Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ

associate professor of computational cognitive science · she/they · cypriot/kıbrıslı/κυπραία · σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρα κίνει

Public Key

npub1qtlukyap76wuddyuhttn66g6qsjhgtwjka5996v5vk99a2s7yl9s060agf

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsq9l7tzwsld8wxkjwt44eadydqgft59hftw6zjax2xtzj74g0z0jcpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qzxrhwden5te0wfjkccte9eekummjwsh8xmmrd9skcg6n877

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

relay.snort.social

nostr.mom

Author Public Key

npub1qtlukyap76wuddyuhttn66g6qsjhgtwjka5996v5vk99a2s7yl9s060agf

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-10-31 18:28:22 GMT

Some notes on WRITING:
> Writer’s block […] usually comes from the perhaps wrongheaded notion that when I sit down to write that I just sit and it pours out. But even if it looks like that, that has no basis in reality: do not imagine if it looks easy and quick, that the process was easy or quick.
https://critical.computer/writing/

2026-10-29 08:16:17 GMT

So nice to see this out! @nprofile…fsg8
> The five core principles – honesty, Scrupulousness, transparency, independence and responsibility – remain unchanged.
https://www.nwo.nl/en/news/revision-of-netherlands-code-of-conduct-for-research-integrity-ngwi
Image from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20082828
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/523/200/615/537/856/original/036015427d749c89.webp

2026-10-11 13:15:19 GMT

Happy Sunday! Here's a site I've built because I've been thinking about this and want to see more of it in the world: a space for describing and sharing scholarly skills that I've picked up and nurtured over the years.
Also this is a no AI zone in at least two ways: no talking about it and no using it.
https://critical.computer/

2026-09-16 06:28:26 GMT

I'm excited to share this preprint by my wonderful MSc student Yihsin Chuang. She has thought deeply about how psychological & neurocognitive theories relate to different types of evidence.
Beyond Empirical Success: Evaluating Theoretical Virtue Across the Computational Modeling Chain
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22708906
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/279/294/259/300/757/original/e4e1add33aaf2e6f.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/279/294/489/042/135/original/bc05ef598e18fa79.jpg

2026-08-04 12:46:59 GMT

💥 Mass action against data centres on November 6 in Amsterdam 💥
More info here:
https://linktr.ee/geeftegengas
https://www.instagram.com/geeftegengas/
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/037/306/369/816/210/original/4fa1a3d1c5c6bf27.webp

2026-08-04 08:01:56 GMT

Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
It's been a year & people tell me they've changed their mind, feel safer now to sign, etc. So I'm sharing it again for them. We're almost at 2k & anybody from anywhere can add their names.
https://openletter.earth/open-letter-stop-the-uncritical-adoption-of-ai-technologies-in-academia-b65bba1e?limit=0
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/036/186/338/389/615/original/13feedce58b1e1fc.webp
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/117/036/186/467/726/957/original/b57c337390139298.webp

2026-08-03 10:36:31 GMT

I forgot to address one type of person: those who say "don't care so much, if you can, since it makes you sick" — I hear you, and I will ask you this: don't stand in our way when we fix this and don't claim you helped when you just told us to not be so soft.
It's OK to say you went to therapy to help you be more aloof, have other interests & hobbies, but dialectically speaking both can be true: the feelings can be less powerful for you AND you can not stand in our way. Please pick this combo.
#nevent1q…zrgn

2026-08-02 15:40:18 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…3src yes! have you seen this? useful! https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/environmental_issue_report_2001_22

2026-08-02 13:17:22 GMT

If useful, here's my attempt to process my feelings about how I feel sadly kinda — or rather very — sick from all this AI fascist nonsense as an academic. 😶‍🌫️
I'd be pleased if even one person finds something useful because there's something to be said for processing this all together, so, um, enjoy?
https://olivia.science/anxiety/

2026-07-19 06:53:53 GMT

There are more openly anti AI women than men, so if you see manels (panels of all men) or events where there are very few or no women involved on the academic speaking side (not in the organisation/teaching), it's safe to conclude that there is something very strange afoot to say the least.
https://olivia.science/cryptogyny
1/n

2026-07-18 11:58:20 GMT

- reply

> So what's extra scary in the AI context is the goal of the technology itself is to harm our ability to detect entryism — it harms our ability to think for ourselves. Much like fascism generally, if left unchecked and unaddressed: AI is a totalising force that destroys people and planet from the inside out. AI entryists want to join committees as if they are anti AI and then instead make pro AI rules, for example.
https://olivia.science/entryism/
3/n

