kay slater
@kslater.bsky.social
Chicago-based information worker (critical technology + libraries, community archives), DJ. views are indeed my own
blog: https://online-roleplay.ghost.io
scholarship: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2026-8669
blog: https://online-roleplay.ghost.io
scholarship: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2026-8669
Pinned
kay slater
@kslater.bsky.social
· Aug 27
Project MUSE - Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library
doi.org
In “Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library,” I examine LIS as in need of a values-realignment, asking readers to refuse the technosolutionism we are so often offered in place of human-centered possibilities, like taking racism, climate change, and labor rights seriously
doi.org/10.1353/lib....
doi.org/10.1353/lib....
so many kids who come into the makerspace don’t know how to use a mouse :(
we don't talk enough about the damage that widespread chromebook adoption by schools has done to computer literacy in children
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 AM
so many kids who come into the makerspace don’t know how to use a mouse :(
new blog post: transcript from my talk on “Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library” @ Library Trends on 11/12
online-roleplay.ghost.io/against-ai-l...
online-roleplay.ghost.io/against-ai-l...
![To attempt to encapsulate all of what I’ve discussed today, and more discussion in the article regarding facial recognition, environmental harms, and researchers to keep an eye on: I think that we “should refuse generative AI because it is a ‘destructive force’ that is infrastructurally racist, marketed as a solution to increasing socioeconomic disparity while gleefully scraping all possible traces of digital and digitized labor…[it] does not magically produce information with integrity without requiring further human scrutinization, and creates an unnecessary excess of energy emissions that is detrimental to our ecosystem” (p. 601).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3iwqcrermcupesyasievy6vv/bafkreiew7hpkvhhkzncs3vnocivw6mxnvzrncyidu4agrm5gcrgz5mb37i@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
new blog post: transcript from my talk on “Against AI: Critical Refusal in the Library” @ Library Trends on 11/12
online-roleplay.ghost.io/against-ai-l...
online-roleplay.ghost.io/against-ai-l...
“AI is a backlash. AI is anti-worker.
I always feel the need to remind people that neither robots nor AI are coming for our jobs. But management probably is.”
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
I always feel the need to remind people that neither robots nor AI are coming for our jobs. But management probably is.”
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
AI Grief Observed
These remarks were delivered this evening at the Creatively Critical Tech Speaker Series at Illinois State University.
"There is no good way to say this."
These are the opening words of Yiyun Li’s l...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:34 AM
“AI is a backlash. AI is anti-worker.
I always feel the need to remind people that neither robots nor AI are coming for our jobs. But management probably is.”
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
I always feel the need to remind people that neither robots nor AI are coming for our jobs. But management probably is.”
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/ai-grief-obs...
listening to techno & drum ‘n’ bass very loudly on my commutes has been extremely beneficial to my mental health
November 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
listening to techno & drum ‘n’ bass very loudly on my commutes has been extremely beneficial to my mental health
Reposted by kay slater
A siege-breaking snowstorm followed by the strongest aurora in living memory is proof that Chicago has the Mandate of Heaven and its enemies will die by her sword
November 12, 2025 at 2:58 AM
A siege-breaking snowstorm followed by the strongest aurora in living memory is proof that Chicago has the Mandate of Heaven and its enemies will die by her sword
AI assistants in webinars are so invasive 😖 immediately makes me feel uncomfortable and not want to contribute comments or questions
November 12, 2025 at 7:08 PM
AI assistants in webinars are so invasive 😖 immediately makes me feel uncomfortable and not want to contribute comments or questions
very exciting addition to the personal library
November 12, 2025 at 2:14 AM
very exciting addition to the personal library
Reposted by kay slater
Amelia Acker: "Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty...: from magnetic tape + timesharing computer models from the 1950s,... to file structures + virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 yrs" — open access!
Archiving Machines
Archiving Machines advances our understanding of memory, information, and data by charting the struggle between the computing technologies that archive data ...
mitpress.mit.edu
November 11, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Amelia Acker: "Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty...: from magnetic tape + timesharing computer models from the 1950s,... to file structures + virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 yrs" — open access!
Reposted by kay slater
“For the next three Wednesdays, November 12, 19, and 26, Wash Smart will provide a $10 laundry card to community members who show a valid SNAP card at any of our 17 laundromat locations across Chicago and the suburbs.”
Community Support for Chicago SNAP Households | Wash Smart
Wash Smart is offering a $10 laundry card to community members with a SNAP card on November 12, 19, and 26 at all 17 locations across Chicagoland.
washsmartlaundry.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:22 PM
“For the next three Wednesdays, November 12, 19, and 26, Wash Smart will provide a $10 laundry card to community members who show a valid SNAP card at any of our 17 laundromat locations across Chicago and the suburbs.”
Reposted by kay slater
Ketan Joshi on the environmental toll of Meta’s genAI advertising product newrepublic.com/article/2028...
November 11, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Ketan Joshi on the environmental toll of Meta’s genAI advertising product newrepublic.com/article/2028...
today!
Join Library Trends for a webinar with authors from our two-part series “Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics.” Authors will share highlights of their work discussing how librarians are grappling with the effects of genAI on the field. Register at go.illinois.edu/GenAIandLibr...
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
today!
Reposted by kay slater
early career scholar and their first publication
November 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
early career scholar and their first publication
oh, so we have $5 million for ShotSpotter, but the public library’s collections budget is suddenly facing a $5 million cut?
