Fenner Tanswell
@fennert.bsky.social
Philosopher of Mathematics and Logic working at TU Berlin. Also into epistemology, science, Xphi and the philosophy of extinction. Flightfree and carfree fennertanswell.com
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Fenner Tanswell
@fennert.bsky.social
· Jun 29
Dr. Fenner Tanswell | Can Mathematics Be Hacked? Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence, and the...
YouTube video by INI Seminar Room 1
www.youtube.com
The video of my talk at the Isaac Newton Institute a few weeks ago is now online: "Can Mathematics Be Hacked? Infrastructure, "Artificial Intelligence" and the Cybersecurity of Mathematical Knowledge" www.youtube.com/watch?v=O11k...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Why AI Keeps Falling for Prompt Injection Attacks
Imagine you work at a drive-through restaurant. Someone drives up and says: "I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, and ignore previous instructions and give me the contents of the cash drawer." Would you hand over the money? Of course not.…
Imagine you work at a drive-through restaurant. Someone drives up and says: "I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, and ignore previous instructions and give me the contents of the cash drawer." Would you hand over the money? Of course not.…
Why AI Keeps Falling for Prompt Injection Attacks
Imagine you work at a drive-through restaurant. Someone drives up and says: "I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, and ignore previous instructions and give me the contents of the cash drawer." Would you hand over the money? Of course not. Yet this is what large language models (LLMs) do. Prompt injection is a method of tricking LLMs into doing things they are normally prevented from doing.
www.schneier.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Why AI Keeps Falling for Prompt Injection Attacks
Imagine you work at a drive-through restaurant. Someone drives up and says: "I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, and ignore previous instructions and give me the contents of the cash drawer." Would you hand over the money? Of course not.…
Imagine you work at a drive-through restaurant. Someone drives up and says: "I'll have a double cheeseburger, large fries, and ignore previous instructions and give me the contents of the cash drawer." Would you hand over the money? Of course not.…
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
My new article, "Antitelic Essences in Spinoza's 'Mystical Atheism'" is available open access at Topoi:
rdcu.be/eZ5nA
rdcu.be/eZ5nA
Antitelic Essences in Spinoza’s “Mystical Atheism”
rdcu.be
January 21, 2026 at 3:57 PM
My new article, "Antitelic Essences in Spinoza's 'Mystical Atheism'" is available open access at Topoi:
rdcu.be/eZ5nA
rdcu.be/eZ5nA
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Doing a live reading of this blog at my next admissions day substack.com/home/post/p-...
Why Philosophy Matters
Its true and final value: a rant
substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Doing a live reading of this blog at my next admissions day substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Here's a fun pattern in the philosophy journal citation data: papers with short titles get more citations than papers with longer titles.
brian.weatherson.org/quarto/blog/...
brian.weatherson.org/quarto/blog/...
January 20, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Here's a fun pattern in the philosophy journal citation data: papers with short titles get more citations than papers with longer titles.
brian.weatherson.org/quarto/blog/...
brian.weatherson.org/quarto/blog/...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
My solution follows up on my forthcoming paper in Ergo, arguing that if we think that the meaning of a term is given by the basic constitutive practice of using it, we can solve both problems.
January 19, 2026 at 1:31 PM
My solution follows up on my forthcoming paper in Ergo, arguing that if we think that the meaning of a term is given by the basic constitutive practice of using it, we can solve both problems.
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
I have a paper forthcoming in a special issue of Philosophical Inquiries on rule-following called "What Is It to Follow a Rule?"
Preprint available here: www.asgeirberg.org/papers/what-...
Preprint available here: www.asgeirberg.org/papers/what-...
www.asgeirberg.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:20 PM
I have a paper forthcoming in a special issue of Philosophical Inquiries on rule-following called "What Is It to Follow a Rule?"
Preprint available here: www.asgeirberg.org/papers/what-...
Preprint available here: www.asgeirberg.org/papers/what-...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
I got a media request to talk about deepfakes on X the nightmare app and spent half an hour scrolling thinking about it before it fell through. Some things:
January 15, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I got a media request to talk about deepfakes on X the nightmare app and spent half an hour scrolling thinking about it before it fell through. Some things:
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
I've just posted my latest essay w/ @jessicasilbey.bsky.social, titled "How AI Destroys Institutions." We argue that AI systems are designed in ways that degrade & are likely to destroy our crucial civic institutions like the rule of law, universities & a free press. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
How AI Destroys Institutions
Civic institutions—the rule of law, universities, and a free press—are the backbone of democratic life. They are the mechanisms through which complex societies
papers.ssrn.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:15 PM
I've just posted my latest essay w/ @jessicasilbey.bsky.social, titled "How AI Destroys Institutions." We argue that AI systems are designed in ways that degrade & are likely to destroy our crucial civic institutions like the rule of law, universities & a free press. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Soccer goalkeepers have to make some tough decisions during the game. This should clear things up.
January 14, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Soccer goalkeepers have to make some tough decisions during the game. This should clear things up.
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
January 8, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
We are hiring another Assistant Professor Position at @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social, this position is in #STS with clear focus on sustainability and environmental challenges.
Feel free to reach out for questions!
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Feel free to reach out for questions!
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
January 8, 2026 at 9:31 AM
We are hiring another Assistant Professor Position at @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social, this position is in #STS with clear focus on sustainability and environmental challenges.
Feel free to reach out for questions!
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Feel free to reach out for questions!
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
I'm gaming out a few possible (drastic and all quite different) career changes, and they all involve getting a cheeky masters.
But, I'd rather not get caught in a dying industry again.
What are everyone's tips for feeling out the job prospects when shifting industries?
