Glenn Mackin
@glennmackin.bsky.social
Political theorist at a music school, writing about politics and aesthetics; runner, cyclist, dog-lover, tea obsessive; will likely post about some or all of these. Or maybe something else!
I have been trying so, so hard to maintain my blissful ignorance of who Olivia Nuzzi is
November 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I have been trying so, so hard to maintain my blissful ignorance of who Olivia Nuzzi is
I teach humanities at a music school, which adds another layer to this: they often view these technologies as stealing/degrading their work and making it impossible for them to make a living. I introduce AI by exploring AI music composition. The issue is close to home for them.
November 27, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I teach humanities at a music school, which adds another layer to this: they often view these technologies as stealing/degrading their work and making it impossible for them to make a living. I introduce AI by exploring AI music composition. The issue is close to home for them.
Right. A key theme in my courses now concerns questions about the political practices/experiences by which we encounter/create a common world, as well as what is it about human thinking/writing that is different from what LLMs do (I also have a lot of militant anti-AI students in my classes)
November 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Right. A key theme in my courses now concerns questions about the political practices/experiences by which we encounter/create a common world, as well as what is it about human thinking/writing that is different from what LLMs do (I also have a lot of militant anti-AI students in my classes)
I think this description is spot on. In the cases I'm thinking about, the students really have no capacity to tell the difference between their thinking and AI. They're not "using" AI, either well or poorly. They don't know how to write or think without it.
November 27, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I think this description is spot on. In the cases I'm thinking about, the students really have no capacity to tell the difference between their thinking and AI. They're not "using" AI, either well or poorly. They don't know how to write or think without it.
In any case, since I teach first-year writing classes, this is now my central challenge
November 27, 2025 at 2:56 PM
In any case, since I teach first-year writing classes, this is now my central challenge
I'm already encountering students who quite literally have no idea how to compose even the most basic writing without ChatGPT
November 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I'm already encountering students who quite literally have no idea how to compose even the most basic writing without ChatGPT
I'm in the same boat. The struggle is real. Courage.
a woman in a black and white dress is standing in front of a door making a funny face .
Alt: a woman in a black and white dress is standing in front of a door making a funny face, raising her fist and saying "courage"
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I'm in the same boat. The struggle is real. Courage.
You can really see the how he became the world's first trillionaire. I mean, it's like, it's like, epic. Mind blowing. And the thing, it's like, nuts, he just keeps getting stronger. It's fucking beyond belief. I mean, like, eventually it's just going to be like, holy fuck. I, yeah. Just. Wow.
November 24, 2025 at 7:50 PM
You can really see the how he became the world's first trillionaire. I mean, it's like, it's like, epic. Mind blowing. And the thing, it's like, nuts, he just keeps getting stronger. It's fucking beyond belief. I mean, like, eventually it's just going to be like, holy fuck. I, yeah. Just. Wow.
Reminiscent of the "shop-ins" that welfare rights activists in the 1960s engaged in to protest the denial of store credit to people receiving welfare
November 23, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reminiscent of the "shop-ins" that welfare rights activists in the 1960s engaged in to protest the denial of store credit to people receiving welfare
I'm wondering, though, what you think Trump got out of this meeting that he wanted? I can see how Mamdani got what he wanted, but I'm not sure what Trump wanted or why playing nice gave it to him.
November 21, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I'm wondering, though, what you think Trump got out of this meeting that he wanted? I can see how Mamdani got what he wanted, but I'm not sure what Trump wanted or why playing nice gave it to him.
Precisely right. There may be a time for the dramatic confrontation; but there is also a time for tactical maneuvering, etc. Mamdani's job is not to go viral with a cool verbal jab. It's to serve his constituents and help build a world worth living in.
November 21, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Precisely right. There may be a time for the dramatic confrontation; but there is also a time for tactical maneuvering, etc. Mamdani's job is not to go viral with a cool verbal jab. It's to serve his constituents and help build a world worth living in.