Michael Black
@mblack.us
Reposted by Michael Black
Interested content creators? Gossip about YouTube's algorithm? Academic articles with unnecessary long titles?
"Algorithmic Anthropomorphizing, Platform Gossip, and Backlashes: Aspirational Content Creators’ Narratives About YouTube’s Algorithm on Reddit"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
"Algorithmic Anthropomorphizing, Platform Gossip, and Backlashes: Aspirational Content Creators’ Narratives About YouTube’s Algorithm on Reddit"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Algorithmic Anthropomorphizing, Platform Gossip, and Backlashes: Aspirational Content Creators’ Narratives About YouTube’s Algorithm on Reddit - John R. Gallagher, Antonia Pecoraro Hernandez, 2025
This paper examines how aspirational content creators (ACCs) on the r/NewTubers subreddit forum understand and discuss YouTube’s algorithm. This study employs t...
journals.sagepub.com
April 12, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Interested content creators? Gossip about YouTube's algorithm? Academic articles with unnecessary long titles?
"Algorithmic Anthropomorphizing, Platform Gossip, and Backlashes: Aspirational Content Creators’ Narratives About YouTube’s Algorithm on Reddit"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
"Algorithmic Anthropomorphizing, Platform Gossip, and Backlashes: Aspirational Content Creators’ Narratives About YouTube’s Algorithm on Reddit"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Michael Black
related to the view among the professional commentariat that only students at ivys and boutique liberal arts colleges actually matter
This elitist view that only rich/Ivy/private school kids should study/have access the liberal arts is so deeply ingrained in so many highly educated Democrats’ views (including tons who majored in the lib arts themselves) that they don’t even realize they hold it, let alone how ugly & elitist it is
(3) But the Democrat view is also bad: while it's fine for people at Princeton and Harvard to study Latin and Sanskrit, public higher education is about job training and $ ROI. There is no room for the idea that curiosity-driven inquiry is a good that should be supported by the public.
February 13, 2026 at 8:03 PM
related to the view among the professional commentariat that only students at ivys and boutique liberal arts colleges actually matter
Reposted by Michael Black
there are no shortage of places were one can wax dreamily on about LLMs if you're so inclined; we don't have to force the predominant Bluesky currents to conform
February 13, 2026 at 4:27 PM
there are no shortage of places were one can wax dreamily on about LLMs if you're so inclined; we don't have to force the predominant Bluesky currents to conform
Reposted by Michael Black
the "it's impossible to have a conversation about AI right now" folks need to grok that a huge volume of that furor is entirely justified rage at the fact tech oligarchs purchased an automated murder autocracy; rage that's good and useful and deserves a generous berth in the months and years to come
February 13, 2026 at 4:25 PM
the "it's impossible to have a conversation about AI right now" folks need to grok that a huge volume of that furor is entirely justified rage at the fact tech oligarchs purchased an automated murder autocracy; rage that's good and useful and deserves a generous berth in the months and years to come
The abundance-ing will continue until morale improves
Healey rolls out ChatGPT-powered AI assistant to help 40,000 state workers - The Boston Globe
Massachusetts plans to make the digital tool available to all 40,000 employees in the state's executive branch.
www.bostonglobe.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:39 PM
The abundance-ing will continue until morale improves
Reposted by Michael Black
I am so excited too!! Noami Klein is my hero. I will be fangirling hard.
📣On March 12, ‘Empire of AI’ author @karenhao.bsky.social joins @naomiaklein.bsky.social to lay out the stakes for the most consequential tech arms race in history, and the role we can all play to ensure that AI benefits everyone.
🎟️Tickets: tinyurl.com/EmpireOfAI
🗓️ March 12, 7:30-9:00PM
🎟️Tickets: tinyurl.com/EmpireOfAI
🗓️ March 12, 7:30-9:00PM
February 13, 2026 at 3:08 AM
I am so excited too!! Noami Klein is my hero. I will be fangirling hard.
Reposted by Michael Black
Because ChatGPT is going to be selling CSAM for profit by the end of the year.
February 12, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Because ChatGPT is going to be selling CSAM for profit by the end of the year.
Reposted by Michael Black
important to remember that these things are not inevitable
Coincidentally, surveillance backlash is my DJ name.
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
Flock off
www.theverge.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:38 PM
important to remember that these things are not inevitable
Reposted by Michael Black
People on the left generally seem to have a better understanding of the risks of AI than this thread does: for example, many on the left understand how capital will use AI (whether it works or not) to attempt mass job cuts. The hype is immaterial at this point, this has already begun.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 9:55 PM
People on the left generally seem to have a better understanding of the risks of AI than this thread does: for example, many on the left understand how capital will use AI (whether it works or not) to attempt mass job cuts. The hype is immaterial at this point, this has already begun.
Reposted by Michael Black
what makes something "vulnerable to AI" is not the capacity of machines but the credulity of management.
Of course, it is also true that historians jobs may in practice be vulnerable to AI, because a lot of people who control the money for historian jobs probably haven’t thought much about where history comes from, either.
February 11, 2026 at 8:39 PM
what makes something "vulnerable to AI" is not the capacity of machines but the credulity of management.
