Michael Glassman
@mjg59.bsky.social
I am a professor in the College of Education at the Ohio State University. More important I am a Deweyan, which means in my case I see much of what goes on in the world through the lens created by John Dewey a century or so ago.
But like algorithms it is just something people will start throwing around - good, bad, without argument on either side. And then somebody will raise a trillion dollars claiming to create the first machine with consciousness. And John Searle will weep.
November 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
But like algorithms it is just something people will start throwing around - good, bad, without argument on either side. And then somebody will raise a trillion dollars claiming to create the first machine with consciousness. And John Searle will weep.
It is just that it is not a new idea and is not something we are going to be able to "program." The reason the Chinese room is so impactful is it raises questions beyond our grasp. It asks whether we should even ask that question.
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 PM
It is just that it is not a new idea and is not something we are going to be able to "program." The reason the Chinese room is so impactful is it raises questions beyond our grasp. It asks whether we should even ask that question.
The idea of machine consciousness was considered the same time with John Searle's Chinese room, which there are probably a hundred articles about and I have had a thousand conversations about, probably none of them really helpful in figuring this out.
November 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The idea of machine consciousness was considered the same time with John Searle's Chinese room, which there are probably a hundred articles about and I have had a thousand conversations about, probably none of them really helpful in figuring this out.
We don't call artificial intelligence AI because we thought machines can act intelligently. We call artificial intelligence AI because John McCarthy was trying to get funding for a conference in 1955 on I believe neural networks and he used the phrase, probably because it was pithy.
November 8, 2025 at 9:24 PM
We don't call artificial intelligence AI because we thought machines can act intelligently. We call artificial intelligence AI because John McCarthy was trying to get funding for a conference in 1955 on I believe neural networks and he used the phrase, probably because it was pithy.
So why am I writing now. Well I feel a need to scream into the void. An article in the New York Times about how Artificial Intelligence is going to achieve consciousness. And I felt it was just really silly.
November 8, 2025 at 9:22 PM
So why am I writing now. Well I feel a need to scream into the void. An article in the New York Times about how Artificial Intelligence is going to achieve consciousness. And I felt it was just really silly.
I don't believe social media is bad, as some do. I wrote earlier, it has the elements of hypertext which can really push humanity and democracy forward. But it needs to be used responsibly, the rules of argument, taking each other seriously and caring about what we say.
November 8, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I don't believe social media is bad, as some do. I wrote earlier, it has the elements of hypertext which can really push humanity and democracy forward. But it needs to be used responsibly, the rules of argument, taking each other seriously and caring about what we say.
There were all these accusations, implicitly saying Platner is a Nazi, over and over again. I began to question myself, was the reason I agreed with so many people simply confirmation bias? Was I a poor digital citizen until my perceptions were challenged.
November 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
There were all these accusations, implicitly saying Platner is a Nazi, over and over again. I began to question myself, was the reason I agreed with so many people simply confirmation bias? Was I a poor digital citizen until my perceptions were challenged.
From what I could find there was no corroborating evidence to suggest Platner had Nazi sympathies. But people kept the idea alive, kept repeating it. To me this is a form of bullying. And damn if the Internet did not break my heart.
November 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
From what I could find there was no corroborating evidence to suggest Platner had Nazi sympathies. But people kept the idea alive, kept repeating it. To me this is a form of bullying. And damn if the Internet did not break my heart.
Claim, evidence and warrant that ties the claim to the evidence. Rules of argumentation suggested by Stephen Toulmin, based I would argue on the work of John Dewey (we can get into an "argument" about this). But I believe if social media is going to be productive it must be through argument.
November 8, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Claim, evidence and warrant that ties the claim to the evidence. Rules of argumentation suggested by Stephen Toulmin, based I would argue on the work of John Dewey (we can get into an "argument" about this). But I believe if social media is going to be productive it must be through argument.
I admit for too many people in our society Nazi means brother. But Platner made it clear that he did not Nazism, that he did not like being called a Nazi. In Bluesky circles it is a terrible accusation. So before you make it, even implicitly, you should have evidence.
November 8, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I admit for too many people in our society Nazi means brother. But Platner made it clear that he did not Nazism, that he did not like being called a Nazi. In Bluesky circles it is a terrible accusation. So before you make it, even implicitly, you should have evidence.
It may not have been obvious to Platner either. I don't know. If you showed it to me before everything spilled over I would have said a biker tattoo. The thing is, calling somebody a Nazi is for a segment of our population is the worst thing you can say about somebody.
November 8, 2025 at 9:09 PM
It may not have been obvious to Platner either. I don't know. If you showed it to me before everything spilled over I would have said a biker tattoo. The thing is, calling somebody a Nazi is for a segment of our population is the worst thing you can say about somebody.
What made me disillusioned. It had to go with Graham Platner. People really raking him over the coals because he supposedly had a Nazi tattoo. I say "supposedly" because while you can say Nazi groups used it in different ways, a Totenkopf, it had never been obvious to me that this was "Nazi."
