Kevin Barron
@kevinbarron.bsky.social
Either we choose to evolve/hack our culture to reintegrate within nature, or we prematurely go extinct.
Individually we may feel powerless, but TOGETHER we can regain our keystone role, and maybe even achieve our evolutionary potential.
🍉
Individually we may feel powerless, but TOGETHER we can regain our keystone role, and maybe even achieve our evolutionary potential.
🍉
Pinned
Kevin Barron
@kevinbarron.bsky.social
· Mar 26
I’m not against automation, but I am vehemently opposed to AUTOMATING STUPIDITY.
This is mental predation of our kids. Is this the society we want!?
“A large survey by the Institute for Family Studies, for example, shows that seventy-five per cent of parents of K-12 students support A.I. moratoria.”
#theAIcon
@emilymbender.bsky.social @olivia.science
@alexhanna.bsky.social
“A large survey by the Institute for Family Studies, for example, shows that seventy-five per cent of parents of K-12 students support A.I. moratoria.”
#theAIcon
@emilymbender.bsky.social @olivia.science
@alexhanna.bsky.social
What We Lost When Big Tech Took Over the Classroom
Natasha Singer’s book “Coding Kids” tracks how public schools were bewitched by private corporations, setting the stage for the ed-tech backlash of today.
www.newyorker.com
September 19, 2026 at 5:38 PM
This is mental predation of our kids. Is this the society we want!?
“A large survey by the Institute for Family Studies, for example, shows that seventy-five per cent of parents of K-12 students support A.I. moratoria.”
#theAIcon
@emilymbender.bsky.social @olivia.science
@alexhanna.bsky.social
“A large survey by the Institute for Family Studies, for example, shows that seventy-five per cent of parents of K-12 students support A.I. moratoria.”
#theAIcon
@emilymbender.bsky.social @olivia.science
@alexhanna.bsky.social
Reposted by Kevin Barron
The courts ruled that Trump had to stop fucking with wind power and he's just ... ignoring the courts.
What exactly is a democracy supposed to do in this situation?
What exactly is a democracy supposed to do in this situation?
Trump Keeps Wind Farms Waiting Despite Court Ruling
The administration told a federal court that it has a “new analytical methodology,” hence the continued delays.
heatmap.news
September 18, 2026 at 6:22 PM
The courts ruled that Trump had to stop fucking with wind power and he's just ... ignoring the courts.
What exactly is a democracy supposed to do in this situation?
What exactly is a democracy supposed to do in this situation?
Nothing to see here
Latest update on how we're going with that "integration of AI into defence capabilities and human decision making" thing.
"Almost started a war."
Good thing we're not thinking of rolling out AI autonomous weapons, right?
www.armscontrol.org/act/2026-07/...
"Almost started a war."
Good thing we're not thinking of rolling out AI autonomous weapons, right?
www.armscontrol.org/act/2026-07/...
September 19, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Nothing to see here
Reposted by Kevin Barron
What is the tech industry truly afraid of? Is it the AI they have unleashed, as they want us to believe? Or is it…all of us, standing up to them? Thanks to Chris Hayes for having us on.
September 18, 2026 at 2:57 PM
What is the tech industry truly afraid of? Is it the AI they have unleashed, as they want us to believe? Or is it…all of us, standing up to them? Thanks to Chris Hayes for having us on.
A distinction that does make a difference! @lessig.bsky.social
Still fighting the good fight.
Bravo!!
Still fighting the good fight.
Bravo!!
September 18, 2026 at 7:30 PM
A distinction that does make a difference! @lessig.bsky.social
Still fighting the good fight.
Bravo!!
Still fighting the good fight.
Bravo!!
these ideas are so out there, so blatantly divorced from empirical reality and basic morality, why should I waste my time and my sanity debating kooks? In short, because the kooks are now in power, and they are using that power to dismantle the institutions designed to keep us safe, healthy, & free
What Policymakers and the Public Need to Know About the Cult of AI
Nathalie Maréchal asks, why are we betting the economy and the future of democracy on cult-like beliefs?
techpolicy.press
September 18, 2026 at 4:56 AM
these ideas are so out there, so blatantly divorced from empirical reality and basic morality, why should I waste my time and my sanity debating kooks? In short, because the kooks are now in power, and they are using that power to dismantle the institutions designed to keep us safe, healthy, & free
The need 4 humanities:
What the TESCREAL doomers are worried about is an ASI that wipes out our species, thus foreclosing the possibility of us becoming or creating “worthy” successors: posthumans. What they want is an ASI that enables us to become or create “worthy” successors that usurp humanity
What the TESCREAL doomers are worried about is an ASI that wipes out our species, thus foreclosing the possibility of us becoming or creating “worthy” successors: posthumans. What they want is an ASI that enables us to become or create “worthy” successors that usurp humanity
The ASI Extinction Debate Is the Opposite of What You Think
The media needs to wake up, fast. (3,100 words.)
