Jennifer Sano-Franchini
assoc prof | cultural & digital rhet // asian am rhet // UX // beneficiary of affirmative action // refusing genAI @ http://refusal.blog 👹
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniStriking paper from researchers at Anthropic using a randomised control trial to look at the effects of AI use on skills acquisition. TL:DR ‘We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.’ www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
- ‘Novice workers who rely heavily on AI to complete unfamiliar tasks may compromise their own skill acquisition… We find that AI use impairs conceptual understanding, code reading, and debugging abilities, without delivering significant efficiency gains on average.’ arxiv.org/pdf/2601.20245
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini‘Novice workers who rely heavily on AI to complete unfamiliar tasks may compromise their own skill acquisition… We find that AI use impairs conceptual understanding, code reading, and debugging abilities, without delivering significant efficiency gains on average.’ arxiv.org/pdf/2601.20245
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniEven Microsoft's own paid studies show that AI harms learning. Students that just took notes did better than those that used AI. Students that used AI and took notes didn't do as well as those that just took notes. From this puff-piece page on their site: www.microsoft.com/en-us/educat...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThe death of Alex Pretti has been ruled a homicide, the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office said. Pretti was shot Jan. 24 during a chaotic encounter with federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez were named as the two officers who fired at Pretti.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniGod’s getting really tired of us not figuring it out yet
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniChina does Tesla a dirty. @bloomberg.com $TSLA www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniSpent even more time looking through the most thoughtful integrations of AI into writing instruction that I can find, & despite the clear care and intention being applied to these projects, I do not see advancements in writing pedagogy. I see novelty injected into the production of written artifacts
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniOne of the best AI critiques I’ve seen read.dukeupress.edu/critical-ai/...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniAcademics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniMarimar Martinez is a hero. She was shot 5 times by ICE. The agent told her to “do something b*tch” before opening fire. He later bragged “5 shots, 7 holes”. DHS tried to smear her reputation but video footage vindicated her. Next week she will testify in Washington about ICE’s brutality.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniSomeone in the critical AI space should do research into the well-funded network of organizations that exist to indoctrinate business leaders into a kind of new age millenarian thinking about tech products. I know of a number of these orgs through incidental encounters but it deserves investigation.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniAmazon reported hundreds of thousands of pieces of potential CSAM in AI training data to NCMEC in 2025; child safety officials say Amazon didn't give the source (Bloomberg) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniWe don’t need AI training sponsored by the tech firms selling it. We need AI education to help people understand what it can’t do, and what dangers lie ahead if you entrust your life to it
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchinihey everybody lifelong tech expert here > "system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility that's not how anything works they're lying and destroying evidence hope that helps
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniReally hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniBBC mistaking “impartiality” for “treating the truth and lies as equal” yet again.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini"we are on an inevitable path to AGI"
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniICE killing #AlexPretti should remind you of police killing #PhilandoCastille. Both men had concealed weapon permits, did not draw their guns, & were killed in Minn. These homicides are the price of unaccountable policing. These deaths are variations on the same fatal theme.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniConcentration camp victims protest! The incredible bravery and fortitude and care involved in doing this ✊🏽 ‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniIt's time to abolish Trump’s ICE.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThe United States of GoFundMe. GoFundMe to help pay for healthcare. GoFundMe to help pay for rent. GoFundMe to help pay for being abducted by ICE.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchinithere are so many gutting stories, but this one is hitting me extra hard. just imagining wael tarabishi slowly dying without his dad there to care for him because he was jailed by ICE makes me…i don’t have words. this country is disgusting.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniSo, I moderated a local history panel last weekend. An organizer just sent me a "summary" to approve. They uploaded the audio to some AI, which fabricated an outline and "pull quotes." The quotes are fake. No one on the panel said any of that. It had the full audio and STILL made up quotes.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchinithis photo. minneapolis. 💜 📷️ Alex Kormann/Star Tribune
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniNow: With double digit windchill, thousands marching in Downtown Minneapolis during a general strike. Marching and protest against the actions of ICE. Prince dance party outside First Avenue and the Prince mural - where there’s been many Prince dance parties before. Minneapolis January 23, 2026
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- Fantastic opinion piece in today's Daily Athenaeum (WVU's college newspaper) on Gen Z and the analog revolution www.thedaonline.com/opinion/opin... @westvirginiau.bsky.social
- There are a lot of problems with—and in— academia, but today (and most days) I feel so incredibly lucky and privileged to get to do this work.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThis is a fascist technology that fundamentally -by its core design and characteristics as a technology- serves the goals of bigots, racists and bloodthirsty white supremacists It has no role in progressive or left advocacy, no matter how much time it saves you. When you use it, you're helping them
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchiniuniversity admins will no more acknowledge their complicity in the damage done by AI than they did with covid
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniWhere's reviewer 3 when you need them😂
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- A possible hot take: I am so very tired of these surveys of faculty and/or student feelings/perceptions/attitudes about AI... www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t... Here's a thread explaining why...
