Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 6hReligion has its problems, but the vast majority help people realize that chatbots that can't solve captchas are not alive. 020
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 6hIn case you've been wondering what bizarre libertarians have been up to since Trump embraced big deficits.... 0112
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 04/10/2026Oh, finally that healthcare plan! 2122716
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Yes. Thought is not in language, however, because it's our primary method of extruding it, we are uniquely vulnerable to supposing that linguistic competence means that someone is home inside the internality that produces it. 030
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026I don't get that reference, but please do share if you'd like. 100
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldMatthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026I think the reason so many people are inclined to imagine their chatbot is alive is that the human lineage never had to evolve the ability to spot linguistic imitation. Spotting visual simulacra was essential to survival for our ancestors, by contrast:plus.flux.communityNo one thinks Midjourney is alive, that’s a big problem for people who think that Claude isArtificial intelligence and the textual nude 5387
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026I think the reason so many people are inclined to imagine their chatbot is alive is that the human lineage never had to evolve the ability to spot linguistic imitation. Spotting visual simulacra was essential to survival for our ancestors, by contrast:plus.flux.communityNo one thinks Midjourney is alive, that’s a big problem for people who think that Claude isArtificial intelligence and the textual nude 5387
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Agreed. And the reason most theories are so lacking is that we need better theories of cognition and epistemology. Richard Dawkins is a perfect case in point of how easily computational functionalism is misled:flux.communityRichard Dawkins and the Claude Delusion - FluxSenescence makes people believe silly things; so does bad science 042
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Profiles like this are dispiritingly similar: A young Republican person given vast access to money and media because they have a modicum of talent. It's basically the opposite of how things work on the left: People who fail for decades never face accountability, while talented ppl are shut out. 0253
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026No one can fill this void left by the theft of basic research funding. 6476149
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Some people only believe things are true if they personally witness them. Even if that "witness" is nothing more than fuzzy feelings. They never bothered to look into things about Trump that his critics said, but now they have firsthand evidence that he's a failure. 151
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026We're at a point now where these things can be extremely helpful if you know how to use them properly. But at the same time, they are not anywhere close to being alive or set to extinguish humanity. We desperately need something other than "it's all a giant scam" and "my chatbot is alive!!!" 020
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026It depends on how you use them. They are definitely not always reliable, but then again, neither are people. Chatbots do not deserve rights because they have no somatic selfhood, but they can still do really useful work in many areas. Always double check it, but oftentimes the answer is right. 110
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026They are ok with people voting others' ballots--but only if they vote Republican. 030
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Hard to say. But tbh, I have known many Republicans who think their ideas are really popular and the only reason they don't win landslides is because of irrational prejudice. Back during my own benighted R days, I used to think that. I remember initiating several really dumb convos on this! 130
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Two other thoughts on this strange ad: 1) It's a great example of how most Republicans have almost no understanding of liberal arguments. They really do think people vote against them w/o any reasoning. 2) It's yet another example of how Republicans hate young women but are also obsessed w/them. 1343
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026It's so strange. Yet another example of how so many Republican luminaries are failed entertainment media creatives. That also includes porn. 050
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026As Republican parties in many states are banning porn, desperate California GOP gubernatorial nominee Steve Hilton just released a first-time lesbian experience ad for himself. And of course, it's just creepy leering without any attempt at argument. This won't win a single vote: 83911
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Yes, and that is the bigger problem with Bender's position. By not always using an LLM, chatbots are much more capable. She wants to say they have basically zero utility, which is untrue. 110
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 03/10/2026Her knowing that chatbots use implicit code execution (however she may understand that term) is actually the stronger critique to make of her larger position. She argues that chatbots are only LLMs and that they are overwhelmingly unreliable. Neither statement is true. 210
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldFlux @flux.community · 02/10/2026As Republicans' electoral fortunes fade significantly, many of its politicians are trying to distance themselves from Trump, but it's only verbal misdirection. He owns the Republican party, and Democrats must remind voters of that, @jtccarroll.flux.community argues:plus.flux.communityFlimsy GOP attempts to show ‘distance’ from Donald Trump should fool no oneAs Republicans face a likely midterms wipeout, Democrats must be unsparing in reminding voters that there is little daylight between a radicalized GOP and the aspiring despot in the White House 193
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026I wasn't using the word "reasoning" here, that was Google. But since you asked, I do think that manipulating symbols and their relationalities within formalized and discrete spaces is a form of abstract reasoning. But this reasoning is parasitic on somatic, embodied reasoning. Much more here:flux.communityIt’s like this: Why perceptions are our realities - FluxMinds do not create experience, experience creates minds 000
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026After impeaching and removing RFK Junior, impeaching and removing Russ Vought is the first major task of any Democratic Congress. His illegal acts are legion, flagrant, and comprehensively documented. And notably, they are also frequently in defiance of Republican appropriations. 34010
