Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
@kconrad.bsky.social
Prof. of English at University of Kansas. Tech and culture. AI ethics. Critical AI literacy. Pandora’s Bot on Substack. Library of Babel Group. Zine publisher. #aiethics #criticalailiteracy
Pinned
Just a reminder to consider the Library of Babel Group. We have projects afoot and opportunities to network with like-minded folks. www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
“In its discussions with government officials, Anthropic representatives raised concerns that its tools could be used to spy on Americans or assist weapons targeting without sufficient human oversight, some of the sources told Reuters.”
Exclusive: Pentagon clashes with Anthropic over military AI use, sources say
The Pentagon is at odds with artificial-intelligence developer Anthropic over safeguards that would prevent the government from deploying its technology to target weapons autonomously and conduct U.S....
www.reuters.com
February 2, 2026 at 5:28 PM
“In its discussions with government officials, Anthropic representatives raised concerns that its tools could be used to spy on Americans or assist weapons targeting without sufficient human oversight, some of the sources told Reuters.”
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
With news today about a surge in gas-fired power generation for data centers and AI, here's an occasional reminder that I maintain Against AI and Its Environmental Harms, an open library with journalism, peer-reviewed research, and other media for teaching: pad.riseup.net/p/Against_AI...
January 30, 2026 at 12:20 AM
With news today about a surge in gas-fired power generation for data centers and AI, here's an occasional reminder that I maintain Against AI and Its Environmental Harms, an open library with journalism, peer-reviewed research, and other media for teaching: pad.riseup.net/p/Against_AI...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
College approached and paid student to write op-ed in The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth ran the article on Nov. 17 without knowledge that the College had been involved.
www.thedartmouth.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:40 PM
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Just a reminder to consider the Library of Babel Group. We have projects afoot and opportunities to network with like-minded folks. www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
December 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Just a reminder to consider the Library of Babel Group. We have projects afoot and opportunities to network with like-minded folks. www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Let them eat slop
We want to make sure tutoring isn't the preserve of a lucky few, but accessible to every child who needs it.
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
Poorest pupils to be given AI tutors
Bridget Phillipson says tuition would no longer be the preserve of ‘the lucky few’
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Let them eat slop
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Pygmalion Displacement:
9) Social bonding: Do the users and/or creators of the AI develop interpersonal-like relationships with it?
10) Psychological service: Does the AI function to subserve and enhance the egos of its creators and/or users?
PDF: doi.org/10.31235/osf... @spookyachu.bsky.social
9) Social bonding: Do the users and/or creators of the AI develop interpersonal-like relationships with it?
10) Psychological service: Does the AI function to subserve and enhance the egos of its creators and/or users?
PDF: doi.org/10.31235/osf... @spookyachu.bsky.social
January 29, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Pygmalion Displacement:
9) Social bonding: Do the users and/or creators of the AI develop interpersonal-like relationships with it?
10) Psychological service: Does the AI function to subserve and enhance the egos of its creators and/or users?
PDF: doi.org/10.31235/osf... @spookyachu.bsky.social
9) Social bonding: Do the users and/or creators of the AI develop interpersonal-like relationships with it?
10) Psychological service: Does the AI function to subserve and enhance the egos of its creators and/or users?
PDF: doi.org/10.31235/osf... @spookyachu.bsky.social
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Hey so here's a little retrospective on Google's fall visit to my campus. open.substack.com/pub/kconrad/...
When Google brought its monorail to my campus
Plus some things to ask when they come to yours
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Hey so here's a little retrospective on Google's fall visit to my campus. open.substack.com/pub/kconrad/...
Hey so here's a little retrospective on Google's fall visit to my campus. open.substack.com/pub/kconrad/...
When Google brought its monorail to my campus
Plus some things to ask when they come to yours
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Hey so here's a little retrospective on Google's fall visit to my campus. open.substack.com/pub/kconrad/...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
"AI didn't just increase its footprint in Washington in 2025. It ate tech lobbying whole." www.axios.com/2026/01/23/a...
January 24, 2026 at 2:16 PM
"AI didn't just increase its footprint in Washington in 2025. It ate tech lobbying whole." www.axios.com/2026/01/23/a...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Since 2020, electricity prices have increased by an average of 40 percent across the country. But the rise in costs hasn’t affected each type of user equally.
