Welp, Co-Pilot showed up in my MS Office update at work and... It is Clippy. It is totally, just Clippy. image
Many experts join in institutions of power in society hoping to sew the seeds of change from within, only to realize that there is actually very little insiders can do to push the needle. Corporations are beholden to Boards, Boards to investors and other shareholder groups. And for those in state administrative or bureaucratic roles, they even legally give up their right to lobby, speak out, or resist (i.e. the Hatch Act). It is only when those people quit jobs in positions of power that as private civilians, that they can join political groups, speak out against injustice and evade forced complicity or silencing, while using their expert knowledge. Of course, then, they are no longer on the inside. And their power comes not from their position of privilege but from their ability to join collective groups advocating for change. Which avenue would you choose to push back effectively against coercive power?
LOVING this great talk between @npub1x2u8...lnzq and @npub1hyku...3p33 and Lee Vinsel -- on now until 8pm Eastern:
Did you know that #ICE uses heat and utility records to find and deport people? Maybe you think that's okay because it's not YOUR data. A reminder: they can't detect patterns like these at scale without everyone's data in the pile. Every drip you give them is used to sort people into bins, distinguish you from others, and more perfectly identify outliers, especially those at risk. Yes, YOUR data is being used to track and detain OTHER people. #optout #reclaimtech NOW
American Dragnet | Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century
American Dragnet | Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century
Our two-year investigation, including hundreds of Freedom of Information Act requests and a comprehensive review of ICE’s contracting and procure...
Another 550 experts cut. On top of 650 last year and more. JPL is not a big place, typically around 5000 employees. At least a quarter of the expert workforce -- who alone on this planet have landed nine times on Mars. it's not going to end, either, until the govt bleeds Nasa dry.
JPL Workforce Update | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Super excited to have @npub1ynlz...873s at Princeton this afternoon for a live conversation with @npub1ssf6...h20n on LLMs, society and culture, sponsored by our fabulous Digital Humanities center. It's so meaningful to bring these exchanges off the page and the screen and into the room!