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I'm not going to repost any of the insane antisemitic conspiracy bullshit that grok is spewing today, but it highlights how absolutely essentially is that we not let LLMs become a form of epistemic grounding for our society.

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Don't worry, it's not like the American Federation of Teachers has taken millions of dollars in bribes to insert AI into classrooms. (finger to ear) bsky.app/profile/rwei...

This will be an innovative new training space where educators will learn not just about how A.I. works, but how to use it wisely, safely and ethically. It will be a place where tech developers and educators can talk with each other, not past each other. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/t...

I fear we have crossed this line. People are already using models like this. I think it would be important to design public LLMs for knowledge retrieval, with ongoing monitoring and validation from scientists. (and for scientists to be refrain from using these models for knowledge generation)

Hm. I think science should not rely on llms to generate data and insights about the real world. My point was that the citizens use these models like Wikipedia and that there should be public models designed for this purpose.

LLMs can't even get Linear Algebra questions correct - they are made of LA. I consider LLMs like creating Broca's region with not much else. This reminds me of Deep Blue AI claims 30 years ago, that never panned out. We have a ways to go.

Honestly they shouldn't become really anything of anything. The fact that there's a humongous world-wide AI bubble growing without apparent limits and gulping up parts of economy feels like an apocalyptic threat.

Related— Everyone should read this stunning new book. Artfully articulated, detailed, deeply researched, exquisitely organized, beautifully constructed. Exponentially insightful. EMPIRE OF AI by Karen Hao Essential. Consequential. Riveting. Don’t miss Ch. 9, 12

“with the aim of using AI to hunt for” bsky.app/profile/wash...

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

Exclusive: A team created by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is interested in gaining access to emails and chat logs of U.S. spy agencies with the aim of using AI to hunt for efforts that undermine President Trump’s agenda.

They are looking in the wrong place to find Anti-Trump efforts: Easier to look at the Millions who openly Expressed feelings on No Kings Day!! I think they're trying to close their Eyes and Ears to the Citizenry expressing our Opinions!!

Not sure why LLMs in general should get the blame for something that was pretty clearly driven by a human (Musk). It's not like claude is spewing hate speech. It does highlight how important it is for us to control the LLMs that do epistemic work for us though.

They don’t get the blame; in fact I think the point is they as tech can’t be blamed as they are subject to their programmers. Which is good reason to eschew treating them as a source of epistemic grounding, as Carl says.

The fact that something is an inanimate object and so can’t be “blamed” has nothing to do with that thing's epistemic reliability (idk why we’re talking about foundations). The problem this situation makes salient is that we can’t trust people like Musk to run epistemic infrastructure for us.

“Replicants are like any other machine: they’re either a benefit or a hazard. When they’re a benefit, it’s not my problem.”

Seems like the kind of thing someone would do if they were trying to make people distrust LLMs and burn them to the ground. Except they probably fail and start pogroms. I had thought social media algorithms were bad enough on their own.

llms are a product of an epistemological grounding in decontextualised a priori absolutes that already dominates in spaces of power and privilege that's why it's so popular there and so clearly ridiculous from outside it

Great point. Also why it would just exacerbate epistemic injustices. And ‘faking it’ for many would be just going along with ruling ideas, with a little more efficiency that genAI offers. Efficient bullshitting which will take way more energy to get rid of.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard one of the many heinous effects of Trump's OBBB is that AI will be unregulated for ten years, so good luck with that.

Honestly, as a high school teacher, this is a real gift: it will make it sooooo much easier to convince my students this Fall that the LLMs will actually just tell them whatever the people who own the LLMs want.

Related— Everyone should read this stunning new book. Artfully articulated, detailed, deeply researched, exquisitely organized, beautifully constructed. Exponentially insightful. EMPIRE OF AI by Karen Hao Essential. Consequential. Riveting. Don’t miss Ch. 9, 12

Garbage gathered, garbage out. I'd want, however, to clarify "antisemitic" because that itself can get conflated with Zionism issues. It may well BE that Israel qua "modern Zion" is spreading gratuitous trouble in the world.

You'd a'thought...except that the publishing industry has its own profit-margin-obsessed, tail-chasing logic, which results in some pretty ridiculous books getting a lot of hype.... and some of the finest never being published

Sadly, so many books are being thrown away from Uni libraries. For instance, our campus recently consolidated with a local community college and so many books were thrown away. I tried to snag as many as possible, but that was technically not okay since they’re state property.

It's just quoting Defense Minister Katz: In a briefing on Monday to Israeli media, described measures to implement the displacement of Palestinians from most of Gaza. He said he had given orders to plan a “humanitarian city”, to hold Palestinians who would not be allowed to leave. As in ghetto

And so we need to LEVERAGE Musk’s tweaking his LLM in public to launch LLM regulation we missed the boat wrt social media algos over & over in part bc Facebook, TikTok etc didn’t give us public proof to leverage We have proof now for LLMs. thx Elon! US States, the EU, Canada Time to get busy…