Reposted by Michael Black
sorry i missed the virtual meeting on discord, liz. i got hit with the id verification that happens when the app detects youre young
February 10, 2026 at 7:51 PM
sorry i missed the virtual meeting on discord, liz. i got hit with the id verification that happens when the app detects youre young
Reposted by Michael Black
one chatbot told a participant in this study to go lay down in the dark when he was presenting with a brain hemorrhage... what are we even doing
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Chatbots Make Terrible Doctors, New Study Finds
Chatbots provided incorrect, conflicting medical advice, researchers found: “Despite all the hype, AI just isn't ready to take on the role of the physician.”
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
one chatbot told a participant in this study to go lay down in the dark when he was presenting with a brain hemorrhage... what are we even doing
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Reposted by Michael Black
"This promise of an AI future is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." -- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social
Setting aside time to watch this whole panel, someday soon.
Setting aside time to watch this whole panel, someday soon.
Professor Warns That the Wealthy Are Trying to Use AI to Seize Control of Everything
Renowned sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom says that AI is a tool for the rich to cement control over society.
futurism.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:23 PM
"This promise of an AI future is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." -- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social
Setting aside time to watch this whole panel, someday soon.
Setting aside time to watch this whole panel, someday soon.
Reposted by Michael Black
This is Smartwashing AI. Many know that the econ & political conditions that enable the tech industry to infiltrate every sector of public & private life are unsustainable & dangerous. But bc resistance is cast as emotional or archaic a cottage industry of wishful thinking from the left has emerged.
I think part of this is academic-brain. We've disciplined ourselves into believing that refusal or simply identifying something as irredeemable are not respectable intellectual positions. Instead, the clever posture is to wishcast a scenario on to which we can project our own smart version of sthing
February 9, 2026 at 1:01 PM
This is Smartwashing AI. Many know that the econ & political conditions that enable the tech industry to infiltrate every sector of public & private life are unsustainable & dangerous. But bc resistance is cast as emotional or archaic a cottage industry of wishful thinking from the left has emerged.
Reposted by Michael Black
Reposted by Michael Black
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Michael Black
Scholars envisioning a radical progressive future enabled by LLMs.
February 7, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Scholars envisioning a radical progressive future enabled by LLMs.
Reposted by Michael Black
"But I can't afford to hire a human artist for my business!"
Then you can't afford a business.
Then you can't afford a business.
February 5, 2026 at 11:40 PM
"But I can't afford to hire a human artist for my business!"
Then you can't afford a business.
Then you can't afford a business.
Reposted by Michael Black
Chatbots offer a magnificent bribe - a fast, frictionless route to information that bypasses the discomfort of learning. In this op-ed, we describe this as a Faustian bargain, in which we trade away what it means to be human & universities trade away their value
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
Learning is complex, messy, emotional: AI can’t replicate that
ChatGPT and other AI tools may seem irresistible. But educators should beware, as they could end up trading away the thing that gives them value — the rich experience of slow learning
www.irishexaminer.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Chatbots offer a magnificent bribe - a fast, frictionless route to information that bypasses the discomfort of learning. In this op-ed, we describe this as a Faustian bargain, in which we trade away what it means to be human & universities trade away their value
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
Reposted by Michael Black
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
Reposted by Michael Black
I legit don’t know if I will ever get past this ad I saw walking to an appt this morning in soho. And yes, it’s a company that uses human sounding AI voice bots to take over your customer service calls.
February 5, 2026 at 4:44 PM
I legit don’t know if I will ever get past this ad I saw walking to an appt this morning in soho. And yes, it’s a company that uses human sounding AI voice bots to take over your customer service calls.
Reposted by Michael Black
There's something very important in this from @alondra.bsky.social about how a government of bosses understands its relationship to AI: as a means to avoid preexisting, even nominal, deference to popular deliberation or expert consultation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
February 6, 2026 at 1:23 AM
There's something very important in this from @alondra.bsky.social about how a government of bosses understands its relationship to AI: as a means to avoid preexisting, even nominal, deference to popular deliberation or expert consultation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Michael Black
And instead of seeking out our expertise on AI, which would lead us to abolish it in education, we are asked to be part of a Center of Huambities and AI (or whatever). This is how institutions neutralize dissent.
February 4, 2026 at 2:02 PM
And instead of seeking out our expertise on AI, which would lead us to abolish it in education, we are asked to be part of a Center of Huambities and AI (or whatever). This is how institutions neutralize dissent.
Reposted by Michael Black
this is obvious, but not so obvious that we don’t hear every day about how some new tech improves learning, rather than merely mitigating, slightly if at all, the harm that current norms inflict
February 4, 2026 at 4:55 PM
this is obvious, but not so obvious that we don’t hear every day about how some new tech improves learning, rather than merely mitigating, slightly if at all, the harm that current norms inflict
Reposted by Michael Black
A problem is that there are many of us who read about, research, and publish on AI (and have been doing so for years), but the university puts us on the same playing field of decision-making about it with those who have not.
I’m gonna name it. This isn’t a case of “legitimately differing opinions.” It is blatant professorial malpractice to adopt/allow genAI (or really *any* new edtech) just b/c we are told that we must. Especially in the humanities classroom, the only “ethical use” or reasonable stance is to keep it out
February 4, 2026 at 1:53 PM
A problem is that there are many of us who read about, research, and publish on AI (and have been doing so for years), but the university puts us on the same playing field of decision-making about it with those who have not.