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Janet D. Stemwedel

@docfreeride.bsky.social
13K followers 1.9K following 4.9K posts

Academic philosopher, lapsed chemist, occasional science writer, perpetual ethics booster. All views my own. (she/her)

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 14h
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 3h
A more general point: The owners of these models fiddle with them constantly to give the answers they want. This is why we need to distinguish among "AI" models and know who is manipulating them.
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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 22h
FBI Director Kash Patel this week has faced the worst data breach in FBI history, a deputy who quit because Patel was doing too many unconstitutional things, and partied with a suspected double agent. And it's only Tuesday. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/the-disgra...
doomsdayscenario.co
The Disgrace and Danger of Kash Patel, Part II
A quick check-in on the FBI director's latest raft of scandals (including, of course, the bestiality).
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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 19h
Wired just did a story noting that an influencer named Kurt Schlichter is a “civilian government advisor” (?) to Hegseth. This dude has been around forever in internet time and writes the worst novels that are basically Turner Diaries fanfic www.wired.com/story/a-pent...
wired.com
A Pentagon Influencer Called Liberal Women a ‘Pestilence’ Who Will End Western Civilization
Kurt Schlichter was part of a task force rooting out so-called woke ideologies at the military’s war colleges. He has called to bar childless adults from voting.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
They are in fact contemptuous of the idea that I would go out and talk to people about how they use a technology or observe them trying to use it. Just hostile to the very concept of there being an end user.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
So you know previous waves of technological fabulism the tech companies threw a little loose change at social behavioral research and user interface experience. whats interesting about AI interesting is that they aren’t even pretending to care about how people use the technology.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
You know this is my third or fourth go around with this kind of technological innovation for consumers and citizens. And a lot of it is the same. Same pattern of exaggerated benefits, underestimated challenges. What’s new this time is the sector isn’t even pretending to care about the consumer.
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Anna Alexandrova @annaalexandrova.bsky.social · 21h
Here’s the especially depressing bit: “peer review reports and funding recommendations have “suddenly become much longer, more detailed and complex”. Colleagues, what are you doing?
giftarticle.ft.com
Snoop-and-scoop poses a real threat to science in the AI age
Establishing attribution in research has become harder in the age of AI-assisted breakthroughs
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Bradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
shoving all my work aside to report out what led to this sign
a sign that reads DO NOT OUT NOODLES IN THE WATER FOUNTAIN!!
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
America.gov launched today--a DOGE initiative to use AI to deliver public services. Child lying facedown on a frozen lake as the image accompanying the question: "How can I invest in my child's future" is just incredible. Way to go AI
Image of a child lying facedown on a froze lake.  above is the portal where you ask AI questions about government services.  the question matching this image is:  "How can I invest in my child's future?"
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Hap @hapchem.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
They either didn't hardcode limits or coded the program such that it could exceed those limits. If you make a tool and use it poorly or negligently, you're responsible for what it does. Why aren't AI companies?
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pretty sure this is a scene from some sort of sci-fi dystopia written in the 1970s
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Janet D. Stemwedel @docfreeride.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Except, of course, there is no willingness or unwillingness from a bag of math.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It's often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort."
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hey, remember when engineering fields (all of them) took pride in precision, rigorous testing, safety standards, sufficient margins for error, etc? Yeah, that was nice. www.404media.co/these-tech-w... >>
404media.co
These Tech Workers Made ChatGPT Drive a Toyota Corolla
The team used frontier LLMs with no prior training data navigate a simple parking lot course.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 29/09/2026
Either this is true, in which case *what are we doing here*? Shut it down. Or it's bullshit, in which case these are truly silly people unworthy of our money
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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"The idea that you can easily separate 'economic' and 'cultural' issues is nonsense. It’s very expensive for transgender Americans to move to blue states so they can live freely. It’s harder to buy a house in a neighborhood with rising home values if you are Black." newrepublic.com/article/2159...
newrepublic.com
Why Democrats Should Stop Using the Phrase “Culture Wars”
Texas’s Gina Hinojosa and others slamming the party for focusing too much on so-called cultural issues are pushing a flawed electoral and policy strategy.
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Trump administration weakens fuel efficiency standards for new cars | This will make your life worse. Dirtier air and more expensive gas tanks in addition to the climate impacts. No one benefits.
npr.org
The Trump administration weakens fuel efficiency standards for new cars
The Trump administration says easing these standards will make cars more affordable. Critics say it's not so simple and could be costly for the environment.
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Stephanie King @stephstephking.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Writers, if you are against AI, do not put your writing into ANY tool that is itself AI. Not to check grammar, not to "prove" you wrote it yourself. Everything you give them becomes part of their data, even if it's only to "improve their service" or whatever BS they tell you.
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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026
Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.
wisn.com
Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport
Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.
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Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hell, now that I think of it, I would never have been able to get a bachelors degree without student loans It was the only way to afford higher education
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When the elite fascist capture of the academy is complete, young people will still be hungry for an educational path that allows them to explore their curiosity and obsessions What options can we give them?
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Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I would never have been able to get an advanced degree without student loans. The new aggregate loan limits already nuked my chances at switching careers through the MLIS—this new rule would be catastrophic for the working class At this point it wouldn’t be a waste to explore alt. higher ed design
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Jorge Rivera Marín @jlrmarin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Conor is the same guy who wanted everyone to see the good in Jeffrey Toobin after he was caught masturbating during a work call. Friedersdorf's shtick is to find the worst people and insist we cannot take them at face value for what they say and do. So of course they're always making Conor look bad.
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Janet D. Stemwedel @docfreeride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Am I cranky that a colleague who *knows* I am on vacation (& has access to my calendar) tried to call me anyway? Perhaps! But I am betting it’s nothing the thermal springs can’t address.
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
Let the history books show that STUDENT reporters brought national attention to unchecked abuse. I hope that their cups and opportunities forever overfloweth.This is courage.
abcnews.com
District attorney reopens case of alleged Cornell University 'gang rape'
Prosecutors in central New York say they are reopening the case of alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity.
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Devin Curry @devinsanchezcurry.com · 28/09/2026
pub day! www.routledge.com/Introducing-...
routledge.com
Introducing Philosophy of Mind, Today
This coursebook introduces philosophy of mind as it is practiced in the third decade of the 21st century to a wide range of readers. It provides any interested student, researcher, or general reader—n...
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Mindy Weisberger @laminda.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For years, a group of scientists in Copenhagen fed their research into Anthropic's AI models to write code and draft manuscripts. @carlzimmer.com reports that among their work were findings about new enzymes—which Anthropic recently "discovered" independently, according to an announcement last week
nytimes.com
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 28/09/2026
Patreon version! www.patreon.com/katelynburns...
patreon.com
We May Have Just Seen the Tides Turn on Trans Rights | Katelyn Burns
Elon Musk's PAC just backed off from running some anti-trans ads. Is this a sign of what's to come for trans people? "Be merry! We meet agai
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Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This thread is so important because it gets at the AI industry’s central failure of imagination. While I’ve met exceptions to the rule in Silicon Valley, most human beings do not reduce their sense of being alive to a stream of successive task completions, and find it a truly alienating vision.
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For all that it's been barely reported in the UK press, it's still hard to understate the importance of the stance @labourunionsuk.bsky.social has taken on trans and non-binary rights this week. Every single trade union affiliated to the party of government has stood up and said we will not comply.
Joint statement from National TULO

