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Sara MacKian

@saramackian.bsky.social
50 followers 91 following 25 posts

Artist, writer, lecturer with a curiosity for how people interact around issues of health, wellbeing, and the otherworldly. All views my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Sara MacKian
am-mccarthy.bsky.social @am-mccarthy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
ChatGPT actually told the shooter how to get around OpenAI restrictions about violent language
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Reposted by Sara MacKian
CRobertBuchanan @crobertbuchanan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When "Ai" participates in planning a crime, the programmers and those who decided it was ready for release should be tried as accessories to murder. That would put this ai bullshit to bed quickly.
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Jonathan Bellack @bellack.com · 25/09/2026
Tell me again how self-regulation is going to fix this. 🙄
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Vondie Lozano, M.Div., Ph.D., LMFT @vondielozano.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I knew open AI had encouraged suicide now it’s homocide. They told her how to evade their own security protocols. And when actual humans became aware they did NOTHING. GEEZUS! 😰
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Mark McKenna @markpmckenna.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
If these tools can’t be designed to not do things like this, they shouldn’t exist.
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 24/09/2026
Just when I think I can’t hate OpenAI and Sam Altman any more, new details come out about how ChatGPT helped a shooter plan one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history in Tumbler Ridge, BC. OpenAI made an explicit decision not to report the user to authorities.
motherjones.com
ChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge school shooter focus on guns, tactics, and terror, our investigation reveals
OpenAI’s chatbot fed the shooter’s violent fantasies and planning up to the massacre.
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 24/09/2026
I read this story and can’t help think of the breathless coverage media has given these delusional fantasies about superintelligent AI killing humanity in ten years, when companies are releasing tools coaching mass shooters and helping people kill themselves. People need to wake the fuck up.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think of the climate harm AI poses the same way: the threats are not theoretical or in the future, but unfolding all around us now.
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Ben Paddon 🎃 @benpaddon.net · 13/09/2026
An AI flyer is a brown M&M test. If your event or business is cutting corners by using an AI flyer, where else are you cutting corners? What else are you cheating out on? Why should I be bothered to go somewhere you couldn't be bothered to promote with a little of your own personality?
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Richard Murphy @richardjmurphy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Why has Anthropic's Dario Amodei called for a halt in AI development? Might it be that he's no idea what to do? He founded Anthropic, but nothing prepared him for this moment. He's called a guru, but he is also human. The blog post provides the explanation. www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/09...
taxresearch.org.uk
Why is AI so frightened all of a sudden?
As the New York Times reported last night: The chief executive of Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, called for a global slowdown of artificial intelligence development in a 3,800-word...
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Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
“Millionaires including former footballer Gary Lineker and music producer Brian Eno have written to new prime minister Andy Burnham asking to be taxed more.”
bbc.co.uk
UK millionaires ask Andy Burnham to tax them more
A group including former England footballer Gary Kineker write to the new PM telling him "we can afford it".
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 23/07/2026
Palestine Action trial lawyer’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’ for profession
theguardian.com
Palestine Action trial lawyer’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’ for profession
CBA chair says contempt charge over closing speech by Rajiv Menon KC has left lawyers fearful of doing their job The prosecution of a leading human rights barrister for contempt of court over his closing speech during a trial of Palestine Action activists has left lawyers fearful of doing their job, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has said. Rajiv Menon KC is due to stand trial next week, accused of breaching the judge’s directions in the trial of six people for a 2024 direct action protest at an arms factory of the Israeli subsidiary Elbit Systems UK in Filton, near Bristol. Continue reading...
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
In honour of Taylor Swift's wedding reposting my favourite blog post of mine that I ever wrote. Reflections on Satanic psychology as prompted by Taylor Swift and Warhammer. sherdenpact.neocities.org/4thWall#Swift
sherdenpact.neocities.org
Behind the Brush
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Paul Carr @organistpaul.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Enjoying a day playing the Marcussen organ at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester for the @openuniversity.bsky.social degree ceremonies. #oufamily Music by Handel, Bach, Smart, Vierne, Gigout, Spicer and Powell/Lapwood…
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Fabulous day at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester celebrating 500 of our amazing @openuniversity.bsky.social students graduating after years of hard work. Graduation days are so special & remind us as staff why we're here 🥰🫶🎓 #OUFamily
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Join us at @openthanatology.bsky.social @openuniversity.bsky.social to explore all aspects death and loss. From changing funeral practices to careers in palliative care, from grieving divergently to existential disconnections and global change. This hybrid conference covers all this and more!
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Join us for the 'Launch of the Centre for Open Thanatology: Dialogue and Engagement with Death and Loss', reflecting the Centre’s vision to use research and education to foster open dialogue and critical engagement with death and loss. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...
eventbrite.co.uk
Launch of the Centre for Open Thanatology
Join us for the 'Launch of the Centre for Open Thanatology: Dialogue and Engagement with Death and Loss'
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Charredasperity (commissions open) @charredasperity.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
There's zero logic in white supremacy, but still "Make a huge portion of your own military hate you during a war" doesn't seem like a winning strategy
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Kayla Williams @kwilliams101.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
“Anti-DEI” means pro-discrimination. It was never about merit, always about racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc
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Keep the fire burning @edithenz.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
They must be so afraid of women of colour's competence.
