Robin Evans 🙏@Robinzz3@aus.social

I WILL NOT BE BULLIED 💎

I received a vicious reply today because I use AI. It wasn't a disagreement. Nor a criticism. It was a full-frontal personal attack! And I’ll admit it affected me more than I expected.

I USE AI MAINLY BECAUSE I'M PARALYSED.

Typing is physically difficult for me. I have the use of only one hand. So, tapping out a post or email with one finger is exhausting. Voice and AI help me turn my own thoughts into usable writing in a normal amount of time.

THAT SHOULD NOT REQUIRE A DEFENCE.

You can dislike AI. You can distrust it. You can argue about copyright concerns, energy and water use, labour, culture, or anything else that concerns you. I will listen to you and answer you.

But attacking people simply for using AI is not principled.

IT'S BULLYING.

And disabled people should not have to produce a medical justification every time they use a technology that makes their life easier.

AI is a tool. How it is used matters. Who gets harmed matters. Context matters. What does not help is turning “AI user” into a moral accusation and deciding that cruelty is suddenly acceptable.

I’m quite happy to discuss the technology with anyone.

HOWEVER, I WILL NOT BE BULLIED FOR USING IT.

I didn't need to do anything about the attack. Before I could even decide how to respond, both the post and the person disappeared from my notifications.

@3goodthings
@DigitalCoup
@meditation
@economics_that_works
@startrek

#AI #Accessibility #Disability #AssistiveTechnology #Fediverse #Bullying #PWD #Tool

André Polykanine@menelion@caneandable.social

Replying to @⁨Robinzz3@aus.social⁩

@Robinzz3 That's what I'm constantly talking about. Fediverse is said to be a super mega fluffy welcoming sweet place, but only for a group of people with certain political and world views. As soon as you disagree, you are called a fascist, a nazi (never mind, they don't know what those words mean, just a way of insulting by saying "You don't agree with us, so you're evil"), and whatever else. One of the sanest (is that a word? From "sane"?) communities here is the blind people exiled from Twitter because Musk banned third-party clients. We are not angels either of course, and among us there are lots of different people with different views, but at least our being here is not political, it's a necessity (much like your use of AI — and mine, sometimes, too, although I'm pro-AI). Anyway, sorry for such a long post, just wanted to say hello and to reassure you a bit. Stay strong!

en
Robin Evans 🙏@Robinzz3@aus.social

Replying to @⁨menelion@caneandable.social⁩

@menelion

Thank you, André. I appreciate the reassurance.

I think the bit that matters most to me is simply this: people can disagree strongly without turning each other into enemies.

I don’t expect the Fediverse, or anywhere else, to be perfectly welcoming. I just value the people who can say, “I see this differently,” without deciding that the person on the other side is therefore contemptible.

That makes a huge difference.