kate metcalf

asst prof @BerkeleyISchool | health data infrastructures and ecosystems | hermeneutics of postgenomic suspicion | illini mbb fan acct

[kate metcalf @technophobos]

really nice review bringing new work in disability studies to bear on the current eugenic resurgence https://t.co/94FHL4vFAN

[Cedar You @our_decay]

In Libra (his best novel) Don DeLillo constantly makes reference to the various ways that Lee Harvey Oswald is a quantified, quantifiable entity… hair samples, physical measurements, IQ tests, marksmanship scores, etc… but despite this mass of data, Oswald is still essentially unknowable. His motivations, intentions, “true” beliefs are obscured. The mass of data can only ever construct a fragmented picture of the man; an inherently flawed attempt at constructing some sort of narrative from disparate points, incommensurate with reality. Anyways, no I won’t be getting a Fitbit.

[Diabetic of Enlightenment @dee_of_e]

obviously there’s bad scholarship in every field, but I am kind of a “the humanities did nothing wrong” guy. The smartest people in our fields do genuinely amazing work; every day I read something outstanding from someone who will be forced out of the profession for no reason

[Berkeley School of Information @BerkeleyISchool]

Assistant Professor Kate Metcalf (@technophobos) began her position at the I School this month.

We spoke to Prof. Metcalf about what she'll be teaching, her research interests, and more!

Check out our Q&A:
https://t.co/NxCVwTvE1K

[kate metcalf @technophobos]

putting the dandy warhols' bohemian like you in a pacifico commercial is sort of appropriate, but surely not in the way they intended

[Mostly here now: @davidthewid.bsky.social @davidthewid]

🚨Finally published:

How does the US Military enlist AI researchers in war?

Sireesh Gururaja, Lucy Suchman & I examine 7k US Military grant solicitations for AI research, and show how even "Basic Research" enlists researchers in a warfighting agenda.

https://t.co/ohLYx9BRMv

[Genetics and Society @C_G_S]

Links between experimental base editing of human embryos and commercial attempts to “optimize” human embryos make it clear that embryo editing research, even when not expressly oriented towards eugenics, will be used to advance eugenic goals. 1/2

[kate metcalf @technophobos]

this but then immediately after it bombing the lab safety refresher five or six times in a row. i think you can mix those chemicals. i do think you should put the flammables cabinet next to the radiator. maybe leave a loosely plugged in cord with it too.

[Krolm @Mr_Krolm]

I'm the Jordan of annual online workplace sexual harassment training. Nothing but net, 100% every time. Going down the line, "don't do that," "I wouldn't do that," etc.

[Sasha Gusev @SashaGusevPosts]

This is a baffling paragraph from Herasight because total heritability is irrelevant to the polygenic score and the claims about "hollow gains" or health/longevity impacts of education are false. But one can take comfort -- the company didn't even write it:

[Eric Topol @EricTopol]

We stress tested many frontier AI models for multimodal medical reasoning (including GPT-5, Claude 3.5, Gemini 2.5 Pro). They’re not ready. Faulty reasoning, use of inappropriate shortcuts, hallucinations. Published today @NatureMedicine https://t.co/P6eHZEmfbW

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

We cannot consider #AI to be morally neutral. In reality, every technical tool embodies choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores, and optimizes, and how it classifies people and situations. Ethical discernment cannot be limited to asking whether we are using a system for good or bad purposes. It must also examine how that system is designed and what vision of the human person and society is embedded in the data and models that guide it. #MagnificaHumanitas

[Dennis M. Hogan @dennismhogan]

It’s their world now. We’re just living in it

[ProPublica @propublica]

“If you take the deal, you’re going to be exploited. If you don’t take it, you’re going to die,” said attorney Frank Ssekamwa about the U.S. demand to access the health data of millions of Ugandans. “It’s the essence of digital colonialism.”
https://t.co/93TnNVY03T

[kate metcalf @technophobos]

ok but leave my fucking tabis out of it though

[Emily Segal @khole_emily]

big tasteslop piece in the times uk

[kate metcalf @technophobos]

obviously, a tornado watch is a nothing notif you ignore, and a tornado warning is a half-interesting chance to stand on your porch or in front of the biggest window in your house and watch a storm roll through

[ashley @dracarycs]

there are people who lived in the midwest their entire lives and still dont know the difference between tornado warning and tornado watch

[kasra @kasratweets]

this is an interesting point in the new ted chiang piece – no one really claims that alphafold is conscious, or that sora or midjourney or dall-e are conscious

[Efe Cengiz @efecngz]

One more technosolution bro, I swear this time it's gonna get us funding bro

[Dr. Guy McHendry @acaguy]

AI is a floating signifier and it is making it really hard to talk to each other about the impact of generative AI.

[Adrian @blagojevism]

Illinois also has a fourth, secret capital, rumored to be located deep downstate or, alternatively, right on the Wisconsin line. It is the abode of great yogis and ascended masters and the home of the mysterious and powerful Illinois Liquor Control Commission.