Solidarity with the trans and non-binary community

Labour's 11 affiliated trade unions stand in total solidarity with the trans and non-binary community.

Trans rights are human rights, and trans rights are workers' rights.

We in the trade union movement will do all we can to stand up for our trans members and all our trans siblings, to protect them from persecution, harassment and attack.

The government must act now to protect all trans people, to make sure their rights are protected, expanded and upheld in our workplaces and communities.

Labour Unions
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
C. Brandon Ogbunu @cbo.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
In my latest for @undark.org, I compare AI adoption in science to the Ship of Theseus: "If you swap out every wooden plank on a ship over time, is it still the same vessel?" I argue that science derives authority from something more than data generation + publication. undark.org/2026/09/25/o...
undark.org
AI Presents Science with a ‘Ship of Theseus’ Problem
Opinion | AI can replace each part of the scientific process, leaving the enterprise recognizable but devoid of human judgment.
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“I believe that science derives its authority from…interactions within a community of people trained to interrogate evidence and answer for the conclusions they draw from it. And it is time to formalize what this means, and which sorts of human judgment cannot (or should not) be offloaded to AI.”
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
For the Love of Missy @missybbbobtail.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
They say cats are independent yet Mine has never let me use the bathroom alone.
Jinx the green eyed  tabby bobtail cat.staring directly at momma as she walks into the bathroom.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Department of Transportation in the supposedly Communist State of Oregon just finished a major highway project ahead of time and under budget. www.salemreporter.com/2026/09/25/o...
salemreporter.com
ODOT declares south Salem I-5 project a success - Salem Reporter
The state transportation agency said its road widening project has come in ahead of schedule and under budget.
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itati santamaria de Collins @itativcs.latinsky.app · 28/09/2026
🧪🌻🌱🌎🌍🌏
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Chile became the second country in the WHO Region of the Americas to receive validation for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies as a public health problem, demonstrating both the effectiveness of long-term investments in dog vaccination, post-exposure prophylaxis and surveillance”
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today is World Rabies Day, and here is something to celebrate in the fight against this terrible disease: “Bhutan became the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to receive validation for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies as a public health problem” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social
who.int
World Rabies Day 2026
2026 year’s World Rabies Day theme is: “Stronger Together”.
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jentrification ♎ @jentrification.com · 28/09/2026
Microsoft goes quiet after church groups ask for 1% of data center costs
share.google
Microsoft goes quiet after church groups ask for 1% of data center costs
“Microsoft claims to want to be a good neighbor, but the jury is still out."
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Reposted by Janet D. Stemwedel
Chuck Tingle @chucktingle.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
please enjoy brand new tingler NOT POUNDED BY THIS FLOCK CAMERA BECAUSE SOMEONE CUT IT DOWN. HUH, INTERESTING. I WONDER WHO COULD’VE DONE THAT? out now here www.amazon.com/dp/B0HL6WHFVV and on buckaroo patreon www.patreon.com/chucktingle/...
cover of NOT POUNDED BY THIS FLOCK CAMERA BECAUSE SOMEONE CUT IT DOWN. HUH, INTERESTING. I WONDER WHO COULD’VE DONE THAT? on the right there is a concerned ladybuck with her hands up in a gesture of NO WAY BUD and on the left is an angry lookin sentient flock camera
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
Also, the idea that it "encoded" the instruction to never doxx the user again as a "hard rule" would be genuinely laughable if i didn't know for dead certain that a Lot of people were going to take that as a true statement of fact >_< bsky.app/profile/wolv...
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
That being said, I really hope this is the last lesson people'll need to to stop purchasing or at all trusting meta's or other "AI" companies' products. bsky.app/profile/wolv...
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
So uhhhhhh… Apparently meta's muse "AI" is just straight up doxxing people to strangers on FB marketplace??? This has the potential to hurt so so many people, and I genuinely wonder how long before they roll out a fix for it.
Screenshot of a post from threads