November 8, 2025 at 9:07 PM
What made me disillusioned. It had to go with Graham Platner. People really raking him over the coals because he supposedly had a Nazi tattoo. I say "supposedly" because while you can say Nazi groups used it in different ways, a Totenkopf, it had never been obvious to me that this was "Nazi."
So I stopped writing much like I stopped writing on all social media I start. I thought bluesky was different, and maybe in many way it is. But one of my students says the same thing every time I get disillusioned with social media or other application. The Internet will ALWAYS break your heart.
November 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
So I stopped writing much like I stopped writing on all social media I start. I thought bluesky was different, and maybe in many way it is. But one of my students says the same thing every time I get disillusioned with social media or other application. The Internet will ALWAYS break your heart.
"Mom, nobody goes on TikTok anymore!" Sell TikTok short and soon as its sold. Remember, you heard it here first.
October 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"Mom, nobody goes on TikTok anymore!" Sell TikTok short and soon as its sold. Remember, you heard it here first.
There are thousands of out of work coders who will come up with a decent algorithm. But I will say with much confidence that TikTok will become the new Facebook. A cyber Potemkin village which people claim has the most users in the world. But if you ask real content creators?
October 3, 2025 at 2:10 PM
There are thousands of out of work coders who will come up with a decent algorithm. But I will say with much confidence that TikTok will become the new Facebook. A cyber Potemkin village which people claim has the most users in the world. But if you ask real content creators?
The billionaires are making a big mistake if they think they are going to keep the user base. They will leave as soon as something better that they trust comes along. Want to make a billion dollars, start a visual communication platform. Actually, probably not that expensive.
October 3, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The billionaires are making a big mistake if they think they are going to keep the user base. They will leave as soon as something better that they trust comes along. Want to make a billion dollars, start a visual communication platform. Actually, probably not that expensive.
So TikTok has an interesting, activity based algorithm which is always going to be better. But that's not the reason it is so popular. It is popular because we are in a generation that Loves visual based communication. But visual communication that is not controlled.
October 3, 2025 at 2:06 PM
So TikTok has an interesting, activity based algorithm which is always going to be better. But that's not the reason it is so popular. It is popular because we are in a generation that Loves visual based communication. But visual communication that is not controlled.
Silicon Valley makes A LOT of money promoting the former, but I think the latter is a much stronger argument. We don't like it much because that makes us responsible. We like to download responsibility. It is the algorithms that's making me hang out with Nazis.
October 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Silicon Valley makes A LOT of money promoting the former, but I think the latter is a much stronger argument. We don't like it much because that makes us responsible. We like to download responsibility. It is the algorithms that's making me hang out with Nazis.
There is a second philosophical argument that it is humans that control technology as a tool. They are partners in technology driven activity with the technology as the junior partner.
October 3, 2025 at 2:03 PM
There is a second philosophical argument that it is humans that control technology as a tool. They are partners in technology driven activity with the technology as the junior partner.
Mechanized algorithms are blunt instruments and cannot really control human behavior. There is an important issue here. Humans have always wanted to download responsibility to technology. That the technology made them do things. The algorithms are controlling human behavior!!!!
October 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Mechanized algorithms are blunt instruments and cannot really control human behavior. There is an important issue here. Humans have always wanted to download responsibility to technology. That the technology made them do things. The algorithms are controlling human behavior!!!!
Initially I did not want to talk about Jess Singal, I wanted to talk about TikTok. There is a lot of mythology about TikTok's algorithm, as it being some incredibly powerful force which is worth - people being conned out of - billions of dollars.
October 3, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Initially I did not want to talk about Jess Singal, I wanted to talk about TikTok. There is a lot of mythology about TikTok's algorithm, as it being some incredibly powerful force which is worth - people being conned out of - billions of dollars.
This stuff isn't easy, which is why we are struggling with the meaning of "social media."
October 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
This stuff isn't easy, which is why we are struggling with the meaning of "social media."
It is great that bots have not really invaded Bluesky - yet. They will come. And there should probably be a discussion about how to handle them when they appear. Do you use institutional power to limit them, or can the Bluesky community figure out a method of information control?
October 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
It is great that bots have not really invaded Bluesky - yet. They will come. And there should probably be a discussion about how to handle them when they appear. Do you use institutional power to limit them, or can the Bluesky community figure out a method of information control?
So if you balance dangers on using institutional power to consequences of emergent ostracism when using hypertext, if you are trying to develop democratic communities the choice is obvious. The difficulty though is bots. Should you institutionally ban bots. This is a much more difficult question.
October 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
So if you balance dangers on using institutional power to consequences of emergent ostracism when using hypertext, if you are trying to develop democratic communities the choice is obvious. The difficulty though is bots. Should you institutionally ban bots. This is a much more difficult question.
So development of human rule systems which emerge naturally, informal social control, is an important aspect of online communities. And there are limited ethical repercussions. Unless you consider hurting egos off limits. This is why cancel culture was so ridiculous.
October 3, 2025 at 1:53 PM
So development of human rule systems which emerge naturally, informal social control, is an important aspect of online communities. And there are limited ethical repercussions. Unless you consider hurting egos off limits. This is why cancel culture was so ridiculous.