Katherine T. Tyson

18 Jan 2025

I’m a bit late but it’s still January, so new year new profile picture! I have a habit of updating across platforms to help keep in touch with people. This year is different. As Silicon Valley loses its mind it felt more like an “in memoriam” than anything else. It’s not just TikTok that’s dying.

cnn.comExclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN PoliticsThe episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war

The U.S. military almost started a war with China due to "AI error" An entirely hallucinated report almost started a US-China war Today, CNN lost their White House access reporting things like this Officials need to understand the limitations of AI: those in positions of power have a duty of care

"For some older intelligence officials — even those who broadly support the use of AI inside the military — AI has put pressure on analysts to produce and disseminate intelligence faster, opening the door for mistakes."

"Young analysts in particular, several sources said, are natives on these tools and more likely to trust them uncritically. “AI allows you to get to a bad idea faster,” one of the sources said."

"the episode with the Chinese ship underscores a different, and more immediate risk: human beings making disastrous decisions based on inaccurate or misleading information generated by AI or other automated systems."

"The kind of “hallucination” that the tool used by the analyst in this case conjured has not been an isolated incident across the intelligence community since these tools began proliferating across government, according to one of the sources."

"the episode underscores the profound risks of using this powerful, new and relatively poorly understood technology for targeting in the middle of a war. Analysts have long feared that AI could lead to a catastrophic miscalculation if nation states are relying on poor or corrupted data"

"“The internal tools are mostly just copies of the commercial stuff wearing lipstick,” a former senior US official familiar with the AI systems used by military and intelligence analysts."

"only just before the planned operation that officials dug deeper into the report put together by a special operations command analyst and found it had been generated with the help of AI—and that a chatbot the analyst had used inaccurately identified the material [nukes] the ship was carrying"

"The report, according to one of the sources, was “entirely false.” But it also “almost started a war,” the source said. Any US operation against a Chinese vessel could have risked spiraling into an armed conflict between the two nations."

theguardian.comGoogle says its Gemini AI model hacked three other companiesDisclosure comes after OpenAI and Anthropic hacks amid fears that tech firms unable to control powerful AI models

AI companies who attempt to hack should face legal ramifications: hiding behind "agents" isn't legitimate. It is a federal crime to not only succeed in hacking but also to conspire or attempt to commit hacking (US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) - 18 U.S.C. § 1030). They are not above the law.

prospect.orgAnthropic Is Building a Predictive Surveillance System to Monitor Activists - The American ProspectNew hires and comments in interviews show that the AI giant is using its capabilities against dissenters.

9 Sept

Democracy needs freedom to dissent & private wire tapping is illegal "Anthropic is building out an extensive monitoring system to keep tabs on activists who oppose the rapid development of AI The firm is also implementing a “pre-crime” approach, attempting to predict incidents before they happen."

wsj.comExclusive | Anthropic Researcher Quits Over ‘Out-of-Control’ AI FearsConcerns are rising inside AI labs that competition is pushing tech companies to race toward self-improving models that risk spiraling out of human control.

9 Sept

Fear being a high chance (>10%) of human extinction this decade They have agency in choosing to pursue Agentic AI but are acting like they have none. It's half a dozen US companies trying to secure individual enrichment through inflated IPO offers, while pretending they can't stop because "China"

9 Sept

If the thing you are making can cause all humans to become extinct there is a moral duty to stop. These companies are taking advantage of a fractured global order to rush development without a chance for international cooperation to take place. They have the power, but are pretending they don't.

27 Aug

The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”. The name is over 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada & the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. @mark-carney.bsky.social

26 Aug

If more people with power and influence operated like Dolly Parton we’d be in a good place. Thanks for all the books, vaccines, and LGBTQ+ love in the face of growing American hate.

go.nature.comWhy we must stop talking about artificial general intelligence — and instead build ‘pro-worker’ AIRather than racing to replace people, we should build AI tools that amplify human expertise and expand opportunity.

22 Aug

The Economist loved Acemoglu when he wrote about institutions, but now that he’s speaking sense on AI they publish a hit piece. Regulations and safeguards for AI are necessary. A tool is used to benefit our communities and keep our environment livable. We need more pro-human AI voices.

