Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
@rickgladwin.bsky.social
Software engineer, science enjoyer, soccer appreciator, and all-around multi-nerd.
Pinned
*leans in*
*taps mic*
You don’t hate AI. You hate capitalism.
Thank you for coming to my entire Ted Talk.
*taps mic*
You don’t hate AI. You hate capitalism.
Thank you for coming to my entire Ted Talk.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Losing my mind while doing some research for my creature design lecture that the closest relative to the maned wolf is the bush dog. Like there has gotta be a fable where the maned wolf took all the leggie from its cousin
September 20, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Losing my mind while doing some research for my creature design lecture that the closest relative to the maned wolf is the bush dog. Like there has gotta be a fable where the maned wolf took all the leggie from its cousin
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
If you can only complete the schoolwork with the chatbot, you haven’t learned anything. Your brain has atrophied. Nothing has happened in your head.
September 19, 2026 at 12:26 AM
If you can only complete the schoolwork with the chatbot, you haven’t learned anything. Your brain has atrophied. Nothing has happened in your head.
Be honest:
The arc of human history
bends towards power.
It’s up to us to be just
and powerful
to be good
and powerful
to be wise and loving and kind
and powerful
Together.
The arc of human history
bends towards power.
It’s up to us to be just
and powerful
to be good
and powerful
to be wise and loving and kind
and powerful
Together.
September 19, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Be honest:
The arc of human history
bends towards power.
It’s up to us to be just
and powerful
to be good
and powerful
to be wise and loving and kind
and powerful
Together.
The arc of human history
bends towards power.
It’s up to us to be just
and powerful
to be good
and powerful
to be wise and loving and kind
and powerful
Together.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
You do not need to explain, to Queer or Black or Disabled people in America, that you can't always have a perfect thing. That is not news to us. You are not providing new information.
It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.
It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.
September 18, 2026 at 11:55 AM
You do not need to explain, to Queer or Black or Disabled people in America, that you can't always have a perfect thing. That is not news to us. You are not providing new information.
It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.
It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
in full support of Canada joining the EU just so I can say that this combo is “the latest European fashion”
September 14, 2026 at 1:39 AM
in full support of Canada joining the EU just so I can say that this combo is “the latest European fashion”
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
REACHER: I need help with my iPhone
SUPPORT: regular iPhone or duo?
REACHER: how can I tell
SUPPORT: if it folds it’s the duo
*extremely loud crunching noise*
REACHER: it’s the duo
SUPPORT: regular iPhone or duo?
REACHER: how can I tell
SUPPORT: if it folds it’s the duo
*extremely loud crunching noise*
REACHER: it’s the duo
September 10, 2026 at 2:58 AM
REACHER: I need help with my iPhone
SUPPORT: regular iPhone or duo?
REACHER: how can I tell
SUPPORT: if it folds it’s the duo
*extremely loud crunching noise*
REACHER: it’s the duo
SUPPORT: regular iPhone or duo?
REACHER: how can I tell
SUPPORT: if it folds it’s the duo
*extremely loud crunching noise*
REACHER: it’s the duo
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Empathy - I feel it too
2024
2024
September 5, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Empathy - I feel it too
2024
2024
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Someday we're going to take DV seriously. And then shortly after we're gonna wonder where all the mass shooters and terrorists went.
September 6, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Someday we're going to take DV seriously. And then shortly after we're gonna wonder where all the mass shooters and terrorists went.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
the thing is
like
public health
child literacy
civil rights
social justice
rural poverty
once you personally have become rich and successful, those things only matter if you still have the capacity to care deeply about people outside your immediate circle
and that is harder than becoming rich
like
public health
child literacy
civil rights
social justice
rural poverty
once you personally have become rich and successful, those things only matter if you still have the capacity to care deeply about people outside your immediate circle
and that is harder than becoming rich
August 25, 2026 at 10:31 PM
the thing is
like
public health
child literacy
civil rights
social justice
rural poverty
once you personally have become rich and successful, those things only matter if you still have the capacity to care deeply about people outside your immediate circle
and that is harder than becoming rich
like
public health
child literacy
civil rights
social justice
rural poverty
once you personally have become rich and successful, those things only matter if you still have the capacity to care deeply about people outside your immediate circle
and that is harder than becoming rich
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
"There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit." 1/4
July 20, 2026 at 5:50 PM
"There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit." 1/4
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
It'll be pretty embarrassing if the dinosaurs went out with more dignity than us.
They can't say they knew about the meteor for decades, knew exactly what to do about it, had all the technology and resources to stop it but didn't so five of them could own everything
They can't say they knew about the meteor for decades, knew exactly what to do about it, had all the technology and resources to stop it but didn't so five of them could own everything
August 14, 2026 at 5:14 AM
It'll be pretty embarrassing if the dinosaurs went out with more dignity than us.
