Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting! The ospreys I’ve been watching (from a distance) all season left weeks ago. I think they left early last year, too. And driving to southwestern Ont 2 weeks ago we saw lots of hawks riding the thermals, including at least 1 kettle, so on their way south, I think.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 1d

My limited store of native tact and patience is rapidly depleting as I read more and more nonsense from the “AI” (I.e., LLM) carnival barkers.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 1d

Boohoo to the AI industry. If your industry can’t prosper without widespread theft, then you don’t have a viable business model. You could fix that.

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 2d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 1d

Oh FFS! Are people complete idiots that they take this nonsense seriously?

Esther Schindler @estherschindler.bsky.social · 1d

"The bots silently record everything, create transcripts, and summarize meetings for the humans who couldn't — or wouldn't — attend themselves. The trend has created bizarre new etiquette problems."

AI note-takers are flooding virtual meetings

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan envisions AI "digital twins" replacing humans in future meetings. But experts warn about information overload and the implications of perfect digital memory.

boingboing.net

Reposted by Fiona Charles

Peggy Blair @peggyblair.bsky.social · 1d

Hey self-published CDN mystery authors -- did you get a new book out this year? You may be eligible for the Toby Award? Check out the criteria at tobyaward.wordpress.com!

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 5d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 3d

Greta Thunberg: "I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment. Trust me. But that is not the story. What happened here was Israel… continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an...

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 2d

Tis the season for orb weaver spiders to appear in the garden. This lovely spun her web under an outdoor light, making a night pic possible.

Handsome brown spider with a large dark-coloured abdomen with 2 black spots, positioned in the centre of a classic (though with a few breaks) spider web over a red brick wall.

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Gerald Butts @gmbutts.bsky.social · 3d

Perfect cartoon.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, indeed. Recommend reading this linked post also joanna-bryson.blogspot.com/2025/02/gene... where Professor Bryson says what really needs to be said about AI and agency.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 3d

It’s 21 here—insane, but we might as well get outside and enjoy it! 2 years ago we swam happily in Lake Ontario until Oct 15. I think we could again, but we’re fighting off colds. Great tree colour here, too.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 3d

www.404media.co/libraries-ca...

Libraries Can’t Get Their Loaned Books Back Because of Trump’s Tariffs

Libraries have shared their collections internationally for decades. Trump’s tariffs are throwing that system into chaos and can ‘hinder academic progress.’

www.404media.co

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 4d

Wow, huge skeins of snow geese flying over the house this morning: 4 in a couple of minutes. Winter is coming, even though it’s shirts & t-shirt weather this morning.

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Frames @oxinabox.bsky.social · 5d

as a girl with a PhD in natural language processing and machine learning it's actually offensive to me when you say "we don't know how LLMs work so they might be conscious"

I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge.

We know exactly how LLMs work.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 4d

Scary story, where men (mostly) mold their AI “lovers” with attributes like “submissive: obedient, yielding and happy to follow”, “innocent: optimistic, naive, and sees world with wonder”, and “caregiver: nurturing, protective and always there to offer comfort”.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘Obedient, yielding and happy to follow’: the troubling rise of AI girlfriends

AI dating sites claim they remove potential for exploitation, but critics say they are reinforcing harmful stereotypes

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 4d

Spectacular googly-eyed octopus does battle with a lobster in this 2,000 year-old Roman mosaic from Pompeii! 🐙 🦞

Fantastic fishy onlookers too! 👀

From the House of the Geometric Mosaics. Now at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.
📷 by me

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology

My photo shows a polychrome mosaic depicting Mediterranean marine life using earthy-coloured tesserae (mosaic tiles) against a black tessarae background. At the centre of the mosaic is a pale-coloured octopus composed of off-white and light brown tesserae with some of its writhing tentacles wrapped around the body of a lobster composed of light red, and pinky-brown tesserae. The octopus has an egg shaped body/head and it stares at the viewer with large eyes made of brown and pink circles with black centres.

