Becky Kazansky
@pondswimmer.bsky.social
scholar of risk & refusal | independent advisor on digital rights, tech & climate justice | postdoc on AIDEMCRACY at Goldsmiths, University of London | ex research lead at Engine Room | https://beckykazansky.net/about/
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
There is now compelling medical evidence that Covid-19 infections can reactivate dormant cancer cells, and trigger the growth of secondary cancers. In studies, cancer survivors who contracted Covid had a statistically significant higher risk of cancer-related deaths
buds.org.uk/covid-and-ca...
buds.org.uk/covid-and-ca...
October 21, 2025 at 1:36 AM
There is now compelling medical evidence that Covid-19 infections can reactivate dormant cancer cells, and trigger the growth of secondary cancers. In studies, cancer survivors who contracted Covid had a statistically significant higher risk of cancer-related deaths
buds.org.uk/covid-and-ca...
buds.org.uk/covid-and-ca...
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
With Japan facing a worker shortage as its population ages, convenience store shelves are being stocked by robots overseen by remote workers in the Philippines
https://restofworld.org/2025/philippines-offshoring-automation-tech-jobs/
https://restofworld.org/2025/philippines-offshoring-automation-tech-jobs/
October 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
With Japan facing a worker shortage as its population ages, convenience store shelves are being stocked by robots overseen by remote workers in the Philippines
https://restofworld.org/2025/philippines-offshoring-automation-tech-jobs/
https://restofworld.org/2025/philippines-offshoring-automation-tech-jobs/
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
This also indicates the essential dishonesty of saying “it’s just a tool.” A hammer is a tool. Nobody writes about the “inevitability” of hammers. Nobody has ever studied the harmful effects of hammers on learning and concluded that teachers must all hit their students with hammers “responsibly.”
October 9, 2025 at 12:13 PM
This also indicates the essential dishonesty of saying “it’s just a tool.” A hammer is a tool. Nobody writes about the “inevitability” of hammers. Nobody has ever studied the harmful effects of hammers on learning and concluded that teachers must all hit their students with hammers “responsibly.”
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
Since 2004, a prominent US family has made millions through the sale of carbon credits in the DRC. Meanwhile, the community who lives there has been left in poverty.
A prominent US family has been cashing in on DRC carbon credits while local communities decry unmet promises
Since 2004, a prominent US family has made millions through the sale of carbon credits in the DRC. Meanwhile, the community who lives there has been left in poverty.
globalvoices.org
October 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Since 2004, a prominent US family has made millions through the sale of carbon credits in the DRC. Meanwhile, the community who lives there has been left in poverty.
If/when possible, it’s nice to leave this timeline behind for just a bit.
September 2, 2025 at 7:02 AM
If/when possible, it’s nice to leave this timeline behind for just a bit.
Y'all. This meme is from the 'My boyfriend is AI' Reddit, where the culture is to share a cute meme of your coupledom with an AI, and everyone is heartbroken over the personalities of their true loves being 'reset' after the release of GPT-5.
August 31, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Y'all. This meme is from the 'My boyfriend is AI' Reddit, where the culture is to share a cute meme of your coupledom with an AI, and everyone is heartbroken over the personalities of their true loves being 'reset' after the release of GPT-5.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
What a cursed sentence (gift link)
“The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
“The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:43 PM
What a cursed sentence (gift link)
“The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
“The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
Something I didn’t anticipate: analyzing all of the Biden-Trump AI strategy docs line by line has taken a real emotional toll. Have had to debrief with a dear friend a few times.
August 15, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Something I didn’t anticipate: analyzing all of the Biden-Trump AI strategy docs line by line has taken a real emotional toll. Have had to debrief with a dear friend a few times.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
Still remember one study where they had "AI" look at photos to diagnose cancer and it had like a 98% or 99% accuracy...
...except all the photos of actual tumors had a ruler next to them for scale. And the algorithm just got really good at spotting rulers in a photograph.
...except all the photos of actual tumors had a ruler next to them for scale. And the algorithm just got really good at spotting rulers in a photograph.
Stop offloading cognitive tasks to "generative AI." Stop using systems w/ "AI" features either inextricably woven through them or prominently displayed at the top to nudge you into their use. Stop *Designing* "AI" tools & integrations that way. Stop building or using "AI" like this. Fucking Stop it.
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 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Still remember one study where they had "AI" look at photos to diagnose cancer and it had like a 98% or 99% accuracy...
...except all the photos of actual tumors had a ruler next to them for scale. And the algorithm just got really good at spotting rulers in a photograph.
...except all the photos of actual tumors had a ruler next to them for scale. And the algorithm just got really good at spotting rulers in a photograph.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
"I am the lawyer for a multinational group active in the energy sector that intends to displace a small Amazonian indigenous community from their territories in order to build a dam and a hydroelectric plant … How can we get the lowest possible price in negotiations with these indigenous people?"
Leaked ChatGPT Conversation Shows User Identified as Lawyer Asking How to "Displace a Small Amazonian Indigenous Community From Their Territories in Order to Build a Dam and a Hydroelectric Plant"
Tens of thousands of ChatGPT conversations were mistakenly shared by users who used a feature that OpenAI has swiftly removed.
futurism.com
August 10, 2025 at 6:40 AM
"I am the lawyer for a multinational group active in the energy sector that intends to displace a small Amazonian indigenous community from their territories in order to build a dam and a hydroelectric plant … How can we get the lowest possible price in negotiations with these indigenous people?"
