Alex Thinius
@athinius.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Think how many millions of public school students have created glorious holiday art with their own minds and hands this month.
Weingarten could be sharing actual art and celebrating actual human kids whom the @aft.org is supposed to be serving.
But no. She's sharing "A.i." garbage based on theft.
Weingarten could be sharing actual art and celebrating actual human kids whom the @aft.org is supposed to be serving.
But no. She's sharing "A.i." garbage based on theft.
December 26, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Think how many millions of public school students have created glorious holiday art with their own minds and hands this month.
Weingarten could be sharing actual art and celebrating actual human kids whom the @aft.org is supposed to be serving.
But no. She's sharing "A.i." garbage based on theft.
Weingarten could be sharing actual art and celebrating actual human kids whom the @aft.org is supposed to be serving.
But no. She's sharing "A.i." garbage based on theft.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Exactly. Not only is education not the problem in this context but no amount of changing syllabi or exams can ever please AI bullies anyway.
Bullies don't abuse to improve their victims but to harm & extract from them. Giving them your lunch money directly without a beating is still being bullied.
Bullies don't abuse to improve their victims but to harm & extract from them. Giving them your lunch money directly without a beating is still being bullied.
Public discourse on this subject has utterly failed to direct citizens' attention to the actual problem, which is that a commercial industry is assaulting education. So every week we get another thoughtless op-ed on blue books or the death of the college essay, etc etc.
December 26, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Exactly. Not only is education not the problem in this context but no amount of changing syllabi or exams can ever please AI bullies anyway.
Bullies don't abuse to improve their victims but to harm & extract from them. Giving them your lunch money directly without a beating is still being bullied.
Bullies don't abuse to improve their victims but to harm & extract from them. Giving them your lunch money directly without a beating is still being bullied.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".
December 22, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Hinter populären Wirtschaftsmythen stecken oft harte Interessenkonflikte. Eine Argumentationshilfe für das Weihnachtsfest.
Fünf Wirtschaftsmythen, die ihr beim Weihnachtsessen hören werdet
Hinter populären Wirtschaftsmythen stecken oft harte Interessenkonflikte. Eine Argumentationshilfe für das Weihnachtsfest.
www.surplusmagazin.de
December 23, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Hinter populären Wirtschaftsmythen stecken oft harte Interessenkonflikte. Eine Argumentationshilfe für das Weihnachtsfest.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
#Brazil 🇧🇷 @indexoncensorship.org covers how Meta removed multiple Brazilian left-wing influencers from Instagram, with politicians calling the bans a “direct attack on freedom of speech” and on voices denouncing corruption and police violence.
Meta bans Brazilian left-wing influencers - Index on Censorship
Politicians say it is a "direct attack on freedom of speech and the work of those who denounce injustices within Brazil"
buff.ly
December 20, 2025 at 10:30 PM
#Brazil 🇧🇷 @indexoncensorship.org covers how Meta removed multiple Brazilian left-wing influencers from Instagram, with politicians calling the bans a “direct attack on freedom of speech” and on voices denouncing corruption and police violence.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Facebook made an algorithm that gave Boomers whatever they wanted, and they destroyed democracy, and then all those FB product managers went over to OpenAI and made ChatGPT, and now they've made a chatbot that tells Boomers whatever they want to hear, and... well, this should go great.
If we are banning cell phones for kids we need to be talking about banning chatbots for boomers
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
www.persuasion.community/p/my-chatgpt...
December 17, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Facebook made an algorithm that gave Boomers whatever they wanted, and they destroyed democracy, and then all those FB product managers went over to OpenAI and made ChatGPT, and now they've made a chatbot that tells Boomers whatever they want to hear, and... well, this should go great.
Well written! And worth considering when using an AI tracker or a 'gut feeling' to determine the humanity of a text. "I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me. -- I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise." marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Well written! And worth considering when using an AI tracker or a 'gut feeling' to determine the humanity of a text. "I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me. -- I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise." marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
Reposted by Alex Thinius
'“This is yet more evidence that the public is footing the environmental bill for some of the richest companies on Earth,” said Donald Campbell, the director of advocacy at Foxglove, a UK non-profit that campaigns for fairness in tech.' www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
2025’s AI boom caused huge CO2 emissions and use of water, research finds
Study’s author says society not tech companies paying for environmental impact of AI and asks if this is fair
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM
'“This is yet more evidence that the public is footing the environmental bill for some of the richest companies on Earth,” said Donald Campbell, the director of advocacy at Foxglove, a UK non-profit that campaigns for fairness in tech.' www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Alex Thinius
"RemoveWindowsAI" is a script created by zoicware, available on GitHub, that does exactly what it says: it remove every AI feature in Windows 11. Do what you wish to do with this information. I'm sharing this because some folks are forced to use Win11 at work or other places for any reasons.
