Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Superbloom @superbloom.design · 4d

🚀 Up to €158K in funding for open-source software in the public interest!

The Prototype Fund backs solo devs & small teams (max 4 ppl) working on civic tech, infrastructure, or infosec.

🗓️ Apply by Nov 30, 2025
🔓 Must be open source
🌍 EU-based teams welcome

1 2 2

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · 12d

The Brick Hero Case is a lightweight travel case for Legos. Great details like no-spill mesh pocket, integrated baseplate, 2-way zipper.

This genius thing fills a gap in any #lego family's life. It's my friend's invention, it's NOT a crowdfund, they're here and you can buy one! brickherocase.com

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · 12d

Vibe coding has come to civic tech.

And the problem isn't bad code: it's the assumptions that your average vibe coder is making. Read on @civictechguide.bsky.social mailchi.mp/civictech/vi...

Vibe coding has come to civic tech

mailchi.mp

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · 12d

This is a hell of a barely legal opt-out from ClaudeAI.

First, you should not have to opt out, you should have to opt in.

Second, that gray check is really trying its hardest to conceal that it's actually a "yes."

#deceptivedesign #darkpatterns #uidesign #genaisucks

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Jul 16

I don’t even know how to describe the weight and joy and depth of human connection I feel when I hear the beep-beep of a high or low blood sugar alarm … and it’s actually NOT my kid, it’s someone else. Signals in space, a message that we aren’t alone. #diabetes #t1d

3

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Jun 20

And “Good Week” this week goes to ME because I just joined @europeanspod.bsky.social on Patreon. You gotta check this one out: passionate, joyful, nerdy news and takes from all across Europe. The theme music (techno Götterfunken with sheep bleating) sets the tone - and that’s just the beginning.

2

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · Jun 19

'Meredith,' some guys ask, 'why won't you shove AI into Signal?'

Because we love privacy, and we love you, and this shit is predictable and unacceptable. Use Signal ❤️

Guardian headline saying, "‘It’s terrifying’: WhatsApp AI helper mistakenly shares user’s number
Chatbot tries to change subject after serving up unrelated user’s mobile to man asking for rail firm helpline"

75 1.4K 6.4K

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

That Anonymous Coward @thatac.bsky.social · Jun 20

@anildash.com

You brought this on yourself.
Now when I come across Prince related things you get a ping...
thems the rules.

Photograph of a meme.
The meme shows a printed sign with a rainbow border. Inside the border is a blue square with Prince's symbol in white, and the words "GENDER NEUTRAL" in black.
The text above the sign reads, "debating whether I should explain to my cis boss that this is in fact not the preferred symbol for trans inclusivity but very much the symbol representing the artist formerly known as Prince".
The text below the sign reads, "Me: Don't tell him."

1 15 120

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Jun 20

Everyone needs to know that this happened and understand why: if you ask an AI chatbot for a certain phone number, the only thing you're guaranteed is a phone-number-shaped object.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · Jun 17

(sliding out from under The Gyre on a mechanic's creeper, covered in grease) okay, bad news

17 120 730

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Dr. Kate Ward @thekateward.bsky.social · Jun 15

Trinity Sunday on Father's Day, is there nothing that's just for men anymore 😭

1 7

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Jun 13

When is it legal for CA law enforcement to use tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray for crowd control? A flowchart explainer from @afsc-org.bsky.social. Please share!

afsc.org/california-s...

Visual flowchart showing when it is legal for California law enforcement to use "less lethal" weapons. I don't feel comfortable capturing flowchart legal advice in paragraph form - please check out the link and read the text there, thank you!

1 1 8

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Jun 12

Because Black people know that there is no such thing as “identification” or “identifying yourself”. They aren’t saying Padilla didn’t identify himself as a U.S. Senator. They are saying that there is only one acceptable identity — credential — being white and, in these times, being pro-Trump.

