iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Anthropic is out with new nonsense about Claude (or the collection of models called Claude) deserving moral consideration and/or be able to feel distress, so my inbox is filling up with journos asking me to comment. I've also got a day job, so here is a brief set of public comments on this: >>

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Does computational linguistics count? I'm planning on making a zine about how language is represented in NLP models.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

There were also very few opportunities for people to ask questions, despite people talking about how this is a 'conversation'. Most panels only had the opportunity for one or two quick questions

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

When people say "AI is moving very quickly" it always confuses me, because yes, there are developments for sure but the things we should do to combat the risks dont change that much even if the models are getting better at benchmarks

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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

every time i get suckered in by a "but what about all the useful stuff AI does in my life??" argument the useful stuff is either "something you could google in two seconds" or "highly-skilled labor you don't have and therefore can't fact check"

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The end panel very much has a 'afraid of being left behind' vibe. I feel like everyone keeps saying they feel 'hopeful' but it really seems like they are more afraid than anything.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Interestingly, there was basically no discussion (that I saw) of the questionable economics of AI. The assumption was definitely that AI will continue to be affordable and available.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Also, at some point, someone gave as an example of 'appropriate AI use': "if i want to know how to sign up for the Chicago Marathon, I can use AI" why are all the examples of "appropriate uses of AI" really terrible?

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I took a break for lunch and missed a few panels but then there was an "AI and Youth" panel. The quote that made me so fruatrated was, when talking about age appropriate education about AI, "and by high school we really have to teach them to use it for brainstorming". Do we really????

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

When I questioned him about this, he said "I'm not talking about AI safety as in effective altruism. Im just talking about how to make AI safe" but he literally had 80,000 hours as one of his resources.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The panel that started this thread (about the environmental impact of AI that was secretly about existential risk) was the worst I went to. He said a lot of the real risks but then would mention "RSI" and ended it with a "how to get involved" slide that was all AI safety orgs.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Some of the other panels were better but still were working from the perspective of AI use being good and how to 'use it ethically'. A panelist was listing a bunch of harms, and then the moderator was like "everyone obviously wants to learn how to use AI..." which was kind of funny

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

At one point, a panelist said "We really don't know what the risks of AI really are. CEOs say things but who knows???" And I'm like... have you tried to look at people like @timnitgebru.blacksky.app who are actually doing work on this instead of listening to CEOs??? That might be a start!

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The opening panel included a lot of 'AI is here to stay so we have to adapt' talk, and also ’we aren't trying to push adoption, we just want informed choices'. ... okay, why are all of the initiatives you are talking about are focused exclusive on adoption.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Generally my impressions of the CHI+AI Summit at the Chicago Public Library: disappointed but very much not surprised. It advertised itself as 'make Chicago the most AI Literate City in the nation' so I didn't expect it to take refusal and resistance very seriously.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

At an event that is nominally about the environmental impacts of AI and they keep slipping in x-risk and 'rogue ai' narratives.

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Nathalie Maréchal, PhD @nathaliemarechal.net · 01/10/2026

I absolutely know who needs to hear this, though I won’t name names. Progressive orgs need to stop pretending that “AGI” and “x-risk” are ideas to take seriously. No one is building a computer god that could go rogue and turn us into paper clips.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 30/09/2026

Friends, while they're trying to talk about fictional machine gods, don't lose sight into what they're all actually powering in real life. You can browse the the entities on the website and use the API, and learn more about it on the DAIR project site: dair-institute.org/projects/sur....

dair-institute.org

Surveillance Watch

This interactive map reveals the intricate connections between surveillance companies, their funding sources and affiliations.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I learned a lot making this and hopefully the next one (I have several planned) won't take so long!

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

My first zine is done! It is about how AI doomerism is marketing for AI companies and you can download it here! aylataylor.itch.io/whos-afraid-...

aylataylor.itch.io

Who's Afraid Of The AI Apocalypse? by aylataylor

Why "AI doomerism" is just Pro-AI Marketing

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Cook County Digital Inclusion Week takes place October 4–10. The week will highlight the organizations and community leaders working to expand digital access and opportunity throughout the County. Explore Cook County events and resources at digitalequity.cookcountyil.gov.

digitalequity.cookcountyil.gov

Home

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The next workshop I am running is on October 10th at the Evanston Public Library at 4pm as part of Cook County Digital Inclusion Week! Because digital inclusion has to include being able to say no to harmful technologies. luma.com/ll15zp6r

luma.com

Rejecting AI: Digital Inclusion Means Knowing When To Say No · Luma

Part of Cook County Digital Inclusion Week! While often sold with the idea that they will "expand access", the AI products that are being pushed on people are…

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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

when ai leaves u behind

7 panel comic.

Panel 1:
A Red Guy with AI across his chest looks like he’s about to run away. A Yellow Guy stands next to him. Red Guy says “I’m the future, buddy. You comin’?”
Yellow Guy replies “Nah”

Panel 2:
Red Guy is almost out of the panel. He leans in and says “Enjoy getting left behind, pal”
Yellow Guy replies “ok”

Panel 3:
Yellow Guy stands alone.

Panel 4:
Close up on Yellow Guy, there is a quiet “huff-huff-huff” noise coming from behind him

Panel 5:
Yellow Guy turns to look behind him

Panel 6:
Close up on Yellow Guy’s face as if from the point of view of an attacker.
Yellow Guy yells “Jesus Christ”

Panel 7:
AI Red Guy is now chasing the Yellow Guy.
Red Guy: “Use me”
Yellow Guy “No”
Red Guy “USE ME”

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

AI didn’t “go rogue.” People connected a computer system they know can mess with another computer system in unpredictable ways to less advanced computer system and it messed with that computer system in unpredicted ways. As @tressiemcphd.bsky.social argues, don’t lose sight that *people* did that.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Panic Won’t Fix the Looming A.I. Threat. Politics Will.