The octopus and lobster are surrounded by various species of large and small Mediterranean fish and a mollusc, including an eel and a flat fish. On the left hand side of the scene there is a small kingfisher bird on top of a rock. Some of the fish appear to be watching the fight between the octopus and the lobster

This mosaic comes from the House of the Geometric Mosaics in Pompeii. Now on display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Julie S. Lalonde @julieslalonde.bsky.social · 6d

When I tell people I teach bystander intervention for a living, people are often aghast. "People are gonna get hurt! Isn't it always too dangerous?"

They never think about those who are *saved* from harm because of the bravery of bystanders.

Calling an ambulance *is* bystander intervention!

After a stranger helped him survive a heart attack, social media lets Toronto man say thanks | CBC News

Two weeks ago, Brijesh Patel had a heart attack in Liberty Village. A stranger helped him call EMS and comforted him until the ambulance arrived. Hoping to track down and thank the stranger, Patel and...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 8d

Demo on Saturday. Take to the streets. It’s the only way. Same will be done for the bike lanes when the time comes.

Friends and Families for Safe Streets @ffsafestreets.bsky.social · 10d

📢DIRECT ACTION ALERT! SHARE WIDELY!
Join us to "circle the strollers" around the speed camera at Bloor and Dundas to protest our Premier's reckless attack on road safety. Tens of thousands of kids will be defenseless against speeding drivers in school zones!!
More info: www.ffsafestreets.ca/events

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 7d

Any time you hear “common sense reforms” from a politician, you know they’re tossing out essential protections for everything you hold dear. Ford is the embodiment of greed and thuggery. Astonishing that Ontario voters keep giving him majorities.

Ricochet Media @ricochetmedia.bsky.social · 8d

Doug Ford’s ‘common-sense conservation’ is a fast track to extinction, experts warn.

The #Ontario government has gutted protections for endangered species to pave the way for a ‘wild west’ of unchecked development.

New from @xavierrichervis.bsky.social:

ricochet.media/climate/doug...

#onpoli

Doug Ford’s 'common-sense conservation' is a fast track to extinction, experts warn

With Bill 5, the Ontario government has gutted protections for endangered species and wetlands, dismantling decades of work to pave the way for a ‘wild west’ of unchecked development

ricochet.media

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 8d

Dogs and drones: how scientists are saving Washington’s endangered orcas

Experts are finding new and more humane ways to protect the last 74 southern resident killer whales

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 8d

My columns can be depressing, I know -- so today I wrote about someone who is pure uplift and utter inspiration. She's a reminder of the power of educating girls: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o... Chantale Zuzi, you go, girl!

Opinion | One Girl’s Journey After Her Grandma Said to Kill Her

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 9d

If you think this is US-only, it's not.

If you think the GDPR protects you, it's doesn't.

If you hadn't realised privacy is a national security and corporate espionage issue, it is.

If you think politicians can't tackle this, they can.

If you believe that tech or business need this, they don't.

michael veale @michae.lv · 9d

Either real-time bidding data or app SDK data is being bought and used by ICE to seize people from the streets. If you didn’t believe that the adtech stack is a human rights concern, I’m not sure what more evidence you need. www.404media.co/ice-to-buy-t...

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day

Documents show that ICE has gone back on its decision to not use location data remotely harvested from peoples' phones. The database is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data.

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 9d

nah

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10d

It’s time to prepare for AI personhood | Jacy Reese Anthis

Technological advances will bring social upheaval. How will we treat digital minds, and how will they treat us?

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Fiona Charles

Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 9d

The basic infrastructures that allow women to be participants in public life—birth control & abortion access, no fault divorce, childcare access & affordability, civil rights law in employment and public accommodations, the minimal efforts to mitigate sexual and domestic violence—are all crumbling.

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Fiona Charles @fionaccharles.bsky.social · 9d

www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
It seems that a lot of lawyers don’t know LLMs can fabricate citations. Given widespread coverage of “hallucinations” in MSM, how can highly educated officers of the court be so naive?

18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It

Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.

www.404media.co

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