Hey yeah in the midst of all the hype and the strikes, can we PLEASE fucking talk about this
KOKOBOT - The Airbnb-Owned Tech Startup - Data Mining Tumblr Users' Mental Health Crises for "Content"
I got this message from a bot, and honestly? If I was a bit younger and not such a jaded bitch with a career in tech, I might have given it an honest try. I spent plenty of time in a tough situation without access to any mental health resources as a teen, and would have been sucked right in.
Chatting right from your phone, and being connected with people who can help you? Sounds nice. Especially if you believe the testimonials they spam you with (tw suicide / self harm mention in below images)
But I was getting a weird feeling, so I went to read the legalese.
I couldn't even get through the fine-print it asked me to read and agree to, without it spamming the hell out of me. Almost like they expect people to just hit Yes? But I'm glad I stopped to read, because:
- What you say on there won't be confidential. (And for context, I tried it out and the things people were looking for help with? I didn't even feel comfortable sharing here as examples, it was all so deeply personal and painful)
- Also, what you say on there? Is now...
- Koko's intellectual property - giving them the right to use it in any way they see fit, including
- Publicly performing or displaying your "content" (also known as your mental health crisis) in any media format and in any media channel without limitation
- Do this indefinitely after you end your account with them
- Sell / share this "content" with other businesses
- Any harm you come to using Koko? That's on you.
- And Koko won't take responsibility for anything someone says to you on there (which is bleak when people are using it to spread Christianity to people in crisis)
I was curious about their business model. They're a venture-capitol based tech startup, owned by Airbnb, the famous mental health professionals with a focus on ethical business practices./s They're also begging for donations despite having already been given 2.5 million dollars in research funding. (If you want a deep dive on why people throw crazy money at tech startups, see my other post here)
They also use the data they gather from users to conduct research and publish papers. I didn't find them too interesting - other than as a good case study of "People tend to find what they are financially incentivized to find". Predictably, Koko found that Kokobot was beneficial to its users.
So yeah, being a dumbass with too much curiosity, I decided to use the Airbnb-owned Data-Mining Mental Health Chatline anyway. And if you thought it was dangerous sounding from the disclaimers? Somehow it got worse.
(trigger warning / discussions of child abuse / sexual abuse / suicide / violence below the cut - please don't read if you're not in a good place to hear about negligence around pretty horrific topics.)
Kokobot is incredibly predatory and exploitative. I wrote a post about how it exploits minors' empathy and gamifies "giving mental health advice", resulting in an unregulated mess that can only do harm to teens' mental health in the long run.
There are young people on tumblr that actively seek support from KokoBot right now, if you check the tag for recent posts. Those people did not get paid to promote it, so do not harrass them. If you can, direct them towards resources about Kokobot (like this post) that are more transparent about what this company is up to.
I’m sorry WHAT in the absolute fuck did I just read 😳
Whoohoo!
[Image ID: a tweet from Animation Guild Writers (@TAGwriters) from July 19th, 2023 that reads:
Awesome news! Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network production workers have organized to join TAG! Welcome to these heroes! Let’s celebrate! #ProductionStrong @animationguild
A long with it is an animated picture with a pink IATSE shield up in the left hand corner, a yellow spring in the top right corner, and it read PRO STRONG. There are several arms of animated characters raised with a fist. Just the arms. Each one is from a recognizable character, including Jake the Dog and I believe Jonny Bravo. Other people might be able to identify the other ones.
/End ID]
TAG's contract is up in 2024. If you're showing up for the WGA strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike, please remember to show up for them too. They're a tiny guild, they'll probably be striking, and they'll need all the help they can get!
does anyone want to be best friends that also live together and go on adventures together but like mundane adventures like ikea and target and also wants to lay our heads on each others shoulders when sleepy but also have separate bedrooms but also enjoy spending most of our free time together……. just me? ok
“this character is dead” to you maybe. I don't know where y'all live but I live in denial
Anonymous asked:
hmmmnnngh
oi fuck off youre not coming in
Anonymous asked:
i hate vegans because they never do any shadow work and live in like artificial fluorescence
I’ve been trying to understand what this means for days
after feminism wins boob plate armor is gonna make a comeback but itll be like codpieces are where its funny and sometimes the cups have little faces on them and stuff
personally im walking in the club with two golden sneering gargoyle faces on my chest
I'm using these guys, and if people don't say "What knockers!" frankly I'll lose all faith in humanity.
official boob post
stop it with the yaoi
DO NOT STOP WTFFF. some people cant live without yaoi. some peoples only reason to continue living is yaoi??? besides. have you seen how much diversity there is in yaoi??? theres people of all kinds of body shapes (ukes are short, semes are tall), origins (sometimes ukes can be blonde) etc. and yaoi is a lot cuter than real life gays who are gross. so quit being a hater and dont read if you dont like... 😇
What an absolutely disgusting person you are, not only do you apply very very very simplistic and idealistic ideas of “diversity” you also fetishize and fantasize homosexuals while also being very much a homophobic individual. In short you’re a disgusting bigot and should shut the fuck up for the rest of your life.
Finding out that Elon Musk was forced out as CEO of PayPal in favor of noted vampire Peter Thiel bc Elon Musk was adamant they keep it named "X dot com" instead of Paypal unlocks so much. His space company, his literal child, and now Twitter: it's the world's most inane Rosebud. He actually bought back the URL, like a cherished childhood sled (owning the right to name a website the letter "X")
Some people told him it made more sense to have their banking company have a indicative name instead of generically being called "X" with vague allusions to being The Site For Everything, and he'll prove those fools WRONG by getting the same things yelled at him over a different website's name twenty years later
Mio Hashimoto ( contemporary Japanese sculptor, b. 1980)
Perfection. The softness. In its eyes.
Tumblr post: *literally just the word "penis"*
Tumblr staff: Wholesome content for all ages.
Tumblr post: *prepends the word "girl"*
Tumblr staff:
one day you’ll wake up at 9:30am on a Sunday w the love of ur life and you’ll make some coffee and pancakes and it’ll all be alright
come on now
me, a french smuggler: sacre bleu! it is le jerquer