2026-07-18 11:55:56 GMT

- reply

> In the context of the push back against AI, entryism takes on the form of actively sending infiltrators to join universities or related organisations [...] or spreading rhetoric or cultish language (in the weakest, and likely easiest, case) in order to undermine push back against AI. [...] For the weaker case of rhetoric: success is measured by the organisation adopting harmful concepts through terminologically vacuous or damaging language (see me explaining this over video here).
2/n

2026-07-18 11:54:22 GMT

OK, it's honestly very distressing and worrying and I have ADHD, so I wrote it all down to get it out of my head
https://olivia.science/entryism/
Enjoy, I guess...
> Now that being against AI in an informed way is becoming mainstream, we need to be aware of entryism: the long-term strategy deployed by pro AI people or entities, like companies, to subvert such movements.
1/n

2026-07-13 15:56:03 GMT

> According to [@nprofile…fsg8], the workshop suggests that using AI for writing is acceptable, smart and efficient. ‘And that is simply not true. Students or academics taking this course risk committing plagiarism. We are seeing a sharp rise in academic dishonesty amongst students using these technologies, for example because false citations are appearing in their work. The same, incidentally, applies to academic papers, which are increasingly containing false references.’
https://www.voxweb.nl/en/scientists-critical-of-radbouds-into-languages-ai-courses-language-centre-emphasises-the-responsible-use-of-chatbots

2026-07-10 11:04:02 GMT

New preprint! So honoured to have worked with Ishani Ray on providing vital critique on "AI literacy" & correctives for those interested in understanding why "just use the newest version of an LLM" is nonsense
Contra Literacy-Laundering: Mechanistic Critical AI Literacy
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21222978
1/
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/895/326/004/147/293/original/46e1d06f7aa746b9.webp

2026-06-05 11:25:16 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…7rg4 you will love Gramsci then! as it's a quote from him, more here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08935696.2019.1577616
Or check out his original works too!

2026-06-05 11:20:27 GMT

I gave a keynote this week here https://event.sdu.dk/cultures/conference with the theme: Cultures, Bodies and Technologies on "What is AI, and why is it harmful?" but I also pre-recorded a copy in case I was ill — enjoy (I guess 🥲)!
https://youtu.be/pi85dy4LIL0
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/697/236/771/123/583/original/ed32809e686d2e70.png

2026-05-16 08:28:46 GMT

Published with some minor changes! Please share widely. 😊
Guest, O., Suarez, M., ... & van Rooij, I. (2026). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Digital Culture & Education, 16(2), 85–118. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20082828
Journal: https://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/volume-162
#nevent1q…53jc

2026-05-09 07:33:54 GMT

Preprinted! Been working on this for ~1 year w wonderful coauthors Nancy & Mark:
> Understanding Artificial Neural Networks: Mysterianism about Known Mechanism is Mysticism
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20071869
Have you noticed many experts say they don't understand AI? What's going on? 🤯 Let us tell you...
1/
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/543/447/399/711/659/original/497081aae11d19c8.png
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/543/452/819/791/733/original/e41f64365eb42142.png
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/543/455/198/300/435/original/f985b6a202be669c.png

2026-05-09 07:27:37 GMT

Thank you to all who did the translating of our Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia — can't believe we have: Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish 💥‼️
✍️ sign here: https://openletter.earth/open-letter-stop-the-uncritical-adoption-of-ai-technologies-in-academia-b65bba1e?limit=0
🌏 all languages here: https://olivia.science/ai/#activism

2026-04-19 04:38:11 GMT

I absolutely cannot speak for or about heavy users of AI but those that I know who were acquaintances were very prone to appreciate sophistry and flattery and very anti expert and have been so from before AI. This is a problem caused inter alia by underfunded education and mental health services.
And this is true for academics as well as the general public, just to be clear. They love to only listen to their own knowledge basically regurgitated back
https://scholar.social/@olivia/115157828739587262

2026-04-17 17:22:11 GMT

Reminder if you support us to sign and share if you can! ✍🏻
> Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
We're coming up to a year since I sent this letter to my executive board and I will resend it on or close to the year mark with even more international and national support against AI.
Thank you!
https://openletter.earth/open-letter-stop-the-uncritical-adoption-of-ai-technologies-in-academia-b65bba1e?limit=0
https://scholar.social/@olivia/115157822712377866

