Nicole Holliday
@mixedlinguist.bsky.social
Assoc. Prof of Linguistics at Berkeley. Language, identity & prosody, esp. in politics & human-computer interaction. Trivia person, marathoner, coach. LA & the Bay! No one is illegal on stolen land. Views are my own.
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
BINGO. This is why I’m not in the business of teaching “AI literacy”.
“How do I assign students an AI-generated essay for assessment if they don’t have the basic knowledge to parse said essay? I can’t and I won’t.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
“How do I assign students an AI-generated essay for assessment if they don’t have the basic knowledge to parse said essay? I can’t and I won’t.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
I Set A Trap To Catch Students Cheating With AI. The Result Was Deflating
"I am no stranger to students trying to cut corners by copying and pasting from Wikipedia, but the introduction of generative AI has enabled them to cheat in startling new ways."
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:51 PM
BINGO. This is why I’m not in the business of teaching “AI literacy”.
“How do I assign students an AI-generated essay for assessment if they don’t have the basic knowledge to parse said essay? I can’t and I won’t.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
“How do I assign students an AI-generated essay for assessment if they don’t have the basic knowledge to parse said essay? I can’t and I won’t.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
When students say they’ll never need to learn to do stuff without LLMs, I often remind them that they could lose their job and be publicly disgraced in the New York Times. Not to mention the part where they robbed a guy of justice because they were so lazy and unethical.
Prosecutors in California used A.I. to argue that a 57-year-old man should be held without bail, his lawyers say, filing a brief that included wholesale misinterpretations of the law, as well as quotations that do not actually appear in the cited texts. nyti.ms/3M1bVye
Prosecutor Used Flawed A.I. to Keep a Man in Jail, His Lawyers Say
The case is among the first in which a prosecutor is accused of filing court papers marred by A.I.-generated mistakes.
nyti.ms
November 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
When students say they’ll never need to learn to do stuff without LLMs, I often remind them that they could lose their job and be publicly disgraced in the New York Times. Not to mention the part where they robbed a guy of justice because they were so lazy and unethical.
Hilariously, I just had a reviewer recommend a rejection of my paper because I used an ethically and gender diverse sample, in a study that showed that an LLM was biased against women and people of color. I guess they wanted me to use a group of white men to illustrate the bias?
November 21, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Hilariously, I just had a reviewer recommend a rejection of my paper because I used an ethically and gender diverse sample, in a study that showed that an LLM was biased against women and people of color. I guess they wanted me to use a group of white men to illustrate the bias?
These symbols are violent threats. If a student came to a class with a noose, or left one in my office, we'd be on a lockdown. But Coast Guard officers are supposed to be cool with "colleagues" using these objects to torment them. This is clearly part of the resegregation campaign.
"The Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol.
"Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi insignia as 'potentially divisive' under its new guidelines.
"The new policy similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag."
Free link wapo.st/3Mbd9a6
"Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi insignia as 'potentially divisive' under its new guidelines.
"The new policy similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag."
Free link wapo.st/3Mbd9a6
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
wapo.st
November 20, 2025 at 8:08 PM
These symbols are violent threats. If a student came to a class with a noose, or left one in my office, we'd be on a lockdown. But Coast Guard officers are supposed to be cool with "colleagues" using these objects to torment them. This is clearly part of the resegregation campaign.
Important commentary!
"The collective knowledge base has been overwritten with received wisdom, fourth-hand opinions, and counterintuitive pop social science that flatters our cleverness while sparing us the effort of understanding anything deeply". nymag.com/intelligence...
"The collective knowledge base has been overwritten with received wisdom, fourth-hand opinions, and counterintuitive pop social science that flatters our cleverness while sparing us the effort of understanding anything deeply". nymag.com/intelligence...
A Theory of Dumb
What if the cause of Americans’ collective cognitive decline is, simply, each other?
nymag.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Important commentary!
"The collective knowledge base has been overwritten with received wisdom, fourth-hand opinions, and counterintuitive pop social science that flatters our cleverness while sparing us the effort of understanding anything deeply". nymag.com/intelligence...
"The collective knowledge base has been overwritten with received wisdom, fourth-hand opinions, and counterintuitive pop social science that flatters our cleverness while sparing us the effort of understanding anything deeply". nymag.com/intelligence...
