BREAKING: Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

Very troubling news that'll have major implications for the state of forest management and science in the US.
morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/breaking-t...

Texting with a stranger beats a chatbot at easing loneliness - UBC News UBC-led study challenges the idea that an always-available AI companion can substitute for human connection.

Can an AI chatbot ease loneliness as well as another human?

A UBC study finds that texting a real person—even a stranger—outperforms AI companions. Human connection still matters.

Read more: news.ubc.ca/2026/04/text...

Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

Meta and the video streaming service YouTube harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress, a jury found on Wednesday.

Social media companies were accused of creating products as addictive as cigarettes.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/t...

A new algorithm for determining how much aged care support people can receive to remain living at home is being blamed for reducing care for older Australians. Peter Willcocks, who was on a Department of Health aged care panel, likens the new Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) system to the Robodebt fiasco because clinical assessors cannot override its algorithm — even if they think the person deserves a higher level of care. Early communications from the department advised assessors they would have the power to "override" the algorithm, but that option was later removed.

Yet another case of automated austerity. When the humans in the loop are actually just treated as vestigial organs waiting to be removed. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

InBC and UBC partner to spur growth and commercialization of UBC-affiliated companies A new UBC–InBC partnership is creating a $20-million venture fund to accelerate and scale innovative university spin-offs, supporting economic and social impact across B.C.

UBC and InBC are launching a new fund to accelerate and scale innovative companies advancing UBC research and discoveries, supporting economic and social impact across B.C.

Read more: news.ubc.ca/2026/03/ubc-...

I'm excited to announce this new paper we have in Nature Climate Change, establishing the core principles of a post-growth climate mitigation scenario that can achieve rapid decarbonization and high well-being. nature.com/articles/s41...

Oh yeah these guys are definitely giving us a UBI for sure any day now

This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed for termination. 404 Media has reviewed hours of this footage and we'll have more soon.

Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org

There’s no such thing as a free polymer. The tradeoff at the heart of bioplastics. A new life-cycle analysis reveals that bio-based plastics are better for the climate but worse for biodiversity. The greenest option is reducing demand.

Substituting "greener" plastics for conventional ones won't solve environmental problems with the plastics industry, I report (again) for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/03/ther...

"We believe in the power of social to uplift people

Our social impact strategy focuses on positively impacting our employees, customers, communities, and our environment for the long term."
www.hootsuite.com/social-impact

CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story. How much time workers say the technology saves them on the job is vastly different from what executives report.

The disconnect between management and employee on AI usage is big. At the same time, CEOs are reporting they aren't seeing any revenue growth from AI.

🤷

www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...

OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Make ChatGPT "Prioritize" Advertisers in Conversation OpenAI employees working on ChatGPT report plans to unleash sponsored advertisements above organic results.

The effort is a virtual goldmine for OpenAI.

Last few weeks to apply to @forestry.ubc.ca's Dual Master's of Green Business.

- 2 years
- 2 great cities (Helsinki & Vancouver)
- 2 degrees
- Unlimited career possibilities

Apply now: forestry.ubc.ca/future-stude...

AI and the Politics of Extraction | Centre for Climate Justice YouTube video by Centre for Climate Justice

🚨The video recording of the AI and the Politics of Extraction panel is now live! Watch this fascinating 1.5 hour discussion with @naomiaklein.bsky.social, @profwhw.bsky.social, @mysdick.bsky.social, and @profhvdv.bsky.social as they explore the risks of unfettered AI implementation.

Finally something on this argument current and future school teachers keep throwing at me - no, underserved groups are not currently or ever going to benefit from LLMs.

