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Aviya Skowron

@aviya.bsky.social
843 followers 404 following 88 posts

Head of Policy at EleutherAI. They/them. Working at the intersection of open source and AI policy. Former philosophlete.

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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
reasonable take: METR has some conflicts of interest with Anthropic, raising questions about whether they can evaluate truly independently monkey's paw:
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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Every soccer match should be followed by appeals of each foul. That is the only way soccer can become more like appellate litigation, which I understand to be the goal of all.
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joannes @playthroughline.com · 30/06/2026
A vicious cycle of four steps surrounding a black cat with a thousand-yard stare and a dapper little tie. The four endlessly cycling steps read:

-going forward we're gonna need more of your data to make sure it's you

-ahaha youre not gonna believe this but we had a bit of a data breach

-your data is probably for sale online now

-that means someone could easily impersonate you
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
love the feeling of getting more frustrated the longer you try to work on something
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thinkingbayonet.bsky.social @thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
"last person to talk to him" theory of policy development is looking like an absolute lock
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
intelltignce on surface , needs larger surface area.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
BREAKING: Social Security Administration chief data officer and whistle-blower Charles Borges has resigned after bombshell report that SSA put highly-sensitive data at risk. He sent out an email to colleagues moments ago. Here is the text of his email shared with me:
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Common Crawl Foundation @commoncrawl.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
The Common Crawl Foundation, MLCommons, EleutherAI, and John Hopkins' Center for Language and Speech Processing have the pleasure of inviting you to register for the 1st shared task on Language Identification for web data. commoncrawl.org/blog/wmdqs-s...
commoncrawl.org
Common Crawl - Blog - WMDQS Shared Task on Language Identification
The Common Crawl Foundation, MLCommons, EleutherAI, and John Hopkins' Center for Language and Speech Processing have the pleasure of inviting you to register for the 1st shared task on Language Identi...
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Meredith Rose @mrose.ink · 21/07/2025
Fair use is what enables quote-dunking. It's what lets you make fun of elected officials by quoting their own words back at them. It's what allows gifs to exist in the first place. It's what makes software interoperable. It underpins literally everything online.
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Dave Willner @dwillner.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
We discovered something counterintuitive: the best way to find policy ambiguities is to create subtly distinct versions of your policy, then see where AI interprets them differently. Those mismatches reveal your problem spots. Systematic, repeatable, effective. But still manual. 🧵 4/7
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SE Gyges @segyges.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
as you can see, grok doesn't actually present any consistent belief, grok will say anything support your local jewish transgender catgirl hackers
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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
The funny thing about the Superman freakout is that Kal-El isn't "just" an undocumented immigrant. He is a refugee who fled a planet that was literally dying. His creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were first generation Jews whose parents had fled persecution in Eastern Europe.
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eleutherai.bsky.social @eleutherai.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
We are launching a new speaker series at EleutherAI, focused on promoting recent research by our team and community members. Our first talk is by @catherinearnett.bsky.social on tokenizers, their limitations, and how to improve them.
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Jordan Uhl @jordanuhl.com · 15/06/2025
Remarkable. MSNC: "I want to reiterate this has been 100% peaceful." Seconds later, LA County sheriffs start firing on the crowd. Yet again, "law enforcement" deliberately escalated.
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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Kristi Noem: "We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city." Sen. Alex Padilla is then forcibly removed!
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eleutherai.bsky.social @eleutherai.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
The project of open science for machine learning only works if we are able to distribute the training data. Openly licensed data lets us do that, under mild conditions. We make sure to provide document-level metadata for authorship, licensing information, links back to the originals, and more.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Reminder that attacking Jews around the world because of the actions of the state of Israel is definitionally antisemitic.
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
About Copyright Office AI report: many things to say about it (108p!) but let's start with: memorization in machine learning studies IS NOT the same thing as a copy in IP law. It *may* be an IP-law copy, but it does not have to be, and that distinction somehow got lost in the heated discourse
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Blake E. Reid @chup.blakereid.org · 13/05/2025
<puts ball on table> “Here’s a tech company. Are we mad at it?” *screams* <puts ball in box labeled “AI company”> “Now are we mad it it?” *coos*
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Meredith Rose @mrose.ink · 12/05/2025
Our statement on the "firing" of the Register of Copyrights and the termination of Dr Carla Hayden.
publicknowledge.org
Public Knowledge Condemns President Trump’s Lawless Assault on Copyright Office, Baseless Termination of Librarian of Congress
Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
extremely relatable, no one has ever seen anything like it
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Sarah McLaughlin @sarahemclaugh.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
New Ed Martin letter—this time to Wikipedia about its tax-exempt status. In it, he asks about topics including its editorial practices, editor anonymity, "hateful content and conduct by editors," and content used to train LLMs. www.thefp.com/p/trump-pros... Letter: drive.google.com/file/d/1ocNy...
April 24, 2025