Sure, the machine gives you something that looks like thought & reason & passion. But you know it has none of those, and that it fakes it by stealing the hard work of all of humanity. Do you care so little about other people that you’re content to spend your life watching bots exchange messages?
November 19, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Sure, the machine gives you something that looks like thought & reason & passion. But you know it has none of those, and that it fakes it by stealing the hard work of all of humanity. Do you care so little about other people that you’re content to spend your life watching bots exchange messages?
I’m on an admissions committee and I desperately wish that we only asked for letters after the first round of cuts has happened. Because I’m also writing a cumulative 22 letters of rec for graduate admissions and fellowships this season, and I know half of those will never be read by anyone.
PSA to anyone on any kind of search or admissions committee: try to limit the number of rec letters you require and don't make rec letter writers do anything other than upload a PDF. Thank you!!
November 18, 2025 at 3:25 AM
I’m on an admissions committee and I desperately wish that we only asked for letters after the first round of cuts has happened. Because I’m also writing a cumulative 22 letters of rec for graduate admissions and fellowships this season, and I know half of those will never be read by anyone.
The casual strut of a person who DGAF about the country or any of the people in it.
President Trump walking past the flag at the Whitehouse which has fallen to the ground
November 18, 2025 at 1:56 AM
The casual strut of a person who DGAF about the country or any of the people in it.
Plainly racist, but also would make almost everyone I know ineligible for federal research funding ever again. If you happen to have even met someone from China, the federal government would bar you from funding for 5 years. The attacks on academia never stop. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Plainly racist, but also would make almost everyone I know ineligible for federal research funding ever again. If you happen to have even met someone from China, the federal government would bar you from funding for 5 years. The attacks on academia never stop. www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Nicole Holliday
Sixty-five years ago today, four first-graders desegregated New Orleans's public schools: Ruby Bridges at William Frantz Elementary School, and Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne at McDonogh 19 Elementary School. They faced violent mobs and threats to their lives. They were 6 years old. 🗃
November 14, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Sixty-five years ago today, four first-graders desegregated New Orleans's public schools: Ruby Bridges at William Frantz Elementary School, and Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne at McDonogh 19 Elementary School. They faced violent mobs and threats to their lives. They were 6 years old. 🗃
Even if people don’t believe Trump is in the files, they should at least be mad as hell about this. There’s a special place in hell for people like this, but the government spent our money and resources getting her transferred to Club Fed.
Question: Why is Ghislaine Maxwell in a minimum security camp in Texas with special treatment?
Who ordered her to be transferred from Florida where she was serving her 20 year sentence?
Who ordered her to be transferred from Florida where she was serving her 20 year sentence?
November 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Even if people don’t believe Trump is in the files, they should at least be mad as hell about this. There’s a special place in hell for people like this, but the government spent our money and resources getting her transferred to Club Fed.
Flying through MSP and before they got on the mic, I already knew they were a Minneapolis based crew. There were so many reminders about securing storing our “begs”…I love the upper Midwest ❤️
November 14, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Flying through MSP and before they got on the mic, I already knew they were a Minneapolis based crew. There were so many reminders about securing storing our “begs”…I love the upper Midwest ❤️
Accent discrimination is discrimination and it doesn’t matter who it’s aimed at. I’m always saddened at how people who would never say “I hate people from X country” are very happy to say “those people don’t speak good English”. It’s part of the same picture, but wow, no one wants to hear it.
November 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Accent discrimination is discrimination and it doesn’t matter who it’s aimed at. I’m always saddened at how people who would never say “I hate people from X country” are very happy to say “those people don’t speak good English”. It’s part of the same picture, but wow, no one wants to hear it.
I am filled with viceral rage at the fact that if you're a rich & powerful white guy, an abundance of email evidence that you're an actual pedophile won't cost you a damn thing. But if you're anyone else, sharing a damn risotto recipe without two factor authentication will ruin your career.
Meanwhile, here's an example of the horrendous things found in Hillary Clinton's emails—the only story worth covering for any serious news outlet in 2016, apparently.
This email is also regarding a child who suffered abuse from a grown man.
This email is also regarding a child who suffered abuse from a grown man.
November 13, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I am filled with viceral rage at the fact that if you're a rich & powerful white guy, an abundance of email evidence that you're an actual pedophile won't cost you a damn thing. But if you're anyone else, sharing a damn risotto recipe without two factor authentication will ruin your career.
