Ruth Ann Smalley

Post 45: Time to Reflect

"Today we're just operating in what must be a smidgen of all of the time that ever existed." Dr. Kyle Powys White Unless we're in a bubble or in deep denial, most of us are aware that we're being subjected to an

Post 44: Where Is Your Attention Going?

Have you heard someone say, or perhaps said yourself, lately, "I'm struggling to read books or longer articles anymore"? Often followed by, "I'm distracted . . . I'm just scrolling . . . I'm having trouble concentrating." There are many possible reasons for this.

Post 43: Retracing Our Steps

Two weeks ago, I promised to put together a directory of topics for my Throughlines essays. But life happened, the red hat called to me, other deadlines intervened. Last week's post about the Norwegian resistance hats did serve as a chance to offer a roundup of all the

United, We Won't Unravel

Unless, of course, we do so in order to create something entirely new. I meant (and failed) to keep it short and sweet this week so I could get back to finishing up the Norwegian resistance hat I'm knitting. Maybe you've heard about them? Traditionally associated

Wayfinding

The big dipper and Orion's belt are the only two constellations I can reliably locate without help. I'm also pretty directionally-challenged. In pre-smartphone times in unfamiliar cities I have more than once headed off in the exact opposite direction of my destination. I'

Taking Action

"Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it" attributed to Gandhi This was not the essay I'd planned to write today. But it demanded that I sit down and work it out. It's runs long, because I

Defying Obsolescence: Human Agency and AI

The devastation seems to intensify with each succeeding week. From the streets of U.S. cities to the leadership of other countries, people are rushing to put out the fires started by this president and the other arsonists responsible for Project 2025. The decision about what to focus on for

Against Abandonment

"The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out." James Baldwin, Nothing Personal I've been slow-reading Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care ever since

#37: The Luxury of Looking

"I think, that we should have the luxury of observing one object slowly. I hope, that my sculptures could be such soul-resting objects." Kinga Földi, fiber artist Last week, I shared an essay by L.M. Sacasas, entitled "Lonely Surfaces: On AI-generated Images." I

Engaging with Other Minds: More on Art, Activism, AI

"I suppose, then, that these are the sorts of questions I have for us just now as we navigate the flood of machine-generated media: How will AI-generated images train our vision? What habit of attention does it encourage? What modes of engagement do they sustain?" L.

Mirrors Are Mere Surfaces: AI and the Arts

How much does AI training move in two directions, with the models using our output for their training, while AI's output is, in turn, also training our perceptions? Can we act to create results that are not simply superficial? I agree with AI ethicist and philosopher Shannon Vallor

Human Agency and Machine Thinking

"Still, AI doesn't have to help us save the world to be a socially legitimate technology. As long as the objectives and outputs of AI models are transparent and contestable, their benefits, costs, and risks justly distributed, and their environmental footprints justifiable, AI systems have a place