Allison Pugh
@allisonpugh.bsky.social
Care, Tech, Culture, Inequality. Check out The Last Human Job re the "scaling up" of humane work @PrincetonUPress. Johns Hopkins sociologist
Pinned
Allison Pugh
@allisonpugh.bsky.social
· Dec 10
Opinion | Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good
We’re increasingly becoming a society in which very wealthy people get human care, like concierge medicine and private schools with tiny class sizes.
www.nytimes.com
Still grateful for and honored by this piece, posted here ICYMI
Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/o...
Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/o...
Amen EMB
The reason so many people haven't had a chance to hear these other narratives is, of course, financial. You're only hearing about "AI" at all because so many companies are trying so hard to sell it to you. And their interests are well supported by both the booster AND the doomer narratives.
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January 29, 2026 at 12:32 AM
Amen EMB
It's publication day! A different cover, a (slightly) different title, a brand new preface! Happy (second) birthday to The Last Human Job
Now in #paperback, @allisonpugh.bsky.social's The Last Human Job is a timely and urgent argument for preserving the work that connects us in the age of automation.
Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
#AI #Sociology
Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
#AI #Sociology
January 28, 2026 at 10:44 PM
It's publication day! A different cover, a (slightly) different title, a brand new preface! Happy (second) birthday to The Last Human Job
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Worth noting that one reason you’re benefitting so fully from the Star-Tribune’s timely, extensive coverage of unfolding events is that it’s a metro newspaper that hasn’t been systematically starved to further enrich shareholders and executives.
January 24, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Worth noting that one reason you’re benefitting so fully from the Star-Tribune’s timely, extensive coverage of unfolding events is that it’s a metro newspaper that hasn’t been systematically starved to further enrich shareholders and executives.
So glad to see @fastcompany.com focusing on connection! "Pugh’s research underscores this point: These relational dimensions are the very aspects of work that machines cannot automate. “The irreplaceable human contribution,” she writes, “is connection itself.”
www.fastcompany.com/91475008/sto...
www.fastcompany.com/91475008/sto...
Stop tracking employee engagement. Try this instead
Companies have never had more tools to measure engagement, yet employees are feeling more disconnected than ever.
www.fastcompany.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:52 PM
So glad to see @fastcompany.com focusing on connection! "Pugh’s research underscores this point: These relational dimensions are the very aspects of work that machines cannot automate. “The irreplaceable human contribution,” she writes, “is connection itself.”
www.fastcompany.com/91475008/sto...
www.fastcompany.com/91475008/sto...
With #TheLastHumanJob coming out in paperback January 27, I'm excited to share some upcoming appearances - it's going to be a busy spring! Come join the conversation about the value of human connection. For more info see allisonpugh.com or press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
January 5, 2026 at 3:30 PM
With #TheLastHumanJob coming out in paperback January 27, I'm excited to share some upcoming appearances - it's going to be a busy spring! Come join the conversation about the value of human connection. For more info see allisonpugh.com or press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
A terrific piece about a vital issue. "Children need our human attention — especially in this age of social isolation and political trauma.". And not just children! #TheLastHumanJob
Rethinking Schools published my article about pushing back on some of the arguments made by those seeking to rush AI tools into schools.
Resisting AI Mania in Schools
A former English teacher takes on many of the arguments of AI promoters.
rethinkingschools.org
January 3, 2026 at 4:15 PM
A terrific piece about a vital issue. "Children need our human attention — especially in this age of social isolation and political trauma.". And not just children! #TheLastHumanJob
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Revisiting this now that I have a moment to reflect, and I'm so pleased with how this article turned out, esp the ways we were able to connect w/ work by @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jessicacalarco.com @dmgreene.bsky.social & so many other scholars who've had such a profound influence on my research.
In this new article, "Cameras On: How Schools Reify Unequal Relationships Through Decisions About Online Visibility," @bdinsmore.bsky.social & I complicate narratives about online classrooms through research into covid-era and pre-pandemic remote schooling. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
December 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Revisiting this now that I have a moment to reflect, and I'm so pleased with how this article turned out, esp the ways we were able to connect w/ work by @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jessicacalarco.com @dmgreene.bsky.social & so many other scholars who've had such a profound influence on my research.
Saving the best for last! "The A.I. industry claims it wants to democratize creativity, but the real goal is dominance. It can seem inevitable that A.I. will rewrite the future of the arts...But the impacts of technological change are always shaped by human action." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/o...
