Lior Colclough (they/them)
@lacolclough.bsky.social
PhD in Rhetoric and Digital Literacies and Literature from UT Austin. Scholar. Instructor. Advocate. They/them. ✡️🏳️🌈 My work spans digital humanities, political rhetoric, philosophy and history of technology, and critical algorithm studies.
Reposted by Lior Colclough (they/them)
#OutNow in #iCS
This article takes a sharp look at the politics of AI hype. Beneath bold promises lies a lack of scrutiny over regulation, equity and power—raising urgent questions about who benefits from dominant narratives.
doi.org/10.1080/1369...
This article takes a sharp look at the politics of AI hype. Beneath bold promises lies a lack of scrutiny over regulation, equity and power—raising urgent questions about who benefits from dominant narratives.
doi.org/10.1080/1369...
Can't stop the hype: scrutinizing AI's realities
Recently, we have been inundated with reports about the revolutions brought about by AI. However, much of our knowledge about these ‘revolutions’ arises from media sensationalism and advertising cl...
doi.org
July 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM
#OutNow in #iCS
This article takes a sharp look at the politics of AI hype. Beneath bold promises lies a lack of scrutiny over regulation, equity and power—raising urgent questions about who benefits from dominant narratives.
doi.org/10.1080/1369...
This article takes a sharp look at the politics of AI hype. Beneath bold promises lies a lack of scrutiny over regulation, equity and power—raising urgent questions about who benefits from dominant narratives.
doi.org/10.1080/1369...
substack.com/@colclough?i...
Is anyone I know here on Substack or Medium and/or have any recs? Im trying to develop the habit of consistently “microblogging” or writing at least a little each day to keep “the writing muscles honed” while trying to stay afloat.
Is anyone I know here on Substack or Medium and/or have any recs? Im trying to develop the habit of consistently “microblogging” or writing at least a little each day to keep “the writing muscles honed” while trying to stay afloat.
לִיאוֹר | Substack
Academic, educator, and sometimes writer with a PhD in applied science fiction and sophistry. Microblogging on culture, technology, philosophy/politics, cats, writing, writing about not writing, or wh...
substack.com
April 24, 2025 at 3:25 AM
substack.com/@colclough?i...
Is anyone I know here on Substack or Medium and/or have any recs? Im trying to develop the habit of consistently “microblogging” or writing at least a little each day to keep “the writing muscles honed” while trying to stay afloat.
Is anyone I know here on Substack or Medium and/or have any recs? Im trying to develop the habit of consistently “microblogging” or writing at least a little each day to keep “the writing muscles honed” while trying to stay afloat.
I have started a tentative blog series explaining concepts in digital advocacy and activist tech in an accessible way to a self-identified "non-tech-savvy" audience, after sensing an interest in—and a need for—education on the topic. Let's start with a short one:
medium.com/@liorcolclou...
medium.com/@liorcolclou...
Weaponizing Metadata Pt 1 : Digital Self Defense 101
In a contemporary social milieu riddled with technical “jargon” that may seem as impenetrable as it is omnipresent, what do terms like…
medium.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:04 AM
I have started a tentative blog series explaining concepts in digital advocacy and activist tech in an accessible way to a self-identified "non-tech-savvy" audience, after sensing an interest in—and a need for—education on the topic. Let's start with a short one:
medium.com/@liorcolclou...
medium.com/@liorcolclou...
Reposted by Lior Colclough (they/them)
The new few weeks, months, years, will likely not be pretty. Get this guide to surveillance self-defense to your communities. It has printable PDFs as well as tailored reccomendations for certain activities, types of people, etc.
ssd.eff.org
ssd.eff.org
Surveillance Self-Defense
We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an independent non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and y...
ssd.eff.org
January 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The new few weeks, months, years, will likely not be pretty. Get this guide to surveillance self-defense to your communities. It has printable PDFs as well as tailored reccomendations for certain activities, types of people, etc.
ssd.eff.org
ssd.eff.org
Reposted by Lior Colclough (they/them)
Transcript of last week’s Princeton Public Lecture
A Guide to Cutting Through AI Hype: Arvind Narayanan and Melanie Mitchell Discuss Artificial and Human Intelligence - CITP Blog
Last Thursday’s Princeton Public Lecture on AI hype began with brief talks based on our respective books: The meat of the event was a discussion between the two of us and with the audience. A lightly ...
blog.citp.princeton.edu
April 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Transcript of last week’s Princeton Public Lecture
Edit: "AI" here means "Assistant Instructor," as this person was apparently a graduate student. Not that matters.
