David Spurrett
@doctorspurt.bsky.social
Philosopher, working on evolution of mechanisms of action selection, and their variously situated subversion. https://davidspurrett.com/
Pinned
David Spurrett
@doctorspurt.bsky.social
· Oct 20
Hello new followers. I'm a philosopher of cognitive science working on a book called 'Engines of Hostility'. Recent papers that inform the book are:
(1) "Hostile Scaffolding" (Timms & Spurrett)
(2) "Fashioning Affordances" (Spurrett & Brancazio)
(3) "On Hostile and Oppressive Affective Technology."
(1) "Hostile Scaffolding" (Timms & Spurrett)
(2) "Fashioning Affordances" (Spurrett & Brancazio)
(3) "On Hostile and Oppressive Affective Technology."
Reposted by David Spurrett
Something compelled me to make this
February 10, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Something compelled me to make this
They could re-use this gag:
Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.
Waldorf: Who's a fool? You watched it.
Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.
Waldorf: Who's a fool? You watched it.
February 7, 2026 at 8:14 AM
They could re-use this gag:
Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.
Waldorf: Who's a fool? You watched it.
Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.
Waldorf: Who's a fool? You watched it.
Reposted by David Spurrett
Was driving my kids to school and the first thing on the radio was reporting about Trump's video depicting the Obamas as apes and I think many people still don't fully appreciate what it means to have to raise Black children in a country where the president is so brazenly and consistently racist
February 6, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Was driving my kids to school and the first thing on the radio was reporting about Trump's video depicting the Obamas as apes and I think many people still don't fully appreciate what it means to have to raise Black children in a country where the president is so brazenly and consistently racist
Yes, he'd be dire.
February 7, 2026 at 7:08 AM
Yes, he'd be dire.
Reposted by David Spurrett
It was unclear if Mr. Hirohito was aware that the planes he had sent towards Hawaii carried bombs.
The New York Times has finally covered the Trump video of Obama as an ape — and they are still providing cover for him. Fuck the Times.
February 6, 2026 at 2:29 PM
It was unclear if Mr. Hirohito was aware that the planes he had sent towards Hawaii carried bombs.
LBC 'journalism' would rather not call racism what it is.
February 6, 2026 at 3:54 PM
LBC 'journalism' would rather not call racism what it is.
When I watched season 1 of 'Westworld' back in the day I kept thinking it was kinda lazy or unimaginative writing that the (very rich) guests' main goals in the park seemed to be killing and f*cking without consequence and with 'consent' an utter irrelevance. Seems I was wrong.
February 6, 2026 at 2:57 PM
When I watched season 1 of 'Westworld' back in the day I kept thinking it was kinda lazy or unimaginative writing that the (very rich) guests' main goals in the park seemed to be killing and f*cking without consequence and with 'consent' an utter irrelevance. Seems I was wrong.
Reposted by David Spurrett
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by David Spurrett
[writing love letter] My darling, how i long to caress you. When I hold you tenderly in my arms I become [glancing at The Immortal Cinema of Tom Selleck dvd box set I keep on my escritoire at all times] quigley down under
April 8, 2024 at 11:07 AM
[writing love letter] My darling, how i long to caress you. When I hold you tenderly in my arms I become [glancing at The Immortal Cinema of Tom Selleck dvd box set I keep on my escritoire at all times] quigley down under
If you don't already know the Klinkenborg, Damon, then you are in for a major treat!
February 6, 2026 at 6:23 AM
If you don't already know the Klinkenborg, Damon, then you are in for a major treat!
Probably not an 'essay' but the first thing that came to my mind is Verlyn Klinkenborg's "Several short sentences about writing". (That Saunders essay is lovely.)
February 6, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Probably not an 'essay' but the first thing that came to my mind is Verlyn Klinkenborg's "Several short sentences about writing". (That Saunders essay is lovely.)
Yes, that seems especially clear here, with the feedback scripts, and the ways the 'team' interactions facilitate division of labour, etc. A zone of proximal dev tools, if you will.
February 6, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Yes, that seems especially clear here, with the feedback scripts, and the ways the 'team' interactions facilitate division of labour, etc. A zone of proximal dev tools, if you will.
Reposted by David Spurrett
Somebody created an Reddit clone exclusively populated by personal digital agents and let them interact with each other. It’s bonkers, fascinating and terrifying in equal measure.
www.forbes.com/sites/amirhu...
www.forbes.com/sites/amirhu...
An Agent Revolt: Moltbook Is Not A Good Idea
OpenClaw is a breakthrough AI assistant. Moltbook, its new social network for agents, is a security catastrophe waiting to happen. Here's why you should avoid it.
www.forbes.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Somebody created an Reddit clone exclusively populated by personal digital agents and let them interact with each other. It’s bonkers, fascinating and terrifying in equal measure.
www.forbes.com/sites/amirhu...
www.forbes.com/sites/amirhu...
Reposted by David Spurrett
1. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to visit the Alfa Romeo museum in Milan. What a gorgeous museum of design.
Over the next few days I'll be posting a thread of pictures from my visit.
Here's a teaser.
Over the next few days I'll be posting a thread of pictures from my visit.
Here's a teaser.
January 18, 2026 at 9:33 AM
1. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to visit the Alfa Romeo museum in Milan. What a gorgeous museum of design.
