Patrick De Oliveira
@plso.bsky.social
| Historian of France, technology, and cities | e/ludd | 🇧🇷🇺🇸🇫🇷🇸🇬🇪🇸 | You can find out more about me at http://www.patrickdeoliveira.com |
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Patrick De Oliveira
@plso.bsky.social
· Jun 10
Hi all!
Today @mitpress.bsky.social releases "Ascending Republic: The Ballooning Revival in Nineteenth-Century France."
Order it from your favorite retailer here: mitpress.mit.edu/978026254980...
Or, even better, ask your library to add it to its collections.
Any questions, just let me know!
Today @mitpress.bsky.social releases "Ascending Republic: The Ballooning Revival in Nineteenth-Century France."
Order it from your favorite retailer here: mitpress.mit.edu/978026254980...
Or, even better, ask your library to add it to its collections.
Any questions, just let me know!
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Where I work, grad student enrollment in Engineering and Business is down 70% and 40%, respectively.
Now, to cover the loss in revenue from these Departments, the rest of the colleges have to take MASSIVE hits. History Dept alone has cut/closed 6 TT lines. Forget about raises or salary equity. 🫠
Now, to cover the loss in revenue from these Departments, the rest of the colleges have to take MASSIVE hits. History Dept alone has cut/closed 6 TT lines. Forget about raises or salary equity. 🫠
Enrollment by international students from China dropped by 3 percent, from India by 4 percent, and enrollment from students from Mexico has flatlined. Here are the likely consequences for Texas' education and economy:
The High Cost of Targeting International Students in Texas
The Trump administration’s bans and airport detentions are derailing the academic dreams of students who carry out important research—and sometimes pay hefty tuition—to attend Texas institutions.
www.texasobserver.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Where I work, grad student enrollment in Engineering and Business is down 70% and 40%, respectively.
Now, to cover the loss in revenue from these Departments, the rest of the colleges have to take MASSIVE hits. History Dept alone has cut/closed 6 TT lines. Forget about raises or salary equity. 🫠
Now, to cover the loss in revenue from these Departments, the rest of the colleges have to take MASSIVE hits. History Dept alone has cut/closed 6 TT lines. Forget about raises or salary equity. 🫠
I need someone to write a think piece about this exchange and title it "The Boring Insularity of the Children of Empire".
November 24, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I need someone to write a think piece about this exchange and title it "The Boring Insularity of the Children of Empire".
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Google surreptitiously opted many users into allowing the company access to private Gmail messages to train its AI models. If you want to see if your content is being mined and want to opt out, here are the instructions.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
A new Gmail update may allow Google to use your private messages and attachments for AI training. Here's how to turn it off.
www.malwarebytes.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Google surreptitiously opted many users into allowing the company access to private Gmail messages to train its AI models. If you want to see if your content is being mined and want to opt out, here are the instructions.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Teachers all over the world rejoice!
November 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Teachers all over the world rejoice!
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 17, 2025 at 7:20 PM
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
Harvard Crimson with a drop mic drop conclusion to story on Lawrence Summers's months-long correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein "strategizing" the best approach for Summers to get in bed with a Chinese mentee that they disgustingly referred to as "peril" (oh, and Summers had been married since 2005)
November 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Harvard Crimson with a drop mic drop conclusion to story on Lawrence Summers's months-long correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein "strategizing" the best approach for Summers to get in bed with a Chinese mentee that they disgustingly referred to as "peril" (oh, and Summers had been married since 2005)
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
So is Harvard going to launch an investigation into Larry Summers, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and the use of university resources to support him?
November 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
So is Harvard going to launch an investigation into Larry Summers, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and the use of university resources to support him?
I'm fascinated by how so many superstar academics + higher ed admins have a vacant moral core. The # of profs (especially at Harvard) comfortable cozying up to Epstein for $ or connections is really revealing.
