Dr. Tanya Samman
@t-s-sci.bsky.social
Scientist and communicator. Geoscientist/Palaeontologist. she/her. My views are my own.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Well and part of the problem is a confusion about language here.
A boycott is definitionally a COLLECTIVE action, not an individual consumer choice.
Spending your money individually in accordance with your values is great. But that's conscious consumption, not boycott.
A boycott is definitionally a COLLECTIVE action, not an individual consumer choice.
Spending your money individually in accordance with your values is great. But that's conscious consumption, not boycott.
And shaming people doesn't do any good.
Do your best. Choose places you can boycott and do it.
But a focused approach is probably best.
Do your best. Choose places you can boycott and do it.
But a focused approach is probably best.
November 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Well and part of the problem is a confusion about language here.
A boycott is definitionally a COLLECTIVE action, not an individual consumer choice.
Spending your money individually in accordance with your values is great. But that's conscious consumption, not boycott.
A boycott is definitionally a COLLECTIVE action, not an individual consumer choice.
Spending your money individually in accordance with your values is great. But that's conscious consumption, not boycott.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
ChatGPT will, as it always does, provide misinformation about any topic that requires thinking.
The difference here is it will sing it to you in iambic pentameter!
The difference here is it will sing it to you in iambic pentameter!
November 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM
ChatGPT will, as it always does, provide misinformation about any topic that requires thinking.
The difference here is it will sing it to you in iambic pentameter!
The difference here is it will sing it to you in iambic pentameter!
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Given how many hundreds of billions of dollars we’re spending on these enterprises, maybe we could just use that money to create a social safety net that incentivizes human flourishing rather than crimes of desperation and armies of prison guards and masked vigilantes? Just spitballing here.
November 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Given how many hundreds of billions of dollars we’re spending on these enterprises, maybe we could just use that money to create a social safety net that incentivizes human flourishing rather than crimes of desperation and armies of prison guards and masked vigilantes? Just spitballing here.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Nuclear red herrings aside, I think the central issue that there is no way to create effective guardrails for LLMs that can't be easily foiled by the worst writing on Livejournal is really pretty bad.
November 30, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Nuclear red herrings aside, I think the central issue that there is no way to create effective guardrails for LLMs that can't be easily foiled by the worst writing on Livejournal is really pretty bad.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
I absolutely think LLMs degrade and damage communication skills. bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Something I hinged on to get to this what I describe: the Marxian fetishisation of artefacts is so complete in the case of AI that not only do we somehow conclude machines think, but we accept for them to think, speak, draw instead of us, while also thinking these are (expressions of) our thoughts.
November 30, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I absolutely think LLMs degrade and damage communication skills. bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Thanks - that articulates a lot of my fears very well. My own pithy version is that if you outsource the hard parts of developing your own understanding of a subject to AI, there will simply be a hole in your brain where understanding should reside.
November 30, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Thanks - that articulates a lot of my fears very well. My own pithy version is that if you outsource the hard parts of developing your own understanding of a subject to AI, there will simply be a hole in your brain where understanding should reside.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Then how does he explain the large measles outbreak in my province, Alberta? We're not overrun by "illegal aliens." We do, however, have a MAGA-worshipping cohort that are staunch anti-vaxxers.
November 30, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Then how does he explain the large measles outbreak in my province, Alberta? We're not overrun by "illegal aliens." We do, however, have a MAGA-worshipping cohort that are staunch anti-vaxxers.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
It is *lunacy* for the ostensibly liberal opposition party to say we shouldn't limit any individual's wealth and power after watching a cadre of fascist billionaires systematically destroy this country. That's probably the single most important thing we *must* do!
November 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
It is *lunacy* for the ostensibly liberal opposition party to say we shouldn't limit any individual's wealth and power after watching a cadre of fascist billionaires systematically destroy this country. That's probably the single most important thing we *must* do!
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
What a truly silly tagline in a world where everyone but corporate dems can see that oligarchy is a huge problem. We want a ceiling! We want it very much! You can't make as much money as these guys make without ruining the world for the rest of us
November 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
What a truly silly tagline in a world where everyone but corporate dems can see that oligarchy is a huge problem. We want a ceiling! We want it very much! You can't make as much money as these guys make without ruining the world for the rest of us