Rebecca
@feeglefriend.bsky.social
High school English teacher in SoCal. Media literacy, critical thinking, sci-fi.
Reposted by Rebecca
I think the use of chatbots for stuff like this is intended to train people to use it to avoid everything that’s painful or hard. It can write the obituary, the breakup text, the complaint letter. It’s meant to separate humans from their difficult feelings. Seems bad.
New: A few weeks ago, when my father-in-law died, the funeral home asked if we wanted to use AI to write his obituary. So I dug into it and found that it's the biggest new trend in "death care." Tens of thousands of AI obits have been made already. Often the families don't even know wapo.st/4okuxIg
The rise of AI tools that write about you when you die
Families and funeral directors are using AI obituary generators to more efficiently memorialize the dead. What happens when they get it wrong?
wapo.st
August 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I think the use of chatbots for stuff like this is intended to train people to use it to avoid everything that’s painful or hard. It can write the obituary, the breakup text, the complaint letter. It’s meant to separate humans from their difficult feelings. Seems bad.
Reposted by Rebecca
Setting aside the ethical and environmental concerns of AI, I'm really offended by a bunch of elite dudes telling us our minds aren't good enough when they've had to steal everything human minds have created to create their pretend mind and it doesn't even work right!
July 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Setting aside the ethical and environmental concerns of AI, I'm really offended by a bunch of elite dudes telling us our minds aren't good enough when they've had to steal everything human minds have created to create their pretend mind and it doesn't even work right!
Reposted by Rebecca
A very cool technology that allows students to interact with John Maynard Keynes’ ideas as he develops them is called a book
July 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
A very cool technology that allows students to interact with John Maynard Keynes’ ideas as he develops them is called a book
Reposted by Rebecca
I imagined the Chatsubo in 1984. 41 years later I opened its door. Neuromancer is in production.
July 1, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I imagined the Chatsubo in 1984. 41 years later I opened its door. Neuromancer is in production.
A fantastic speech:
Last night, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote speech at the Locus awards. You can view the speech and read the full text here.
stone-soup.ghost.io/hammer-speech/
stone-soup.ghost.io/hammer-speech/
Hammer Speech
Last night, I got to stand up in front of the audience at the Locus Awards ceremony. I wound up presenting the Locus Award for Best Short Story (congratulations, Isabel J. Kim!) – but first, I deliver...
stone-soup.ghost.io
June 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
A fantastic speech:
Reposted by Rebecca
It's that time of year again! Drowning doesn't look like drowning; familiarize yourself with the instinctive drowning response
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
slate.com
June 20, 2025 at 3:03 AM
It's that time of year again! Drowning doesn't look like drowning; familiarize yourself with the instinctive drowning response
Reposted by Rebecca
We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:
June 18, 2025 at 3:01 PM
We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:
Reposted by Rebecca
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
There is no such thing as "America's schools."
There is no such thing as "America's schools."
June 17, 2025 at 9:40 AM
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
There is no such thing as "America's schools."
There is no such thing as "America's schools."
Reposted by Rebecca
Don’t let billionaires convince you that creepy, problematic technologies aren’t creepy & problematic. Because once they can convince enough people of that, well… then we’ve lost. But we (the 99%) haven’t lost til then. Technology is not destiny & they KNOW it. They’re terrified we might know too.
June 5, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Don’t let billionaires convince you that creepy, problematic technologies aren’t creepy & problematic. Because once they can convince enough people of that, well… then we’ve lost. But we (the 99%) haven’t lost til then. Technology is not destiny & they KNOW it. They’re terrified we might know too.
Reposted by Rebecca
Curiosity needs friction. Learning needs surprise. Wisdom needs mistakes. Models don’t offer that. They offer something faster, smoother, and emptier.
13/16
13/16
June 2, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Curiosity needs friction. Learning needs surprise. Wisdom needs mistakes. Models don’t offer that. They offer something faster, smoother, and emptier.
13/16
13/16
You can see this in high school. Not all students of course, but it’s a huge challenge for planning effective lessons.
I've taught many people new to gamedev from kids to adult, from a practical educator lens I believe the main difference people credit to kids learning faster or easier than adults is they aren't yet consciously trying to avoid temporarily looking like a beginner at something
adding alt text to help
adding alt text to help
May 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
You can see this in high school. Not all students of course, but it’s a huge challenge for planning effective lessons.
More "personalized" searches? Just what we need to further insulate us from the wider world.
AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search
AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search
The internet’s biggest search engine is going to be unrecognizable in just a few years.
buff.ly
May 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM
More "personalized" searches? Just what we need to further insulate us from the wider world.
All these people who seem to have never met a child or teenager in their entire lives.
May 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
All these people who seem to have never met a child or teenager in their entire lives.
Reposted by Rebecca
This was just posted by @tbretc.bsky.social on another platform. The Chicago Sun-Times obviously gets ChatGPT to write a ‘summer reads’ feature almost entirely made up of real authors but completely fake books. What are we coming to?
May 20, 2025 at 11:04 AM
This was just posted by @tbretc.bsky.social on another platform. The Chicago Sun-Times obviously gets ChatGPT to write a ‘summer reads’ feature almost entirely made up of real authors but completely fake books. What are we coming to?
Netflix plans to air 90 hours of previous episodes, while new episodes "will also air on PBS stations and PBS Kids the same day they debut on Netflix," the report said.
May 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Netflix plans to air 90 hours of previous episodes, while new episodes "will also air on PBS stations and PBS Kids the same day they debut on Netflix," the report said.