Nature@nature.com

Rather than racing to replace people, we should build AI tools that amplify human expertise and expand opportunity, says Daron Acemoglu go.nature.com/3SpEd97

14 Aug

The rhetoric of "excellence" is a lie No one's super human: challenges set you back The privileged are afforded mediocrity: the threshold for minorities makes them fail or exaggerate It's a toxic, delusional culture for the under privileged expected to achieve impossible feats RIP Arday

thetimes.comJason Arday, former Cambridge University professor, found deadThe former academic was found unresponsive in Battersea. Police said they were treating his death as unexpected, but it is not believed to be suspicious

14 Aug

Shame on those (esp on X) who participated in the Jason Arday mass pile on This story shouldn’t have ever been international breaking news: I’ve seen more grace given to hard criminals Mob joy always goes this way, but those “racial realist” bullies won’t care because of his ethnic background

14 Aug

The Times ad about Arday’s “student grievance” is still live. The media’s disproportionate focus on trying to bring down this human is still live. Yet they are now claiming shock. They went after him to tear down every disabled and person of colour in elite circles. They have so much to answer for

8 Aug

Bigotry of low expectations should be dismantled, not entrenched. Children meet the expectations given to them. The risks of systemic bias and discrimination by teachers/administrators is real. I really hope they reconsider this approach.

Politics UK@politicsuk.com

🚨 NEW: Primary schools are set to be told to identify children at risk of being unemployed in the future [@guardian]

theguardian.comPrimary schools to be told to identify children at risk of future unemploymentExclusive: Neet crisis review to call for teachers to be asked to spot those at risk of leaving education jobless at 16

8 Aug

An article on the proposal

theguardian.com‘It’s all right for them’: private schools and golf courses stay green despite England’s hosepipe bansAs parks turn brown and paddling pools go unfilled, exemptions mean sports pitches can stay lush – even in school holidays

8 Aug

While much of England turns yellow with dead vegetation, elite spaces are staying green and alive.

Social media is full of claims that China is doing AI "right" and China is claiming that youth unemployment is falling Yet, in 2023 Peking Prof. Dandan argued that real youth unemployment 46.5% China has produced record university grads, threatening elite overproduction Propaganda isn't reality

aljazeera.comAs Chinese economy slows, experts say there will be ‘problems for Beijing’While the 'export engine is running very hot', jobs are lagging, squeezing spending in China.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.comsciencedirect.com

nbcnews.comChina, facing record youth unemployment, says it will stop releasing data about itOfficials in the world’s second-largest economy said they need to refine how they calculate the jobless rate for people ages 16 to 24, which was a record 21.3% in June.

www.news.com.au/finance/econ...

news.com.aunews.com.au

reuters.comChina's youth jobless rate falls to 12-month low in JuneChina's surveyed urban unemployment rate for youths ‌in June dropped to the lowest level in 12 months, data released by ⁠the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

theguardian.comChina’s graduate glut: millions enter a job market with little use for themRecord numbers find there is little demand for their skills, as entry-level tech roles are hit by AI and automation

This warrants a national investigation and media reporting

Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social

Leaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.

thetimes.com‘Even I would qualify as disabled’: Baroness Casey calls for tough questions on welfareBaroness Casey of Blackstock, who is leading a review of social care that will conclude by 2028, says nation must ask ‘who should we be looking after, and how’

29 July

Baroness Casey demonstrates internalized ableism here She can’t handle a reality that her health conditions could make her disabled because it’s a “bad” thing Disabled people can sit down for an interview Disabled people do work Disabled people do live The whole review is called into question

1 Aug

Katherine T. Tyson reposted

Tom Roberts

@tpgroberts.bsky.social

29 July

Replying to @tpgroberts.bsky.social

Casey would not qualify for disability support but would appear as disabled in the Family Resources Survey, does this mean we need to deliver better data to assess how to deliver social care? Maybe, but this is a data question not a welfare question.

14 June

Hundreds of thousands have already lost their lives because of USAID cut: millions more expected over the next 4 years. The system rewarded the architect with over a trillion dollars, on a set of companies that produces next to no profit and survive off subsidies. The system is broken.

