chang taking over greendale www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
February 3, 2025 at 2:04 AM
🎵Musk eats the sun and drinks the skies, / and they both go with him when he dies🎵
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
"Ohio GOP can do what it wants — including duping its supporters.
By Ray Marcano
By Ray Marcano
MARCANO: Ohio GOP can do what it wants — including duping its supporters
Saying politicians lie and deceive is like saying an ice-cold beer tastes great in the summer.
buff.ly
February 2, 2025 at 7:16 PM
"Ohio GOP can do what it wants — including duping its supporters.
By Ray Marcano
By Ray Marcano
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
What is happening at the CDC, NIH, NSF, and the federal government writ large is very familiar. It's a book burning. A late night post from me for @sequencermag.bsky.social.
www.sequencermag.com/this-is-a-bo...
www.sequencermag.com/this-is-a-bo...
This is a book burning
The Trump administration's actions at the CDC, NIH, and NSF are the familiar tactics of fascists and dictators
www.sequencermag.com
February 2, 2025 at 12:50 AM
What is happening at the CDC, NIH, NSF, and the federal government writ large is very familiar. It's a book burning. A late night post from me for @sequencermag.bsky.social.
www.sequencermag.com/this-is-a-bo...
www.sequencermag.com/this-is-a-bo...
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
So, Geauga Sheriff has 20 ppl detained for ICE in his jail but doesn't know "where the detainees came from or where the raids occurred."
Uh -- don't you want to know who is in your jail? Why is Geauga assisting mass deportation? "Civil detention" is still JAIL. Ugly.
fox8.com/news/fears-o...
Uh -- don't you want to know who is in your jail? Why is Geauga assisting mass deportation? "Civil detention" is still JAIL. Ugly.
fox8.com/news/fears-o...
ICE detainees being held in local jail, sheriff says
President Trump has pledged to remove an estimated 11 million people and he has set up new rules making it easier to remove people to crack down on illegal immigration.
fox8.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:07 PM
So, Geauga Sheriff has 20 ppl detained for ICE in his jail but doesn't know "where the detainees came from or where the raids occurred."
Uh -- don't you want to know who is in your jail? Why is Geauga assisting mass deportation? "Civil detention" is still JAIL. Ugly.
fox8.com/news/fears-o...
Uh -- don't you want to know who is in your jail? Why is Geauga assisting mass deportation? "Civil detention" is still JAIL. Ugly.
fox8.com/news/fears-o...
Bishop Budde's most recent book, How We Learn to Be Brave, is currently sold out everywhere I looked online. 🔥
January 26, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Bishop Budde's most recent book, How We Learn to Be Brave, is currently sold out everywhere I looked online. 🔥
Reposted by Annie Bilancini
“You don’t have to be a person of faith to trust that innate human capacity to channel love, goodness, and real strength into our own lives and into the world.” A conversation with Reverend Mariann Budde.
Why Bishop Mariann Budde Wanted to Speak to Donald Trump
“If you know what people are thinking about when they’re coming into church on Sunday morning, it’s very important to acknowledge that,” Budde says.
www.newyorker.com
January 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
“You don’t have to be a person of faith to trust that innate human capacity to channel love, goodness, and real strength into our own lives and into the world.” A conversation with Reverend Mariann Budde.
This is very good news.
NEW: Ohio GOP leadership has backtracked on their steadfast effort to cut funding for public education.
Our extensive reporting led to massive backlash for lawmakers, and numerous GOP members spoke out privately.
@ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
Our extensive reporting led to massive backlash for lawmakers, and numerous GOP members spoke out privately.
@ohiocapitaljournal.com
www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...
Ohio GOP backtracks on cutting public school funding
Ohio Republican leadership has backtracked on their steadfast effort to cut funding for public education.
www.news5cleveland.com
January 24, 2025 at 1:18 AM
This is very good news.