Julien Porquet/Posture
@julienporquet.bsky.social
https://julienposture.com/
https://julienposture.substack.com/
Illustrator & PhD candidate in anthropology, University of Cambridge
I study how people and machines look together and against each other. (he/him)
Visual culture|semiotics|STS
https://julienposture.substack.com/
Illustrator & PhD candidate in anthropology, University of Cambridge
I study how people and machines look together and against each other. (he/him)
Visual culture|semiotics|STS
Pinned
Copying style, Extracting value: Illustrators' Perception of AI Style Transfer and its Impact on Creative Labor | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
dl.acm.org
After sharing the preprint, here is our officially published #CHI2025 paper:
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
On my way to Leiden for the first 'Linguistic Anthropology in Europe' conference to talk about the division of (semiotic) labour in Text-to-Image models.
If you're around come say hi!
If you're around come say hi!
November 5, 2025 at 12:46 PM
On my way to Leiden for the first 'Linguistic Anthropology in Europe' conference to talk about the division of (semiotic) labour in Text-to-Image models.
If you're around come say hi!
If you're around come say hi!
"Creativity" here stands for value-through-scarcity, its human uniqueness is its market value, and vice versa.
But creativity means many other things, and most of those are not related to market incentives, profit and capitalization.
But creativity means many other things, and most of those are not related to market incentives, profit and capitalization.
This is so bizarre because no one who loves film will see this, and anyone who would see an AI generated film would never watch The Magnificent Ambersons - but like I guess so much of AI art, the audience is somehow not the point
AI Is “Possibly The End Of Human Creativity,” Predicts CEO Of Amazon-Backed Firm Helping Rescue Lost ‘Magnificent Ambersons’ Footage
Edward Saatchi, CEO of Amazon-backed startup Fable, sees AI as "possibly the end of human creativity" -- at least as an exclusive phenomenon.
deadline.com
September 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM
"Creativity" here stands for value-through-scarcity, its human uniqueness is its market value, and vice versa.
But creativity means many other things, and most of those are not related to market incentives, profit and capitalization.
But creativity means many other things, and most of those are not related to market incentives, profit and capitalization.
"Useful social science theories predict behavior across settings."
No.
No.
This is a cool paper that suggests that AI agents can indeed be used for social science experiments, but that just using a chatbot isn't good enough, instead prompts developed based on social & game theory makes AI agent actions predictive of real human outcomes. benjaminmanning.io/files/optimi...
September 6, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"Useful social science theories predict behavior across settings."
No.
No.
📣 I forgot to share this peer review article on the concept of #style through time, from the first copyright laws in eighteenth-century England to today's AI disputes!
It's published in the Journal of #illustration.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
It's published in the Journal of #illustration.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
How to do things with style: A pragmatic history of style as a site for debates about authorship, commodification and technological reproducibility | Intellect
While students desperately ask how to find it, educators deem it superficial; at times, a sign of artistic personality, it simultaneously indexes market niches; individual property of the artist, it a...
intellectdiscover.com
September 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
📣 I forgot to share this peer review article on the concept of #style through time, from the first copyright laws in eighteenth-century England to today's AI disputes!
It's published in the Journal of #illustration.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
It's published in the Journal of #illustration.
intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...
While I'm wary of the "AI is killing –" framing (because it fails to account for the preexisting systemic conditions in which machine learning technologies are presented as optimizing, streamlining, etc.), it would be nice to have some illustrators represented.
Do reach out and share your stories!
Do reach out and share your stories!
I'm looking for stories about how AI is killing creative work, and I'd love to hear from you—artists, writers, illustrators, actors, designers, editors, voice actors and narrators—if your job or practice has been hit. This is going to be a big one.
AIKilledMyJob@pm.me
AIKilledMyJob@pm.me
September 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM
While I'm wary of the "AI is killing –" framing (because it fails to account for the preexisting systemic conditions in which machine learning technologies are presented as optimizing, streamlining, etc.), it would be nice to have some illustrators represented.
