vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 10/09/2026There's perverse irony in seeing many stories about the emotional and psychological toll of 9/11 on Americans while at the same time our military is blowing up Iranians and our government is supporting many other violent conflicts around the world. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 20/07/2026You know all those picture recaptchas with the endless pictures of cars, buses, hydrants etc? You have become a data worker, providing the data used to train driverless cars. Now try to get through your electronic life without using any of those sites. Almost impossible! How do we make it stop? 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 22/05/2026The email subject line said "A faster way to shop" and told me I could "shop smarter with ChatGPT". Here's a rewrite: "A kill the planet faster, make yourself stupid way to shop". No thank you, I'm still able to find and evaluate products on my own, and sometimes in a real store! 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 10/04/2026You know you’re getting on in years when an airline lets you know you’ve been part of their frequent flier program for 42 years!!!! 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 19/12/2025I used to tell students the high cost of ed. was driven by health insurance, technology replacement, increased number of administrators, cuts in Fed funding. Now I'll add "dumb contracts with LLM companies". Why are schools throwing $$ at tools that are antithetical to actual learning? 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 18/12/2025If you've resisted iOS 26 until now, keep resisting. I made the mistake of upgrading and there is absolutely no reason to recommend it. They managed to take a perfectly reasonable user interface and really muck it up. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 04/12/2025In case you need more proof that the genAI race is all about a bunch of boys endlessly competing to see who's bigger, now Sam Altman has decided he needs to have a rocket company in order to compete against SpaceX. Where are the real grown ups??? 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 28/11/2025Ya know how T. overreacts to everything? Why isn't he responding to sexual predation by multiple men over many years the same way he responds to a lone shooter in DC? Oh, right, I forgot, he was one of..... 020
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 05/11/2025Great night for the Dems. Now let's chat about wealth gap. If the 400 wealthiest people are worth $6 trillion and the next 50% of the country are worth $4 trillion then...<checks math> that means 400 people are worth 50% more than 200 million people. We need more like Mamdani! Rein in the rich. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 18/10/2025If necessary in NYC, I will definitely be doing this. Have bike, will take a stand. 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Time to rewrite the headline. "Microsoft and Nvidia have ... plans to invest up to $45 billion dollars into the UK economy" should be "Major tech bros promise to ruin the environment and economy of yet another country, & nobody wants to stop them". 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 05/09/2025You can sign the petition to impeach RFK Jr. www.standupforscience.net/rfk-impeachm... @standupforscience.bsky.socialstandupforscience.netSign the IMPEACH RFK Citizens' Petition to Congress — STAND UP FOR SCIENCEJoin with us to sign our Citizens' Petition to the US Congress to choose the people over Trump and Impeach RFK Jr Now! 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 27/08/2025Projection: by 2030 advanced LLMs will complete in hours or days with 50% reliability software-based tasks that take humans a full month. Question: how much longer will it take human programmers to fix the LLM produced software than it would take for them to code it in the first place? 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 25/08/2025Stand with FEMA employees! I did, and you can too. Takes but a moment. @standupforscience.bsky.social 04418
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 30/07/2025I live for the day when a gate agent calls up teachers to pre-board a flight!!!! 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 30/07/2025I've tried to sum up my concerns about the rush to all-AI all the time. open.substack.com/pub/valerieb...open.substack.comFeeling cranky about AI & CS EducationI’ve been around for a while. 110
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 24/07/2025The Republicans are sex-obsessed. The Dems never bring that up. No, the Dems jump on the sex-obsessed bandwagon, making it all about Epstein, when they could instead keep fighting any of the hundreds of issues T serves up every day. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 24/07/2025Given the planetary problems inherent in genAI & the political problems inherent in the T gov't approach to genAI, the only correct position right now seems to be to not use genAI at all (or at least avoid it as much as possible since it's being forced on us in browsers etc.). 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 24/07/2025Just another way that the tech sector makes itself completely inhospitable for anyone planning to raise children. Work 6 days/week, 9:00am to 9:00pm. It's a shame that tech sector employees are so willing to ignore the bloody history of worker organizing. www.wired.com/story/silico...wired.comSilicon Valley AI Startups Are Embracing China’s Controversial ‘996’ Work ScheduleIn an industry once known for cushy perks, some founders are now asking staff to commit to a 72-hour weekly schedule. You’re either in or you’re out. 022