Literally every day, and it’s exhausting.
every day it's like:
- crimes legal
- being brown is illegal
- a judge writes a sternly-worded letter
- John Fetterman betrays his constituents
- we kill another two dozen fishermen
- crimes legal
- being brown is illegal
- a judge writes a sternly-worded letter
- John Fetterman betrays his constituents
- we kill another two dozen fishermen
November 12, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Literally every day, and it’s exhausting.
Hi, at my university, I encounter these students once in a while and all the math cannot save them from the inability to interact with other humans, or to view themselves as members of a society. Don’t do this to your kids. They need to have strong quant skills and strong social skills.
I think the belief by the powerful that "people will put up with many things if you are excellent at math" is incredibly revealing in terms of understanding How We Got Here
November 12, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Hi, at my university, I encounter these students once in a while and all the math cannot save them from the inability to interact with other humans, or to view themselves as members of a society. Don’t do this to your kids. They need to have strong quant skills and strong social skills.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the party of "States' Rights".
NEW: The Trump admin told states it must immediately "undo" the work to provide full food stamp benefits, or face penalties. The feds sent this in a late-night memo, only adding to the chaos and confusion around SNAP. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/b...
Trump Administration Demands States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamps
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the party of "States' Rights".
And now we have the Grey’s Anatomy doctors dealing with maternal mortality and a Latina diabetic patient with no insurance who loses her toe because she refuses to go to the hospital as she knows too many people kidnapped by ICE. The normie shows are commenting!
Catching up on my SVU, and you know it’s bad when ICE is arresting CAPTAIN OLIVIA BENSON!?
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
November 9, 2025 at 2:45 AM
And now we have the Grey’s Anatomy doctors dealing with maternal mortality and a Latina diabetic patient with no insurance who loses her toe because she refuses to go to the hospital as she knows too many people kidnapped by ICE. The normie shows are commenting!
Doesn’t matter if hand-juicing is quicker, cheaper, higher-quality and less likely to kill people, the Juicero must be promoted at all costs.
November 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Doesn’t matter if hand-juicing is quicker, cheaper, higher-quality and less likely to kill people, the Juicero must be promoted at all costs.
Obviously, insurance companies often behave in cruel & unethical ways. But I have Kaiser Permanente, and having breast cancer cost me a cumulative $300. There is no universe in which paying for chemo, surgery, radiation myself wouldn’t have bankrupted my entire family. Stupid, heartless, ridiculous.
November 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Obviously, insurance companies often behave in cruel & unethical ways. But I have Kaiser Permanente, and having breast cancer cost me a cumulative $300. There is no universe in which paying for chemo, surgery, radiation myself wouldn’t have bankrupted my entire family. Stupid, heartless, ridiculous.
In her #NWAV53 plenary, King discusses an example of a juror being dismissed from the pool due to forestressing in the word police (so PO-lice), because the prosecutor claimed that the pronunciation showed animus towards law enforcement. And this is exactly why I study prosody!
November 6, 2025 at 4:27 PM
In her #NWAV53 plenary, King discusses an example of a juror being dismissed from the pool due to forestressing in the word police (so PO-lice), because the prosecutor claimed that the pronunciation showed animus towards law enforcement. And this is exactly why I study prosody!
The memes are going to be excellent for years, and I hope he can get some real positive change for the city! Congratulations, Mr. Mayor!
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The memes are going to be excellent for years, and I hope he can get some real positive change for the city! Congratulations, Mr. Mayor!
These people were doing nothing but standing in line, and the police weren’t even giving them orders. They just charged them on horses and started beating them. What justification could they possibly have for this abuse?
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
LAPD on horses charge at and beat guests standing in line to the Short Stop in Echo Park. @shoton35mm.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 1:41 PM
These people were doing nothing but standing in line, and the police weren’t even giving them orders. They just charged them on horses and started beating them. What justification could they possibly have for this abuse?
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
The best thing about east Los is fireworks for everything. The worst thing about east Los is also fireworks for everything.
November 2, 2025 at 4:24 AM
The best thing about east Los is fireworks for everything. The worst thing about east Los is also fireworks for everything.
Will Smith (not that one, only) is also probably having a nice night!
November 2, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Will Smith (not that one, only) is also probably having a nice night!