iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Pathetic and disgusting behavior by @ctvnews-rss.bsky.social. Legacy media leans so hard on their "journalistic integrity" in comparison to streamers and content creators, but when the chips are down, they fold like a cheap napkin.

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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 01/04/2025

Absolutely shameful that CTV caved to a disingenuous right-wing pressure campaign instead of standing their ground. It presents even more red flags about the state of the media in Canada. @rachelgilmore.bsky.social did not deserve to be treated this way.

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

NEW: A searing editorial in the The Kyiv Independent. “It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up. “A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky.” @kyivindependent.com

kyivindependent.com

Editorial: A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky

It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up. In the past several weeks, the U.S. leadership has demonstrate...

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Remember the good old days when the right wing nut jobs pretended that fascists and nazis weren't welcome at the convoy protests? Now they openly celebrate America's decline into fascism and hope to be a part of it.

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Prof Julia Steinberger 🌹🌱🌍 #ClimateAction #Fightfascism @jksteinberger.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

As promised, here are the slides I shared with students to convince them to NOT use chatGPT and other artificial stupidity. TL;DR? AI is evil, unsustainable and stupid, and I'd much rather they use their own brains, make their own mistakes, and actually learn something. 🪄

NO CHATGPT Or other artificial stupidity: motivation
First, clarity on distinguishing AIs:
Non-generative: grammar aid, translation, dictionary, text-to-audio (e.g. Natural Reader): no problem
As long as you use the appropriate tools (least intensive in data and server energy use).
Why? Because you provide the content. Your brain is doing the most important work
Generative: ChatGPT & Co.
You only supply the prompt, the AI supplies the content.
Why is this delegation of work problematic?
3 domains: ethical, environmental, intellectual engagement.

(Caveat: generative is probably ok for computer programming, where it can be useful and save time. Not relevant to this class.)

1) AI and ethics
Mass theft of all and everything
«learning» on books, articles, blogs, social media, images, music, cultural production, without permission of authors/creators, and leading to their mass joblessness. Profits are not reditributed to originators.
Permanent destruction of the mental health of underpaid precarious tech workers in the Global South (Kenya, Philippines …):
«correction» to avoid production of violent and pedophile contents etc, tech workers are obliged to watch and correct super violent contents for days on end, leading to extreme psychological suffering and trauma, from which recovery is doubtful. No or little compensation (certainly not at the level of the suffering inflicted).
In short, an industry built on theft of real human creation and sacrifice of real human health, profiting a few megafortunes.

2) AI and (un)sustainability

Massive consumption of electricity, water, server capacity for generative AI.
Outcome: keep fossil fuel companies in business, using up new renewable capacity, without any satisfaction of basic human needs.
Massive misappropriation of the finance necessary for climate and ecological action (renewable generation, efficiency and retrofit for buildings, public transit, infrastructures for cycling etc) towards AI industry.
Overall: undermine climate action, reinforce fossil industry, waste resources necessary for human development.

3) AI and intellectual engagement

First, what learning is (or should be) about:
The goal should not (only) be the reproduction of «correct» knowledge,
But mainly personal engagement and experience of thinking about topics of interest. Personal engagement = using one’s own brain.
The most important activity for learning and intellectual engagement is the experience of making one’s own mistakes, by trial and error, corrections based on new ideas, starting over again. Learning to recognise nuances, knowledge gaps, better explanations
This kind of learning is possible only through using your own brain, not AI.
Also, Ais are not «intelligent». At all.
They simply reproduce pre-existing patterns. They «bullshit», invent false references, false facts, false data, simply because those sound plausible. VERY DANGEROUS.
If you learn how to NOT use AI, and how to research facts and data on your own, this will serve you and your communities for the rest of your life.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Trump is testing the tolerance for authoritarianism. Do not obey in advance; encourage others to do the same, especially those with the power and privilege of Google.

A map of the Gulf of Mexico and instructions for sending feedback to Google reporting inaccurate content.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

I spent today at a farm conference in Western NY state. Expected to hear lots of support for Trump. Instead, in the first hour, had two farmers ask about moving to Canada. Heard nothing all day but sadness and worry about what he's doing to the fed gov't and int'l relations.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

He's burning the books now. We all get that that's what's happening as web pages go dark, right?

