ben
@eskola.uk
Software engineer, socialist. London, but from up north. Learning Finnish.
Anti-AI, pro-human.
mostly cross posted from mastodon for now
https://eskola.uk
https://hachyderm.io/@benjamineskola
Anti-AI, pro-human.
mostly cross posted from mastodon for now
https://eskola.uk
https://hachyderm.io/@benjamineskola
"With LLMs it has never been easier to write your own [code]" (instead of depending on a third-party package)
i am begging you to stop
i am begging you to stop
December 9, 2025 at 8:53 AM
"With LLMs it has never been easier to write your own [code]" (instead of depending on a third-party package)
i am begging you to stop
i am begging you to stop
Reposted by ben
I have a lot of thoughts on AI.
I've been working on this post for a couple of months now. It's very personal, characteristically lengthy, and sure to be at least somewhat controversial. Take it (or don't) as you will.
joshcollinsworth.com/blog/sloptim...
I've been working on this post for a couple of months now. It's very personal, characteristically lengthy, and sure to be at least somewhat controversial. Take it (or don't) as you will.
joshcollinsworth.com/blog/sloptim...
AI optimism is a class privilege
I think I have an idea why we're so extremely divided on AI: it's because we have an intuitive sense of who it stands to benefit, and who stands to pay the costs. I think whether you see reason for op...
joshcollinsworth.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I have a lot of thoughts on AI.
I've been working on this post for a couple of months now. It's very personal, characteristically lengthy, and sure to be at least somewhat controversial. Take it (or don't) as you will.
joshcollinsworth.com/blog/sloptim...
I've been working on this post for a couple of months now. It's very personal, characteristically lengthy, and sure to be at least somewhat controversial. Take it (or don't) as you will.
joshcollinsworth.com/blog/sloptim...
Reposted by ben
well would you look at that. being trans is a protected characteristic and being a bigot is not.
Decision in the Sandie Peggie case.
She was not directly or indirectly discriminated against, her claim of victimisation fails entirely, her claim of harassment fails largely and her claim against Beth Upton fails entirely. www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sa...
She was not directly or indirectly discriminated against, her claim of victimisation fails entirely, her claim of harassment fails largely and her claim against Beth Upton fails entirely. www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sa...
Sandie Peggie -v- Fife Health Board and another (judgment and summary) - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Case number: 4104864/2024 Employment Tribunal, Scotland 8 December 2025 Before: Employment Judge A KempTribunal Member L BrownTribunal Member C Russell Between: Mrs Sandie Peggie -v- Fife Health Board...
www.judiciary.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
well would you look at that. being trans is a protected characteristic and being a bigot is not.
Reposted by ben
There are only about 30 TERFs in Britain, but most of them have newspaper columns.
December 6, 2025 at 2:36 PM
There are only about 30 TERFs in Britain, but most of them have newspaper columns.
I’ve said it before, but there’s absolutely no excuse for a hate campaign against ‘Last Christmas’ when rubbish like ‘Wonderful Christmastime’, ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, and ‘Lonely This Christmas’ exists. #whamageddon
December 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I’ve said it before, but there’s absolutely no excuse for a hate campaign against ‘Last Christmas’ when rubbish like ‘Wonderful Christmastime’, ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, and ‘Lonely This Christmas’ exists. #whamageddon
New blog post: Fixing the ‘Copilot’ key https://eskola.uk/2025/copilot-key/
Fixing the ‘Copilot’ key | Benjamin Eskola
I bought a Thinkpad1 earlier this year, which has been my
first x86-based machine in over a decade; and in the place where they
used to have a ‘menu’ key, they now have a ‘Copilot’ key instead.
Obv...
eskola.uk
December 5, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New blog post: Fixing the ‘Copilot’ key https://eskola.uk/2025/copilot-key/
Reposted by ben
The Telegraph going after the Quakers because the Quakers won't be assholes to trans people.
That opening paragraph by Daniel Martin is lol. It's Helen Joyce doing the accusing.
That opening paragraph by Daniel Martin is lol. It's Helen Joyce doing the accusing.
May 27, 2025 at 8:28 AM
The Telegraph going after the Quakers because the Quakers won't be assholes to trans people.
That opening paragraph by Daniel Martin is lol. It's Helen Joyce doing the accusing.
That opening paragraph by Daniel Martin is lol. It's Helen Joyce doing the accusing.
I wonder if I can manage a perfect Advent streak of Last Christmas every single day.
December 2, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I wonder if I can manage a perfect Advent streak of Last Christmas every single day.
Reposted by ben
“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to
December 1, 2025 at 11:29 PM
“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to
Reposted by ben
perfect example of genAI output having the "texture" of something real but being absolute gibberish at a semantic level
December 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
perfect example of genAI output having the "texture" of something real but being absolute gibberish at a semantic level
The British government embarrassing itself even further over Palestine Action https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1127/1546234-sally-rooney-uk-court/
November 28, 2025 at 9:19 AM
The British government embarrassing itself even further over Palestine Action https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1127/1546234-sally-rooney-uk-court/
I know everyone’s seen jokes about punctuation is important because it’s the difference between blah blah you know the ones.
But I’ve seen the word codesigning twice in the space of a couple of days and both times around the implicit hyphen was in a different place.
But I’ve seen the word codesigning twice in the space of a couple of days and both times around the implicit hyphen was in a different place.
November 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I know everyone’s seen jokes about punctuation is important because it’s the difference between blah blah you know the ones.
But I’ve seen the word codesigning twice in the space of a couple of days and both times around the implicit hyphen was in a different place.
But I’ve seen the word codesigning twice in the space of a couple of days and both times around the implicit hyphen was in a different place.
Reposted by ben
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Reposted by ben
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
Reposted by ben
Asking a chatbot isn't better than nothing -- it's worse than nothing. Unless the goal isn't learning but rather "turning in assignments".
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Asking a chatbot isn't better than nothing -- it's worse than nothing. Unless the goal isn't learning but rather "turning in assignments".
Reposted by ben
it is absolutely the tech companies fault that people now assume they’re doing something evil and sneaky even when they actually aren’t (regarding the latest Google kerfuffle)
like, no kidding that people have zero willingness to cut big tech the benefit of the doubt anymore
like, no kidding that people have zero willingness to cut big tech the benefit of the doubt anymore
November 23, 2025 at 8:33 AM
it is absolutely the tech companies fault that people now assume they’re doing something evil and sneaky even when they actually aren’t (regarding the latest Google kerfuffle)
like, no kidding that people have zero willingness to cut big tech the benefit of the doubt anymore
like, no kidding that people have zero willingness to cut big tech the benefit of the doubt anymore
This PR and the author’s comments are incredible. https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/pull/14369
Just a complete lack of critical thinking about the tool. Even if LLMs are generally valuable this is clearly not a helpful approach on multiple levels.
Just a complete lack of critical thinking about the tool. Even if LLMs are generally valuable this is clearly not a helpful approach on multiple levels.
DWARF support for macOS and Linux by joelreymont · Pull Request #14369 · ocaml/ocaml
DWARF v5 Debugging Support for OCaml Native Compiler
This PR adds DWARF v5 debug information to the OCaml native compiler, allowing proper source-level debugging in GDB and LLDB.
What's Impleme...
github.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
This PR and the author’s comments are incredible. https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/pull/14369
Just a complete lack of critical thinking about the tool. Even if LLMs are generally valuable this is clearly not a helpful approach on multiple levels.
Just a complete lack of critical thinking about the tool. Even if LLMs are generally valuable this is clearly not a helpful approach on multiple levels.
Reposted by ben
While on tour promoting 'Wake Up Dead Man', Rian Johnson goes off on AI for “making everything worse in every single way.” bit.ly/47UBPfH
November 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM
While on tour promoting 'Wake Up Dead Man', Rian Johnson goes off on AI for “making everything worse in every single way.” bit.ly/47UBPfH
Reposted by ben
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
November 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
yeah I’ve optimised it completely away https://thoughtbot.social/@thoughtbot/115582933545419101
thoughtbot (@thoughtbot@thoughtbot.social)
Trying to optimize your AI coding workflow? One size doesn't fit all. During an AI pair programming session, we discovered some insights about control, context and trust that might help you sharpen your own process. https://thoughtbot.com/blog/ai-in-focus-pair-programming-with-ai
thoughtbot.social
November 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
yeah I’ve optimised it completely away https://thoughtbot.social/@thoughtbot/115582933545419101
Labour party once again discovers that hereditary peers are not its friends https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/18/out-of-touch-peers-criticised-for-voting-against-workers-rights
‘Out of touch’ hereditary peers criticised for voting against workers’ rights
Lords look ‘undemocratic and firmly against interest of working people’, say senior trade union and Labour figures
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Labour party once again discovers that hereditary peers are not its friends https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/18/out-of-touch-peers-criticised-for-voting-against-workers-rights
Bluesky really is succeeding in reproducing the classic Twitter experience: no matter how far right the Labour Party goes there’ll always be plenty of freaks willing to defend them.
November 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Bluesky really is succeeding in reproducing the classic Twitter experience: no matter how far right the Labour Party goes there’ll always be plenty of freaks willing to defend them.
Reposted by ben
Labour won't redistribute wealth from billionaires.
But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution.
Absolutely disgusting. Asylum seekers are human beings — and they deserve to live in dignity just like anybody else.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution.
Absolutely disgusting. Asylum seekers are human beings — and they deserve to live in dignity just like anybody else.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Asylum seekers’ jewellery could be seized to pay for processing costs, says Home Office minister
Idea borrowed from Denmark is latest attempt to reduce number of people seeking asylum in UK
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Labour won't redistribute wealth from billionaires.
But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution.
Absolutely disgusting. Asylum seekers are human beings — and they deserve to live in dignity just like anybody else.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution.
Absolutely disgusting. Asylum seekers are human beings — and they deserve to live in dignity just like anybody else.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...