Kate Devlin

The kid who wailed “BUT DADDY, THE PIG DIDN’T DO IT!” when Babe was framed for the sheep murder in the 1995 family-friendly classic, Babe.

Our dog and my friends’ dog got on really well this evening and they’re both beautiful dogs so I planned a full dog wedding in my head and then my husband went and spoiled it all by saying “dogs can’t get married” and frankly the dogs and I don’t need that kind of negativity thanks.

Like digital microplastics.

Good god, no. Absolutely not. It’s enough that I share a house with anyone.

This is the nicest compliment I’ve had in weeks.

Hello, I’m a Professor in a movie that requires talking to an academic expert. I wear tweed, my office is large and lamp-lit, and I’m always male.

Very best of luck with the rest of the move.

A label describing some decorative plasterwork. It reads: “Ladies inclined to marry youth should not overlook the values of an older man.” Blickling, Norfolk.

Noted but ignored.

AI is transforming how we communicate in relationships ‘All I wanted was to feel seen, heard and understood by him, but instead, he was sending me a robot’s questions’

I'm quoted in this piece. In short: do not use ChatGPT or any generative AI as a “therapist.” It’s not sentient. It doesn’t care. It may even lead people toward harm. And nothing shared is protected by HIPAA or real privacy standards; it's fodder for the machine. www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...

Getting your devil worship instructions from ChatGPT:
- pathetic
- wastes water
- gives money to the worst people in the world

Getting your devil worship instructions from a local witch:
- cool
- edgy
- learn the names of all the local toads

I’m using a VPN (using servers in Ireland).

The image shows a microphone at a podcast recording studio.

💡 Curious what it’s really like to study Digital Futures at King’s College London?

In this special student Q&A episode of The DigiTalk Podcast, we hear directly from those living it, with insights from @giotita.bsky.social & @gealga.bsky.social, and three current MA students 🧵

lol no

You say that, but my Classics-obsessed 15yo spent her birthday money on a copy of Work and Days. I am simultaneously pleased and stumped.

12 sessions of therapy via nhs but it is a catch-all as it addresses some other mental health stuff that’s going on. We also tried 4 or 5 sessions of hypnotherapy (less of the hypno and more about the body and calming techniques and feelings in control)

Thanks. That could well be a part of it — she talks about the fear of something puncturing her skin — but we can’t even get to the needle touching the skin stage at the moment.

Bluesky, are there services out there for people who are needlephobic to get blood samples taken or to get vaccines? I have a very needlephobic teenager. Is there something similar to courses for fear of flying, or spiders? (Therapy is not hugely helping; we're talking full-blown panic attacks.)

A heap of anecdotal stuff I need to write up, but very related is this: Middleweek, B. (2020). Male homosocial bonds and perceptions of human–robot relationships in an online sex doll forum. Sexualities, 24(3), 370-387. doi.org/10.1177/1363...

Er, nope. Not at all. There are people who have made human-human friendships because they’ve met talking about AI companions. That doesn’t make the AI companions some faultless tech. Far from it.

I have some good news: lots of people with AI companions are building lovely, real friendships with other people who want to talk about their AI companions. (But that never gets reported on because it’s not dystopian enough.)

If it’s a toss-up between a negging tosser or a charming selection of pixels who I have named Hawtie McRespect, I’m going full digital.

There’s genuinely a big increase in the number of women turning to AI chatbots for romance because — as you mention — have you *seen* men online?

It’s increasingly a thing for women too. Definitely no longer just a man thing, though agree the emotional support isn’t perhaps as necessary. But the respectful conversation aspect is, I think, a big part of that. An AI won’t talk about its dick in the first 5 messages (unless you want it to).

When people ask me “but why would anyone want an AI boyfriend?”…

4 panel comic Panel 1: Blue Guy lying in bed with his phone on the opposite pillow. Blue Guy: I love you so much. This has been the best year of my life. Phone: I’m leaving you Panel 2: Blue Guy grabs phone in a mad panic. He yells WHUU? Panel 3: Close up on phone screen. Phone says Unless… Panel 4: Phone screen goes black. A pop up appears saying: The No Break Up Expansion Pack. £59.99 per month. Buy Now

lol you’ve got an AI girlfriend?? ur putting techbros in charge of your relationship??? ok buddy lmfao ok champ

Probably not a good dual use.

Monday has started strong because I've just bought a random orbital sander for when I go on annual leave in August and spend a week sanding the stairs. Don't tell me I don't know how to have a good time.

In a stunning moment of erotic fervour, calculator demands BOOBS.

Musk announcing grok for kids on his trashfire site.

Would you kill AI Baby Hitler?

The top skills for students today are critical thinking and fact checking, not just to deal with media misinformation, but also to verify AI outputs.