November 13, 2025 at 11:30 PM
I'm fascinated by how so many superstar academics + higher ed admins have a vacant moral core. The # of profs (especially at Harvard) comfortable cozying up to Epstein for $ or connections is really revealing.
Womp womp...
Designed a course to feature a physical course reader (which most students loved!).
Final assignment: in-class essay where students could consult the reader and hand-written notes.
Outcome: Still having to fail one student because they mixed LLM-generated notes with their materials.
Designed a course to feature a physical course reader (which most students loved!).
Final assignment: in-class essay where students could consult the reader and hand-written notes.
Outcome: Still having to fail one student because they mixed LLM-generated notes with their materials.
November 13, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Womp womp...
Designed a course to feature a physical course reader (which most students loved!).
Final assignment: in-class essay where students could consult the reader and hand-written notes.
Outcome: Still having to fail one student because they mixed LLM-generated notes with their materials.
Designed a course to feature a physical course reader (which most students loved!).
Final assignment: in-class essay where students could consult the reader and hand-written notes.
Outcome: Still having to fail one student because they mixed LLM-generated notes with their materials.
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Google AI is like an Eric Adams quote generator
November 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Google AI is like an Eric Adams quote generator
Pretty obvious that given how there's no real avenue for profits, LLM enshittification is going to proceed at a breakneck speed.
www.afr.com/technology/m...
www.afr.com/technology/m...
Refund requests flood Microsoft after tricking users into AI upgrades
The software company wrote to Australian customers to apologise for a lack of transparency when it increased fees for Office plans by up to 45 per cent.
www.afr.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Pretty obvious that given how there's no real avenue for profits, LLM enshittification is going to proceed at a breakneck speed.
www.afr.com/technology/m...
www.afr.com/technology/m...
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲, ‘𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬?’ 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐁𝐒 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝.
This quote issued by Bari Weiss as she destroys what is left of CBS News neatly captures the zeitgeist of the Age of Trump (and of LLMs).
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
This quote issued by Bari Weiss as she destroys what is left of CBS News neatly captures the zeitgeist of the Age of Trump (and of LLMs).
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲, ‘𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬?’ 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐁𝐒 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝.
This quote issued by Bari Weiss as she destroys what is left of CBS News neatly captures the zeitgeist of the Age of Trump (and of LLMs).
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
This quote issued by Bari Weiss as she destroys what is left of CBS News neatly captures the zeitgeist of the Age of Trump (and of LLMs).
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Two years ago I attended a panel about AI at a national conference of college trustees. Their conversation revolved around what do we have to say to get our faculty in line with this, and can we fire them if they don't.
Thinking back to the discussion hosted at the U.S. embassy where the panelists scolded professors to "get with the program" and start leaning into AI
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Two years ago I attended a panel about AI at a national conference of college trustees. Their conversation revolved around what do we have to say to get our faculty in line with this, and can we fire them if they don't.
I had a student from Saudi Arabia who said that Neom was basically a project to quickly fill the pockets of some construction firm execs, but that MBS's fever dream would never really materialize.
My response? Yeah, that's been pretty obvious ever since it was announced.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
My response? Yeah, that's been pretty obvious ever since it was announced.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:41 AM
I had a student from Saudi Arabia who said that Neom was basically a project to quickly fill the pockets of some construction firm execs, but that MBS's fever dream would never really materialize.
My response? Yeah, that's been pretty obvious ever since it was announced.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
My response? Yeah, that's been pretty obvious ever since it was announced.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Long live sandwich guy!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Long live sandwich guy!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
I don't know what will happen in NYC tonight, but I do know that regardless of outcome, any number of public figures, celebrities, politicians and institutions that oppose Mamdani have done so with a level of rhetorical ugliness, racism, and dishonesty that should neither be forgotten nor forgiven.
November 4, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I don't know what will happen in NYC tonight, but I do know that regardless of outcome, any number of public figures, celebrities, politicians and institutions that oppose Mamdani have done so with a level of rhetorical ugliness, racism, and dishonesty that should neither be forgotten nor forgiven.
