erikr
@erik-the-rau.bsky.social
Middle-aged ethnic Minnesotan (he/him)—emergency management & public safety; climate change; civil rights; the labor movement; state-tribal relations; libraries; canoeing; astronomy. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Reposted by erikr
As we go through your replies and show off the skills behind your favorite dishes, you can help us protect farm workers with a #Thanksgiving donation: act.seiu.org/a/thanksgivi... or paypal.com/paypalme/ufw... #WeFeedYou
We can’t do Thanksgiving without farm workers
We can’t do Thanksgiving without farm workers: Make a donation during this season of thanks and giving and help fund change all year long. #WeFeedYou
act.seiu.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
As we go through your replies and show off the skills behind your favorite dishes, you can help us protect farm workers with a #Thanksgiving donation: act.seiu.org/a/thanksgivi... or paypal.com/paypalme/ufw... #WeFeedYou
Reposted by erikr
As you may have noticed, white supremacists want to stop the influx of hardworking young people (aka immigration) while somehow forcing white women to have lots more babies to compensate, but they refuse to make having kids more affordable and less arduous an experience.
RFK Jr: "When my uncle was president, the fertility rate in this country was 3.5%. Today it is 1.6%. The replacement rate -- in other words the amount of fertility you need to keep your population even -- is 2.1%. We are below replacement. That is a national security threat to our country."
October 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
As you may have noticed, white supremacists want to stop the influx of hardworking young people (aka immigration) while somehow forcing white women to have lots more babies to compensate, but they refuse to make having kids more affordable and less arduous an experience.
Reposted by erikr
Since it resonated with the audience, I’ll recap my main argument against AGI here. ‘General intelligence’ is like phlogiston, or the aether. It’s an outmoded scientific concept that does not refer to anything real. Any explanatory work it did can be done better by a richer scientific frame. 1/3
This was a truly heartening day, with deeply thoughtful challenges to the dominant narrative framed around AGI, coming from across disciplines and perspectives. Felt like the tide might finally be turning a bit, at least among the scientific community. Thanks @royalsociety.org!
1/2 I'm looking forward to taking part in a panel on AGI and the Turing Test, tomorrow afternoon (Thurs 2nd Oct) at the @royalsociety.org, w/ Dame Wendy Hall, Shannon Vallor, William Isaac, & Sir Nigel Shadbolt. royalsociety.org/science-even...
October 2, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Since it resonated with the audience, I’ll recap my main argument against AGI here. ‘General intelligence’ is like phlogiston, or the aether. It’s an outmoded scientific concept that does not refer to anything real. Any explanatory work it did can be done better by a richer scientific frame. 1/3
Reposted by erikr
For @spitfirenews.com, I found that increasingly realistic AI-generated videos are being deployed to harass, smear, and create endless offensive content of influencers, whose likenesses are already readily available online. It’s happening to private figures, too.
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
AI-generated influencer scandals are here
Now anyone can play with the hyperrealistic likenesses of public figures.
spitfirenews.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
For @spitfirenews.com, I found that increasingly realistic AI-generated videos are being deployed to harass, smear, and create endless offensive content of influencers, whose likenesses are already readily available online. It’s happening to private figures, too.
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
spitfirenews.com/p/ai-generat...
Reposted by erikr
More than a thousand people in Western Alaska are sleeping in their local school after a massive storm Sunday made their homes unlivable.
(From @alaskapublic.org)
(From @alaskapublic.org)
'Miserable': Hundreds sheltering in Western Alaska schools in dire conditions
The state is evacuating the vulnerable and trying to find safe shelter for all. "We're moving as fast as we can," the incident commander said. "We know that folks are miserable."
www.ktoo.org
October 15, 2025 at 7:41 PM
More than a thousand people in Western Alaska are sleeping in their local school after a massive storm Sunday made their homes unlivable.
(From @alaskapublic.org)
(From @alaskapublic.org)
Reposted by erikr
Are you looking for our Public Lecture Series? The 2024 and 2025 lectures are now available on this YouTube channel playlist. 🔭 🧪
STScI Public Lecture Series - YouTube
The STScI Public Lectures Series held monthly presentations on all aspects of astronomy and space telescopes for several decades. Due to changes in funding, ...
youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Are you looking for our Public Lecture Series? The 2024 and 2025 lectures are now available on this YouTube channel playlist. 🔭 🧪
Reposted by erikr
The offices now being cut are the parts of government we use to take care of each other. This is a consistent theme with Trump, starting with the destruction of USAID.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
October 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The offices now being cut are the parts of government we use to take care of each other. This is a consistent theme with Trump, starting with the destruction of USAID.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
The Office of Special Education. The CDC on-the-ground operations. Attacking vaccines.