2/3 lots of "MY TAXES PAY HIS SALARY!" and "I PAY TUITION!" I actually broke my Lurker Only Rule for once in a handful of times on Reddit to link the guy to FERPA info and explain that the instructor quite literally CANNOT talk to ANYONE but the student about her grades (the daughter can, AI cannot)
1/3 A "fave" Reddit headbanger story was one in a college-centric sub that I did not even follow where a father of a college student was raging about contacting his daughter's mathematics instructor because the instructor had such a thick South Asian accent the daughter could not understand him.
April 22, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Edit: "AI" here means "Assistant Instructor," as this person was apparently a graduate student. Not that matters.
6/6 Google for a "real response." Yes, human answers are typically better than AI's. However, that particular platform and its "upvoting" policies are particularly conducive to groupthink. Still, the fact that Reddit allows in-text hyperlinks enables source citations compared to TikTok.
5/6 offer genuine help and advice in situations where I actually had expertise, sources and resources to back my point, and felt like I could contribute a genuine solution, but don't even do that anymore for this reason. So it's sad when I see people comment they had to add "Reddit" when making
4/5 else in that thread who told the student's father ACCURATE information from those of us who had TAUGHT college AND linked info to FERPA so that he and the people in the sub egging him on did not have to just "take our word for it." Reddit in a nutshell. I used to break my Lurking Only policy to
April 22, 2025 at 11:33 PM
6/6 Google for a "real response." Yes, human answers are typically better than AI's. However, that particular platform and its "upvoting" policies are particularly conducive to groupthink. Still, the fact that Reddit allows in-text hyperlinks enables source citations compared to TikTok.
5/6 offer genuine help and advice in situations where I actually had expertise, sources and resources to back my point, and felt like I could contribute a genuine solution, but don't even do that anymore for this reason. So it's sad when I see people comment they had to add "Reddit" when making
4/5 else in that thread who told the student's father ACCURATE information from those of us who had TAUGHT college AND linked info to FERPA so that he and the people in the sub egging him on did not have to just "take our word for it." Reddit in a nutshell. I used to break my Lurking Only policy to
3/4 and that his daughter is a college student who needs to be able to be able to seek out resources for herself and idk learn to understand accents in our multicultural world? I say as a deaf person who can lip read some accents more easily than others? Was downvoted into oblivion, as was everyone
April 22, 2025 at 11:30 PM
5/6 offer genuine help and advice in situations where I actually had expertise, sources and resources to back my point, and felt like I could contribute a genuine solution, but don't even do that anymore for this reason. So it's sad when I see people comment they had to add "Reddit" when making
4/5 else in that thread who told the student's father ACCURATE information from those of us who had TAUGHT college AND linked info to FERPA so that he and the people in the sub egging him on did not have to just "take our word for it." Reddit in a nutshell. I used to break my Lurking Only policy to
3/4 and that his daughter is a college student who needs to be able to be able to seek out resources for herself and idk learn to understand accents in our multicultural world? I say as a deaf person who can lip read some accents more easily than others? Was downvoted into oblivion, as was everyone
2/3 lots of "MY TAXES PAY HIS SALARY!" and "I PAY TUITION!" I actually broke my Lurker Only Rule for once in a handful of times on Reddit to link the guy to FERPA info and explain that the instructor quite literally CANNOT talk to ANYONE but the student about her grades (the daughter can, AI cannot)
April 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM
4/5 else in that thread who told the student's father ACCURATE information from those of us who had TAUGHT college AND linked info to FERPA so that he and the people in the sub egging him on did not have to just "take our word for it." Reddit in a nutshell. I used to break my Lurking Only policy to
3/4 and that his daughter is a college student who needs to be able to be able to seek out resources for herself and idk learn to understand accents in our multicultural world? I say as a deaf person who can lip read some accents more easily than others? Was downvoted into oblivion, as was everyone
2/3 lots of "MY TAXES PAY HIS SALARY!" and "I PAY TUITION!" I actually broke my Lurker Only Rule for once in a handful of times on Reddit to link the guy to FERPA info and explain that the instructor quite literally CANNOT talk to ANYONE but the student about her grades (the daughter can, AI cannot)
1/3 A "fave" Reddit headbanger story was one in a college-centric sub that I did not even follow where a father of a college student was raging about contacting his daughter's mathematics instructor because the instructor had such a thick South Asian accent the daughter could not understand him.
