Evil Jim O’Donnell
@eatyourgreens.org.uk
Research software engineer. Comics lover. Accessibility enthusiast.
https://mastodon.social/@eatyourgreens
Oxford RSE: https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk
Professional bio: https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk/dr-jim-odonnell
https://mastodon.social/@eatyourgreens
Oxford RSE: https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk
Professional bio: https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk/dr-jim-odonnell
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
When I toss a coin to ask whether I should do something or not, then I ask if it's sure it changes its mind 50% of the time
The large language models that millions of people rely on for advice -- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini -- will change their answers nearly 60% of the time when a user simply pushes back by asking "are you sure?"
If only fascist know-nothings could learn that response!
www.randalolson.com/2026/02/07/t...
If only fascist know-nothings could learn that response!
www.randalolson.com/2026/02/07/t...
The "Are You Sure?" Problem: Why Your AI Keeps Changing Its Mind
Ask your AI 'are you sure?' and watch it flip. Models fold 60% of the time because we trained them to please, not push back. The fix isn't better prompts.
www.randalolson.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:30 PM
When I toss a coin to ask whether I should do something or not, then I ask if it's sure it changes its mind 50% of the time
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
it's not easy breeding deer for gigantism, but that's why I make the big bucks
February 12, 2026 at 8:48 PM
it's not easy breeding deer for gigantism, but that's why I make the big bucks
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Married name
Birth certificate name …
Birth certificate name …
February 12, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Married name
Birth certificate name …
Birth certificate name …
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
oh noooooo, is someone trying to scrape your output to make a shitty knock off of the work you did without acknowledging or paying you for it??? gosh that must suck so much for youuuu
February 12, 2026 at 6:30 PM
oh noooooo, is someone trying to scrape your output to make a shitty knock off of the work you did without acknowledging or paying you for it??? gosh that must suck so much for youuuu
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Matilda said to capture her good side, so I took pictures of both of her sides. ;-)
#bunny #houserabbit #bunniesofmastodon
#bunny #houserabbit #bunniesofmastodon
February 12, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Matilda said to capture her good side, so I took pictures of both of her sides. ;-)
#bunny #houserabbit #bunniesofmastodon
#bunny #houserabbit #bunniesofmastodon
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
February 12, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
February 12, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
I wrote about the redesign of the Microsoft Inclusive Design site (published under our team byline). One thing I wrote on is the risk of designing for diagnoses instead of for people.
In rebuilding the site, we focused on flexibility and agency.
microsoft.design/articles/evo...
In rebuilding the site, we focused on flexibility and agency.
microsoft.design/articles/evo...
Evolving the Microsoft Inclusive Design website - Microsoft Design
What we learned rebuilding the Microsoft Inclusive Design website with the communities we serve
microsoft.design
February 12, 2026 at 7:22 PM
I wrote about the redesign of the Microsoft Inclusive Design site (published under our team byline). One thing I wrote on is the risk of designing for diagnoses instead of for people.
In rebuilding the site, we focused on flexibility and agency.
microsoft.design/articles/evo...
In rebuilding the site, we focused on flexibility and agency.
microsoft.design/articles/evo...
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
February 12, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
You have to admit, "don't be evil" to "we refuse to discuss our ICE contracts" is a hell of an arc
At Google, speech critical of ICE is censored from the company's internal platform, employees who speak out are served with warnings, and leadership refuses to acknowledge a petition that's now gotten 1,200 employee signatures.
Inside the worker-led push to get ICE out of Google:
Inside the worker-led push to get ICE out of Google:
Google is stifling anti-ICE speech in the workplace as 1,200 employees call on the company to cut ties
The search giant has made it harder and riskier to protest its policies. Workers are still fighting back. Plus: A community takes down a data center, QuitGPT, and the 5 worst Super Bowl AI ads.
www.bloodinthemachine.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:50 PM
You have to admit, "don't be evil" to "we refuse to discuss our ICE contracts" is a hell of an arc
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
better a cow than a fascist
May 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
better a cow than a fascist
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
FOR THE RECORD: one year on, I lay out clearly how Elon Musk FRS has breached the @royalsociety.org’s code of conduct, why the Society’s failure to defend its values has been so damaging, & what they need do to recover their standing in the scientific community. occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2026/...
February 11, 2026 at 6:39 PM
FOR THE RECORD: one year on, I lay out clearly how Elon Musk FRS has breached the @royalsociety.org’s code of conduct, why the Society’s failure to defend its values has been so damaging, & what they need do to recover their standing in the scientific community. occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2026/...
