#I cannot stand this stuff

[literarion]

I feel this so much.

I work in research, and, to my shame, I'm based in computer science. Not because I am a computer scientists - I am, in fact, a sociologist - but my main interest ist how people engage with data and technology, and the investments for that research go into engineering and CompSci, not into the social sciences. So, if I want a job, CompSci is the place to be.

I was researching away trying to figure out how we can improve data management, and how we can make sure laypeople can engage with the scientific process by improving documentation and communication, and then Boom, I am now an AI researcher: How can we use all that data I was looking at for AI? How can we do citizen engagement for AI? How can we get laypeople engaged in developing / testing / using AI? Why are you not publishing AI papers like everyone else, we need a four star publication on GenAI last week else how can we justify your work in the department?

And I HATE it. I never wanted to be that kind of researcher, I am interested in real people with real intelligence, not in the artificial intelligence of machines that are build on exploitative and extractive practices of using people's data without giving anything back (or even acknowledging that they are doing it, because it just might be illegal). I have been arguing against those practices for years, because thy are unethical and harmful, and they should by no means be the norms upon which a whole industry is built.

But. BUT.

The problem is that that is where all the money goes, not just in industry, but also in research. Back in the day, I could get research funding to investigate how people do things with tech. Now, it seems there are no grants left that I could access without tacking on an 'and we also do AI'. It is everywhere, it is inevitable, and ... I don't even get it? Like, what is the point of studying how ChatGPT works vs Gemini? The tools change so fast that todays' results are tomorrows' old news. The technology has moved on before I can write that paper, let alone publish it. By the time it's published, it can no longer be validated by others, because the functionality it was based on was overhauled twice in the meantime.

It's basically a repeat of what happened back in the days that researchers (read: computer scientists) discovered social media data. And every week there would be a new study showing how much they learned about people by looking at Twitter. And I kept banging my head against the wall and saying 'If you have studied people on Twitter, then you have not learned anything about people in general, you have learned something about people that use Twitter.' Nobody wanted to hear it then, and nobody wants to hear the same applied to AI today.

It is entirely, outrageously frustrating, and when I leave research, this will be the reason.

it is incredible how people who are so, so clever, can be so stupid.

so like I said, I work in the tech industry, and it's been kind of fascinating watching whole new taboos develop at work around this genAI stuff. All we do is talk about genAI, everything is genAI now, "we have to win the AI race," blah blah blah, but nobody asks - you can't ask -

What's it for?

What's it for?

Why would anyone want this?

I sit in so many meetings and listen to genuinely very intelligent people talk until steam is rising off their skulls about genAI, and wonder how fast I'd get fired if I asked: do real people actually want this product, or are the only people excited about this technology the shareholders who want to see lines go up?

like you realize this is a bubble, right, guys? because nobody actually needs this? because it's not actually very good? normal people are excited by the novelty of it, and finance bro capitalists are wetting their shorts about it because they want to get rich quick off of the Next Big Thing In Tech, but the novelty will wear off and the bros will move on to something else and we'll just be left with billions and billions of dollars invested in technology that nobody wants.

and I don't say it, because I need my job. And I wonder how many other people sitting at the same table, in the same meeting, are also not saying it, because they need their jobs.

idk man it's just become a really weird environment.

[hinamie]

unconditionally

[festivating]

have u read any good fics lately !!

Yes!!! These are the ones I'm keeping up with right now:

it takes the end of time by Numaix. This writer is bonkers and I have no proof they are not Maguire because they write EXACTLY like him and anyway. I am obsessed with their fics I've never read a bookverse gelphie more accurate.

The Goodness of Glinda Upland by localgaysian. Inspired by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which is one of my faaaavorite books ever and anyway, it's written so so well and I'm putting this Glinda under a microscope because she's not well and her thought process is SO well presented. And it has Nor!! I'm always saying more gelphie fics should have Nor.

A Thousand Universes Without Your Embrace by tinyace. Glinda travels through the multiverse and things get Weird and Meta and it's very angsty so far, which I love. Also the concepts presented are very interesting and I can tell this fic is gonna get me thinking lmfao

just a clock tick by bumblebea. Recommended to me here on tumblr :) Glinda travels back in time to the day she met Elphie. The plot is soo intriguing and very creative, and also I LOVE how the author characterizes an experienced Glinda dealing with all the act 1 events.

Side A, Side B by LaMombey. 1980s Cold War AU, set in Berlin, with Glinda as a spy. There's an action scene in chapter 2 that has not left my brain for DAYS because it was so vivid and well written. Very very interesting plot with lots of mystery and every chapter so far is such a banger.