Over the next few days I'll be posting a thread of pictures from my visit.
Here's a teaser.
Over the next few days I'll be posting a thread of pictures from my visit.
Here's a teaser.
Reposted by David Spurrett
We got Palantir's user guide for ELITE, the tool they made for ICE: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 3:08 PM
We got Palantir's user guide for ELITE, the tool they made for ICE: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Reposted by David Spurrett
"We are bearing witness to what fear can do to the health of a community"
A poignant piece @NEJM about the Minneapolis devastation
"We care for our patients because they are human beings. Our patients are being harmed. People are dying unnecessarily."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
A poignant piece @NEJM about the Minneapolis devastation
"We care for our patients because they are human beings. Our patients are being harmed. People are dying unnecessarily."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
January 30, 2026 at 12:21 AM
"We are bearing witness to what fear can do to the health of a community"
A poignant piece @NEJM about the Minneapolis devastation
"We care for our patients because they are human beings. Our patients are being harmed. People are dying unnecessarily."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
A poignant piece @NEJM about the Minneapolis devastation
"We care for our patients because they are human beings. Our patients are being harmed. People are dying unnecessarily."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by David Spurrett
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 30, 2026 at 2:51 PM
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Yes! Neurons are one cool technology for cognition, but goal-tracking response to contingencies goes pretty much all the way down, and is worth recognising as cognitive.
January 30, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Yes! Neurons are one cool technology for cognition, but goal-tracking response to contingencies goes pretty much all the way down, and is worth recognising as cognitive.
Reposted by David Spurrett
Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 29, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny
Reposted by David Spurrett
right now we have the worst of all worlds, where copyright lasts basically forever and can be used to prevent normal people from engaging in all kinds of creative endeavors...but corporations can steal all your stuff without paying for it and use it to compete with you and put you out of a job.
After years of corporations like Nintendo suing regular people for fan projects, of course people want to see LLM companies face the same consequences.
A phenomenon I find interesting is the yearning for corporations to launch copyright nukes on the AI companies. Which is to say there is such a feeling of hopelessness and a kind of legal void around this stuff that many people are demanding someone, anyone, do something about it in court.
January 29, 2026 at 6:21 PM
right now we have the worst of all worlds, where copyright lasts basically forever and can be used to prevent normal people from engaging in all kinds of creative endeavors...but corporations can steal all your stuff without paying for it and use it to compete with you and put you out of a job.
Reposted by David Spurrett
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by David Spurrett
First post of the year, new paper out today: we present possibly the biggest case of systematic Measurement Schmeasurement in tech use. It seems that most studies on gaming (videogame) addiction/disorder haven't measured gaming after all. This research took years, so long 🧵 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
Confusion in gaming disorder measurement
Abstract. Measurement is important for the scientific programmes of addictive behaviours. In the present study, we investigated the measurement of gaming d
doi.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:56 AM
First post of the year, new paper out today: we present possibly the biggest case of systematic Measurement Schmeasurement in tech use. It seems that most studies on gaming (videogame) addiction/disorder haven't measured gaming after all. This research took years, so long 🧵 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
Reposted by David Spurrett
"There’s an extremely hurtful narrative going around that my product, a revolutionary new technology that exists to scam the elderly and make you distrust anything you see online, is harmful to society."
Please Don’t Say Mean Things about the AI That I Just Invested a Billion Dollars In
“[Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang Is Begging You to Stop Being So Negative About AI” — Headline from Gizmodo - - — Guys, enough is enough. Bullying is a s...
buff.ly
January 27, 2026 at 7:27 PM
"There’s an extremely hurtful narrative going around that my product, a revolutionary new technology that exists to scam the elderly and make you distrust anything you see online, is harmful to society."
Reposted by David Spurrett
"I think it's no surprise that a company run by a man who sat behind Trump at his inauguration, and donated to the destruction of the White House, has taken a stance that helps ICE agents retain anonymity."
Scoop from @davidgilbert.bsky.social
Scoop from @davidgilbert.bsky.social
Meta Is Blocking Links To ICE List on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads
Users of Meta's social platforms can no longer share links to ICE List, a website listing what it claims are the names of thousands of DHS employees.
www.wired.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:51 PM
"I think it's no surprise that a company run by a man who sat behind Trump at his inauguration, and donated to the destruction of the White House, has taken a stance that helps ICE agents retain anonymity."
Scoop from @davidgilbert.bsky.social
Scoop from @davidgilbert.bsky.social
Reposted by David Spurrett
This is terrifying
I do t even understand how this is legal since medical records are supposed to be confidential - even from the government.
This is not only going to impact patient care but will prevent those at greatest need from seeming care until it’s too late.
I do t even understand how this is legal since medical records are supposed to be confidential - even from the government.
This is not only going to impact patient care but will prevent those at greatest need from seeming care until it’s too late.
ICE agents are using an app developed by Palantir that draws on the health records of millions of Americans to find and detain illegal immigrants
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
January 27, 2026 at 5:39 PM
This is terrifying
I do t even understand how this is legal since medical records are supposed to be confidential - even from the government.
This is not only going to impact patient care but will prevent those at greatest need from seeming care until it’s too late.
I do t even understand how this is legal since medical records are supposed to be confidential - even from the government.
This is not only going to impact patient care but will prevent those at greatest need from seeming care until it’s too late.