An unusual disconnect is emerging between what regular people pay — and what data centers pay. https://wapo.st/49A1v25
An unusual disconnect is emerging between what regular people pay — and what data centers pay. https://wapo.st/49A1v25
January 22, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
What is wild to me is the defense, BY THE NEURIPS BOARD, that fabricated citations do not mean "the content of the papers themselves [is] necessarily invalidated"
It does. It very much does. What do you think citing other work is for? What do you think writing a paper is for? What do you *think*?
It does. It very much does. What do you think citing other work is for? What do you think writing a paper is for? What do you *think*?
NEW: NeurIPS,one of the world’s top academic AI conferences, accepted research papers with 100+ AI-hallucinated citations, new report claims
fortune.com/2026/01/21/n...
fortune.com/2026/01/21/n...
NeurIPS papers contained 100+ AI-hallucinated citations, new report claims | Fortune
An analysis of NeurIPS 2025 papers by startup GPTZero reveals how AI-generated citations are slipping into elite academic research.
fortune.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:34 PM
What is wild to me is the defense, BY THE NEURIPS BOARD, that fabricated citations do not mean "the content of the papers themselves [is] necessarily invalidated"
It does. It very much does. What do you think citing other work is for? What do you think writing a paper is for? What do you *think*?
It does. It very much does. What do you think citing other work is for? What do you think writing a paper is for? What do you *think*?
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
"Drawing on a 20.3-million-query audit of ChatGPT, we map systematic biases in the model's representations of countries, states, cities, and neighbourhoods. From these empirics, we argue that bias is not a correctable anomaly but an intrinsic feature of generative AI”.
ht: Dagmar Monett
ht: Dagmar Monett
The silicon gaze: A typology of biases and inequality in LLMs through the lens of place - Francisco W. Kerche, Matthew Zook, Mark Graham, 2026
This paper introduces the concept of the silicon gaze to explain how large language models (LLMs) reproduce and amplify long-standing spatial inequalities. Draw...
journals.sagepub.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:15 AM
"Drawing on a 20.3-million-query audit of ChatGPT, we map systematic biases in the model's representations of countries, states, cities, and neighbourhoods. From these empirics, we argue that bias is not a correctable anomaly but an intrinsic feature of generative AI”.
ht: Dagmar Monett
ht: Dagmar Monett
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Democratic accountability requires following power where it moves. Traditional mechanisms—public notice, comment, judicial review—were designed for formal rulemaking. We now need accountability frameworks that cut through the mirage of AI deregulation.
January 15, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Democratic accountability requires following power where it moves. Traditional mechanisms—public notice, comment, judicial review—were designed for formal rulemaking. We now need accountability frameworks that cut through the mirage of AI deregulation.
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
#ai companies have been steadily moving into schools across North America in the last year.
They are spending millions of dollars on advertising.
Parents often don't know the negative effects of AI, and educators are being told to use it by administrators blown away by slick presentations.
1/2
They are spending millions of dollars on advertising.
Parents often don't know the negative effects of AI, and educators are being told to use it by administrators blown away by slick presentations.
1/2
January 5, 2026 at 2:12 AM
#ai companies have been steadily moving into schools across North America in the last year.
They are spending millions of dollars on advertising.
Parents often don't know the negative effects of AI, and educators are being told to use it by administrators blown away by slick presentations.
1/2
They are spending millions of dollars on advertising.
Parents often don't know the negative effects of AI, and educators are being told to use it by administrators blown away by slick presentations.
1/2
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
I had to send an email to my kid's teacher. Thankfully they weren't having the kids interact with it directly but I was still furious
I ended up drafting an email that didn't really lean on research specific to grade school education, but expressed my concerns in the most basic terms.
I removed the personal details and have shared it as a template here for folks who might find it useful:
bit.ly/TeacherEmail...
I removed the personal details and have shared it as a template here for folks who might find it useful:
bit.ly/TeacherEmail...
![Dear [TEACHER],
I want to make sure we're on the same page for the rest of the year, because I was surprised and disappointed to hear that you uploaded student projects to ChatGPT.
We have always found [SCHOOL] to be a place that encourages students to express themselves creatively, to be responsible and aware of how their actions affect others, and to be intellectually honest – doing their own work, rather than copying from others.
