Matthew Kirschenbaum
@mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Critical tech and AI. Cats, letterpress printing, tabletop gaming.
Distinguished University Professor at UMD; come January, Commonwealth Professor at UVA.
I am speaking only for myself and as a private citizen here. Being a dick gets you blocked.
Distinguished University Professor at UMD; come January, Commonwealth Professor at UVA.
I am speaking only for myself and as a private citizen here. Being a dick gets you blocked.
Pinned
Wanted to share here that I have accepted an endowed chair offer from my Alma mater, the University of Virginia, where (after 25 wonderful years at UMD) I will be starting in January as Commonwealth Professor of Artificial Intelligence and English.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
We @uam-umd.bsky.social won. Faculty packed town halls, talked to their colleagues and collected hundreds of petition signatures. Now UMD is coughing up $8.75m, during a deficit, to fund faculty whose research is under attack. Not enough, but a helluva thing for a union the state calls illegal.
$8.75M Investment Supports ‘Research Resilience’… | Maryland Today
UMD, MPower Funds Combine to Help Preserve Institutional Capabilities, Lab Operations and More
today.umd.edu
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
We @uam-umd.bsky.social won. Faculty packed town halls, talked to their colleagues and collected hundreds of petition signatures. Now UMD is coughing up $8.75m, during a deficit, to fund faculty whose research is under attack. Not enough, but a helluva thing for a union the state calls illegal.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
Cornell College, which was down the road from where I grew up, is now axing much of the "liberal arts" from its so-called "liberal arts college."
Languages offer lifelong benefits and teach us humility, how to grapple with difference, and the structures of culture and thought.
Shameful!!
Languages offer lifelong benefits and teach us humility, how to grapple with difference, and the structures of culture and thought.
Shameful!!
For my fellow Cornell College alumni, of which I know there are several here, they're killing numerous majors on campus and further diluting the purpose of being a liberal arts school.
No languages! No classics! No religion!
news.cornellcollege.edu/2025/11/2026...
No languages! No classics! No religion!
news.cornellcollege.edu/2025/11/2026...
news.cornellcollege.edu
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Cornell College, which was down the road from where I grew up, is now axing much of the "liberal arts" from its so-called "liberal arts college."
Languages offer lifelong benefits and teach us humility, how to grapple with difference, and the structures of culture and thought.
Shameful!!
Languages offer lifelong benefits and teach us humility, how to grapple with difference, and the structures of culture and thought.
Shameful!!
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
My friend, the DOGE lads didn’t undergo background checks or security clearances. They were allegedly being badged in by whoever. You really think anyone was pausing at 1800 F St NW to sign in before destroying careers, looting government data, or sleeping on expensive mattresses on the 6th floor?
Have any of you ever FOIAed visitor logs at an agency? I realized I should have FOIAed OPM and GSA, given the reports of DOGE workers from other agencies working there, but is that going to be fruitful at any point soon?
November 25, 2025 at 1:45 AM
My friend, the DOGE lads didn’t undergo background checks or security clearances. They were allegedly being badged in by whoever. You really think anyone was pausing at 1800 F St NW to sign in before destroying careers, looting government data, or sleeping on expensive mattresses on the 6th floor?
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
R.I.P. TrumpCare (2:12 pm, November 24, 2025 - 2:14 pm, November 24, 2025)
You will not be mourned.
You will not be mourned.
absolutely incredible -- CNN host introduces a segment about Trump's "new healthcare proposal," but less than two minutes later breaks into her script to announce "breaking news" that Trump's healthcare proposal is being postponed
November 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM
R.I.P. TrumpCare (2:12 pm, November 24, 2025 - 2:14 pm, November 24, 2025)
You will not be mourned.
You will not be mourned.
I’m sure I’m gonna get dragged for this, but I think Trump is bad. Trump has completely ruined American democracy and he’s created a lot more slop that needs to be avoided on the Internet.
I’m sure I’m gonna get dragged for this, but I think AI is bad. AI has completely ruined Google search and it’s created a lot more slop that needs to be avoided on the Internet.
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I’m sure I’m gonna get dragged for this, but I think Trump is bad. Trump has completely ruined American democracy and he’s created a lot more slop that needs to be avoided on the Internet.
Per the @thedbk.bsky.social, UMD international student enrollment down almost 7% for Fall 2026.
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Per the @thedbk.bsky.social, UMD international student enrollment down almost 7% for Fall 2026.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
a Friday surprise! my beloved book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, is now officially back in print AND ON SALE! #othernetworks if you know folks who have been trying to track down a copy, I'd love it if you'd repost shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898...
Lori Emerson - Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. Mexican Summer & Anthology.
Buy Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook by Lori Emerson on Mexican Summer & Anthology.
shop.mexicansummer.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:11 PM
a Friday surprise! my beloved book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, is now officially back in print AND ON SALE! #othernetworks if you know folks who have been trying to track down a copy, I'd love it if you'd repost shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898...
Have the first line of my talk on “Grok is an Epistemic Weapon”:
Back last November, acclaimed American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt Elon Musk’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.
Back last November, acclaimed American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt Elon Musk’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.
November 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Have the first line of my talk on “Grok is an Epistemic Weapon”:
Back last November, acclaimed American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt Elon Musk’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.
Back last November, acclaimed American novelist Joyce Carol Oates hurt Elon Musk’s feelings by tweeting something mean about him.
The fuck-your-feelings elections-have-consequences crowd is not coping well today.
