M. C. Flux PhD
@fluxinflux.bsky.social
Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology PhD
Educator and researcher. My research explores, equity, novel therapeutics, and emotion. I’m passionate about communication empowering communities.
Proudly queer and neurodiverse
drfluxphd.com
Educator and researcher. My research explores, equity, novel therapeutics, and emotion. I’m passionate about communication empowering communities.
Proudly queer and neurodiverse
drfluxphd.com
As a scientist, I can attest to this!
October 13, 2025 at 3:20 PM
As a scientist, I can attest to this!
The world works this way because of you, Mr. Altman. You created a world of runaway digital body snatching and SpongeBob meth labs. Don’t blame human nature to remove your culpability.
Quote from today’s article in @theverge.com
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Quote from today’s article in @theverge.com
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
October 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The world works this way because of you, Mr. Altman. You created a world of runaway digital body snatching and SpongeBob meth labs. Don’t blame human nature to remove your culpability.
Quote from today’s article in @theverge.com
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Quote from today’s article in @theverge.com
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Science is self-correcting, but only if our goal is accuracy over ideology.
August 31, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Science is self-correcting, but only if our goal is accuracy over ideology.
The biggest AI problem right now isn’t a Skynet scenario (yet), it’s the concentration of power and lack of oversight or public input. “Your hairdresser has… more regulation…”
This is from @theatlantic.com’s recent article “The AI Doomers are getting Doomier” by @matteowong.bsky.social
This is from @theatlantic.com’s recent article “The AI Doomers are getting Doomier” by @matteowong.bsky.social
August 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The biggest AI problem right now isn’t a Skynet scenario (yet), it’s the concentration of power and lack of oversight or public input. “Your hairdresser has… more regulation…”
This is from @theatlantic.com’s recent article “The AI Doomers are getting Doomier” by @matteowong.bsky.social
This is from @theatlantic.com’s recent article “The AI Doomers are getting Doomier” by @matteowong.bsky.social
Currently reading an article about the impact of AI hype. There’s so much here, but the impact of AI investment on the balance of military investment and power is the most damning.
(Highlights my own)
Paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
(Highlights my own)
Paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
![A screenshot from an academic paper about the impact of AI hype that is highlighted. It reads:
We see this dynamic at play in OpenAI's shifting stance and policies as they have become more closely tied to Microsoft, a choice they made admittedly to access scarce computational resources. This is illustrated by the 2024 change to their acceptable use policy, which significantly softened the proscription against using their products for "military and warfare"; this change unlocked new revenue streams [112], connected OpenAI's large scale AI to Microsoft's existing US military partnerships [135], and later pushed AI to direct battlefield application via a partnership with the defense-tech company Anduril [85]. The public did not have a say in this determi-nation, nor, we assume, did the global stakeholders whose interests may not be safeguarded by the militaries that OpenAl chooses to provide services to. And yet, the concentrated private industry power over Al creates a small, and financially incentivized segment of AI decision makers. We should consider how such concentrated power with agency over centralized Al could shape society under more authoritarian conditions.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bep462xlz63fm6a3lnmtgteb/bafkreia3mqazleigcyaejrcp7wvmj3ihmn2w2zccp2wufux736okp4cfha@jpeg)
August 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Currently reading an article about the impact of AI hype. There’s so much here, but the impact of AI investment on the balance of military investment and power is the most damning.
(Highlights my own)
Paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
(Highlights my own)
Paper: dl.acm.org/doi/full/10....
The Just World hypothesis doesn’t necessarily make the world more just…
April 21, 2025 at 3:57 PM
The Just World hypothesis doesn’t necessarily make the world more just…
My General Psychology class had the special treat of a guest lecture from @marawilson.bsky.social! She discussed her article on extroversion that was published in @theguardian.com last September. It’s our week on personality psychology, and I was thrilled that she agreed to speak. She nailed it!
April 17, 2025 at 12:15 AM
My General Psychology class had the special treat of a guest lecture from @marawilson.bsky.social! She discussed her article on extroversion that was published in @theguardian.com last September. It’s our week on personality psychology, and I was thrilled that she agreed to speak. She nailed it!
What is consent? This is a clip from my general psychology lecture on human sexuality.
March 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
What is consent? This is a clip from my general psychology lecture on human sexuality.
As a final takeaway, I asked students to reflect on thoughtful action. Why are we engaging in cancelling behaviors? What is the likelihood that our actions will achieve our objectives? What possible unanticipated outcomes could they lead to? I ended with a call to thoughtful activism.
February 13, 2025 at 6:21 PM
As a final takeaway, I asked students to reflect on thoughtful action. Why are we engaging in cancelling behaviors? What is the likelihood that our actions will achieve our objectives? What possible unanticipated outcomes could they lead to? I ended with a call to thoughtful activism.