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. AKA Wikipedia
P.O. Box 98204
Washington, DC 20090-8204
VIA EMAIL: business@wikimedia.org
legal@wikimedia.org
To Whom it May Concern,
As the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I regularly receive requests for
information, clarification, and official comment. I regard such inquiries with the seriousness they
warrant and respond appropriately through formal correspondence, such as this letter.
It has come to my attention that Wikipedia, which operates via its fiscal sponsor, the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., is engaging in a series of activities that could violate its obligations under
Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. As a nonprofit corporation, which is
incorporated in the District of Columbia, the Wikimedia Foundation is subject to specific legal
obligations and fiduciary duties consistent with its tax-exempt status. In addition, the public is
entitled to rely on a reasonable expectation of neutrality, transparency, and accountability in its
operations and publications.
In its 2023 IRS Form 990, the Wikimedia Foundation describes its mission as, “empower[ing]
and engag[ing] people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free
license or in the public domain and to disseminate it effectively and globally. . . [.]”
As you know, Section 501(c)(3) requires that organizations receiving tax-exempt status operate
exclusively for “religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational
purposes. . . [.]” It has come to my attention that the Wikimedia Foundation, through its wholly
owned subsidiary Wikipedia, is allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spreadpropaganda to the American public. Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its
platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current
and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the
interests of the United States. Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise
of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s “educational” mission.
In addition, Wikipedia’s operations are directed by its board that is composed primarily of
foreign nationals, subverting the interests of American taxpayers. Again, educational content is
directionally neutral; but information received by my Office demonstrates that Wikipedia’s
informational management policies benefit foreign powers.
Moreover, we are aware that search engines such as Google have agreed to prioritize Wikipedia
results due to the relationship that Wikipedia has established with these tech platforms. If the
content contained in Wikipedia articles is biased, unreliable, or sourced by entities who wish to
do harm to the United States, search engine prioritization of Wikipedia will only amplify
propaganda to a larger American audience.
Lastly, it has come to our attention that generative AI platforms receive Wikipedia data to train
large-language models. This data is now consumed by masses of Americans and American
teachers on a daily basis. If the data provided is manipulated, particularly by foreign actors and
entities, Wikipedia’s relationship with generative AI platforms have the potential to launder
information on behalf of foreign actors.
In light of these concerns, my Office seeks information pertaining to Wikimedia’s compliance
with the laws governing its tax-exempt status. To assist with our investigation of this matter, I
request the following documents and information, covering the time period of January 1, 2021 to
the present, as soon as possible but no later than May 15, 2…5. What policy does the Foundation have in place to ensure that content submissions,
editorial decisions, and article revisions reflect a broad spectrum of viewpoints, including
those that may be in tension with the views of major financial or institutional backers?
6. What is the Foundation’s official process for addressing credible allegations that editors
or contributors have materially misled readers, engaged in bad-faith edits, or otherwise
manipulated content in ways that undermine Wikipedia’s commitment to neutrality?
Similarly, what is the Foundation’s official process for auditing or evaluating the actions,
activities, and voting patterns of editors, admins, and committees, including the
Arbitration Committee, in order to ensure the Foundation’s policies and the policies of its
projects are enforced? Detail all instances in which these processes have been utilized in
the last six years.
7. Does the Foundation maintain a public, formally adopted policy explicitly prohibiting
hateful content and conduct by editors? If so, what enforcement mechanisms are in place
to ensure compliance and accountability, and which namespaces and content on the
platform do these mechanisms apply to? Further, how does the Foundation ensure that
sources used in writing content on Wikipedia and elsewhere do not violate its policies,
including but not limited to those against discrimination?
8. Given growing public concerns regarding the large-scale manipulation of particular
categories of content by ideologically motivated editors, what safeguards exist to detect
and prevent undue influence by individuals or coordinated networks who use editorial or
administrative authority to systematically distort content? Provide details regarding
actions taken by the Foundation using these safeguards over the last six years.
Additionally, detail any changes over time to these safeguards.
9. In view of public criticisms, including those expressed by Wikipedia Co-Founder Dr.
Lawrence M. Sanger, r…effects of that content on search results and data already used to train LLMs? What
measures does the Foundation take to ensure that these companies, as well as the broader
public, understand misinformation, bias, and other problems across its projects, including
Wikipedia?
I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after request. Thank you in advance
for your assistance. Please respond by May 15, 2025. Should you have further questions
regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in
person.
All the best.