First of all, what's wrong (let alone "corrupt" or "outrageous political abuse") about a governor appointing people and wanting to see them confirmed? Second, what's a "crass northern state" and what does that have to do with anything? bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sund...
November 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM
The fuck-your-feelings elections-have-consequences crowd is not coping well today.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
This. To say nothing of the destroyed careers and livelihoods, the abandoned research, and the probably irreparable trust defect for anyone who *might* have been contemplating a career in public service. Please, stop with the DOGE failure narratives.
DOGE did everything they were supposed to do and have already killed almost 700,000 people including 430,000 children, as intended. DOGE is one of the most successful anti-democracy, mass-murder campaigns we've ever seen, and we will be dealing with the consequences of their success for generations.
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
November 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
This. To say nothing of the destroyed careers and livelihoods, the abandoned research, and the probably irreparable trust defect for anyone who *might* have been contemplating a career in public service. Please, stop with the DOGE failure narratives.
So the question to ask is not why did the wicked consultants use AI, but rather what is the scriptural economy in which one pays $1.6 million for a 526-page report that is guaranteed to have a readership of, I’m spitballing, exactly zero. This is not “research” or “writing,” it’s a *transaction*.
from government by consultant to government by consultants using generative AI.
decades of degrading government capacity to actually govern has left it open to further degradation through ai hype and perceptions it enables further cost cutting.
decades of degrading government capacity to actually govern has left it open to further degradation through ai hype and perceptions it enables further cost cutting.
Major N.L. healthcare report contains errors likely generated by A.I. – The Independent
$1.6 million Health Human Resources Plan from Deloitte cites research papers that don’t exist, making it the second major government policy paper called into question in as many months
theindependent.ca
November 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
So the question to ask is not why did the wicked consultants use AI, but rather what is the scriptural economy in which one pays $1.6 million for a 526-page report that is guaranteed to have a readership of, I’m spitballing, exactly zero. This is not “research” or “writing,” it’s a *transaction*.
I know everyone is upset about Gmail’s AI thing right now, but why does nobody talk about the fact that it’s search is absolute pants
November 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I know everyone is upset about Gmail’s AI thing right now, but why does nobody talk about the fact that it’s search is absolute pants
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
This is someone who gets it.
A case that AI in the classroom needs to be addressed as a social issue rather than as an arms race.
joshuapnudell.com/2025/11/22/a...
joshuapnudell.com/2025/11/22/a...
AI in the Classroom is a Social Problem
A case that AI in the classroom needs to be addressed as a social issue rather than as an arms race.
joshuapnudell.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:10 AM
This is someone who gets it.
Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
November 23, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
It’s not knee-jerk doomerism to say it’s difficult to see the path back to the kind of normality that would admit this. All of the structural elements of Trumpism will remain intact, what @eliothiggins.bsky.social terms disordered discourse—the atomization of the public sphere—perhaps most of all.
It’s crazy to think about the crimes we’re going to learn about after this regime ends.
We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over.
We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.
We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over.
We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.
November 22, 2025 at 11:50 PM
It’s not knee-jerk doomerism to say it’s difficult to see the path back to the kind of normality that would admit this. All of the structural elements of Trumpism will remain intact, what @eliothiggins.bsky.social terms disordered discourse—the atomization of the public sphere—perhaps most of all.
AI is the perfect bureaucratic technology in that it offers effortless on-demand simulacra of governmentality.
from government by consultant to government by consultants using generative AI.
decades of degrading government capacity to actually govern has left it open to further degradation through ai hype and perceptions it enables further cost cutting.
decades of degrading government capacity to actually govern has left it open to further degradation through ai hype and perceptions it enables further cost cutting.
Major N.L. healthcare report contains errors likely generated by A.I. – The Independent
$1.6 million Health Human Resources Plan from Deloitte cites research papers that don’t exist, making it the second major government policy paper called into question in as many months
theindependent.ca
November 22, 2025 at 10:15 PM
AI is the perfect bureaucratic technology in that it offers effortless on-demand simulacra of governmentality.
This is excellent. Does anyone have the citation for the March 2024 paper referenced at 3:06, comparing ChatGPT to Jim Crow? Would like to read and assign.
I need everyone, esp anyone working in education or tech (but really everyone) to WATCH THIS CLIP of @drtanksley.bsky.social discussing the technologies infiltrating our schools & psyches and how she is addressing it with our young people. youtu.be/5mtcSL4S3HQ
Howard University AI Panel
YouTube video by Tiera Tanksley
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
This is excellent. Does anyone have the citation for the March 2024 paper referenced at 3:06, comparing ChatGPT to Jim Crow? Would like to read and assign.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
AOC on MTG retiring: "She's carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in and after making millions of dollars insider trading stocks for weapons manufacturers and others while in office."
November 22, 2025 at 2:36 PM
AOC on MTG retiring: "She's carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in and after making millions of dollars insider trading stocks for weapons manufacturers and others while in office."
👏
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries IMLS
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
librarytechnology.org/pr/31973
Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries
Press Release: Court permanently blocks Trump's executive order to dismantle federal agency for America's libraries. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down the Trump Adm...
librarytechnology.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:02 PM
👏
Um, this obviously isn’t on Marc but I hadn’t realized @chronicle.com is recycling artwork? www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Um, this obviously isn’t on Marc but I hadn’t realized @chronicle.com is recycling artwork? www.chronicle.com/article/the-...