Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by erin pineda

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 13h

Sam Altman went from “AI will cure cancer" to "ChatGPT porn" in less than a month

ChatGPT boss predicts when AI could cure cancer

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.
12:02 PM · Oct 14, 2025
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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 17h

it’s every contemporary US reactionary’s story lol

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 17h

my real Bari Weiss theory, which I’ll never be able to substantiate, is that her villain origin story isn’t “suffered the offense of being subjected to the politics of Arab anti-Zionist professors,” so much as “suffered the offense of being told her work is mediocre by Arab anti-Zionist professors”

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Reposted by erin pineda

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 20h

“Cease” fire

www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

Five Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza despite ceasefire

Israeli army confirmed it opened fire, saying a group had approached its soldiers before being targeted.

www.aljazeera.com

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 19h

the Iraq War: “Hold my beer”

Karen Schwartz @pithywidow.bsky.social · 21h

Was there ever a more epic press failure than the 2024 election

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 1d

Thinking fondly of all the pre-election fact-checks that said we couldn’t possibly know whether Republicans wanted to get rid of pre-existing condition protections.

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Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 1d

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 20h

one of my takeaways from this great piece is that weiss just doesn’t…sound like an intelligent person? or at least, not someone who has thought even a little bit about how and why they think the things that they do. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gieT...

Bari Weiss: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

www.youtube.com

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 21h

considering having this, which I use as a slide in my intros, printed up in wallet size for just such occasions

archival document. Letter to Du Bois in advance of speaking engagement asking him how to pronounce his name. It is written out phonetically: “DU as in you, OI as in boy, accent in the last syllable.” Below, in handwriting, it says “dew-boyz’”

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Reposted by erin pineda

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 2d

My latest is the story of how my community has rallied to protect and defend our neighbors in recent days, as ICE has targeted the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. "This is not a story about a moment of victory, but a moment of being reminded of our power."

They Came for Our Neighbors. We Showed Up.

Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.

organizingmythoughts.org

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 2d

we’re reimagining the curriculum

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 3d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 3d

"The chancellor approved it"

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Reposted by erin pineda

History is What's Happening @historyiswhat.bsky.social · 3d

"Gaza’s vegetation, too, is largely dead. UNEP [United Nations Environment Program] has said that 97% of tree crops, 95% of shrubs and 82% of annual crops are gone."

Drone footage above Gaza City shows the toll of 2 years of war

New drone footage shows what remains of Gaza City after two years of war as a ceasefire holds in its second day.

apnews.com

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 3d

excuse me Adam I believe you are currently engaging in a public expression activity, have you checked to ensure this area is designated for that today

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 3d

lol what *is* this

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 3d

the way that universities rolled out the red carpet for trump’s assaults on free speech and academic freedom is totally jokerfying.

All because hearing 19 year olds say “stop genocide” and “free Palestine” hurt donors’ feelings

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 3d

“individuals participating in a public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest” is a delillo-level dystopian sentence

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 4d

Found this just incredibly depressing, more than anything.

An easel sign reads, “UCLA
ATTENTION
No events are permitted in this area today. Per Policy 852, this location is NOT designated for public expression activities.
Individuals participating in an event or a public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest.
Scan for policy information.”

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Nora Reed (they/them ze/hir) @nora.zone · 4d

cry havoc and let slip the frogs of war

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 3d

that’s Professor Chick to you, kid. And I only have two nose rings

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 4d

Kid Rock: Do you know what is stupid… these chicks running around on campuses with blue hair, five nose rings.

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 4d

“Rights are what you make and what you take.” - James Boggs

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 4d

Do you really have any rights if they are openly saying they will just make up reasons to detain you?

thematthill.bsky.social @thematthill.bsky.social · 7d

Wow. Greg Bovino admits on camera that his agents can detain people if you look scared, change your demeanor, or grip a steering wheel too tight.

As his unmasked agents walk around with large guns to scare you, they may arrest you just for that — even if you're a U.S. citizen.

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Reposted by erin pineda

Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 4d

All of it is not good. The end.

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Dan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 4d

And who is the author of this op-ed? The billionaire CEO of an asset management firm who helped author the compact.

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 4d

Ahem

From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec

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Reposted by erin pineda

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 5d

It is self soothing to say that if only Palestinians accepted Israel then everything would be unlocked and peace would be possible. OK well that already happened, more than once, and what did it result in? When will people seriously grapple with the idea that perhaps Israel is a lot like Russia?

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 5d

PLO recognized Israel in 1988 and 1993 and then what happened is a question nobody seems to answer on here

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 5d

Oh for sure—but he also seemed to want to make the jump from “no legal legitimacy = full rebellion is required” and it’s not clear that one must do that. Also, since you blocked him, you did miss out on a rather funny follow up in which he clarified that he is a “John Adams” not a “Sam Adams,” so

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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 5d

fwiw it was extremely fun and satisfying to watch unfold from the sidelines, as I—not a lawyer but a political theorist—had been having my own aneurysm over his insistence that “illegitimacy” means one and only one thing, with only one political implication

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Reposted by erin pineda

Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 6d

🚨BREAKING: Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire Framework

“From our side, yes,” a senior Hamas official told Drop Site News’ @jeremyscahill.com

www.dropsitenews.com/p/breaking-h...

BREAKING: Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire Framework

“From our side, yes,” a senior Hamas official told Drop Site News.

www.dropsitenews.com

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