They can't say they knew about the meteor for decades, knew exactly what to do about it, had all the technology and resources to stop it but didn't so five of them could own everything
They can't say they knew about the meteor for decades, knew exactly what to do about it, had all the technology and resources to stop it but didn't so five of them could own everything
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
I said it in 2021, I've said it a bunch since, and I'll say it again now:
You're not afraid of "killer AI" and "robot overlords," you're afraid of white supremacy, ableism, patriarchy, hegemony, extractivism, kyriarchy, and capitalism.
You're not afraid of "killer AI" and "robot overlords," you're afraid of white supremacy, ableism, patriarchy, hegemony, extractivism, kyriarchy, and capitalism.
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical has been presented as a defense of humanity against artificial intelligence.
But on a closer reading, the threat he identifies is not software development but the capitalist market logic that impels it.
But on a closer reading, the threat he identifies is not software development but the capitalist market logic that impels it.
Pope Leo XIV Against the Market’s Techno-Dehumanization
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical has been presented as a defense of humanity against artificial intelligence. But on a closer reading, the threat he identifies is not software development but the capitalist market logic that impels it.
jacobin.com
June 6, 2026 at 5:49 AM
I said it in 2021, I've said it a bunch since, and I'll say it again now:
You're not afraid of "killer AI" and "robot overlords," you're afraid of white supremacy, ableism, patriarchy, hegemony, extractivism, kyriarchy, and capitalism.
You're not afraid of "killer AI" and "robot overlords," you're afraid of white supremacy, ableism, patriarchy, hegemony, extractivism, kyriarchy, and capitalism.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
In the US, Black people have to borrow *significantly* more to graduate from college than white people.
But then we get hired at much lower rates.
🙂🙃
The net effect is that a disproportionate amount of the $1.8 trillion (not a typo. Trillion) is held by Black women.
Why women? Higher attendance.🤷🏿♂️
But then we get hired at much lower rates.
🙂🙃
The net effect is that a disproportionate amount of the $1.8 trillion (not a typo. Trillion) is held by Black women.
Why women? Higher attendance.🤷🏿♂️
May 17, 2026 at 11:53 PM
In the US, Black people have to borrow *significantly* more to graduate from college than white people.
But then we get hired at much lower rates.
🙂🙃
The net effect is that a disproportionate amount of the $1.8 trillion (not a typo. Trillion) is held by Black women.
Why women? Higher attendance.🤷🏿♂️
But then we get hired at much lower rates.
🙂🙃
The net effect is that a disproportionate amount of the $1.8 trillion (not a typo. Trillion) is held by Black women.
Why women? Higher attendance.🤷🏿♂️
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Impressed by the number of bikes and bike lanes in Bristol.
The city could have said, look, we are made entirely of hills, biking is madness, maybe we could have a funicular or something.
Instead they said no, we are strong, we can do it, we will have the finest quads in all the kingdom 🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴
The city could have said, look, we are made entirely of hills, biking is madness, maybe we could have a funicular or something.
Instead they said no, we are strong, we can do it, we will have the finest quads in all the kingdom 🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴
May 6, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Impressed by the number of bikes and bike lanes in Bristol.
The city could have said, look, we are made entirely of hills, biking is madness, maybe we could have a funicular or something.
Instead they said no, we are strong, we can do it, we will have the finest quads in all the kingdom 🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴
The city could have said, look, we are made entirely of hills, biking is madness, maybe we could have a funicular or something.
Instead they said no, we are strong, we can do it, we will have the finest quads in all the kingdom 🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Find a partner you're as happy to see as these two are to see each other.
Laysan albatross seen at Ke'anu Point on Oahu, Hawaii 🪶
Laysan albatross seen at Ke'anu Point on Oahu, Hawaii 🪶
May 2, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Find a partner you're as happy to see as these two are to see each other.
Laysan albatross seen at Ke'anu Point on Oahu, Hawaii 🪶
Laysan albatross seen at Ke'anu Point on Oahu, Hawaii 🪶
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Let me remind everyone that fierce debate exists over the different classes of ebikes allowed in cities.
April 30, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Let me remind everyone that fierce debate exists over the different classes of ebikes allowed in cities.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
I love this essay very much!!!!
April 27, 2026 at 12:10 AM
I love this essay very much!!!!
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Probably my favourite galaxy. Hard to explain, but images of it give a sense of size and scale and place.
Look at what the Hubble, Chandra and Webb telescopes each "saw" of the Sombrero Galaxy (about 800B stars)
🌍DS
🌍DS
April 28, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Probably my favourite galaxy. Hard to explain, but images of it give a sense of size and scale and place.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Denmark's coal-to-wind transition is one of the most dramatic energy transformations of the past three decades.
In 1990, coal provided 90% of Danish electricity. Today it is under 3%.
Wind now covers roughly 60% of electricity generation. The last coal plant is scheduled to close by 2028.
In 1990, coal provided 90% of Danish electricity. Today it is under 3%.
Wind now covers roughly 60% of electricity generation. The last coal plant is scheduled to close by 2028.
April 25, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Denmark's coal-to-wind transition is one of the most dramatic energy transformations of the past three decades.
In 1990, coal provided 90% of Danish electricity. Today it is under 3%.
Wind now covers roughly 60% of electricity generation. The last coal plant is scheduled to close by 2028.
In 1990, coal provided 90% of Danish electricity. Today it is under 3%.
Wind now covers roughly 60% of electricity generation. The last coal plant is scheduled to close by 2028.
This is the way. LLMs are (complicated) statistical text generators. There are downsides to the fact that they don’t actually reason and understand things. You don’t get to sneak those downsides into work that is *fundamentally* about truth and reasoning just because knowing things is hard. Grow up.
I'm not going to provide details, so don't ask. Nevertheless:
No, it is not OK to have one hallucinated cite. No, you can't delete that and expect me to take the rest of your work seriously. No, absolutely not. It should never ever happen.
No, it is not OK to have one hallucinated cite. No, you can't delete that and expect me to take the rest of your work seriously. No, absolutely not. It should never ever happen.
April 23, 2026 at 11:21 AM
This is the way. LLMs are (complicated) statistical text generators. There are downsides to the fact that they don’t actually reason and understand things. You don’t get to sneak those downsides into work that is *fundamentally* about truth and reasoning just because knowing things is hard. Grow up.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
Also: look up Zhang Shan. She won gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1993 in skeet shooting.
Skeet shooting had been a mixed gender event since the 60s, but after her win, they segregated the genders. And in the next Olympic Games, they literally didn’t even have a women’s skeet shooting category.
Skeet shooting had been a mixed gender event since the 60s, but after her win, they segregated the genders. And in the next Olympic Games, they literally didn’t even have a women’s skeet shooting category.
Fun fact: Women's sports are segregated not to protect women, but to protect *men* from losing *to* a woman.
Don't believe me? Look up Jackie Mitchell. Struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Then suddenly women were unfit to play baseball.
Don't believe me? Look up Jackie Mitchell. Struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Then suddenly women were unfit to play baseball.
The existence of women's sports is a historical one that was reinforced at regular intervals by patriarchal assumptions that women are more fragile and need to be "protected"
It doesn't reflect any statistical truth
(1/2)
It doesn't reflect any statistical truth
(1/2)
April 23, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Also: look up Zhang Shan. She won gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1993 in skeet shooting.
Skeet shooting had been a mixed gender event since the 60s, but after her win, they segregated the genders. And in the next Olympic Games, they literally didn’t even have a women’s skeet shooting category.
Skeet shooting had been a mixed gender event since the 60s, but after her win, they segregated the genders. And in the next Olympic Games, they literally didn’t even have a women’s skeet shooting category.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
I want leaders who have been thinking about problems for decades. I want the people who have experienced the consequences of politics or have engaged with understanding them for decades. I want people who first had adult thoughts on matters of civics, society, and politics at the age of 12, not 40.
March 2, 2026 at 8:32 PM
I want leaders who have been thinking about problems for decades. I want the people who have experienced the consequences of politics or have engaged with understanding them for decades. I want people who first had adult thoughts on matters of civics, society, and politics at the age of 12, not 40.
Reposted by Rick Gladwin 🇨🇦
This is my actual objection. Our entire jobs have been transformed overnight into entirely different jobs, of far less social worth, and with zero relationship to the reason most of us got into them in the first place. All we want to do is contribute and AI billionaires are like HAHA NOPE.
even worse, it philosophically and materially changes my relationship to my students. now i am a cop rather than a teacher. I have no interest in that role. i have no interest in policing children.
The bitterest pill about AI cheating for me is that AI'ed assignments take much longer to grade than honest assignments because they turn grading into an investigation.
So when the student spends less time, I spend more. Fun!
So when the student spends less time, I spend more. Fun!
March 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM
This is my actual objection. Our entire jobs have been transformed overnight into entirely different jobs, of far less social worth, and with zero relationship to the reason most of us got into them in the first place. All we want to do is contribute and AI billionaires are like HAHA NOPE.