The threats from A.I. are real — and they’re ones we know how to deal with.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

But genuinely it is a great documentary and everyone should watch it

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Rewatching this and this stupid meme is just stuck in my head 😂

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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Based upon their documented behavior over the past few years, the tech industry is less afraid of the potential ramifications of Artificial Superintelligence than they are of Lina Khan.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It is looking like a PhD might be my best option, which is a daunting thought.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It is well past time for me to leave my job. I hate the corporate environment, and I REALLY don't want to work with AI anymore. I am just not sure how to find (paid) roles for my interests and background. I have SO many project and research ideas but I unfortunately need money to live, which sucks.

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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The Onion has created a machine that will kill everyone on Earth that is coincidentally running out of money and the only way to slow it down is if my staff and I take a six-week vacation to Cabo San Lucas.

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Alias Messier @amampersand.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Last week, I provided students with my Reasons to Hate AI mini comic, & now you can have it, too. Thanks to @nsousanis.bsky.social for suggestions & so many for the accumulated info, esp. @emilymbender.bsky.social, @alexhanna.bsky.social, @karenhao.bsky.social , @dairinstitute.bsky.social.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I'm going to be at the @socialismconference.org this weekend, if anyone wants to chat about AI resistance!

Selfie of a white woman with brown and purple hair, purple glasses, and a white face mask, in a sleeveless blue shirt. She is in front of a large sign that says "Socialism".

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Two more workshops this month! One on 9/9 at 6pm and one on 9/26 at 3pm! The last one went great and I hope to see people there! luma.com/calendar/cal...

luma.com

Chicago Resists AI · Events Calendar

View and follow events from Chicago Resists AI on Luma.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

"AI turns everyone into tiny dictators". My sister said my new favorite way of describing the impact of sycophantic AI. It makes sense that the tech billionaires love it, given that they think it is normal to be surrounded by yes-men who tell them all their stupidest ideas are genius.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 13/08/2026

🔇 🔇 🔇 My book, Deep Unlearning, is now available for preorders! I don't know how people write so many books because this one took a lot out of me. It turns out, I had a lot to say 😂, with editors cutting out 50k of my words 🫣 ✴️ You can now preorder it at www.simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U....

Cover of my new book, Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and The Radicalization of a Tech Idealist.

There are two concentric circles in the book, the left being circuits in black an white, and the right being a bunch of dots with orange accents. The cover background is cream. And the words are written in black except for "Un" which is in orange.

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jj skolnik @supremenothing.myatproto.social · 11/08/2026

what if i do not want to be optimized. what if i want to make mistakes because that’s how you learn; what if i want to do nothing sometimes, what if i want a world that is weird and challenging and has mysteries left to reveal. what if i like taking the long way

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11/04/2026

I don't know how to explain to the people who pop up when creatives complain about "AI" to say there are legit uses for it just how much they sound like someone saying "Well actually fire is used to make bread" when people are talking about an organized arson ring burning down their fucking houses

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 01/08/2026

I led a report about the environmental and resource parts of this! Companies intentionally conflate wildly different machine learning applications: using a sprinkling of good to justify a tsunami of bad ketanjoshi.co/2026/02/17/b...

A two panel info graphic showing energy consumption is mostly from generative

But climate benefit claims are mostly traditional AI

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 31/07/2026

We're in the era of incompetence & cybercrimes headlined as "unprecedented model capabilities gone rogue." So OpenAI & Anthropic are trying to one up each other with such incompetence because the "press release as a service" performing media & clueless politicians parrot pre IPO CEO talking points.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 31/07/2026

There is no meaningful use case for Google’s new “faking satellite imagery with AI” product.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I took a class with Bill Labov in undergrad and he told us a story about how he first got into linguistics after watching a film version of Pigmalion several times as a teen because he thought the actress was pretty. So it goes way back!

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I will be using the anti-inevitability framework of resist/refuse/reclaim/reimagine from @weandai.bsky.social as well as examples of resistance from the AI Resist List. There will be discussions and craft supplies and planning.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

For anyone in the Chicago area: I am going to be running a workshop on Aug 1st at 3pm at the Bucktown-Wicker Park Library about How To Say No to AI! www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-say...

eventbrite.com

How To Say NO to AI

A community workshop on how to resist the narrative that AI is inevitable.

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Ayla Taylor @aylataylor.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

LLMs provide a perfect way for these people to entirely bypass having to read the book they are trying to pass judgement on! Or for that book to even exist! Truly innovative 😭

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Rob Sheridan @rob-sheridan.com · 30/06/2026

The thing about social media age restrictions is that it treats today’s internet as an inevitability we all just have to deal with. The internet (and the WORLD) wasn’t like this until like four dudes were allowed to own & monetize as much tech real estate as they wanted. Fix THAT problem.

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

A phenomenon I've noticed recently is people trying to occupy some untenable middleground wrt to the use of systems sold as "AI" -- this is a position where people try to recognize the harms of this tech but also hold space for "responsible" or "ethical" use. 🧵>>

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 12/06/2026

llms don't and can't love, hate, feel, care, think, imagine, dream, hope, fear, believe, reflect, aspire, wonder, empathize,... fix your your anthropomorphising language

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Nathan J Robinson: Instead of discussing how Elon Musk is now the world's first trillionaire, we should talk about how he killed hundreds of thousands of people through his dismantling of food and medical aid to poor countries www.currentaffairs.org/news/how-elo...

currentaffairs.org

How Elon Musk Killed Hundreds of Thousands of People

Former USAID global health official Nicholas Enrich explains the catastrophic human toll of DOGE's cuts to the agency.

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