April 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
3/4 and that his daughter is a college student who needs to be able to be able to seek out resources for herself and idk learn to understand accents in our multicultural world? I say as a deaf person who can lip read some accents more easily than others? Was downvoted into oblivion, as was everyone
2/3 lots of "MY TAXES PAY HIS SALARY!" and "I PAY TUITION!" I actually broke my Lurker Only Rule for once in a handful of times on Reddit to link the guy to FERPA info and explain that the instructor quite literally CANNOT talk to ANYONE but the student about her grades (the daughter can, AI cannot)
1/3 A "fave" Reddit headbanger story was one in a college-centric sub that I did not even follow where a father of a college student was raging about contacting his daughter's mathematics instructor because the instructor had such a thick South Asian accent the daughter could not understand him.
April 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
2/3 lots of "MY TAXES PAY HIS SALARY!" and "I PAY TUITION!" I actually broke my Lurker Only Rule for once in a handful of times on Reddit to link the guy to FERPA info and explain that the instructor quite literally CANNOT talk to ANYONE but the student about her grades (the daughter can, AI cannot)
1/3 A "fave" Reddit headbanger story was one in a college-centric sub that I did not even follow where a father of a college student was raging about contacting his daughter's mathematics instructor because the instructor had such a thick South Asian accent the daughter could not understand him.
April 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
1/3 A "fave" Reddit headbanger story was one in a college-centric sub that I did not even follow where a father of a college student was raging about contacting his daughter's mathematics instructor because the instructor had such a thick South Asian accent the daughter could not understand him.
9/9 breaks containment first.
8/9 but I would not be surprised if there is not a re-examination of a specific form of brainrot on that platform at some point because it does seem to be Meta's response to Twitter and I'm curious as to 1) how its dashboard algorithm filtering system works and 2) what reactionary movement
7/7 (understandably) try to seek out an answer on Reddit or now Threads to get a human response. While the impulse to hear from a human is both relatable and telling....I don't think those platforms are always going to help, either. I haven't had time to study Threads much officially or causally
April 22, 2025 at 11:21 PM
9/9 breaks containment first.
8/9 but I would not be surprised if there is not a re-examination of a specific form of brainrot on that platform at some point because it does seem to be Meta's response to Twitter and I'm curious as to 1) how its dashboard algorithm filtering system works and 2) what reactionary movement
7/7 (understandably) try to seek out an answer on Reddit or now Threads to get a human response. While the impulse to hear from a human is both relatable and telling....I don't think those platforms are always going to help, either. I haven't had time to study Threads much officially or causally
6/7 wasn't even when I was dissertation writing the bulk of my manuscript, that this person probably could have Googled that result and gotten an accurate answer. She might have been able to Google that info NOW and get a straightforward answer. But no one can rely on anything with Google, so they
April 22, 2025 at 11:21 PM
8/9 but I would not be surprised if there is not a re-examination of a specific form of brainrot on that platform at some point because it does seem to be Meta's response to Twitter and I'm curious as to 1) how its dashboard algorithm filtering system works and 2) what reactionary movement
7/7 (understandably) try to seek out an answer on Reddit or now Threads to get a human response. While the impulse to hear from a human is both relatable and telling....I don't think those platforms are always going to help, either. I haven't had time to study Threads much officially or causally
6/7 wasn't even when I was dissertation writing the bulk of my manuscript, that this person probably could have Googled that result and gotten an accurate answer. She might have been able to Google that info NOW and get a straightforward answer. But no one can rely on anything with Google, so they
5/7 the question (the shame is on health education for not teaching her, not on her for asking something she did not know). But as much as I have literally written part of a BOOK on why to be suspicious of Google, it does occur to me that if Google were not completely corrupted by AI now in a way
April 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
7/7 (understandably) try to seek out an answer on Reddit or now Threads to get a human response. While the impulse to hear from a human is both relatable and telling....I don't think those platforms are always going to help, either. I haven't had time to study Threads much officially or causally
6/7 wasn't even when I was dissertation writing the bulk of my manuscript, that this person probably could have Googled that result and gotten an accurate answer. She might have been able to Google that info NOW and get a straightforward answer. But no one can rely on anything with Google, so they
5/7 the question (the shame is on health education for not teaching her, not on her for asking something she did not know). But as much as I have literally written part of a BOOK on why to be suspicious of Google, it does occur to me that if Google were not completely corrupted by AI now in a way