They want to divide us. Don't let them.
Reposted by erikr
“A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.” www.commondreams.org/news/ice-chi...
ICE Pins Chicago TV News Producer to the Ground, Hauls Her Off in Unmarked Van | Common Dreams
WGN producer Debbie Brockman forcefully arrested by ICE agents in Chicago. Video shows aggressive tactics used in the arrest.
www.commondreams.org
October 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM
“A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.” www.commondreams.org/news/ice-chi...
Reposted by erikr
there have always been people who like to write, and people who like to say they have written, and the latter really love the idea of AI and the former can not understand why you'd let a computer do the fun part.
there’s this weird idea a lot of people seem to have about how all of us writers and artists must secretly want to use AI and are merely resisting temptation for ethical reasons, and like, no, it’s not hard for me to resist drinking the bowl of Piss With Glass In It actually
October 10, 2025 at 12:07 AM
there have always been people who like to write, and people who like to say they have written, and the latter really love the idea of AI and the former can not understand why you'd let a computer do the fun part.
Reposted by erikr
A reminder (from my 2019 @theatlantic.com reporting) that as military families go without pay this shutdown, many of them are single-paycheck households relying on the servicemember's income because the spouses have been pushed out of the workforce.
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
The Dismal Career Opportunities for Military Spouses
For the partners of America’s active-duty service members, finding a stable, well-paid job is often impossible.
www.theatlantic.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
A reminder (from my 2019 @theatlantic.com reporting) that as military families go without pay this shutdown, many of them are single-paycheck households relying on the servicemember's income because the spouses have been pushed out of the workforce.
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...
Reposted by erikr
Ring founder: “I’m focused on: How can I get the highest density of camera coverage in a neighborhood matched with AI to make neighborhoods safer?…It’s not just hard crime.”
Just put this guy and the Flock guy on a deserted island together so they can surveill each other until the end times.
Just put this guy and the Flock guy on a deserted island together so they can surveill each other until the end times.
Ring founder 'backs the blue,' says AI is helping Amazon-owned doorbell unit fight crime
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff returned to the company he founded in April to lead the business, which is part of Amazon's devices division.
www.cnbc.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Ring founder: “I’m focused on: How can I get the highest density of camera coverage in a neighborhood matched with AI to make neighborhoods safer?…It’s not just hard crime.”
Just put this guy and the Flock guy on a deserted island together so they can surveill each other until the end times.
Just put this guy and the Flock guy on a deserted island together so they can surveill each other until the end times.
Reposted by erikr
Now do wage theft.
Shoplifters could soon be chased down by drones
Flock Safety is pitching its police-style drone program to private businesses. It could bring aerial surveillance to shopping centers, warehouses, and hospitals.
www.technologyreview.com
September 25, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Now do wage theft.
Reposted by erikr
Productivity isn't output.
“Employees are using AI tools to create low-effort, passable looking work that ends up creating more work for their coworkers.”
(Hat-tip to @danhon.com)
(Hat-tip to @danhon.com)
September 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Productivity isn't output.
Reposted by erikr
My latest newsletter is about how Internet culture died, and why the centralization of the web around a handful of large platforms is responsible for making the web a duller, more boring place.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/the-death-...
whatwelost.substack.com/p/the-death-...
The Death of Internet Culture
It's not just you. The web is boring now.
whatwelost.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
My latest newsletter is about how Internet culture died, and why the centralization of the web around a handful of large platforms is responsible for making the web a duller, more boring place.
whatwelost.substack.com/p/the-death-...
whatwelost.substack.com/p/the-death-...
Reposted by erikr
you see four unlocking methods. i see four points of failure
TCL’s new smart lock squeezes four unlocking methods into a door knob
TCL’s new smart lock squeezes four unlocking methods into a door knob
The K1 can be opened using your fingerprint, a PIN code, a key, or TCL’s mobile app.
buff.ly
September 17, 2025 at 4:51 PM
you see four unlocking methods. i see four points of failure
Reposted by erikr
SPECIAL REPORT: A large swath of the U.S. currently does not have the basic, ground-level immunity necessary to stop the spread of viruses that had once receded into the past, a six-month NBC News investigation in collaboration with scientists at Stanford University finds.
Data investigation: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S.
A monthslong NBC News data investigation finds that much of the U.S. doesn't have the protection needed to stop the spread of deadly diseases. St. Louis is a window into the problem communities face nationwide.
nbcnews.to
September 15, 2025 at 10:07 PM
SPECIAL REPORT: A large swath of the U.S. currently does not have the basic, ground-level immunity necessary to stop the spread of viruses that had once receded into the past, a six-month NBC News investigation in collaboration with scientists at Stanford University finds.
