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Alex Harford

@alexharford.bsky.social
723 followers 304 following 332 posts

#ShortStory & flash writer of spec fic, fantasy, weird, horror, literary. Poet. Travel photographer of outdoors & places that don't seem real. Loves music, film, running, and more. Staffordshire, UK. AlexHarford.uk

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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I've noticed frequent errors in news reporting on BBC radio too, like getting the men's and women's relay teams in the athletics mixed up.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Two of my all-time favourite films were released in 1999: The Iron Giant The Sixth Sense HMs: The Straight Story Analyse This October Sky
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm trying to make sure my story isn't too watered down.
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AlexHarford-TechSEO @alexharfordseo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Each paragraph is quotable, so the best thing is to click and read. "The best possible outcome from this summer of hype is that policymakers and the public at large learn to take a breath, hold onto our skepticism, and recognize this kind of hype for what it is the next time it comes around."
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
No surprise, sadly, though I'd argue against their products being "immensely valuable" and all that hype of breaking containment etc.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sounds compelling and a must-read. Bookmarked for later.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I created this Starter Pack for all those reasons: bsky.app/starter-pack...
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Publishers: “Short stories don’t sell and are impossible to market so we are not going to take the risk of publishing them.” Also publishers: “What can we publish to fit this era of reduced attention spans when people are reading fewer novels?”
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I've pretty much exclusively read short stories for about 10 years now. I'll buy your collections. When a short story or even flash evokes emotions in me in <1,000 words, there's nothing better. I also love to write shorts and have no ambitions to write a novel. I'd love shorts to get more respect.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I've come across supposed new markets that have an "anti-AI" policy yet their website's text is LLM output. It makes me wonder what their motive is. Do they actually plan to publish anything?
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Between the PRs of (largely likely stolen) math breakthroughs, claims of "rogue AI" (actually cybercrimes by companies, but whatevs), and doomerist "whistleblowers", it feels like we've been subjected to a gish gallop of hype recently. >>
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Ooh, I like this idea. I was going to suggest sending you some (friendly) hate mail to tick that off the list, and I see you're not short on volunteers for that one.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Man of Recaps will probably do it entertainingly in under 20 minutes on YouTube, if he hasn't already.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Very unsurprising given the circumstances that the few paragraphs I read have a very strong whiff of LLM output.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
They went on to "successfully filed the formal complaint" without me giving any details of the registration plate or time of the incident?! And kept asking me if I wanted to update delivery details (it wasn't even a delivery to my house). "Earth's most customer-centric company" indeed.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The sheer quality of Amazon's customer service. 🫠 Nearly hit by a delivery driver's van that mounted the pavement and customer service apologise "for any inconvenience caused," a phrase that often gets my goat anyway.
Screenshot of customer chat mentioned in my post
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Father Ted is my favourite sitcom. It includes so many types of comedy that there must be something for everyone.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I'm on BBC Upload tonight, interviewed and reading a poem I started at 4 a.m. on Tuesday. It's broadcast across BBC West Midlands radio including Radio Stoke. Inspiration: wildfires, parched grass at local parkrun The Wammy. I was glad to show my disdain for billionaire tech bros on the radio.
Smoke-stylised text of 'Fire, Fire on the moor, who is the fairest of them all?' overlaid on a blurred smoky fiery backgroundA white guy with shoulder-length blond hair with text 'BBC: I'm getting featured on Upload'
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
My friend Jake is offering great value flash fiction critiques to help with medical bills. His crits are up there with the best I've had. Please pass on to anyone who might be interested! #FlashFiction #WritingCommunity www.fiverr.com/jscoetzee/he...
fiverr.com
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
My friend Jake is offering great value flash fiction critiques to help with medical bills. His crits are up there with the best I've had. Please pass on to anyone who might be interested! #FlashFiction #WritingCommunity www.fiverr.com/jscoetzee/he...
fiverr.com
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I made this Starter Pack of spec fic short story writers if you're interested in following a few: bsky.app/starter-pack...
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
"verbed" 😫 A great little read, thanks. I hadn't thought of "verbing" as an Americanism. That's very interesting re "sidewalk" and "fall." I'll look out for the Radio 4 programme about said tiny book.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I work in tech and myself find such language difficult to understand at times. Ironically, a couple of times I've used an LLM to decode an LLM outputted email someone's sent me.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Coincidental timing: "AI is the asbestos we're shovelling into the walls of our technological society. Our descendants will spend generations digging it out again, and the longer the bubble goes on without popping, the longer it will take to repair the damage." www.thenerve.news/p/cory-docto...
thenerve.news
Cory Doctorow: The people who tell you ‘AI is changing everything’ are lying
It has become impossible to tell managers mesmerised by artificial intelligence that the tools are not, in fact, helpful. So employees just play along with the fiction to keep their jobs, writes our t...
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
So-called A.I. may be the asbestos of the 21st Century. Imagine all the future work to remove the harms it's causing. Any specfic short story (preferably flash) recommendations on the topic? It's a while since I read "The Man in Asbestos," but it describes much of the world and A.I. right now.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A friend who is in a worse situation since. gogetfunding.com?p=9614387
gogetfunding.com
Help Prevent Me from Drowning in Medical Bills
Hi, I’m Jake In 2023 I fell ill and ever since, I’ve been trying to get a diagnosis and effective treatment. Numerous ER visits, incorrect diagnoses and medications, and testing has wiped out my savin...
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
So they reckon that "consent" is being able to request a story is removed. Great.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Sounds great in principle, but how will it be policed, is it retrospective for all the slop that exists already, and will it lead to yet more websites being blocked based on geographic region? It also gives validity to the slop - an outright ban would've been better.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I really don't get how 99% of the media seems to fall for whatever crap these tech bros and their companies spout. I'm sure journalists must know in many cases and give them free marketing anyway. Do you follow Emily Bender? I particularly like this article: www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-t...
techpolicy.press
We Need to Talk About How We Talk About 'AI'
We share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language, write Emily M. Bender and Nanna Inie.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
What's happened to the website? It's full of content that reads like LLM output and even a load of gambling and investment spam: gnofhorror.com/5-reliable-c...
gnofhorror.com
5 Reliable Casino Sites For Transparent Payout Rates And Live Dealer Baccarat - The Ginger Nuts Of Horror Review Website
5 Reliable Casino Sites for Transparent Payout Rates and Live Dealer Baccarat
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
One of my favourite flash fictions I've read this year, and it's always good to see stories written for themed calls selling elsewhere.
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Dr Keith 🎃 Wilson @keithwilson.eu · 23/07/2026
Any news report that starts “OpenAI says…” or claims “an AI” (sic) has “broken containment” or “gone rogue” is no longer doing journalism, but PR for the #AI industry. #OpenAI used their product to hack a third-party and failed to implement adequate safeguards. That’s it. That’s the story. #AIHype
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Done. 👍
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
They're scared that China will be responsible for creating more slop than them.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Done. 👍
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
It'd be cool if you expand on this topic. Look into short fiction published that's been removed by publishers recently (or almost published). There are other stories I suspect of being LLM output. Appreciate you're reporting a study, but I love this approach: www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-t...
techpolicy.press
We Need to Talk About How We Talk About 'AI'
We share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language, write Emily M. Bender and Nanna Inie.
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
When people ask me what the phrase "artificial intelligence" means, my short answer is, it means "venture capitalists, give me some money". But OUP asked me for a longer answer, given here and summarized in the section headings: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
Screencap of page for linked article, reading: 

