Charles Pidgeon
@charlespidgeona.bsky.social
PhD (DPhil) candidate at University of Oxford, English Faculty.
Researching internet nonfiction books, cultural histories of information overwhelm, and the different metaphors we use for human versus machine cognition.
Researching internet nonfiction books, cultural histories of information overwhelm, and the different metaphors we use for human versus machine cognition.
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
“Researching and reflecting on the harms of AI is not itself harm reduction. It may even contribute to rationalizing, normalizing, and enabling harm. Critical reflection without appropriate action is thus quintessentially critical washing."
-- @marentierra.bsky.social et al, (2025).
-- @marentierra.bsky.social et al, (2025).
Critical AI Literacy: Beyond hegemonic perspectives on sustainability
How can universities resist being coopted and corrupted by the AI industries’ agendas? Originally published here: https://rcsc.substack.com/p/critical-ai-literacy-beyond-hegemonic
zenodo.org
November 14, 2025 at 7:16 AM
“Researching and reflecting on the harms of AI is not itself harm reduction. It may even contribute to rationalizing, normalizing, and enabling harm. Critical reflection without appropriate action is thus quintessentially critical washing."
-- @marentierra.bsky.social et al, (2025).
-- @marentierra.bsky.social et al, (2025).
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
i said what i said
November 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
i said what i said
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
This is huge news in @cameronwilson.bsky.social's @thesizzle.com.au- Microsoft is being forced by the Aus regulator refund all the ultra-dodgy AI plan pushing it was doing for Office 365
Wild that other regions aren't also using regulatory power to punish Microsoft
thesizzle.com.au/p/google-sur...
Wild that other regions aren't also using regulatory power to punish Microsoft
thesizzle.com.au/p/google-sur...
November 6, 2025 at 12:02 PM
This is huge news in @cameronwilson.bsky.social's @thesizzle.com.au- Microsoft is being forced by the Aus regulator refund all the ultra-dodgy AI plan pushing it was doing for Office 365
Wild that other regions aren't also using regulatory power to punish Microsoft
thesizzle.com.au/p/google-sur...
Wild that other regions aren't also using regulatory power to punish Microsoft
thesizzle.com.au/p/google-sur...
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
They’re doing this because it’s so successful
Meta is cutting around 600 roles in AI unit, Axios reports reut.rs/4opgmAI
Meta is cutting around 600 roles in AI unit, Axios reports
Meta is cutting roughly 600 positions out of the several thousand roles within its Superintelligence Labs artificial intelligence unit, Axios reported on Wednesday.
reut.rs
October 22, 2025 at 4:45 PM
They’re doing this because it’s so successful
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
I think the conclusion of this study is likely to be valid however it is worth noting that any attempts to localise cognitive tasks such as writing to a specific brain activation/connectivity is problematic because that's not how the brain works.
1/
1/
June 19, 2025 at 9:55 AM
I think the conclusion of this study is likely to be valid however it is worth noting that any attempts to localise cognitive tasks such as writing to a specific brain activation/connectivity is problematic because that's not how the brain works.
1/
1/
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
"The idea of granting rights to a future sentient robot legitimizes a kind of techno-optimist thinking which, much like the current fad of commercial space travel, actually undermines rather than promotes sustainability" firstmonday.org/ojs/index.ph...
April 28, 2025 at 9:43 AM
"The idea of granting rights to a future sentient robot legitimizes a kind of techno-optimist thinking which, much like the current fad of commercial space travel, actually undermines rather than promotes sustainability" firstmonday.org/ojs/index.ph...
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
Government’s wins are often invisible: Systems that avoid plane crashes; alliances that avert war; surveillance that prevent pandemics.
Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.*
So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?
Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.*
So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?
February 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Government’s wins are often invisible: Systems that avoid plane crashes; alliances that avert war; surveillance that prevent pandemics.
Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.*
So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?
Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.*
So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
My heart ached when I was reminded that Aaron Swartz was prosecuted for trying to make academic knowledge more accessible to the public. Meta, meanwhile, is doing it for their own bottom line. I'm going to guess that no one at Meta will be looking at spending 35 years in jail for this.
February 11, 2025 at 11:45 PM
My heart ached when I was reminded that Aaron Swartz was prosecuted for trying to make academic knowledge more accessible to the public. Meta, meanwhile, is doing it for their own bottom line. I'm going to guess that no one at Meta will be looking at spending 35 years in jail for this.
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
Googles response basically being “it’s not making things up, it’s just incapable of telling facts from made up bullshit” would have destroyed a product in the days before the economy was propped up by a thin framework of scams lashed together with investment capital
February 10, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Googles response basically being “it’s not making things up, it’s just incapable of telling facts from made up bullshit” would have destroyed a product in the days before the economy was propped up by a thin framework of scams lashed together with investment capital
This is a good review, particularly for this reminder at the end:
February 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This is a good review, particularly for this reminder at the end:
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
New from the BJPS Review of Books:
Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review
—Neil Levy (@neillevy.bsky.social)
Reviewed by
Joshua Habgood-Coote (@impractknow.bsky.social)
Read it here:
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
#philsci #philsky
Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review
—Neil Levy (@neillevy.bsky.social)
Reviewed by
Joshua Habgood-Coote (@impractknow.bsky.social)
Read it here:
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
#philsci #philsky
Neil Levy, Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review | BJPS Review of Books
Joshua Habgood-Coote reviews Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review, by Neil Levy
www.thebsps.org
February 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
New from the BJPS Review of Books:
Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review
—Neil Levy (@neillevy.bsky.social)
Reviewed by
Joshua Habgood-Coote (@impractknow.bsky.social)
Read it here:
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
#philsci #philsky
Philosophy, Bullshit, and Peer Review
—Neil Levy (@neillevy.bsky.social)
Reviewed by
Joshua Habgood-Coote (@impractknow.bsky.social)
Read it here:
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
#philsci #philsky
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
Meta illegaly downloaded 80+ terabytes of books from LibGen, Anna's Archive, and Z-library to train their AI models.
