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Stephen McCarthy

@misterjabsticks.bsky.social

260 followers 260 following 470 posts

Latin, Epicureanism, data protection and AI, dogs, photography, legislation, science fiction. (he/him). Fervently #TransRightsAreHumanRights. 📷 photography is currently without a home, having left Meta's evil influence.

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Stephen McCarthy @misterjabsticks.bsky.social · May 23

"When you outsource the thinking, you outsource the learning."

HackerNewsTop5 @hackernewstop5.bsky.social · May 23

The Copilot Delusion

#HackerNews

<a href="https://deplet.ing/the-copilot-delusion/" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://deplet.ing/the-copilot-delusion/

Reposted by Stephen McCarthy

Hacker News 100 @hn100.atproto.rocks · 10h

Schleswig-Holstein completes migration to open source email
https://news.itsfoss.com/schleswig-holstein-email-system-migration/

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45558635

Good News! Germany's Schleswig-Holstein Completes Massive Migration to Open Source Email Systems

German state achieves digital sovereignty by ditching Microsoft for open source solutions.

news.itsfoss.com

Reposted by Stephen McCarthy

Giles Paley-Phillips @eliistender10.bsky.social · 20h

Try to live in alignment with what truly matters to you.

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Charlie Brigden @filmsonwax.bsky.social · 6d

With TRON ARES about to hit, here’s a bit I wrote for @crooked-marquee.bsky.social on the original TRON and it’s fabulous composer, the amazing Wendy Carlos

Pixel Perfect: How Wendy Carlos Gave an Extra Dimension to Tron

How synthesizer innovator Wendy Carlos created a combination orchestral/synth score for Disney’s big-budget adventure ‘Tron.’

crookedmarquee.com

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Drivaaar @drivaaar.bsky.social · 1d

Reasonably confident the "Jared Leto fans" and "Tron fans" Venn diagram are two distinct circles separated by a few buildings distance.

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Delaney (Pum)King (She/Her/Whomst) @delaneyking.bsky.social · 1d

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.

Wisdom is throwing the tomato at Jared Leto instead of casting him in things.

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Joel @sentantiq.bsky.social · 1d

Brekekekeks Koaks! Koaks!

mbbendt @bendts2cents.bsky.social · 2d

Pretty sure that when you have giant frogs everywhere, God is very disappointed in how you are treating immigrants.

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 3d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · Nov 13

if i've learned one thing from doing union stuff while also doing other forms of organizing, it's that you're better off with people you disagree with who are nevertheless trying to do the same thing as you than with people you agree with who aren't trying to do anything

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Dr Mary McAuliffe @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Catherine Connolly always forgets to turn off the immersion 😱 #smearthebejaysis

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The Pleasure Vice Principle (he/him/his) @hannibaltabu.bsky.social · 2d

I saw the dot coms crash from a front row seat. AI is running out of money way faster.

The evangelism is insecurity from people who made the wrong bet. I’ve seen it before. futurism.com/future-socie...

AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought

An investment manager realized he made a crucial mistake — and that his grim prediction about AI investments may not have been cynical enough.

futurism.com

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Dr Surekha Davies (she/her) @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social · 1d

I don't pay taxes just so that the Zucks and Musks of the world can use it to burn down the world.

The sooner national governments stop bailing out the plagiarism-ecocide industry with money better spent on schools, healthcare, and public services, the better.

The Pleasure Vice Principle (he/him/his) @hannibaltabu.bsky.social · 2d

AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought

An investment manager realized he made a crucial mistake — and that his grim prediction about AI investments may not have been cynical enough.

futurism.com

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John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 2d

I strongly urge everyone to not just read this warning from @marcwatkins.bsky.social, but heed it, and be vocal and forceful pushing back against using AI to grade student writing. This must be anathema if we're going to have a world where learning means something. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

The Dangers of using AI to Grade

Nobody Learns, Nobody Gains

substack.com

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Orcspiration @orcspiration.bsky.social · 1d

DO HARM TO YOUR ENEMIES; TREAT YOURSELF WITH KINDNESS!