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 23/07/2025We have to stand with NSF and all of the science agencies as they try to retain a semblance of rigorous pursuit of scientific research. @standupforscience.bsky.social 020
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 21/07/2025If you haven't used this training yet for your TAs, what are you waiting for? You can get it all set up for fall term! 011
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 21/07/2025Support the resistance at NASA! #standupforscience www.standupforscience.net/nasa-voyager...standupforscience.netSupport the NASA Voyager Declaration Now! — STAND UP FOR SCIENCEYour solidarity with the NASA heroes helps their fight to preserve NASA's vital missions. 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 16/07/2025Subject line on today's email from Anthropic: "Give Claude the context you have". Let me correct that for them: "We need more training data, please give us access to everything on your computer". Sadly, there are people who will buy the hype & jump at the chance. 000
Reposted by @vbarr4.bsky.socialEmily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 10/07/2025A strong statement of resistance to the relentless marketing of "AI" in education spaces. I encourage all educators to have a look and consider signing on: openletter.earth/an-open-lett...openletter.earthAn open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education 7307134
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 10/07/2025If you care about NSF, get ready to show your support when this letter comes out! @standupforscience.bsky.social 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 07/07/2025"According to the researchers, LLMs should be able to perform software-based tasks that take humans one month of 40-hour workweeks with 50% reliability in days, possibly hours, by 2030." The issue here is that humans need better training so they get closer to 100% reliability. Support teachers! 000
Reposted by @vbarr4.bsky.socialColette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 04/07/2025This Fourth of July, I am thinking about the 139 civil servants who took an oath to uphold the constitution and the EPA’s mission, and were placed on leave for raising concerns about issues such as deregulating asbestos and lead exposure. This is un-American. The 1st amendment exists for a reason. 619274
Reposted by @vbarr4.bsky.socialStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 03/07/2025📣 OFFICIAL STATEMENT from our Founder & Executive Director @cdelawalla.bsky.social on the unfolding situation at the #EPA. Stand with the brave EPAers here➡️ act.standupforscience.net/forms/epa-ad... #DeclarationofDissent 7665193
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 30/06/2025Check out the @standupforscience.bsky.social info on the EPA whistleblower Declaration of Dissent!!! www.standupforscience.net/epa-declarat...standupforscience.netSupport EPA Staff Now! — STAND UP FOR SCIENCEYour solidarity with the EPA heroes increases the pressure on their Administrator Lee Zeldin. 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 13/06/2025Anybody remember how bad Teen Talk Barbie was? Do we think that adding AI to toys will magically make them a positive and affirming experience for all children? Just when it's more important than ever that children have unplugged time... www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...businesswire.comMattel and OpenAI Announce Strategic CollaborationMattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world, and Open... 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 14/05/2025Tech bros sending the clearest message that only certain people belong in tech. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/t...nytimes.comThe Tech Guys Are Fighting. Literally. 111
Reposted by @vbarr4.bsky.socialMomento Vivere @behindthefrequency.bsky.social · 06/05/2025NSF research discoveries? The science creating: • MRI • 3D Printing • American Sign Language • Doppler radar • GIS • INTERNET • Kidney matching • LASIK eye surgery • Semiconductors • Supercomputers • Cybersecurity • Children's education through TV programming, movies, museum exhibits, and apps. 112
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 07/05/2025Want to know how little the US already invests in scientific research? Less than 1% of GDP! open.substack.com/pub/valerieb...open.substack.comTrump thinks too much is spent on research. He's wrong!Ted Cruz’s October 2024 report on the National Science Foundation included a table that caught my eye. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 02/05/2025valeriebarr1.substack.com/p/im-heartbr...valeriebarr1.substack.comI'm heartbroken (about NSF)I just saw the news that the National Science Foundation has both stopped making new awards and stopped paying out on existing awards. 020
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 24/04/2025In my program I think we satisfy the Trump demand for intellectual diversity. Some of us are old school fans of symbolic AI, others are big into ML. Students learn some of both. 😀 Oh, and we have a roboticist too! Are we missing anything? 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 21/04/2025A small act of resistance? Denali has been an answer in the NY Times crossword puzzle many times since the EO that said it had to be called .... something else (I choose not to recall what exactly that was). 130
