Damien Pfister
@dspfister.bsky.social
Rhetoric, media, and culture. Against the broligarchy, for the leguminati.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
"Republicans are driving up your electricity bills so they can generate AI memes about their war crimes" should be a political layup
December 1, 2025 at 4:48 PM
"Republicans are driving up your electricity bills so they can generate AI memes about their war crimes" should be a political layup
Reposted by Damien Pfister
The New Turing Test
is whether a human is capable of understanding
that
human-like responses from a computer are not good evidence that it perceives or feels anything,
compared to
the biological similarities, including in DNA, between you and members of a vast number of other species.
is whether a human is capable of understanding
that
human-like responses from a computer are not good evidence that it perceives or feels anything,
compared to
the biological similarities, including in DNA, between you and members of a vast number of other species.
November 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The New Turing Test
is whether a human is capable of understanding
that
human-like responses from a computer are not good evidence that it perceives or feels anything,
compared to
the biological similarities, including in DNA, between you and members of a vast number of other species.
is whether a human is capable of understanding
that
human-like responses from a computer are not good evidence that it perceives or feels anything,
compared to
the biological similarities, including in DNA, between you and members of a vast number of other species.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
💥 New publication out on the alignment of AI & authoritarianism 💥
We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes.
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes.
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 24, 2025 at 9:39 AM
💥 New publication out on the alignment of AI & authoritarianism 💥
We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes.
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes.
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Damien Pfister
My darling. I write from the battlefield. It's so cold today; there is ill news throughout the mid-Atlantic—is what they say about Montclair true?—yet here are good tidings: the pararhyme disarmed them and we plan to turn the tide with metonymy. Their armies are vast but we are not without hope.
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 9:50 PM
My darling. I write from the battlefield. It's so cold today; there is ill news throughout the mid-Atlantic—is what they say about Montclair true?—yet here are good tidings: the pararhyme disarmed them and we plan to turn the tide with metonymy. Their armies are vast but we are not without hope.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
TIL the postwar Frankfurt School, in the personage of Friedrich Pollock, produced a book-length analysis of the automation question as it appeared in the mid-1950s. Thanks @cominsitu.bsky.social
cominsitu.wordpress.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:09 PM
TIL the postwar Frankfurt School, in the personage of Friedrich Pollock, produced a book-length analysis of the automation question as it appeared in the mid-1950s. Thanks @cominsitu.bsky.social
Reposted by Damien Pfister
I find it terrifying that people (men) think they are falling in love with AI chat bots.
The desire for a romantic object that does not exist outside of your interactions with you and has no purpose other than to secure and maintain your attention is the purest distillation of misogyny.
The desire for a romantic object that does not exist outside of your interactions with you and has no purpose other than to secure and maintain your attention is the purest distillation of misogyny.
October 4, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I find it terrifying that people (men) think they are falling in love with AI chat bots.
The desire for a romantic object that does not exist outside of your interactions with you and has no purpose other than to secure and maintain your attention is the purest distillation of misogyny.
The desire for a romantic object that does not exist outside of your interactions with you and has no purpose other than to secure and maintain your attention is the purest distillation of misogyny.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Just heard word that my book, ENDURING DIGITAL DAMAGE, is shipping on Oct 15 if ordered from the UAP website. You can preorder it now and the discount code “DAMAGE” will take 30 percent off the total price.
www.uapress.ua.edu/978081736219...
www.uapress.ua.edu/978081736219...
Enduring Digital Damage
Networks the intricate relationship between rapidly advancing digital technologies and environmental degradation and reveals the costs of our globally connec...
www.uapress.ua.edu
October 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Just heard word that my book, ENDURING DIGITAL DAMAGE, is shipping on Oct 15 if ordered from the UAP website. You can preorder it now and the discount code “DAMAGE” will take 30 percent off the total price.
www.uapress.ua.edu/978081736219...
www.uapress.ua.edu/978081736219...
Reposted by Damien Pfister
NEW CRITICAL AI SERIES CLUSTER, "Gen AI and/as Religion" - edited by @johnmodern.bsky.social
criticalai.org/2025/10/01/c...