Finally, the way that we engage in cancellation can impact our own information ecosystem. Without attention to our own curation, this can drive algorithms that essentially put us into echo chambers. This is a complex balance between self-protection and self-delusion, which can be very hard to find.
February 13, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Finally, the way that we engage in cancellation can impact our own information ecosystem. Without attention to our own curation, this can drive algorithms that essentially put us into echo chambers. This is a complex balance between self-protection and self-delusion, which can be very hard to find.
It's also unclear how much cancelling celebrities motivates individual growth. However, the message can come through at the community level via learning through observation.
February 13, 2025 at 6:17 PM
It's also unclear how much cancelling celebrities motivates individual growth. However, the message can come through at the community level via learning through observation.
There is also the issue of "no publicity is bad publicity" as seems to be the case in the Poppi soda controversy. While opinion on their actions is divided, more people are talking about Poppi than before, which is a win for the company.
February 13, 2025 at 6:16 PM
There is also the issue of "no publicity is bad publicity" as seems to be the case in the Poppi soda controversy. While opinion on their actions is divided, more people are talking about Poppi than before, which is a win for the company.
This can be seen as an "extinction burst" in terms of behavior. If extinction bursts are not handled consistently, new learning does not stick.
February 13, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This can be seen as an "extinction burst" in terms of behavior. If extinction bursts are not handled consistently, new learning does not stick.
Sometimes cancellation motivates people to double down on their beliefs, retreating until cultural landscapes become more favorable and reemerging with the exact same viewpoint as before.
February 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Sometimes cancellation motivates people to double down on their beliefs, retreating until cultural landscapes become more favorable and reemerging with the exact same viewpoint as before.
Additionally, power and money can allow people to simply ignore cancelling and redirect their attention to people who support them. This is possible when actions are at a global scale due to the wide diversity of opinions, and the vast reach and ability to insulate available to wealthy celebrities.
February 13, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Additionally, power and money can allow people to simply ignore cancelling and redirect their attention to people who support them. This is possible when actions are at a global scale due to the wide diversity of opinions, and the vast reach and ability to insulate available to wealthy celebrities.
However, the efficacy of cancellation is dependent on scale. It is challenging to achieve the unification and consistency necessary to alter behavior in specific ways when dealing with a highly heterogeneous community. The "Ignore Jojo Siwa" trend ended up increasing her exposure and engagement.
February 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
However, the efficacy of cancellation is dependent on scale. It is challenging to achieve the unification and consistency necessary to alter behavior in specific ways when dealing with a highly heterogeneous community. The "Ignore Jojo Siwa" trend ended up increasing her exposure and engagement.
Cancellation can also motivate behavioral antagonism and, at times, violence, another form of positive punishment.
February 13, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Cancellation can also motivate behavioral antagonism and, at times, violence, another form of positive punishment.
Cancellation can also involve positive punishment, the addition of something aversive to motivate behavioral change, such as public shaming. I discussed some of the recent online shaming of Ye's recent activity on X.
February 13, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Cancellation can also involve positive punishment, the addition of something aversive to motivate behavioral change, such as public shaming. I discussed some of the recent online shaming of Ye's recent activity on X.
Another form of negative punishment involved in cancellation is the removal of attention, as we live in an attention economy. I discussed the "ignore Jojo Siwa" TikTok trend, but let's put a pin in that one...
February 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Another form of negative punishment involved in cancellation is the removal of attention, as we live in an attention economy. I discussed the "ignore Jojo Siwa" TikTok trend, but let's put a pin in that one...
This can work in many different social directions, and can become rather complex, as with the boycott of Bud Light following their collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
February 13, 2025 at 6:03 PM
This can work in many different social directions, and can become rather complex, as with the boycott of Bud Light following their collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Another element of negative punishment in cancellation is through the removal of financial support, also known as a boycott. The actions of Rosa Parks motivated the Montgomery bus boycott, which played a significant role in the civil rights movement. You could say the bus system was cancelled.
February 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Another element of negative punishment in cancellation is through the removal of financial support, also known as a boycott. The actions of Rosa Parks motivated the Montgomery bus boycott, which played a significant role in the civil rights movement. You could say the bus system was cancelled.
When it comes to operant conditioning, a lot of cancelling methods fall into the domain of "negative punishment" - the removal of something positive to motivate behavioral change. One of the main ways of doing this in cancellation is through the removal of social support.
February 13, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When it comes to operant conditioning, a lot of cancelling methods fall into the domain of "negative punishment" - the removal of something positive to motivate behavioral change. One of the main ways of doing this in cancellation is through the removal of social support.
And sometimes cancellation is just about good old fashioned vengeance.
February 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
And sometimes cancellation is just about good old fashioned vengeance.
Sometimes cancellation is about signaling group affiliation, though this can also enter into the domain of virtue signaling.
February 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Sometimes cancellation is about signaling group affiliation, though this can also enter into the domain of virtue signaling.