Yan Basque
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yanbasque.com
Yan Basque
@yanbasque.com
290 followers 700 following 1.5K posts
Writer, artist and musician. Queer. Critic of technology. Grad student (Information Studies at McGill). (He/him)

https://linktr.ee/yanbasque
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yanbasque.com
Someone wanted to chat via Snapchat so I reinstalled it after not using it for year. Somehow it's turned into an even worse UX nightmare than before. Truly one of the worse designed apps of all time. And now with an AI "friend" who you can't get rid of.
December 4, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Yan Basque
rinewithoutacat.bsky.social
In Canada, it's looking like Parliament will vote to approve C-12 tomorrow, a more restrictive bill re asylum claims than either the US or the UK—one which would allow categories of permits to be cancelled en masse, and would create a one-year limit on claims once someone entered (retro to 2020).
December 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
disconetwork.bsky.social
Come visit next summer for the DSI's annual Digital IDEAS! ☀️🗓️

Led by faculty director Sarah Murray, IDEAS brings together those working at the intersection of critical digital studies, social justice, and public intellectualism for a week-long community-building workshop

Learn more: myumi.ch/rAP6M
umichdigital.bsky.social UM Digital Studies Institute @umichdigital.bsky.social · 2d
The 6th Annual Digital IDEAS Summer Institute returns May 31–June 5, 2026! 💡💻✨This year’s theme: AFTER — exploring aftermaths, afterlives, afterworlds & the hereafter.
Details + apply: myumi.ch/rAP6M
#DigitalStudies #DigitalIDEAS2026 #CriticalTech
3D text "IDEAS" with "Digital" above it, and "Digital Studies Institute University of Michigan" below.
December 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
yanbasque.com
If this is not actually in the book, the person who wrote this as a parody deserves a Nobel prize in literature.
parkermolloy.com Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 12h
Can someone who has read Nuzzi's book let me know if this is actually a thing in it? Or is this one of those "JD Vance bangs couches" things? x.com/bryancurtis/...
Bryan Curtis @bryancurtis X.com A scene from American Canto. Olivia Nuzzi tries to visit the WWE Hall of Fame, only to discover that it is not a physical building. the chr bus and qui exi. sea she mo enc in abc ne Olivia Nuzzi time. Every lite thing seemed to matter. There was always somethin new to consider, or something to consider in a new way. In that spirit l called WWE headquarters. "Sorry; not possible," the receptionist said. "Not possible?" I asked. "Visiting would be impossible," she said. My eyes narrowed. I looked out the window of my newsroom, in the Frank Gehry building on the Hudson River that looked like a big blod of clacier ice. I did not like to be trapped anyplace, even somewhere| considered architecturally defensible, and I had wanted to escape today. Had been counting on this opportunity to escape. The news of the in-possibility of a visit to the Hall of Fame depressed me. "It's...private?" I asked. "There's no place to visit," the receptionist said. "No place?" I asked. "Right," she said. "It moved?" I asked. "No, it's, you know, an idea," she said. "An idea, the Hall of-" She cut in. "No hall. There's no hall, she said. "Then... what is it?" I asked. "It's an idea," she said. An idea. She had mentioned that already. "It doesn't exist?" I asked. "Well, it exists," she said. "Where?" I asked. "As an idea," she said. It was a place only in imagination.
December 3, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
hypervisible.blacksky.app
Judging from the quotes in here, university admins are some of the least “ai literate” people in existence. No wonder they think students need to be taught how to use it.
After mass AI college-cheating freakout, many admissions offices are using it to screen student applications | Fortune
It wasn't long ago they began banning student use of it for homework or test-taking. Admissions offices are different, though.
fortune.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:51 PM
yanbasque.com
Why ask an ai to interview a student and then watch the video of the interview when you could just talk to the student directly? This is bananas.
hypervisible.blacksky.app Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 1d
I asked the machine if you had joy 💀
The California Institute of Technology is launching an AI tool this fall to look for “authenticity” in students who submit research projects with their applications, admissions director Ashley Pallie said. Students upload their research to an AI chatbot that interviews them about it on video, which is then reviewed by Caltech faculty. “It’s a gauge of authenticity. Can you claim this research intellectually? Is there a level of joy around your project? That passion is important to us,” Pallie said.
December 2, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
tedunderwood.com
Our School of Information Sciences is running four searches, and we can hire more than four candidates. Here’s the first link, for a job that might appeal to people working in history of information, history of science, or digital humanities. +
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Information, Culture & Society - School of Information Science
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
yanbasque.com
There is a certain type of person who is only able to answer the last question you ask them. So if you put two questions in a text message, because you're trying to speed up communication, you will get an answer to the last question and they will just pretend the first question wasn't asked.
December 2, 2025 at 12:06 AM
yanbasque.com
As a former marketing manager I have to say: marketing managers are not ok
amybrown.xyz amy brown @amybrown.xyz · 3d
and once again fuck you to whoever decided the cough drops needed inspirational phrases on them
Halls cough drop wrapper printed with sayings like Get back in there champ! and Buckle down and push forth!
November 30, 2025 at 5:50 PM
yanbasque.com
Yes!
gwillow.me G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 4d
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
blipstress.bsky.social violet allen @blipstress.bsky.social · 9d
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 7:34 PM
yanbasque.com
Am I losing my mind?
November 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
yanbasque.com
This is one of the most depressing threads I’ve read lately.
jesbattis.bsky.social Jes Battis @jesbattis.bsky.social · 5d
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
jesbattis.bsky.social
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
November 28, 2025 at 10:36 PM
yanbasque.com
Evolutionary biologists are stupid.
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 5d
Animals have been kissing for over 17 million years, a new study suggests.

