Stijn Vanhandsaeme6d ago
Elena Rossini ⁂

Dear Fedi friends,

I'd like to put together a list of people who are publicly resisting / calling out LLMs and AI slop.

Why? I enjoy reading my Fediverse feed in topical lists and I need something to counteract the unrelenting AI hype I see in the media.

Do you have any recommendations?

So far, at the top of my list I have:

@timnitGebru @emilymbender and @alexhanna of @DAIR

plus @cwebber @jaredwhite and @tante

Anyone else to recommend who advocates for #NoAI?

Mar 11 at 10:33amWeb
Show threadTrezzer (aka Helvedeshunden)Mar 11
@_elena I wish we'd have CW for both sides, because I really don't want to hear more from either. Enough has been said to make up minds, and now it just seems like an infinite echo that is slowly driving me mad.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@trezzer understood. Sorry I should have put my post behind a CW (too late now) 🥲
Show threadTrezzer (aka Helvedeshunden)Mar 11
@_elena No worries. It only helps if it becomes a norm anyway, and I think others will appreciate what you are doing. <3
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11

@trezzer I feel really bad because I use CW super frequently.

Sorry it didn't occur to me for this post but I will use CW from now on...

Show threadpunIssuerMar 11
@_elena @trezzer i would have thought that CWs are for topics that might trigger trauma or distress, and user filtering for I've-seen-enough-of-this-already 🤷
Show threadTrezzer (aka Helvedeshunden)Mar 11
@punissuer @_elena Yeah, this is getting up there. It is seriously bad for the mental state of many people with the constant bombardment from pro and con. The problem with blocking is the blanket wipe it would cause of science related to AI (not LLM) and mentions of AI as it has historically been understood (algorithms, machine learning, actual theoretical GAI). You basically can't escape the pro/con-LLM bullshit because people call it the wrong thing.
Show threadNiels Abildgaard6d ago

@trezzer @punissuer @_elena I try to use the term LLM to distinguish and allow people to more easily block the topic, but I also always find the CW grayzone to be huge...

I maybe err on the side of now CW'ing but adjusting behavior if called out, and hoping people see I'm trying to act in good faith... but it's hard

Show threadGeorge BMar 11

@_elena @trezzer

The #NoAI tag is common enough that it's a good candidate for setting up a filter to turn any post with that tag into a CW post.

I'm a fan of standard tags instead of CWs for things that are not violent or sexual but a decent sized group would want to hide since they give people the power to control their own timelines more effectively.

Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Mar 11

@gbargoud

Same!
I also use content warnings when I answer to a 'puzzle' to not give away the answer 😀

And then: as a teacher of Adobe software, I usually start the first classes with 'We won't be using AI, what's more: I will show you how to hide all their AI options. You can make them visible again once you have enough skills and knowledge to evaluate their results. You need to learn how to do it first, before you let AI do this automatically."

Teaching people skills: 💗

@_elena @trezzer

Show threadjerMar 11

@pascaline @gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

In that context I remember "AI" as Adobe InDesign. Do you?

[Edited to add: I misremembered!]

Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Mar 11

@jerrej

AI is Adobe Illustrator 😊
ID is for InDesign.
InDesign came much later. It was a clever move to develop it since it took away so many QuarkXpress users. Since InDesign was 'already in the suite' at the time, users quickly took to it.

@gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

Show threadjerMar 11

@pascaline @gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

Ooh, I misremebered that! And that was Aldus Freehand of course...

Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Mar 11

@jerrej

Freehand was great, so was PageMaker. But well, big companies have big bellies and tend to eat the small ones.

@gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

Show threadTrezzer (aka Helvedeshunden)Mar 11
@jerrej @pascaline @gbargoud @_elena Haha. I didn’t use it myself, but I know exactly what you are referring to.
Show threadChitchatMar 13

@jerrej @pascaline @gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

For farmers and vets AI is Artificial Insemination, which makes some posts on the topic highly entertaining!

