Erica "digifox" Kovac
@digifox.binaryden.net
Software Engineer | Social Democrat | Pro-Nuclear, Pro-Growth | in the vicinity of "Tomboy Transfemme", she/her | Opinions are mine, not my employer's.
Pfp by @nicnak044.bsky.social
Pfp by @nicnak044.bsky.social
Pinned
let the version of the industry that does this repent through bankruptcy; if I pay for technology I expect it to serve *my* interests, not those who wish to control and surveill me
Software is a tool, and tools should serve the user above all else.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
nuclear take incoming but i kinda fuck w billionaire immortality guy. if we're gonna have overlords they should at least be insane in an entertaining way. and he seems like he'd be a good hang
November 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
nuclear take incoming but i kinda fuck w billionaire immortality guy. if we're gonna have overlords they should at least be insane in an entertaining way. and he seems like he'd be a good hang
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
The British government admits it is now monitoring VPNs use by UK residents. Regulator Ofcom has contracted with an AI-powered surveillance service to detect the number of citizens using VPNs to evade the Online Safety Act.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
Exclusive: Ofcom is monitoring VPNs following Online Safety Act. Here's how
Ignoring VPNs risks creating ineffective laws, but tracking them threatens people's privacy
www.techradar.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:39 PM
The British government admits it is now monitoring VPNs use by UK residents. Regulator Ofcom has contracted with an AI-powered surveillance service to detect the number of citizens using VPNs to evade the Online Safety Act.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
November 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
i think it's very bad that "agentic disinformation network, agentic nation-state level black hat, agentic revenge porn at scale" all occurred and were funded before "AI PowerPoint slide deck creation that actually looks nice" got solved
November 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM
i think it's very bad that "agentic disinformation network, agentic nation-state level black hat, agentic revenge porn at scale" all occurred and were funded before "AI PowerPoint slide deck creation that actually looks nice" got solved
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
i really really really really think we are delivering on terrible, society destroying, applications of AI at about 10x the rate of "economically useful, liberatory, activity for normies"
November 11, 2025 at 4:52 PM
i really really really really think we are delivering on terrible, society destroying, applications of AI at about 10x the rate of "economically useful, liberatory, activity for normies"
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
"i don't like the value judgment implied in 'that kid can't read so well'" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
November 11, 2025 at 9:52 PM
"i don't like the value judgment implied in 'that kid can't read so well'" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
...I just realized the waffles thing is literally the three que method, we are literally teaching children to be the waffles guy because this country is insane.
my patience has increased but I will say, it is ok to have trouble reading, it is not ok to scream at people for things you imagined they said because you can't read what they actually said
November 11, 2025 at 9:10 PM
...I just realized the waffles thing is literally the three que method, we are literally teaching children to be the waffles guy because this country is insane.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
"I can generate photorealistic video but not solve simple visual puzzles" is an insane place to be
November 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
"I can generate photorealistic video but not solve simple visual puzzles" is an insane place to be
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
i honestly think moravec's paradox has broken. like the boundary between easy and hard is this fucked up fractal thing and we're sort of just sitting on it. we can do some things and not others and no simple heuristic tells you which ones
it would be cool to have humanoid robotics. we are still trying to deal with moravec's paradox in robotics
November 11, 2025 at 8:57 PM
i honestly think moravec's paradox has broken. like the boundary between easy and hard is this fucked up fractal thing and we're sort of just sitting on it. we can do some things and not others and no simple heuristic tells you which ones
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
ok one last post -- oldheads are always going to "why is the web dying.... how can we get the kids invested in the free and open web"
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
November 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
ok one last post -- oldheads are always going to "why is the web dying.... how can we get the kids invested in the free and open web"
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
This is one of the things I hate most about modern capitalism. The idea of making money has been fully peeled away from delivering any kind of goods or services that people would want to pay money for.
What a thrill to be part of @talkingpointsmemo.com's series about the past 25 years of digital media! I wrote about why private equity goons destroyed Deadspin and why it matters.
There Are No Weird Blogs Anymore Cause It’s More Fruitful to Drive Them Out of Business
I learned many surprising lessons from my 20 months as editor-in-chief of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
This is one of the things I hate most about modern capitalism. The idea of making money has been fully peeled away from delivering any kind of goods or services that people would want to pay money for.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
The existence of the phonics debate is strong evidence that English needs spelling reform. In an actually phonetic language this would be completely obvious.
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The existence of the phonics debate is strong evidence that English needs spelling reform. In an actually phonetic language this would be completely obvious.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:18 PM
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Idk. The deal to end the shutdown seems pretty obviously bad. Keeping the shutdown going is also bad. All of the options post-11/5/24 have been varying degrees of bad. I'm not happy with how this is playing out but I can't convince myself to be truly angry.
