Amy Isikoff Newell
@amynewell.bsky.social
hope from despair. Forest Witch. Baba Yaga type. Crazy. Artist, Aspiring Activist, Recovering Engineering Leader. bipolar, bisexual, and bitchy AF she/they 🏳️🌈
www.amywriteswords.com
www.amynewell.com
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Amy Isikoff Newell
@amynewell.bsky.social
· Jan 21
Amy Writes Words | Amy Isikoff Newell | Substack
"Amusing at best": I write about software engineering, tech, management, politics, bipolar disorder, mental illness, disability, queerness, gender, books, poetry, fashion, boots, and photography. Also...
amywriteswords.com
new followers! Hello! I'm not on on here much, so I want you to know you can subscribe to my newsletter at amywriteswords.com
2 awesome things about it:
1. arrives irregularly, def not every week, only when I have something to say
2. I like when ppl pay/share/like but I don't hound you for it
2 awesome things about it:
1. arrives irregularly, def not every week, only when I have something to say
2. I like when ppl pay/share/like but I don't hound you for it
this checks out
The funniest thing I’m doing today in Boston is taking the commuter rail to South Station, then the Red line to Downtown Crossing, then the Orange line to Back Bay, then a shuttle bus to Kenmore, then the Green line to Brookline Hills for, get this: a driving lesson.
December 9, 2025 at 3:05 AM
this checks out
very confused by the subtitle here: "technological progress and economic growth are preconditions for human happiness" wait what? I thought life and liberty were? technology and economic growth can contribute to life and liberty, but I think we can all agree they can also do the opposite.
By almost any measure, the last two centuries delivered astonishing leaps in human prosperity. And yet, the experience of modern life often feels unsettled. People are anxious, politics are brittle, and the promise of progress feels shakier than ever.
The world has gotten richer — so, why aren’t we happier?
Technological progress and economic growth are preconditions for human happiness, not a guarantee.
voxdotcom.visitlink.me
December 8, 2025 at 9:43 PM
very confused by the subtitle here: "technological progress and economic growth are preconditions for human happiness" wait what? I thought life and liberty were? technology and economic growth can contribute to life and liberty, but I think we can all agree they can also do the opposite.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
bring back shame, combat vice signaling
we all got cowed into avoiding "virtue signaling" as if the public affirmation of socially agreed upon ethical principles was somehow cringey instead of a significant part of what a "society" even is. now all there's left is vice signaling, and it's reshaping society.
December 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
bring back shame, combat vice signaling
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Scratch a definition of general intelligence, find a eugenicist. That and more on tomorrow's Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000!
One problem with all the “AGI” discourse is that “AGI” isn’t actually defined.
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
Someone tried recently … and predictably it didn’t go well. Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social and I dig into the attempt:
Monday, December 8, noon Pacific
dair_institute - Twitch
Twitch account for The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR).
twitch.tv
December 7, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Scratch a definition of general intelligence, find a eugenicist. That and more on tomorrow's Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000!
i have gone to a lot of great parties and i am stewing in neurodivergence. My problem with Karp is neither that he may be neurodivergent and/or enjoy pharma grade stimulants. It's that his ideology and choices are evil.
people who buy that karp's onstage behavior is due to neurodivergence and not staggering amounts of pharma grade stimulants, i am begging you to go to better parties
Posting this after speculation about drug use is like when Kevin Spacey posted that video where he's like "I told you all my secrets" video after the accusations came out.
December 7, 2025 at 11:14 PM
i have gone to a lot of great parties and i am stewing in neurodivergence. My problem with Karp is neither that he may be neurodivergent and/or enjoy pharma grade stimulants. It's that his ideology and choices are evil.
you can't slander a machine. you can only slander a person. or cats. how dare you slander a cat?
December 7, 2025 at 9:29 PM
you can't slander a machine. you can only slander a person. or cats. how dare you slander a cat?
my problem is not the neurodivergence or the alleged drug use, it's the evil.
“he wasn’t tripping balls, he’s just autistic” is frankly insulting spin
December 7, 2025 at 9:16 PM
my problem is not the neurodivergence or the alleged drug use, it's the evil.
I think this is a really important thing about libraries that many people may not realize. not only not tracking, but ideally really making an effort to maintain privacy on hold shelves as well. Corporations and many government entities are attacking our privacy; support libraries in preserving it.
December 7, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I think this is a really important thing about libraries that many people may not realize. not only not tracking, but ideally really making an effort to maintain privacy on hold shelves as well. Corporations and many government entities are attacking our privacy; support libraries in preserving it.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
DC Public Library with a friendly reminder 📚
December 6, 2025 at 12:13 PM
DC Public Library with a friendly reminder 📚
A win for libraries and democracy!
U.S. reinstates all canceled library grants after court order www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/1...
U.S. reinstates all canceled library grants after court order
A court ruled that Trump’s effort to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to funding libraries, was unlawful.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
A win for libraries and democracy!
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Talentless frauds close to the White House are making billions by crashing the American economy and selling out America’s allies. Here’s why democratic socialism is unthinkable.