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Invoker Commands feel like something the platform should have had decades ago. Comparing its functionality to how we traditionally have to toggle a dialog makes current practice seem straight-up absurd. dbushell.com/2026/02/12/d...
Declarative Dialog Menu with Invoker Commands
The one where I unpack the new CSS behind my menu
dbushell.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Invoker Commands feel like something the platform should have had decades ago. Comparing its functionality to how we traditionally have to toggle a dialog makes current practice seem straight-up absurd. dbushell.com/2026/02/12/d...
Haha! “We don’t have the capacity to support more than two colours right now.” 🤡
Thought y’all would enjoy.
Yesterday over on x:
They removed dim mode because the overhead of CSS variables was too much
AI will skip coding and write binaries directly by end of year
Yesterday over on x:
They removed dim mode because the overhead of CSS variables was too much
AI will skip coding and write binaries directly by end of year
February 12, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Haha! “We don’t have the capacity to support more than two colours right now.” 🤡
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
I sketchnoted a fantastic presentation and live demo of the King Athelstan VR & AI project. Dr Jarek Francik showcased how VR, AI and sound are being used to bring history to life in immersive new ways.
#VR #AI #DigitalHeritage #CreativeTechnology #Sketchnotes
#VR #AI #DigitalHeritage #CreativeTechnology #Sketchnotes
February 12, 2026 at 10:40 AM
I sketchnoted a fantastic presentation and live demo of the King Athelstan VR & AI project. Dr Jarek Francik showcased how VR, AI and sound are being used to bring history to life in immersive new ways.
#VR #AI #DigitalHeritage #CreativeTechnology #Sketchnotes
#VR #AI #DigitalHeritage #CreativeTechnology #Sketchnotes
We’re expanding the Oxford RSE group. The deadline for applications is tomorrow.
Any prior experience working with frontend/backend web development, machine learning, or high performance computing would be desirable, as would any experience designing or delivering training courses.
Any prior experience working with frontend/backend web development, machine learning, or high performance computing would be desirable, as would any experience designing or delivering training courses.
Come and work with me! We’re looking for a Research Software Engineer to join the Oxford RSE group. Deadline 13th February.
https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk/vacancies
https://www.rse.ox.ac.uk/vacancies
Vacancies
www.rse.ox.ac.uk
February 12, 2026 at 10:42 AM
We’re expanding the Oxford RSE group. The deadline for applications is tomorrow.
Any prior experience working with frontend/backend web development, machine learning, or high performance computing would be desirable, as would any experience designing or delivering training courses.
Any prior experience working with frontend/backend web development, machine learning, or high performance computing would be desirable, as would any experience designing or delivering training courses.
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
What's so amazing about Jim Henson as a puppeteer is that he could literally be explaining that Kermit is made out of felt and ping pong balls and yet Kermit still feels alive the whole time he's doing it
February 11, 2026 at 10:03 PM
What's so amazing about Jim Henson as a puppeteer is that he could literally be explaining that Kermit is made out of felt and ping pong balls and yet Kermit still feels alive the whole time he's doing it
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Wishcessibility - Nic Chan
No recycling was contaminated in the creation of this post.
www.nicchan.me
February 10, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
It’s been raining for longer than Liz Truss was Prime Minister.
February 12, 2026 at 7:50 AM
It’s been raining for longer than Liz Truss was Prime Minister.
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
The open source design stack if you are tired of every design tool ridding the AI slope, or just need open source alternatives, here is a goldmine of open source alternatives for research, prototyping and collaboration, with Penpot and HTML/CSS at the heart of a saner design stack. By Scott Riley
The open source design stack
Scott Riley tested free and open source design tools out when researching his course, Mindful Design. They actually worked out better than Figma ever could, as he explains in this article with loads of options for you.
piccalil.li
February 12, 2026 at 8:30 AM
The open source design stack if you are tired of every design tool ridding the AI slope, or just need open source alternatives, here is a goldmine of open source alternatives for research, prototyping and collaboration, with Penpot and HTML/CSS at the heart of a saner design stack. By Scott Riley
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
Some guy on BBC News just described parking one of your warships next to a foreign country as ‘a new form of coercive diplomacy’ and c’mon, lads, do you have any history books at the BBC??
February 11, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Some guy on BBC News just described parking one of your warships next to a foreign country as ‘a new form of coercive diplomacy’ and c’mon, lads, do you have any history books at the BBC??
Reposted by Evil Jim O’Donnell
In a touching tribute to his mentor, Morgan McSweeney has resigned in disgrace.
February 8, 2026 at 2:46 PM
In a touching tribute to his mentor, Morgan McSweeney has resigned in disgrace.