4/5 on Twitter. I definitely did not sign up to hear people argue about whether or not a menstruating person continues to menstruate while in a coma and get either the answer wrong for a genuinely impressive array of incorrect and *incompatibly* incorrect answers. (Not judging the person who ASKED
April 22, 2025 at 11:16 PM
6/7 wasn't even when I was dissertation writing the bulk of my manuscript, that this person probably could have Googled that result and gotten an accurate answer. She might have been able to Google that info NOW and get a straightforward answer. But no one can rely on anything with Google, so they
5/7 the question (the shame is on health education for not teaching her, not on her for asking something she did not know). But as much as I have literally written part of a BOOK on why to be suspicious of Google, it does occur to me that if Google were not completely corrupted by AI now in a way
4/5 on Twitter. I definitely did not sign up to hear people argue about whether or not a menstruating person continues to menstruate while in a coma and get either the answer wrong for a genuinely impressive array of incorrect and *incompatibly* incorrect answers. (Not judging the person who ASKED
3/? collective IQ of the planet, myself included, dropped a few points for having read it. The actual people I follow are fine -- I would assume, as I either know most of of them personally, professionally, or follow accounts by reputable sources -- but I did not sign up to hear about Bad Art Friend
April 22, 2025 at 11:15 PM
5/7 the question (the shame is on health education for not teaching her, not on her for asking something she did not know). But as much as I have literally written part of a BOOK on why to be suspicious of Google, it does occur to me that if Google were not completely corrupted by AI now in a way
4/5 on Twitter. I definitely did not sign up to hear people argue about whether or not a menstruating person continues to menstruate while in a coma and get either the answer wrong for a genuinely impressive array of incorrect and *incompatibly* incorrect answers. (Not judging the person who ASKED
3/? collective IQ of the planet, myself included, dropped a few points for having read it. The actual people I follow are fine -- I would assume, as I either know most of of them personally, professionally, or follow accounts by reputable sources -- but I did not sign up to hear about Bad Art Friend
2/? FLOODED by opinions of people who I did not follow and, as far as I could tell, were not followed or engaging with those I DID follow on the site. Threads is even worse. Every time I absentmindedly scroll the app in an ADHD mode, I always encounter some opinion that makes me feel as if the
April 22, 2025 at 11:14 PM
4/5 on Twitter. I definitely did not sign up to hear people argue about whether or not a menstruating person continues to menstruate while in a coma and get either the answer wrong for a genuinely impressive array of incorrect and *incompatibly* incorrect answers. (Not judging the person who ASKED
3/? collective IQ of the planet, myself included, dropped a few points for having read it. The actual people I follow are fine -- I would assume, as I either know most of of them personally, professionally, or follow accounts by reputable sources -- but I did not sign up to hear about Bad Art Friend
2/? FLOODED by opinions of people who I did not follow and, as far as I could tell, were not followed or engaging with those I DID follow on the site. Threads is even worse. Every time I absentmindedly scroll the app in an ADHD mode, I always encounter some opinion that makes me feel as if the
1/? One way that Bluesky > Twitter and Threads so far is that I have only seen content from those I follow on my dash. The final breaking point for me in deleting Twitter after 10 years on the site and losing over 300 mutual connections was not Musk, but how EXHAUSTING it was to see my dash (cont'd)
April 22, 2025 at 11:12 PM
3/? collective IQ of the planet, myself included, dropped a few points for having read it. The actual people I follow are fine -- I would assume, as I either know most of of them personally, professionally, or follow accounts by reputable sources -- but I did not sign up to hear about Bad Art Friend
2/? FLOODED by opinions of people who I did not follow and, as far as I could tell, were not followed or engaging with those I DID follow on the site. Threads is even worse. Every time I absentmindedly scroll the app in an ADHD mode, I always encounter some opinion that makes me feel as if the
1/? One way that Bluesky > Twitter and Threads so far is that I have only seen content from those I follow on my dash. The final breaking point for me in deleting Twitter after 10 years on the site and losing over 300 mutual connections was not Musk, but how EXHAUSTING it was to see my dash (cont'd)
April 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM
2/? FLOODED by opinions of people who I did not follow and, as far as I could tell, were not followed or engaging with those I DID follow on the site. Threads is even worse. Every time I absentmindedly scroll the app in an ADHD mode, I always encounter some opinion that makes me feel as if the
1/? One way that Bluesky > Twitter and Threads so far is that I have only seen content from those I follow on my dash. The final breaking point for me in deleting Twitter after 10 years on the site and losing over 300 mutual connections was not Musk, but how EXHAUSTING it was to see my dash (cont'd)
April 22, 2025 at 11:09 PM
1/? One way that Bluesky > Twitter and Threads so far is that I have only seen content from those I follow on my dash. The final breaking point for me in deleting Twitter after 10 years on the site and losing over 300 mutual connections was not Musk, but how EXHAUSTING it was to see my dash (cont'd)