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eibhear.gibiris.org
Éibhear Ó hAnluain
@eibhear.gibiris.org
2.4K followers 660 following 3.4K posts
Matrix address: @eibhear:matrix.gibiris.org
Free Software user and supporter
Civil Liberties enthusiast
100% personal account
Also operating @theauldsthretch.bsky.social

Re-post policy: https://bsky.app/profile/eibhear.gibiris.org/post/3l3g3cukuru2f
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eibhear.gibiris.org
I wrote to the boards of management of the three secondary schools attended by my children.

The text can be copied from the alt-text of the images -- feel free if it works for you.

#SpeirGorm #Grok #CSAMFactory
A cháirde, I am writing to you as the father of a [student in your school]. You may be aware of the recent controversy with the social media service formerly known as Twitter, now called X. If not, let me summarise: X has a generative AI agent called grok. Grok answers questions posed by X users. It takes a tone similar to that used by the owner of X; the generative AI engine is configured to be "edgy" in its replies. Recently, X rolled out a new feature to grok where it will alter a photograph presented to it, including changing the clothes of any person in the photo, up to removing the clothes altogether. Users of X have taken to this feature with gusto and are asking grok to alter photographs of real people, including children, to change or remove their clothes (footnote: It is very important to note that this is not at all real – the AI merely draws a realistic-looking representation in response to the request; it knows nothing about the photograph's subjects). Despite being informed by other users, by commentators and by regulators that this feature is dangerous and likely illegal, the owner persists in maintaining and promoting it. Consequently, and unsurprisingly, grok is being used to generate abusive, non-consensual, sexualised images of real people, including children. I cannot imagine how upsetting this can be for victims of this feature, but I expect it's no different to the non-consensual sharing of real photos of naked people, and I would expect members of a school Board of Management to appreciate how dangerous such a thing can be. For the sake of clarity: when the subject of the input photos are children, it is almost certain that grok's output can be described as Child Sexual Abuse Material, CSAM. It's very important to note that this feature can be used by an X user who has access to a photograph that is available anywhere on the internet; the photo doesn't have to have been posted first on X, and the subject doesn't have to be a user of X. All someone with a grudge needs to do is to download a photo from anywhere else, or from their own personal photo library, and ask grok to remove or change the clothing of the person in the photo, and then they can share that AI-modified photo as a matter of abuse or intimidation. It follows that if [your school] posts pictures of its students anywhere online, those photos will be available for users of this feature on X to generate sexualised images of those students. It seems, by their respective statements, that an Taoiseach, Mícheál Martin, an Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, are disinclined or reluctant to stop X facilitating this abuse, never mind prosecuting X for it. However, that isn't the end of the matter. For example, I have written to all of my TDs informing them that if they continue to post on X while this feature is available, it's reasonable for others to infer that they don't object to the feature, or possibly that they endorse it. Certainly, I would think they would not allow themselves be seen walking into a shop known for selling photographs of nude children for prurience, and I would expect the same care from them with regards to X. As far as [your school] is concerned, I would like to recommend the following: • If it uses X (footnote: I don't know if the school uses X, I stopped using it myself shortly after it was bought by its current owner and so I am unable to check), the school should affirmatively and publicly stop doing so. The best way to do this is to lock the X account or accounts, archive the post history for posterity and reference, delete the post history from X, then "deactivate" the account and then announce having done all that on the school web site or (for greater impact) via press release. I advise not deleting the X account(s), as to do so frees the handle to be used by another user, potentially enabling impersonation. As an aside, I would also advise proper regard for the school’s responsibilities under the data protection legislation when archiving the post history. • Inform all students of [your school] and their parents about this feature of X, and about the abuse it enables. With this information, they will be able to take whatever steps are necessary for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones. • Inform the students of [your school] of the dangers, both to themselves and others, arising from using this feature. It is likely that sharing photographs of real people that have been modified by grok in such a manner falls under the relevant legislation regarding the non-consensual sharing of imagery. It's possible that the school is aware of this matter, and that it has taken some or all of the steps I recommend above. If so, excellent! While it is not possible for citizens or schools or civil rights organisations alone to force X to disable this feature, and while our government slow-walks its response to this matter, it's important that we do what we can to protect our loved ones and ourselves from such a dangerous internet tool. Is mise,