Amazing how universities, many of which embraced the absurd practice of "trigger warnings" for works by Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Chinua Achebe, have had no hesitancy in pushing students to become heavily dependent on a tool that causes and worsens mental distress.
www.wired.com/story/chatgp...
www.wired.com/story/chatgp...
OpenAI Says Hundreds of Thousands of ChatGPT Users May Show Signs of Manic or Psychotic Crisis Every Week
OpenAI says hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users may show signs of manic or psychotic crisis every week.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Amazing how universities, many of which embraced the absurd practice of "trigger warnings" for works by Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Chinua Achebe, have had no hesitancy in pushing students to become heavily dependent on a tool that causes and worsens mental distress.
www.wired.com/story/chatgp...
www.wired.com/story/chatgp...
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
Yep. Our university has invited a “Silicon Valley futurist” to give an address lavishly sponsored by the president’s office to “teach us tips for how to integrate AI in our work, school, and home.”
Meanwhile I had to compete for $ to bring an award-winning scholar in my field to campus.
Meanwhile I had to compete for $ to bring an award-winning scholar in my field to campus.
October 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Yep. Our university has invited a “Silicon Valley futurist” to give an address lavishly sponsored by the president’s office to “teach us tips for how to integrate AI in our work, school, and home.”
Meanwhile I had to compete for $ to bring an award-winning scholar in my field to campus.
Meanwhile I had to compete for $ to bring an award-winning scholar in my field to campus.
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
I don’t think I have ever been this burnt out and demoralized and part of this is because institutions are not taking our concerns about the pedagogical harms of widespread and uncritical adoption of LLMs in higher education seriously.
It’s exhausting to do this without any support.
It’s exhausting to do this without any support.
I had 9 meetings about students using Chat GPT/LLMs on their papers today.
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
October 27, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I don’t think I have ever been this burnt out and demoralized and part of this is because institutions are not taking our concerns about the pedagogical harms of widespread and uncritical adoption of LLMs in higher education seriously.
It’s exhausting to do this without any support.
It’s exhausting to do this without any support.
*Shocking* that health-tech companies would immediately turn to eugenics.
October 22, 2025 at 1:49 PM
*Shocking* that health-tech companies would immediately turn to eugenics.
I am so sick and tired of repetitive workshops on how to integrate LLMs into your teaching. All I want is a single workshop on developing LLM-resilient assignments.
And smaller class sizes. That's it. That's pretty much the solution to 60% of the problems.
And smaller class sizes. That's it. That's pretty much the solution to 60% of the problems.
October 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I am so sick and tired of repetitive workshops on how to integrate LLMs into your teaching. All I want is a single workshop on developing LLM-resilient assignments.
And smaller class sizes. That's it. That's pretty much the solution to 60% of the problems.
And smaller class sizes. That's it. That's pretty much the solution to 60% of the problems.
Oh wow a new browser how exciting
October 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Oh wow a new browser how exciting
Reposted by Patrick De Oliveira
i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w
October 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w
Desperate for any viable monetization path, it seems that Smarmy Sam and OpenAI will open the doors for pornographic content.
How do schools and universities that rushed to strike deals with OpenAI feel about this? Would they be fine adopting Blackboard if it also functioned as a kind of Pornhub?
How do schools and universities that rushed to strike deals with OpenAI feel about this? Would they be fine adopting Blackboard if it also functioned as a kind of Pornhub?
October 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Desperate for any viable monetization path, it seems that Smarmy Sam and OpenAI will open the doors for pornographic content.
How do schools and universities that rushed to strike deals with OpenAI feel about this? Would they be fine adopting Blackboard if it also functioned as a kind of Pornhub?
How do schools and universities that rushed to strike deals with OpenAI feel about this? Would they be fine adopting Blackboard if it also functioned as a kind of Pornhub?