November 30, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Talentless frauds close to the White House are making billions by crashing the American economy and selling out America’s allies. Here’s why democratic socialism is unthinkable.
there should be a ceiling. people should not be able to accumulate billions of dollars, for a bunch of reasons, including that it turns them into out of touch monsters.
November 30, 2025 at 8:57 PM
there should be a ceiling. people should not be able to accumulate billions of dollars, for a bunch of reasons, including that it turns them into out of touch monsters.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
So much good here, but IMHO the key point is that close reading enables students to believe “that they are capable, that they can do it.” They have been hollowed out, too, denied self-efficacy by modern educational systems. Freire, hooks, so many have taught us how to teach. If we will only do it.
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 29, 2025 at 9:52 PM
So much good here, but IMHO the key point is that close reading enables students to believe “that they are capable, that they can do it.” They have been hollowed out, too, denied self-efficacy by modern educational systems. Freire, hooks, so many have taught us how to teach. If we will only do it.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Congratulations to the silicon valley abundance agenda
AI-enabled NIMBYism has come to clean energy deployment. Virtually all the examples mentioned in this piece are wind, solar and transmission projects. 💡🔌
How Scottish campaigners are using AI to battle rural planning applications
Tool allows individuals to send unique, complex objections of about 4,000 words within a couple of minutes
www.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Congratulations to the silicon valley abundance agenda
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
*slams fist on a table* someone should stage a lesbian version of the Nutcracker ballet
November 27, 2025 at 7:02 PM
*slams fist on a table* someone should stage a lesbian version of the Nutcracker ballet
We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 27, 2025 at 7:39 PM
We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
It's American Thanksgiving, everybody. Here's @thehallucination.bsky.social.
It's that time again.
The Halluci Nation, "Burn Your Village to the Ground (Neon Nativez Remix)"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNi_...
The Halluci Nation, "Burn Your Village to the Ground (Neon Nativez Remix)"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNi_...
The Halluci Nation - Burn Your Village To The Ground (Neon Nativez Remix)
"They have to kill us because they can't break our spirit."- John TrudellFree download: https://bit.ly/2Tn6dpHNeon Nativez:- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.c...
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:05 PM
It's American Thanksgiving, everybody. Here's @thehallucination.bsky.social.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Propaganda doesn't work by logic, it works by repeated exposure.
"Oh i know how uv rays work, I won't get sunburned" friends you will still get crispy
"Oh i know how uv rays work, I won't get sunburned" friends you will still get crispy
It’s really funny how a generation will roll its eyes at parents who watch Fox News but doesn’t see why being immersed in Twitter is having the same effect. Lots of serious people show up on Fox News too but that shouldn’t be your primary source on the news.
November 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Propaganda doesn't work by logic, it works by repeated exposure.
"Oh i know how uv rays work, I won't get sunburned" friends you will still get crispy
"Oh i know how uv rays work, I won't get sunburned" friends you will still get crispy
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Is Santa Real? Many users feel they're getting presents from him. Scientists say it's time to consider whether they're onto something.
November 26, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Is Santa Real? Many users feel they're getting presents from him. Scientists say it's time to consider whether they're onto something.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
I'm an "A.i." abolitionist.
No consumer-facing LLMs or generative "A.i." in anything.
Sure, machine learning in science and a few other limited applications is fine.
But consumer-facing LLMs and generative "A.i." that are based on theft, push disinfo, and can be manipulated by billionaires?
No.
No consumer-facing LLMs or generative "A.i." in anything.
Sure, machine learning in science and a few other limited applications is fine.
But consumer-facing LLMs and generative "A.i." that are based on theft, push disinfo, and can be manipulated by billionaires?
No.
July 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
I'm an "A.i." abolitionist.
No consumer-facing LLMs or generative "A.i." in anything.
Sure, machine learning in science and a few other limited applications is fine.
But consumer-facing LLMs and generative "A.i." that are based on theft, push disinfo, and can be manipulated by billionaires?
No.
No consumer-facing LLMs or generative "A.i." in anything.
Sure, machine learning in science and a few other limited applications is fine.
But consumer-facing LLMs and generative "A.i." that are based on theft, push disinfo, and can be manipulated by billionaires?
No.
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
everyone knows the number one quality of rigorous, responsible journalism is waiting months and months to reveal urgently newsworthy information until it can cause the most harm in your personal vendettas
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
everyone knows the number one quality of rigorous, responsible journalism is waiting months and months to reveal urgently newsworthy information until it can cause the most harm in your personal vendettas
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
As CEO of Mott’s Applesauce I really have to question your mental state if Applesauce isn’t on your plate, in your toilet, in the bedroom, really everywhere that Applesauce could help
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 AM
As CEO of Mott’s Applesauce I really have to question your mental state if Applesauce isn’t on your plate, in your toilet, in the bedroom, really everywhere that Applesauce could help
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
Reposted by Amy Isikoff Newell
This is...sort of brilliant.
November 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This is...sort of brilliant.