abbatial
@aobate.bsky.social
hello it's me, I'm a bird and a writer, etc
(author of “Evie of the Deepthorn”; PhD in annihilation; more here: www.andrebabyn.com)
(author of “Evie of the Deepthorn”; PhD in annihilation; more here: www.andrebabyn.com)
Reposted by abbatial
This is more than twice the amount of money paid to every writer in Canada in royalties who has had their book taken out of a library in the past year.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) paid $18 million for a chatbot named Charlie, which the auditor general reported gave her team the wrong answer 66% of the time.
The chatbot's responses were found to be brief and lacking context, with only 2 out of 6 questions answered accurately.
The chatbot's responses were found to be brief and lacking context, with only 2 out of 6 questions answered accurately.
The CRA spent $18M on 'Charlie,' a new tax information chatbot that is wrong most of the time
The Canada Revenue Agency paid $18 million for a chatbot the auditor general says give her team the wrong answer 66 per cent of the time.
nationalpost.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
This is more than twice the amount of money paid to every writer in Canada in royalties who has had their book taken out of a library in the past year.
what is better than watching a Mary Beard documentary and imagining yourself walking through all those columns
December 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
what is better than watching a Mary Beard documentary and imagining yourself walking through all those columns
in 2018 TIME magazine was bought by the rightwing CEO of Salesforce (cloud-based tech company) specifically to pull stunt covers like this, b/c tech bros know they have to buy cultural capital. anyway it is a slap in the face that these losers are depicted as labourers when they are grifters, all
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
December 12, 2025 at 2:26 PM
in 2018 TIME magazine was bought by the rightwing CEO of Salesforce (cloud-based tech company) specifically to pull stunt covers like this, b/c tech bros know they have to buy cultural capital. anyway it is a slap in the face that these losers are depicted as labourers when they are grifters, all
if the computer can see more bridges that need selecting in order to prove that I am human what do they even need me for
December 9, 2025 at 1:49 AM
if the computer can see more bridges that need selecting in order to prove that I am human what do they even need me for
It is easy to forget that cooperation and kindness built all forms of community and states run through domination are only a recent aberration. And that this latest emphasis on tech alone is more recent still
December 4, 2025 at 8:53 PM
It is easy to forget that cooperation and kindness built all forms of community and states run through domination are only a recent aberration. And that this latest emphasis on tech alone is more recent still
wow, and you're telling me this only costs 500 billion dollars? every year? what a steal
November 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
wow, and you're telling me this only costs 500 billion dollars? every year? what a steal
Reposted by abbatial
All aboard the Kafka Subway!
I’ve had dreams like this. Sculptor Michel de Broin took doors from MR-63 métro cars and turned them into this interactive installation at Arsenal Contemporary gallery in #Montréal.
Très Inception!
www.arsenalcontemporary.com
I’ve had dreams like this. Sculptor Michel de Broin took doors from MR-63 métro cars and turned them into this interactive installation at Arsenal Contemporary gallery in #Montréal.
Très Inception!
www.arsenalcontemporary.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM
All aboard the Kafka Subway!
I’ve had dreams like this. Sculptor Michel de Broin took doors from MR-63 métro cars and turned them into this interactive installation at Arsenal Contemporary gallery in #Montréal.
Très Inception!
www.arsenalcontemporary.com
I’ve had dreams like this. Sculptor Michel de Broin took doors from MR-63 métro cars and turned them into this interactive installation at Arsenal Contemporary gallery in #Montréal.
Très Inception!
www.arsenalcontemporary.com
Reposted by abbatial
The way all of these people convinced themselves that Mamdani is antisemitic is a subject far more worthy of media examination than any of the ‘groupthink on campuses!’ thinkpieces we’ve been subjected to
November 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The way all of these people convinced themselves that Mamdani is antisemitic is a subject far more worthy of media examination than any of the ‘groupthink on campuses!’ thinkpieces we’ve been subjected to
Reposted by abbatial
Some mornings I wake up thinking this timeline can’t get any weirder, but I am always immediately proved wrong
"If there were adults in the room and I could trust the federal government to impose the right standards, it wouldn't be such a great concern, but it just doesn't seem feasible."
Trump Administration Providing Weapons Grade Plutonium to Sam Altman
The White House is providing plutonium to Sam Altman's Oklo, one of four US companies chosen to test experimental reactor designs.
