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Allison Pugh

@allisonpugh.bsky.social

1.6K followers 230 following 130 posts

Care, Tech, Culture, Inequality. Check out The Last Human Job re the "scaling up" of humane work @PrincetonUPress. Johns Hopkins sociologist

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Dec 10

Still grateful for and honored by this piece, posted here ICYMI

Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/o...

Opinion | Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good

We’re increasingly becoming a society in which very wealthy people get human care, like concierge medicine and private schools with tiny class sizes.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Allison Pugh

Jennifer Sertl @jennifersertl.bsky.social · 1d

In Defense of Being Human aeon.co/essays/our-c... with @allisonpugh.bsky.social #LastHumanJob #digitalwthics

Our crisis is not loneliness but human beings becoming invisible | Aeon Essays

Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being

aeon.co

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American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · 3d

Allison J. Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jhu.edu received the 2025 Distinguished Scholarly Book Award during the ASA 2025 Annual Meeting for her book The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World. @princetonupress.bsky.social

#ASA #sociology #ASA2025

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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 4d

Next week, attend Planetree's Person-Centered Care Global Forum to see keynote speaker @allisonpugh.bsky.social, author of The Last Human Job. The Forum will run October 12th-15th, with Pugh speaking on the 14th at 9:00 am and 10:45 am EDT.

Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz

The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World by Allison Pugh

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Adam Harris Smith (#opentowork) @dradamame.bsky.social · 8d

I regret to inform you … that knowing stuff is not enough. The shift to Medicine (or … cough … education) as ALSO (not only) relational seems to be slow in coming. Le sigh...

With “bedside manners,” At least you’ll get sued less?

@allisonpugh.bsky.social ’s “last human job” is a place to start…

Harper’s Magazine @harpers.bsky.social · 9d

“Empathy still has its skeptics. In my conversations with colleagues and students, many bristle at the implication that they need remedial education in how to feel.”

Rachel Pearson (@peopledoctor.bsky.social) on the place of empathy in medical education.

Bedside Manners, by Rachel Pearson

Can empathy be taught in medicine?

buff.ly

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · 8d

Sounds like an epitaph for our times: "longing for communion without the cost of mutuality"

Putting ChatGPT on the Couch www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Putting ChatGPT on the Couch

When I played doctor with the chatbot, the simulated patient confessed problems that are real—and that should worry all of us.

www.newyorker.com

Reposted by Allison Pugh

Jennifer Sertl @jennifersertl.bsky.social · 11d

Wanting to support intelligence behind #LastHumanJob

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

#furureofwork HT @allisonpugh.bsky.social

AI is taking on live translations. But jobs and meaning are getting lost.

New artificial intelligence-driven capabilities are expected to accelerate the shift from translation done by humans to machines.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · 13d

Today translators, tomorrow... We need to prioritize human-to-human connection.

“The more we remove human elements from human interaction, the more it could distort relationships between people. Now more than ever, we need humans connecting with humans.”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

www.washingtonpost.com

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · 14d

Thank you so much Sarah. I'm moved by what you say! It's a terrific, important book

Reposted by Allison Pugh

Sarah Mosseri @sarahmosseri.bsky.social · 14d

I first met @allisonpugh.bsky.social on the page of her book, Longing and Belonging. I was instantly mesmerized by her writing and thinking. She offered a model of what I aspired to be as a sociologist.

So grateful to have her support now as I publish my first book!

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Sheryl Weikal and the colorful Parrotlegals @leftistlawyer.com · 21d

Folks, you can't report the United States to its manager. There's no superhero coming to save us.

We don't need one giant act of heroism. We need millions of small acts of solidarity. Help one person in your community for nothing in return. Then, do it again. And again.

That's the revolution.

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · 22d

The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: ‘We’re not OK with our babies being born into poverty’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: ‘We’re not OK with our babies being born into poverty’

Infants in Rx Kids in Flint, Michigan, saw lower rates of prematurity and other issues, saving millions in NICU visits

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Allison Pugh

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 28d

Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔
on.ft.com/3K05vhS

When a parrot wanted to connect with a distant friend, a touchscreen showed a selection of other birds available online. The parrots learned to activate the screen, designed specially for them, by touching it gently with their tongues rather than pecking aggressively with their beaks.
"We had 26 birds involved," said Hirskyj-Douglas. "They would use the system up to three hours a day, with each call lasting up to five minutes." The interactions ranged from preening and playing with toys to loud vocal exchanges.
"When we went through the data, we found that most of these parrots had favourite friends," said Hirskyj-Douglas.

