ZoeSTodd (Dr Fish Philosopher Todd)

US student handcuffed after AI system apparently mistook bag of chips for gun Baltimore county high schools have gun detection system that alerts police if it sees what it deems suspicious

A similar type system falsely identified a child in Baltimore who had a bag of Doritos as having a weapon...leading to them being handcuffed by police who were pointing guns at them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Perhaps time to mention Manitoba Métis Federation invested in an AI startup that claims to be able to identify weapons in surveillance video. How many other Indigenous governments are getting caught up in AI startups that have potential to falsely indict folks? nationtalk.ca/story/manito...

Not sure if it's quintessential, but this scene on Halloween last year remains my favourite BC Ferries moment yet.

A rare case of a judge granting an injunction against industry…

“Save Record Ridge argued work on the mine shouldn’t proceed until a judicial review is heard on government’s decision not to subject the project to a full-scale environmental review.”
www.mykootenaynow.com/72168/news/e...

not surprising if true

This would be a real game changer! Thanks for advocating for innovative approaches.

It's also the perfect opportunity for Regional Districts to step up and run, or at least support private investment in, trailer parks and RV parks on the Island (since they're not, as a general rule, investing in other forms of affordable housing and cities and First Nations are absorbing that duty)

Almost every dystopian outcome warned about/fought against by thoughtful observes of digital media & machine learning systems over the past ten years has come to pass, of course I'm fucking cranky

The State of Things | Substack Issues of national security, geo-politics, global affairs, extremism, and mis/dis information are critical. The State of Things with Christy Somos provides the context and analysis you need.

I’m a one-woman show, so if this kind of reporting speaks to you please consider becoming a paid subscriber to my substack 🙏🏼
(working on launching the rest of my project in the coming weeks)

substack.com/@thestateoft...

And Canadian Universities are rapidly increasing their enmeshment with defence projects right now. All of it should give pause.

CLEAR brings biometric identity checks to Mount Sinai hospitals amid privacy scrutiny | Biometric Update CLEAR1 is a selfie-based identity verification that uses facial biometrics and “liveness” checks to match a user to an identity document.

One of New York's largest hospital networks will use biometric tech to verify patient and employee identity: “New Yorkers should not have to hand over their faces to receive healthcare,” said S.T.O.P. Communications Director Will Owen.

Read more.

www.biometricupdate.com/202603/clear...

‘Dark, like our future’: Iranians describe scenes of catastrophe after Tehran’s oil depots bombed Residents report terror of smoke-filled city, from potentially toxic rain, air and water to food scarcity and difficulty of escape

“I ask those who have the ability, especially foreign media, to reflect on this situation. What are people supposed to do under these conditions? This is truly a crime against humanity.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

on being a bad scholar (and making new containers or no containers at all) Figure 1. Experiments in form (jewel toned abstract drawing evoking topography or maps). Zoe Todd, 2019. A few years ago, I had a cancer scare. It started when a beloved family pet was dying. I sud…

On Being a Bad Scholar (and making new containers or no containers at all)

Will you come be a bad scholar with me?

zoestodd.com/2026/03/03/o...

Leaders in the North Okanagan join forces to protect crucial watershed from fire Sacred to the syilx, and source of drinking water for 80,000 people, the North Aberdeen Plateau faces ‘extreme threat’ of wildfire — a new plan hopes to help

Leaders in the North Okanagan join forces to protect crucial watershed from fire

Sacred to the syilx, and source of drinking water for 80,000 people, the North Aberdeen Plateau faces ‘extreme threat’ of wildfire—a new plan hopes to help

Story by Aaron Hemens

indiginews.com/news/leaders...

a. piece. of. software. is. not. the. type. of. entity. that. can. gain. consciousness.

A famous American actor once pressed $20 USD into my hand at a house party in Edmonton to convince me to take a taxi and not to ride my bicycle in -30 weather to (drunkenly) declare my love to a guy I knew. (I took the taxi but returned the cash before I left).

right!!!

there are extensive sensitive garry oak ecosystems throughout Nanoose Bay+consistent water shortages every year. Isn't stopping Regional District from prioritizing luxury developments that remove significant permeable land further impacting water recharge. Tiny homes fit on already disturbed land.

If you want to feel some rage, check out this 6649 sq ft mansion built on the waterfront in a rare garry oak ecosystem in Nanoose Bay that's for sale for 6.4 million. But our regional director insists tiny homes/RVs are the real threat to the environment. 🫡 www.realtor.ca/real-estate/...

This book is titled “Disabling Intelligences” for many reasons. First, because so-called “AI” is built from historical commitments to the excision of disability from the classification of humanity.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007/9…

have seen this action in real time...in an Indigenous space!

‘Devastating’ provincial promise reversal leaves non-profit housing in B.C. in limbo The province's recent decision to cut costs by scrapping funding they'd promised for affordable housing across B.C. is putting charities and families in the lurch.

The province's recent decision to cut costs by scrapping funding they'd promised for affordable housing across B.C. is putting charities and families in the lurch.

Check out this interactive website by Nana Mgbechikwere, showing BigTech and "AI" companies' media capture.

No wonder the public is getting misinformed.

They say it is inspired by @surveillancewatch.bsky.social, which ❤️

nananwachukwu.github.io

YIKES

Just don't ask who is gonna buy all these "critical minerals" and definitely don't ask about what are they gonna be used for...
bsky.app/profile/aptn...

I'll be on a panel talking about this and more next week because if you think Canada's hands are clean in this, you would be very wrong bsky.app/profile/cyn-...

MOAr fluvial ontology 🦑✨

Hollyhock has some scholarships available. For past iterations, colleagues and non-profit orgs have also sponsored participation of wonderful folks across the planet. If you're looking for a place to sponsor some of your students/post-docs in land-based research-creation methods, please reach out!

The Art of Entanglement: Fish, Flow, and Knowing Dive into a creative world where fish, water, and story are teachers. Building on the energy and excitement of last year’s “Fish as Storytellers”, this year’s program moves more deeply into themes of ...

Building on the wild success of last year's event, I'm delighted to share that Dr. Courtney Chetwynd and I are leading another 'Fish School' at the Hollyhock Centre this October. This year's iteration is entitled 'The Art of Entanglement: Fish, Flow, and Knowing'. hollyhock.ca/programs/830...

and the Oceanside/Regional District of Nanaimo/Nanaimo area!