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Hisham Zerriffi

@hishamzerriffi.bsky.social

17K followers 7.6K following 2.4K posts

Energy Resources, Development and Environment Lab (ERDELab) PI, @UBCforestry Assc Dean EDI. Energy, equity, justice, climate change, bioenergy. But also TTRPGs and photography (https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/499807930552574625). he/him.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · Nov 8

Hello new Bluesky followers!

A re-intro:

Academic in Forestry faculty but not a forester. Work on energy, land-use, climate, equity, justice. Often at intersection of energy & forests.

With a dash of TTRPGs, nerdy stuff and politics.

And photography:

portfolio.pixelfed.social/nomademoderne

@nomademoderne's Portfolio

portfolio.pixelfed.social

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 20h

Hopefully the hotel has a good room service menu.

Kids 1&2 have recently discovered Dr. Who so we’re making our way through the seasons. Consider me a happy #NerdDad

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 21h

Great to see John Holdren, Obama's Science Advisor, make a very clear statement about how equity and diversity improve science and technology. When I do EDI training for hiring I am clear. We're looking for great researchers and teachers and we risk missing out on those people.

buff.ly/JkgKiy6

$One of the things Obama said early on—he liked sports analogies—was it’s hard to win if half your team is on the bench. And he was talking about women and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and medicine. A large fraction of the country’s talent base is not being effectively used because of lack of access, lack of inclusion, and lack of equity. And to the extent that we fixed that, we improved the system. There’s now a substantial amount of scholarly research that shows that diversity is beneficial in science and technology. And the idea that diversity, inclusion, equity, per se, are bad ideas—which is obviously the stance that the Trump administration holds—are very destructive to the future of this country in these fields.$

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Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 1d

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.

They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.

Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr

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Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 1d

Something new from this corner of the internet: a newsletter! It will be irregular, not too frequent, and full of Ursula-related news. The first one, which went out last week, contains a note from Theo Downes-Le Guin, explaining a bit of the why and the wherefore. Here's part of that note.

A Welcome from Theo Downes-Le Guin
One of the great pleasures of my work as literary executor is the sense that we are creating a community around my mother’s writing and ideas. If I’m honest with myself, however, I know that this community already exists. Any time two people read the same book, and that book resonates with them, the potentiality for a community exists, and the chance that destiny will throw those two readers together increases exponentially. This is why text is a great tool for subversion, resistance, and revolution. So at best, I am slightly hastening this coming-together.

Ursula’s dear friend, moral compass, and tech mentor Vonda McIntyre had the foresight to set up early accounts for Ursula on Twitter and Facebook, to discourage impostors. We didn’t do anything with the accounts until after 2018, because Ursula had no interest in the style of communication that socials demand. After she died, things changed. As part of my grieving, I wanted to talk and write more about her, to as many people as possible. (I also learned, over the time, that this is my job description as executor.) Instagram, because it is image-based, allowed me to share glimpses of her life without crossing the line of privacy and intimacy.

Over the years, and with the deft guidance of my colleague Molly Templeton, we have created a tone (and a respectable following) on social media that my mother would have tolerated, if not embraced. I am certain that if she had ever jumped on Twitter (now, for us, Bluesky), she would have treated it as she treated her blog—a one-way channel that idiosyncratically alternated between intimate musings and fiery analysis of the political and ethical failings of society. I miss those tweets that never were. But it is not my job to try to simulate them—I’m not her, we have what she wrote, and we are fortunate for that.

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Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Lex McMenamin (they/them) @leximcmenamin.com · 1d

Greta Thunberg, deported to Greece, says the targeting of the Sumud Flotilla is "not the story" @teenvogue.com — instead, she says:

"Israel once again violated international humanitarian law by preventing aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”

Greta Thunberg On Her Detention: I'm "Not The Story" — It's Israel Violating International Humanitarian Law

“I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment. Trust me. But that is not the story.”

www.teenvogue.com

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 2d

Such a fun book. I even inserted Viv, the coffee shop and the whole crew as fun NPCs and setting for my players during a side quest in my home game.

FYI, Travis Baldree is on here.

Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Vajra Chandrasekera @vajra.me · 4d

Currently at:
— only buy tech too old to have AI built in
— painstakingly disable AI every time they add it to something that used to work perfectly well
— if it can't be switched off, abandon the platform or tool
— if there are no good alternatives, avoid the AI parts
— patiently wait for the crash

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 4d

🫡

How to Turn Off AI Tools Like Gemini, Apple Intelligence, Copilot, and More - Consumer Reports

AI features are crowding into Google search, Gmail, iPhones, Windows laptops, and other products. If you're suffering from AI overload, these settings can help.

www.consumerreports.org

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

The discussion, debate and even protests around old growth are very much alive here. If you decide to head this way, let me know.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

3) I have a hard time believing researchers will limit it to pilots even if that is seen as best practice.

Bottom line. If you want to understand people (whether it is perceptions, behaviours, choices, etc) you have to talk to people.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

2) likely under-representation of certain population groups may mean your pilot doesn’t capture any issues with surveying that group.

(3/?)