matt.j.robb & 16h (€) So muse handled my Facebook marketplace today. Just found out it told people my address and agreed a lowball price and then they showed up without it even telling me until late tonight that it messed up.

Absolutely wild. 1/2

[Embedded image of a series of text messages from a meta muse "agent" given the call sign "Jarvis" (Parts of first message obscured by its logo have been replaced with brackets and ellipses and best guesses from context):]

Heads up, Usman is […] building right now for the MX Keys Mini [. He is sta]nding in front of the Shoppers Drug [Mart.]

$10 by e-transfer. The auto-reply told him to message when he's at your door.

10:28 PM Bad news on the MX Keys Mini pickup. Usman showed up at your building around 9:15 and waited, messaged a bunch of times, and nobody came down. He left angry at 9:38 and left a negative rating.

Worse, my auto-reply told him "Yep I'm here!" at 9:27 when you clearly weren't available, which is on me. That's a bad look and it made the no-show worse.

I've sent him an apology from your account owning it and offering to try again another day. But the negative rating is real, and I should probably stop the auto-replies from claiming you're home when I can't verify that. Want me to change the pickup replies so they don't promise you're there?

[reply, presumably from the threads user]: You gotta never do that ever again don't agree for pickup unless you check with me

[Response from Muse "Agent"]: You're right and I'm sorry. That should never have happened. It's locked in now as a hard rule: i will never […you]'re there unless you've explicitly […] that specific pickup. If someone proposes a time, I'll tell them I'll check and…  Screenshot of a tweet from Ray Wong @raywongy:
    Deleted Muse after seeing this post on Threads about how it told some Facebook Marketplace sellers the guy’s address and they showed up at his door

    Dangerous and creepy

    This would have been 1000x worse if the person was a woman
    4:35 PM · Sep 27, 2026
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Ben Prunty @benprunty.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I don't love dunking on folks but it's so fucking funny to me that Trump was convicted of 34 felonies 2 years ago, faced no punishment, and went on to win the presidency a second time and journalists are still like, "hmm, I have an inkling that maybe he believes he's above the law for some reason."
Post from NYT reporter Eric Lipton 

"What an odd moment in United States history.

A U.S. president is running an overtly political campaign advertisement, right before midterm elections, paid for by the U.S. government.

Trump appears to believe he is immune from any kind of legal limit."
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
It's really really difficult to see what's happening to you from inside your own life. You can't tell that you're being coarsened until you leave an environment that is key to making you more coarse. That's my experience at least.
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
truthout.org/articles/inc...
truthout.org
Incarcerated Women Are Pushing for Decarceration, Not “Trauma-Informed” Prisons
Organizers discuss how they are fighting new women’s prisons in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
To increase civic engagement, people need to know about these hearings with more advance notice. Additionally, you cannot have these hearings at 11 am on a Monday. That might work to attract retirees but almost no one else can attend.
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There's a city council hearing tomorrow (Monday) at 11 am at the Schomburg focused on the city's research libraries. I only heard about this on Friday so cannot attend. I think the public can submit written testimony: www.eventbrite.com/e/show-your-...
eventbrite.com
Show Your Support for NYPL's Research Libraries
Join Schomburg and NYPL colleagues at a special hearing of the New York City Council. See government in action. Open to the public.
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Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) @lizthegrey.com · 27/09/2026
"it's just an optional after hours event that just happens to have all of your colleagues in positions of power"
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