Please share widely!
criticalai.org/2025/10/01/c...
Please share widely!
CAI SPECIAL SERIES CFP: FEEL THE AGI! GEN AI AND/AS RELIGION
Special Topic Series in Critical AIFeel the AGI! On (Generative) AI and/as ReligionSeries Editor John Modern (Franklin & Marshall College) The language of religion courses through the AI hype m…
criticalai.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:07 PM
NEW CRITICAL AI SERIES CLUSTER, "Gen AI and/as Religion" - edited by @johnmodern.bsky.social
criticalai.org/2025/10/01/c...
Please share widely!
criticalai.org/2025/10/01/c...
Please share widely!
Reposted by Damien Pfister
"This absurdity, in fact, is at the very heart of fascist violence. It is the final twist of the knife, the head-shaking feeling of disbelief right before you are tossed in the prison van. It’s not just that we are being destroyed, it’s that we are being destroyed for incredibly stupid reasons."
Getting Yelled at By Dumbasses
The defining experience of fascism.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM
"This absurdity, in fact, is at the very heart of fascist violence. It is the final twist of the knife, the head-shaking feeling of disbelief right before you are tossed in the prison van. It’s not just that we are being destroyed, it’s that we are being destroyed for incredibly stupid reasons."
Reposted by Damien Pfister
just the hugest shout-out to the site against-a-i.com/short-readin..., with a list of teachable readings that I could pull from for my class this semester
thanks to the team putting it together, led by @annakornbluh.bsky.social. What a service <3
thanks to the team putting it together, led by @annakornbluh.bsky.social. What a service <3
Teachable Readings - AGAINST AI
Image: Bride of the Wind, Oskar Kokoschka
against-a-i.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:14 AM
just the hugest shout-out to the site against-a-i.com/short-readin..., with a list of teachable readings that I could pull from for my class this semester
thanks to the team putting it together, led by @annakornbluh.bsky.social. What a service <3
thanks to the team putting it together, led by @annakornbluh.bsky.social. What a service <3
Reposted by Damien Pfister
My drawn statement on Ai as standalone from my now finished minicomic as syllabus for new liberal studies class! As promised this is shareable, printable - all from my site, feel free to make use of it, cite me & let me know how it’s received. Share away all here! spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...
August 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
My drawn statement on Ai as standalone from my now finished minicomic as syllabus for new liberal studies class! As promised this is shareable, printable - all from my site, feel free to make use of it, cite me & let me know how it’s received. Share away all here! spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Good morning! Here's a flyer for Remembering Jefferson--use the code at the UP Kansas web site and get 30% off and free shipping. Just in time for the semisesquicentennial!
August 16, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Good morning! Here's a flyer for Remembering Jefferson--use the code at the UP Kansas web site and get 30% off and free shipping. Just in time for the semisesquicentennial!
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Something about the way LLMs build in the idea that to find something out, you shouldn't read an already existing text that other people have also read (ew!); you should get fresh text generated just for you. Each time, new disposable text.
July 23, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Something about the way LLMs build in the idea that to find something out, you shouldn't read an already existing text that other people have also read (ew!); you should get fresh text generated just for you. Each time, new disposable text.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
I’m not saying anything novel, but I wake up every morning, struck anew with the realization that the worst possible behaviors are incentivized, the virtues I uphold have no market value, the most tragicomically incompetent ppl are in charge, + we’re gleefully flooding ourselves with toxic sludge.
July 17, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I’m not saying anything novel, but I wake up every morning, struck anew with the realization that the worst possible behaviors are incentivized, the virtues I uphold have no market value, the most tragicomically incompetent ppl are in charge, + we’re gleefully flooding ourselves with toxic sludge.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
The future of education is being built by people who skimmed Dewey’s Experience and Education—the title only— and then go on to install LED swings and ball pits and call it curriculum.
June 7, 2025 at 12:56 PM
The future of education is being built by people who skimmed Dewey’s Experience and Education—the title only— and then go on to install LED swings and ball pits and call it curriculum.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
New: A DOGE staffer developed an AI tool to review Veterans Affairs contracts.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts
We obtained records showing how a Department of Government Efficiency staffer with no medical experience used artificial intelligence to identify which VA contracts to kill. “AI is absolutely the wron...
www.propublica.org
June 6, 2025 at 9:41 AM
New: A DOGE staffer developed an AI tool to review Veterans Affairs contracts.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
'This moment urgently calls for bold, critical research and alliances across academia, journalism, and civil society and for those with privileged access to public discourse to take responsibility'
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I on the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I on the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
The roots of reactionary tech oligarchy and the need for radical democratic alternatives
Abstract. The aim for this commentary is two-fold: first, we seek to outline how decades of liberal “post-democratic” hegemony—prevalent across liberal dem
academic.oup.com
June 4, 2025 at 7:57 AM
'This moment urgently calls for bold, critical research and alliances across academia, journalism, and civil society and for those with privileged access to public discourse to take responsibility'
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I on the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
@jfarkas.bsky.social and I on the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
Reposted by Damien Pfister
🚨 I'm happy to see this published. My analysis of Trump's alt-media strategy in the 2024 election challenges purely technological & economic explanations of the right's online success.
June 4, 2025 at 12:36 AM
🚨 I'm happy to see this published. My analysis of Trump's alt-media strategy in the 2024 election challenges purely technological & economic explanations of the right's online success.
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Mostly writing this here to
keep track of claims, succinctly. Curious if this resonates/tells a compelling story. In that spirit…
Some points about crypto, a.i., and the motivations for bringing about recession/depression/economic apocalypse:
keep track of claims, succinctly. Curious if this resonates/tells a compelling story. In that spirit…
Some points about crypto, a.i., and the motivations for bringing about recession/depression/economic apocalypse:
June 4, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Mostly writing this here to
keep track of claims, succinctly. Curious if this resonates/tells a compelling story. In that spirit…
Some points about crypto, a.i., and the motivations for bringing about recession/depression/economic apocalypse:
keep track of claims, succinctly. Curious if this resonates/tells a compelling story. In that spirit…
Some points about crypto, a.i., and the motivations for bringing about recession/depression/economic apocalypse:
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Honored to be in this b2o “Critique as Care” special issue. 1. It’s b2o + 2. it’s in memoriam of my late colleague David Golumbia. This is a rhetorical studies piece on TikTok’s corecore + LIVE. Come for the contributions; stay for the vulnerable end. #TeamRhetoric
www.boundary2.org/2025/05/cadd...
www.boundary2.org/2025/05/cadd...
Caddie Alford–Witnessing Corecore as an Epideictic Call to Care
This text is published as part of a special b2o issue titled “Critique as Care”, edited by Norberto Gomez, Frankie Mastrangelo, Jonathan Nichols, and Paul Robertson, and published in honor of our b2o ...
www.boundary2.org
May 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Honored to be in this b2o “Critique as Care” special issue. 1. It’s b2o + 2. it’s in memoriam of my late colleague David Golumbia. This is a rhetorical studies piece on TikTok’s corecore + LIVE. Come for the contributions; stay for the vulnerable end. #TeamRhetoric
www.boundary2.org/2025/05/cadd...
www.boundary2.org/2025/05/cadd...
Reposted by Damien Pfister
Its the ease with which universities have suddenly the money to pay for AI subscriptions, AI professorships, AI workshops, AI everything while they reassure us that "there is no money" to pay grad students and precarious faculty living wages.
Can you imagine if the loudest voices in higher ed actually stopped to critically evaluate whether so-called "AI" tools are worth the documented and likely-but-not-yet-well-documented effects of their use?
Instead of being AI triumphalist, remembering that tech vendors are not our friends/saviors?
Instead of being AI triumphalist, remembering that tech vendors are not our friends/saviors?
May 1, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Its the ease with which universities have suddenly the money to pay for AI subscriptions, AI professorships, AI workshops, AI everything while they reassure us that "there is no money" to pay grad students and precarious faculty living wages.