From the techné pessimists of Ancient Greece to the computer to the loom-breaking Luddites to the firebombers of the Information Age, here's a look at the long—and fruitful—legacy of refusing the machine.
By @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social, for BITM:
Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19):
NYT: 5 of 58
WashPost: 1 of 43
WSJ: 0 of 40
AP: 0 of 26
CNN Wire: 0 of 18
NY Post: 0 of 17
Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4
LA Times: 0 of 4
Boston Globe: 0 of 2
“Mel Curth has been the target of a political movement that seeks to silence and/or oust LGBTQ people from academia.”
Absolutely loved @elizabethwithaz.bsky.social’s care, thoughtfulness, and humility in this post. More of this type of teaching in our schools please!
This meme cuts at the very center of Chris Finch’s worldview
What does it look like to critically examine AI in the middle school Computer Science classroom?
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/introdu...
I really appreciate @elizabethwithaz.bsky.social's reflections on how she explored the social impacts of technology with her students by introducing them to the people - the ghost workers - whose labor makes “AI” systems possible.
Read this week’s @civicsoftech.bsky.social and find the lesson at:
“Emotional range” is a generous way to put it 😂
Madison Square Garden was a frontrunner in using facial recognition technology to keep legal opponents from going to concerts and sporting events. Interesting piece from Wired about the security apparatus there more generally.
www.wired.com/story/madiso...
“Alex, did you know that defense is half the game?”
The Texas Rangers have unveiled a controversial new statue modeled after Jay Banks, a former Texas law enforcement officer known for enforcing school segregation.
The unveiling preceded the MLB’s celebration of Jackie Robinson Day, which commemorates the first African American MLB player.
#tdih 1848 in Washington, D.C. 77 enslaved people (adults & children) made a brave, carefully planned escape on the Pearl schooner from slavery.
Tragically, they were apprehended and faced brutal consequences. 💔 #TeachOutsideTextbook #TeachTruth ⬇️🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/th...
“They tried to weaken higher education, but instead they built a movement to fight for the future...
They can attack our institutions, but they cannot stop our movement….We will not stop until we have the higher education system and the democracy we all deserve.”
— Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
I was elected as a democratic socialist, and will continue to govern as a democratic socialist.
100 days in — and we’re just getting started.
I really appreciated @dankrutka.bsky.social's discussant remarks at our #AERA2026 symposium.
Dan argued, "that one reason we are haunted by our histories is because this country is drenched in marketing—the marketing of white supremacy, the marketing of patriarchy, the marketing of technology".
This week, we are sharing highlights from a symposium led by @mariekheath.bsky.social and Stephanie Smith Budhai at AERA - with discussion from @dankrutka.bsky.social
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/ghosts-...
I too have written about white conservatives in southern state legislatures rushing through bullshit changes to the law just to thwart the advancement of literally one black man, but I'm a historian who writes about the Jim Crow era South and not a reporter discussing current fucking events there.
📢📢PRESS RELEASE: The Texas Tech Chapter of the AAUP condemns a new Texas Tech University System directive canceling academic programs related to gender identity and sexual orientation. 👇
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/texas...
My primary skill as an uncle is making up silly stories. I can’t imagine wanting AI to do that.
The luddites worked at home, with their families, where they had the freedom to set their own schedules, or in small shops with their peers. One of the main things luddites were fighting against was the *creation* of sweatshop conditions, which was only enabled by mass mechanization + factorization!
The cover of Rua M. Williams' book "Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI". The cover image is a spiral of yellowish orange leaves set against a red background.
Come join @civicsoftech.bsky.social's May book club on Wed, May 20, at 7pm ET. I'll be leading a discussion of @fractalecho.bsky.social's Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI - and Dr. Williams is joining too!
Register at: www.civicsoftechnology.org/book-clubs
![Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.
[alt text from NASA]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:62gdkmpwa7xme36getyqnem3/bafkreid6rp25tpuxaceaziwiduvtsnbystj5s542tlmuhcstyuxyfaj7ve)
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. [alt text from NASA]
#Artemis II lunar flyby images are showing up! 😍
A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon.
Every single Democrat in the House and Senate needs to be saying this today. Every single one.
Call them.
Washington Post Trump warns ‘a whole civilization will die’ if Iran doesn’t make a deal The president had issued a deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern time for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz, pledging destruction by midnight if leaders don’t comply. April 7, 2026 at 9:22 a.m. EDT26 minutes ago 2 min
Completely unstable and perilous. The House must bring up impeachment articles, and the Senate needs to remove a president who wants to commit war crimes. We cannot sit idly by as Donald Trump threatens to end an entire civilization.
Donald Trump is openly threatening war crimes against the entirety of Iranian civilization.
25th Amendment proceedings must begin immediately, but if the Cabinet is too cowardly, the House should begin the impeachment process now.
I wrote about overt memetic propaganda: the Lego videos from Iran, the video game content out of the White House, and how state actors use culture and novelty to get audiences sharing, whether they actually approve of the message or not.
time.com/article/2026...
Takes a lot to truly unnerve these days but the "a whole civilization will die" line is a new plane of horrific. Even if it is just rhetoric, which I would not bet on, it feels like a sign of some last vestige being blown away. The US openly and eagerly announcing itself as monstrous
They oversaw a very important social media influence operation for the Kremlin, got caught, fled. And now they're not just back, they're guests at Donald & Melania Trump's Easter Egg Roll at the White House.