Do reach out and share your stories!
Do reach out and share your stories!
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
It was so wonderful to talk to Julien about @armadillostock.bsky.social, illustration licensing, artist organizing, and more! There's even audio if you prefer listening to reading. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the things I love!
I’m so excited to share this interview with @michelerosenthal.com about her alternative licensing platform @armadillostock.bsky.social!
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
Licensing platforms: is there no alternative? (Yes, there is.)
An interview with grassroots licensing platform Armadillo's founder, Michele Rosenthal
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:18 PM
It was so wonderful to talk to Julien about @armadillostock.bsky.social, illustration licensing, artist organizing, and more! There's even audio if you prefer listening to reading. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the things I love!
I’m so excited to share this interview with @michelerosenthal.com about her alternative licensing platform @armadillostock.bsky.social!
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
Licensing platforms: is there no alternative? (Yes, there is.)
An interview with grassroots licensing platform Armadillo's founder, Michele Rosenthal
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I’m so excited to share this interview with @michelerosenthal.com about her alternative licensing platform @armadillostock.bsky.social!
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
We discuss:
🖼️ The economy and ecology of stock image platforms
🤖 Their relationship with AI
✊The role of organizing for freelance artists
This is a very exciting project by and for illustrators and an excellent example of bottom-up organizing among freelance workers!
Go check it out, share and support if you can!
Go check it out, share and support if you can!
The Armadillo Kickstarter is LIVE!
Help us launch a community-built, free-to-use platform for licensing human-made art directly from illustrators!
Find out more: kickstarter.com/projects/dialmformichele/armadillo-stock
Help us launch a community-built, free-to-use platform for licensing human-made art directly from illustrators!
Find out more: kickstarter.com/projects/dialmformichele/armadillo-stock
August 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This is a very exciting project by and for illustrators and an excellent example of bottom-up organizing among freelance workers!
Go check it out, share and support if you can!
Go check it out, share and support if you can!
I had the pleasure of being profiled in @thephilanthropist.ca about my work as an illustrator and anthropologist.
These two layers of my practice rarely get to shine under the same roof, so many thanks to @gordonbowness.bsky.social for the generous portrait!
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/illu...
These two layers of my practice rarely get to shine under the same roof, so many thanks to @gordonbowness.bsky.social for the generous portrait!
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/illu...
Illustrating work - The Philanthropist Journal
Illustrator and anthropologist Julien Posture discusses how human misunderstanding and machine learning devalue creative labour.
thephilanthropist.ca
August 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
I had the pleasure of being profiled in @thephilanthropist.ca about my work as an illustrator and anthropologist.
These two layers of my practice rarely get to shine under the same roof, so many thanks to @gordonbowness.bsky.social for the generous portrait!
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/illu...
These two layers of my practice rarely get to shine under the same roof, so many thanks to @gordonbowness.bsky.social for the generous portrait!
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/illu...
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
Interesting application of Berkeley anthropologist Alexei Yurchak's theory of "hypernormalization" (developed for 1980s USSR) to the USA over the past few months www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real
If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help
www.theguardian.com
May 24, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Interesting application of Berkeley anthropologist Alexei Yurchak's theory of "hypernormalization" (developed for 1980s USSR) to the USA over the past few months www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
Starting my conference marathon this Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania Semiotic Anthropology Conference (online).
"From artists’ hands to clients’ words: Styles, Text-to-Image algorithms and the division of creative labor."
Next stop, Vienna and Paris!
www.upennsemioticslab.com
"From artists’ hands to clients’ words: Styles, Text-to-Image algorithms and the division of creative labor."
Next stop, Vienna and Paris!
www.upennsemioticslab.com
Home | Semiotic Anthropology
www.upennsemioticslab.com
May 8, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Starting my conference marathon this Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania Semiotic Anthropology Conference (online).
"From artists’ hands to clients’ words: Styles, Text-to-Image algorithms and the division of creative labor."