Opinion | The Starving Artist vs. A.I.: Guess Who Is Winning?
What A.I. imperils is not human creativity itself but the ability to make a living from creative endeavor.
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Saving the best for last! "The A.I. industry claims it wants to democratize creativity, but the real goal is dominance. It can seem inevitable that A.I. will rewrite the future of the arts...But the impacts of technological change are always shaped by human action." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/o...
"Seven News reported the bystander was a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire named Ahmed. ... the father of two had been admitted after being shot twice."
A good guy without a gun stops a bad guy with a gun.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Bystander tackles and wrestles gun from alleged gunman during Bondi beach mass shooting
Video shows the man rushing one of the alleged gunmen who shot dozens of people on Sunday evening in Australia
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:21 PM
"Seven News reported the bystander was a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire named Ahmed. ... the father of two had been admitted after being shot twice."
"Remember that an AI girlfriend responding to your loneliness might just be a man in a Nairobi slum, wondering if he'll ever feel real love again"
An important report here
data-workers.org/wp-content/u...
An important report here
data-workers.org/wp-content/u...
data-workers.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
"Remember that an AI girlfriend responding to your loneliness might just be a man in a Nairobi slum, wondering if he'll ever feel real love again"
An important report here
data-workers.org/wp-content/u...
An important report here
data-workers.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Allison Pugh
So many connective labor-related (from
@allisonpugh.bsky.social) use cases for AI make me so sad, and for so many reasons. This one makes me think of Enobarbus describing Cleopatra -- "she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies" -- which is the most hungry ghost description of desire I know.
@allisonpugh.bsky.social) use cases for AI make me so sad, and for so many reasons. This one makes me think of Enobarbus describing Cleopatra -- "she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies" -- which is the most hungry ghost description of desire I know.
December 11, 2025 at 1:17 AM
So many connective labor-related (from
@allisonpugh.bsky.social) use cases for AI make me so sad, and for so many reasons. This one makes me think of Enobarbus describing Cleopatra -- "she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies" -- which is the most hungry ghost description of desire I know.
@allisonpugh.bsky.social) use cases for AI make me so sad, and for so many reasons. This one makes me think of Enobarbus describing Cleopatra -- "she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies" -- which is the most hungry ghost description of desire I know.
Important thread worth reading
Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
December 6, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Important thread worth reading
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Are human beings becoming invisible?
The Unseen
(Allison J Pugh • Aeon)
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being.
aeon.co/essays/our-c...
The Unseen
(Allison J Pugh • Aeon)
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being.
aeon.co/essays/our-c...
Our crisis is not loneliness but human beings becoming invisible | Aeon Essays
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being
aeon.co
June 24, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Are human beings becoming invisible?
The Unseen
(Allison J Pugh • Aeon)
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being.
aeon.co/essays/our-c...
The Unseen
(Allison J Pugh • Aeon)
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being.
aeon.co/essays/our-c...
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Fantastic piece by Allison Pugh. aeon.co/essays/our-c...
Our crisis is not loneliness but human beings becoming invisible | Aeon Essays
Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being
aeon.co
June 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Fantastic piece by Allison Pugh. aeon.co/essays/our-c...
So grateful for Judy Wajcman's review essay on #TheLastHumanJob. "It is hard to convey how rich and evocative...this book is. It is beautifully written & so immersive that reading it I felt I got to know several of the interviewees personally...The book could not be more welcome"
December 1, 2025 at 2:19 PM
So grateful for Judy Wajcman's review essay on #TheLastHumanJob. "It is hard to convey how rich and evocative...this book is. It is beautifully written & so immersive that reading it I felt I got to know several of the interviewees personally...The book could not be more welcome"
Furthermore, they're fields where human beings do connective labor, the primary contribution humans make in an AI world.
This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move?
#TheLastHumanJob
This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move?
#TheLastHumanJob
The DOE just cut multiple fields from the “professional degree” list, shrinking loan access for future workers. Nursing, PAs, PT, OT, audiology, public health, social work, & education master’s all got dropped.
And yes, they’re fields dominated by women.
#ProudBlue
www.newsweek.com/nursing-not-...
And yes, they’re fields dominated by women.
#ProudBlue
www.newsweek.com/nursing-not-...
