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alexhanna.bsky.social
Alex Hanna
@alexhanna.bsky.social
21K followers 1.2K following 4.3K posts
Director of Research, @dairinstitute.bsky.social
Roller derby athlete
https://alex-hanna.com
Book: thecon.ai
Pod+newsletter: https://dair-institute.org/maiht3k
🇪🇬ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ
🏳️‍⚧️ she/هي
📸 @willtoft.bsky.social
Rep📘 @ianbonaparte.bsky.social
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alexhanna.bsky.social
Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · May 13
It's book press day! The AI Con is available where ever you find fine books! Check out thecon.ai for details.

@emilymbender.bsky.social and I think we wrote a damn fine book, and we hope you'll enjoy it too.

For a taste, check out the preview of Chapter 1, graciously published by LitHub.
On the Very Real Dangers of the Artificial Intelligence Hype Machine
As long as there’s been research on AI, there’s been AI hype. In the most commonly told narrative about the research field’s development, mathematician John McCarthy and computer scientist Marvin M…
lithub.com
Reposted by Alex Hanna
davidhiggins.bsky.social
Stuff made by HUMANS that I've enjoyed this year. Post #2.

Three great books demolishing tech fantasies.

Empire of AI @karenhao.bsky.social
More Everything Forever @adambecker.bsky.social
The AI Con @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social

I wish university leaders would read them...
December 19, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
adambecker.bsky.social
Scientists are "skeptical" of this the same way I am "skeptical" that the moon is made of green cheese.

This is pure hype created to justify pouring more money into the AI bubble.
theverge.com The Verge @theverge.com · 21h
Space-based AI data centers are Big Tech’s latest fad and Silicon Valley’s newest investable venture.

Yet, scientists who study space remain skeptical of the idea.

Read more from @elissawelle.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Verge headline: Billionaires want data centers everywhere, including space Photo illustration: the Earth in space, with a floating data center nearby
December 18, 2025 at 11:39 PM
alexhanna.bsky.social
Google Scholar citations for 2025 are tied for last year, at 1230. Let's see if there's other stuff that gets in under the wire.
December 18, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
conniemenefee.bsky.social
www.statenews.org/section/the-...
As data centers boom in Ohio, local communities are watching their water
Some Ohio communities are weighing the economic development data centers bring with the water they require.
www.statenews.org
December 18, 2025 at 8:08 PM
alexhanna.bsky.social
This is wild. There's ELEVEN potential data center sites close to my family in rural Ohio.

From marysvillematters.substack.com/p/data-cente...
A map with 11 dots with numerical labels in them. multiple yellow and green pinpoints as well. Overlaid, it says "data center demand in Union County"
December 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
alexhanna.bsky.social
Altman and Ive have ruined San Francisco. @emilymbender.bsky.social and I take on the ridiculous marketing video which came out of OpenAI several weeks ago in Ep. 58 of our podcast.
December 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
wolvendamien.bsky.social
Seems like People don't want water guzzling, polluting, home energy energy price hiking "AI" data centers in their areas 🤷🏾‍♂️
www.decaturish.com/news/dekalb/...
South DeKalb residents rally against data center proposal
South DeKalb residents rallied at the intersection of Flat Shoals Parkway and Flakes Mill Road on Dec. 13 to oppose a proposed data center in Ellenwood, citing environmental and health concerns.
www.decaturish.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
chanda.blacksky.app
For the ⚛️🔭🧪:

I think we should be asking ourselves what military applications solving science problems with AI might enable and thinking very deeply about our moral responsibilities. The Genesis money is gonna look good and it's got thick, thick strings attached. To your soul, maybe.
December 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
dairinstitute.bsky.social
NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, Episode 68: This is What Algo-cracy Looks Like

Tech bros say automation can strengthen democracy. @alexhanna.bsky.social and @emilymbender.bsky.social unpack their flimsy arguments about the democratic process.

www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
December 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
mollytaft.com
saw some angry responses to this piece, which is fine, but it is abundantly clear that the pro-AI faction in this country is about to start hammering hard on the line that water fears are overblown, using Masley as a source
December 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
inquiline.myatproto.social
simply dreadful: "The Center for European Studies, the African Studies Center, the Carolina Asia Center, the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, the Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies are all slated to close"
December 18, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
emilymbender.bsky.social
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, Episode 68: This is What Algo-cracy Looks Like

www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...

@alexhanna.bsky.social and I explore what democracy looks like in the funhouse mirror of tech bros’ imaginations.

Thanks to Ozzy Llinas Goodman for production!
December 17, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
adamserwer.bsky.social
Support workers, not slop. bsky.app/profile/prop...
propublicaguild.org ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 1d
1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.
Headline: ProPublica management wants 100% discretion over when and how to use AI Supplementary text: The organization rejected our proposal that ensures staff will not be replaced by AI and requires labeling AI-generated content
December 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
karengregory.bsky.social
Go, @alexhanna.bsky.social:

www.instagram.com/reel/DSWA7Df...
Dr. Alex Hanna on Instagram: "Stop calling it AI. "AI" is a marketing term, and doesn't refer to a coherent set of technology. Calling it all “AI” makes things like chatbots much more than they actual...
Join sociologist Alex Hannah as she breaks down the AI buzzword and reveals the truth behind automated systems, classification, recommendation, translation, and generative AI. Discover how to critical...
www.instagram.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
404media.co
Social media companies attempt to detect and remove this type of astroturfing for violating their inauthentic behavior policies, which is why Doublespeed uses a bank of phones to emulate the behavior of real users.