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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · Sep 5

The Last Human Job author @allisonpugh.bsky.social returned to @hiddenbrain.bsky.social to answer audience questions about connection:

Escaping Perfectionism - Hidden Brain Media

Perfectionism is everyone’s favorite flaw. It’s easy to assume that our push to be perfect is what leads to academic, athletic and professional success. But psychologist Thomas Curran says…

hiddenbrain.org

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Sep 1

Thanks to the Hidden Brain for revisiting #TheLastHumanJob! Still getting used to the personal angle that Shankar prefers: Preschool! Garlic! A false start in my dissertation! But I get how it helps the ideas come alive...

Check it out! My part starts at 50:10

hiddenbrain.org/podcast/esca...

Escaping Perfectionism - Hidden Brain Media

Perfectionism is everyone’s favorite flaw. It’s easy to assume that our push to be perfect is what leads to academic, athletic and professional success. But psychologist Thomas Curran says perfectioni...

hiddenbrain.org

Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Aug 31

OMG Julie this is the dream

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Aug 26

That's telling: "Guides are not required to have teaching licenses or an education background."

For $65,000 a year, a teacher-less AI private school comes to Virginia www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Reposted by Allison Pugh

Ardath Whynacht @ardathjean.bsky.social · Aug 17

Friendly reminder that AI data centers are working overtime to help cook the planet. If the fires are scaring you— start using ‘-AI’ at the end of all Google searches to cut out any AI response to your query. Refusal is possible & responsible.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

OpenAI will not disclose GPT-5’s energy use. It could be higher than past models

Experts working to benchmark resource use of AI models say new version’s enhanced capabilities come at a steep cost

www.theguardian.com

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Pedro Lopes @pedrolopes.org · Aug 16

"internet and the artificial neural networks that enable generative AI arose out of basic research at U.S. universities. So did the most fundamental discoveries in molecular biology, (..) potential cures for painful genetic diseases such as sickle cell." And I'd add, so so much more! Save science!

Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Aug 16

How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline

There’s a way to respond to Trump’s brutal and reckless funding cutbacks—and it doesn’t need Washington’s permission.

www.theatlantic.com

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Aug 16

How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline

There’s a way to respond to Trump’s brutal and reckless funding cutbacks—and it doesn’t need Washington’s permission.

www.theatlantic.com

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Adam Harris Smith (#opentowork) @dradamame.bsky.social · Aug 11

Congrats to @allisonpugh.bsky.social for this well-deserved honor. I'm honored that she'll be participating in an Author Q&A with our #podnetwork summer reading group tomorrow. If you'd like to join, please message me and I'll add you to the meet.
www.newswise.com/articles/the...

The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World by Allison J. Pugh Selected for ASA Book Award | Newswise

The American Sociological Association (ASA) has chosen Allison J. Pugh’s The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (Princeton University Press 2024) as the winner of the 2025 ...

www.newswise.com

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Aug 12

OMG thank you Yvonne and woah

Reposted by Allison Pugh

𝕍∃, Cyber closed shell syndrome relief fund coordinator @vortexegg.com · Aug 11

Another one is people starting fandom subreddits for their chatbot “friends” so that other people can form para-parasocial relationships with them, in a similar way to how people make social media accounts for their cats

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Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · Aug 6

Related recommended reading by @allisonpugh.bsky.social

The Last Human Job

A timely and urgent argument for preserving the work that connects us in the age of automation"A compelling case for valuing care as a societal good and as skilled labor."—The Nation

press.princeton.edu

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Mel G. @a4rdvark.bsky.social · Jul 31

I wish it was more common to acknowledge that kids are people with rights, not the property of their parents. Their consent should matter.

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Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social · Jul 31

Tracking kids is fine, but adults are not? The whole cautionary note of this reporting is about how the tech could, conceivably, be used to track adults without their knowledge. Not a whisper about the product's explicit intent re kids

techcrunch.com/2025/07/30/s...

Skechers is making kids' shoes with a hidden AirTag compartment | TechCrunch

Skechers launches kids' shoes with a built-in AirTag holder.

techcrunch.com

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