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Articles by Ruby Sinreich
Beware the AI Hype Cycle
I have have been seeking my next job in nonprofit tech for half a year now, and I’ve learned that the sector is broadly very invested in using AI right now. There are many important applications of LLMs and machine learning, in fact we’ve all been using it for years to do things like sorting our inboxes, analyzing complex data, finding the best cat pics on my phone, and showing the perfect next video for our interests. I don’t want to give those things up.
A human starts the loop, a human can stop it
In the social good side of the tech world (hashtag nptech), I hear people and institutions talk about the neccesity of “a human in the loop” when working with AI. This means that a responsible person reviews any output from an LLM before it gets out in the wild. This is a low standard, but it’s not wrong. I hope to see more discussion of what having a human in the loop means for agentic AI, which is generally sold to us as a way to reduce human labor (for better or worse). But let’s be serious.
Accessible resources for safety & security
Today I want to share three excellent guides for keeping your self and your community safe. I love how they use clear language and understandable images to convey information. I’ve had these tabs open in my browser for months so I figured I should post there here so I’ll always know where to find them. My absolute favorite is this zine by the Climate Defense Project that uses elephants to teach about security culture.
A much-needed AI framework for a more equitable world
Since losing my job in a round of budget-cutting layoffs at MomsRising (where I spent 10 years building web sites, IT systems, security protocols, and trainings) I have been seeking a new opportunity to help a progressive organization or campaign to more effectively use technology in support of grassroots organizing for political change. One of the things I have found in every CTO and IT Director position I see is that everyone wants to use AI now, but not everyone is sure why or how.
An easy way to reduce the ability of scammers to spoof your domain
I recently participated in NTEN‘s new cybersecurity community, and learned about this wonderful easy tool called DNStwist. All you have to do is enter your own domain name (eg: lotusmedia.org in my case) and it scans global domain registries for common variations designed to trick a reader into thinking it’s your domain. A very common phishing technique is to send an e-mail seeming to be from your organization that sends people to what seems like your website.
Republicans reap ‘The Liar’s Dividend’ thanks to AI and corporate journalism
Parker Molloy has a great new essay on Trump’s repeated subversion of reality, seen recently in his claim that Ronald Reagan loved tariffs when in fact he hated them as accurately portrayed in this Canadian ad with unadulterated clips of him speaking. This reminded me of the often-quoted Hannah Arendt, who I really need to read much more of.
we have become / the pharaoh
I have been so incredibly grateful for the leadership and energy of people like Jewish Voice for Peace who are making it abundantly clear that there are many many of us American Jews that do not support Israel at the expense of Palestinian human rights. The best time to make this clear would have been decades ago but the second best time is right now. For years I have been called “antisemitic” by Jews who conflate Israel with the Jewish people.
Victory in Graham
In 2019, I joined hundreds of Jews, immigrants, and our friends in Graham, North Carolina to say “no more” to the the cruel, racist, and unnecessary practices of ICE and to call out Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson’s enthusiastic enforcement of their white supremacist agenda. I was arrested at that demonstration, along with nine other lovely human beings. After a number of tedious trials, the charges against us were eventually dropped since we were breaking no laws.
Celebrate Pride by stopping book bans
I was enraged, but not surprised when The Washington Post reported recently that “an analysis of book challenges from across the nation shows the majority were filed by just 11 people.” While many on the far-right would have us believe there is some kind of grassroots groundswell against teaching accurate history and respecting people of all genders and sexualities, the truth is that this “unprecedented” astroturf movement has been skillfully crafted by people who only care about money and...
Today is Long COVID Awareness Day
And my friend Liza Sabater (the OG Blog Diva! Respect!) wrote a great thread about it on Mastodon. I thought I would do a public service and post it for easy reference and sharing. TODAY IS #LongCovid AWARENESS DAY here’s a few reasons why USGOV is trying to swipe under the rug the consequences of #COVID19 (re)infections: 1. LABOR LAWS would have to change to make sure employers not only provide more sick days but pay for them 2.
Ceasefire yesterday. Ceasefire now. Ceasefire for the future.
There are many many of us Jews that don’t feel that our own safety depends on the control or suppression of others. While many of the refugees who came to Palestine as pioneers after the Holocaust had intentions to live peacefully in harmony with the Palestinians*, almost every action of the Israeli government since it was founded has been to treat Palestinians just as badly as we had been treated in Europe.
Land acknowledgement
For years I have relied on the maps at native-land.ca to help me understand the history of the land I am on. Today I discovered it has an AI tool called Kōrero that you can converse with to create a personalized land acknowledgement statement. As I am what many would consider an “AI skeptic” I want to call it out when I see a large language model actually doing something useful. Below is the statement it created with my input.
Sinead O’Connor’s death has me wondering if it’s even possible to exist and thrive while living a life of integrity. Another Cassandra that tried to warn us and was rewarded with derision and exclusion. How can we ever learn if we don’t listen to the voices of integrity?
An Open Web for Who?
In the Drupal community we’re hearing the term “Open Web” being used a lot lately.
Yom HaShoah
On this Holocaust Remembrance Day it feels more important than ever that we understand how such a nightmare could happen so that we ensure it doesn’t happen again to anyone. It breaks my heart to see Jews taking away the lesson that it’s us against the world (as Prime Minister Netanyahu said today) instead of taking away the lesson that we must not allow fascists to divide us and turn us against each other by fighting over scraps of land and resources.
I’m ready to follow young people to a better future
Parkland students like Emma Gonzales remind me so much of myself at their age. I was ready to change the world, and I knew exactly how to do it. I also rocked the same kind of natty friendship bracelets, and even shaved my head (well, part of it). Twenty-five years ago, I helped mobilize thousands of students to stand up for a free-standing Black Cultural Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Morning Roundup: Lara Trump is from North Carolina and Some Other Things | News | Indy Week
It's Wednesday. Your morning news:The National Labor Relations Board ruled yesterday that graduate teaching and research assistants at Columbia University are entitled to collective bargaining.This decision is certain to set off a chain of grad-student organizing at private universities across the United States.
Live: How Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage Left Me Stranded in Space
On Thursday night, I went to seeat DPAC . It is a live orchestral performance ofmusic, accompanied by a cinematic clip show. A week has passed, and I'm just now forming my opinion.I was supposed to review the show. Simple enough, I thought: I would bang out a quick few paragraphs before lunch the next day. But I typed and deleted, typed and deleted, typed and deleted, and eventually just started to forget about the assignment.
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