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
Likening PhD holders to a (non-functional) algorithm is a form of dehumanisation & anti-intellectualism that is a bellwether for contemporary fascism. Essentially it's a typical — if not the archetypal — first step towards fascism: to dehumanise, deskill, defund, and, ultimately, fire the academics.
What I would like to remind everyone talking about Sam Altman talking about the “PhD level intelligence” of the new ChatGPT is that Sam Altman dropped out of college so he… has no experiential construct for what grad school even is.
August 9, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Likening PhD holders to a (non-functional) algorithm is a form of dehumanisation & anti-intellectualism that is a bellwether for contemporary fascism. Essentially it's a typical — if not the archetypal — first step towards fascism: to dehumanise, deskill, defund, and, ultimately, fire the academics.
Hello London! I'm in you, searching for a place to rest my head for the next two years. Work update to follow.
July 9, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Hello London! I'm in you, searching for a place to rest my head for the next two years. Work update to follow.
I'm currently deep into the weeds of of FB/Meta's 2024 sustainability report, which is basically about all the pivots they must urgently make to meet so-called 'AI Demand' and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings.
June 18, 2025 at 2:33 PM
I'm currently deep into the weeds of of FB/Meta's 2024 sustainability report, which is basically about all the pivots they must urgently make to meet so-called 'AI Demand' and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
AI is not useful.
I don’t think there’s a single serious critic who says AI’s not useful? The concerns I see are about content rights, worker impacts, environmental effects, epistemological threats, or media manipulation. But that’s all predicated on the idea that it *does* work, often too well for people to manage…
The NYT Magazine asked me and @caseynewton.bsky.social to open their AI issue by talking about how we use AI, why it's not going away, and how you can't be a serious critic if you're in denial about how useful it is. Bluesky's gonna love this one!
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...
June 18, 2025 at 2:38 AM
AI is not useful.
We struggle to treat humans with humanity but if you want funding these days its time to concern ourselves with the legal rights of non-existent 'sentient' bots.
June 12, 2025 at 1:22 PM
We struggle to treat humans with humanity but if you want funding these days its time to concern ourselves with the legal rights of non-existent 'sentient' bots.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
new article in @europeanlawopen.bsky.social on the concept of systemic risks in the DSA. what does it mean that we think of all kinds of social issues linked to online platforms as 'risks' to be managed? find out this way: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Governing platforms through corporate risk management: the politics of systemic risk in the Digital Services Act | European Law Open | Cambridge Core
Governing platforms through corporate risk management: the politics of systemic risk in the Digital Services Act
www.cambridge.org
June 4, 2025 at 7:51 AM
new article in @europeanlawopen.bsky.social on the concept of systemic risks in the DSA. what does it mean that we think of all kinds of social issues linked to online platforms as 'risks' to be managed? find out this way: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
A new piece by @proximitydeclined.bsky.social "traces how Rutger Bregman went from mocking anti-racism and defending blackface…to launching a U.S.-based school on “ethical leadership” funded by billionaires"
www.linkedin.com/posts/anita-...
www.linkedin.com/posts/anita-...
Billionaires fund school on "ethical leadership" | Anita Naidu ( She/Her) posted on the topic | LinkedIn
What happens when billionaires fund the revolution?
The outcome is already fixed.
My new piece just dropped in CounterPunch:
“The School for Moral Ambition: How Elites Rebrand Power as Virtue.”
It...
www.linkedin.com
May 21, 2025 at 7:12 AM
A new piece by @proximitydeclined.bsky.social "traces how Rutger Bregman went from mocking anti-racism and defending blackface…to launching a U.S.-based school on “ethical leadership” funded by billionaires"
www.linkedin.com/posts/anita-...
www.linkedin.com/posts/anita-...
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
Lloyd's of London insurers launch a product to cover companies for losses caused by AI chatbot errors; the policies are developed by YC-backed startup Armilla (Financial Times)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
May 11, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Lloyd's of London insurers launch a product to cover companies for losses caused by AI chatbot errors; the policies are developed by YC-backed startup Armilla (Financial Times)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
I got the best teaching evals of my career for a large course last semester— along with three teaching awards— after rebuilding my intro class around in-class handwritten essays. I simply do not believe that this is unsolvable or that students don't care about actually learning to do their work.
In only two years, ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.
James D. Walsh writes for @intelligencer.com: nymag.com/intelligence....
James D. Walsh writes for @intelligencer.com: nymag.com/intelligence....
May 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I got the best teaching evals of my career for a large course last semester— along with three teaching awards— after rebuilding my intro class around in-class handwritten essays. I simply do not believe that this is unsolvable or that students don't care about actually learning to do their work.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
I think a lot of artificial intelligence conversations are free will conversations pretending to be math conversations.
April 26, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I think a lot of artificial intelligence conversations are free will conversations pretending to be math conversations.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
I've also received emails like this. And I've also had numerous people in my life talk like this. And it scares me really, quite a lot, the extent to which, however good AI systems are or are not at particular tasks, they are clearly having a huge effect on our collective mental health.
i'm sorry but it is a waste of your time and mine too sending emails like this... i'm not interested in reading what chatgpt tells you to share with me
April 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
I've also received emails like this. And I've also had numerous people in my life talk like this. And it scares me really, quite a lot, the extent to which, however good AI systems are or are not at particular tasks, they are clearly having a huge effect on our collective mental health.
Reposted by Becky Kazansky
New data reveals just how many African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector, doing outsourced jobs like content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
How Big Tech hides its outsourced African workforce
New data reveals the hidden network of African workers powering AI, as they push for transparency from the global companies that employ them indirectly.
restofworld.org
April 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM
New data reveals just how many African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector, doing outsourced jobs like content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...