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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 2d

Well played, Merriam-Webster!
Well played.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 11d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Flora 🏺 Ancient History Art @flaroh.bsky.social · 2d

Classicstober day 10: Hekate 💃🏻🖤🌿🐾

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Elizabeth Boyle @thecelticist.bsky.social · 2d

Just arrived. The posthumously published book of my late colleague, Dr Colmán Etchingham. Thanks to everyone who saw it through to publication. We plan to hold an event in Maynooth to mark its publication (details to follow). Available to order here: boydellandbrewer.com/book/vikings...
#MedievalSky

A copy of Colmán Etchingham, Vikings in Early Medieval Ireland: Church-raiding, Politics and Kingship (Boydell and Brewer, 2025).

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Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 4d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

Big piece in POLITICO asking about the independence of Ireland's process of appointing people to its Data Protection Commission. There is deep unease in Brussels about Ireland appointing a former Meta lobbyist as Meta's watchdog. Now questions about who was involved.

www.politico.eu/article/big-...

Big Tech lawyer played key role in picking Ireland’s new privacy regulator

Former Meta lobbyist Niamh Sweeney will co-lead the Irish Data Protection Commission from mid-October.

www.politico.eu

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Dr Farbod @emergencybod.medsky.social · 2d

I love people who put in so much effort to ridicule the orange sack of protoplasm.

This is top tier. The Witch-king of Angmar at the end is just perfect.

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Right to Know @righttoknow.bsky.social · 2d

€1.1 million in payments to Ministers and Oireachtas members through scheme for PR, social media, and secretarial assistance.

Our latest set of records online now at:

www.thestory.ie/2025/10/10/e...

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Adrian Kirwan @adriankirwan.bsky.social · 2d

This is not going to end well 'AI bubble is now a staggering 17 times the size of the infamous dot-com bubble' futurism.com/future-socie...

AI Investment Is Already So Much Larger Than the Subprime Mortgage Bubble That You'll Physically Flinch

The investment bubble created by AI hype is already magnitudes bigger than the dot-com and subprime mortgage bubbles, one analyst warns.

futurism.com

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noyb @noyb.eu · 2d

🎉 Big #WIN for student privacy! 🔒 Austria’s DPA has issued a decision finding that #Microsoft 365 Education illegally tracks pupils and uses student data for Microsoft's own purposes.

📰 Read the full blog post, including a comment by Max #Schrems 👉 noyb.eu/en/noyb-win-...

noyb win: Microsoft 365 Education tracks school children

Favorable decision by the Austrian DSB: Microsoft Education 365 may not track school kids and Microsoft is ordered to provide full access to kids' data.

noyb.eu

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 3d

If it's not collected, it can't be abused, misused, or used for finical benefits

󠀁󠁿⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁢⁢⁤⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁢⁤⁤⁢⁤⁤⁤⁤⁤⁤⁤⁢⁢⁢⁢⁤⁢👻 @0x0.boo · 3d

Yes, forcing users to upload documents for age verification is going to end very badly.

Collecting sensitive documents, like ID is an especially bad idea.

Do not collect shit that you do not need to collect, ever.

If it's not collected it can't be leaked.

That is all.

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The Onion @theonion.com · 3d

Israel Agrees To Go Back To Killing Palestinians On Less Frequent Basis

CAIRO—As part of a historic ceasefire agreement with Hamas following two years of war, the Israeli government reportedly agreed Thursday to go back to killing Palestinians on a less frequent basis. “I...

theonion.com

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Anonymous @youranoncentral.bsky.social · Dec 6

Two software developers became quietly known in tech circles in the 2000s and were almost the reverse image of each other. Both developed web alternatives. Both developed alternatives to the current government model.

The right has read Yarvin and it shows.
The left has not read Marsh and it shows.

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Stephen McCarthy @misterjabsticks.bsky.social · 3d

I think what we really need is a bunch of public body HR whistle-blowers to point out all the shady shit public bodies get up to with public money.