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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 6d

the University Keywords chapter on Debt by Schirmer and Wozniak, quoting Moody's Higher Education (credit) Rating Methodology: "A strong brand name...allows a uni to compete effectively for tuition revenue, private gifts, research grants, faculty & staff, and govt support"

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 6d

this is a bit of a side point but i am really interested in how many of these AI University endeavours double as branding campaigns, in attaching institutional emblems to new shiny surfaces (see, from umich, Maizey, UM-GPT...)

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 6d

“The pilot will explore how AI can enhance teaching, research and university operations, while also gathering feedback to guide the responsible and effective use of AI across campus.”

William & Mary launches ChatGPT Edu pilot

By integrating artificial intelligence tools, the university is positioning itself at the forefront of higher education innovation.

news.wm.edu

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 6d

every day i oscillate between "i suck at everything i do and should have given up yesterday" and "i could be the special person who writes the next runaway STS hit, 'do artifacts have libidinal economy?'"

justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Dec 20

would totally eat up a psychoanalytic account of AI (as fantasy, as death drive, etc)

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 16d

yeah, i've been thinking about this fixation on Authoritative People using Math to tell us something already collectively understood. it has a conspicuously similar structure as the weird investments, shared even by ostensibly "critical" people, in the idea of Artificial Intelligence

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · 16d

i've been thinking about this off and on since last night and @tisjune.bsky.social got me thinking about like... why are we enamored with this? it genuinely is flummoxing me. @vortexegg.com asked a similar question as to why this is notable. it's just... disorienting to see this fanfare

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 22d

likewise, it's almost like we should write one or more papers together or something

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 22d

dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1... @saysvera.bsky.social gave a fantastic talk on this paper about this topic in aarhus a few weeks ago!

dl.acm.org

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 26d

finally someone is bringing together all of the orthodontists and pilates instructors

Kendra Albert @kendraserra.bsky.social · 27d

Very glad to see that someone is doing the important work of aligning AI alignment. alignmentalignment.ai

Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers

We align the aligners

alignmentalignment.ai

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 27d

"Most of us will remain girlproles until we either overthrow class society or, individually, escape into the bossing class. Could it be me?"

from this excellent essay/book excerpt by Sophie Lewis lithub.com/how-the-girl...

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 28d

Whooo, buddy.

The most radical act of feminism? Using AI

Women are far less likely to use AI tools like ChatGPT than men. But the tech is here to stay — and the disparity risks widening workplace inequalities

www.thetimes.com

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Reposted by justine zhang

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · 29d

if you don't want to try to catch up, you can get ahead by purchasing our *next* book, _Health Communism_ by @avierkant.bsky.social & @reallandsend.bsky.social. tentatively, we'll start in early October.

order here ASAP: open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com/collections/...

[W4G] Adler-Bolton, Beatrice & Artie Vierkant: Health Communism

Verso, paperback Publication Date: July 29, 2025 Publisher Marketing:A searing analysis of health and illness under capitalism from hosts of the hit podcast "Death Panel" In this fiery, theoretical t...

open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · 29d

manifesting a little STS-y piece on how nonsense categories like "hallucination" (or "common sense" or "knowledge") are produced and stabilized in AI research

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 8

thank you for your interest! there will hopefully be a paper or a preprint soon (albeit soon in academic time...)

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 7

🤔

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 7

this past week i said "sorry" to two separate people, on two separate occasions, who immediately responded with "are you canadian?"

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 6

at #4s2025 in an hour i will reveal whether you can talk your way out of social problems or not in the "writing things down" session

justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 2

LLMs reinvigorate, and derive value from, the fantasy that we can talk our way out of late capitalism's crises

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · Sep 2

i'll say more later when @tisjune.bsky.social has given her talk at 4S, but something about AI people pushing linguistic contrivances as solutions to material problems like food insecurity, policing, etc... reminds me of cereal companies insisting that frosted flakes are part of a complete breakfast

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 6

if you are at #4s2025 this afternoon, in the un-blackboxing AI session nina will explain how all of this marketing copy helps to render people into gelatinous blobs of undifferentiated labour

Nina Markl 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 @ninamarkl.bsky.social · Sep 6

presented without comment:

A smarter, more widely useful model
GPT‑5 not only outperforms previous models on benchmarks and answers questions more quickly, but—most importantly—is more useful for real-world queries. We’ve made significant advances in reducing hallucinations, improving instruction following, and minimizing sycophancy, while leveling up GPT‑5’s performance in three of ChatGPT’s most common uses: writing, coding, and health.

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 3

😭 scrolling through my listening history to revisit all of the in our time episodes that Changed me... ordinary language philosophy... kropotkin... feathered dinosaurs...

Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · Sep 3

Noooooooooo

Melvyn Bragg decides to step down from presenting In Our Time

After 26 years on the programme, the legendary presenter bids farewell to the series

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by justine zhang

justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Dec 20

would totally eat up a psychoanalytic account of AI (as fantasy, as death drive, etc)

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 2

if you want to hear the 15 minute talk version of this, then come find me at 4s

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 2

LLMs reinvigorate, and derive value from, the fantasy that we can talk our way out of late capitalism's crises

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · Sep 2

i'll say more later when @tisjune.bsky.social has given her talk at 4S, but something about AI people pushing linguistic contrivances as solutions to material problems like food insecurity, policing, etc... reminds me of cereal companies insisting that frosted flakes are part of a complete breakfast

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Sep 1

tbh i was a little underwhelmed by the singles they pre-released, but having listened to the entire album front-to-back like ten times in the past week, i was wrong and you are right, they never miss

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Reposted by justine zhang

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · Aug 29

it's less "AI drives people to kill themselves" and more that "tech companies do it, and are indifferent about it". and, bleakly, some journalists seem determined to convince you that the focal point of this story is a high point of engineering rather than a low point of humanity

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Reposted by justine zhang

ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · Aug 26

i did literally nothing to bring this together except lend them an essay that i already wrote, but i'm totally geeking out about this zine.

just go look at the collection of art in the first couple of pages, i'm so enthralled right now, i love it. i desperately want to buy a physical copy.

AI_Anxiety

AI_AnxietyProduced by Jordi Viader Guerrero, Dmitry Muravyov, Erica Gargaglione, Aarón Moreno Inglés, Mariana Fernández Mora, and Orestis KollyrisWith contributions by Dmitry Muravyov, Jord

networkcultures.org

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Aug 25

it's like the ever expanding range of possible jobs for barbies

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justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Aug 23

oh hey @ninamarkl.bsky.social !! i think both of you should read health communism

justine zhang @tisjune.bsky.social · Aug 17

mood

a shepherd mix dog lying on the ground yawning, the epitome of canine ennui

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