And completed fics I read recently that I liked!

no thing that ever flew by queenofmarigolds. Recommended to me here on tumblr! Gelphie as college professors at a small college in a small town. It's so cozy and reads like a literary novel and it's soooo beautiful. I'm also putting this Glinda under a microscope, she has an avoidant attachment thing going on that makes my brain go brrrr. (Also has a Nor cameo!)

how essential to me (you have become) by ifthebookdoesntsell. Post act 2 gelphie domestic life... I want to live in this fic and study this author's writing style and then eat it, if possible. I love it so much, there's so much tenderness and LOVE and the characterization is spot on.

at night the wicked sleep alone by Small_Blue. This one was also recommended to me. Post act 2 Glinda character study! She is really going through it and she goes through it for a looooong time but reading about her journey is so satisfying and painful at the same time. Has my FAVORITE depiction of gelphie seeing each other for the first time after the melting, it felt so realistic and gutting.

[laurrelise]

sometimes i hear people say “the cast of tua’s acting skills all went down in s4” no babe that’s called bad writing

99% of the time when a usually good actor suddenly does a not so great job on a specific project, it’s bad writing. its lines that feel unnatural and stiff and off and they do their best but it simply can’t work if the foundation (the writing) wasn’t built well.

we are already incredibly aware of s4’s bad writing in every other aspect. why are we blaming the cast who did a FANTASTIC job in seasons 1-3 for issues that can obviously be deducted as the writers, once again, simply not caring enough to try.

[sunjestic]

director's commentary for the Kintsugi comic i posted last week. i put a lot of thought into it, and i really wanted to talk about it.... i am a yapper

i am once again begging y'all to read this fic-

[krazieka2]

Vampire Mercedes lore doodles (and vampire Lorenz bullying)

[citricchatter]

Got an autograph from Johnny Yong Bosch! I told him Adachi was my favorite, and he just said, "Ohhh, you like em' disturbed?" 😭

[thevirgodoll]

to all of my dolls finding themselves:

originality is the "aesthetic" you are looking for. individuality is the "it factor" you are looking for. from your personality, pieces, hair, cadence of voice...even down to your favorite foods or special interests. you aren't supposed to change every aspect about yourself to be more palatable for everyone you meet. that actually makes you BORING!!!

"but so and so is doing this" "but what if people don't like it" ... so??? don't take people disliking your aesthetic as a sign that you need to do something different. like, of course they don't like it or have second thoughts - it's because THEY wouldn't do it themselves because it wouldn't go with THEIR given aesthetic. HELLOO??????

unless they are like minded, stop asking other people to weigh in on the things you CLEARLY like about yourself. especially if it's a core personality trait or interest. your LIFE isn't a group project. your LIFE is not a co-op game.

and yes... people will try to force you to assimilate and follow the crowd by speaking misfortune on your rebrand, your expression, your hobbies, your chosen path out of jealousy. however, that jealousy is lowkey unspoken respect for the fact you have the candor to go against homogeneity.

your authentic dedication to everything that makes you YOU is what will bring you the illustrious life you so fervently seek in the end...not some book a celebrity wrote or a youtube video. it's in YOUR DNA to be a star already in anything you want to do.

there isn't one tutorial on this world wide web that will help you if you don't realize you have the components within you first. there is NOTHING wrong with you!!! you are EVERYTHING that is right already!!!

NEVER conform to the way they think you should shine.

[bsptourist]

gm_wayremake

created by The Fun, panman map secret spoilers under the cut

[whereismyhat5678]

Guys, guess what time it is✨✨

[gearbox-doll]

Sebaciel with unhealthy devotion and possessiveness my beloved

[burningcheese-merchant]

i cannot in good conscience ship hollyberry and eternal sugar because i'm too enamored with chaos berserker couple hollytaya. i can't wait to see them together again in beast yeast.

I'm happy you're so excited, anon friend. May that hope and joy fuel the smoldering embers burning within your heart in your darkest days

In the meantime, I shall continue bracing myself for my second impromptu descent into the fiery depths of Hell. Virgil bailed out at the last second so I have to go alone again. God have mercy on my soul

[rudjedet]

I love going into bicycle repairshops here because they'll say shit like "ah yes ma'am this ring lock is a built-in one, it's tricky to get it fitted so it'll be €50 excl. the cost of the lock itself to replace it", and then I'll say "ok thank you :)", take my bike back home, buy a ring lock online and use my socket wrench to tighten all two (2) screws needed to mount it in 1 minute flat

[chipistrate]

I hate this image so much I hate it a lot it haunts me any time I try and look for Elizabeth or Gregory references this image sucks it's SUCH blatant mischaracterization of both of these characters it drives me so insane every time I see it and the worst part is that I don't think it's satire.

[chthonic-cassandra]

My experience of reading this book is just constantly wanting to plaintively tell the narration to stop being mean to Cassandra.

[celestial-castiel]

accidentally made an Art for Castiel that I might add more to but might just leave as is, idk

started with just trying to draw the angel blade but now it's a lil Castiel vibes thing? idk i kind of like it

symbols explanation in the tags :>