Thomas Berker
@thomas.tikatech.org.ap.brid.gy
STS researcher at Trondheim's Centre for Technology and Society. Co-founder of NTNU's The Good Infrastructures Lab. Fascinated by infrastructures, user agency […]
[bridged from https://tikatech.org/@thomas on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
[bridged from https://tikatech.org/@thomas on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
Of course in this day and age we won't accept that some parts of ourselves cannot be optimised: How to change your personality in six weeks:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260102-how-i-changed-my-personality-in-six-weeks
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260102-how-i-changed-my-personality-in-six-weeks
我花了六周时间改变了性格
I changed my personality in six weeks (www.bbc.com)
04:02 ↑ 102 HN Points
www.bbc.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:48 AM
Of course in this day and age we won't accept that some parts of ourselves cannot be optimised: How to change your personality in six weeks:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260102-how-i-changed-my-personality-in-six-weeks
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260102-how-i-changed-my-personality-in-six-weeks
Reposted by Thomas Berker
Not that many people here will need it, but as an indicator it's interesting:
In case you're looking for an alternative New Year resolution, Denmark has a new people's movement: Danmark skifter, Denmark switches, which aims to help people regain focus, change their social media habits and get […]
In case you're looking for an alternative New Year resolution, Denmark has a new people's movement: Danmark skifter, Denmark switches, which aims to help people regain focus, change their social media habits and get […]
Original post on fediscience.org
fediscience.org
January 1, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Not that many people here will need it, but as an indicator it's interesting:
In case you're looking for an alternative New Year resolution, Denmark has a new people's movement: Danmark skifter, Denmark switches, which aims to help people regain focus, change their social media habits and get […]
In case you're looking for an alternative New Year resolution, Denmark has a new people's movement: Danmark skifter, Denmark switches, which aims to help people regain focus, change their social media habits and get […]
"Technical reports often compare LLMs’ outputs with 'human' performance on various tests. Here, we ask, “Which humans?” [...] We show that LLMs’ responses to psychological measures are an outlier [...], and that their performance on cognitive psychological tasks most resembles that of people […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
December 30, 2025 at 11:37 AM
"Technical reports often compare LLMs’ outputs with 'human' performance on various tests. Here, we ask, “Which humans?” [...] We show that LLMs’ responses to psychological measures are an outlier [...], and that their performance on cognitive psychological tasks most resembles that of people […]
This year's dark season distraction: doing research about the largest cities in the world, and practicing some good oldfashioned, climate friendly daydreaming about distant places.
December 23, 2025 at 9:28 AM
This year's dark season distraction: doing research about the largest cities in the world, and practicing some good oldfashioned, climate friendly daydreaming about distant places.
#academic housekeeping: This is the pile of drafts, exams and applications that an average prof in Norway reads and comments on in one year. Every text is an expression of hopes and aspirations, which I am quite aware of while reading. Not much AI-mediocrity in […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
December 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
#academic housekeeping: This is the pile of drafts, exams and applications that an average prof in Norway reads and comments on in one year. Every text is an expression of hopes and aspirations, which I am quite aware of while reading. Not much AI-mediocrity in […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
Intelligence amplification or assistance (IA) instead of Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes a lot of sense to me.
@viznut reminds us that algorithms are neither good or evil and that while big-tech creates big and centralized AI we should look for small and decentralized @permacomputing […]
@viznut reminds us that algorithms are neither good or evil and that while big-tech creates big and centralized AI we should look for small and decentralized @permacomputing […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Intelligence amplification or assistance (IA) instead of Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes a lot of sense to me.
