Siobhan O'Flynn

Siobhan O'Flynn

@sioflynn.bsky.social

Canadian Studies UofT. 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦 Kids' data privacy, AI & policy; Social AI, Ghostbots, Griefbots; Digital Humanities, Digital & Geolocative Storytelling; Game Studies. T'karanto, Treaty 13

1.9K followers2.2K following3.5K posts

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Social Media Lab
@socialmedialab.ca

"We as Canadians do not want to be caught in a situation where we are reliant on one provider that may change their view, or may be forced to change their views, by one nation state that puts Canadians at risk — or compromises our sovereignty, our ability to express our values and live our values.”

cbc.caANALYSIS | Carney's geopolitical ambitions tested in defence industry co-operation with Turkey | CBC NewsPrime Minister Mark Carney sees Turkey's rapidly expanding defence industry as a model for breaking Canada's dependence on American military suppliers. But a history of broken trust and political repr...

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Timnit Gebru
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app

I had to take a little break to rest my eyes & voice after recording the audio for my upcoming book (which you can preorder at simonandschuster.com/books/Deep-U...). So it took me a while to get to the indomitable Arundhati Roy''s essay, Apocalypse Now and Then (H/t) @ambakak.bsky.social 🧵

simonandschuster.comDeep UnlearningTimnit Gebru, one of the fiercest voices in the world speaking truth to power, chronicles her journey as a refugee and Black woman in STEM—deliveri...

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Dave Vetter
@davidrvetter.bsky.social

Kudos to NBC New York for saying it without equivocation: "The US is to blame for the world falling behind in the fight against climate change."

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Sonja Drimmer
@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social

This piece by student journalist Naishu Vempali made me pump my fist in solidarity. I hope when I’m back teaching at UMass next year they take a class with me, where they can expect nothing but top quality human-grade feedback, interaction, and attention. dailycollegian.com/2026/10/chat...

dailycollegian.comChatGPT is my new TA, and I’m scared“It feels as though everyone in charge of our education has already accepted that, at the pace we’re moving, we’re all going to have to use AI at some point in our careers. By tasking us with AI assig...
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

None other than computer scientist & “godfather” of AI Yann LeCun derided the Roadster’s aerial acrobatics display, calling it a “marketing stunt” questioning its authenticity. “So the car must be an empty, lightweight shell containing big compressed air tanks. Cute demo, but totally impractical.”

Futurism@futurism.com

"So the car must be an empty, lightweight shell."

trib.alWait, Was Elon's "Flying Car" Just an Empty Shell?Elon Musk has a history of misleading stunts, so it's unreasonable to wonder if his "flying" Roadster isn't all what it seems.

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Susan Rinkunas
@susanrinkunas.com

NEW: Abortion opponents worked to pass bounty-hunter bills to end abortion in Texas and stop the flow of abortion pills. Now, a 26yo Texan forced to give birth is suing Students for Life after its president tried to order pills on camera. Seeks $460K—average cost to raise two kids. @autonomynews.co

autonomynews.coTexas Single Mom Sues Anti-Abortion Group Over Abortion Pill StuntStudents for Life set out to prove how easy it is to order medication abortion from a ban state. Maria Puerto is suing them for the cost of raising two children under a law they helped pass.
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Huh.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

SCOOP: 'Tommy' from the now-viral exchange with Abdul El-Sayed is Thomas Teepell, a former staffer for Republican Senator Josh Hawley with close ties to Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht. He's the son of a former Bobby Jindal staffer whose consultant work was instrumental in getting Hawley elected.

thehandbasket.co'Tommy' from viral El-Sayed video is former Sen. Hawley staffer with Christian nationalist tiesThomas Teepell is the son of a former long-time Bobby Jindal staffer who's close to Sean Feucht.

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Timnit Gebru
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app

Here's a WHOLE THREAD by Chanda mentioning other books & leaving out her own masterpieces! I heard a few words from her when I did that with my own book 😂. First, if you haven't bought The Edge of Space Time, you obviously should remedy that immediately. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...

penguinrandomhouse.comThe Edge of Space-Time by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: 9780593701683 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: BooksNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A fresh, charming, socially conscious tour of the mysteries of space-time, from the award-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos “With this extraordinary book, Prescod-Weinstei...
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Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Happily supporting Italian, French, Austrian, Chilean, Argentinian, Australian, New Zealand, German, Portuguese wineries. Now who have I left out? BC…

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social

Our man is high on his own supply (a middling Zinfandel)

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

I hope there are civil suits against the government in the future and Ford in particular for the harms created by online gambling

Toronto Star@thestar.com

Star Investigation: The government agency responsible for online gambling in Ontario secretly shelved a research study intended to track rates of problem gambling. New from @bkstar.bsky.social:

thestar.comOntario government hid study on rates of problem gambling, internal documents revealRecords obtained by the Star through Freedom of Information legislation reveal that iGaming Ontario executives were concerned when researchers reported problem gambling rates significantly higher than...

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Shawn Micallef
@shawnmicallef.bsky.social

Ontario man. Ontario.