In 2010, Aaron Swartz downloaded only 70 GBs of articles from JSTOR (0.0875% of Meta). Faced $1 million in fine and 35 years in jail. Took his own life in 2013.
In 2010, Aaron Swartz downloaded only 70 GBs of articles from JSTOR (0.0875% of Meta). Faced $1 million in fine and 35 years in jail. Took his own life in 2013.
February 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Meta illegaly downloaded 80+ terabytes of books from LibGen, Anna's Archive, and Z-library to train their AI models.
In 2010, Aaron Swartz downloaded only 70 GBs of articles from JSTOR (0.0875% of Meta). Faced $1 million in fine and 35 years in jail. Took his own life in 2013.
In 2010, Aaron Swartz downloaded only 70 GBs of articles from JSTOR (0.0875% of Meta). Faced $1 million in fine and 35 years in jail. Took his own life in 2013.
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
My pa was an engagement farmer, just like his pa before him. But when the algorithm dried up, we had to sell the family socials
January 29, 2025 at 9:42 AM
My pa was an engagement farmer, just like his pa before him. But when the algorithm dried up, we had to sell the family socials
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
Can someone explain why TikTok is a bigger national security concern than a social media platform run by a South African technofeudal oligarch actively interfering in our elections and sabotaging our national interests here and abroad?
January 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Can someone explain why TikTok is a bigger national security concern than a social media platform run by a South African technofeudal oligarch actively interfering in our elections and sabotaging our national interests here and abroad?
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
The same dudes who fetishize the supposed lost strength and competence of their forefathers want computers to write their emails for them.
January 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The same dudes who fetishize the supposed lost strength and competence of their forefathers want computers to write their emails for them.
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
It’s kind of amazing how humanity collectively built the most comprehensive and accessible information repository of all time, and then a handful of people decided to let loose a bunch of broken robots to stochastically pollute it for no clear reason whatsoever
January 8, 2025 at 12:54 AM
It’s kind of amazing how humanity collectively built the most comprehensive and accessible information repository of all time, and then a handful of people decided to let loose a bunch of broken robots to stochastically pollute it for no clear reason whatsoever
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
reflected a bit on my failures as a critic to handle Trump’s architectural bullshit the first time around for @thenation.com www.thenation.com?post_type=ar...
Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again
Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.
www.thenation.com
January 7, 2025 at 3:49 PM
reflected a bit on my failures as a critic to handle Trump’s architectural bullshit the first time around for @thenation.com www.thenation.com?post_type=ar...
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
tired: fearing that robots will become so smart they take your job
wired: fearing that robots will still be dumb but take your job anyway
wired: fearing that robots will still be dumb but take your job anyway
January 6, 2025 at 3:59 AM
tired: fearing that robots will become so smart they take your job
wired: fearing that robots will still be dumb but take your job anyway
wired: fearing that robots will still be dumb but take your job anyway
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
Suddenly mad that we'll never get a Discworld book in which the wizards invent something like Large Language Monsters that eat everyone's stuff before regurgitating it, and Vimes arrests them all for being bloody stupid
December 24, 2024 at 7:42 AM
Suddenly mad that we'll never get a Discworld book in which the wizards invent something like Large Language Monsters that eat everyone's stuff before regurgitating it, and Vimes arrests them all for being bloody stupid
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
there is no such thing as parameters for a human brain
That's a lot of parameters for a large language model.
The human brain has ~100 trillion. About 60X GPT-4.
The human brain has ~100 trillion. About 60X GPT-4.
December 23, 2024 at 2:27 PM
there is no such thing as parameters for a human brain
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
BREAKING: Amazon workers in NYC are going on strike right before Christmas—the company's busiest time.
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1k...
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1k...
How Amazon Ruined Christmas
YouTube video by More Perfect Union
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2024 at 1:05 PM
BREAKING: Amazon workers in NYC are going on strike right before Christmas—the company's busiest time.
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1k...
The first unionized Amazon warehouse is going to shut down in a historic walkout.
Workers plan to hit the company where it hurts to win their first union contract.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1k...
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
I'm doing a final BOOK GIVEAWAY for my biography of Henri Bergson, Herald of a Restless World.
For a chance to win and find out why a philosopher's lectures caused the first ever traffic jam on Broadway *share this post and tag someone in the comments*!
I'll announce the winner on Monday Dec 23!
For a chance to win and find out why a philosopher's lectures caused the first ever traffic jam on Broadway *share this post and tag someone in the comments*!
I'll announce the winner on Monday Dec 23!
December 19, 2024 at 2:14 PM
I'm doing a final BOOK GIVEAWAY for my biography of Henri Bergson, Herald of a Restless World.
For a chance to win and find out why a philosopher's lectures caused the first ever traffic jam on Broadway *share this post and tag someone in the comments*!
I'll announce the winner on Monday Dec 23!
For a chance to win and find out why a philosopher's lectures caused the first ever traffic jam on Broadway *share this post and tag someone in the comments*!
I'll announce the winner on Monday Dec 23!
Reposted by Charles Pidgeon