@viznut reminds us that algorithms are neither good or evil and that while big-tech creates big and centralized AI we should look for small and decentralized @permacomputing […]
@viznut reminds us that algorithms are neither good or evil and that while big-tech creates big and centralized AI we should look for small and decentralized @permacomputing […]
My Frankenstein data centre has a new addition bought from a gamer who I guess was upgrading. Here no games but 4K #jellyfin transcoding and quicker #selfhosted LLM answers. Turns out a consumer GPU does not fit at all in a server and I needed a riser cable and […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
December 7, 2025 at 10:00 PM
My Frankenstein data centre has a new addition bought from a gamer who I guess was upgrading. Here no games but 4K #jellyfin transcoding and quicker #selfhosted LLM answers. Turns out a consumer GPU does not fit at all in a server and I needed a riser cable and […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
A weekend with some more experiments with local #llm: these monsters are so much more useful when fed with a lot of context - mostly about me - which for obvious reasons is verboten in the case of chat-gpt & co. Reasonably good results with Alibaba's #qwen (通义千问 3:235b-a22b, via #ollama). It is […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Simple and good about "What AI is Really For":
https://www.chrbutler.com/what-ai-is-really-for
"When a private company can construct what is essentially a new energy city with no people and no elected representation, and do this dozens of times a year [...], you have a sudden imbalance of […]
https://www.chrbutler.com/what-ai-is-really-for
"When a private company can construct what is essentially a new energy city with no people and no elected representation, and do this dozens of times a year [...], you have a sudden imbalance of […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Simple and good about "What AI is Really For":
https://www.chrbutler.com/what-ai-is-really-for
"When a private company can construct what is essentially a new energy city with no people and no elected representation, and do this dozens of times a year [...], you have a sudden imbalance of […]
https://www.chrbutler.com/what-ai-is-really-for
"When a private company can construct what is essentially a new energy city with no people and no elected representation, and do this dozens of times a year [...], you have a sudden imbalance of […]
Nerve wrecking joy: updating my mastodon instance without having a clear idea of I am doing. I think I made a backup of the database, but maybe I did not? Usually there is next to nothing at stake when botching an update of my #selfhosted services. But losing my dear followers would indeed be […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Nerve wrecking joy: updating my mastodon instance without having a clear idea of I am doing. I think I made a backup of the database, but maybe I did not? Usually there is next to nothing at stake when botching an update of my #selfhosted services. But losing my dear followers would indeed be […]
Mmmmh, #writerdeck, small, cheap computers that can do only one thing: distraction free text prosessing. Very tempting, and many diy options. On the other hand, I have bought so many devices through the years, and usually they gather dust in a corner after a week of intensive use […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Mmmmh, #writerdeck, small, cheap computers that can do only one thing: distraction free text prosessing. Very tempting, and many diy options. On the other hand, I have bought so many devices through the years, and usually they gather dust in a corner after a week of intensive use […]
Just realised that a lot of what I talked about at the oppositional responses to ai workshop (#cscw2025) today was inspired by Sally Wyatt's brilliant idea to do research on the coming AI winter.
https://sallywyatt.nl/imaginary-research-about-the-ai-winter/
https://sallywyatt.nl/imaginary-research-about-the-ai-winter/
Imaginary Research about the AI winter
I have now achieved one of my dreams – a publication in the _Journal of Imaginary Research_.
Volume 10, on the theme of flourishing has just been published. My contribution, co-authored with Aida Inverno, stresses the importance of doing research about the imminent AI winter. AI winters follow periods of hype about what AI can do. We’ve had them before. My contribution appears on pp.40-41.
The Journal appears once a year. Check out their website later in the year for the 2026 theme.
sallywyatt.nl
October 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Just realised that a lot of what I talked about at the oppositional responses to ai workshop (#cscw2025) today was inspired by Sally Wyatt's brilliant idea to do research on the coming AI winter.
https://sallywyatt.nl/imaginary-research-about-the-ai-winter/
https://sallywyatt.nl/imaginary-research-about-the-ai-winter/
Unreasonably excited about my new Linux desktop environment: The wonderfully functional and performant #niri (1) made beautiful and complete with #dms (2). Redefining the sweet spot between bling and function, the holy grail of desktop environments […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
October 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Unreasonably excited about my new Linux desktop environment: The wonderfully functional and performant #niri (1) made beautiful and complete with #dms (2). Redefining the sweet spot between bling and function, the holy grail of desktop environments […]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
[Original post on tikatech.org]
Back to my #android ( #grapheneos ) phone after another week with the #sailfisos C2. Defeat. Most things work well enough on the C2. But my employer #ntnu is locked into the Microsoft ecosystem and has disabled mobile access to email and calendar from outside Outlook. Not being able to ckeck my […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
October 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Back to my #android ( #grapheneos ) phone after another week with the #sailfisos C2. Defeat. Most things work well enough on the C2. But my employer #ntnu is locked into the Microsoft ecosystem and has disabled mobile access to email and calendar from outside Outlook. Not being able to ckeck my […]
I am teaching an introduction to #sts on the MA level this fall and did a little anonymous mapping of #ai use at the beginning. Most interesting findings: for almost all of these 20 students AI = #chatgpt. And almost all expected that AI will lead to profound changes in the next decade, with the […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
September 14, 2025 at 9:20 AM
I am teaching an introduction to #sts on the MA level this fall and did a little anonymous mapping of #ai use at the beginning. Most interesting findings: for almost all of these 20 students AI = #chatgpt. And almost all expected that AI will lead to profound changes in the next decade, with the […]
Trondheim's Good infrastructures lab is looking for a #phd student who wants to write about the fediverse as infrastructural hope. Norway treats its PhD students well and we will help you to make your application competitive. For the call, see here […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
August 18, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Trondheim's Good infrastructures lab is looking for a #phd student who wants to write about the fediverse as infrastructural hope. Norway treats its PhD students well and we will help you to make your application competitive. For the call, see here […]
Finally switched from #plex to #jellyfin for my streaming needs. Main reason: using a tool instead of a (wannabe) platform is such a mental and esthetic pleasure as it eliminates clutter and reduces complexity. Jellyfin does fewer things and it does them well. Platforms all dream of becoming […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
August 13, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Reposted by Thomas Berker
"Young people have always felt misunderstood by their parents, but new research shows that #genalpha might also be misunderstood by #ai."