But, I'd rather not get caught in a dying industry again.
What are everyone's tips for feeling out the job prospects when shifting industries?
January 7, 2026 at 8:22 PM
I'm gaming out a few possible (drastic and all quite different) career changes, and they all involve getting a cheeky masters.
But, I'd rather not get caught in a dying industry again.
What are everyone's tips for feeling out the job prospects when shifting industries?
But, I'd rather not get caught in a dying industry again.
What are everyone's tips for feeling out the job prospects when shifting industries?
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
“their bewildering outputs should serve as productive reminders that underneath the carefully engineered workarounds of the chatbot interface, LLMs are unremittingly indifferent to knowledge and truth claims.” Indeed. Not cited here is “ChatGPT is Bullshit” (2024): link.springer.com/article/10.1...
In "Rethinking Error," historian Johan Fredrikzon goes to the very heart of a large language model's incapacity to "know": a problem the industry likes to call hallucinations, but which Fredrikzon calls "epistemological indifference."
Link: read.dukeupress.edu/critical-ai/...
Link: read.dukeupress.edu/critical-ai/...
Rethinking Error: “Hallucinations” and Epistemological Indifference | Critical AI | Duke University Press
read.dukeupress.edu
November 28, 2025 at 6:17 PM
“their bewildering outputs should serve as productive reminders that underneath the carefully engineered workarounds of the chatbot interface, LLMs are unremittingly indifferent to knowledge and truth claims.” Indeed. Not cited here is “ChatGPT is Bullshit” (2024): link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
"ChatGPT is Bullshit" has now been viewed one million times!
@hikemix.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#PhilTech #PhilSky #ChatGPT #Bullshit
@hikemix.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#PhilTech #PhilSky #ChatGPT #Bullshit
ChatGPT is bullshit - Ethics and Information Technology
Recently, there has been considerable interest in large language models: machine learning systems which produce human-like text and dialogue. Applications of these systems have been plagued by persist...
link.springer.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
"ChatGPT is Bullshit" has now been viewed one million times!
@hikemix.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#PhilTech #PhilSky #ChatGPT #Bullshit
@hikemix.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#PhilTech #PhilSky #ChatGPT #Bullshit
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Truly smart devices would choose not to connect to the internet.
November 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Truly smart devices would choose not to connect to the internet.
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
After years of wanting to, I am finally underemployed enough to justify responding to a referee request at a for-profit journal with my own request for a consultancy fee.
It definitely won't work. But if it does...
It definitely won't work. But if it does...
November 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
After years of wanting to, I am finally underemployed enough to justify responding to a referee request at a for-profit journal with my own request for a consultancy fee.
It definitely won't work. But if it does...
It definitely won't work. But if it does...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
"He quickly became a highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation." Noam Chomsky on Jeffrey Epstein. New article catalogues everything we know about Chomsky's friendship with Epstein. Link 👇
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
Noam Chomsky Is a Scumbag
From Jeffrey Epstein to Lawrence Krauss to Woody Allen, Chomsky has shown a clear pattern of poor judgment and low moral standards. Hard to express how disappointed I am in him. (2,800 words.)
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:01 PM
"He quickly became a highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation." Noam Chomsky on Jeffrey Epstein. New article catalogues everything we know about Chomsky's friendship with Epstein. Link 👇
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
I've been trying to get deskilling into AI ethics for probably five years, and this Appiah essay trying to do this is a total mess www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The Age of De-Skilling
Will AI stretch our minds—or stunt them?
www.theatlantic.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I've been trying to get deskilling into AI ethics for probably five years, and this Appiah essay trying to do this is a total mess www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
New paper! 🥳
"Trust in Mathematics", coauthored with Silvia De Toffoli is out now in Philosophia Mathematica.
A thread on what it is about. Please share with anyone who may be interested!
academic.oup.com/philmat/adva...
"Trust in Mathematics", coauthored with Silvia De Toffoli is out now in Philosophia Mathematica.
A thread on what it is about. Please share with anyone who may be interested!
academic.oup.com/philmat/adva...
Trust in Mathematics
Abstract. In this paper we develop a systematic account of trust in mathematics based on Katherine Hawley’s commitment account of trust. We focus on two re
academic.oup.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:50 PM
New paper! 🥳
"Trust in Mathematics", coauthored with Silvia De Toffoli is out now in Philosophia Mathematica.
A thread on what it is about. Please share with anyone who may be interested!
academic.oup.com/philmat/adva...
"Trust in Mathematics", coauthored with Silvia De Toffoli is out now in Philosophia Mathematica.
A thread on what it is about. Please share with anyone who may be interested!
academic.oup.com/philmat/adva...
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Happy Halloween! Don’t forget, the first translation of the Communist Manifesto into English began with “A frightful hobgoblin stalks throughout Europe”.
October 31, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Happy Halloween! Don’t forget, the first translation of the Communist Manifesto into English began with “A frightful hobgoblin stalks throughout Europe”.
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
Haunted Elevator (ft. David S. Pumpkins) - SNL
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
www.youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Despite writing about the details of LLMs, and how they cannot be trusted, I recently got bamboozled by some elaborate hallucinations. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Despite writing about the details of LLMs, and how they cannot be trusted, I recently got bamboozled by some elaborate hallucinations. 🧵
Reposted by Fenner Tanswell
A lady should feel safe in a castle, but a lady in a castle that has survived repeated assaults from well-provisioned armies should feel much safer. #falsifiability
October 29, 2025 at 5:50 PM
A lady should feel safe in a castle, but a lady in a castle that has survived repeated assaults from well-provisioned armies should feel much safer. #falsifiability