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026I agree that Bender has not kept pace with LLM capabilities, but it is true that current chatbots use programming tools to answer certain requests. Implicit or explicit code execution for answering chatbot user inputs has been a thing since Google Bard.blog.googleBard is getting better at logic and reasoningTwo improvements are launching in Bard to help you get more accurate responses and export to Google Sheets. 3122
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026This is a bit of a catch-22 since there isn't any reason that a computer could not participate in a knowledge community by using local argot, so it cannot really be used to say that machines have no understanding. The better argument is Lakoffian: embodied meaning is the source of language. 030
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026I agree with you that her particular arguments against AI are often inaccurate, however, her argument is essentially that language and use are all separate. Basically, words mean things because a community of speakers agree that they mean those things. Ipso facto, no word means anything. 130
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026Sankey diagrams are indeed very cool.en.wikipedia.orgSankey diagram - Wikipedia 010
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 02/10/2026Source www.thenewworld.co.uk/peter-kellne...thenewworld.co.ukAn anti-Brexit majority of eight millionThe British electorate are now overwhelmingly pro-remain. And yet the europhobes still argue the votes of the dead count for more than the views of the young 083
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldGeorge Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Trump's redistricting push gave Republicans an edge of roughly nine House seats. With the political environment shifting, the question is whether the advantage Trump created will hold or backfire.thinkbigpicture.substack.comHow's Trump's Mid-Decade Redistricting Ploy Looking Right About Now? 2252470
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldRich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 02/10/2026The Keynote Speaker at the Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in March, folks. 60476602285
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldPrem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026New: Jasmine Crockett was offering government relations & lobbying services on a campaign-funded website. It was taken down after Zeteo reached out. Experts say they’d never seen something like this before. Rules bar members from lobbying and from using campaign funds for non-campaign purposes.zeteo.comJasmine Crockett Offered Lobbying Services on Her Campaign-Funded Website – While in OfficeThe offering was removed after Zeteo contacted the Texas Democratic congresswoman’s office. 1201274276
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/10/2026Yes, he is very big on the Norman Vincent Peale/The Secret thinking, but I think he also knows that he's lying sometimes. But he's so demented that it's really hard to tell whether he can actually distinguish between reality, lies, plans, and delusions. 220
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/10/2026Trump's unique advantage is that he lies so often that it's hard for casual observers to understand when he is being serious. So many of his voters thought he meant that he would only deport criminal unauthorized immigrants, even though he never actually claimed that. 1311
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/10/2026Reddit is cancelling its RSS feeds as part of a larger pattern of ending its support for unauthenticated API access. This is both a money grab since Reddit can make AI companies pay for their data, but also because AI crawlers have been slamming websites with API access:techcrunch.comReddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots | TechCrunchReddit is ending support for RSS feeds, as the company continues tightening access to its trove of user-generated content. 0120
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/10/2026Actually, only people applying for them in-person in DC can get one:npr.orgNew U.S. passports with Trump's image are available. Here's how to get (or avoid) oneThe passports feature an image of President Trump and are only available in person at the Washington Passport Agency — and only by appointment. 110
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/10/2026I wouldn't be surprised if the next announcement from the Trump administration is that all credit and debit cards will feature special new envelopes also. 3162
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026I suppose this is what a nation that is "hot" looks like? 1305
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026If you choose to stay in touch, I'd recommend avoiding boosting particular lefty ideas or people and focus more on occasional facts about Trump messing up. 010
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldZach Everson @zacheverson.com · 29/09/2026Here's a $20 million order, paid for by CBP's Office of Public Affairs, awarded to LMD Agency for a national media campaign starting on Sept. 20. The first pro-Trump ad aired on Sept. 23. www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_A... 16498214
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026Moments like this are why reality has a liberal bias--and also why everything else is imagined to by the radical right. 1333
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026Yep. He inadvertently highlighted their entire epistemology. It's flim-flam and wishful thinking. 2180
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026I personally witnessed or delivered several moments like this back when I was a Republican. Alleged experts like Stephen Moore constantly falling on their faces was the reason I started having doubts. (Seeing the vicious Christian nationalism up-close was the final straw.) 0706
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026The core appeal of reactionary politics is hatred of competent and smart people who follow evidence rather than use it to support conclusions. A million incidents like this happen daily in academia and legal settings, and they're behind almost all right-wing "liberal bias" accusations. 524376
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 30/09/2026The root of Trump's most durable support is that he is stupid, and deep down, his most fanatical supporters know that he is. Like recognizes like. They don't like scientists, minorities, journalists, and professors being high-falutin' -- and neither does Trump. 2489
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldZoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Anyway, the Iran conflict is probably one of the less destructive ways Trump could detonate his political power. Albeit still hugely destructive. But at least we're getting a forced green energy transition and electrification (much stronger than any politically viable federal incentive). 541634
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldThe Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 30/09/2026Trump’s evangelical allies thought overturning Roe would cement their influence. But some of their leaders are discovering just how little sway they still have. @cheetah.bsky.social went inside a major evangelical summit to see why cracks are starting to show. lnk.thebulwark.com/4hSCSS6?utm_... 511637