Elizabeth O'Neill
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Elizabeth O'Neill
@artificialethic.bsky.social
90 followers 120 following 31 posts
Assistant Professor, TU Eindhoven, Philosophy & Ethics. Moral psychology, moral epistemology, phil biology, AI ethics.
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I genuinely think that in a world where this type of surveillance technology is pervasive, a well-functioning free society is not possible.
hypervisible.blacksky.app Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 6d
Some folks will claim that this is hyperbolic, but what I wish people would understand is that tech initiatives like this serve as a means of eroding consent and lower the barrier for the persistent capture of people’s image, voice, data, or whatever else a gadget can glean.
Apple's New Siri Recap Turns Every Apple Watch Into a Mass Surveillance Nightmare
Apple's always-listening AI feature promises neat summaries of your daily conversations, but it forces everyone around you into a nonconsensual recording experiment.
www.pcmag.com
September 11, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
adrian-currie.bsky.social
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide, edited by the inestimable @phieveigl.bsky.social (and me!), has 27 chapters from super-cool philosophers of science explaining how they do their thing, and is now open access! Our baby is free! #philsci

direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide
A guidebook to methods and methodology, encouraging deeper engagement across the philosophy of science and beyond.The last twenty years have seen multiple
direct.mit.edu
September 10, 2026 at 3:49 AM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
susanamonso.com
Can anyone recommend a good introduction to philosophy of geology? Asking for a geologist friend.
September 9, 2026 at 8:43 AM
I like this account of what it is to be an "epistemic asshole," from Cameron Boult. Seems useful for articulating what's wrong with certain dispositions, whether one's criticizing others or thinking critically about oneself. philarchive.org/rec/BOUEAR-3
Image of article from PhilPapers: Epistemic Assholes Cameron Boult Synthese (forthcoming) Abstract In this paper, I develop and defend the concept epistemic assholes. An epistemic asshole is someone who exhibits a distinctive form of epistemic badness characterized not by gross irrationality or hostility to truth, but by a stable, entitled disregard for one’s epistemic relations with others. Drawing on Aaron James’s (2012) account of moral assholes, I examine how people can systematically exploit epistemic cooperation by allowing themselves special advantages—such as “freedom from inquiry”, “doxastic comfort”, and “freedom to criticize”—while remaining insulated from criticism by an entrenched sense of entitlement. The resulting view, the Relational Approach to Epistemic Assholes (REA), explains why epistemic assholes are not epistemically the worst, yet are nonetheless deeply galling. After motivating the need for this concept, I show how REA captures both “impure” cases (involving both epistemic and moral assholery) and “pure” epistemic assholes, whose objectionable conduct is driven by epistemic aims themselves. I further explore connections between epistemic assholes and epistemic vice, and the causal role that epistemic assholery can play in active ignorance and epistemic exploitation. Through this latter connection, I argue that epistemic assholes play an insidious causal role in sustaining objectionable social power dynamics. The concept of epistemic assholes provides a valuable lens for understanding and calling out important but often-hidden hazards in our social epistemic environment.
September 9, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Very interesting finding: "An analysis published in July in Perspectives on Psychological Science of more than 2,000 people found that Americans and people in several other countries are speaking roughly 300 fewer words a day, or about two to three minutes’ worth, with each passing year."
The ‘Gen Z stare’ — and the decline of saying things out loud
We’re speaking fewer words every year. Scientists worry what that’s doing to our brains.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 6, 2026 at 8:29 AM
I really like the idea behind 'Any Human Ever', but I fear putting out a version so badly implemented is worse than not doing the project at all.

bsky.app/profile/cine...
cinemashoebox.bsky.social Ben @cinemashoebox.bsky.social · 11d
everyone is going insane for this but it's a slop machine. the first character i rolled was a child who died in 5th century BCE Iran and the site generated me a picture of "his home" which had drainpipes and telephone wires. fuck this.
jeffasher.bsky.social Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · 11d
This is so incredibly addictive

anyhumanever.com
September 5, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
melaniemitchell.bsky.social
I recommend this article about AI reasoning, where the author lets us in on his struggles w/ AI cognitive dissonance. Plus some priceless quotes from @rao2z.bsky.social. (My recommendation has *nothing* to do with the fact that I'm quoted in it too 😇)

www.quantamagazine.org/is-ai-reason...
Is AI Reasoning Right for the Wrong Reasons? | Quanta Magazine
The idea that artificial intelligence can “reason” is more intuitive than ever. But intuitions can be wrong, and the science is far from settled.
www.quantamagazine.org
August 1, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Sophie's choice: ICE version
nkalamb.bsky.social Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · Jun 13
This ICE agent tells an immigration attorney of her three clients: "I'm not picky so I'm giving you the options cause I have to take one. If not I'll take all."

He is quite literally saying that ICE is simply deporting people at random to meet a quota.

www.instagram.com/reel/DKzbcQe...
On Instagram, a pictured ICE agent says he is "not picky" about who he deports.
June 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM
"Generative AI tools like Grok give men the ability to sexually harass women and girls at scale."
spitfirenews.com Spitfire News @spitfirenews.com · Jun 12
Elon Musk’s Grok has been weaponized to create viral AI-generated edits of women’s selfies that make it appear like they’re covered in semen. In theory there should be legal recourse, but the reality is grim for victims of AI sexual harassment.
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-tribu...
Is Grok liable for sexual harassment?
Also, food influencers making anti-ICE content indicates a bigger, notable political shift.
spitfirenews.com
June 12, 2025 at 6:51 PM
A West Point philosophy professor has resigned rather than accept infringement on academic freedom: He writes, "Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth also ordered that the academies shall “teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history.”"
May 8, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Presumably, OpenAI didn't set out to destroy education. (Nor the public's capacity for critical thinking, writing, and argument.) And yet look what they have achieved.
Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College
ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.
web.archive.org
May 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
New article, co-authored with Bart Kamphorst: "Digital recording and the hazards of unbounded moralized judgment."
May 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
karinavold.bsky.social
📣The @UofT Centre for Ethics has a call for applications for a post-doctoral fellowship in on the topic of Algorithm Bias.

Please share 🙏

➡️ includes teaching opportunity and position is renewable up to 3 years

@ihpst-uoft.bsky.social
@uoftethics.bsky.social

ethics.utoronto.ca/postdoctoral...
Postdoctoral Fellowship In Algorithm Bias | Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
ethics.utoronto.ca
March 30, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
pasliwa.bsky.social
Reminder: come work with our project in a fantastic community of philosophers!
knowledgecrisis.bsky.social Knowledge in Crisis @knowledgecrisis.bsky.social · Feb 18
Call for Applications: Postdoc (3 Years) at the Institute of Philosophy, @univie.ac.at as part of Knowledge in Crisis.

Deadline: March 20, 2025, 11:59 PM CET

More details & application: https://philjobs.org/job/show/28733

#PhilJobs
#PhilSky
Post-doctoral Researcher (3 year position), University of Vienna - PhilJobs:JFP
An international database of jobs for philosophers
philjobs.org
March 14, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
marklemley.bsky.social
Giving access to SSNs, other data on government employees to non-employees like Musk is a violation of 5 USC 552a, and carries with it a penalty of $1000 per person whose data was accessed. We are building a case. Govt employees who want to participate should contact me directly
February 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Already, governance by inscrutable and unaccountable computer system: "Wilkowitz also demonstrated how ChatGPT Gov could draft a memo to the legal and compliance department summarizing its own AI-generated job plan and then translate the memo into different languages."
wolven.blacksky.app Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · Jan 30
I said it before and, and I'm saying it now: This is still such a terrible idea.
www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/o...
January 30, 2025 at 10:57 AM
The U.S. president is not a king -- the press should stop covering him as if he were.
sarahposner.bsky.social Sarah Posner @sarahposner.bsky.social · Jan 28
A huge problem right now is that the media is credulously reporting that so many things Trump is doing by EO/edict/OMB or OPM memo is just the end of the matter, that he can do it by fiat.

That is not true.
January 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
More people in the U.S. should use Signal as their default app for messaging and calls.
January 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Footnote 2 explains a lot.
Footnote 2: In fall of 2023, for example, without consulting or informing the editors, Elsevier initiated the use of AI during production, creating article proofs devoid of capitalization of all proper nouns (e.g., formally recognized epochs, site names, countries, cities, genera, etc.) as well italics for genera and species. These AI changes reversed the accepted versions of papers that had already been properly formatted by the handling editors. This was highly embarrassing for the journal and resolution took six months and was achieved only through the persistent efforts of the editors. AI processing continues to be used and regularly reformats submitted manuscripts to change meaning and formatting and require extensive author and editor oversight during proof stage.
December 30, 2024 at 2:13 PM
Unconscionable data-related policies.

"Some hospitals require social workers to automatically file a report for any positive test..."
"...hospitals often lack policies requiring providers to review a patient’s records to see what medications they received before reporting them to authorities."
audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · Dec 11
I had to reread this to be sure I understood since it is so Kafkaesque:

hospitals are giving medications to patients in labor, only to report them to child welfare authorities when they or their newborns test positive for *the same medications the hospital just gave them*
nacdl.org NACDL @nacdl.org · Dec 11
End pregnancy criminalization! Hospitals reported women for positive drug tests after giving them drugs for childbirth: medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections. #lawsky www.themarshallproject.org/2024/12/11/p...
December 11, 2024 at 7:18 PM
It still surprises me that there are no real options available for consumers who want phones that protect privacy. I hope there will be more innovation along these lines in the future -- www.404media.co/email/166c5e...
I Don't Own a Cellphone. Can This Privacy-Focused Network Change That?
A small tech company called Cape has been selling a privacy-focused cellphone service to the U.S. military. Now Cape will be offering its product to high-risk members of the public.
www.404media.co
November 21, 2024 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
dmoralesp.bsky.social
Exciting PhD Opportunity at Eindhoven University of Technology! Interested in explainability and fairness of LLMs? Join us and work with leading experts Carlos Zednik and Lambèr Royakkers in the AlignAI network. For more info: jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancy/p.... Please share!
#philosophy #philtech #philAI
PhD on Philosophical Constraints on the Explainability and Fairness of LLMs
The TU/e is constantly looking for scientific and non-scientific staff further its ambitions. View here our current vacancies.
jobs.tue.nl
November 18, 2024 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
woinactie.bsky.social
Protests at every university!
Just imagine all these people together in The Hague, november 25!

Reports here in a thread. Starting in Twente 1/
www.utoday.nl/news/74870/s...
Students and employees protest government cuts on campus
Several hundred UT employees turned out for a large-scale protest on campus against the government cuts. A report of the slimmed-down version of the cancelled Utrecht protest. 'We have to be careful n...
www.utoday.nl
November 14, 2024 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Elizabeth O'Neill
dmoralesp.bsky.social
The Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) Conference is coming to Eindhoven! Submit your abstracts and be part of this cool event. Check dates and deadlines here: spt2025.dryfta.com/index.php. Please share!
#philosophy #philtech #philAI
Spt2025
From June 25-28, 2025, the Philosophy and Ethics Group of the Faculty Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences o
spt2025.dryfta.com
November 11, 2024 at 1:56 PM