Nursing is no longer counted as a 'professional degree' by Trump admin
The Department of Education has excluded nursing as a "professional degree" program as it implements various changes to student loans.
www.newsweek.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Furthermore, they're fields where human beings do connective labor, the primary contribution humans make in an AI world.
This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move?
#TheLastHumanJob
This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move?
#TheLastHumanJob
Watching @kenburns.bsky.social The American Revolution, but why once again is The Battle of Alamance missing? In 1771 in North Carolina, British troops attacked 2000 farmers armed with hoes and shovels, shooting at them with artillery. The first site of the revolution was not Boston
November 24, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Watching @kenburns.bsky.social The American Revolution, but why once again is The Battle of Alamance missing? In 1771 in North Carolina, British troops attacked 2000 farmers armed with hoes and shovels, shooting at them with artillery. The first site of the revolution was not Boston
Reposted by Allison Pugh
ASA joined w/ 59 scientific orgs to sign a letter urging Congress to fund the National Science Foundation at the highest level in FY 2026 appropriations & accede to Senate report language for sustained funding for the Social, Behavioral, & Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorate.
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
ASA joined w/ 59 scientific orgs to sign a letter urging Congress to fund the National Science Foundation at the highest level in FY 2026 appropriations & accede to Senate report language for sustained funding for the Social, Behavioral, & Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorate.
At this point, I started laughing out loud...
"The only problem with the date ad, he said, was that the girl wasn’t also using Cluely."
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
"The only problem with the date ad, he said, was that the girl wasn’t also using Cluely."
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
How to Cheat at Conversation
A new AI tool promises to improve social interactions but instead makes them worse.
www.theatlantic.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
At this point, I started laughing out loud...
"The only problem with the date ad, he said, was that the girl wasn’t also using Cluely."
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
"The only problem with the date ad, he said, was that the girl wasn’t also using Cluely."
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Reposted by Allison Pugh
“Better than nothing” systems are no substitute for actual healthcare.
@allisonpugh.bsky.social described this slippery slope to dystopia in her excellent book, “The Last Human Job; The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World.”
(2024, Princeton university press)
@allisonpugh.bsky.social described this slippery slope to dystopia in her excellent book, “The Last Human Job; The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World.”
(2024, Princeton university press)
First opinions, 2nd opinions, analyzing lab tests, preparing for a clinic visit, helping to make difficult diagnoses, and more use cases. Its popularity will keep increasing despite lack of objective data for benefit or harm
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
Frustrated by the Medical System, Patients Turn to A.I.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:29 PM
“Better than nothing” systems are no substitute for actual healthcare.
@allisonpugh.bsky.social described this slippery slope to dystopia in her excellent book, “The Last Human Job; The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World.”
(2024, Princeton university press)
@allisonpugh.bsky.social described this slippery slope to dystopia in her excellent book, “The Last Human Job; The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World.”
(2024, Princeton university press)
Reposted by Allison Pugh
My takeaway from every new Epstein revelation is that some powerful people victimized many powerless young women, many more knew, some actively enabled it--and we're still being told that MeToo and accountability for sexual violence have gone too far
November 12, 2025 at 5:05 PM
My takeaway from every new Epstein revelation is that some powerful people victimized many powerless young women, many more knew, some actively enabled it--and we're still being told that MeToo and accountability for sexual violence have gone too far
Reposted by Allison Pugh
I look forward to listening to @allisonpugh.bsky.social talk about the value of these vital human moments at #AAMC25 and how we can better connect in a disconnected world. www.aamc.org/news/human-c...
Human connection in health care is under threat
Sociologist Allison Pugh, PhD, sees efficiency pressures and tech reducing MDs’ “connective labor” with patients. She wants a movement to build relationships.
www.aamc.org
October 21, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I look forward to listening to @allisonpugh.bsky.social talk about the value of these vital human moments at #AAMC25 and how we can better connect in a disconnected world. www.aamc.org/news/human-c...
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Giant copy of the Constitution being carried down Pennsylvania Avenue.
October 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Giant copy of the Constitution being carried down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Tomorrow (October 14th) at 9:00 and 10:45 am EDT, see keynote speaker @allisonpugh.bsky.social, author of The Last Human Job, at Planetree's Person-Centered Care Global Forum!
Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz
Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz
October 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Tomorrow (October 14th) at 9:00 and 10:45 am EDT, see keynote speaker @allisonpugh.bsky.social, author of The Last Human Job, at Planetree's Person-Centered Care Global Forum!
Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz
Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz