David Gunkel
@davidgunkel.bsky.social
Professor - Northern Illinois University (USA). Award-winning author of the books The Machine Question, Robot Rights, Person-Thing-Robot, Of Remixology, and Deconstruction. https://gunkelweb.com
Pinned
David Gunkel
@davidgunkel.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Deconstruction
An accessible introduction to a concept often considered impossibly abstruse, demonstrating its power as a conceptual tool in the twenty-first century.This v...
mitpress.mit.edu
Professional Raison d'être:
I apply the theory and practice of #Deconstruction to emerging technology (#Algorithms, #AI, #robots, etc.), overturning and disrupting the traditional binary oppositions by which we have made sense of our tools and ourselves. mitpress.mit.edu/978026254247...
I apply the theory and practice of #Deconstruction to emerging technology (#Algorithms, #AI, #robots, etc.), overturning and disrupting the traditional binary oppositions by which we have made sense of our tools and ourselves. mitpress.mit.edu/978026254247...
This is the operative question for all restoration efforts like this: "Are they righting a historic wrong or descrating a classic?"
February 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
This is the operative question for all restoration efforts like this: "Are they righting a historic wrong or descrating a classic?"
Newly published interview in "Fuori Luogo. Journal of Sociology of the Territory, Tourism, Technology"
serena.sharepress.it/index.php/fu...
serena.sharepress.it/index.php/fu...
February 2, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Newly published interview in "Fuori Luogo. Journal of Sociology of the Territory, Tourism, Technology"
serena.sharepress.it/index.php/fu...
serena.sharepress.it/index.php/fu...
Nice! This is your "told you so" moment.
February 1, 2026 at 11:46 PM
Nice! This is your "told you so" moment.
First single from the Trash Kickers, featuring Stanisław Gunkel on guitar and production. When I first heard it, I thought it must have been early Dictators..which just means we have not heard stuff like this for a few decades. Highly recommended.
open.spotify.com/track/4eHKJT...
open.spotify.com/track/4eHKJT...
Signage
open.spotify.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:38 PM
First single from the Trash Kickers, featuring Stanisław Gunkel on guitar and production. When I first heard it, I thought it must have been early Dictators..which just means we have not heard stuff like this for a few decades. Highly recommended.
open.spotify.com/track/4eHKJT...
open.spotify.com/track/4eHKJT...
- Publication Alert -
"Nominal Problems: From Artificial Intelligence to Cybernetics." Focus article in the latest issue of "Reti Saperi Linguaggi" the Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences. www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.12832...
"Nominal Problems: From Artificial Intelligence to Cybernetics." Focus article in the latest issue of "Reti Saperi Linguaggi" the Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences. www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.12832...
January 29, 2026 at 4:19 PM
- Publication Alert -
"Nominal Problems: From Artificial Intelligence to Cybernetics." Focus article in the latest issue of "Reti Saperi Linguaggi" the Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences. www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.12832...
"Nominal Problems: From Artificial Intelligence to Cybernetics." Focus article in the latest issue of "Reti Saperi Linguaggi" the Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences. www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.12832...
The one slide from my presentation for the @sentientfutures.bsky.social Summit that pretty much sums up everything I am going to be talking about. 8 February 2026, San Francisco USA www.sentientfutures.ai/sfsbay2026
January 29, 2026 at 12:45 PM
The one slide from my presentation for the @sentientfutures.bsky.social Summit that pretty much sums up everything I am going to be talking about. 8 February 2026, San Francisco USA www.sentientfutures.ai/sfsbay2026
Do you even have to ask?
January 27, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Do you even have to ask?
Who needs all that air anyways?
January 24, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Who needs all that air anyways?
The Peoples Republic of California (PRC)
January 23, 2026 at 4:25 PM
The Peoples Republic of California (PRC)
A pilsner that I do not know? How is that possible?
January 23, 2026 at 1:55 PM
A pilsner that I do not know? How is that possible?
I teamed up with @annapuzio.bsky.social and @joshgellers.bsky.social to write this polemic response to recent criticisms of the relational turn in #AIEthics, including the recently published "Dangerous Liaisons" from Adrienne de Ruiter. @springer.springernature.com
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
January 21, 2026 at 3:32 AM
I teamed up with @annapuzio.bsky.social and @joshgellers.bsky.social to write this polemic response to recent criticisms of the relational turn in #AIEthics, including the recently published "Dangerous Liaisons" from Adrienne de Ruiter. @springer.springernature.com
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
It's a stream of consciousness. Thank you for letting us come along for the ride.
January 21, 2026 at 12:28 AM
It's a stream of consciousness. Thank you for letting us come along for the ride.
I had the opportunity to talk with Thomas Macaulay for his recent piece about the invisible human labor behind #AI. Published today in @agiethicsnews.bsky.social. And it's always a pleasure to share the spotlight with the incomparable Julie Carpenter. agi.fightersteel.com/hidden-human...
Hidden human labor is distorting perceptions of AGI
At a Warner Bros studio near Hollywood in the fall of 2024, Tesla staged a glitzy showcase of its AI progress. Acting as master of ceremonies, Elon Musk introdu
agi.fightersteel.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:26 PM
I had the opportunity to talk with Thomas Macaulay for his recent piece about the invisible human labor behind #AI. Published today in @agiethicsnews.bsky.social. And it's always a pleasure to share the spotlight with the incomparable Julie Carpenter. agi.fightersteel.com/hidden-human...
What's an #AI music experiment like The Big Dada Project to do when a platform like @bandcamp.com issues a blanket prohibition against #AI generated content? Easy answer, generate a song about it. gunkelweb.com/BigDada
youtube.com/shorts/BfJBd...
youtube.com/shorts/BfJBd...
Bandcamp Banned My Robot - The Big Dada Project (2026)
YouTube video by David Gunkel
youtube.com
January 18, 2026 at 7:10 PM
What's an #AI music experiment like The Big Dada Project to do when a platform like @bandcamp.com issues a blanket prohibition against #AI generated content? Easy answer, generate a song about it. gunkelweb.com/BigDada
youtube.com/shorts/BfJBd...
youtube.com/shorts/BfJBd...
#Derrida & #AI is having a moment.
New essay from Víctor Betriu Yáñez and published in OLR. With shout-outs to three of my recent publications on this subject. (@philiplaughlin.bsky.social good timing for "The Différance Engine" book @mitpress.bsky.social)
olrsupplement.com/2026/01/15/i...
New essay from Víctor Betriu Yáñez and published in OLR. With shout-outs to three of my recent publications on this subject. (@philiplaughlin.bsky.social good timing for "The Différance Engine" book @mitpress.bsky.social)
olrsupplement.com/2026/01/15/i...
Is a Derridean Critique of Generative AI Possible? Writing Machines and Logocentrism without Subject - The OLR Supplement
Finally, a critique of AI that deconstructs the humanist subject on which most existing critiques rely
olrsupplement.com
January 17, 2026 at 4:55 PM
#Derrida & #AI is having a moment.
New essay from Víctor Betriu Yáñez and published in OLR. With shout-outs to three of my recent publications on this subject. (@philiplaughlin.bsky.social good timing for "The Différance Engine" book @mitpress.bsky.social)
olrsupplement.com/2026/01/15/i...
New essay from Víctor Betriu Yáñez and published in OLR. With shout-outs to three of my recent publications on this subject. (@philiplaughlin.bsky.social good timing for "The Différance Engine" book @mitpress.bsky.social)
olrsupplement.com/2026/01/15/i...
The Machine Question: Rethinking Moral Philosophy in the Face of Others. - My chapter for "Robophilosophy" @mitpress.bsky.social The book is now available #OpenAccess and you can get your own copy by following this link:
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
January 16, 2026 at 2:53 PM
The Machine Question: Rethinking Moral Philosophy in the Face of Others. - My chapter for "Robophilosophy" @mitpress.bsky.social The book is now available #OpenAccess and you can get your own copy by following this link:
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
As much as I love the Alfred Jarry play, I don't think I was prepared for the recent staging of it as an immersive experience.
January 15, 2026 at 4:47 PM
As much as I love the Alfred Jarry play, I don't think I was prepared for the recent staging of it as an immersive experience.
What's the point of waiting for the debates about #AI #consciousness to be resolved? Rights are a no brainer. direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
January 14, 2026 at 11:34 PM
What's the point of waiting for the debates about #AI #consciousness to be resolved? Rights are a no brainer. direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Just completed the final item--the Acknowledgments--for the "Understanding Artificial Intelligence" book, coming soon from @politybooks.bsky.social And like "The Machine Question" @mitpress.bsky.social 2012, I again conclude by thanking the machines.
January 14, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Just completed the final item--the Acknowledgments--for the "Understanding Artificial Intelligence" book, coming soon from @politybooks.bsky.social And like "The Machine Question" @mitpress.bsky.social 2012, I again conclude by thanking the machines.
Finally something about #LLM involvement in academic publishing that gets it right. The problem is not #AISlop vs. genuine human generated content. The problem--actually the opportunity AND challenge--is "Automatenwissenschaft." Short essay by @seva.bsky.social
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us
what happens when AI automates "normal science"?
hegemon.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Finally something about #LLM involvement in academic publishing that gets it right. The problem is not #AISlop vs. genuine human generated content. The problem--actually the opportunity AND challenge--is "Automatenwissenschaft." Short essay by @seva.bsky.social
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
hegemon.substack.com/p/the-age-of...
Today is publication release date for "Robophilosophy" edited by Johanna Seibt, @raulhakli.bsky.social and Marco Nørskov. My contribution (chapter one) is titled "The Machine Question: Rethinking Moral Philosophy in the Face of Others." @mitpress.bsky.social mitpress.mit.edu/978026204498...
January 13, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Today is publication release date for "Robophilosophy" edited by Johanna Seibt, @raulhakli.bsky.social and Marco Nørskov. My contribution (chapter one) is titled "The Machine Question: Rethinking Moral Philosophy in the Face of Others." @mitpress.bsky.social mitpress.mit.edu/978026204498...
Must have been delicious.
January 11, 2026 at 2:25 AM
Must have been delicious.
Airbus...decent airplane.
January 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Airbus...decent airplane.
Airplane food...and I used the word "food" with some hesitation.
January 10, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Airplane food...and I used the word "food" with some hesitation.
Excellent...see you soon.
January 9, 2026 at 4:03 AM
Excellent...see you soon.