January 13, 2026 at 9:18 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Hi #BankOfIreland, I have just one question: are you serious? Yours, etc.
My message in a payment to someone. It reads "First tranche. €1,800 more to come." and Bank of Ireland's response is "Sorry, you can't use some of those characters here."
January 8, 2026 at 7:29 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
My e-mail to my TDs, subject line "Continued use of a dangerous service":
A cháirde, I was a heavy user of Twitter from January 2013 to December 2022. Aside my personal account, I operated the special-interest account @theauldsthretch which had a following of 35,000 users, most of whom were Irish. When I decided to leave Twitter*, I knew I was leaving behind those 35,000 followers, but I just had to, because I knew then (and had known for quite some time) that Elon Musk was a globally-dangerous person and that nothing good would come from his acquisition of the service. Many were disappointed with my decision, and the services I relocated @theauldsthretch to (Mastodon.ie and Bluesky) remain quiet in comparison. While I look forward to the level of engagement and fun that I had with the @theauldsthretch community back in late '22, I remain convinced that the decision I made then was the correct one. So, Twitter has moved on from "nothing good would come from [it]" to allowing paying users to generate non-consensual sexualised imagery of women and children. And yet, your respective parties continue to use it. I don't know if you guys use it, as I don't darken its door, but I hope you don't. This feature of Twitter is not something that is being abused, as an Taoiseach suggested. This feature is designed to be used in exactly this way. Your parties' continued use of twitter cannot be construed as anything less than acceptance of this feature. Some might even construe it as an endorsement. I would like not to think that, but the statements I have read from both an Taoiseach and an Tánaiste leave me wondering. My message to you and your parties is simple: stop using Twitter altogether. I can imagine that there are some legal challenges in the approach of investigating and prosecuting twitter for this heinous service such that a resolution will be months or years away. That's fine: I support the notion of "due process" without any quibble. But your parties' use of Twitter is not a legal matter. There is no legal reason to continue using it. If political parties, news organisations and other commercial operations stopped using Twitter altogether, it would collapse down to something like Gab or Truth Social, and I would guess (nay, hope!) you guys have no problem staying away from those services. Finally, if you're tempted to reply to me with some lines asserting that twitter is socially important, or that it's necessary to remain there for the sake of the followers, I request you not to do so. It would be a waste of my time and yours, as I don't accept either premise. Is mise, Éibhear Ó hAnluain, a Dublin Bay North constituent, [my home address, excluded because I am not a complete dope] * Full disclosure: I "locked" both my personal and @theauldsthretch accounts when I stopped using Twitter. @theauldstretch continued posting the automatically-generated sunset posts until June of 2023, when the Twitter API was cut off from it. Some time in 2024, I deleted the full post history of both my personal account and @theauldstretch. I did not delete the accounts themselves, as to do so would have freed the handles to be used by others. As the service is now overrun by nazis, I am reluctant to allow handles that I used previously to identify to be used for abuse of others.
January 8, 2026 at 11:53 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Not sure this is what you meant, but it seems right.
Laffy reposting a post that has since been "Deleted".
January 3, 2026 at 5:33 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
"While we have been clear that President Maduro does not have any democratic legitimacy ...." is the International Rules-based Order equivalent of "yes, but she shouldn't have dressed like that".
Statement by Minister McEntee on the situation in Venezuela In response to the rapidly evolving situation in Venezuela, I have been in contact this morning with EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas. I will remain in close contact with EU colleagues as the situation evolves. Ireland, together with our EU partners, underlines the absolute necessity of full respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter. While we have been clear that President Maduro does not have any democratic legitimacy, we have consistently called for a peaceful and negotiated transition in Venezuela, and have supported all international efforts to that end. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is monitoring the consular situation, in coordination with EU partners on the ground.
January 3, 2026 at 5:18 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
South Dublin Bay. East is at the top. Shows Merrion ("Merryoung"), Booterstown ("Butterstowne"), Blackrock ("New towne of the Strand"), Monkstown and Dún Laoire.
South Dublin Bay. East is at the top. Shows Merrion ("Merryoung"), Booterstown ("Butterstowne"), Blackrock ("New towne of the Strand"), Monkstown (recorded as "Monkestowne") and Dún Laoire (recorded as "Dunleery").
December 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Not a clue.
December 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Hanging his head in shame.
Lincoln. Ashamed.
December 12, 2025 at 10:47 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
I have just e-mailed my TDs with a request for them to intercede with the Minister and to avail of the abundant expertise in the country on the matter before engaging with the topic.

