@vbarr4.bsky.social
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vbarr4.bsky.social
Time to rewrite the headline. "Microsoft and Nvidia have ... plans to invest up to $45 billion dollars into the UK economy" should be "Major tech bros promise to ruin the environment and economy of yet another country, & nobody wants to stop them".
vbarr4.bsky.social
Her interview on Marketplace last week was fabulous, chock full of key info.
vbarr4.bsky.social
Projection: by 2030 advanced LLMs will complete in hours or days with 50% reliability software-based tasks that take humans a full month. Question: how much longer will it take human programmers to fix the LLM produced software than it would take for them to code it in the first place?
vbarr4.bsky.social
I live for the day when a gate agent calls up teachers to pre-board a flight!!!!
vbarr4.bsky.social
The Republicans are sex-obsessed. The Dems never bring that up. No, the Dems jump on the sex-obsessed bandwagon, making it all about Epstein, when they could instead keep fighting any of the hundreds of issues T serves up every day.
vbarr4.bsky.social
Given the planetary problems inherent in genAI & the political problems inherent in the T gov't approach to genAI, the only correct position right now seems to be to not use genAI at all (or at least avoid it as much as possible since it's being forced on us in browsers etc.).
vbarr4.bsky.social
Just another way that the tech sector makes itself completely inhospitable for anyone planning to raise children. Work 6 days/week, 9:00am to 9:00pm. It's a shame that tech sector employees are so willing to ignore the bloody history of worker organizing. www.wired.com/story/silico...
Silicon Valley AI Startups Are Embracing China’s Controversial ‘996’ Work Schedule
In an industry once known for cushy perks, some founders are now asking staff to commit to a 72-hour weekly schedule. You’re either in or you’re out.
www.wired.com
vbarr4.bsky.social
We have to stand with NSF and all of the science agencies as they try to retain a semblance of rigorous pursuit of scientific research. @standupforscience.bsky.social
altnps.bsky.social
Over 140 employees at the National Science Foundation have taken the rare step of signing a letter warning the Trump admin is gutting the agency, slashing budgets, firing staff, and sabotaging science from within. All but one name is redacted out of fear of retaliation.
democrats-science.house.gov
vbarr4.bsky.social
If you haven't used this training yet for your TAs, what are you waiting for? You can get it all set up for fall term!
aiiceinnovates.bsky.social
🔍 #CS Faculty, #STEM Faculty, and TA Supervisors: Looking to enhance your teaching team's effectiveness? The AiiCE Teaching Assistant Professional Development Course provides structured training that complements your institution-specific onboarding. #AiiCEinnovates
🔗 Learn more: duke.is/AiiCE-TA-PD
AiiCE Teaching Assistant Professional Development Course https://duke.is/AiiCE-TA-PD
vbarr4.bsky.social
When I "finished" in 2005 with the PT who saw me through a disc issue I was very sad. Funny how it works, I just saw her a few weeks ago, and not for the first time since 2005! Your PT is part of your village, so this isn't the end at all, because we all know it takes a village!
vbarr4.bsky.social
Subject line on today's email from Anthropic: "Give Claude the context you have". Let me correct that for them: "We need more training data, please give us access to everything on your computer". Sadly, there are people who will buy the hype & jump at the chance.
Reposted
emilymbender.bsky.social
A strong statement of resistance to the relentless marketing of "AI" in education spaces. I encourage all educators to have a look and consider signing on:

openletter.earth/an-open-lett...
An open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education
openletter.earth
vbarr4.bsky.social
"According to the researchers, LLMs should be able to perform software-based tasks that take humans one month of 40-hour workweeks with 50% reliability in days, possibly hours, by 2030." The issue here is that humans need better training so they get closer to 100% reliability. Support teachers!
Reposted
cdelawalla.bsky.social
This Fourth of July, I am thinking about the 139 civil servants who took an oath to uphold the constitution and the EPA’s mission, and were placed on leave for raising concerns about issues such as deregulating asbestos and lead exposure.

This is un-American. The 1st amendment exists for a reason.
standupforscience.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

Brave #EPA employees who signed the #DeclarationofDissent are now facing administrative leave after speaking out.

NOW MORE THAN EVER THESE EPA EMPLOYEES NEED YOUR SUPPORT & SOLIDARITY!

stand with them publicly now by adding your name here ➡️ zurl.co/6MReq

zurl.co/XiAxu
EPA places staffers who signed ‘dissent’ letter on leave
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is placing staffers who signed a letter of dissent against the Trump administration’s actions and policies on leave. The EPA says it has placed 1…
thehill.com
Reposted
standupforscience.bsky.social
📣 OFFICIAL STATEMENT from our Founder & Executive Director @cdelawalla.bsky.social on the unfolding situation at the #EPA.

Stand with the brave EPAers here➡️ act.standupforscience.net/forms/epa-ad...

#DeclarationofDissent
A graphic from “Stand Up for Science” with a black background and white and red text. The top features the “Stand Up for Science” logo. The heading reads “Official Statement –” followed by a quote:
“All we know is that Administrator Lee Zeldin made the following statement to the Daily Caller:”
Below is a block quote attributed to Zeldin:
‘Unfortunately, a small number of employees signed onto a public letter, written as agency employees, using their official work title, that was riddled with misinformation regarding agency business.’
Below the quote, bold white and red text says:
“This was not just a public letter – it was emailed to him by employees at the EPA on Monday morning, and published after it was sent to him.”
In the bottom right corner, red italicized text reads “More on next page” with a red arrow pointing right. A continuation of the graphic with a black background and white and red text. The paragraph reads:
“he has not formally responded to his employees, and they have been placed on administrative leave. Though we are still gathering information on this situation, we condemn these actions. These are dedicated civil servants whose career goal is to keep Americans safe.”
This is followed by the name and title:
– Colette Delawalla, Founder & Executive Director
At the bottom, the red and white “Stand Up for Science” logo appears again.
vbarr4.bsky.social
Made worse by the fact that everything he does has to be the biggest: biggest bad foreign policy decisions, biggest bombs, biggest bad budget bill, biggest flag poles even. He's so obvious, and yet has the biggest sycophants right behind him. Makes him our biggest problem. Biggest sigh...
vbarr4.bsky.social
Anybody remember how bad Teen Talk Barbie was? Do we think that adding AI to toys will magically make them a positive and affirming experience for all children? Just when it's more important than ever that children have unplugged time... www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
Mattel and OpenAI Announce Strategic Collaboration
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world, and Open...
www.businesswire.com
vbarr4.bsky.social
If I can’t opt out, I won’t buy the product. But how do we convince other folks of that?