15 1.2K 4.6K

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

drewtoothpaste @drewtoothpaste.bsky.social · May 12

the AI companies made apps that trick dumb people into thinking the app is smart and creative, while smart people aren't fooled. this would have been a fatal mistake, if it weren't for the fact that every venture capital investor and every manager is a dumb guy

4 120 510

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · May 12

"AI makes me so much more efficient" - the least productive person you know

4 63 430

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

drewtoothpaste @drewtoothpaste.bsky.social · Jan 22

no it doesn't! falling sucks!!!!!!!

33 480 2.8K

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · May 22

stateofaidesign.com/

I don't see anything in this whole damn 39 pages, even from Heads of Design, that says, "AI improves the ACTUAL QUALITY of our ACTUAL WORK." Isn't that weird???? I think that's super weird.

State of AI in Design Report 2025

The State of AI in Design report is a collaboration between Foundation Capital and Designer Fund that explores how AI is changing the way design teams work, including adoption patterns, pain points, a...

stateofaidesign.com

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Alex Kirshner @alexkirshner.com · May 16

this is a letter to the editor from a high school track runner who came in second to a trans girl in a race. her state house rep in maine started talking about it. so she wrote this: www.pressherald.com/2025/05/14/r...

Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, recently used my second-place finish in the 1,600-meter run, and that of my teammate in the 800-meter run, to malign Soren Stark-Chessa, the trans-identified athlete who finished first.

One of the reasons I chose to run cross-country and track is the community: Teammates cheering each other on, athletes from different schools coming together, and the fact that personal improvement is valued as much as, if not more than, the place we finish.

Last Friday, I ran the fastest 1,600-meter race I have ever run in middle school or high school track and earned varsity status by my school’s standards. I am extremely proud of the effort I put into the race and the time that I achieved. The fact that someone else finished in front of me didn’t diminish the happiness I felt after finishing that race. I don’t feel like first place was taken from me. Instead, I feel like a happy day was turned ugly by a bully who is using children to make political points.

We are all just kids trying to make our way through high school. Participating in sports is the highlight of high school for some kids. No one was harmed by Soren’s participation in the girls’ track meet, but we are all harmed by the hateful rhetoric of bullies, like Rep. Libby, who want to take sports away from some kids just because of who they are.

Anelise Feldman
Freshman, Yarmouth High School
Yarmouth

360 10K 32K

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Jason @jxsxpx.bsky.social · May 11

“Ethically rather mean-spirited” has aged like the finest wine as a critique of the material and its creator

Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · May 11

Remember that time Ursula K. Leguin called JK Rowling a basic ass nasty bitch?

7 320 1.3K

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · May 12

I just cut out a bag even though I don’t need a bag, because I’m so excited to sew a bag with it! I’m upgrading from a secondhand Singer - not vintage, not all-metal, just used ca. 2000s - that I was ready to throw out the window. So, HUGE difference.

1

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · May 11

I just got one too! How is it, a month in? I was sold when I saw it breeze over 12 layers of denim in the store. 🤩

1

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · May 6

anybody got a compilation of the worst of "New Journaling Suggestion"? I know I've seen a lot of them on here

Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · May 6

Getting absolutely bodied by the built-in iPhone journaling app today

New Journaling Suggestion
"Afternoon outing to Taco Bell". Take some time to write.
now

1

Reposted by Molly Clare Wilson

Taylor Lorenz @taylorlorenz.bsky.social · Apr 30

Israeli forces have now dropped more explosives in Gaza than fell on London, Dresden, and Hamburg during the Second World War. The region’s hospitals have not been spared; most are no longer functional. Clayton Dalton writes about the devastation.

The Last Hospitals in Gaza

In the ruins of a health-care system, many medical facilities have become graveyards. Doctors continue to deliver lifesaving care—but they risk their own lives in the process.

www.newyorker.com

12 190 460

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Apr 27

Flora (3): I’m tired. I need a break. (Starts hopping around rhythmically from side to side and touching the ground)

Me: I thought you were tired?

Flora: I am. I’m taking a break. So I’m break dancing.

3

Molly Clare Wilson @itsmollyclare.bsky.social · Apr 24

Me: What are you drawing?
Flora: A sauna.
Me: Oh! … Do you know what a sauna is?
Flora: I do not.