Rosie Thomas of @404mediaco summarizes the findings of a really interesting paper that focuses on how #llms (mis)interpret teenage slang and meme culture […]
Rosie Thomas of @404mediaco summarizes the findings of a really interesting paper that focuses on how #llms (mis)interpret teenage slang and meme culture […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
July 2, 2025 at 9:52 AM
"Young people have always felt misunderstood by their parents, but new research shows that #genalpha might also be misunderstood by #ai."
Rosie Thomas of @404mediaco summarizes the findings of a really interesting paper that focuses on how #llms (mis)interpret teenage slang and meme culture […]
Rosie Thomas of @404mediaco summarizes the findings of a really interesting paper that focuses on how #llms (mis)interpret teenage slang and meme culture […]
That no ownership of the means of production always was linked to exploitation of work should be an easy way to convince knowledge workers to not use any cloud products (including non-local LLMs). Unfortunately, it is not.
#selfhosting #localfirst #work
#selfhosting #localfirst #work
June 19, 2025 at 7:10 AM
That no ownership of the means of production always was linked to exploitation of work should be an easy way to convince knowledge workers to not use any cloud products (including non-local LLMs). Unfortunately, it is not.
#selfhosting #localfirst #work
#selfhosting #localfirst #work
Ok, I have now switched to #maintenance mode: Preserving, repairing, and caring for things and people in my reach. Abandoning the progress myth starts here! Innovation must die! Old and boring is beautiful.
June 16, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Ok, I have now switched to #maintenance mode: Preserving, repairing, and caring for things and people in my reach. Abandoning the progress myth starts here! Innovation must die! Old and boring is beautiful.
Grrrr, working with revising an article where one peer reviewer has not understood a word of what we want to say. They still wrote a long review where 90% just repeat what we have written and smell a lot like AI. The other reviewer wants us to comply to the IMRAD-structure, as if this was the […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
June 2, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Grrrr, working with revising an article where one peer reviewer has not understood a word of what we want to say. They still wrote a long review where 90% just repeat what we have written and smell a lot like AI. The other reviewer wants us to comply to the IMRAD-structure, as if this was the […]
Reposted by Thomas Berker
INCREDIBLY excited to announce this: I collaborated with the Internet Archive to make a new 24/7 lofi livestream!
By day, you can see scanners scanning and what they're scanning, and when they're not scanning, you will see public domain silent movies and pictures. Sorta like an Internet Archive […]
By day, you can see scanners scanning and what they're scanning, and when they're not scanning, you will see public domain silent movies and pictures. Sorta like an Internet Archive […]
Original post on myf.one
myf.one
May 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
INCREDIBLY excited to announce this: I collaborated with the Internet Archive to make a new 24/7 lofi livestream!
By day, you can see scanners scanning and what they're scanning, and when they're not scanning, you will see public domain silent movies and pictures. Sorta like an Internet Archive […]
By day, you can see scanners scanning and what they're scanning, and when they're not scanning, you will see public domain silent movies and pictures. Sorta like an Internet Archive […]
So what happens after you have convinced someone close to you to ditch #facebook and #instagram? S/he starts to scroll the homepage of the mobile chrome browser where a feed of curated "news" is displayed. Never underestimate the salespeople of algorithmic entertainment!
Next mission: #rss
Next mission: #rss
May 20, 2025 at 7:31 AM
So what happens after you have convinced someone close to you to ditch #facebook and #instagram? S/he starts to scroll the homepage of the mobile chrome browser where a feed of curated "news" is displayed. Never underestimate the salespeople of algorithmic entertainment!
Next mission: #rss
Next mission: #rss
First day of exclusively using the #jolla C2 phone (=Linux phone), many months after I have received it. The worst bugs are gone and everything except my work email works. And not having access to work stuff on the go may in fact be an improvement.
May 11, 2025 at 9:02 PM
First day of exclusively using the #jolla C2 phone (=Linux phone), many months after I have received it. The worst bugs are gone and everything except my work email works. And not having access to work stuff on the go may in fact be an improvement.
Two recent reads on #ai that summarise well some of our recent discussions at a university department in the #humanities. The contours of a reasonable, post-hype answer to this challenge slowly become visible:
A long read: https://archive.is/hE0UM
And a hot take […]
A long read: https://archive.is/hE0UM
And a hot take […]
Original post on tikatech.org
tikatech.org
April 30, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Two recent reads on #ai that summarise well some of our recent discussions at a university department in the #humanities. The contours of a reasonable, post-hype answer to this challenge slowly become visible:
A long read: https://archive.is/hE0UM
And a hot take […]
A long read: https://archive.is/hE0UM
And a hot take […]