I know ChatGPT has been heavily marketed as an educational tool, but everything about it is the opposite of those values. AI tools are built by training models on stolen work. They have huge and terrible environmental costs, because their data centers generate enormous amounts of pollution and are cooled with drinking water. They're also incredibly dangerous: tools like ChatGPT have taught children how to start fires and even encouraged them to commit suicide.
And in a classroom setting, it teaches students that a machine can express their ideas better than they can. I told [ CHILD ] I was interested in seeing what they had to draw, and my heart sank when they told me "but I can't draw that pretty." Children deserve to draw what they imagine.
These environmental, ethical, and pedagogical concerns are why I don't want [ CHILD ] to use AI tools (or for you to use them on their behalf). For the same reasons, I respectfully ask that you stop using them in your classroom.
If you do plan to use AI this year, please send home a permission slip requesting consent. There are important privacy concerns when you upload student work into a for-profit service like ChatGPT.
Thank you,
[ PARENT ]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c2xl6zaxo623jzbjb43urymd/bafkreiesldew7oebm4hg2gymd4cftvwmrpbdw6m7eil2buiphw7db4ror4@jpeg)
January 6, 2026 at 10:17 PM
I had to send an email to my kid's teacher. Thankfully they weren't having the kids interact with it directly but I was still furious
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Seems like only a few years ago this type of thing was a scandal.
January 5, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Seems like only a few years ago this type of thing was a scandal.
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Many critical AI resources are written for teachers, rather than students. I wrote this for undergrad students dealing with “AI literacy” in the humanities, hoping to raise more fundamental questions about what it means to write. People have added it to syllabi, so maybe you’ll find it useful, too.
Human Literacy
Something I Can Tell Students Now That I Am Not Teaching
You and I probably both keep hearing that students should be working toward AI literacy. That you should know what to type into prompt windo...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Many critical AI resources are written for teachers, rather than students. I wrote this for undergrad students dealing with “AI literacy” in the humanities, hoping to raise more fundamental questions about what it means to write. People have added it to syllabi, so maybe you’ll find it useful, too.
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Cops forced to explain why improv comedy generated police report claimed officer transformed into frog
“‘The body cam software and the AI report writing software picked up on the movie that was playing in the background, which happened to be ‘The Princess and the Frog…'”
Cops Forced to Explain Why AI Generated Police Report Claimed Officer Transformed Into Frog
AI-powered software Draft One automatically generates police reports from body camera footage. It thought an officer turned into a frog.
futurism.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Cops forced to explain why improv comedy generated police report claimed officer transformed into frog
We have a new year’s tradition of making hats. Here’s mine for this year. Happy New Year, y’all. 💕🥳
January 1, 2026 at 12:49 AM
We have a new year’s tradition of making hats. Here’s mine for this year. Happy New Year, y’all. 💕🥳
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
chatgpt is much like an improv comedy group
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
This is fascinating: www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/s/I...
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
From the OpenAI community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the OpenAI community
www.reddit.com
July 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
chatgpt is much like an improv comedy group
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
"I refuse." This is it. There's no reason we should accept a narrative of an already settled future which marginalizes humans and individual agency. No one wants this. No one asked for it.
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
December 19, 2025 at 1:21 PM
"I refuse." This is it. There's no reason we should accept a narrative of an already settled future which marginalizes humans and individual agency. No one wants this. No one asked for it.
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
"i have moderate views on LLMs"
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM
"i have moderate views on LLMs"
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
I’ve summed up and contextualized all of these critical AI pieces & more in one place — “From AGI to Workslop: What I Read About AI in 2025.” mail.cyberneticforests.com/what-i-read-...
December 7, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I’ve summed up and contextualized all of these critical AI pieces & more in one place — “From AGI to Workslop: What I Read About AI in 2025.” mail.cyberneticforests.com/what-i-read-...
Reposted by Katie (Kathryn) Conrad
microsoft promised to "empower every user" and google to "revolutionise knowledge and technological innovation" but in reality what they have given us is an invasive surveillance dystopian nightmare hard to escape
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...
Microsoft Teams Starts Telling Your Boss Where You Are—Now Just 8 Weeks Away
Microsoft confirms start date for new Teams update — no more hiding places.
www.forbes.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:55 AM
microsoft promised to "empower every user" and google to "revolutionise knowledge and technological innovation" but in reality what they have given us is an invasive surveillance dystopian nightmare hard to escape
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...