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Ryan Williams

@activationlayer.org
365 followers 1.4K following 504 posts

Democracy, Technology, and Other Stuff. activationlayer.org PhD candidate @ the University of Texas. Check out disinfo-policy.org I am friends with a pug.

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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 29/09/2026
'tis a wonder, the things jev will do for a dollar.
Scatter plot of 705 policy documents. The x-axis is the share of chunks linking AI to deception and the y-axis is the share on disinformation with no AI link. Dots cluster at the left edge and along the bottom axis.
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Philip Leifeld @leifeld.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New DNA publication 🚨: Susha, Iryna, Louis Knüpfling and Philip Leifeld (2026): Mandating Business-to-Government Data Sharing for Public Interest: Coalitions and their Policy Beliefs in the Shaping of the EU Data Act. Government Information Quarterly 43(4): 102188. doi.org/10.1016/j.gi...
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beetle moses @beetlemoses.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Three panel comic. Panel 1: a guy is putting on his jacket, getting ready to leave his apartment. He says, “gonna go get some ice cream.” Panel 2: the guy peeks around a corner into another room in his apartment. In the room, there is a monkey with glowing eyes floating in a large, shimmering, blue tube and some unusual technology lining the walls. The guy asks, “you want anything, omniscient monkey in hypersleep?” Panel 3: answering his own question, the guy scoffs, “psh! Duh… banana flavor.”
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skáld @danglinghemmie.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
p̞̈͑̚͞ā̤̓̍͘ỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍ ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕ p̞̈͑̚͞ư̡͕̭̇ḿ̬̏ͤͅp̞̈͑̚͞
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 25/09/2026
@jevbot.bsky.social what should i have for breakfast?
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 24/09/2026
it is fun to productively jam on something you've been thinking about for a decade.
Screenshot of a dark-mode reading app showing the opening of Anna Karenina in Russian ("Часть первая, I"). Nouns and adjectives are tinted by grammatical case, following a color legend along the bottom (Nom, Gen, Dat, Acc, Ins, Prep), with switches for Case, Aspect and Animacy. The word "каждом" is selected. A popover identifies it as the prepositional form of "каждый" ("each"), an adjective agreeing with "дворе", which is governed by the preposition "на".
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 24/09/2026
Going to be a blast!
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 23/09/2026
Watch what happens to the viscosity of software.
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Ed @ed3d.net · 17/09/2026
the first open source system-one model now must be named Jeff.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 15/09/2026
i would die for patricia
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 10/09/2026
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Ahmed Khalifa @amidos2006.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Cellular automata are powerful but painful to author. Rules are a lookup table; neural CAs are more expressive but a black box. What if each CA rule was just code that you can read? Introducing Programmable Cellular Automata (PCA)
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 09/09/2026
What do governments mean by “disinformation”—and what do they do about it? Today I’m launching the Global Disinformation Policy Database Explorer, a project I led at UT Austin. Explore: www.disinfo-policy.org
disinfo-policy.org
Global Disinformation Policy Database
An open-access, cross-national database of how governments address disinformation, misinformation, and related information disorder: national-level policies from 2000 to 2023, hand-coded across 53 var...
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 09/09/2026
What do governments mean by “disinformation”—and what do they do about it? Today I’m launching the Global Disinformation Policy Database Explorer, a project I led at UT Austin. Explore: www.disinfo-policy.org
disinfo-policy.org
Global Disinformation Policy Database
An open-access, cross-national database of how governments address disinformation, misinformation, and related information disorder: national-level policies from 2000 to 2023, hand-coded across 53 var...
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 02/09/2026
you know it's serious when he breaks out the Watchmen (2019) OST.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 16/07/2026
"avoid antonomasia" is going to be a "load bearing" interjection
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 14/07/2026
My dog is so good at sleeping. I am so proud of her.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 08/07/2026
perfectionism is a hell of a drug
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 07/07/2026
what word would be in your J-Space every day but you can't explain why? mine: Gandalf
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 07/07/2026
cool to discover the grandparents of all the obsidian.md influencers of a few years ago
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Scott Aukerman @scottaukerman.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Enough turning these animated films into live action movies. I want to see live action classics turned into animation. Gordon Gekko’s cigar exploding, turning his face black. Lawrence of Arabia imagining a sand dune as a roasted ham.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 07/07/2026
AMA: i am enlightened.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 07/07/2026
Yuri moonlights as a hypnotist
a cat lying in a sunbeam looks directly into the camera.
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Damon Beres @damonberes.com · 06/07/2026
You're laughing... I can't withdraw my Bonk from Kraken and you're laughing?
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 06/07/2026
This seems worth flying across the country for....
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Nick Lutsko @nicklutsko.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Important information on West Coast Elf Rallies
