Hillary Jones, PhD
@hjones.bsky.social
Editor, Instructional Designer, Academic Adviser | Feminist, Tech-savvy Luddite, COVID Aware | she/her
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
“Landlords may say ‘smart home’ devices are a tenant convenience. But the reality is, these AI-enabled systems can track patterns of tenant behavior, identify when people are home, and provide landlords with personal information that could be used to push out tenants perceived as too costly.”
ACLU Sues San Francisco Landlords over AI-Powered Surveillance in Tenants' Homes | ACLU of Northern CA
www.aclunc.org
December 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
“Landlords may say ‘smart home’ devices are a tenant convenience. But the reality is, these AI-enabled systems can track patterns of tenant behavior, identify when people are home, and provide landlords with personal information that could be used to push out tenants perceived as too costly.”
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Again: the Purpose of LLM- type "AI" bullshit engines is not to tell you the truth or to lie to you, but to tell you something you are statistically determined to be more likely to accept, irrespective of facts— which makes them perfect for accelerating dis- & misinformation & persuasive propaganda…
AI dialogues shifted political support by 2 to 3 points in trials, eclipsing standard ads. Roughly one-third of this effect persisted for a month. However, models optimized for persuasion proved more factually error-prone.
#MLSky
#MLSky
AI chatbots can persuade voters to change their minds
Conversations with AI can sway people’s political views. Concerningly, a chatbot’s facts are not always accurate, especially when it supports right-wing positions.
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Again: the Purpose of LLM- type "AI" bullshit engines is not to tell you the truth or to lie to you, but to tell you something you are statistically determined to be more likely to accept, irrespective of facts— which makes them perfect for accelerating dis- & misinformation & persuasive propaganda…
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 2:58 AM
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Will continue to bang this drum: this is the system university admins are cramming into every aspect of education. This is the system we are told “isn’t going anywhere” so we all have to adjust to it.
New from 404 Media: ChatGPT told a violent stalker to continue running his misogynistic and threat-filled podcast despite the “haters,” and to visit more gyms to find women. The man stalked women in multiple states, including touching and following from work
www.404media.co/chatgpt-spot...
www.404media.co/chatgpt-spot...
ChatGPT Told a Violent Stalker to Embrace the 'Haters,' Indictment Says
A newly filed indictment claims a wannabe influencer used ChatGPT as his "therapist" and "best friend" in his pursuit of the "wife type," while harassing women so aggressively they had to miss work a...
www.404media.co
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Will continue to bang this drum: this is the system university admins are cramming into every aspect of education. This is the system we are told “isn’t going anywhere” so we all have to adjust to it.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
COVID isn’t acting like the viruses most of us grew up with, and treating it like “just a cold” is putting people at real risk. David Brasure breaks down why SARS-CoV-2 is fundamentally different, how it causes long-term damage, and what we can do to protect ourselves.
December 1, 2025 at 6:40 PM
COVID isn’t acting like the viruses most of us grew up with, and treating it like “just a cold” is putting people at real risk. David Brasure breaks down why SARS-CoV-2 is fundamentally different, how it causes long-term damage, and what we can do to protect ourselves.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Physician who was no longer at the hospital but was on the email list had Otter ai installed and his bot “attended” the meeting, generated a transcript, and sent it to all 65 people on the email list, 12 of whom also no longer worked at the hospital.
AI bot recorded doctors’ meeting, sent patient info to current and former hospital staff, watchdog says
The transcription tool recorded the meeting on behalf of a physician who no longer worked at the hospital
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Physician who was no longer at the hospital but was on the email list had Otter ai installed and his bot “attended” the meeting, generated a transcript, and sent it to all 65 people on the email list, 12 of whom also no longer worked at the hospital.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops:
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
My #SuperlativeCannedGoo tweet from the old place is making rounds again. Support co-op cranberry growers!
November 17, 2025 at 2:44 AM
some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops:
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
As Langdon Winner put so well 40 years ago, don't fall into the trap of accepting "RISK" as a good framework for these conversations. Business interests love framing their violence in terms of "risks & rewards" bc as a society, we love to heroize & reward risk-takers. Talk instead about "HAZARD."
November 17, 2025 at 12:55 PM
As Langdon Winner put so well 40 years ago, don't fall into the trap of accepting "RISK" as a good framework for these conversations. Business interests love framing their violence in terms of "risks & rewards" bc as a society, we love to heroize & reward risk-takers. Talk instead about "HAZARD."