Kissing has long perplexed evolutionary biologists, given it has no obvious benefit to reproducing or finding food, while carrying the risk of disease transmission.
When was the first kiss? Over 17 million years ago, a study suggests.
Evolutionary biologists don’t know why we kiss — but new research suggests kissing evolved long before humans existed.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
profsmithsask.bsky.social
Lets face it, this is a good day for oil companies, businesses, and those in the oil sector. Its a bad day for the environment and for reconciliation with Indigenous nations whose lands this thing will go over. As Blanchet stated, this is the official end of Canada's climate commitments.
Ottawa-Alberta agreement clears federal hurdles for west coast pipeline, suspends clean energy regulations
Federal government won’t implement its oil and gas emissions cap, and both sides will consult with B.C. on project, MOU says
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:06 PM
yanbasque.com
Stood in the shower for 15 minutes thinking about organizing systems, then got out and realized I forgot to wash myself. This is what information studies is doing to me.

(I went back in and used the soap.)
November 28, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
rusty.todayintabs.com
Every prompt to chatbot software is “generate me some text.” If it generated you some text, it performed its function correctly. It never lies, it never wants anything, it’s text generating software that generates text.
carnage4life.bsky.social Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 6d
Not wanting to disappoint you so much that it lies is the last quality I want in a computer.
November 28, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Reposted by Yan Basque
breachmedia.ca
Canadian weapons, mining interests, and refugee policies are leaving fingerprints on the ongoing genocide in Sudan.

@nisrinelamin.bsky.social, @policingblack.bsky.social and Ismail Adam write about Canada’s role in Sudan’s brutal and escalating war. breachmedia.ca/in-the-genoc...
In the genocide in Sudan, Canada has a hand in the violence ⋆ The Breach
The massacres of civilians in Sudan are being fuelled by Canadian weapons, mining interests, and refugee restrictions. It’s time for Canada to end its complicity
breachmedia.ca
November 27, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by Yan Basque
ketanjoshi.co
REALLY chuffed to be invited to @parismarx.com's incredible @techwontsave.us pod to talk about not just the climate harms we face from an uncontrolled data centre expansion but the way companies enacting it seem to think they're cape-wearing climate superheroes -->>>

techwontsave.us/episode/304_...
November 27, 2025 at 7:50 PM
yanbasque.com
I would totally be eating snacks during a deposition lol
amybrown.xyz amy brown @amybrown.xyz · 6d
“she was eating snacks during the deposition” is an incredibly funny complaint
Westcott's lawyer also complained about Perry eating snacks during the deposition: "She should not schedule herself with other people, nor should she have assistants bringing her coffee and chocolate-covered coffee beans, or whatever it was she was doing at her deposition," Andrew J. Thomas said. ' "If she's going to be here [in person], that's one thing. But if she's gonna be on video, we need to know who's around her." The judge responded, "I'm not going to restrict her from getting coffee or snacks. But we should know, if she's on video, who's in the room.'
November 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
yanbasque.com
“Garbage in, garbage out” has become my most hated phrase of the year.
November 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
yanbasque.com
Funny how the victims of theft don’t like it and the perpetrators like it.
simonwillison.net Simon Willison @simonwillison.net · 9d
I think that may be the core division here: if you are an author or an artist the cons of generative AI very likely outweigh the pros for you

If you are a software developer the opposite is true
November 26, 2025 at 1:10 PM
yanbasque.com
Sometimes I wish I had more followers and then a 100K account reposts a random thing I said and I realize that, no, it's probably better to be a nobody on social media.
November 26, 2025 at 12:23 AM
yanbasque.com
Ring doorbells are horrible. Suburban neighbourhoods Facebook groups are full of paranoid narcissists posting screenshots of “suspicious” people who happened to walk in front of their house. Truly a community-destroying invention.
parismarx.com Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 8d
Probably the worst of them all is the Ring doorbell.

It’s sold as safety, but it’s much more about fear and paranoia in a box that turns you against your community. The more of them in the world, the worse our neighborhoods get. Don’t help the spiral continue.

disconnect.blog/a-tech-criti...
Speaking of a reindeer taking down grandma, a Ring doorbell might be able to capture that kind of footage so you have proof of what happened. But like with the smart speaker, there’s so much more that comes with that purchase. Amazon — and other companies pushing camera doorbells — want you to think they’re making you safer by giving you insight into what’s happening around your home. Ring doorbell ads often also try to make them appear fun, with people putting on a show for the doorbell. But that’s little more than a public relations campaign. For me, the camera doorbell is the perfect example of a technology that makes people believe they’re safer when really making them more paranoid and anxious as they see their neighborhood and community with deep and unwarranted suspicion. People become aware of things that had already been happening around their home for ages without them knowing about it and they become like big brother, spying out everything once the camera detects movement. It gets even worse when this paranoia meets social media, whether through snitching apps like Nextdoor or the spread of clips on platforms like Facebook that convince others to fear their surroundings and vastly overestimate the amount of crime happening in their vicinity.
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Yan Basque
themattmcd.bsky.social
My microwave sings a little song when my Hot Pocket is done. Should it have the right to vote?
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 8d
can’t fucking catch a breath

make it stop
Is ChatGPT Conscious? Many users feel they’re talking to a real person. Scientists say it’s time to consider whether they’re onto something. By Jeff Wise, a science journalist and private pilot.
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 PM