ginahelfrich.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

My advisor’s advisor (my grand-advisor?), Alasdair MacIntyre, has passed away. His work had a huge impact on my thinking and work as an academic.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

This is not helping my gut feeling that everyone who claims they thoroughly check their AI outputs is lying (because if they did it would negate all efficiencies). What chance the “only” time it wasn’t checked is the time all the errors are so obvious? And no one will learn anything from this.

submitted 5 days ago • 4 comments

After months of reporting and research, I’m really excited and proud to publish this series on AI and energy. It’s a deep look at AI’s energy requirements, where that energy mix comes from, and its carbon debt. www.technologyreview.com/supertopic/a...

submitted 5 days ago • 4 comments

Widely covered MIT paper saying AI boosts worker productivity is, in fact, complete bullshit it turns out. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/mit-says-it-no-longer-stands-behind-students-ai-research-paper-11434092?st=sF3Wvo&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

submitted 8 days ago • 34 comments

Congrats to @actorsequity.bsky.social members at Second City on their new five-year union contract that will raise wages by 40.5%! www.wbez.org/theater-stag...

submitted 11 days ago • 2 comments

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging." Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council. I wrote about my decision in TIME. time.com/7285045/resi...

submitted 12 days ago • 489 comments

JFC

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

BREAKING: The Episcopal Church has announced it will end its decades-old partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by the Trump admin. religionnews.com/2025/05/12/e...

submitted 13 days ago • 233 comments

Love to be an immigrant working in the UK university system today.

submitted 13 days ago • 2 comments

This is a classic of AI: transfer the routine part to a computer, make the human watch for errors and hold them liable. Like the self-driving car which transfers control to a human miliseconds before a crash

submitted 13 days ago • 3 comments

Labour has a whopping great majority and four years left to turn this country around. They should be setting the agenda, not chasing about trying to placate voters of a party with five MPs who will never vote for them anyway. It's not only disappointing... it's embarrassing

submitted 13 days ago • 313 comments

The future where women don’t matter and we have to take ‘just 29% more sepsis’ as a win

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

nothing good has ever come from presenting disabled and sick people as a literal threat to the nation

submitted 16 days ago • 49 comments

Better yet, call your reps and tell them to vote against the SAVE act! Having a copy of my birth certificate means bupkiss since I live abroad. They want to disenfranchise us.

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

I have completely deleted my Duolingo. I was informed by one of my kids that the company has removed most of its employees and 70% of the company is run by AI. I urge everyone to delete their app.

submitted 21 days ago • 157 comments

"We do not believe it is acceptable for management to be budgeting to spend more than ever before on capital expenditure—new buildings and the like—while planning for mass redundancies" www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/c48z2b8...

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Women's appearance and behaviour is about to get even more highly policed in the UK, with a few people doubtless being emboldened to "take action". This whole billionaire-funded enterprise dials back gender equity by decades.

submitted 35 days ago • 11 comments

Another story of 1. Admin sends fascist order 2. Media reports on it 3. People are outraged, say no 4. Admin says “actually that order was a mistake” Lesson is defy fascist orders kslnewsradio.com/shows-podcas...

submitted 35 days ago • 53 comments

🚨Our paper `Reclaiming AI as a theoretical tool for cognitive science' is now forthcoming in the journal Computational Brain & Behaviour. (Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...) Below a thread summary 🧵1/n #metatheory #AGI #AIhype #cogsci #theoreticalpsych #criticalAIliteracy

submitted 282 days ago • 23 comments

This is a mind bogglingly important thread. Digital infrastructure can be totally transparent OR totally opaque. The difference isn't AI, it's deleting the logs. This thread documents DOGE doing that, AND giving data and login access to Russia. We need an executive force to arrest this.