#AISlop 😳

Show threadjer6d ago

@Cyclist @pascaline @gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

What, FCOL, is artificial insemination slop? 🙂

Show thread🅵5d ago

@jerrej

Al Bundy

@pascaline @gbargoud @_elena @trezzer

Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@pascaline amazing 💖
Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Mar 11

@_elena

I state the same in the books to make sure 😂

Show threadGonzaloMar 11
@gbargoud @_elena @trezzer I agree with organizing the conversation around a hashtag, such as #NoAI or #AISlop. This can be more natural than hiding it behind a CW. For many instances CW is for violence and sexual topics, not for defending our rights.
Show threadDétours AnachroniquesMar 11
@trezzer @_elena Isn't that what the Internet has become? 😭
Show threadAndy Carolan Mar 11
@_elena While I don't feel that I belong on such a list, I resist as much and as often as I can.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@andycarolan oh yes of course! adding you to my list :)
Show threadAndy Carolan Mar 11
@_elena Aww thank you!
Show threadshellsharksMar 11

@andycarolan @_elena Same. I’m not as prolific with my anti-AI position as some that you’ve mentioned but my thoughts and feelings have definitely been made known. Here’s my canonical stance on AI here —> https://shellsharks.com/ai. TL;DR: I don’t like AI 🤭

Some other suggestions off the top of my head…
- @WeirdWriter (I mean have you read THIS yet? https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-colonization-of-confidence/)
- @mttaggart
- @32x33
- @bagder (well he’s had his AI run-ins 😅)
- @robb
- @joxean
- @brennan
- @neurovagrant
- @Viss

/ai

This site's relationship with AI.

shellsharks
Show threadAndy Carolan Mar 11
@shellsharks Thanks for the list of people! That's awesome. I think your position on AI is similar to mine. I did once have an /ai slashpage, but I removed it as I have a single line in my FAQ page, but I might rewrite that to better explain my thoughts. @_elena @WeirdWriter @mttaggart @32x33 @bagder @robb @joxean @brennan @neurovagrant @Viss
Show threadshellsharks6d ago

@andycarolan @_elena Since responding here I've published this though 🤣😭

https://shellsharks.com/ai-wall-of-sad

Beep, Boop, Sad 🤖 😞

shellsharks
Show threadAndy Carolan 6d ago
@shellsharks Those link titles terrify me enough without the need to read them lol. @_elena
Show threadBrennan Kenneth BrownMar 11
@_elena @shellsharks Thank you for the shout-out :) I do yap about AI a lot! https://brennan.day/ai
AI

Brennan Kenneth Brown is a Queer Métis writer and web developer exploring Indigenous identity, digital culture, and creativity. Personal essays on technology, craft, and human experience from Calgary, Alberta (Treaty 7).

brennan.day
Show threadWesley MooreMar 11
@_elena see @db @davidgerard @soph
Show threadWesley MooreMar 11
@_elena oh and @baldur
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@wezm thank you! @db @davidgerard @soph
Show thread707KatMar 11
@_elena @PavelASamsonov and @Wolven is great too. :)
Show threadIvo LimmenMar 11
@_elena @timnitGebru @emilymbender @alexhanna @DAIR @cwebber @jaredwhite @tante 🙋‍♂️
Show threadRomualdMar 11
@_elena Pas immédiatement l’IA, mais sur la matérialité du numérique et des centres de données il y a @lenuageetaitsousnospieds et @tunubesecamirio . @Aepasek a publié une très bonne brochure sur comment résister aux datacenters, et sur la géopolitique du numérique je ne peux que conseiller le livre de @opheliecoelho ! @dataforgood fait du bon boulot également 👍
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@romuald merci pour ces excellentes recommandations!!! @lenuageetaitsousnospieds @tunubesecamirio @Aepasek @opheliecoelho @dataforgood
Show threadAnne PasekMar 11

@romuald @_elena @lenuageetaitsousnospieds @tunubesecamirio @opheliecoelho @dataforgood

merci!

Si un veux le lire: https://emmlab.info/Resources_page/Lutter%20contre%20les%20data%20centers.pdf

Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@Aepasek merci Anne !
Show threadTu nube seca mi río 🐌Mar 11

@romuald @_elena @lenuageetaitsousnospieds @Aepasek @opheliecoelho @dataforgood

Merci Romuald!

Show threadmangokingMar 11
@_elena
@pluralistic is absolutely essential. @eff (while not inherently against LLMs) and @openrightsgroup also do great work.
Show thread707KatMar 11

@onepunchmango EFF is not against LLMs.

Removed the pluralistic part.

