Robin Z
@firepile.bsky.social
Professor, Philosopher, Cognitive Scientist, 4e Cognition and Artificial Intelligence; Science Fiction Fan, Cyborgologist, Retired Knitter, Comic Book Reader, 4ad records fanatic. Wanna see me nerd out about music stuff? @musicephemera.bsky.social
Pinned
Robin Z
@firepile.bsky.social
· Jan 9
Rocket just wants to have a talk about your attitude. She isn't mad, she's just disappointed.
Guy who appears in the Epstein files 38,000 times is worried about kids seeing dancing at the superbowl.
February 9, 2026 at 4:56 AM
Guy who appears in the Epstein files 38,000 times is worried about kids seeing dancing at the superbowl.
Reposted by Robin Z
jack asked if i would sketch up a poster to tell people in nearby neighborhoods about the partnership between flock and ring, and this is what i came up with. it can be printed on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper.
![YOUR RING CAMERA IS AN ICE AGENT
[a drawing of a ring camera with an ice agent dragging a person away in its field of vision]
"In October of 2025, Amazon's Ring announced its partnership with FLOCK, an A.I. surveillance group that freely shares its footage with ICE, the secret service, and the navy. Flock customers can use A.I. tools to sift through footage to assist in all manner of operations (like raids and deportations) without a warrant. Unplug Ring! Melt ICE! Protect your neighbors!
See: https://blog.ring.com/about-ring/ring-expands-community-requests-to-additional-community-safety-partners/
https://www.404media.co/ice-secret-service-navy-all-had-access-to-flocks-nationwide-network-of-cameras/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9MwZkHiMQ
https://www.aclum.org/campaigns-initiatives/get-the-flock-out-resource-guide/](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:p2aefnvhb3zmkrazk67dppxw/bafkreic7teyeocg7k5qcqxnc666k7clyiislh2zfi6iopcz6fs3e3lt6xy@jpeg)
January 19, 2026 at 8:15 PM
jack asked if i would sketch up a poster to tell people in nearby neighborhoods about the partnership between flock and ring, and this is what i came up with. it can be printed on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper.
Reposted by Robin Z
Next time somebody tries to get me to justify the existence of the humanities, I’ll just point out how for the past two Super Bowls we’ve all jumped online and engaged in collective semiotics and hermeneutics of the half-time show as text.
February 9, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Next time somebody tries to get me to justify the existence of the humanities, I’ll just point out how for the past two Super Bowls we’ve all jumped online and engaged in collective semiotics and hermeneutics of the half-time show as text.
Update: once again I have radically disappointed my dog who stole food from the table only to rediscover we are still vegetarians and fried tofu still isn't steak.
This is the second time we've ever watched football and the dog really loves how many snacks are involved and really isn't interested in the sports themselves. She learned it by watching me.
February 9, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Update: once again I have radically disappointed my dog who stole food from the table only to rediscover we are still vegetarians and fried tofu still isn't steak.
Reposted by Robin Z
If this halftime show doesn’t make Stephen miller wade into the sea
February 9, 2026 at 1:30 AM
If this halftime show doesn’t make Stephen miller wade into the sea
"Is it Rocket's turn for snacks?"/ "You didn't give me enough snacks"
February 9, 2026 at 12:53 AM
"Is it Rocket's turn for snacks?"/ "You didn't give me enough snacks"
This is the second time we've ever watched football and the dog really loves how many snacks are involved and really isn't interested in the sports themselves. She learned it by watching me.
February 9, 2026 at 12:29 AM
This is the second time we've ever watched football and the dog really loves how many snacks are involved and really isn't interested in the sports themselves. She learned it by watching me.
Just typoed the word 'dog' and if that wasn't bad enough I typoed it as 'dong' so having a great, adult, professional kind of day
February 8, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Just typoed the word 'dog' and if that wasn't bad enough I typoed it as 'dong' so having a great, adult, professional kind of day
Reposted by Robin Z
Me, shopping at the book store: "excuse me, sir? which of these books was written the fastest? I'm looking for a book with as little thought and effort put into it as possible."
“If I can generate a book in a day, and you need six months to write a book, who’s going to win the race?” God this is bleak
The New Fabio Is Claude
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Me, shopping at the book store: "excuse me, sir? which of these books was written the fastest? I'm looking for a book with as little thought and effort put into it as possible."
Rocket says goodnight, sleep well, she'll probably kill you in the morning
February 8, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Rocket says goodnight, sleep well, she'll probably kill you in the morning
Reposted by Robin Z
Many of your favs hang out at this bar
Substack is making money from newsletters promoting “virulent Nazi ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism”
One, NatSocToday has 2,800 subscribers, charges $80, and describes Hitler as “one of the greatest men of all time”.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
One, NatSocToday has 2,800 subscribers, charges $80, and describes Hitler as “one of the greatest men of all time”.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
February 8, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Many of your favs hang out at this bar
Oh man, this one hurts.
Are there moral limits to advancing a research career?
"Antonio Damasio..the director of USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute approached Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 and asked the convicted child sex offender to fund robotics neuroscience research"
#AcademicSky
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/02/02/u...
"Antonio Damasio..the director of USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute approached Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 and asked the convicted child sex offender to fund robotics neuroscience research"
#AcademicSky
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/02/02/u...
February 8, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Oh man, this one hurts.
Reposted by Robin Z
We have another exciting CFP! "Noisy Systems: Aesthetics, Epistemology & Computation examines noise across technical, social, and cultural domains, bringing together machine learning, critical AI studies, media theory and archaeology, art history, philosophy, and practice-based research."
Call for PapersNoisy Systems: Aesthetics, Epistemology, and Computation
Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Villino Stroganoff, Via Gregoriana 22, 00187 Rome, and online (Zoom), 4th and 5th June 2026
www.biblhertz.it
February 6, 2026 at 8:22 PM
We have another exciting CFP! "Noisy Systems: Aesthetics, Epistemology & Computation examines noise across technical, social, and cultural domains, bringing together machine learning, critical AI studies, media theory and archaeology, art history, philosophy, and practice-based research."
You know you're in too deep to academia when the psych department schedules a community brunch for our departments during the superbowl and zero people notice
February 7, 2026 at 4:04 PM
You know you're in too deep to academia when the psych department schedules a community brunch for our departments during the superbowl and zero people notice
4! coyotes roaming my yard this morning. They usually have the decency to hide their numbers. Rocket was Not Amused.
February 7, 2026 at 3:24 PM
4! coyotes roaming my yard this morning. They usually have the decency to hide their numbers. Rocket was Not Amused.
Vegas will take anyone but they won't take this nazi.
February 6, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Vegas will take anyone but they won't take this nazi.
I'm glad it's Friday because today I made my AI students be Turing Machines in learning how to read machine tables and I think if they didn't have the weekend to cool off they might murder me about it 😅
February 6, 2026 at 8:59 PM
I'm glad it's Friday because today I made my AI students be Turing Machines in learning how to read machine tables and I think if they didn't have the weekend to cool off they might murder me about it 😅
Reposted by Robin Z
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
It's so anti-social, too! Like, no one thinks everyone needs to be the best at 100% of activities?? The whole idea of a society is distribution of skills so together we can all get what we need. How is GenAI doing anything to help anyone in that scenario?
If you believe genAI use is justified because art is gatekept by the talented, I have bad news for you: it IS gatekept, but not by artists. It’s gatekept by YOU for being too lazy or insecure to be bad at something and learn
February 6, 2026 at 7:04 PM
It's so anti-social, too! Like, no one thinks everyone needs to be the best at 100% of activities?? The whole idea of a society is distribution of skills so together we can all get what we need. How is GenAI doing anything to help anyone in that scenario?
Bikini Kill + Bandcamp Friday = ALWAYS money for good causes
Good morning West Coast darlings! We are raising funds today for rent relief for families in East St Paul, MN who have been impacted by the federal government's siege there. We have a brand new, limited edition shirt available TODAY ONLY for it. bikinikill.bandcamp.com/merch/limite...
February 6, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Bikini Kill + Bandcamp Friday = ALWAYS money for good causes
Reposted by Robin Z
I am a physical media type girl and tend not to buy digial-only releases, but this Bandcamp Friday might I recommend a few new things in case digital is your bag (1/4)
February 6, 2026 at 2:33 PM
I am a physical media type girl and tend not to buy digial-only releases, but this Bandcamp Friday might I recommend a few new things in case digital is your bag (1/4)
Reposted by Robin Z
The NYT finally covered the Trump racist video and they made it a point to tell us that Trump probably doesn't know it's racist, this is quite literally the opposite of a news publication
Even when they do, meekly and without a byline, cover it, they include insulting hedging language like “maybe Trump didn’t know it was racist” as if we were all born yesterday because they are abject cowards afraid of their own shadows.
February 6, 2026 at 1:07 PM
The NYT finally covered the Trump racist video and they made it a point to tell us that Trump probably doesn't know it's racist, this is quite literally the opposite of a news publication
Happy Bandcamp Friday, for those who celebrate
February 6, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Happy Bandcamp Friday, for those who celebrate
Reposted by Robin Z
If you’re not following the case of Steven Feldman, AI Lawyer, your missing out
Hey, so, I don’t do civil litigation, is it generally considered good when the judge does this?
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
![Case 1:24-CV-09429-KPF Document 227 Filed 02/05/26 Page 2 of 33
Feldman [wals not excused from this professional obligation [of verifying that the cases he submitted to the Court were valid] by dint of using emerging
technology." (Dkt. #169 at 4).
Mr. Feldman persisted. A few days prior to the Court's hearing on the
Order to Show Cause, Mr. Feldman submitted a proposed reply brief in further support of Affable's motion to dismiss. Once again, his brief contained false citations. And at the August 22, 2025 hearing, Mr. Feldman was unable to respond directly to, much less answer, the Court's questioning about his
submissions.
Mr. Feldman has not, and apparently cannot, learn from his mistakes.
And while the Court does not oppose the use of Al to assist in legal research
and writing, it must take a stand where, as here, counsel repeatedly files
submissions with false citations because counsel refuses to verify those
submissions. This Court can do no more. For the reasons that follow, the
Court sanctions Mr. Feldman pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11
and the Court's inherent powers by striking Affable's submissions and entering
default judgment against it.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ssxnmhdtz6le6nxu7jfhglz6/bafkreigeefuabd636ruucelhxav3v3p43dezhotggrwlgjgsev2z2ggev4@jpeg)
February 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
If you’re not following the case of Steven Feldman, AI Lawyer, your missing out