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com
September 17, 2026 at 8:02 PM
The need 4 humanities:
What the TESCREAL doomers are worried about is an ASI that wipes out our species, thus foreclosing the possibility of us becoming or creating “worthy” successors: posthumans. What they want is an ASI that enables us to become or create “worthy” successors that usurp humanity
What the TESCREAL doomers are worried about is an ASI that wipes out our species, thus foreclosing the possibility of us becoming or creating “worthy” successors: posthumans. What they want is an ASI that enables us to become or create “worthy” successors that usurp humanity
Another data point showing that “Ai” should be spelled “BS”.
As @carlbergstrom.com makes clear:
As @carlbergstrom.com makes clear:
September 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Another data point showing that “Ai” should be spelled “BS”.
As @carlbergstrom.com makes clear:
As @carlbergstrom.com makes clear:
Copper doesn’t get the attention it warrants, and recycling is not going to fill the looming shortage.
The massive data center mania is accelerating and exacerbating this crunch.
The massive data center mania is accelerating and exacerbating this crunch.
“And while it’s hard to predict how this story will end, or how the world will accommodate to a lower and lower output of critical materials and oil, one thing is for sure: the current economic-growth model can no longer be sustained and is about to end for good.” — Balázs Matics
The Era of Material Scarcity Has Arrived
Copper is critical to AI, defense, electrification and grid expansion—yet supply is failing to catch up with demand, despite an unprecedented rise in the red metal’s price.
thehonestsorcerer.substack.com
September 15, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Copper doesn’t get the attention it warrants, and recycling is not going to fill the looming shortage.
The massive data center mania is accelerating and exacerbating this crunch.
The massive data center mania is accelerating and exacerbating this crunch.
Reposted by Kevin Barron
Clean, affordable, and abundant energy sources like solar and wind are the future. See below for statements from @globalecoguy.bsky.social and Kate Marvel on today's news that the United States EPA is eliminating pollution limits on dirty, expensive, fossil-fueled power plants.
September 14, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Clean, affordable, and abundant energy sources like solar and wind are the future. See below for statements from @globalecoguy.bsky.social and Kate Marvel on today's news that the United States EPA is eliminating pollution limits on dirty, expensive, fossil-fueled power plants.
“Researchers failed to take steps to ensure their automated hacking software was adequately firewalled from the internet. It was also revealed they weren't even monitoring their own automated hacking software in real time. The automated hacking software then did exactly what it was programmed to do.
Over at the newsletter I wrote about the completely insane last few weeks of AI doomsday rhetoric and media coverage
AI Doomsday Panic Is Completely Out Of Control
The press obsession with software-powered doomsday is a misdirection overshadowing a much deadlier reality: our public interest regulators no longer function.
karlbode.com
September 14, 2026 at 8:29 PM
“Researchers failed to take steps to ensure their automated hacking software was adequately firewalled from the internet. It was also revealed they weren't even monitoring their own automated hacking software in real time. The automated hacking software then did exactly what it was programmed to do.
Wow. @jasonhickel.bsky.social et al shine a light on the facts which tell a very different story from what we are constantly told.
Unequal exchange in Africa’s CFA Zone
New data on France, Europe and China.
jasonhickel.substack.com
September 14, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Wow. @jasonhickel.bsky.social et al shine a light on the facts which tell a very different story from what we are constantly told.
👇 This whole thread!
Between the PRs of (largely likely stolen) math breakthroughs, claims of "rogue AI" (actually cybercrimes by companies, but whatevs), and doomerist "whistleblowers", it feels like we've been subjected to a gish gallop of hype recently.
>>
>>
September 13, 2026 at 6:35 PM
👇 This whole thread!
Reposted by Kevin Barron
So how about this for a "pause AI" proposal: "pause credulous AI reporting". No more media about "breakthroughs" or "rogue agent swarms" or ... UNLESS and UNTIL that media demands the actual empirical evidence and/or focuses on the motivations of & harms by these companies.
September 13, 2026 at 4:44 AM
So how about this for a "pause AI" proposal: "pause credulous AI reporting". No more media about "breakthroughs" or "rogue agent swarms" or ... UNLESS and UNTIL that media demands the actual empirical evidence and/or focuses on the motivations of & harms by these companies.
Reposted by Kevin Barron
All of a sudden we're not talking about the widely popular bipartisan opposition to massive data center buildouts. I wonder why 🤔
p.s. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that all of this acceleration in the hype is a reaction to the succesful and broadening opposition to their wasteful, polluting, noisy data centers.
September 13, 2026 at 5:11 PM
All of a sudden we're not talking about the widely popular bipartisan opposition to massive data center buildouts. I wonder why 🤔
The broligarchy has already accomplished a coup. The question remains if people will stand up for democracy.
“The political challenge is to reclaim the collective capacity to decide what this technology is used for and what limits it must respect.”
“The political challenge is to reclaim the collective capacity to decide what this technology is used for and what limits it must respect.”