Next stop, Vienna and Paris!
www.upennsemioticslab.com
"From artists’ hands to clients’ words: Styles, Text-to-Image algorithms and the division of creative labor."
Next stop, Vienna and Paris!
www.upennsemioticslab.com
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
This data center organizing guide from @kairosfellows.bsky.social and @mediajustice.bsky.social is so f’ing good: concise, informative, and beautifully designed. Print it out, make a zine, etc www.kairosfellows.org/fightdatacen...
Organizer guide to fighting data centers — Kairos Fellowship
www.kairosfellows.org
May 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
This data center organizing guide from @kairosfellows.bsky.social and @mediajustice.bsky.social is so f’ing good: concise, informative, and beautifully designed. Print it out, make a zine, etc www.kairosfellows.org/fightdatacen...
I'll be talking about experimental ethnography and HCI over there next week!
EASA Media Anthropology Network event
#AI in Media Anthropology: Trajectories, Challenges, Opportunities
📌 University of Vienna, Austria
📅 15-16 May 2025
Find out more >>
easaonline.org/networks/med...
#AI in Media Anthropology: Trajectories, Challenges, Opportunities
📌 University of Vienna, Austria
📅 15-16 May 2025
Find out more >>
easaonline.org/networks/med...
May 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I'll be talking about experimental ethnography and HCI over there next week!
Little academic milestone: this week I got my first ever citation in another paper!
And I couldn't be happier that it's about artists, creative labor and machine learning.
🎉📚
And I couldn't be happier that it's about artists, creative labor and machine learning.
🎉📚
April 27, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Little academic milestone: this week I got my first ever citation in another paper!
And I couldn't be happier that it's about artists, creative labor and machine learning.
🎉📚
And I couldn't be happier that it's about artists, creative labor and machine learning.
🎉📚
“The A.I. is huge. A tsunami. But it’s not me. It can’t touch my me-ness. It doesn’t know what it is to be human, to be me.”
Oh good, I'm glad to know students and profs in ivy league universities don't feel that their individual "me-ness" is threatened by "AI".
🙃
Oh good, I'm glad to know students and profs in ivy league universities don't feel that their individual "me-ness" is threatened by "AI".
🙃
“Historians have long extolled the ‘power of the archive.’ Little did we know that the engineers would come along and plug it in. And it turns out that a huge amount of what we seek from a human person can be simulated through this Frankensteinian reanimation of our collective dead letters.”
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
www.newyorker.com
April 26, 2025 at 2:46 PM
“The A.I. is huge. A tsunami. But it’s not me. It can’t touch my me-ness. It doesn’t know what it is to be human, to be me.”
Oh good, I'm glad to know students and profs in ivy league universities don't feel that their individual "me-ness" is threatened by "AI".
🙃
Oh good, I'm glad to know students and profs in ivy league universities don't feel that their individual "me-ness" is threatened by "AI".
🙃
After sharing the preprint, here is our officially published #CHI2025 paper:
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Copying style, Extracting value: Illustrators' Perception of AI Style Transfer and its Impact on Creative Labor | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
dl.acm.org
April 26, 2025 at 10:13 AM
After sharing the preprint, here is our officially published #CHI2025 paper:
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫
with @sitong-wang.bsky.social and Lydia Chilton
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
The full report by the Tony Blair Institute is out, in which they detail how copyright should be "rebooted" in the AI age. It reads like a big tech lobbying document. I hope they will be asked serious questions at its launch in London today.
Some very brief highlights:
🧵 1/8
Some very brief highlights:
🧵 1/8
April 2, 2025 at 6:09 AM
The full report by the Tony Blair Institute is out, in which they detail how copyright should be "rebooted" in the AI age. It reads like a big tech lobbying document. I hope they will be asked serious questions at its launch in London today.
Some very brief highlights:
🧵 1/8
Some very brief highlights:
🧵 1/8
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
So, @elsevierconnect.bsky.social added an AI question and answer to my article in Computer & Education.
The answers are wrong!
They did not ask permission!
The answers are WRONG!
How is this science?!
The answers are wrong!
They did not ask permission!
The answers are WRONG!
How is this science?!
April 1, 2025 at 3:02 PM
So, @elsevierconnect.bsky.social added an AI question and answer to my article in Computer & Education.
The answers are wrong!
They did not ask permission!
The answers are WRONG!
How is this science?!
The answers are wrong!
They did not ask permission!
The answers are WRONG!
How is this science?!
April 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Important resource re: Mandalay earthquake in Myanmar. ⬇️
For helping Mandalay earthquake, check this vetted and pretty comprehensive list: karenvinalay.notion.site/Myanmar-dona...
Myanmar donation links (updated 1 April 2025) | Notion
This list is collated and vetted by Karen Vinalay
karenvinalay.notion.site
April 1, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Important resource re: Mandalay earthquake in Myanmar. ⬇️
Reposted by Julien Porquet/Posture
If you want to help victims of the earthquake in Myanmar, I recommend donating to smaller initiatives:
1. Better Burma (www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-...)
2. Advance Myanmar (www.advancemyanmar.org/myanmar-eart...)
3. My PhD student from Mandalay is collecting funds www.gofundme.com/f/donation-t...
1. Better Burma (www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-...)
2. Advance Myanmar (www.advancemyanmar.org/myanmar-eart...)
3. My PhD student from Mandalay is collecting funds www.gofundme.com/f/donation-t...
Donate to Help Survivors of Earthquake in Mandalay, organised by Ye Myint WIN
Hello, I am Nickey Diamond, originally from Mandalay, Myanmar, but now based in … Ye Myint WIN needs your support for Help Survivors of Earthquake in Mandalay
www.gofundme.com
March 29, 2025 at 1:52 PM
If you want to help victims of the earthquake in Myanmar, I recommend donating to smaller initiatives:
1. Better Burma (www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-...)
2. Advance Myanmar (www.advancemyanmar.org/myanmar-eart...)
3. My PhD student from Mandalay is collecting funds www.gofundme.com/f/donation-t...
1. Better Burma (www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-...)
2. Advance Myanmar (www.advancemyanmar.org/myanmar-eart...)
3. My PhD student from Mandalay is collecting funds www.gofundme.com/f/donation-t...
This week the world got Ghiblified, pointing once more that styles are more than mere surface, but essential parts of our cultural, political and economic lives.
My PhD is about the political economy of how humans and machines see style in the US illustration industry, and I have thoughts!
🧵1/
My PhD is about the political economy of how humans and machines see style in the US illustration industry, and I have thoughts!
🧵1/
March 29, 2025 at 10:41 AM
This week the world got Ghiblified, pointing once more that styles are more than mere surface, but essential parts of our cultural, political and economic lives.
My PhD is about the political economy of how humans and machines see style in the US illustration industry, and I have thoughts!
🧵1/
My PhD is about the political economy of how humans and machines see style in the US illustration industry, and I have thoughts!
🧵1/
I made this image!
It's always a treat to illustrate some nerdy neuroscience.
It's always a treat to illustrate some nerdy neuroscience.
Nouveau folksy vibes in today's dreamy illustration by Julien Posture for Stephanie Palmer's essay on ties between human speech and birdsong — a groundbreaking review by Allison Doupe helped shape the neural and evolutionary dynamics of speech. Via @thetransmitter.bsky.social: bit.ly/4iZixbt #sciart
Stephanie Palmer on human speech, birdsong and a mentor
A groundbreaking review by Allison Doupe, who was Palmer’s mentor, and Patricia Kuhl shaped the field of neural and evolutionary dynamics of speech.
www.thetransmitter.org
March 18, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I made this image!
It's always a treat to illustrate some nerdy neuroscience.
It's always a treat to illustrate some nerdy neuroscience.