Show threadmangokingMar 11
@707Kat they argue and explain heavily against their usage and limitations in most things, and eloquently so. It's a good way both to keep up with* recent developments, learn, and get the vocabluary to talk about it with other people.
Show thread707KatMar 11

@onepunchmango I'm aware of what the EFF do. I'm not saying they don't do a lot of good. However, they are not against LLMs and up until recently they were positive about its usage. Even though the technology inherently relies on voiding people's privacy. For the longest time they cheered on it as a way to beat Copyright and boost free information, ignoring people who tried to explain why it would be damaging.

Try taking a look at how this page has changed this month:
https://web.archive.org/web/20260000000000*/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/effs-policy-llm-assisted-contributions-our-open-source-projects

Wayback Machine

Show threadmangokingMar 11
@707Kat thank you for educating me. I still think they are important to the discussion (hence I wrote they do a lot of good work in the original post). But I will specify further to reflect this thread.
Show thread707KatMar 11
@onepunchmango Definitely they do. I follow them myself on other platforms than this one. (haven't gotten around to it here)
Show threadÖlbaum5d ago
@onepunchmango I’m sorry what? Didn’t he just announce he uses LLMs because he can’t write fast enough without them, and called those who resist it “purity culture” or something?
Show threadmirek kratochvilMar 11
@_elena protip: promote use of #slop instead of #NoAI
Show threadoffgptMar 11

@_elena @timnitGebru @emilymbender @alexhanna @DAIR @cwebber @jaredwhite @tante

I collect evidence that LLMs need to be run in a Fediverse Like Structure, how its destructive in the hands of few, since months, everyday :) Thanks for the list btw :)

Show threadJan Dytrych🇨🇿🇺🇦Mar 11
@_elena regarding LLMs, it's crazy from developers' perspective. BIG tech is pushing LLMs hard to developers, saying you'll lose job or will be paid less if not using LLMs. That's what they are pushing, my colleague did even said "If you're not going to use it, you'll lose job or will be paid less." My boss doesn't like to use LLM for development, so far so good, but there is huge push and pressure towards it.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@jan ouf that's rough. I personally know a lot of people in this space - here in France - and it's really rough out there. Not to mention the collapsing valuation of most software start-ups since early 2025 (US politics + Claude + geopolitical tensions = lethal mix)
Show threadJan Dytrych🇨🇿🇺🇦Mar 11
@_elena yes, it will be very rough few years. Will see how that goes. This will make us developers dump and highly dependent to LLMs in cloud owned by some company in US.
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11
@jan 🫂
Show threadJan Dytrych🇨🇿🇺🇦Mar 11
@_elena thank you! 🙂
Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Mar 11
@_elena Film idea: "Back to the roots". They meet in secret. In coding dojos. They write code by hand. They have ancient books, real books, printed, with names like "Assembly Guide for the x86 ISA", "High Performance Python" that are sacred bibles of ancient knowledge. Follow our hero as she goes from LLM withdrawal to changing the world with hand-written code that frees the minds of millions. @jan
Show threadElena Rossini ⁂Mar 11

@jwildeboer haha I LOVE this! 🥰

also adding you to the list of course!

@jan

Show threadChris KletschMar 11
@_elena @jwildeboer @jan
I had the very same idea for such a story as well, although apparently vi is out of scope now
https://ioc.exchange/@CKL/116161896679343123
Chris Kletsch (@[email protected])

Now I want to read a sci-fi novel set in the near future about two programmers who need to learn non-vibe-coding to write something under the radar of the AIs (plural!) watching their every move online. To save the world. In rust. And they're fighting over vi vs emacs. And it will have to be on an OpenBSD machine, since every performance setting is disabled because of rowhammer et alter. Something like the Morse stuff in Cryptonomicon? #AI #nealstephenson #cryptonomicon #vibecoding #vi #openbsd #bsd #writingprompt #rust #rustlang

IOC.exchange
Show threadzipkid - Breaker of SystemsMar 11

@CKL #EVi to the rescue! https://mastodon.social/@mrmasterkeyboard/116206795065369412

@_elena @jwildeboer @jan

Show threadBMar 11

@jwildeboer Not sure why, but I just had scenes from "Dead Poets Society" flash in my head when reading this.

@_elena @jan

Show threadJan Wildeboer 😷Mar 11
@blainsmith Dead Poets Society meets Mr. Robot. In the dark basements of Paris, Munich and Barcelona. With Deep House from Vinyl playing in the background. @_elena @jan