12 June

Capitalism can’t function with monopolies and oligopolies. What we have is a plutocracy. Billionaires doubling their wealth in a couple years (ie Taylor Swift) and the first Trillionaire (Musk) are just the ones written about. Tax reform needs to happen as a matter of priority.

12 June

Every media outlet is groveling at Musk’s feet about SpaceX’s IPO. Regardless of whether it’s Aljazeera or the BBC. No mention of how Musk encouraged race riots that have terrorized the United Kingdom. A dereliction of journalistic duty.

11 June

Finally, bluesky has group chats!

reut.rsUS House passes $70 billion bill to fund ICE, Border PatrolA longstanding political stalemate in the U.S. Congress over money for immigration enforcement ended on Tuesday, when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the remainder of President Donald Trump's administration.

9 June

The USA is forever changed.

Reuters@reuters.com

US House passes $70 billion bill to fund ICE, Border Patrol reut.rs/4xf4oPH

am.com.mxInvestigan muerte de Raúl Pacheco Vega, académico de la FLACSOHéctor Pacheco Vega fue encontrado sin vida en un motel de León. La investigación avanza tras la identificación del cuerpo.

3 June

@raulpachecovega.bsky.social death is under investigation as there were reported signs of violence. Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega deserved so much better. I hope justice is served. Original spanish article: www.am.com.mx/leon/2026/06... English translation: www-am-com-mx.translate.goog/leon/2026/06...

Katherine T. Tyson reposted

Conrad Copeland

@conradcopeland.bsky.social

The court has effectively ruled that severely disabled people are not entitled to the same standards of liberty because they allegedly can't experience it fully. A bizarrely regressive ruling on rights It even implies non-resistance as possible consent: an extremely dangerous view for all victims

This post is unavailable.

I can’t express how shocked and sad this news makes me. I met Raul in the early 2010s as an undergrad at UBC, Vancouver. We moved to different continents, but continued to be engaged online and link up when possible. He helped shape me as both an academic and climate policy work. Gone too soon.

Sociedad Mexicana de Sociología@smsociologia.bsky.social

La Sociedad Mexicana de Sociología lamenta profundamente el fallecimiento del Dr. Raúl Pacheco-Vega, profesor del CIDE y FLACSO. Nuestras más sinceras condolencias a sus familiares, amigos y colegas cercanos. Descanse en paz

In remembrance

Many will know him by his handle @raulpachecovega.bsky.social On Twitter as @raulpacheco and pre-2015 as @hummingbird604

The current AI push is a self defeating race to the bottom. There is a deep cultural and environmental anxiety among the super rich. They seem to be scrambling to build massive infrastructure projects not to better our lives but to be in control of the emerging world order. Credit: @rushkoff.com

bleepingcomputer.comTyping Insights Feature Shows AI Stats in Latest Windows 10 Insider BuildStarting in Windows Insider Build 17704 Microsoft introduced a new feature called "Typing insights" that allows us to see how well the artificial intelligence behind various on screen keyboard feature...

31 May

Maximalism > landlord’s special Credit: sarah Andersen

Katherine T. Tyson reposted

Moxie Mummy

@moxiemeow.bsky.social

26 May

This feature is not new. It is at least eight years old and dates back to Windows 10. Note the date on the article below! www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microso...

theguardian.comUN backs historic climate crisis ruling, despite US attempts to stop resolutionThe US, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia – some of the highest oil-producing nations and major greenhouse gas emitters – opposed the measure

21 May

UN backs historic climate crisis ruling The 141-8 vote adopts a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change The US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Israel, Iran, Yemen, Liberia and Belarus voted against. The UK voted in favour of the resolution

onlinelibrary.wiley.comBridging New Divides: Ethnic Linkages and Trade in AfricaThis paper studies the effects of ethnic linkages on trade between countries within Africa. I construct a digitised and geo-referenced dataset of historical ethnic territories for pre-colonial Africa...

14 May

My partner’s latest paper dropped!

Conrad Copeland@conradcopeland.bsky.social

My latest paper has been published in the South African Journal of Economics today! It estimates the effect of informal ethnic networks on trade flows in Africa It leverages a new IV framework using pre-colonial territory maps #EconSky #AcademicSky onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...