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

“…some cash-strapped actors who didn't fully understand the consequences are regretting selling their likenesses to be used in AI videos that they consider embarrassing, damaging, or harmful…”

submitted 37 days ago • 5 comments

I’ve said this before but this is a direct threat to all women and if that doesn’t make you alarmed I don’t know what will.

submitted 36 days ago • 3 comments

If you follow me you may not be 1. in the US 2. an academic But I want to mention something the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funds with its tiny slice of the budget — which was just gutted. Funding to make scholarly books Open Access — free for the public to read, anywhere.

submitted 49 days ago • 2 comments

david brooks: we need a mass movement bret stephens: trump is exploiting the idea of antisemitism bill kristol: the "abolish ICE" guys were right me: (pinching myself furiously, splashing water on my face)

submitted 37 days ago • 5 comments

France finally acknowledged the debt they owe Haiti. This is just the beginning of something. I'm gonna republish the feed. This is important. www.nbcnews.com/news/world/f...

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

it's hard to find a motivation for DOGE other than 'hatred of the good.' these are bad people fundamentally envious or un-understanding of the idea that you might work or give for others, and attempting to punish it.

submitted 38 days ago • 51 comments

Chris Van Hollen flying down to El Salvador and refusing to leave until he got in a room with Kilmar Abrego Garcia blows up every other “well what do you expect them to do?” defense for elected Democrats

submitted 37 days ago • 68 comments

Wynn-Williams “said the company was letting advertisers know when the teens were depressed so they could be served an ad at the best time.”

submitted 45 days ago • 16 comments

the four democrats who voted yes on the SAVE Act: Jared Golden Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Henry Cuellar Ed Case

submitted 45 days ago • 68 comments

“They were careless people…they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (April 10, 1925).

submitted 45 days ago • 606 comments

Tell the Senate to vote no on the SAVE Act and protect our right to vote: www.americanprogress.org/take-action/...

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

“…unlike mountains of research which established AI systems are more likely to discriminate against minorities based on race, gender, and nationality, Meta is specifically concerned with Llama 4 having a left-leaning political bias.”

submitted 45 days ago • 3 comments

SAVE Act just passed House. It is modern-day poll tax that would disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans, end online, mail + voter registration drives & require voters to register in person at election offices, forcing some rural voters to drive 8 hours to register. Total disaster in every way

submitted 45 days ago • 61 comments

This 2-year post in the Edinburgh Law School will also work closely with me, Emily Sullivan, @zeerak.bsky.social and others in EFI’s Centre for @technomoralfutures.bsky.social! Come join us - apply by 2nd May

submitted 48 days ago • 2 comments

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

The UK is preparing to chop off one of its universities' last means of support. In the middle of a trade war, they're going to cripple one of their strongest export markets. While immigration plunges anyway. Britain - the stupid country. 🇬🇧 www.ft.com/content/f441...

submitted 47 days ago • 4 comments

Sotomayor is right. According to this Supreme Court, the US can now kidnap, detain, and fly legal immigrants and citizens to a foreign country's prison, even if it's a whoopsie. America, people. Freedom and stuff.

submitted 47 days ago • 798 comments

The British automotive industry contributes £22bn to the UK economy. The creative industries contribute £124bn. Fucksake. Stop AI copyright theft.

submitted 47 days ago • 35 comments

This is high art

submitted 48 days ago • 543 comments

Help me Bluesky Quite recently (NOT years ago) Max Schrems suggested that bringing a "Schrems III" against the EU-US DPF would be too expensive. It was in an interview or panel or something and has not been widely reported. WHERE DID I SEE THIS I need it.

submitted 48 days ago • 4 comments

One flight attendant recalled being told: “‘If a fire occurs in the cabin, if we land on water, don’t check on the immigrants. Just make sure that you and the guards and the people that work for the government get off.’” By @mckenziefunk.com

submitted 49 days ago • 89 comments

SCOOP: DOGE is hosting a “hackathon” in DC next week with the goal of building one “mega API” for accessing all IRS data. Palantir has been brought up as a potential partner. www.wired.com/story/doge-h...

submitted 50 days ago • 231 comments

Area 4x size of UK impacted by #floods in Queensland, Australia. 150k+ farmed animals feared dead. "To see the roos & the wildlife that had no chance of getting out & the sheep that have floated down from a neighbour's place. It's bloody devastating." #ClimateEmergency www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

submitted 50 days ago • 1 comment

I am appalled by this. 'giving early-years teachers lapel microphones to record their comments about each child’s development – how well they are playing with others or being creative – which are then uploaded to a database and compared with the government’s early-years curriculum goals.'

submitted 49 days ago • 3 comments