Ali M. Hasan
@alimhasan.bsky.social
Philosopher at U. Iowa. Epistemology, perception, ethics, & AI.
Posting in a very personal capacity.
Posting in a very personal capacity.
A friendly reminder not to fall in love with your tape dispensers. (Sam Gross, 1998, New Yorker)
November 9, 2025 at 6:15 PM
A friendly reminder not to fall in love with your tape dispensers. (Sam Gross, 1998, New Yorker)
TIL via a NYT opinion article that maybe people who paid for a premium love bot on Replika have better, more inclusive concepts of intelligence and consciousness than I do.
November 9, 2025 at 3:41 PM
TIL via a NYT opinion article that maybe people who paid for a premium love bot on Replika have better, more inclusive concepts of intelligence and consciousness than I do.
I might just slap on some extra fingers and go as a low-quality deep fake of myself for Halloween
October 24, 2025 at 1:43 AM
I might just slap on some extra fingers and go as a low-quality deep fake of myself for Halloween
Thinking of going as a Black-Box AI for Halloween. I’ll output tricks or treats, candy or insults, without explanation. Or maybe a Black-Box AI trained on Philosophy Twitter—99% snark 1% reasons?
October 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Thinking of going as a Black-Box AI for Halloween. I’ll output tricks or treats, candy or insults, without explanation. Or maybe a Black-Box AI trained on Philosophy Twitter—99% snark 1% reasons?
My prompt: "I shave any and all those who do not shave themselves". ChatGPT5 says this is a version of the Barber paradox. It's not. ("I shave all and ONLY those who do not shave themselves" is.) ChatGPT erroneously added that "the barber *only* shaves people who do not shave themselves"
September 28, 2025 at 12:03 AM
My prompt: "I shave any and all those who do not shave themselves". ChatGPT5 says this is a version of the Barber paradox. It's not. ("I shave all and ONLY those who do not shave themselves" is.) ChatGPT erroneously added that "the barber *only* shaves people who do not shave themselves"
“The conscientious path forward is to create educational structures that minimize the temptation to outsource thinking.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...
Opinion | I Teach Creative Writing. This Is What A.I. Is Doing to Students.
www.nytimes.com
July 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM
“The conscientious path forward is to create educational structures that minimize the temptation to outsource thinking.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o...
Soon we may be hearing people say: “I don’t care if she is a chatbot. I love her.”
Love is love. #NewYorkerCartoons
A cartoon by Sam Gross, from 1998. See more cartoons and other funny stuff from New Yorker Humor: nyer.cm/nLwjJNW
A cartoon by Sam Gross, from 1998. See more cartoons and other funny stuff from New Yorker Humor: nyer.cm/nLwjJNW
June 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Soon we may be hearing people say: “I don’t care if she is a chatbot. I love her.”
"In philosophy if you aren't moving at a snail's pace, you aren't moving at all." -- Iris Murdoch
April 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
"In philosophy if you aren't moving at a snail's pace, you aren't moving at all." -- Iris Murdoch
“By week one, I was already tired of his anti-rich, pro-Samaritan bullshit. I wanted to take a course in Christianity, not liberalism.”
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/sel...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/sel...
Selected Negative Teaching Evaluations of Jesus Christ
“Very inconvenient class! Always holds lectures on top of mountains, in the middle of the Sea of Galilee—but never close to the main campus.”
“Inco...
www.mcsweeneys.net
April 20, 2025 at 2:33 PM
“By week one, I was already tired of his anti-rich, pro-Samaritan bullshit. I wanted to take a course in Christianity, not liberalism.”
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/sel...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/sel...
After years of watching tennis, I think I finally understand what “unforced error” means.
April 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
After years of watching tennis, I think I finally understand what “unforced error” means.
Reposted by Ali M. Hasan
America once took pride in not requiring citizens to carry national ID—no "Show me your papers!" Now we have to carry passports to avoid being disappeared.
March 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
America once took pride in not requiring citizens to carry national ID—no "Show me your papers!" Now we have to carry passports to avoid being disappeared.
Sorry, philosophers of inquiry. Spelling Bee doesn’t accept it
March 28, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Sorry, philosophers of inquiry. Spelling Bee doesn’t accept it
I’m betting this will get more likes than anything else I post
March 25, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I’m betting this will get more likes than anything else I post
Reposted by Ali M. Hasan
Free speech is for ideas we like; otherwise, it's sparkling terrorism
March 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Free speech is for ideas we like; otherwise, it's sparkling terrorism
Everyone: Hitler was a murderer
Elon: Ackchyually, …
Elon: Ackchyually, …
March 14, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Everyone: Hitler was a murderer
Elon: Ackchyually, …
Elon: Ackchyually, …
Today’s episode of The Apprentice was wild!
February 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Today’s episode of The Apprentice was wild!
Thom Yorke: "I'm not here. This is not happening."
Pfft. This guy doesn't know how demonstratives work.
Pfft. This guy doesn't know how demonstratives work.
February 27, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Thom Yorke: "I'm not here. This is not happening."
Pfft. This guy doesn't know how demonstratives work.
Pfft. This guy doesn't know how demonstratives work.
Student from my ethics class: "I actually really like this course just wished that there was more of a straight answer to questions."
Me too, bruh. Me too.
Me too, bruh. Me too.
February 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Student from my ethics class: "I actually really like this course just wished that there was more of a straight answer to questions."
Me too, bruh. Me too.
Me too, bruh. Me too.
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine.
February 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Very sad to hear that David Keyt has passed away. I took my first ancient philosophy class with him, and a class on Gödel's incompleteness theorem. I learned so much from him. He also had a great sense of humor. A student asked him what the difference is between a lemma, theorem, and a corollary...
David Keyt, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Washington, Seattle, has died.
David Keyt (1930-2025) - Daily Nous
David Keyt, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Washington, Seattle, died last month. David Keyt was well-known for his work in ancient philosophy, particularly the political and eth...
dailynous.com
February 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Very sad to hear that David Keyt has passed away. I took my first ancient philosophy class with him, and a class on Gödel's incompleteness theorem. I learned so much from him. He also had a great sense of humor. A student asked him what the difference is between a lemma, theorem, and a corollary...
Adding to my slides for my meaning of life lectures.
February 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Adding to my slides for my meaning of life lectures.
But what about "Grueland" and "Bleenland"?
February 11, 2025 at 11:45 PM
But what about "Grueland" and "Bleenland"?
Supervillain vibes
February 8, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Supervillain vibes
Frantically doing a keyword search on a pending federal grant application was not on my Bingo card.
February 8, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Frantically doing a keyword search on a pending federal grant application was not on my Bingo card.