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Reposted by John Smolenski

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

If I was Donald Trump I would not be drawing the public’s attention right now to my ability to release files

Trump post announcing release of the Earhart files

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Reposted by John Smolenski

mollyswordmcd.bsky.social @mollyswordmcd.bsky.social · 2d

Wow, Steph,
@stephruhle.bsky.social
I watch you every night.
Hosting Andrew Cuomo feels like a betrayal of your audience.
We don’t care “why” Cuomo thinks anything.
Andrew Cuomo is arrogant and an abuser of women.
Taking a pass on your show @11thhourmsnbc.bsky.social tonight

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Reposted by John Smolenski

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 4d

If what was happening in Chicago was happening in NYC, there would be wall-to-wall cable news coverage

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 5d

And for some of us—maybe we don’t want our work sucked up as training for LLMs. (Though I feel a little offended in that Anthropic didn’t steal any of my work.)

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 5d

People might just not want their IP associated with certain things. Or they might be uninterested in having their work monetized. (Let me know next time you see licensed Calvin and Hobbes merch.) Fair use exists, and scholars like me need to be able to quote things—within rules.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 5d

That is *not* what copyright does, nor is “making copies” in the way you describe the only way that monetization occurs. Copyright means you have control over how your work is used. That can include preventing other people using your work, no matter the money. Disney doesn’t Mickey Mouse in porn.

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Reposted by John Smolenski

Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 7d

wrote about how you can't remove due process from immigrants and keep it for citizens because due process is the only way you can tell the difference. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/if-immigra...

If Immigrants Don’t Have Due Process, No One Has Due Process

How do you prove you’re a citizen?

www.everythingishorrible.net

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Reposted by John Smolenski

"spooky sukkot" daniel s. @self.agency · 9d

jesus: turn the other cheek

pete "christian crusader" hegseth: shut up pussy

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Hegseth: "As history teaches us, the only people who actually deserve peace and those who are willing to wage war to defend it. That's why pacifism is so naive and dangerous."

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 9d

At least he is down to 300,000 people dying from overdoses rather than 300 million. That one was rough.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Trump brags to military leaders about his strikes on boats: "They don't want go fishing. I don't blame them. There will be no fishing today. It's amazing what strength will do."

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Reposted by John Smolenski

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 9d

People of Illinois, we need your help.

Get your cell phones out – record what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors.

We need to let the world know this is happening – and that we won’t stand for it.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

How much do you trust the information it helped give you, knowing that some percentage of what it gives you back is going to be wrong (but sound plausible—as it is made to be)? I mean, that’s always the the fundamental problem. Trust.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

How do you “brainstorm” with this? How would you use it to brainstorm? What confidence would you have in work someone used ChatGPT to brainstorm with, knowing it works this way?

John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

He was astonished at this great ChatGPT was. I asked him the simple question—how do you know the answer was correct? How do you know the sources were real? (He couldn’t answer.) This wasn’t “brainstorming.” It’s not that it’s coming up with wrong answers per se. it’s coming up with fake answers.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

Because it doesn’t work the way you describe. Let me give you an example from someone who has a PhD (but in history). This person wanted to know the price of wheat in 19th century Europe. He asked ChatGPT what it was. It gave him an answer, with sources. Some of which were just wrong. Some were fake

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

I’m honestly curious. Have you ever used ChatGPT? Have you ever read anything someone wrote using ChatGPT? Do you know how it works? I know there are other LLMs. But this is the big one, from the biggest company.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

Stop telling people to look at your page. Stop talking. The more you ask people to pay close attention, the worse you look.

John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

You are not fighting genocide, at least according to everything you say on your page. You are not that. You want to claim that…why? And if you actually knew the history of race and oppression in this country—like Little Turtle did—you’d know that these things aren’t “culture war” issues.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

And I did look at your page. You say that you are following in the tradition of Chief Little Turtle. Which, unless one of you is actually Indigenous, is just fucking offensive. How dare you compare your project to someone trying to survive colonization. Chief Little Turtle didn’t say “Hey, satire!”

Founding story of Project 2029

“Founding Story: Project 2029, the Civil Network, and BlameThisDude.com did not come from a boardroom, political party, or think tank. It is rooted in a mission of peace and cooperation that was begun over two centuries ago by a man named Chief Little Turtle. Our continuation is based on the life's work of our Managing Founder, evoking the ferocity, pragmatism, humor, and spirit of the Myaamia Tribe.”

Step one of Project 2029’s timeline, supposedly following the tradition of Chief Little Turtle
“1. Hook through Satire & Blame
Founders engage citizens using humor and the universal instinct to point fingers. Satire lowers defenses; blame redirects frustration toward participation.”

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

Notably, you didn’t answer my question of when this change happened with money in politics. (Convenient.) Also: I didn’t claim that you said questions of reproductive justice was made up. I said that you were calling things symbolic culture war issues. I happen to believe abortion isn’t symbolic.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

So you think that fights over abortion and overturning Roe (and Griswold, as Thomas says he wants to do) are just symbolic fights? Caused by money in politics? Boy, do I have history for you! It turns out that institutionalized misogyny is a real thing. I’m curious—when do you think this started?

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

You’re selling something, just like lobbyists. But it’s not reality. Stop saying it is. And AI didn’t tell you anything.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

This is BS and you must know it. Big money in politics is awful and everyone knows it. It’s also not the reason why some people are xenophobes and want to deport non-white people or who some people deny the humanity of trans people. It’s also not the reason why people to ban contraception.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

The distinction you’re making is irrelevant. They committed billions of dollars of IP theft. Paying all of the copyright holders for the works they used for “training” would have cost billions. That’s true even if the company wasn’t worth billions. He has an incentive to say it b/c it’s true.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

OpenAI has admitted that this is baked into the model and can never be eliminated. How can there be real innovation here?

Your BTW makes this a little more suspect, IMO.

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John Smolenski @jsmolenski.bsky.social · 10d

Then I am *really* confused that you think what LLMs do is just one artist borrowing from another. In your study, how many times did the people you wrote about invent fake sources of inspiration? How many scholars cited studies (and authors) that don’t exist? LLMs do that and always will.

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