AI Skeptic
@ai-skeptic.bsky.social
AI hype is completely out of control. Touted as having myriad applications, AI has far more limited utility, along with numerous shortcomings and harms. Most coverage of AI is astonishingly credulous. Here, I'll post critical news and views.
Pinned
Reposted by AI Skeptic
And even if "cure for cancer" was a remotely scientific phrase, if we took it charitably to the max, it doesn't actually justify all the harms AI (including emissions which cause cancers) actually verifiably has.
See blue box here: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
See blue box here: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
3: Consulting the Record: AI Consistently Fails the Public - AI Now Institute
Amid the excitement over AI’s (speculative, hypothetical) potential, we have lost sight of the sobering reality of its present and recent past. AI is already intermediating critical social infrastruct...
ainowinstitute.org
December 22, 2025 at 7:00 AM
And even if "cure for cancer" was a remotely scientific phrase, if we took it charitably to the max, it doesn't actually justify all the harms AI (including emissions which cause cancers) actually verifiably has.
See blue box here: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
See blue box here: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
Reposted by AI Skeptic
update for the AI Skeptics reading group, if you're interested. you should really buy the book (_Resisting AI_ by @danmcquillan.bsky.social) absolutely ASAP if you haven't already. i'm going to start loading you up with auxiliary readings beginning next Monday
AI Skeptics - January 5
Hello! If you have the next book (Resisting AI by Dan McQuillan) and you know how the reading group works, you can skip to the end to see our (tentative)...
buttondown.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:54 PM
update for the AI Skeptics reading group, if you're interested. you should really buy the book (_Resisting AI_ by @danmcquillan.bsky.social) absolutely ASAP if you haven't already. i'm going to start loading you up with auxiliary readings beginning next Monday
Reposted by AI Skeptic
A recurring “AI” evangelist tactic is using it for tasks that were already solved by tech that is more deterministic, faster, and uses less energy, but has been downgraded or de-emphasised in recent years by software companies
Like, we genuinely used to have better search and spellcheck.
Like, we genuinely used to have better search and spellcheck.
January 4, 2026 at 10:53 AM
A recurring “AI” evangelist tactic is using it for tasks that were already solved by tech that is more deterministic, faster, and uses less energy, but has been downgraded or de-emphasised in recent years by software companies
Like, we genuinely used to have better search and spellcheck.
Like, we genuinely used to have better search and spellcheck.
Reposted by AI Skeptic
The way the press is treating chatbots, like they have agency and they “know” things all of a sudden, crossed the line recently from dumb and obsequious to something else entirely. Treating them as alive and making conscious decisions is an almost religious belief. It won’t age well.
January 3, 2026 at 2:52 AM
The way the press is treating chatbots, like they have agency and they “know” things all of a sudden, crossed the line recently from dumb and obsequious to something else entirely. Treating them as alive and making conscious decisions is an almost religious belief. It won’t age well.
“In one case experts described as ‘really dangerous’, Google wrongly advised people with pancreatic cancer to avoid high-fat foods. Experts said this was the exact opposite of what should be recommended, and may increase risk of patients dying from the disease.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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 6:37 PM
“In one case experts described as ‘really dangerous’, Google wrongly advised people with pancreatic cancer to avoid high-fat foods. Experts said this was the exact opposite of what should be recommended, and may increase risk of patients dying from the disease.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by AI Skeptic
I feel like that is a huge amount of AI use cases. It is great for producing things that no one wants to read or see
December 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
I feel like that is a huge amount of AI use cases. It is great for producing things that no one wants to read or see
Reposted by AI Skeptic
AI is useful for meeting summaries when absolutely nobody cares or will ever look at the summary
ill advised in other cases
ill advised in other cases
As someone who has to review minutes for multiple committees, I can affirmatively state that AI for meeting transcription is not accurate, edits to the minutes now take up more committee time, and it is much worse than having a person prepare accurate minutes.
December 29, 2025 at 9:44 AM
AI is useful for meeting summaries when absolutely nobody cares or will ever look at the summary
ill advised in other cases
ill advised in other cases
Reposted by AI Skeptic
Yeah chatgpt is the worst worst solution to the loneliness problem bc instead of the solution being what it actually is (doing the hard thing & overcoming anxiety & awkwardness to connect with people), they're like, here's a NO PEOPLE option, a simulation without any of the friction people come with
I mean this in the kindest way: this could be solved by creating meaningful connections with your peers/colleagues. I have a writing group and a thinking group and plenty of people to text or call with questions, and it doesn’t require draining the earth of resources or stealing work.
If you use it as a dialogic thinking space where you externalities thought and use it to hold, reshape, question, extent, perturb your thinking. Just like a good teacher or mentor could, except you need to set and guide the interaction style.
December 28, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Yeah chatgpt is the worst worst solution to the loneliness problem bc instead of the solution being what it actually is (doing the hard thing & overcoming anxiety & awkwardness to connect with people), they're like, here's a NO PEOPLE option, a simulation without any of the friction people come with
Reposted by AI Skeptic
It turns out, for a sub section of people, actually encountering a Chinese Room leads to them immediately thinking the room is actually alive.
December 28, 2025 at 12:40 PM
It turns out, for a sub section of people, actually encountering a Chinese Room leads to them immediately thinking the room is actually alive.
“The real bubble is not stock valuations but the inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control | Rafael Behr
The US economy is pumped up on tech-bro vanity. The inevitable correction should prompt a global conversation, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:52 PM
“The real bubble is not stock valuations but the inflated ego of an industry that thinks it is just one more datacentre away from computational divinity.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by AI Skeptic
Suppose you ask #AI for improvements to your writing.
The #LLM was trained on, but doesn’t mention, Smith’s work.
You adopt the suggestions containing Smith’s ideas.
You don’t even realize YOU’VE PLAGIARIZED because you’ve never read or heard of Smith.
The #LLM was trained on, but doesn’t mention, Smith’s work.
You adopt the suggestions containing Smith’s ideas.
You don’t even realize YOU’VE PLAGIARIZED because you’ve never read or heard of Smith.
LLM use in scholarly writing poses a provenance problem
Nature Machine Intelligence - LLM use in scholarly writing poses a provenance problem
doi.org
December 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by AI Skeptic
Someone recently sent me an AI summary of various market reports.
I read the market reports.
The summary was filled with believable hallucinations. If I hadn't read the market reports, I would never have known that the summary was entirely bullshit.
Don't be lazy
I read the market reports.
The summary was filled with believable hallucinations. If I hadn't read the market reports, I would never have known that the summary was entirely bullshit.
Don't be lazy
December 21, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Someone recently sent me an AI summary of various market reports.
I read the market reports.
The summary was filled with believable hallucinations. If I hadn't read the market reports, I would never have known that the summary was entirely bullshit.
Don't be lazy
I read the market reports.
The summary was filled with believable hallucinations. If I hadn't read the market reports, I would never have known that the summary was entirely bullshit.
Don't be lazy
Seems to me a sitcom about a small software company trying to become “AI-first” is overdue. The idiot CEO, the snarky developer, the true believers in the marketing department, …
December 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Seems to me a sitcom about a small software company trying to become “AI-first” is overdue. The idiot CEO, the snarky developer, the true believers in the marketing department, …
December 22, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by AI Skeptic
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
Reposted by AI Skeptic
What’s really amazing about vibe-coding is how people are replacing programming languages which are strictly deterministic with human speech which is highly ambiguous and expect programming to be faster and better.
December 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
What’s really amazing about vibe-coding is how people are replacing programming languages which are strictly deterministic with human speech which is highly ambiguous and expect programming to be faster and better.
Has anyone coined a word for time wasted because AI provided inaccurate information?
My suggestion:
Slopsuck
A closely related term, slopsink, was already taken. (It’s a term for an actual utility sink.)
My suggestion:
Slopsuck
A closely related term, slopsink, was already taken. (It’s a term for an actual utility sink.)
December 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Has anyone coined a word for time wasted because AI provided inaccurate information?
My suggestion:
Slopsuck
A closely related term, slopsink, was already taken. (It’s a term for an actual utility sink.)
My suggestion:
Slopsuck
A closely related term, slopsink, was already taken. (It’s a term for an actual utility sink.)
Reposted by AI Skeptic
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Reposted by AI Skeptic
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
October 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
“If I wanted to change people’s minds about AI…”
If? This seems a bit disingenuous. The author clearly *does* want to change people’s minds by collecting arguments, regardless of how flimsy.
If? This seems a bit disingenuous. The author clearly *does* want to change people’s minds by collecting arguments, regardless of how flimsy.
This column on Vox is the biggest pile of steaming AI crap I've seen this year. Human's aren't running out of ideas. Instead, those with power and money don't want to listen to ideas that threaten their power and money.
Ideas are plentiful. Putting those ideas into action is the hard part.
Ideas are plentiful. Putting those ideas into action is the hard part.
We’re running out of good ideas. AI might be how we find new ones.
What if the best use of AI is restarting the world’s idea machine?
www.vox.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
“If I wanted to change people’s minds about AI…”
If? This seems a bit disingenuous. The author clearly *does* want to change people’s minds by collecting arguments, regardless of how flimsy.
If? This seems a bit disingenuous. The author clearly *does* want to change people’s minds by collecting arguments, regardless of how flimsy.
Reposted by AI Skeptic
“let the arts which we are talking of beautify our labour, and be widely spread, intelligent, well understood both by the maker and the user, let them grow in one word POPULAR, and there will be pretty much an end of dull work”
-William Morris, Hopes and Fears for Art
-William Morris, Hopes and Fears for Art
December 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
“let the arts which we are talking of beautify our labour, and be widely spread, intelligent, well understood both by the maker and the user, let them grow in one word POPULAR, and there will be pretty much an end of dull work”
-William Morris, Hopes and Fears for Art
-William Morris, Hopes and Fears for Art
AI and George Bataille’s la part maudite (the accursed share). www.linkedin.com/posts/petrus...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Acc...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Acc...
#ai #georgesbataille #theaccursedshare #artificialintelligence #excessenergy #philosophyandtech #ethicsinai #innovation #technologyandsociety #futureofwork | Pietro Impagliazzo
AI and La Part Maudite: The Accursed Share of Artificial Intelligence
Part 1 of 2
Georges Bataille’s La Part Maudite (The Accursed Share) explores the idea that excess energy in any system—be it eco...
www.linkedin.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM
AI and George Bataille’s la part maudite (the accursed share). www.linkedin.com/posts/petrus...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Acc...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Acc...
Reposted by AI Skeptic
Here's a situation where the artificial / simulated distinction is the reverse. While aspartame doesn’t taste exactly like sugar, its sweetness is real. So we call aspartame an artificial sweetener, not a simulated sweetener.
In contrast, LLMs are not intelligent, they just simulate intelligence.
In contrast, LLMs are not intelligent, they just simulate intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Actual intelligence created artificially.
Simulated Intelligence (SI): A system that creates the illusion of intelligence.
Most, if not all, of what you see today that claims to be AI is actually SI.
LLMs are SI.
GenAI is SI.
Chat bots are SI.
Robots are SI.
Simulated Intelligence (SI): A system that creates the illusion of intelligence.
Most, if not all, of what you see today that claims to be AI is actually SI.
LLMs are SI.
GenAI is SI.
Chat bots are SI.
Robots are SI.
December 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Here's a situation where the artificial / simulated distinction is the reverse. While aspartame doesn’t taste exactly like sugar, its sweetness is real. So we call aspartame an artificial sweetener, not a simulated sweetener.
In contrast, LLMs are not intelligent, they just simulate intelligence.
In contrast, LLMs are not intelligent, they just simulate intelligence.