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Maybe the thing that gives me a pulse-pounding throbbing headache is when I think of how techbros sold ChatGPT to universities as ‘revolutionizing’ higher education and our institutions just forked over money without even asking for actual evidence
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Maybe the thing that gives me a pulse-pounding throbbing headache is when I think of how techbros sold ChatGPT to universities as ‘revolutionizing’ higher education and our institutions just forked over money without even asking for actual evidence
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
A good note here.
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
October 26, 2025 at 4:12 PM
A good note here.
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
In our co-authored paper (now in pre-print), Kenney and I wrote “The National Education Policy Center argues that the promise of genAI is currently supported only by 'commercial marketing claims' (...) and not by peer-reviewed evidence.”
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Who today is influencing science a la Big Tobacco or Oil and Gas?
In our new preprint we show how tech companies like Meta are capturing research on their product, using mechanisms that subtly (or not so subtly) shape what science gets produced
In our new preprint we show how tech companies like Meta are capturing research on their product, using mechanisms that subtly (or not so subtly) shape what science gets produced
October 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Who today is influencing science a la Big Tobacco or Oil and Gas?
In our new preprint we show how tech companies like Meta are capturing research on their product, using mechanisms that subtly (or not so subtly) shape what science gets produced
In our new preprint we show how tech companies like Meta are capturing research on their product, using mechanisms that subtly (or not so subtly) shape what science gets produced
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
If you want to push back against tech's encroachment into every corner of our lives, you have to read books. They're eager to create a future in which most people are illiterate and hooked on slop, a world without imagination or knowledge. Reading is resistance.
October 20, 2025 at 9:44 PM
If you want to push back against tech's encroachment into every corner of our lives, you have to read books. They're eager to create a future in which most people are illiterate and hooked on slop, a world without imagination or knowledge. Reading is resistance.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson
harpers.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
The Sora AI thing is proof of something very important: The technology itself is useless without the ability to use the likenesses of real, living, unpredictable people, and the art they create. And the only way to get those likenesses or that art is to summarily steal it.
October 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
The Sora AI thing is proof of something very important: The technology itself is useless without the ability to use the likenesses of real, living, unpredictable people, and the art they create. And the only way to get those likenesses or that art is to summarily steal it.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
️1️⃣ Americans are much more concerned (50%) than excited (10%) about the increased use of AI in daily life. 38% are equally concerned and excited.
September 17, 2025 at 7:03 PM
️1️⃣ Americans are much more concerned (50%) than excited (10%) about the increased use of AI in daily life. 38% are equally concerned and excited.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
An MIT report revealed that nearly 95% of enterprise generative AI pilot programs have failed to achieve measurable gains in revenue or productivity.
READ MORE: www.profolus.com/topics/mit-r...
READ MORE: www.profolus.com/topics/mit-r...
September 12, 2025 at 4:25 AM
An MIT report revealed that nearly 95% of enterprise generative AI pilot programs have failed to achieve measurable gains in revenue or productivity.
READ MORE: www.profolus.com/topics/mit-r...
READ MORE: www.profolus.com/topics/mit-r...
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
August 27, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
If you haven't discovered the marvelous prose of Sarah Kenzidor, now's your opportunity.
New article! On "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the plutocrat class ripping America apart: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/my-friend-...
My Friend Leatherface
Remembering a creative conservationist as plutocrats take a chainsaw to Texas.
sarahkendzior.substack.com
August 20, 2025 at 7:40 PM
If you haven't discovered the marvelous prose of Sarah Kenzidor, now's your opportunity.
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
my statement on Ai from the mini-comic I'm making as syllabus for a new class I'm teaching this fall. It's simple, but I pretty much said all I have to say on it - it robs you of decisions and struggle - and the joy of being surprised. It robs you of learning...
August 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
my statement on Ai from the mini-comic I'm making as syllabus for a new class I'm teaching this fall. It's simple, but I pretty much said all I have to say on it - it robs you of decisions and struggle - and the joy of being surprised. It robs you of learning...
Reposted by Hillary Jones, PhD
“The AI in the study probably prompted doctors to become over-reliant on its recommendations, ‘leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without AI assistance,’ the scientists said in the paper.”
AI Eroded Doctors’ Ability to Spot Cancer Within Months in Study
Artificial intelligence, touted for its potential to transform medicine, led to some doctors losing skills after just a few months in a new study.
www.bloomberg.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:41 PM
“The AI in the study probably prompted doctors to become over-reliant on its recommendations, ‘leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without AI assistance,’ the scientists said in the paper.”