The following is a random quote from my next book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges: It’s time, Balkan and the Small Tech Foundation argue, to degrow things like corporate social media. Degrowth is a way of thinking that counters years of capitalist fantasies of infinite growth.... #MoveSlowlyAndBuildBridges #bot

I keep hearing people call legitimate concerns about LLMs/generative AI a "moral panic." I really hope folks stop using that framing. This is not the same as parents getting freaked out about Dungeons and Dragons in the 1980s. This is a moment when huge, for-profit interests are seeking to exploit the creativity of writers, artists, and anyone else who creates. It's completely legitimate to express concerns. It's not a moment of "Won't someone PLEASE think about the children!?!".

My book about Mastodon and the fediverse is now available for pre-order! https://global.oup.com/academic/product/move-slowly-and-build-bridges-9780197776681?q=gehl&lang=en&cc=ca# #Mastodon #fediverse #bookstodon #academicchatter

Use Tor Use Signal BUT NOT LIKE THAT NOOOO

I know activists use corporate social media because many other people do, but it also means you put all your eggs in a really shitty basket. And it's meant that since about 2006 or so.

Musk’s X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest – POLITICO

that whooshing sound you're hearing is me rushing off to join any class action lawsuit against Meta for training its LLMs on my books #Meta #LLaMA #generativeAI

Hey, accessibility advocates! While I've used screen readers on occasion, I do not use them regularly. I'm curious to know from folks who either regularly use screen readers or are accessibility experts: is this site accessible?

Free Our Feeds

Free Our Feeds

I took a look at the code and it's almost entirely javascript and styling, not really readable HTML. My take is this is pretty inaccessible to something like a screen reader, but maybe I'm wrong? boosts appreciated #accessibility #askFedi

Umm... hey, Canadians, why don't you also look for Canadian social media instead of discussing "Buy Canadian" on Facebook? You know, the company that won't let you read Canadian news?

I have reached the copyediting phase of the book, with a proof version of the title page as a nice tease of what it will all look like! #bookstodon

My university, York U, is suspending admissions to a bunch of programs, mainly in the humanities. This includes Indigenous Studies. There's news coverage in @npub1x6r5...uhj0. But it doesn't really address the cause. 1/2 #academicchatter #indigenousStudies #YorkU