Toronto Star@thestar.com

Star Investigation: The government agency responsible for online gambling in Ontario secretly shelved a research study intended to track rates of problem gambling. New from @bkstar.bsky.social:

thestar.comOntario government hid study on rates of problem gambling, internal documents revealRecords obtained by the Star through Freedom of Information legislation reveal that iGaming Ontario executives were concerned when researchers reported problem gambling rates significantly higher than...
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Is anyone tracking this? "Canada's stockpile of US debt securities has grown aggressively, to nearly $600B of Treasuries & bonds. This as China has been moving its US securities to non-US custodian banks, shifting its portfolio to other countries" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

bloomberg.comChina’s Backdoor Bond-Buying Talk Swirls on $600 Billion BuildupLike many on Wall Street, DoubleLine’s Vitaliy Liberman has made a habit out of keeping tabs on foreign ownership of US debt securities, looking for signs of any broad-based pullback in retaliation fo...
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Good point.

Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app

"Releasing over 700 files at once is not a demonstration of scholarship, but a demonstration of power. We urge mathematicians to discontinue their work with OpenAI and to return to a vision of science that centers human understanding." www.ahmath.org/statements

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“The malicious advertisements were purchased by Discover-Tech, an Israeli company that presents itself as a legitimate advertising company, but which we found operates as a facilitator for multiple mercenary spyware partners.”

Matt Burgess (WIRED)@mattburgess1.bsky.social

Full, very detailed, Citizen Lab research is here: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

citizenlab.caExposing AdFection: How Discover-Tech Turned Targeted Ads Into a Pipeline for Zero-Click Mercenary Spyware - The Citizen LabThis is the first-ever public confirmation of zero-click mercenary spyware delivered via targeted ads. We call the technique AdFection, and show how it was used to infect devices at Al Jazeera with Ca...
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Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“Discover-Tech has also leveraged the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) consent frameworks to target users within the European Union.“

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“Discover-Tech’s mass abuse, privacy invasion, and facilitation for mercenary spyware attacks illustrates structural flaws with the online advertising system, which failed to detect or prevent the abuse documented in this report.”

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“The malicious advertisements were purchased by Discover-Tech, an Israeli company that presents itself as a legitimate advertising company, but which we found operates as a facilitator for multiple mercenary spyware partners.”

Matt Burgess (WIRED)@mattburgess1.bsky.social

Full, very detailed, Citizen Lab research is here: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

citizenlab.caExposing AdFection: How Discover-Tech Turned Targeted Ads Into a Pipeline for Zero-Click Mercenary Spyware - The Citizen LabThis is the first-ever public confirmation of zero-click mercenary spyware delivered via targeted ads. We call the technique AdFection, and show how it was used to infect devices at Al Jazeera with Ca...
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“Discover-Tech operates a platform called Controlium that enables its mercenary partners to de-anonymize, fingerprint, and automatically infect devices the moment an advertisement is rendered — a form of zero-click attack.”

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

“Discover-Tech has appeared on lists of “certified” and “approved” vendors maintained by Google and advertising industry association IAB Europe, and has served ads via major networks such as Google, Yandex, and Beeswax.”

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

I hope the eight Attorney General‘s ran chats on open AI as minors as the New Mexico AG did before filing against Meta I’m looking forward to reading the lawsuits

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Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Holy moleee

MapQuest@mapquest.com

The Roads Have Eyes! 👁️ Turn on the Surveillance Layer in Map Options to see known license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada, and other outdoor surveillance cameras.

Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

8 states filed lawsuits v OpenAI alleging violations of consumer protection laws AGs accused it of harming children with dangerous medical advice, encouraging self-harm AGs seek financial penalties, data destruction, bans on further testing of advanced models azcapitoltimes.com/news/2026/10...

azcapitoltimes.comArizona, other states sue OpenAI alleging harms to the public | Arizona Capitol TimesAttorneys General accuse the company's chatbot of harming children by providing dangerous medical advice, encouraging self-harm.
Siobhan O'Flynn
@sioflynn.bsky.social

Sadly, Trump can look like a clown all on his own

MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com

Filipkowski on Putin: He is intentionally humiliating Trump. He wants to diminish the United States. He wants to diminish our credibility and our prestige. What better way to do it than week after week after week, making the president of the United States look like a clown?

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Abdul El-Sayed
@abdulelsayed.bsky.social

My name is not the reason we're paying $5/gallon for gas. My name is not the reason you can't afford your groceries. My name is not the reason you can't afford your mortgage or rent. My name is not the reason you can't see a doctor. Their policies are the reason.

Siobhan O'Flynn reposted

Eoghan Daltun 🌍
@irishrainforest.bsky.social

In a world of crises that can feel beyond individual control, rewilding offers something tangible. Inspiring story about retired Ozzies who've chosen to spend their time working for nature. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

theguardian.comStill wielding a chainsaw at 85: the Australians restoring nature in retirementFor a growing band of older Australians, retirement has become an unlikely second act, spent rewilding mountains, counting sea slugs and coaxing damaged country back to life