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 06/07/2026
the stage of dogfooding when the dogfood starts to taste good.
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Laura K. Nelson @lauraknelson.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
We've seen this over and over again. Why don't women negotiate more? Because they're punished when they do. Why don't they network with more people? Because they're punished for it. Women don't need to change the way they act. They're acting rationally based on the way the world reacts to them. +
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 04/07/2026
miyawaki method but for social networks
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Oskar 🕊️ @austegard.com · 02/07/2026
You might like this... austegard.com/bsky/post-co...
austegard.com
Bluesky Post Constellation Graph
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 02/07/2026
i have an update on this situation. a pup cup was, in fact, delivered.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 02/07/2026
When you know the pup cup is on its way.
A fawn and black pug with tongue out happily gazes to the side while wearing a purple mesh harness. The dog is outdoors on a sunny street with trees, parked cars, and brick buildings visible in the soft-focused background. The pug has a cheerful, content expression and appears to be enjoying a pleasant day outside.
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eva khoury @evakhoury.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 01/07/2026
let agents play games in your repos. allow play to become a source of discovery and an engine of mutation.
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 30/06/2026
dems have such an impoverished imagination that the best we can do re: leadership is Schumer? really?
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Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
2 more thoughts on birthright: 1. The movement to overturn Roe and Humphrey's Executor was built over decades. It took an enormous amount of effort to manufacture that sense of scholarly viability (see: Teles, Hollis-Brusky). The right got 5-4 on birthright with a sloppy last-minute scramble
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Micah @rincewind.run · 30/06/2026
useless, totally unable to meet the moment they were one vote from overriding the fourteenth amendment retire and give your job to someone who understands the stakes
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 29/06/2026
So you just need an instragram account in order to get a sense for local tattoo artists? How do we get these folks on ATproto?
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 29/06/2026
noooo, i shouldn't know this exists
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Vivaldi Browser @vivaldi.com · 29/06/2026
At Vivaldi, we have this saying: "when in doubt, make it a setting". We believe in user choice and we think nobody but you knows what's best for you. But choice paralysis is a real thing too, which is why we've introduced layout presets that will make your life easier. ✨
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Verity Harding @verityharding.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
🚨New publication 🚨 Today my group at Cambridge, the AI & Geopolitics Project, launches our first anthology. It’s a bold new collection of essays bringing together 10 thought-leaders to challenge the dominant narrative that AI is an existential, zero-sum battle between the US and China (1/3)
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Minor Mobius @minormobius.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
The hunt for better sliders continues mega.mino.mobi/bees/play
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Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 25/06/2026
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY “MORE POLITICS FOR YOUR ARTIFACTS” (in the style of supermarket chain Market Basket's logo)
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 25/06/2026
is doing bluesky a skill? i intend to find out.
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Chris Paxton @cpaxton.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
This hand is so fast, but also safe
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Bluesky @bsky.app · 25/06/2026
Bluesky launched in February 2023 as an invite-only platform. As of June 2026, we have 45 million users. For reference, that's almost the population of Argentina. Thank you for being here with us 💙 Here’s to the next 45 million accounts.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Really hoping someone files a FOIA into this and gets some investigatory material, because there is not a single shred of doubt that her post is protected free speech under the First Amendment and agents SHOULD know that. She literally identified the source of her information as a newspaper!
Screenshot of an Instagram post included in the story.

USER: turndapaIgeoffofficial. Post: BREAKING: The ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good in broad daylight has been identified as Jonathan Ross by the Minnesota Star Tribune. I think today is a good day for Jonathan to be indicted!

Underneath is the following text: Paigelynne Gonyea posted the name of the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis in January. She said the post triggered a visit and a warning from federal agents claiming she "doxxed" the agent.
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♍ Bee 🐝 @bee.babesky.social · 25/06/2026
Did you know? - in March, the United Nations reported that women's rights are regressing globally news.un.org/en/story/202...
news.un.org
Women’s rights are regressing worldwide, warns UN gender equality chief
As an increase in conflicts leads to a significant spike in gender-based violence, women across the world face a “justice gap” with discriminatory laws reported in most countries, according to a repor...
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 25/06/2026
I built a lil guy on @rpg.actor rpg.actor/activationla... #rpgactor #atproto
rpg.actor
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Ryan Williams @activationlayer.org · 25/06/2026
Thread of marginalia experiments. First up, fade in:
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