ZJBardou
banner
zjbardou.bsky.social
ZJBardou
@zjbardou.bsky.social
Composition. Rhetoric. Literature. Music. Food. Hockey. Birds, Beasts, Trees, Flowers. He/Him.

“[T]he task of democracy is forever that of creation of a freer and more humane experience in which all share and to which all contribute.”
Reposted by ZJBardou
The radicalization of Silicon Valley is the subject of my forthcoming book, "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy."

It exposes a decades-long campaign to use tech power to overthrow democracy and destroy nations. Pre-order here: www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
The Nerd Reich
A fearless and urgent chronicle of the tech-authoritarian movement from its early days in San Francisco politics to its current moment on the inter...
www.simonandschuster.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Something I’ve encountered a lot lately is misperception of Luddites as technophobic reactionaries motivated by ignorance & resentment, rather than what they were, part of a well-informed labor movement seeking to seize control of means of production.
THE MAKING OF A PARIAH: The Case of the Luddites on JSTOR
David Linton, THE MAKING OF A PARIAH: The Case of the Luddites, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Winter 1991-92), pp. 404-413
www.jstor.org
December 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
The university-surveillance component of this piece is !!! I had missed the Qualtrics shift and acquisition and wow.
We really need an ed-tech key players power-map, does anyone know if this exists?
December 7, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) announced that it will no longer publish content on Elon Musk’s platform, X. The organization said it can “no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda.”
European Federation of Journalists to stop posting content on X
The EFJ represents over 295,000 journalists in 44 countries.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
“When you allow a machine to summarize your reading, to generate the ideas for your essay, and then to write that essay, you’re not learning how to read, think, or write.“
November 30, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by ZJBardou
When I ask them: "What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?" Often, the answer is: nothing. Which has a direct effect on their over-use of prompts and AI, because they can't think of ideas, because they are literally not engaging with a single figurative thing.
November 28, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Thanksgiving served as a potent reminder for me that daily life feels weird and disconcerting because of how badly our information environment has fragmented society.

A few thoughts below, and a request for ideas at the bottom.
November 29, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands

And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
To bear out this rosy projection, HSBC assumes that OpenAI will become "as ubiquitous [...] as Microsoft 365" (345mm users worldwide) while bringing in 10x the number of users (3bn).
November 25, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
over and over and over
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands

And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
To bear out this rosy projection, HSBC assumes that OpenAI will become "as ubiquitous [...] as Microsoft 365" (345mm users worldwide) while bringing in 10x the number of users (3bn).
November 27, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
The Myth of a Rightward Realignment
 
Let’s discard some stubborn misconceptions about Trump’s support and what happened in the 2024 election. They are only obscuring our understanding of a profound de-alignment.

As the piece is partially behind a paywall, I’ll share some key thoughts:

🧵
The Myth of a Rightward Realignment
Let’s discard some stubborn misconceptions about Trump’s support and what happened in the 2024 election that are obscuring our understanding of a profound de-alignment
steady.page
November 27, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
One of my favorite social media redundancies is when people respond to a list of facts with, “I disagree!”

Ma’am and sirs — Mirs, if you will — that isn’t how anything works. You cannot “disagree” with the color of the sky or a timestamped event.
November 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
This is someone who gets it.
November 23, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Every Republican president of my lifetime has destroyed the global economy and it doesn’t matter at all electorally
the enduring wishcasting power of "republicans are good at the economy" is truly something to behold
November 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
ESQUIRE: “ICE is hiring literally anybody, and it’s terrifying… people who flunk the exam, criminal records… yet they’re allowed to tear children from their beds at night.”

www.esquire.com/news-politic...
November 20, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by ZJBardou
When I found this is my mailbox, I was occupied with other things & just kinda threw it on my pile. But now I’m going through that pile & I dunno, something has changed in the ensuing weeks which has made it feel a little more urgent.
November 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Few things bug me more than higher ed leaders saying that we lost our mission and lost the trust of the public, when we have actually been the target of a decades-long smear campaign by the right wing that worked. The moment we’re losing our mission is right now, in capitulation.
November 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
How concentrated economic and political power in America protects elites and fosters violence of all kinds.

Crime and No Punishment by Marie Gottschalk is out now (13 Jan UK pub).

Learn more and order yours: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

#PoliticalScience #PoliSci
November 18, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Moderation as a strategy, "It's tapped out. There are no gains left to be had. ....I see anti-corruption as this very open lane for realignment," says @adambonica.bsky.social. newrepublic.com/article/2030...
Transcript: Anti-Corruption Politics Are The Way to Crush Trumpism
Stanford political scientist Adam Bonica says trying to be more moderate is a dead end for Democrats and the solution is for the party to be seen as fighting against corruption, oligarchy and other il...
newrepublic.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
"We are hearing the administration say they intend to investigate various Dems who were friends with Epstein. I beg you President Trump -- please stop making this political. It is not about you. Show some class. I voted for you, but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment."
November 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Congresswoman Shontel Brown goes on record to let Mike Johnson and the American people know who Trump is really working for.
November 18, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by ZJBardou
BEEP BEEP BEEP WE HAVE A COVER
November 17, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
I don't know why we still call them ICE and treat them as a legitimate organization. They are an armed Militia and should be designated as a terrorist group. No other legal force in America wears masks and strips people of due process. They are a terrorist organization
November 17, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by ZJBardou
every epstein email is some creep complaining about MeToo and then being like “oh before i forget, any advice on how to use my position of authority to force women into sleeping with me?”
November 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by ZJBardou
Posting ghost jobs should be illegal. If companies do this to harvest consumer data or create the appearance that they are “always hiring” to appease investors, how is this just not fraud? Is there a meaningful legislative remedy for this?
November 15, 2025 at 9:22 PM