Contents
Introduction
AI Is a Research Field
AI Is an Approach to Cognitive Science
AI Is a Parlor Trick
AI Is an Ideology
AI Is a Way to Hide and Devalue Human Labor
AI Is a Way to Shift Accountability
AI Is a Way to Centralize Power
Conclusion
Notes
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Got it.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
I've emailed. 🤞
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Ignyte Award-Nominated Writer/Editor LP Kindred @lpkindred.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Just a heads up! @khoreo.bsky.social is 5 days from the end of their kickstarter and the mag hasn't funded. L pointed out last month that if we want nice things, we have to communicate that via dollars. Let's retain this important magazine! khōréō Year 6 www.kickstarter.com/projects/kho...
kickstarter.com
khōréō: Year 6
Help us sustain and grow an award-winning magazine of speculative fiction and migration!
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Still nothing, which is strange. I don't usually have any problems with emails to my Gmail account. I don't have DM access here but could Facebook or Instagram work?
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Nothing yet. I often have technical issues - I need to remember to sign up to these things sooner! 😀 Thanks for sorting it out.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
The Internet has largely been great for my fiction research. From scans of medieval documents to reports on how far wind turbines can fly if they break off, even detailing how likely they are to kill someone (horror genre)! The past week, "A.I." slop both written and image make things difficult.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
The only email I have says the payment is pending. If it's definitely gone through, feel free to send me the Zoom stuff! 🙂 If it's not worked I'll find another way, maybe Paypal direct?
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
My afternoon will probably be my WIP and putting into practice what I've learnt already. 👍 Hmmm...it looks like you might be tech support too? Checkout error. Everything is filled in properly, though I'm not sure why it needed my address and phone number. I'll try again later. 🙂
Checkout error: CANNOT_BE_ZERO_OR_NEGATIVE Must be greater than zero. If the currency supports decimals, only two decimal place precision is supported.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I'm about to sign up. Not for the "A.I" bit - it's been in my diary for a few days. Looking forward to it. Sometimes I'm very happy with my prose, but I'm inconsistent and find it difficult to edit sentences I've already written.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Window = "wind's eye" from Old Norse. I love that. Health-wise, I'm always on about "break fast" to help show fasting is something our ancestors did in relation to how such fasting can help our health today.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Mostly SFFH and otherwise almost any genre.
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I think it's Ireland (and maybe elsewhere) where a universal basic income was trialled for creatives, and it was reported as a success. I try not to even call it "Ai" but it's difficult, and people probably think I'm even more of a weirdo!
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Alex Harford @alexharford.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I wouldn't say Ai treated as aliens, but The Perfect Match by Ken Liu is very good and warns of what's happening now. Published on @lightspeedmagazine.com about 15 years ago. www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-...
lightspeedmagazine.com
The Perfect Match - Lightspeed Magazine
Sai woke to the rousing first movement of Vivaldi’s violin concerto in C minor, “Il Sospetto.” He lay still for a minute, letting the music wash over him like a gentle Pacific breeze. The room brighte...
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