Nolen Gertz
@ethicistforhire.bsky.social
Philosophy professor @utwentephilosophy.bsky.social
Author of #NihilismAndTechnology (RLI 2018), #Nihilism (MIT 2019), #PhilosophyOfWarAndExile (Palgrave 2014)
https://www.nolengertz.com
#Philsky #Philtech #Existentialism #Phenomenology #Filmsky
Author of #NihilismAndTechnology (RLI 2018), #Nihilism (MIT 2019), #PhilosophyOfWarAndExile (Palgrave 2014)
https://www.nolengertz.com
#Philsky #Philtech #Existentialism #Phenomenology #Filmsky
Pinned
Nolen Gertz
@ethicistforhire.bsky.social
· Dec 27
Nihilism and Technology, Updated Edition
Investigating how human values mediate the design and use of new technologies, the updated edition of Nolen Gertz’s Nihilism and Technology explores the ramifications of artificial intelligence. G...
rowman.com
Thread of things I wrote this year:
1) Updated edition of my #NihilismAndTechnology book with new chapters about why AI doesn't exist, why ChatGPT shouldn't exist, and why climate change can't be solved by nihilism...
rowman.com/ISBN/9781538...
1) Updated edition of my #NihilismAndTechnology book with new chapters about why AI doesn't exist, why ChatGPT shouldn't exist, and why climate change can't be solved by nihilism...
rowman.com/ISBN/9781538...
TikTok is now under US ownership and their new ToS reads like a guide to giving fascists everything they need to put you on a list.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.
They’re collecting information about immigration status, citizenship, sexual orientation, whether you’re trans or non binary and physical or mental disabilities.
January 23, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
It's a snitch app
BREAKING: Now that TikTok is under US-based ownership, the social media app potentially collects more detailed information about its users, including precise location data.
My latest for @wired.com:
www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
My latest for @wired.com:
www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US.
www.wired.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:28 PM
It's a snitch app
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
The US government was worried China would abuse the personal data of Americans using TikTok, so required US ownership - and now Americans on TikTok will have data collected about their trans/non-binary status and immigration status. It’s in the new terms of service for the US version.
January 23, 2026 at 6:39 PM
The US government was worried China would abuse the personal data of Americans using TikTok, so required US ownership - and now Americans on TikTok will have data collected about their trans/non-binary status and immigration status. It’s in the new terms of service for the US version.
America wouldn't exist if it wasn't for France but that'll probably be left out of this year's 250th anniversary celebrations...
Rep. Greg Steube: "You see Macron and the French sending troops to Greenland. I would love to see the US military up against French troops in Greenland, because it would not last very long. It would be a very small skirmish ... we don't care about what Macron and the French want."
January 23, 2026 at 7:57 PM
America wouldn't exist if it wasn't for France but that'll probably be left out of this year's 250th anniversary celebrations...
🫧🚨🫧🚨
Technology companies issued a record $108.7 billion in corporate bonds in the last three months of 2025, according to Moody’s Analytics.
That’s the largest total for any quarter and roughly double that of the previous three months.
That’s the largest total for any quarter and roughly double that of the previous three months.
Big Tech is taking on more debt than ever to fund its AI aspirations
Technology companies issued a record $108.7 billion in bonds in the fourth quarter, a proliferation that some analysts say puts the broader economy at risk.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:13 PM
🫧🚨🫧🚨
They put me on the front page! Now I see why people were looking at me funny today...
January 23, 2026 at 5:56 PM
They put me on the front page! Now I see why people were looking at me funny today...
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
If you have read even a single history of fascism, you are already aware that one thing that its rise has in common in every case is an opposition party that refuses to intervene for fear of looking weak or putting the left into power
To quote one source:
“They’re terrified of being labeled anti–law enforcement. They want this to go away so they can talk about the cost of living more. Problem is, it’s not going away.”
prospect.org/2026/01/21/j...
“They’re terrified of being labeled anti–law enforcement. They want this to go away so they can talk about the cost of living more. Problem is, it’s not going away.”
prospect.org/2026/01/21/j...
Jeffries Won’t Whip Vote Against ICE Funding - The American Prospect
While the House Democratic leader announced personal opposition to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, he won’t pressure his colleagues to do the same.
prospect.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:46 PM
If you have read even a single history of fascism, you are already aware that one thing that its rise has in common in every case is an opposition party that refuses to intervene for fear of looking weak or putting the left into power
"The drives necessitate us in the sexual order—they come from the heart. To our great surprise, [Freud] tells us that love, on the other hand, comes from the belly, from the world of yum-yum." - Lacan (Seminar 11: 189)
January 23, 2026 at 10:42 AM
"The drives necessitate us in the sexual order—they come from the heart. To our great surprise, [Freud] tells us that love, on the other hand, comes from the belly, from the world of yum-yum." - Lacan (Seminar 11: 189)
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
ok it is easy to dunk on this,
but, we must remember, it is also v v important to do so
but, we must remember, it is also v v important to do so
January 23, 2026 at 6:59 AM
ok it is easy to dunk on this,
but, we must remember, it is also v v important to do so
but, we must remember, it is also v v important to do so
January 22, 2026 at 11:05 PM
not surprising and yet still jarring to read ex-FBI agents describing how Kash Patel and Bongino reacted to Charlie Kirk's murder while running the agency. truly the content creator administration/podcast govt www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
January 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM
It's always fun when I get asked to be the local "Trump explainer"...
New interview with me about Trump and about what it's like to be an American in Europe nowadays...