2026-04-07 14:23:50 GMT

> Can we soon predict children’s intelligence?
NO STOP IT
https://www.ru.nl/en/services/recharge/overview/can-we-soon-predict-childrens-intelligence

2026-04-06 10:32:30 GMT

Loads of chat and even discourse about so-called AI literacy, but I don't think most realise you need to teach things from quite a few angles and zoomed out.
If people want to just know how the models work, that's not always possible without a much wider base anyway...
Our offering below:
1/n
#nevent1q…3dcy

2026-04-06 09:24:38 GMT

- reply

First off we pluralise L to accentuate there's no 1 approach. And we position ourselves in this interdisciplinary field of critically examining AI & reflecting on harms.
We give 5 non-exhaustive angles: conceptual clarity, critical thinking, decoloniality, respecting expertise, slow science.
2/
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/357/034/978/909/675/original/49a2f685a503ac94.webp

2026-04-06 09:23:34 GMT

New-ish preprint! Marcela @nprofile…fsg8 I have been working on what CAIL means to showcase & propagate the idea of thinking very differently to tech industry norms on "artificial intelligence"
Towards Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacies https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17786243
1/
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/357/030/138/903/752/original/e0852fba3fbb9ca5.webp

2026-04-01 09:56:25 GMT

Guardrails are a scam!
“We have also continued to strengthen ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive moments, working closely with mental health clinicians.”
It's impossible cos that's full blown cognition: either the lie is the automation (instead indentured labour is used) or they're fully fibbing.
1/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/31/teenager-asked-chatgpt-most-successful-ways-take-life-inquest-told

2026-03-30 12:56:40 GMT

When I hear somebody say "I only use AI for whatever example" unprompted (pun unintended) I think they are lying like anybody who says "I only smoke when I drink" or "just one a day" — NOT because it's not true per se but because the pragmatics we're invited to agree with is that it's ok. It's not.
Also with respect to smoking, it's one thing to smoke and another to talk about it this way — in this flippant way! — when it's known to be addictive and more.

2026-03-29 09:02:56 GMT

- reply

and if you wonder why you didn't know she called it?
https://olivia.science/cryptogyny

2026-03-29 08:58:37 GMT

"The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate any thing. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It [cannot] anticipat[e] any analytical relations or truths. Its province is to assist us in making available what we are already acquainted with."
— Ada Lovelace, 1843
https://archive.org/details/adaenchantressof00tool/page/n191/mode/2up
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/311/633/685/004/129/original/6a6997c91aa26b7e.png
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/311/633/883/612/733/original/64eada511edd8696.png

2026-03-28 16:13:19 GMT

> There is a moment in Cory Doctorow's 2025 book Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It where he pauses to pick a fight with Audre Lorde. He calls her "far smarter than I am about nearly everything," then insists that one of her most quoted observations, that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, is "manifestly wrong."
JFC!
#nevent1q…3nzq

2026-03-24 20:03:50 GMT

The bots are mad, I guess 😌
Sign here: https://openletter.earth/open-letter-stop-the-uncritical-adoption-of-ai-technologies-in-academia-b65bba1e?limit=0
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/285/936/818/287/125/original/565c0e099c840297.jpg

2026-03-23 18:36:04 GMT

monthly or so reminder that asking questions about science and technology and their value is super important
https://olivia.science/ai/#pygmalion
PDF: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/jqxb6
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/279/930/410/610/617/original/19b13b6785476d07.png

2026-03-07 18:18:54 GMT

- reply

"You are very right to worry about your career, your skills, and your ability to navigate an extremely damaged and unjust world compared to that of previous generations. And yes, most Europeans and most USAmericans, especially in academia are indeed hypocrites." 🙃
2/n

2026-03-07 18:18:28 GMT

got inspired by some questions from phd students the other day; hope useful for others too! 🩷
https://olivia.science/cheating
"[Junior colleagues report] pressure from peers to use AI that they fear for their careers if they don't. If this describes you[,] then this is for you. [...]
I assume you care about the [harms of AI] I think you get these, deeply, and in addition also worry about yourself."
1/n

2026-03-07 07:59:25 GMT

AI is not inevitable. Nothing in human societies is inevitable because we design them. Healthcare can be free for the public. Books can be bought instead of bombs. Universities can be free for students, and they can even receive a stipend to live off. Don't let companies dictate the future.
Read more in section 3.2 here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17065099
https://cdn.masto.host/scholarsocial/media_attachments/files/116/186/829/593/937/668/original/e02797f388e5bd98.webp