My e-mail ended as follows (because I, at least, remember 20 years ago):
'If this doesn't work, I would ask that you pass on to Minister O'Donovan's the contact details of former Minister Martin Cullen who, I'm sure, can advise him of the dangers of ignoring the voices of some he may dismiss as "antiglobalisation anarchists" and yet who end up in the role of the pesky kids in the Scooby Doo cartoons. '
December 11, 2025 at 11:21 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Counterpoint: sometimes, in a world that's clearly burning and sinking, at a time when parents (like me) are advising their children to sell the family home before the seas are lapping at the doors, views are among the few things we can get to enjoy in our public amenities.
A photo of the sunrise taken from the Clontarf promenade on the 10th December 2025 at 08:33. I attempted to centre the sun between the lighthouses at the end of each of the north and south walls of Dublin Bay.
December 10, 2025 at 10:32 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Found this in my letter box today. No mention of homelessness or climate, ensuring I know where my local #FiannaFáil TD's priorities do not lie.

#SpéirGorm
The top banner of the large leaflet from Tom Brabazon TD regarding the 2026 budget.
December 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Hey! Where's my "get lost and don't ever darken my door again" button?!
A message presented to me by Microsoft Teams: "Get quick access to your AI assistant Pin Copilot Chat to access your AI assistant for work in a secure chat across Teams, Outlook, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app." ... followed by two buttons "Maybe later" and "Pin now"
November 24, 2025 at 10:05 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
I think I know where those Ireland-is-full idiots get their notions from.
A portion of the side of a Premier Dairies milk carton showing the brand Tirlán (which I think is the name of Premier Dairies' owning company).
November 20, 2025 at 6:35 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
This story and the RTÉ version are really, really, really very similar to each other. In fact, except for the use of different types of quotation marks, there are only 7 differences.
A screen shot of the diffing utility I use for text files. I've pasted the text of the RTÉ story onto the left panel and the text of The Journal's story onto the right. The lines that are different are highlighted in each side, and the differences within each different line are also highlighted.
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
This story is explicitly vague on the nature of the threats, and I wonder if it's because of the reporting, or because the garda didn't want to be clear with the judge.