Reposted by Rebecca
This is another reason why the attempt to mass universalize LLMs in higher ed, irrespective of necessity, need or context, bothers me. We are teaching students that they do not have to reckon with, or disclose or think of, how exactly they came to write and create things.
And isn't that just wrong?
And isn't that just wrong?
May 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
This is another reason why the attempt to mass universalize LLMs in higher ed, irrespective of necessity, need or context, bothers me. We are teaching students that they do not have to reckon with, or disclose or think of, how exactly they came to write and create things.
And isn't that just wrong?
And isn't that just wrong?
Reposted by Rebecca
this is why I start fights with people who tell me "sometimes the curtains are just blue"
like ok maybe the curtains in YOUR books are just blue, but in my books someone had to pick the curtains and decide to hang them up or MAYBE THERE ARE NONE, and curtains can actually say a lot about a person!
like ok maybe the curtains in YOUR books are just blue, but in my books someone had to pick the curtains and decide to hang them up or MAYBE THERE ARE NONE, and curtains can actually say a lot about a person!
Couple things. How the author chooses to describe (or not) the setting informs the reader of tone, backstory, even character development. It's not just there to make the word count. 1/
Yes, I think a lot about this self-pub writer who said they use AI to write things like "setting" and "description" which they don't find interesting instead of... figuring out how to write something interesting?
bsky.app/profile/pete...
bsky.app/profile/pete...
May 16, 2025 at 6:59 PM
this is why I start fights with people who tell me "sometimes the curtains are just blue"
like ok maybe the curtains in YOUR books are just blue, but in my books someone had to pick the curtains and decide to hang them up or MAYBE THERE ARE NONE, and curtains can actually say a lot about a person!
like ok maybe the curtains in YOUR books are just blue, but in my books someone had to pick the curtains and decide to hang them up or MAYBE THERE ARE NONE, and curtains can actually say a lot about a person!
Reposted by Rebecca
the fundamental disconnect between the manosphere and reality is that they are incapable of understanding that this is - according to every woman I’ve ever met - the sexiest thing a man has ever done
eight years ago today we all watched the glory of zendaya falling madly in love with tom holland and the internet was never the same
May 7, 2025 at 3:01 PM
the fundamental disconnect between the manosphere and reality is that they are incapable of understanding that this is - according to every woman I’ve ever met - the sexiest thing a man has ever done
Reposted by Rebecca
"I asked Wendy if she recognized the irony in using AI to write not just a paper on critical pedagogy but one that argues learning is what 'makes us truly human.' She wasn’t sure what to make of the question. 'I use AI a lot. Like, every day,' she said."
My head hurts.
My head hurts.
May 7, 2025 at 1:15 PM
"I asked Wendy if she recognized the irony in using AI to write not just a paper on critical pedagogy but one that argues learning is what 'makes us truly human.' She wasn’t sure what to make of the question. 'I use AI a lot. Like, every day,' she said."
My head hurts.
My head hurts.
Reposted by Rebecca
“Massive #s of students are going to emerge... who are essentially illiterate. Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate + having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.”
This isn't the only reason AI is bad, but it's why it is bad for students.
This isn't the only reason AI is bad, but it's why it is bad for students.
May 7, 2025 at 1:13 PM
“Massive #s of students are going to emerge... who are essentially illiterate. Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate + having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.”
This isn't the only reason AI is bad, but it's why it is bad for students.
This isn't the only reason AI is bad, but it's why it is bad for students.
Reposted by Rebecca
It’s time to reconsolidate a counterculture and politics against this shit. Science, art, medicine, poetry, philosophy as the beautiful life, the fullness of human civilization, that they want to destroy. Humanism, not cynicism, not slop, not tech “””nerd””” culture
May 7, 2025 at 4:28 PM
It’s time to reconsolidate a counterculture and politics against this shit. Science, art, medicine, poetry, philosophy as the beautiful life, the fullness of human civilization, that they want to destroy. Humanism, not cynicism, not slop, not tech “””nerd””” culture
My 9th graders are hearing all about this, in detail, in our research and media literacy unit. Some clearly take it seriously while others are unconvinced.
There is a lot of money and effort behind the sales pitches and only limited time to counter them in class.
There is a lot of money and effort behind the sales pitches and only limited time to counter them in class.
i think the biggest public relations coup AI boosters scored was calling it “AI.” people genuinely think it is an intelligence, and that when they query it, it is providing reasoned answers
it's jolting how little AI skepticism has reached the general public. i've had many acquaintances ask whether i use AI for research and seem shocked when i tell them it's completely useless for that purpose. my wife recently told her colleagues about hallucinations and it was news to all of them.
May 7, 2025 at 7:20 PM
My 9th graders are hearing all about this, in detail, in our research and media literacy unit. Some clearly take it seriously while others are unconvinced.
There is a lot of money and effort behind the sales pitches and only limited time to counter them in class.
There is a lot of money and effort behind the sales pitches and only limited time to counter them in class.
Reposted by Rebecca
Trekkies, remember a few years ago when certain people talked about how “dated” those jellybean buttons were on the OG Enterprise? ☕️
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars.
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its sen...
www.wired.com
May 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Trekkies, remember a few years ago when certain people talked about how “dated” those jellybean buttons were on the OG Enterprise? ☕️
This will be a huge step forward for safety. Touch screens were a terrible idea.
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars.
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its sen...
www.wired.com
May 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
This will be a huge step forward for safety. Touch screens were a terrible idea.