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

The challenge is to overcome the disinformation by addressing what makes it "feel" true/desirable rather than treating it like an information deficit. Telling disinformed voters that they're wrong/stupid plays right into the populist appeal of the Cons/PPC.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

This is kind of about the LA fires but really about so much more. Definitely worth the watch. Please consider supporting @rachelgilmore.bsky.social too - my resolution for 2025 is to invest in independent media: we've seen where expecting news for free leads us. open.substack.com/pub/rachelgi...

open.substack.com

LA fires bring out the big ol' liars

Jerks and grifters are taking advantage of this horrific tragedy to make a buck or get some clout -- or is it, in some cases, about something else?

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Black Cloud Six @blackcloudsix.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Mr Angus is the only person of substance saying what needs to be said to Trump and his odious ilk. More, much more, of this please.

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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

My editorial piece in @nationalobserver.com We are not in ordinary times. We are in Trump times. The clock is ticking down on the arrival of the chaos machine in Washington. Canada is staring down a political tsunami but we're too busy to notice." www.nationalobserver.com/2024/12/27/o...

nationalobserver.com

Stand up to the bully

Canadians want reassurance people in Ottawa are ready to defend our values against Donald Trump's tirades. It is deeply disconcerting this is not happening.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Dear U.S. States, We're now accepting applications for additional provinces. A free jug of maple syrup to the first ten respondents!

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

It's longer than a TikTok, but worth 10x its length in any series of reels you're likely to watch today. Time to grow up and come back together, Canada.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

And now for something completely different. #SpotifyWrapped

My top artists and songs. Lots of EDM, with some Taylor Swift and The Killers thrown in for good measure.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

How do you tell if someone is engaged in communication/education or propagandizing? Check to see how they react when their own sources and biases are question, or better yet, when presented with factual errors they've made. An educator is open to education. A propagandist? Not so much.

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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

"Dangerous Memory doesn’t read like a history book. It’s a handbook for those who want to to resist the overwhelming horrors of today." Dangerous Memory is the perfect stocking stuffer. blogcritics.org/book-review-...

blogcritics.org

Book Review: 'Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed' by Charlie Angus | Blogcritics

'Dangerous Memory' by Charlie Angus is the antidote to right wing politicians with their cries to make things "Great Again"

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Canadian conservatives just like to blame immigrants, period.

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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

The Conservatives are creating a swamp of media disinformation. This is what elected Trump. They have attacked CBC, CTV, Global, the Toronto Star, Canadian Press. It is about undermining independent media that can hold politicians accountable. Check out my statement www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RTL...

youtube.com

Charlie Angus on the Conservative Swamp of Disinformation

YouTube video by Charlie Angus

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I'm feeling there's a 50% chance that the next Ag Secretary will be either Vani Hari (FoodBabe) or John Kempf.

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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

These are dark times. But despair is a luxury we can't afford. Empowerment comes from knowing how we got in this mess and learning the resistance stories for charting a different future. Come to my talk with the Ottawa Writers Festival. We will talk about hope and punk rock resistance.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Excited to be at #OrganicSummit2024 in Ottawa, gaining insights on the organic market, new ag research, and catching up with old friends!

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Some great advice in here on what went wrong and where to go from here: "I Study Guys Like Trump. There’s a Reason They Keep Winning." www.nytimes.com/2024/11/08/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | I Study Guys Like Trump. There’s a Reason They Keep Winning.

Democrats walked into the trap of defending the very institutions most Americans distrust.

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Andrew Kniss @wyoweeds.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

"A person who merely refuses to learn what can be known is not a skeptic, but rather an ignoramus; a person who raises questions but does not seek their answers is not a skeptic, but a bullshitter." This piece is more a critique about media coverage than of RFK. defector.com/what-the-fuc...

defector.com

What The Fuck Is A "Vaccine Skeptic"? | Defector

At darker moments, contesting this kind of stuff in the wake of the 2024 election—and all the shameless, shameful, unforgivable work the American media did to produce that election’s outcome—feels as ...

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

With RFK on Health, the path is clear for Vani Hari as Secretary of Agriculture!

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Just started reading this book and would highly recommend - the precedents and parallels to where we stand now are chilling!

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Just opened this app for the 1st time in a year to find myself with 200+ followers! On a day when I considered disconnecting entirely, this makes me feel like maybe all isn't lost.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 20/11/2023

Thought for the day: "Unimaginable is not the same as impossible."

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 02/11/2023

There are a lot of things about hockey culture that are problematic. And sometimes not.

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Rob Wallbridge @rwallbridge.bsky.social · 28/10/2023

Last pepper harvest of the season. Plants are still blossoming, but frost is (finally) imminent.

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