Edward R. Martin, Jr.
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
gonna watch White House OSTP Director Kratsios give the Trump administration’s inaugural technology policy address and live skeet it here :)
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
To believe in right-wing gender politics you have to believe that gender is simultaneously something so completely innate and synonymous with biological sex that it could never possibly be otherwise, and also so tenuous and anxious that even a life of material comfort can threaten that identity.
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Cory Booker is on the senate floor explaining the AI Act’s Code of Practice
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Welcome to Donald Trump’s trade policy. Nobody knows anything. 54/n
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James Gardner @jadgardner.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Are you tired of context-switching between coding models in @pytorch.org and paper writing on @overleaf.com? Well, I’ve got the fix for you, Neuralatex! An ML library written in pure Latex! neuralatex.com To appear in Sigbovik (subject to rigorous review process)
neuralatex.com
Neuralatex: A machine learning library written in pure LATEX
Neuralatex: A machine learning library written in pure LATEX
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
ope-sec in the midwest
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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
OOPSEC
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
so the air strikes in Yemen were actually about making Europe say thank you
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 24/03/2025
Signal's a great app to keep your communications secure, but make sure you know the identities of the users in your group chats. Our SSD guide on how to use Signal includes guidance on managing your group chat preferences.
ssd.eff.org
How to: Use Signal
Download location: Google Play Store, Apple App Store System requirements: Android 5 or later, iOS 13 or later Version used in this guide: Android: 7.0. iPhone: 7.0 License: GPLv3 Level: Beginner Time...
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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 21/03/2025
I helped build a government AI system. DOGE fired me, rolled the AI out to the whole agency, and implied the AI can do my job and the jobs of the others they've fired. It can't. But, what DOGE accidentally revealed about themselves in the process is fascinating. 🧵
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/03/2025
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is back again this week: The TAKE IT DOWN Takedown. @benwhitelaw.bsky.social is back this week and we discuss the TAKE IT DOWN Act and why it's a weapon, not a law (thanks @thedextriarchy.bsky.social). Also the new book about Meta... podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis...
podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com
The TAKE IT DOWN Takedown - Ctrl-Alt-Speech
In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and inte...
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
TODAY at 2:30 PM: @eleutherai.bsky.social is at #SXSW! What is open source AI and how are policymakers thinking about it in 2025? I'm on a panel joined by great lawyers from @databricks.bsky.social, Meta, and @mofollp.bsky.social 2:30-3:30 pm Hilton Austin Downtown, 4th Floor, Salon C
Open Source AI: Legal Issues at the Frontier
Session - Salon C
14:3O - 15:30 | March 12
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Stella Biderman @stellaathena.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
It was great to speak to @chronphilanthropy.bsky.social about AI research and how it's challenging yet necessary for non-profits to work in the LLM space. Many think we should leave the field to companies, but non-profits have different values and goals and those are important. shorturl.at/8IlmF
philanthropy.com
How Philanthropy Built, Lost, and Could Reclaim the A.I. Race
Philanthropy helped build artificial intelligence as a nonprofit research field. But as costs soar and corporations take over, donors and grantees are struggling to stay relevant.
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Stella Biderman @stellaathena.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Proud to be at the AI Action Summit representing @eleutherai.bsky.social and the open source community. The focus on AI for the public good is exciting! DM me or @aviya.bsky.social to talk about centering openness, transparency, and public good in the AI ecosystem.
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
update on the trip to Paris
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Excited to share I’ll be in Paris Feb 5-13. Feb 6-7 I’m presenting a poster at the inaugural conference of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss open source & AI, or meet up at Rue Saint-Éleuthère (yes this is a real street).
Parisian street sign saying “Rue Saint Eleutheré”
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
i feel like Elon Musk endorsing AfD two months before the German elections should have been a bigger story
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
the actually surprising part of this screenshot is openAI's paper defining "clear superhuman performance" as "> 95th percentile" like come on that's not what the word SUPERhuman means
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
blessed to discover the "Things People Blame the Jews For" series owing to its very strong 72nd installment
dsadevil.blogspot.com
The Debate Link
"I'm a professor! Why won't anyone listen to me?"
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
I made a starter pack for @eleutherai.bsky.social and friends of open source, tell me who else I should add go.bsky.app/UMAyU65
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
earlier this year someone recommended Hostile Epistemology by C. Thi Nguyen to me — thank you so much! (We are probably mutuals and I'm so sorry I forgot where or with whom this interaction happened.)
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
“Reconciling that it’s our duty to acknowledge reality and that saving face by fooling ourselves keeps the world spinning” is a great description of what it’s like to do policy at @eleutherai.bsky.social :P Not on accident — this is already how IP law operated in tech before “genAI” became popular
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
follow @lu.is and you too may learn fascinating (and sometimes horrifying) ways laws already on the books shape current tech policy issues (Threads has different Mastodon interop for EU because of GDPR?!)
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
oh no my precious skeets
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
okay I have to admit there’s something very cool about this place
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Yoshitomo Matsubara @yoshitomo-matsubara.net · 21/11/2024
Here is a list of ML OSS & Open Source / Science enthusiasts I found on Bluesky 🦋 go.bsky.app/8MFcfXd Let me know if you find such people here! I'm still new here and probably the list misses many must-add people, so let's built it together💪
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Aviya Skowron @aviya.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
I made a starter pack for @eleutherai.bsky.social and friends of open source, tell me who else I should add go.bsky.app/UMAyU65
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