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

Running a pilot survey on a “silicon sample” of LLM generated participants has two issues:

1) often the pilot reveals issues around question wording that can only be figured out by talking to the participants.

(2/?)

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

Surprising absolutely nobody who has run a model (I hope), model structure and input data greatly affect outcomes even when you are doing social science research on LLM generated participants.

Shocking, I know. Could this at least be used for piloting a survey? I’m skeptical. Here’s why:

(Cont)

Dr. Jens Foell @jensfoell.de · 4d

People are running stats on LLM-generated participants and think they’re being social scientists when in fact they’re technically just playing a very strange video game. This is like saying you’re doing math research because you’re playing sudoku.

www.science.org/content/arti...

AI-generated ‘participants’ can lead social science experiments astray, study finds

Data produced by “silicon samples” depends on researchers’ exact choice of models, prompts, and settings

www.science.org

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

3) I don’t fish but lots of my friends do and I gather the fishing here is quite amazing.

4) You definitely wouldn’t be escaping the debates over forests and forestry. It’s a big thing here (we’re hosting an event on future of forests next week for example)

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

But a few things to note based on your responses to others:

1) Vancouver is expensive. Consider Victoria area or a smaller town like Squamish

2) yes, lots of climate action happening and pushback against being transit for Alberta oil but we do have a fossil fuel industry (e.g. LNG).

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

Like others, I would say BC. The lower mainland (I.e. where Vancouver is) has pretty mild winters compared to the rest of the country if that is important (lots more rain than snow in winter) but it doesn’t take long to be in the mountains and in the snow if you want.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

This btw explains exactly what you need to know to understand how the CEO of this site can resort to “humour” and keep doubling down when called out on their behaviour. They are focused on the tech and think that absolves them of any social responsibility or even basic decency towards users.

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 4d

We’re system architects at core. We built a decentralized network so you could run your own moderation, but beyond that our upcoming healthy discourse project is taking some swings at the interaction model that drives these dynamics on Bluesky. Excited to start seeing it in action.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 3d

So let me get this straight. Bluesky users are not customers because we don’t pay.

So Bluesky doesn’t have to listen to its users because….we’re users.

So you can ignore repeatedly your users who point out a transphobe’s violation of your terms.

But also ban others at will.

Is that it?

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 4d

Are you paying us? Where?

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Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 4d

EAT-Lancet 2.0 report is out today, updating the influential 2019 report.

On my first read it seems to bring further data/evidence to support the big solutions for food/climate/nature: 1) improve productivity & env performance of agriculture, 2) reduce food loss/waste, 3) healthy/sustainable diets.

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems

The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacer...

www.thelancet.com

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 5d

All of this would help, of course.

But I just don't see it having a huge impact (if it could even happen these days) on the absolutely bonkers world we seem to be currently living in. I mean, someone really needs to fire the screenwriters because this is turning into some pretty badly done satire.

Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 5d

Oh most definitely:

Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · Aug 13

“I sure picked a time to be alive, huh?”

Kid1 in the car yesterday after a conversation about <<waves hands around at the state of the world>>

Oof. They asked about what was going on when I was about their age. And it wasn’t great. And for some it was just as terrible. But I do feel it’s different

Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 5d

Look, we all know that this timeline is off the rails in really big ways.

I regret to inform you it is also off the rails in small and weird ways as well. 👇

Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 5d

no no the publishing industry is doing fine, why do you ask

A screenshot from Publisher's Lunch:
Jennifer L. Armentrout and Hellmann's
In a promotion designed for BookTok enjoyment, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s just-published THE PRIMAL OF BLOOD AND BONE is available in a special, limited-edition "garlic-scented copy, infused with Hellmann’s Garlic Aioli to create a one-of-a-kind, Craven-proof book." They explain: "This exclusive edition is printed with garlic-infused ink, designed to ward off Armentrout’s bloodthirsty monsters, the Craven. While humans may dread garlic breath, Hellmann’s has cleverly transformed this social faux pas into an unexpected – and delicious – form of supernatural protection."

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Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 6d

The costs of interconnecting data centers to electricity transmission grids get paid by ratepayers - i.e., by you - 95% of the time, raising household electricity costs by billions, a new study finds.

Big tech companies can afford to pay for their own interconnections. Regulators should make them.

www.ucs.org

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 6d

”We are again confronting a massive attack on the very foundations of democratic education … In the 1950s, the targets were individual teachers—communists, progressives, liberals—and their left-wing unions. Now the target is the system itself.”

McCarthyism 2.0 does seem worse in this respect

Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 23d

read Joan Wallach Scott's reflection on her family, her childhood, and our present moment -- equal parts moving and sad, defiant and beautiful, thoughtful and angry, realistic yet in search of concrete reasons to build hope

www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-g...

A General Air of Anxiety - Boston Review

The Red Scare targeted my father. He taught me the meaning of resistance.

www.bostonreview.net

Reposted by Hisham Zerriffi

NPR @npr.org · 6d

Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 6d

NGL - first reaction was going to use some pretty choice words from this new “LLM”

Well played @merriam-webster.com

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 6d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.