Resisting GenAI and Big Tech in Higher Education Tuesday 25th November 2025 8am - 9:30am PST | 11am -12:30pm EST | 4pm - 5:30pm GMT | 5pm - 6:30pm CET Virtual on Zoom – REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/4qE27dB Generative AI is permeating higher education in many different ways—it is increasingly embedded in university work and life, even if we don’t want to use it. But people are also sounding the alarm: Gen AI is disrupting learning and undermining trust in the integrity of academic work, while big tech’s energy consumption, use of water, and rapid expansion of data centers are exacerbating ecological crises. What can we do? How do we resist? Come learn about the environmental, social, economic, and political threats that AI poses and how we can individually and collectively resist and refuse. Learn about how some are challenging the narrative of inevitability. Join this interactive discussion with international scholars and activists on resisting GenAI and big tech in higher education. Inputs from multiple scholar-activists include: Christoph Becker (University of Toronto, Canada), Mary Finley-Brook (University of Richmond, USA), Dan McQuillan (Goldsmiths, University of London, UK), Sinéad Sheehan (University of Galway, Ireland), Jennie Stephens (National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland), and Paul Lachapelle (Montana State University, USA). This event will be recorded and is co-sponsored by: Climate Justice Universities Union and Climate Campus Network

Resisting GenAI and Big Tech in Higher Education - Tuesday 25th Nov, free registration, great panel, big focus on climate justice. Register here: lmula.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Mega Pipelines, Mega Resistance Mega Pipelines, Mega Resistance - Tar Sands, Social Movements, and the Politics of Energy Infrastructure; Mega Pipelines, Mega Resistance reveals how and why social movements have frustrated major pip...

I awoke to the headline this morning that Ottawa and Alberta are reportedly “close” to a deal that includes a new heavy oil pipeline to the northwest coast of BC…

It feels timely to share that my book is out now with UBC Press, available open access

www.ubcpress.ca/mega-pipelin...

💬 Reminder to save your spot for "AI and the Politics of Extraction" at UBC's Centre for Climate Justice. I'm on a panel moderated by Carol Liao, and we will be discussing the complex political and legal issues raised by AI-enabled resource extraction.

🗓️Nov. 20
🕰️2-3:30pm
📍In-Person & Zoom

Can the world quit coal? Nearly a third of all countries worldwide have pledged to phase out their unabated coal-burning power. But China and India are still adding coal plants – for now.

Can the world quit #coal?

#COP30 #energy #ActOnClimate #Brazil #China #India
@matpaterson.bsky.social @leahstokes.bsky.social

theconversation.com/can-the-worl...

Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...

Whoever said that digital tech is neither bad nor good, just depends on how you use it, should read this article.

www.404media.co/google-has-c...

❗ AI skeptics: don't miss this hybrid event.❗

Register here: climatejustice.ubc.ca/events/event...

I believe this is what those in the biz call a 'flywheel.' Basis for a paper?

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...

Surging Eco-Anxiety: Consequences for Global Environmental Politics Abstract. Eco-anxiety is surging as environmental crises escalate. As the ecopsychology literature reveals, the effects and intensity of eco-anxiety vary across cultures, circumstances, and personalit...

Do you find the environmental polycrisis spooky? 👻 🎃 You're not alone. Check out my latest article with Peter Dauvergne: Surging Eco-Anxiety: Consequences for Global Environmental Politics. Our conclusions will haaaaaauunt you. 🧛 👿

doi.org/10.1162/GLEP...

Pretends to be shocked
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

This sounds…smart? I’m cautiously optimistic

“AI will help us solve climate change”

Great business model! They have to turn a profit somewhere, right? Get the audience (of lonely and poorly socialized males) addicted on an investor-subsidized product (of personalized porn) and then, slowly but inevitably, turn up the cost.

Towns are saying no to AI data centers. One got sued over it. A developer sued a Michigan township after it voted against a data center proposal. Cities in Ohio and Missouri have explored data center bans.

Proposals to build data centers are facing growing opposition across the country.

Local leaders are weighing concerns about data centers’ water and electricity use with the hefty community investments that developers often offer to sweeten their deals.

Will AI make or break Canada? Podcast Episode · The House · 2025-10-11 · 49m

Nice to be interviewed by CBC's The House. Catch me talking about the environmental impacts of AI around minute 30 here:

podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought An investment manager realized he made a crucial mistake — and that his grim prediction about AI investments may not have been cynical enough.

I saw the dot coms crash from a front row seat. AI is running out of money way faster.

The evangelism is insecurity from people who made the wrong bet. I’ve seen it before. futurism.com/future-socie...