Reposted by erikr
A couple of points about this. First off, "domestic terrorism" isn't in and of itself a crime. There are terrorism enhancements, and there are organizations designated as terrorist. But those lists come out of the State Department, and the groups on there are foreign.
September 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
A couple of points about this. First off, "domestic terrorism" isn't in and of itself a crime. There are terrorism enhancements, and there are organizations designated as terrorist. But those lists come out of the State Department, and the groups on there are foreign.
Reposted by erikr
An excellent essay on the rejection of experts, ignorance, RFK Jr., and "not-knowing, as a way of claiming the authority of ignorance." www.the-reframe.com/your-ignoran...
Reminds me of this adage: "Everything looks like a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works."
Reminds me of this adage: "Everything looks like a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works."
Your Ignorance Doesn't Make You An Expert
Let's go chasing waterfalls.
www.the-reframe.com
September 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
An excellent essay on the rejection of experts, ignorance, RFK Jr., and "not-knowing, as a way of claiming the authority of ignorance." www.the-reframe.com/your-ignoran...
Reminds me of this adage: "Everything looks like a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works."
Reminds me of this adage: "Everything looks like a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works."
Reposted by erikr
here's my @skyandtelescope.bsky.social story about the new planet-in-a-gap-in-a-disk 🙂👍🏼🔭🧪⭐
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
Baby Planet Clears Gap in Young Protoplanetary Disk
With the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a planet forming around a star 430 light-years away.
skyandtelescope.org
August 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
here's my @skyandtelescope.bsky.social story about the new planet-in-a-gap-in-a-disk 🙂👍🏼🔭🧪⭐
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
Reposted by erikr
An ex-DOGE staffer developed an AI tool that hallucinated the size of Veterans Affairs contracts.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand deals were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
(Published June)
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand deals were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
(Published June)
DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts
We obtained records showing how a Department of Government Efficiency staffer with no medical experience used artificial intelligence to identify which VA contracts to kill. “AI is absolutely the wron...
www.propublica.org
August 27, 2025 at 6:12 PM
An ex-DOGE staffer developed an AI tool that hallucinated the size of Veterans Affairs contracts.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand deals were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
(Published June)
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand deals were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
(Published June)
Reposted by erikr
America’s leading physician groups are now openly defying RFK Jr. www.vox.com/health/45922...
America’s leading physician groups are now openly defying RFK Jr.
US vaccine consensus has officially shattered.
www.vox.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
America’s leading physician groups are now openly defying RFK Jr. www.vox.com/health/45922...
Reposted by erikr
Satire, art, humor, beauty, pleasure, creativity.
These are not luxuries, they are necessities.
We need all of these things to keep bringing light and hope to the world, in a dark time.
These are not luxuries, they are necessities.
We need all of these things to keep bringing light and hope to the world, in a dark time.
August 21, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Satire, art, humor, beauty, pleasure, creativity.
These are not luxuries, they are necessities.
We need all of these things to keep bringing light and hope to the world, in a dark time.
These are not luxuries, they are necessities.
We need all of these things to keep bringing light and hope to the world, in a dark time.
Reposted by erikr
Even with today's beautiful-looking beach weather for much of the coast from SC to FL, Erin is creating some potential dangers beneath the waves.
It looks safe…until it’s not. Strong rip currents can pull you out in seconds. Follow advice from lifeguards and beach warning flags.
weather.gov/safety
It looks safe…until it’s not. Strong rip currents can pull you out in seconds. Follow advice from lifeguards and beach warning flags.
weather.gov/safety
August 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Even with today's beautiful-looking beach weather for much of the coast from SC to FL, Erin is creating some potential dangers beneath the waves.
It looks safe…until it’s not. Strong rip currents can pull you out in seconds. Follow advice from lifeguards and beach warning flags.
weather.gov/safety
It looks safe…until it’s not. Strong rip currents can pull you out in seconds. Follow advice from lifeguards and beach warning flags.
weather.gov/safety
Reposted by erikr
One of the biggest cultural issues we have is that no major media or journalistic institutions have been reinforcing norms of what things *should* look like. That corruption isn’t normal, that cronyism isn’t normal, that lies and scandals should be punished, that incompetence is disqualifying.
August 20, 2025 at 2:21 PM
One of the biggest cultural issues we have is that no major media or journalistic institutions have been reinforcing norms of what things *should* look like. That corruption isn’t normal, that cronyism isn’t normal, that lies and scandals should be punished, that incompetence is disqualifying.