AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com

Programmer & reporter. But society makes you choose, so "writer." Tracing the pandemic infodemic going ViRaL

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@hoofnagle This would take a lot of steps. The public doesn't know about admin world

[Selena Chu @SelenaC10705]

Some people who used to visit the Academy of Science say they stopped going because San Francisco has made it increasingly difficult to drive there.

Residents warned the city about the potential impacts and unintended consequences, but multiple city departments still worked together to push for the permanent closure of the Great Highway.

They celebrated the permanent closure with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

First it was the SF Zoo raising concerns. Now it's the Academy of Sciences.

Are we really surprised?

How many more institutions, businesses, and destinations will be affected before City Hall admits there were tradeoffs?

What's next, taxpayer funded bailouts for organizations harmed by self-serving policies the public repeatedly warned public servants about?

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@hoofnagle OMG! Test-blind admissions are locked in for Fall 2026 *and* Fall 2027 admissions? Economist James Buchanan started work on a long, slow counter-revolution right after Brown v. Board of Education. We're possibly seeing the fruits of his and others' labors.

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@karenvaites @daisychristo As a software developer, I too thought individualized education apps were a natural thing to develop. Even in "Big" Tom Hanks' character develops this for his toy company employer. But for kids or even adults, individualized stories evoke Sun Tzu "divide and conquer"

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@hoofnagle One of the people who moved to eradicate Algebra from San Francisco schools later sued the district for $87 million for damaging her career. https://t.co/dmLQ0aHVzu

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@davidsirota Crack, from what I've heard, feels good before it feels bad

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@BillKristol Wrestling is an acknowledged staged "sport". It's so revealing of where we are culturally. #America250

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

Pretty sure Mark Twain loved Austen. He said "Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her [Austen] up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” If he hated the book he wouldn't repeatedly read it.

[Terminal Curator @occultiscool]

@BretVDB What an idiot.

I mean, Mark Twain also hated Austen, and was wrong, but had better reasons at least

[jennie’s wife @jentayIor]

the entire book is about how the entire family would be homeless if their father died before one of the daughters married

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@SketchesbyBoze The first third of Pride & Prejudice requires reader acclimation. Like her reference to "Miss Bennet" when Jane, Elizabeth, Mary are in the scene, which one is "Miss Bennet"?

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@davidsirota It's not as bad on a laptop. I'm convinced it has to do with the swiping/scrolling. Something about re-adjusting the eyes to the content's new position on the device so frequently does something weird, it mimics EMDR therapy.

[Grady Booch @Grady_Booch]

And I am a realist who understands computing and AI deeply, having worked in the field for over five decades - where I continue to work - both witnessing the changes as well as inventing things that made those changes possible.

AI is useful.

But I’m certain AI will not do 80% of the economically valuable work humans do today, for 80% of all jobs.

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@SketchesbyBoze People used to read aloud to each other more often. Morning radio shows used to do this.

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

"Housing Crisis" 28% of homes and sold between January and March went to LLCs, corporations and trusts, the highest share since 2000. https://t.co/1odydVjYUC

[Martha Lincoln @heavyredaction]

W/ colleague, new piece on what we call “AI centrism,” a position that claims to split the difference btw genAI boosterism and detraction, but still leads to its acceptance and use.
E.g.:
- “We will use AI ethically/responsibly/thoughtfully”
- “We will keep a human in the loop”

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@karenvaites @chronicle So this trend should get worse for Americans: Over half of American science PHDs in recent years have been awarded to students who attended high school outside the U.S. https://t.co/9pWZvnrLWC

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@JoyceCarolOates "80% of CEOs worry their job is at risk if AI fails this year, survey shows | A new survey of 900 CEOs reveal that they’re feeling the pressure from their boards to prove AI ROI, and that they worry about over-investing in the technology." https://t.co/nhVmMl2pNr

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

@jkbjournalist I unplug the streamer when I'm not watching my one show on HBO. Also got an ASCTV 1 antenna to watch sports. WNBA Golden State Valkyres tomorrow 8pm on Channel 44-1 https://t.co/U6jZ06V9rw

[AJ Fish TracingVRL.substack.com @aljfish]

This article is from May 2025. Why amplify it now, is somebody's IPO imminent, do they need extra juice

[Luiza Jarovsky, PhD @LuizaJarovsky]

🚨 University professors have been saying AI is completely destroying learning and that we'll soon have an AI-powered, semi-illiterate workforce. Here's a glimpse into the educational apocalypse:

"Sarah, a freshman at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, said she first used ChatGPT to cheat during the spring semester of her final year of high school. (...) After getting acquainted with the chatbot, Sarah used it for all her classes: Indigenous studies, law, English, and a “hippie farming class” called Green Industries. “My grades were amazing,” she said. “It changed my life.” Sarah continued to use AI when she started college this past fall. Why wouldn’t she? Rarely did she sit in class and not see other students’ laptops open to ChatGPT. Toward the end of the semester, she began to think she might be dependent on the website. She already considered herself addicted to TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit, where she writes under the username maybeimnotsmart. “I spend so much time on TikTok,” she said. “Hours and hours, until my eyes start hurting, which makes it hard to plan and do my schoolwork. With ChatGPT, I can write an essay in two hours that normally takes 12.”

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"By November, Williams estimated that at least half of his students were using AI to write their papers. Attempts at accountability were pointless. Williams had no faith in AI detectors, and the professor teaching the class instructed him not to fail individual papers, even the clearly AI-smoothed ones. “Every time I brought it up with the professor, I got the sense he was underestimating the power of ChatGPT, and the departmental stance was, ‘Well, it’s a slippery slope, and we can’t really prove they’re using AI,’” Williams said. “I was told to grade based on what the essay would’ve gotten if it were a ‘true attempt at a paper.’ So I was grading people on their ability to use ChatGPT.”

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AI in education is a serious topic, and many schools and universities are blindly jumping into the "AI-first" wave without considering short and long-term consequences.

It would be great to hear more from teachers and educators to understand potential solutions.

This might be a great opportunity for rethinking the education system and how students are assessed.

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👉 Link to the full article below.

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