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John Voelcker @johnvoelcker.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Relevant ... "With no real management experience or strategic background, [Hegseth] has the chance to remake the US military in his image, an image + vision roughly equivalent to what you would expect from a 13-year-old boy who had logged too many hours playing Call of Duty on the couch."
doomsdayscenario.co
The Mythology of Pete Hegseth
The Iran War cheerleader-in-chief embraces a dangerous alternate history of the 21st Century
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Esheru @esherukweku.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
A woman holds up a noose and a lethal injection, celebrating Israeli plans to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians. Her husband holds a gun labelled 'occupation', a plane labelled 'expulsion', and a house labelled 'settlement' 1/2
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Dr Steve Taylor @drstevetaylor.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The ‘murky’ world of GP finance This is an example of a 10,000 Patient practice Average patient will have 7 GP practice appts/year, 1 A&E attendance every 3 years, 2 hospital appts/year £169/patient/year goes GP £3079 goes to hospitals £40pa would solve GP crisis @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social
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Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
The VIP lane was rotten to the core. A national scandal.
bbc.co.uk
Conservative peer quits after Lords probe into PPE deals
It comes after a Lords standards probe into his contacts with ministers and advisers during the pandemic.
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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
ICE agents are paid a bonus for anyone they seize and that includes tourists- read this account from a retired tourist held for 6wks despite a valid visa and seriously think do you need to go to the States? World Cup and Olympics are huge issues imo
theguardian.com
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks
Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...
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Elizabeth Stokoe @lizstokoe.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Academic ennui in "Silent Witness" (alt-text predicted "dreamy" not "dreary")
Screenshot of two white women who are forensic scientists talking in a lab with subtitles caption "does he know how dreary it can be being a professor?"
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Adil Ray @adilray.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Ethnic cleansing concerns in Gaza and West Bank amid intensified violence and forcible transfers by Israel – UN report
ohchr.org
Ethnic cleansing concerns in Gaza and West Bank amid intensified violence and forcible transfers by Israel – UN report
GENEVA – A UN Human Rights Office report released today raises concerns over ethnic cleansing by Israeli authorities in both Gaza and the West
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Roger Sollenberger @sollenbergerrc.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Just occurred to me that as Trump’s DOJ was investigating, indicting, and arresting Epstein — and talking that same summer to a woman accusing Trump of assaulting her as a child — across almost that exact same timeline he does all that crazy shit with Ukraine that ends up getting him impeached
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Bluesky Jan @janetleicester.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
@mrjamesob.bsky.social Bedford CC dealing with the bigots like an absolute boss.
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
National security assessment: the planet fails, Whitehall opens a workstream northwestbylines.co.uk/lifestyle/fo...
northwestbylines.co.uk
National security assessment: the planet fails, Whitehall opens a workstream
With the planet in crisis and fast approaching a point of no return for climate and environment, Whitehall wants to assess things before acting
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DaemonSky @dsky.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Incredibly effective writing and maybe the only way left to get to the people who have not vaccinated.
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bufordthegreat.bsky.social @bufordthegreat.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I wish I could make all new parents read this, and everyone who hasn’t vaccinated their children.
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
This is a vivid, horribly relevant read. “She does not sleep well. And as you lift up her pajama top to check her rash one morning, you see that her breathing is labored, shadows pooling between her ribs when she sucks in air. You suffer an icy moment of realization: This is a medical crisis.”
theatlantic.com
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
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Darcie Little Badger @littlebadger.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
“Prohibited words and concepts: Equity, diversity, & inclusion; anti-racism; Bias; Critical race theory; implicit bias; oppression; intersectionality; prohibited discriminatory practices; racial privilege; promoting stereotypes based on personal identity characteristics.”
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Dr Sophie Michell @sophiemhistory.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Oh God are we doing this again? A LARGE SWATHE OF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD BEFORE THE AGE OF FIVE. SCARLET FEVER WOULD HAVE CARRIED YOU OFF IN DROVES
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
It was an absolute pleasure being part of this conversation. Talking about death can help you learn a lot about life...
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 15/02/2026
“I’m really worried for my friends and neighbours who are immigrants, or the children of immigrants, who’ve kept our city region moving.” Our candidate for Gorton and Denton, Hannah Spencer, says the threat of adopting ICE-style tactics would put hardworking communities in the firing line.
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Esheru @esherukweku.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
The annoying thing about Substack, client journalists who are all earning 6 figures have opened accounts, spreading their half truths and misinformation there also! Support independent journalism like this. PLEASE watch this, you will learn that legacy has 1/2 youtube.com/watch?v=k6I8...
youtube.com
Lowkey DESTROYS Media Coverage of Mandelson, Epstein & Mossad
YouTube video by Double Down News
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Esheru @esherukweku.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Can anyone think of another group of people who did this? Clue: Germany 1930s.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Donald Trump’s mental decline has gotten worse. Why is the media only barely starting to report on it? And why won’t they ask who’s really making the decisions in the White House? youtu.be/NQHLciC67V8?si=uoJIQXi5JIE…
youtu.be
Has Donald Trump Finally Lost It?
Donald Trump’s mental decline has gotten worse.Why is the media only barely starting to report on it?And why won’t they
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Richard Baker @bakerart.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Mostly dahlias, watercolour and indian ink #floral #watercolour
Watercolour drawing of dahlias in a blue jug with some small shells (sold)
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
For 50 years, the median wage of hourly workers stagnated or declined while the stock market and CEO pay skyrocketed. Is it any wonder why so many feel abandoned by the system? People lose faith, and a demagogue fills the void. This is why we must fix the system. AOC is right.
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Sara MacKian @saramackian.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
#BlueSkyArtShow #Wood #Symmetry #GreenMan #Reflection
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Palantir, a US spy-tech firm, has been given access to millions of NHS patient records. Its founder has said the NHS should be 'ripped up'. Join me in calling on the government to end the dangerous Palantir contract. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop Palantir taking over our public services!
Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir.
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Jay Hulme @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain. A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones. The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...
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Jay Hulme @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I say to the police that it's important to us, to have the bones back. That whoever they belonged to wanted to be buried, here, at this church. That even though time separates us, time is nothing to God, and they are still part of our community. I say we want to bring them home. To rebury them.
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