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal once again includes a hefty sum set aside for a ShotSpotter replacement, administration officials told aldermen Thursday.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget includes money for ShotSpotter replacement
Officials identified a $5 million line item in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 spending plan as money for a “gunshot detection system” when pressed by aldermen during budget hearings.
trib.al
November 7, 2025 at 12:04 AM
oh, so we have $5 million for ShotSpotter, but the public library’s collections budget is suddenly facing a $5 million cut?
read this!
a companion: @librarypunk.bsky.social (Justin’s quoted in this article)’s recent episode on AI refusal with yours truly 😎 www.librarypunk.gay/e/155-ai-ref...
a companion: @librarypunk.bsky.social (Justin’s quoted in this article)’s recent episode on AI refusal with yours truly 😎 www.librarypunk.gay/e/155-ai-ref...
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
read this!
a companion: @librarypunk.bsky.social (Justin’s quoted in this article)’s recent episode on AI refusal with yours truly 😎 www.librarypunk.gay/e/155-ai-ref...
a companion: @librarypunk.bsky.social (Justin’s quoted in this article)’s recent episode on AI refusal with yours truly 😎 www.librarypunk.gay/e/155-ai-ref...
city is claiming they need $5 million to keep CPL’s collections budget in tact, not enough $ to fill vacant positions
for context: city paid $266 million this year in CPD misconduct settlements, proposed that CPD will get $17 million more in funding next year
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/l...
for context: city paid $266 million this year in CPD misconduct settlements, proposed that CPD will get $17 million more in funding next year
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/l...
Librarians, Aldermen Push Back Against Proposed Library Cuts
Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed 2026 budget calls for eliminating some vacant library positions and halving the agency's collections budget from $10 million to $5 million.
blockclubchicago.org
November 6, 2025 at 12:41 AM
city is claiming they need $5 million to keep CPL’s collections budget in tact, not enough $ to fill vacant positions
for context: city paid $266 million this year in CPD misconduct settlements, proposed that CPD will get $17 million more in funding next year
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/l...
for context: city paid $266 million this year in CPD misconduct settlements, proposed that CPD will get $17 million more in funding next year
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/l...
Reposted by kay slater
Teaching about AI? Here's a new zine from the AI + Planetary Justice Alliance "meant to help readers move from thinking about AI as a purely digital, cloud-based technology to understanding it as something rooted in physical elements."
New Zine: Raw Materials for AI — AI + Planetary Justice Alliance
Raw Materials for AI is a visual introduction to the physical foundations of artificial intelligence, tracing seven key minerals – like cobalt, silicon, and lithium – used to build and power AI ...
aiplanetaryjustice.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Teaching about AI? Here's a new zine from the AI + Planetary Justice Alliance "meant to help readers move from thinking about AI as a purely digital, cloud-based technology to understanding it as something rooted in physical elements."
congratulations New York!
living in Chicago watching the New York mayoral primary election results
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 AM
congratulations New York!
good news for Physical Media!
this is very cool: Kodak quietly relisted Kodak Gold and Ultramax on its website and confirmed to me it is selling the films directly to photography stores again. this is a big deal because for the last decade, Kodak has not controlled distribution of its own film
www.404media.co/kodak-quietl...
www.404media.co/kodak-quietl...
Kodak Quietly Begins Directly Selling Kodak Gold and Ultramax Film Again
Kodak appears to be taking back control over the distribution of its film.
www.404media.co
November 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
good news for Physical Media!
hey! friendly reminder that your local public library is funded by taxes that you pay. access to books, resources, & technology thru a library is contingent on an ecosystem of labor—it’s not “free.”
bc of collectively distributed wealth & organization of labor, that access is just w/ less friction.
bc of collectively distributed wealth & organization of labor, that access is just w/ less friction.
November 3, 2025 at 3:22 AM
hey! friendly reminder that your local public library is funded by taxes that you pay. access to books, resources, & technology thru a library is contingent on an ecosystem of labor—it’s not “free.”
bc of collectively distributed wealth & organization of labor, that access is just w/ less friction.
bc of collectively distributed wealth & organization of labor, that access is just w/ less friction.
i just signed up—you should, too!
Happy Sunday! Why not sign up to be a member of The Flytrap and spent the next few hours reading our back catalogue? the-flytrap.ghost.io/chomp
The Flytrap
Feminist cultural criticism against the algorithm
the-flytrap.ghost.io
November 2, 2025 at 9:44 PM
i just signed up—you should, too!
i cannot remember a time that the Bears scored this much in one game
November 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
i cannot remember a time that the Bears scored this much in one game
Reposted by kay slater
This is a great resource in precarious times.
Tried it for my city and it pulled up all the things I know about + more I didn’t. It finds food pantries, but also stuff like legal help and housing assistance.
For those of us more fortunate, great way to find volunteer and donation opportunities.
Tried it for my city and it pulled up all the things I know about + more I didn’t. It finds food pantries, but also stuff like legal help and housing assistance.
For those of us more fortunate, great way to find volunteer and donation opportunities.
findhelp.org by findhelp - Search and Connect to Social Care
Search and connect to support. Find financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost help in your area, anywhere in the US.
findhelp.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This is a great resource in precarious times.
Tried it for my city and it pulled up all the things I know about + more I didn’t. It finds food pantries, but also stuff like legal help and housing assistance.
For those of us more fortunate, great way to find volunteer and donation opportunities.
Tried it for my city and it pulled up all the things I know about + more I didn’t. It finds food pantries, but also stuff like legal help and housing assistance.
For those of us more fortunate, great way to find volunteer and donation opportunities.
Reposted by kay slater
I don’t understand the Baseball Posting but I respect it 🫡
November 2, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I don’t understand the Baseball Posting but I respect it 🫡
Reposted by kay slater
RIP Alison Knowles. Damn. hyperallergic.com/1054017/alis...
Alison Knowles, the First Woman of Fluxus, Dies at 92
“People don’t touch art,” she once said. “That’s one of the problems.”
hyperallergic.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:17 AM
RIP Alison Knowles. Damn. hyperallergic.com/1054017/alis...