- I honestly kinda think this is a pitfall of design thinking approaches that don't attend to capitalism, systemic inequality & political economy. Indeed we should consult users and not presume to know what they think/feel/want! We should also be judicious & thoughtful in what we're asking of folks!
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniCalling all the PhDs I know to make monumental annoyances of themselves (and honestly, who better)
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- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniTesla quietly cuts 1,700 jobs at Gigafactory Berlin despite denying it A new report from the German business newspaper Handelsblatt confirms that the automaker has been quietly downsizing the plant’s workforce significantly, based on figures reported by the workers’ council. /1
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- Seriously, why are higher ed news media sites spreading the "findings" of a self-described "non-scientific survey" that's plastered with a massive AI-slop image at the top as if it is legitimate research?
- A possible hot take: I am so very tired of these surveys of faculty and/or student feelings/perceptions/attitudes about AI... www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t... Here's a thread explaining why...
- The full "report" with AI slop image at the top: imaginingthedigitalfuture.org/wp-content/u...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini☀️ Summer School 📚 “Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming" Organisers and teachers: 👉 @marentierra.bsky.social 👉 @olivia.science 👉 myself Deadline for application: 🐦 31 March 2026 (early bird fee) 1/🧵 www.ru.nl/en/education...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniNEW: In January 2024, a man purchased Meta's newly AI-infused smart glasses. He went on to experience a devastating break with reality that played out across Meta platforms — with Meta AI as his companion, entertaining and affirming his worsening delusional beliefs. futurism.com/artificial-i...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini"The sweeping study... found that using AI in education can 'undermine children's foundational development' and that 'the damages it has already caused are daunting.'" They include limiting kids' cognitive, social, and emotional developmen, and increasing inequity. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...
- kinda proud that my middle schooler sent this to me 🤣
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniAbolish ice is about to become a centrist position
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThe IRS is effectively unable to audit private equity, venture capital, and real estate investment firms. Thousands of workers have been fired from the agency since DOGE and the world's richest man took an ax to it. Now audits of these giant enterprises have dropped 80 or 90%.
- I needed some good news this evening—Bandcamp's guidelines for generative AI in music and audio blog.bandcamp.com/2026/01/13/k...
- "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp. "Any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited in accordance with our existing policies prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement."
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini@emilymbender.bsky.social Hi Emily (love your book!), we are a group of Vancouver parents that have started a petition to push back against local school board plans to deploy Microsoft Copilot into classrooms. It would help so much if you could share it 🙏 actionnetwork.org/petitions/vo...
- I'm so excited about this event starting in 8 minutes!!!!
- Also mark your calendar for the third reading circle as @nobugsnous.bsky.social, @vymanivannan.bsky.social, & Travis Margoni will facilitate a workshop on applying these conversations to the teaching of writing. Happening on Monday, Jan 12, 4–5 PM ET! my.ncte.org/event-inform...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniI've been shouting about this since Google first floated the idea of LLMs as a replacement for search in 2021. Synthetic text is not a suitable tool for information access! buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch... /fin (for now)
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThis is absolutely what happened.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniAs someone who has reported on deepfakes for years now, I’ve had a few moments while reporting on Grok where I feel sick to my stomach thinking about the continued escalation of sexual abuse with this technology and where it’s going. We’re not ready for this. And it didn’t have to be this way.
- As fucked up as it is true
- Getting ready for #MLA26
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniThis was published in the dead week between Christmas and New Year’s. If you work in education & were, reasonably, taking a break, maybe you missed it. Don’t miss it.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniIncreasingly convinced that ChatGPT should be shut down and its CEO should be charged as an accessory to many, many crimes.
- Happening next week!! Get ready for the Spring semester with our third CCCC Reading Circle on Land, Labor, Water and Writing: The Costs of Generative AI in the Writing Classroom, Mon 1/12 at 4–5 PM Eastern. Register here: my.ncte.org/event-inform...
- Also mark your calendar for the third reading circle as @nobugsnous.bsky.social, @vymanivannan.bsky.social, & Travis Margoni will facilitate a workshop on applying these conversations to the teaching of writing. Happening on Monday, Jan 12, 4–5 PM ET! my.ncte.org/event-inform...
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniI am, once again, struck by the poverty of examples of how AI will meaningfully improve student learning. If anyone thinks these relatively simplistic tasks are the key to education revolution, I invite them to join me on a tour of literally any American school district to reassess their position.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-FranchiniI was wondering what Mamdani's first executive order would be, and I'm not disappointed by this. He has wiped off the books EVERY Eric Adams executive order issued on or after September 26, 2024, the day Adams was indicted on federal bribery charges.
- Reposted by Jennifer Sano-Franchini@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and Rawa Duwaji on Inauguration Day, January 1, 2035, NYC City Hall! More pictures coming soon - I took a bunch and everyone was beautiful! Happy New Year, friends. We're gonna win.