November 11, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Idk. The deal to end the shutdown seems pretty obviously bad. Keeping the shutdown going is also bad. All of the options post-11/5/24 have been varying degrees of bad. I'm not happy with how this is playing out but I can't convince myself to be truly angry.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
There are only two kinds of crime shows:
- Bummertown
- Rogue Genius Detective
- Bummertown
- Rogue Genius Detective
November 11, 2025 at 4:28 AM
There are only two kinds of crime shows:
- Bummertown
- Rogue Genius Detective
- Bummertown
- Rogue Genius Detective
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
I mean:
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
SCOOP: Schumer privately fought to extend government shutdown
Scoop: Schumer privately fought to extend government shutdown
"We let him know what we were doing," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
www.axios.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I mean:
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
1. I don't believe this for one second and...
2. If it is true, @schumer.senate.gov is incompetent and should go retire and hang out with Andrew Cuomo, and let someone competent take over.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
tbh it’s weird to me there’s a sincerely held belief that everyone should use the same definition and metrics when discussing The Economy
I followed the chain back and I don't think the claim is really consensus belief on here, I just think the relevant nexus of beliefs highly correlates with "likely to get in a fight with Will Stancil" and that is distorting his perception somewhat.
This is literally the consensus belief on this website. And because everyone knows it’s the consensus belief, big tastemaker accounts completely refuse to challenge it, because their game is to say things that they know the majority of their audience will agree with. So the falsehood spreads.
November 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
tbh it’s weird to me there’s a sincerely held belief that everyone should use the same definition and metrics when discussing The Economy
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
This thread resonated me, so will clip it again. I’m really not a Buttigieg fan, but Buttigieg discussing the struggle with coming to terms with being an gay person during the 80s-2000s is just so basic; it’s a bedrock feature of Gen X and Millennial LGBTQ culture. A 🧵
Pete Buttigieg: I struggled with accepting my sexuality but I’m glad I eventually figured it out because I have a wonderful family now
This freak: talking about his coming out journey is proof that Pete Buttigieg is Gollum
This freak: talking about his coming out journey is proof that Pete Buttigieg is Gollum
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
This thread resonated me, so will clip it again. I’m really not a Buttigieg fan, but Buttigieg discussing the struggle with coming to terms with being an gay person during the 80s-2000s is just so basic; it’s a bedrock feature of Gen X and Millennial LGBTQ culture. A 🧵
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
A loser, a coward, and a quitter walk into a bar. The bartender says "Hey Senator King, what's good?"
November 10, 2025 at 6:29 PM
A loser, a coward, and a quitter walk into a bar. The bartender says "Hey Senator King, what's good?"
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
there is mechsploitation everywhere for those with the eyes to see them
October 11, 2025 at 1:53 AM
there is mechsploitation everywhere for those with the eyes to see them
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect: "The cognitive bias of recognizing the consistent failure of journalists to accurately describe domains about which you are knowledgeable, yet continuing to trust reporting in other areas despite acknowledging that failure."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
November 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect: "The cognitive bias of recognizing the consistent failure of journalists to accurately describe domains about which you are knowledgeable, yet continuing to trust reporting in other areas despite acknowledging that failure."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Ma...
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
It was very obvious they were never going to take this case and some people got very mad if you said that.
Supreme Court declines to hear case on constitutionality of same-sex marriage
The Supreme Court on Monday morning turned down a request from Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, to reconsider its 2015 decision recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex […]
www.scotusblog.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
It was very obvious they were never going to take this case and some people got very mad if you said that.
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
Dems are very proud of themselves for their “savvy” willingness to tell their base to simmer down and let the experts work. What they don’t seem to understand is the intangible, but very real, damage that does to the enthusiasm of their voters, who feel abandoned. And then the “experts” fail!
The Dem base wants the shutdown to continue because it’s the only time we’ve felt like our electeds were representing us: trying to squeeze the GOP instead of squeezing us to accept concessions; directing their anger at the Republicans instead of at their own voters for wanting them to resist
November 10, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Dems are very proud of themselves for their “savvy” willingness to tell their base to simmer down and let the experts work. What they don’t seem to understand is the intangible, but very real, damage that does to the enthusiasm of their voters, who feel abandoned. And then the “experts” fail!
Reposted by Erica "digifox" Kovac
fully funding SNAP a year out is what makes this a potential ceasefire not a surrender. it takes starvation off the table as potential stakes.
I would be more enthusiastic about that if I had any confidence that they actually would take another go at it in January.
November 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM
fully funding SNAP a year out is what makes this a potential ceasefire not a surrender. it takes starvation off the table as potential stakes.