trib.al
October 27, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Some mornings I wake up thinking this timeline can’t get any weirder, but I am always immediately proved wrong
right [now] now all I [wish] want is a [wafer] way to [try] turn [on] off [automobile] autocomplete in [Microsoft] Microsoft [Outlook] Outlook
October 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
right [now] now all I [wish] want is a [wafer] way to [try] turn [on] off [automobile] autocomplete in [Microsoft] Microsoft [Outlook] Outlook
"meet the people saying NO to opiate addiction in their small towns (sponsored by Purdue Pharma)"
October 23, 2025 at 12:06 PM
"meet the people saying NO to opiate addiction in their small towns (sponsored by Purdue Pharma)"
Reposted by abbatial
It is morally wrong to want a computer to be sentient. If you owned a sentient thing, you would be a slaver. If you want sentient computers to exist, you just want to create a new kind of slavery. The ethics are as simple as that. Sorry if this offends
October 5, 2025 at 12:46 PM
It is morally wrong to want a computer to be sentient. If you owned a sentient thing, you would be a slaver. If you want sentient computers to exist, you just want to create a new kind of slavery. The ethics are as simple as that. Sorry if this offends
no
Mark Zuckerberg is introducing a feed that's just 100% AI slop. No pesky creativity from real people to get in the way. Eat up little piggies
September 26, 2025 at 10:24 PM
no
Reposted by abbatial
I'm not sure about this branding but I'm not the billionaire business genius
September 18, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I'm not sure about this branding but I'm not the billionaire business genius
what if instead of becoming incels online wayward young men became obsessed with Kierkegaard and started believing they were the biblical and extreme Jesus Christ. where is the billionaire super-fund supporting that???
September 17, 2025 at 10:09 PM
what if instead of becoming incels online wayward young men became obsessed with Kierkegaard and started believing they were the biblical and extreme Jesus Christ. where is the billionaire super-fund supporting that???
why is it that one of the worst feelings in the world is remembering a mid band you liked from the early 2000s and then discovering that they have put out fifteen more albums between now and then
September 14, 2025 at 3:08 AM
why is it that one of the worst feelings in the world is remembering a mid band you liked from the early 2000s and then discovering that they have put out fifteen more albums between now and then
Obvious consequence of coding Grok to say that Kirk has won debates that he’s lost
September 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Obvious consequence of coding Grok to say that Kirk has won debates that he’s lost
can you imagine applying for VC funding with the idea that not only are there not enough podcasts in the world but that we need to "flood the space" with podcasts made by AI?
September 10, 2025 at 11:22 PM
can you imagine applying for VC funding with the idea that not only are there not enough podcasts in the world but that we need to "flood the space" with podcasts made by AI?
Reposted by abbatial
I'm harnessing the unprecedented power of AI to forget how to read and develop a severe mental illness that makes me unrecognizable to those who once knew me.
September 10, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I'm harnessing the unprecedented power of AI to forget how to read and develop a severe mental illness that makes me unrecognizable to those who once knew me.
Reposted by abbatial
Just a reminder: The tenth anniversary editions of the original Southern Reach trilogy are still out in the wild, selling well. NYT bestsellers and on a lot of best-of-decade or this century lists. With new intros by Karen Joy Fowler, NK Jemisin, and Helen MacDonald. Buy from you favorite indie.
July 12, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Just a reminder: The tenth anniversary editions of the original Southern Reach trilogy are still out in the wild, selling well. NYT bestsellers and on a lot of best-of-decade or this century lists. With new intros by Karen Joy Fowler, NK Jemisin, and Helen MacDonald. Buy from you favorite indie.
Actually further away, more mediated, but with the illusion of closeness. Woolf’s own writing Illustrates this thru her careful attention to mood in others, to subtle shifts and flickering expressions that can only be witnessed and charted in person, exactly what we edit out when we perform online
"Now, thanks to social media, the smartphone and other ubiquitous technologies, we dwell in the perpetual squall of other people’s thoughts...the boundaries that separate one mind from another have grown thinner as the tools of communication have evolved."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Virginia Woolf's ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ Predicted the Future 100 Years Ago (Gift Article)
Our critic A.O. Scott takes apart a scene from “Mrs. Dalloway,” Virginia Woolf’s 1925 masterpiece, and shows why the book is a must-read now.
www.nytimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Actually further away, more mediated, but with the illusion of closeness. Woolf’s own writing Illustrates this thru her careful attention to mood in others, to subtle shifts and flickering expressions that can only be witnessed and charted in person, exactly what we edit out when we perform online
trump's ponytail in that little photo of him going around has real Oscar Bluth in "Arrested Development" energy
September 3, 2025 at 2:00 AM
trump's ponytail in that little photo of him going around has real Oscar Bluth in "Arrested Development" energy
whenever you go outside and stand in the grass that is an argument against the singularity. that sounds like nonsense but the singularity depends on the mobilization of every piece of matter in the universe, living and non-living, and this is reason 1051 against silicon valley nerds in charge
August 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
whenever you go outside and stand in the grass that is an argument against the singularity. that sounds like nonsense but the singularity depends on the mobilization of every piece of matter in the universe, living and non-living, and this is reason 1051 against silicon valley nerds in charge
Reposted by abbatial
It's my experience (from 25 yrs of teaching) that "learning management" tools like Canvas do nothing to facilitate student learning & make my job MORE, not less, time consuming. That additional time I put in contributes zero to improving the student experience. But Canvas gets our money regardless.
August 24, 2025 at 2:58 PM
It's my experience (from 25 yrs of teaching) that "learning management" tools like Canvas do nothing to facilitate student learning & make my job MORE, not less, time consuming. That additional time I put in contributes zero to improving the student experience. But Canvas gets our money regardless.
can you imagine the kind of person whose life’s ambition is to turn a field full of trees and shrubs and wildflowers into a data centre
August 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
can you imagine the kind of person whose life’s ambition is to turn a field full of trees and shrubs and wildflowers into a data centre