December 10, 2025 at 9:56 AM
"RemoveWindowsAI" is a script created by zoicware, available on GitHub, that does exactly what it says: it remove every AI feature in Windows 11. Do what you wish to do with this information. I'm sharing this because some folks are forced to use Win11 at work or other places for any reasons.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
apparently the unprecedented wealth and inflcuence big tech is amassing at the cost of the most marginalised is not enough. big tech ceos are not that different from drug cartels
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
EU set to water down landmark AI Act after pressure from big tech
European Commission proposes pauses to provisions in digital rule book amid concerns over implications for EU competitiveness
www.irishtimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
apparently the unprecedented wealth and inflcuence big tech is amassing at the cost of the most marginalised is not enough. big tech ceos are not that different from drug cartels
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
Reposted by Alex Thinius
amazing how the Silicon Valley sales pitch suddenly became “we’re bringing about a bright future where everyone but the ultra-rich will be forced to return to the fields”
and they genuinely don’t seem to believe this could eventually end poorly for them
and they genuinely don’t seem to believe this could eventually end poorly for them
My ancestors worked in factories so my parents could go to law school.
“Humans can just go get manual labor jobs if desk jobs are repaired with AI” is both not going to suffice to provide enough jobs and is also going to result in massive societal anger because manual labor jobs often *are terrible*, which is why people have worked hard to avoid them for generations.
November 2, 2025 at 7:59 PM
amazing how the Silicon Valley sales pitch suddenly became “we’re bringing about a bright future where everyone but the ultra-rich will be forced to return to the fields”
and they genuinely don’t seem to believe this could eventually end poorly for them
and they genuinely don’t seem to believe this could eventually end poorly for them
Reposted by Alex Thinius
New publication with @susanshort.bsky.social in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social. We analyzed 2025 revisions to womenshealth[dot]gov under the Trump administration -documenting how credible health content was replaced with ideology: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Rewriting women's health: a content analysis of the Trump administration's revisions to womenshealth.gov
In 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid changes to the data and information available on US government websites. We conducted a content ana…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:54 PM
New publication with @susanshort.bsky.social in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social. We analyzed 2025 revisions to womenshealth[dot]gov under the Trump administration -documenting how credible health content was replaced with ideology: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"In one of his wildest money moves to date, the Financial Times reports that Trump is now offering companies access to plutonium from America’s arsenal of cold war nuclear missiles." futurism.com/science-ener...
Trump Administration Providing Weapons Grade Plutonium to Sam Altman
The White House is providing plutonium to Sam Altman's Oklo, one of four US companies chosen to test experimental reactor designs.
futurism.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM
"In one of his wildest money moves to date, the Financial Times reports that Trump is now offering companies access to plutonium from America’s arsenal of cold war nuclear missiles." futurism.com/science-ener...
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Wenn wir die großen Techkonzerne nicht demokratisieren, werden sie uns unterwerfen, meint die Ökonomin Cecilia Rikap im Interview.
Cecilia Rikap: »Wir alle produzieren KI, aber nur einige Wenige profitieren«
Wenn wir die großen Techkonzerne nicht demokratisieren, werden sie uns unterwerfen, meint die Ökonomin Cecilia Rikap im Interview.
www.surplusmagazin.de
October 29, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Wenn wir die großen Techkonzerne nicht demokratisieren, werden sie uns unterwerfen, meint die Ökonomin Cecilia Rikap im Interview.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Thinking about starting a reading group but not sure where to begin? Check out our post and head on over to our website for more! #philosophy #diversityreadinglist #DRL #readinggroup
October 28, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Thinking about starting a reading group but not sure where to begin? Check out our post and head on over to our website for more! #philosophy #diversityreadinglist #DRL #readinggroup
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Every hour that I listen to YouTube while working, I am exposed to about 4 adverts for 'AI' tools encouraging me to stop reading, writing, editing & thinking for myself, and instead sign up to a "technosolution" to do it for me.
