David Gunkel
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davidgunkel.bsky.social
David Gunkel
@davidgunkel.bsky.social

Professor - Northern Illinois University (USA). Award-winning author of the books The Machine Question, Robot Rights, Person-Thing-Robot, Of Remixology, and Deconstruction. https://gunkelweb.com

David J. Gunkel is an American academic and Presidential Teaching Professor of Communication Studies at Northern Illinois University. He teaches courses in web design and programming, information and communication technology (ICT), and cyberculture. His research and publications examine the philosophical assumptions and ethical consequences of ICT. .. more

Neuroscience 27%
Computer science 13%
Pinned
Professional Raison d'être:
I apply the theory and practice of #Deconstruction to emerging technology (#Algorithms, #AI, #robots, etc.), overturning and disrupting the traditional binary oppositions by which we have made sense of our tools and ourselves. mitpress.mit.edu/978026254247...
Deconstruction
An accessible introduction to a concept often considered impossibly abstruse, demonstrating its power as a conceptual tool in the twenty-first century.This v...
mitpress.mit.edu

Everyone cheats at this game. It's SOP for the field.

"Spit Out a Hit, You Mother-Fucking Machine"
This one's for Breaking Rust
gunkelweb.com/BigDada

@pabloredux.bsky.social this one is especially for you.

- Gaming the System -
New preprint of a book chapter that will appear in 2026 about the role of games and gaming in the research and development of #AI. Now available from @ssrn.bsky.social . dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...

Always a good place to start.

And the beat goes on...
"No electric guitars!" - Newport Folk Festival 1967
"No synthesizers!" - Queen 1975
"No sampling!" - @henryrollins21361.bsky.social 2007
"No AI!" - Rick Beato et al. 2025

already did

Can #AI Truly be Considered an Artist?
My interview with John Williams on @WGNRadio about #GenerativeAI music in general and the Breaking Rust #AI hit in particular. wgnradio.com/john-william...

My interview on @kcbsradio.bsky.social about the Breaking Rust #AI generated country hit "Walk My Walk" and the opportunities/challenges of #GenAI music.
www.audacy.com/podcast/kcbs...

Business Ethics + Technological Determinism = #AIEthics

Because of reports about Breaking Rust's "Walk My Walk" topping one of the @billboard.com charts, this week has been the week for interviews about #AI generated music. Yesterday I was on @wifr.com TV, today it was @kcbsradio.bsky.social, and Friday it will be @wgnradio.bsky.social

Communicative #AI 🇸🇪
On Monday 8 December 2025, I will be presenting "Does Writing have a Future?" at @sodertornshogskola.bsky.social
sh.se/kalender/kal...

When what has been Zuhandenheit flips over into Vorhandenheit. OpenAI is now having its own @awscloud.bsky.social moment.

Another way to say it: The self-assured subject of modern philosophy--the Cartesian cogito ergo sum--has never been fully (self) present to itself as itself. This has been one of the principal insights of psychoanalysis in both its Freudian and Lacanian flavors.

Only premium users have the opportunity to chat with Satan. That certainly tracks.

I've been suspicious of this for quite some time. But instead of limiting phone usage, perhaps we need to change the kinds of questions that define the pub quiz.

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

The Moral Lines We Draw Aren’t What We Think

Dr. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social shows how our ethical boundaries — from pets to insects to AI — are social choices, not fixed truths. And those choices matter more than ever.

▶️ Full episode: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#AI #Ethics #Podcast

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

Why Chatbot Feelings Matter

Dr. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social explains why you can’t dismiss human emotions toward chatbots — and how this connects to AI creativity, shifting laws, and the future of human originality.

🎧 Full episode: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#AI #Chatbots #Tech #Ethics

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

Is AI Actually Thinking?

Dr. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social breaks down how prediction creates the illusion of thought. The full episode dives into creativity, originality, and the legal challenges ahead.

🔗 Listen here: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#TechPhilosophy #AIandLaw #podcast

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

The Roman “person vs thing” divide is cracking.

With Prof. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social , we ask why AI like ChatGPT can feel almost alive—and what that means for law, creativity, and how we classify machines.

🎙 Full episode: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#AI #AIEthics #TechAndSociety

Breaking Rust is getting shit for being #AI generated slop. But the fact is, every contemporary country song and every "real" country artist is a carefully constructed pop-culture artifact. #GenerativeAI just reveals the fact that recorded music has always been a simulation.

I gotta get me a wig.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the album "Weird AI" from Big Dada Project is now complete and available. This accordion-driven effort consists of nine #AI generated songs about #GenerativeAI. And no accordions were harmed in the process of making it. gunkelweb.com/BigDada/

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

Humans name their cars. Next, their robots.

Dr. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social joins to explore whether AI can truly create—and what that means for human originality and law as tech blurs the lines between creator and tool.

🎧 Listen here: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#AI #Robotics #Ethics

Reposted by David J. Gunkel

The Human Habit of Seeing Robots as People

It’s instinctive, not accidental. Dr. David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social joins us to unpack why we anthropomorphize machines—and how that shapes the ethics, law, and creativity around AI.

🎧 Full episode here: youtu.be/MnxiXruwmC8

#AI #Robots #Ethics

"AI, Ethics, and the End of the Human–Machine Divide." Third and final part of my conversation with Siamak Goudarzi for the Nexter AI Group podcast. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq9f...
AI, Ethics, and the End of the Human–Machine Divide
YouTube video by Nexter AI Group
www.youtube.com

And when we finally moved out, we passed the apt to my WYRE college radio friend Leila Eminson and her then husband Martin Atkins (drummer for PiL, Killing Joke, and Pig Face), who used the rooftop deck for the first ever Jesus and the Mary Chain performance.

I had the opportunity to speak with Seth Camillo and
@carolinerisberg.bsky.social for episode #55 "Is #AI Alive?" of the www.theinternetiscrack.com podcast.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnxi...
#55 Is AI Alive?: A Conversation With Dr. David Gunkel
YouTube video by The Internet is Crack
www.youtube.com

@blaiseaguera.bsky.social was just talking about this during the #AI Welfare event at Google. It's fascinating stuff, and I will certainly be including it in future conversations about this thing we call "intelligence."

"Empathy, Ethics & Robot Rights: How AI Changes What It Means to Be Human" - Part two of my conversation with Siamak Goudarzi for the Nexter AI Group podcast.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2zK...
Empathy, Ethics & Robot Rights: How AI Changes What It Means to Be Human | Gunkel × Goudarzi Part 2
YouTube video by Nexter AI Group
www.youtube.com