@evystadium.bsky.social explains more here: www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
December 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
wolvendamien.bsky.social
I swear to fucking god mozilla, *everyone hates this idea*. Do NOT succumb to The Fear & the Monetization Disease. You don't need to have a "modern AI browser", at all, ever. You need to be th comany that respects user privacy, meaningful consent, & choice; the one w/ The Browser That Fucking Works
Mastodon post from february 28th 2025 by username TheZeldaZone. "Hello, We're firefox, The Only Browser that Hasn't Hit Itself in The Dick With A Hammer. For years now, folks use us because of our unhammered dick. Now, you may be wondering why today we've brought this hammer and pulled out our dick. Well I'm glad you asked--"
December 17, 2025 at 2:02 AM
alexhanna.bsky.social
I support Project Protocol because community-built solutions are the key to transforming reentry. This work uplifts the voices of people directly impacted and creates safer, more humane pathways through California’s parole system.

Donate today: bit.ly/Donate2ProPro
Project Protocol
Thousands of Californians returning to the community after incarceration face a parole system that’s fragmented, difficult to navigate, and often focused on monitoring rather than supporting them. Pro...
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
hellobrittparis.bsky.social
Join leadership and experts from @aaup.org AI team and Mijente for an online press conference on the urgent concerns about Palantir Technologies' involvement with the Department of Education. fedscoop.com/palantir-edu...

TOMORROW Wednesday, December 17, 4PM ET
Register here: bit.ly/4p3iCh7
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: AAUP Press Conference: Why is the ED Contracting with Palantir?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are convening a press conference on the urgent concerns about Palantir Technologies' involvement in the ...
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
janus.bsky.social
you have to be Ezra Klein levels of liberal shit-for-brains to believe the main problem in our society is that we lack good ideas, and not the political will to execute them
vox.com Vox @vox.com · 3d
America, you have spoken loud and clear: You do not like AI. But what if AI is the way to restart the world’s idea machine?
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 16, 2025 at 2:37 PM
alexhanna.bsky.social
My niblings wouldn't be caught dead on here, and those are facts
jamellebouie.net jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3d
i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.
December 16, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
donmoyn.bsky.social
Very much reads like they are significantly reducing the influence of peer review on scientific funding, which under the current regime opens the way for more politicized funding instead.
hleisthen.bsky.social HL Eisthen, defective human product @hleisthen.bsky.social · 3d
NSF now planning to let POs largely decide what gets funded, and to send PIs reviews that are only 3-5 sentences long. They don't have to use outside reviewers (except maybe 1) and don't have to convene panels. (1/5)
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists
Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities
www.science.org
December 16, 2025 at 2:08 AM
alexhanna.bsky.social
Google not only supplies the fake citations via Gemini, their awful products in the form of knowledge infrastructure are so shoddily kept that they can't be fucked to remove fake venues.
andrew.heiss.phd Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 3d
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 16, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
sgbuggs.bsky.social
Jacobin acting like Marxist feminists don’t exist
sethcotlar.bsky.social Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 3d
Jacobin 🤜🤛 Rod Dreher

“What if the Combahee River Collective is to blame for Nick Fuentes?”
Jacobin magazine o 2d • © ••• When suffering is treated as authority, movements fracture, and reactionaries can rush in to fill the vacuum. Reengaging Karl Marx's materialist understanding of the working class can restore the structural grounding that standpoint theory has lost: jacobin.com/2025/12/incels-feminism-standpoint- theory-marx AS What Incels Learned From Feminism Confusing marginality with insight leaves movements vulnerable to reactionary mimicry. A renewed engagement with Karl Marx's structural account of exploitation can give feminism a path out of standpoint theory's dead end. EFP SIGN IN SUBSCRIBE The Intersectionality of Nick Fuentes The Groypers' worldview is a Frankenstein made out of the race essentialism of the progressive left. By Rod Dreher 12.10.25 —U.S. Politics
December 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
One of my very early essays explored a paper by @rajiinio.bsky.social & others that centers the story of Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum. It is striking to me that AI hyperscalers today really believe we can encapsulate all of human experience in data. I mean, good luck.
What Grover and Good Will Hunting can tell us about the limits of artificial intelligence
First, a quick thank you to all the new subscribers to the Cognitive Resonance Substack!
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Alex Hanna
dairinstitute.bsky.social
🎧TODAY: tune in to the last Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 live stream of 2025 🎧

Time Magazine is looking back and a year of "AI" and so @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social will be doing the same!

TODAY, Dec 15,
8pm BST/3pm EDT/12pm PDT
twitch.tv/dair_institute
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
December 15, 2025 at 5:31 PM