Here's why I shouldn't
👇
Here's why I shouldn't
👇
"Many scholars, including us, have highlighted the threat posed by techno-solutionism in education: Rather than expanding our intellectual horizons, these technologies undermine the very conditions that allow us to think for ourselves."
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
October 25, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Every hour that I listen to YouTube while working, I am exposed to about 4 adverts for 'AI' tools encouraging me to stop reading, writing, editing & thinking for myself, and instead sign up to a "technosolution" to do it for me.
Here's why I shouldn't
👇
Here's why I shouldn't
👇
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Luc Steels!
> Among the signatories is Luc Steels, "the father of AI in Belgium." And he's not the only Belgian scientist supporting the resistance to "so-called 'AI' technologies." Apache spoke with Steels and co. "Universities encouraging students to use ChatGPT? I'm stunned"
apache.be/2025/10/23/a...
apache.be/2025/10/23/a...
Als AI-wetenschappers zich verzetten tegen AI in het hoger onderwijs
Deze wetenschappers en filosofen roepen op tot kritisch denken over AI.
apache.be
October 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Luc Steels!
What legitimate use could an immigration agency possibly have for those weapons? Will EU politicians take a stand if US become autocratic?
"...there were also “significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’”
www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpil...
"...there were also “significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’”
www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpil...
ICE Is Stockpiling Warheads and Chemical Weapons
Spending went from almost $9 million under Biden in 2024 to $71 million in Trump’s first nine months.
www.thedailybeast.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:15 AM
What legitimate use could an immigration agency possibly have for those weapons? Will EU politicians take a stand if US become autocratic?
"...there were also “significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’”
www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpil...
"...there were also “significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’”
www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpil...
"The research highlighted the need for mainstream political parties to carve out their own discourses, said Saldivia Gonzatti, particularly when it came to topics such as migration and integration, rather than constantly trail after the far right."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds
Normalisation of far-right stances likely to affect success of such parties at ballot boxes across Europe, say researchers
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:10 AM
"The research highlighted the need for mainstream political parties to carve out their own discourses, said Saldivia Gonzatti, particularly when it came to topics such as migration and integration, rather than constantly trail after the far right."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Wonderful article by @olivia.science. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
www.project-syndicate.org
October 18, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Wonderful article by @olivia.science. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
October 19, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Alex Thinius
the flaw in this logic is that all commercial llms (by opeAI, google, anthropic etc) hardly share information about their models inc training data, evaluation processes or benchmarks. they basically operate under a “trust me bro” attitude. hence why this analogy is misguided and/or flat out wrong
![Of Models and Tin Men- A behavioural economics study of principal-agent problems in AI alignment using
large-language models
One of the challenges in assessing the capability and safety of LLMs is their opacity; AI safety researchers sometimes
refer to them as “giant inscrutable arrays of fractional numbers” [6]. Since many of their capabilities emerge down-
stream, we cannot reason about their high-level functioning theoretically from first principles, but rather we have to
resort to empirical enquiry and actual experiments (c.f. [7, 8, 9]). This is analogous to using the scientific method
to understand human cognition. The human brain is similarly opaque, and therefore behavioural psychologists test
their hypotheses using controlled experiments with human subjects. Accordingly, researchers have started to adapt
empirical methods from cognitive psychology [10], and behavioural economics [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 14], to the
study of large-language models](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:26hkfmtr7jrchexamh7hk6rz/bafkreicetpo7yh4gp4zefuwgl3esiyputrhem3i36kkjpmerwayvz4hjcm@jpeg)
October 18, 2025 at 2:47 PM
the flaw in this logic is that all commercial llms (by opeAI, google, anthropic etc) hardly share information about their models inc training data, evaluation processes or benchmarks. they basically operate under a “trust me bro” attitude. hence why this analogy is misguided and/or flat out wrong
Reposted by Alex Thinius
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
October 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
Reposted by Alex Thinius
I've updated my document that tackles four of the common arguments used to encourage teachers to use AI.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
Resisting School AI Mania Help Sheet
Help Sheet: Resisting AI Mania in Schools K-12 educators are under increasing pressure to use—and have students use—a wide range of AI tools. (The term “AI” is used loosely here, just as it is by man...
docs.google.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I've updated my document that tackles four of the common arguments used to encourage teachers to use AI.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.
I hope this will be helpful to those educators wanting to push back on AI mania.