It certainly seems to me the garda didn't want to tell the judge how the details were determined from the social media service.
A section of the report: "Outlining the facts for a jurisdiction ruling, Detective Garda Markey stated: "It is alleged that the accused sent a number of threatening messages to the injured party in this case." The detective maintained that the woman was identified through social media. Asked for more details, the detective replied that the messages were of a threatening nature toward the injured party, threatening violence on him or his family. He added that they were not explicit but were implied threats "Such as?" asked Judge Finan. "Such as, something along the lines of, 'wouldn't it be terrible if something had happened to your family, like what happened in an incident involving a minor who was attacked'." The court heard there were two messages, but metadata showed up to six, and it took place over one evening."
November 20, 2025 at 1:42 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Never forget
A still from the time Fionnán Sheahan was furiously objecting to an artwork critical of the state, when he made a total idiot of himself.
November 13, 2025 at 9:34 AM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Every routine action a casual flyer with Ryanair may want to do is currently supported by the ryanair.com web site. This includes check-in and retrieval of the boarding pass. I wonder why Ryanair would force passengers to install an app on their 'phones rather than facilitating their access to the web site from their 'phones. The main difference between a web site and an app is relevant, I suspect: apps get access to far more details about a phone than websites can get, and these details are very often used to build profiles on those 'phone users. Location and movement profiles, for example, such as those featured in the recent exposé Prime Time TV programme. As a designer -- and a user -- of IT systems I have come to learn a very simple truth: an organisation that makes changes that cause obvious inconvenience to their customers, and yet declares that the changes are only to make things better, is hiding the true intent of those changes, and therefore should not be trusted. Finally, Ryanair seems to forget who the smartphone belongs to. They very much have a right to decide who may board their flights, and who may not. By the same token, however, every 'phone user has a right to decide what apps may be installed and may run on their 'phone. Forcing an app on users is abusive, especially when it's unnecessary, and one wonders why Ryanair wants to risk that perception. What's in it for Ryanair?
November 12, 2025 at 5:25 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
I put thought to virtual paper:
I note the news that Ryanair will require its customers to install its proprietary smartphone app onto their personal 'phones in order to check into and board its flights. As a designer of IT systems with more than 30 years' experience, I am left wondering if the following facts were considered, or just ignored, when coming to this decision: - not everyone owns a phone; - not everyone carries a phone with them all the time; - some passengers will use a phone that is not supported by the app, and so won't be able to install it; - similarly some passengers will use an app store on their 'phone that is not supported by the app, and so won't be able to install it; - some will lose their phone between checking in and boarding (or may have it stolen!); - some will lose or damage their phone while on holiday; - some will lose access to their Ryanair app on their phone through no fault of their own, and may not be able to retrieve it when needed; - sometimes the data on a passenger's phone become corrupted and inaccessible; - sometimes the phone just will not work at the bag-drop or boarding gate (e.g. the battery may be drained); - often, the passengers on a single booking won't all present themselves together at bag-drop, security or the boarding gate; - the servers that support Ryanair's app may go down and be inaccessible when passengers want to board or drop their bags; - not all airports that Ryanair flies from will accept the app-borne boarding pass for passengers to gain access to airside; - some passengers are anxious and don't trust the app/phone not to fail at critical moments and would therefore like to have a printed or alternative copy of the boarding pass available to them.
November 12, 2025 at 5:25 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
She replied!!
A portion of the reply I received: "I do hope all the parties can learn lessons from how the campaign was run and we can use the experience to help deliver a change of Government at the next General Election. For my part, I've long been an advocate of a cooperative approach on these matters. And while we may differ on approaches on some issues, our priorities in areas like housing, health, the environment, international law etc.. are broadly similar and something I do hope we can build on for the future. Thanks again for your email, and please drop me an email or give my office a call if there if I can be of help on anything further."
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
I've just sent a thank-you note to the left-leaning (Social Democrats) and left-looking (Sinn Féin) TDs in my constituency, containing the following:
"I look forward to future general elections where the parties of the left can work together to give us a government that could represent 65% or more of the electorate. The differences between those parties will give us the choice to indicate our priorities, but the decision to work together on the core concerns (among which I would put climate justice, civil rights, support of the vulnerable and honour on the international stage) will give us the platform on which we can make that choice."
October 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
So. Mention that airline and you get an offer of support from a fake account.

Take care out there.
A screenshot of my original post saying "Fuck #RyanAir" and the response I received from "Daniel Custome[r Support]" at @ryanairaupport33.bsky.social with "Hello, we apologize for the inconvenience and such an experience with us. We would like to look at the problem raised further. Kindly follow back send us a private message with your full name and active phone number we reach out and assist." As it's an Irish company the scammers should know that Ryanair would never apologise, at least not with a zed.
October 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
So ... from the comfort of my couch, I can shut Dublin down with one click?!?!?

#SpéirGorm
A screen shot of the irishrail.ie live trains screen with a big button labeled "Pause Live Trains" and an arrow drawn pointing at it where I have added "!!!?"
October 9, 2025 at 6:15 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
"My Favourite Actress Is Not Human"
Flipper, the dolphin.
October 2, 2025 at 9:55 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
I hate the "got off on a technicality" framing. It usually means the police/prosecutors either tried to deny someone's rights or, as here, they just simply failed to do their fucking jobs. And, of course, we should assume that *if* they had done their jobs, the charges would never have been laid.
From the article: 'In his judgment, Mr Goldspring said: “These proceedings were instituted unlawfully and are null.” Concluding the reasons for his decision, he said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and AG (Attorney General) consent within the six-month statutory time limit.' I have highlighted the “These proceedings were instituted unlawfully and are null.” and "lacking the necessary ... consent" bits.
September 26, 2025 at 12:10 PM
eibhear.gibiris.org
Like, all of this is true with the downloaded PDF.
From the article: '"Ryanair’s move to 100% digital boarding passes will mean a faster, smarter, and greener travel experience for our customers." From November 12, passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass. They will instead need to use the digital boarding pass generated in their “myRyanair” app during check-in. As part of a digital transformation, Ryanair has already rolled out in-app features to its 206m customers including order to seat, live flight information, and direct disruption updates.' I have the bit about 'faster, smarter, and greener travel experience for our customers."' highlighted.
September 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM