Zack is on mastodon.cloudNov 17, 2022
Timnit Gebru (she/her).

BTW I'm not sure if anyone has seen some of the things on Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison's HBD (AKA race science) tumblr called Worldoptimization, where she's so openly eugenicist and awful.

And they pearl clutch when we draw the links between this cult and eugenics.

If Black people tried to do this shit the feds would've been on them and someone would've been shot by now.

The amount of stuff white people get away with is unreal.

Nov 16, 2022 at 4:03amWeb
Show threadBad at NamesNov 16, 2022

@timnitGebru …link?

I have not heard of this.

Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@GrittyLipids Here are two.
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@GrittyLipids
Show threadBad at NamesNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru They shouldn’t be proud of that.
Show threadDiogo Neves ☕️Nov 17, 2022
@timnitGebru @GrittyLipids 1st she’s obviously never visited most of Europe, especially in the south, 2nd can people say these things in public and still have a business that generates billions, run away with them and nothing happens??
Show threadNaomi SaphraNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @GrittyLipids really considerate of her to give the "racism CW" tag
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@nsaphra @GrittyLipids I’m so confused about that one 😂
Show threadBad at NamesNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @nsaphra Reads like “your racism isn’t specific enough, you need to know how to hate their specific color and social standing before we’ll respect you as a racist”.
Show threaddaveNov 17, 2022
@timnitGebru @GrittyLipids wow! Another libertarian cult granted power way beyond their capabilities turns out to be into eugenics? I am very shocked.
Show threadBad at NamesNov 17, 2022
@dave @timnitGebru Almost like there are connections between American libertarians and fascist tendencies.
Show threadmeNov 17, 2022
@timnitGebru @GrittyLipids "cw: offensive, sorry" wut 😂
Show threadAlex HannaNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru what is a HBD
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@alex human bio diversity AKA race science. You can read this less wrong (AKA awful "rationality cult) discussion about it where someone is like what if HBD doesn't mean there are superior races and people are like NO.
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jttfuxoQpYsnNEAqG/suppose-hbd-is-true
Suppose HBD is True - LessWrong

Suppose, for the purposes of argument, HBD (Human bio-diversity, the claim that distinct populations (I will be avoiding using the word "race" here insomuch as possible) of humans exist and have subs…

Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022

@alex AKA that's what they call eugenics these days. You can also read this gem where they point out.

"The problem is politicians, both the left and the right, are afraid to touch the hot potato that is HBD, instead regurgitating same ol’ environment-based solutions to societal problems. For the left, we need more wasteful social programs in a futile effort to close an achievement and wealth gap, which is really an IQ gap"

https://greyenlightenment.com/2015/09/30/eugenics-summary-and-hbd-policy/

Eugenics Summary, and HBD-Based Policy – Grey Enlightenment

Show threadashwinkNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @alex this is like a copy paste of the caste playbook in India, and the new EWS ruling from the Supreme Court @h_tejas
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@ashwink @alex @h_tejas and Caroline had something to say about caste too. Its in one of the screenshots I posted in one of the replies.
Show threadashwinkNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @alex from @h_tejas https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-curious-case-of-ews/article66132311.ece
The curious case of EWS

The EWS quota is unfair because it twists the idea of social justice by bequeathing further privilege to communities who are historically situated to benefit from the caste system

Show threadDrooling Fan GirlNov 16, 2022

@timnitGebru @alex with not a clue what HBD stood for, I think I found a good article explaining it.

https://forward.com/opinion/346533/human-biodiversity-the-pseudoscientific-racism-of-the-alt-right/

“Human Biodiversity”: the Pseudoscientific Racism of the Alt-Right

"Human biodiversity," supported by alt-right superstars like Milo Yiannopoulos, is just eugenics updated for the Internet Age.

The Forward
Show threadNaomi SaphraNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @alex "I have never met a smart person who wasn't rich"
Show threadAlex HannaNov 16, 2022
@nsaphra @timnitGebru this is the stupidest paragraph that has the English language has ever seen
Show threadJeremy KahnNov 16, 2022

@alex @nsaphra @timnitGebru

"Too bad we didn't leave some white people in the brutally extractive and carcinogenic coal mines; now there's no one left there that I trust"

Is certainly a take

Show threadAlex HannaNov 16, 2022
@trochee @nsaphra @timnitGebru 🥴
Show threadCharles J Gervasi ⚡🛡️🥥Nov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @alex It's such crap because even if you accept there are certain traits that make one person superior, e.g. score on a test, amount they can bench press, or people rating them as likable, why not look directly at those traits rather than finding other traits, e.g. skin color, that those meaningful traits are supposedly correlated with?
Show threadDennis JernbergNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru @alex Ah yes, Less Than Not Even Wrong. In the novel I'm currently editing I dedicated an entire chapter to a guest-starring role for Roko's Basilisk, the demon that haunts their rationalism, just for them. Pure mind-destroying memetic hazard if you accept their premises. Which are of course not even wrong.
Show threadDr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022

@alex @timnitGebru Human bio-diversity. It basically argues that there are genetic differences among human populations that correlate with intelligence and other biological qualities.

It is race science and eugenics by another name. It's also super annoying philosophically because it co-opts a whole territory of language that could've been productive, like neurodiversity/neurodivergence.

Show threadDr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022
@alex @timnitGebru Literally made the post within seconds of you 😂
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@shengokai @alex I just saw 😂
Show threadAlex HannaNov 16, 2022
@shengokai @timnitGebru Yeah, agreed. Like, it could be useful to talk about genetic diversity in possibly the same way of discussing biodiversity, but then they go right to intelligence.
Show threadDr. Johnathan FlowersNov 16, 2022
@alex @timnitGebru They always go right for intelligence. Really makes you wonder...
Show threadNatanael ⚠️Nov 17, 2022
@shengokai @alex @timnitGebru you'd think one of them would at some point ask about simple common sense, but noooo. There's no introspection to figure out if they're even solving the right problems.
Show threadDrooling Fan GirlNov 16, 2022
@alex @timnitGebru https://forward.com/opinion/346533/human-biodiversity-the-pseudoscientific-racism-of-the-alt-right/
“Human Biodiversity”: the Pseudoscientific Racism of the Alt-Right

"Human biodiversity," supported by alt-right superstars like Milo Yiannopoulos, is just eugenics updated for the Internet Age.

The Forward
Show threadBrian C. Keegan, Ph.D.Nov 16, 2022
@alex @timnitGebru https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Biodiversity_Institute
Human Biodiversity Institute - Wikipedia

Show threadSarah T. Roberts, Ph.D.Nov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru this is the…*checks notes*…gal who has been on meth this whole time.
Show threadDaniel FeldmanNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru this is (sadly) common in the rationalist/EA community. It’s pretty toxic.
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@dfeldman absolutely and do you know that number of people who're like "show me a picture of MacAskill saying I am a eugenicist" when I call the cult eugenicist? One of his desciples even said I'd need to show evidence in court if the high priest decides to sue me for libe.
Show threadjhambyNov 16, 2022

@timnitGebru @dfeldman that's why it's so revealing when one of the younger loose cannons spills what they really believe when they think no one's looking.

I've known about this crew since 2014. Some of the original players have moved along and the new generation is somehow even more insufferable to read the mediocre musings of. https://thebaffler.com/latest/mouthbreathing-machiavellis

Mouthbreathing Machiavellis Dream of a Silicon Reich | Corey Pein

Meet the neo-reactionaries who influenced the rightward drift of Silicon Valley.

The Baffler
Show threadDiogo Neves ☕️Nov 17, 2022
@dfeldman @timnitGebru I feel embarrassed but I don’t know what’s EA culture (I seriously always assumed people were talking about videogames but in this context that makes no sense)
Show threadStop-the-MAGAss-ReichNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru WTAH? And I thought crypto couldn't get any weirder.
Show threadCasey HoNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru "imperial Chinese harm"🙄
Show threadJanaNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru I saw the "AutismCapital" account tied to this and that is... so cringe. There's this definite tendency for white kids who are autistic and are teachers' pets to go through life thinking how special and unique and brilliant they are. It explains so much of the bs in tech, honestly.
Show threadHalvarFlakeNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru Is there an archive thereof? It seems to have been gone this morning already...
Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@HalvarFlake I posted some screenshots in the replies.
Show threadNatanael ⚠️Nov 17, 2022
@timnitGebru @HalvarFlake does archive.org have it?
Show threadHalvarFlakeNov 17, 2022
@Natanael_L @timnitGebru Seems like it1
Show threadAndreaNov 16, 2022
@HalvarFlake @timnitGebru Archived at https://caroline.milkyeggs.com/; archive.org has most of it too. Prepare to feel your brain dribble out the bottom of your skull when she gets up to "the optimal solution would be to make it illegal for women to work, but this isn't politically feasible"
Alameda & FTX Archive

Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 16, 2022
@puellavulnerata @HalvarFlake 🤮
Show threadHalvarFlakeNov 17, 2022
@timnitGebru @puellavulnerata Oh. Wow.
Show threadR. A. DehiNov 16, 2022
@timnitGebru Hmm, I looked at the things Gawker quoted and she seemed to be explicitly rejecting "HBD", much less eugenics?
Show threadNicolasNov 18, 2022
@timnitGebru and wait till you see her 4chan account