September 13, 2026 at 5:48 PM
The broligarchy has already accomplished a coup. The question remains if people will stand up for democracy.
“The political challenge is to reclaim the collective capacity to decide what this technology is used for and what limits it must respect.”
“The political challenge is to reclaim the collective capacity to decide what this technology is used for and what limits it must respect.”
“Technical complexity can't function as a massive laundry machine for responsibilities.”
Exactly!!
Exactly!!
September 13, 2026 at 5:42 PM
“Technical complexity can't function as a massive laundry machine for responsibilities.”
Exactly!!
Exactly!!
Reposted by Kevin Barron
As Pablo Serdán points out, “controlled” AI may be as dangerous as “rogue” AI. We must not let the debate over the latter dissolve accountability or distract from the dangers of AI that does exactly what its tech billionaire owners want it to do, giving them unprecedented power over all of us. 1/
September 13, 2026 at 5:21 PM
As Pablo Serdán points out, “controlled” AI may be as dangerous as “rogue” AI. We must not let the debate over the latter dissolve accountability or distract from the dangers of AI that does exactly what its tech billionaire owners want it to do, giving them unprecedented power over all of us. 1/
Reposted by Kevin Barron
"Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s new restrictions on data center development threaten a key source of demand growth for shale gas producers in the state, according to an industry trade group."
well...duh.
The gas industry needs the AI industry. Do we need them?
well...duh.
The gas industry needs the AI industry. Do we need them?
Pennsylvania Data Center Limits Are a Threat to Gas Firms, Trade Group Says
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s new restrictions on data center development threaten a key source of demand growth for shale gas producers in the state, according to an industry trade group.
www.bloomberg.com
September 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
"Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s new restrictions on data center development threaten a key source of demand growth for shale gas producers in the state, according to an industry trade group."
well...duh.
The gas industry needs the AI industry. Do we need them?
well...duh.
The gas industry needs the AI industry. Do we need them?
“There’s a new goading quality to the talking points of the super-rich – explicit eugenicism and Islamophobia, raw delight in the prospect of AI wiping out our jobs.”
Naomi Klein: ‘Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist’
She’s tackled neoliberalism and the digital world, now the writer and activist is taking on tech billionaires. She explains how the super-rich are capitalising on climate and financial chaos in pursui...
www.theguardian.com
September 12, 2026 at 10:03 PM
“There’s a new goading quality to the talking points of the super-rich – explicit eugenicism and Islamophobia, raw delight in the prospect of AI wiping out our jobs.”
Fascinating possibilities here!
Imaging cellular activity across all organs reveals body-wide circuits - Nature
An imaging system developed to record cellular activity throughout the whole body of zebrafish captures cellular organ dynamics and identifies multiple distributed circuits.
www.nature.com
September 12, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Fascinating possibilities here!
The tech savvy know all too well that using AI effectively is not a substitute for expertise, but requires it.
- Anastasia Berg
- Anastasia Berg
The Ivy League’s Surrender to AI Is Insane
When college leaders drink the corporate Kool-Aid, the liberal arts die.
www.chronicle.com
September 11, 2026 at 9:11 PM
The tech savvy know all too well that using AI effectively is not a substitute for expertise, but requires it.
- Anastasia Berg
- Anastasia Berg
“No: I am very pleased to tell you that Autocorrect will not be exterminating humanity, no matter how voracious its appetite for the outputs of our energy grid, or for the collected creative works ot devours…”
What If We Could Have A Future
By Albert Burneko
backloop.substack.com
September 11, 2026 at 4:23 PM
“No: I am very pleased to tell you that Autocorrect will not be exterminating humanity, no matter how voracious its appetite for the outputs of our energy grid, or for the collected creative works ot devours…”
Reposted by Kevin Barron
(There was some idiot booster in my mentions telling me we can't say 'jumped-up autocorrect' any more, so Autocorrect With Googly Eyes it is.)
September 11, 2026 at 1:00 PM
(There was some idiot booster in my mentions telling me we can't say 'jumped-up autocorrect' any more, so Autocorrect With Googly Eyes it is.)
Reposted by Kevin Barron
About time!
UN calls for coordinated action to tackle air pollution and climate change
www.jurist.org/news/2026/09...
Only 17 years late
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/j...
UN calls for coordinated action to tackle air pollution and climate change
www.jurist.org/news/2026/09...
Only 17 years late
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/j...
UN calls for coordinated action to tackle air pollution and climate change
The UN announced on Monday that addressing air pollution and climate change concurrently can save lives, reduce global warming, and generate around $15 in economic benefit for every dollar invested, b...
www.jurist.org
September 9, 2026 at 2:35 AM
About time!
UN calls for coordinated action to tackle air pollution and climate change
www.jurist.org/news/2026/09...
Only 17 years late
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/j...
UN calls for coordinated action to tackle air pollution and climate change
www.jurist.org/news/2026/09...
Only 17 years late
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/j...