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 20/04/2025My latest thoughts on the sorry state of science in the US these days. open.substack.com/pub/valerieb...open.substack.comU.S. science without international students? Not so much!The take-away: if there are no international students coming to the US for PhD studies in STEM disciplines, we lose out on thousands of PhD scientists who would stay here and contribute to research an... 011
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 11/04/2025This definitely hits the mark, especially after losing a teeny $87K NEH grant. Oh my, it was such a threat...... 020
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 04/04/2025Bad enough that my NEH grant was killed, but who writes this stuff? "Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities ..." This is why we need more humanities education folks! 240
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 30/03/2025The irony that the phones that allowed the haters to bring us Signalgate would not exist but for the incredible contributions of Lynn Conway -- as UMich puts it "chip design pioneer and transgender-rights advocate". news.engin.umich.edu/2024/06/the-...news.engin.umich.eduThe legacy of Lynn Conway, chip design pioneer and transgender-rights advocateConway, professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science, has died. 022
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Need a break from the sorry state of the country? Listen to this interview with harpist Ashley Jackson. Her playing is gorgeous, and very calming! www.wnyc.org/story/harpis...wnyc.orgHarpist Ashley Jackson Takes Us To The Water | Soundcheck | WNYCHarpist Ashley Jackson fuses music and storytelling in "Take Me To The Water" which celebrates the transportive nature of water, and of the rivers that unite us. She plays in-studio. 000
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 22/03/2025Discussion from the Prez of @mountholyoke.bsky.social about how higher ed can push back. And my fave line: "I can barely get students to read the syllabus, let alone indoctrinate them into any form of political belief." www.ctpublic.org/news/2025-03...ctpublic.orgMount Holyoke College president: 'Colleges are not the enemy'The Trump administration is cracking down on colleges and universities whose behavior it finds objectionable. 020
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 17/03/2025So angry about the Boston ICE agents and deportation. In a different era, Boston immigration officers let in my grandparents in the late 1800s (and likely gave my great grandfather a nice Scottish last name that was easier to say and spell than the Ukrainian name he had from birth). 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 12/03/2025Dead people receiving Social Security is a lie, but let's be clear on how well SS handles death. My father died in late Nov., his Dec. SS payment was deposited a few days later, the funeral home notified SS of the death, and that payment was sucked back out of his acct. Boom, done! 040
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 06/03/2025If DoEd is shut down, am I wrong to think that 1) states with state income tax won't need to send as much to the Federal coffers, and 2) red states w/o state income tax will suffer more? The Musk/Trump playbook seems designed to disproportionately hurt their voters. 030
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 03/03/2025In suggesting employees work 60 hrs/week, Sergey Brin forgets that blood was shed in the streets in the fight for a 40 hour week. Hopefully Google employees will decide that trying to help a corporate entity achieve AGI is not reason to compromise on long held worker rights. 040
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 01/03/2025Hey @ajlunited.bsky.social, I've noticed that 2/3 of the time when I opt out of the TSA photo I get flagged for further checks (since I refuse the body scanner, this means a pat down). Are others having this experience too? 100
Reposted by @vbarr4.bsky.socialKen Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 28/02/2025Ted Cruz said he’d found $2 billion in “woke” science grants, but his team used keyword searches that flagged things out of context, like a grant to develop a device to treat severe bleeding that mentioned “victims” and “trauma.” www.propublica.org/article/ted-...propublica.orgA Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude meth... 39258662126
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 27/02/2025valeriebarr1.substack.com/p/cuts-to-fe...valeriebarr1.substack.comCuts to Federal research grants will end US science education as we know itThe Musk-Trump administration has put research funding on the chopping block. 010
vbarr4.bsky.social @vbarr4.bsky.social · 24/02/2025The amazing students @bardcollege.bsky.social have animated a portion of my CACM Viewpoint article "What Must All Post-Secondary Students Learn about Computing?" vimeo.com/1059838436vimeo.comAnimating the History of ComputingWe are thrilled to share this animation that brings to life an article written by Margaret Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Valerie Barr… 020