January 22, 2026 at 7:06 PM
It's always fun when I get asked to be the local "Trump explainer"...
New interview with me about Trump and about what it's like to be an American in Europe nowadays...
January 22, 2026 at 6:48 PM
New interview with me about Trump and about what it's like to be an American in Europe nowadays...
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
Interview with UT philosophy professor Nolen Gertz (@ethicistforhire.bsky.social) about Trump, ICE, NATO, and Greenland:
January 22, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Interview with UT philosophy professor Nolen Gertz (@ethicistforhire.bsky.social) about Trump, ICE, NATO, and Greenland:
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
Yesterday, I interviewed a tech guy who told me something too important for me to wait until the podcast comes out for you to hear it:
Many free AI detectors have especially high false positive rates because they make money selling software that "humanizes" writing. 1/2
Many free AI detectors have especially high false positive rates because they make money selling software that "humanizes" writing. 1/2
January 21, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Yesterday, I interviewed a tech guy who told me something too important for me to wait until the podcast comes out for you to hear it:
Many free AI detectors have especially high false positive rates because they make money selling software that "humanizes" writing. 1/2
Many free AI detectors have especially high false positive rates because they make money selling software that "humanizes" writing. 1/2
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
Our next Philofilm 🎥 screening will be UT philosophy PhD candidate Maaike van der Horst presenting the classic Ernst Lubitch comedy The Doll (1919):
www.utwente.nl/en/bms/phil/...
www.utwente.nl/en/bms/phil/...
Philofilm screening of The Doll with UT philosophy PhD candidate Maaike van der Horst
The next Philofilm at Concordia Film Theatre will be UT philosophy PhD candidate Maaike van der Horst presenting the classic Ernst Lubitch comedy The Doll:
www.utwente.nl
January 21, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Our next Philofilm 🎥 screening will be UT philosophy PhD candidate Maaike van der Horst presenting the classic Ernst Lubitch comedy The Doll (1919):
www.utwente.nl/en/bms/phil/...
www.utwente.nl/en/bms/phil/...
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
Have seen many variations of this & broadly agree—but the part that struck me in the moment wasn’t “this is a microcosm for how America sucks” — it was “this is a microcosm for trying to behave democratically & respectfully of one another in a complex, evolving situation with things we can't know.”
i feel like the viral bus thread resonates because at every step of the way you're like "ok surely this will be resolved shortly, any second now," which seems like what all the passengers are also thinking. then the fact that the situation doesn't resolve and the bus just keeps going is an Allegory
January 20, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Have seen many variations of this & broadly agree—but the part that struck me in the moment wasn’t “this is a microcosm for how America sucks” — it was “this is a microcosm for trying to behave democratically & respectfully of one another in a complex, evolving situation with things we can't know.”
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
started / going
December 18, 2025 at 12:13 AM
started / going
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
this is what I come back to as well
we wouldn't need all this EFFORT and HYPE and fucking DRAMA if this technology was even 25% as disruptive and innovative as claimed by its pitchman
we wouldn't need all this EFFORT and HYPE and fucking DRAMA if this technology was even 25% as disruptive and innovative as claimed by its pitchman
I was present for the birth of the web, the explosion of personal sites, and the blogging revolution, and you know what we never had to do? Beg people to use our shit.
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:25 AM
this is what I come back to as well
we wouldn't need all this EFFORT and HYPE and fucking DRAMA if this technology was even 25% as disruptive and innovative as claimed by its pitchman
we wouldn't need all this EFFORT and HYPE and fucking DRAMA if this technology was even 25% as disruptive and innovative as claimed by its pitchman
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
"If you watch an episode of Cheers, you might hear references to foreign filmmakers, to classical musicians, to Russian novelists. The level of assumed knowledge back then was far greater; now, TV is rarely adventurous in its allusions."
TV brain rot: The real reason television shows are getting stupider www.the-independent.com/arts-enterta...
TV brain rot: The real reason television shows are getting stupider
It’s crazy for streamers to prioritise ‘second-screen viewing’, writes Louis Chilton – but that’s not the only way TV seems to have lost faith in its audience
www.the-independent.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM
"If you watch an episode of Cheers, you might hear references to foreign filmmakers, to classical musicians, to Russian novelists. The level of assumed knowledge back then was far greater; now, TV is rarely adventurous in its allusions."
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
AI will never have wide adoption until it can deliver better accuracy than a human for a price cheaper than human labor. Right now, AI delivers neither of these things. It only offers skills to the untrained, but at a level beneath what trained individuals deliver.
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:17 AM
AI will never have wide adoption until it can deliver better accuracy than a human for a price cheaper than human labor. Right now, AI delivers neither of these things. It only offers skills to the untrained, but at a level beneath what trained individuals deliver.
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
Reposted by Nolen Gertz
This is why calling them weird creeps was so effective, not just to damage the leadership psychologically, but to make it extremely socially embarrassing to be a known supporter of them in the general public. The point is to make society at large view them as they are, not the force they wish to be.
New polling data shows that it's getting increasingly embarrassing to identify as a Republican, and some Trump voters are slinking away and pretending it never happened.
www.salon.com/2026/01/19/s...
www.salon.com/2026/01/19/s...
Some Trump voters are sneaking away
They'll never admit they're wrong, but polling reveals quiet GOP regret
www.salon.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:31 PM
This is why calling them weird creeps was so effective, not just to damage the leadership psychologically, but to make it extremely socially embarrassing to be a known supporter of them in the general public. The point is to make society at large view them as they are, not the force they wish to be.