mikes barnes
@mikesbarnes.bsky.social
philosophy of words & the world wide web & the work behind it all. associate professor at the university of oslo. michaelrandallbarnes.com
Pinned
mikes barnes
@mikesbarnes.bsky.social
· Feb 12
just noticed this book (coming out in may) now has a cover. but just look all the great contributors (and me). seriously #blessed to be a part of this. big thanks to patrick connolly, sandy goldberg and @jennysaul.bsky.social for putting this together
with all that Venezuelan oil the US will finally be able to afford pointless wars
January 3, 2026 at 1:02 PM
with all that Venezuelan oil the US will finally be able to afford pointless wars
wait. are fisherman's friend conscious?
January 2, 2026 at 10:46 AM
wait. are fisherman's friend conscious?
learnt today that x (formerly Twitter) is bad. sharing this info immediately on blue sky
January 2, 2026 at 7:10 AM
learnt today that x (formerly Twitter) is bad. sharing this info immediately on blue sky
misread 'tenor' as 'terror'
December 28, 2025 at 7:29 AM
misread 'tenor' as 'terror'
re recent job market discourse:
what even is a cover letter?
there is substantial disagreement about not only the need to 'tailor' (also itself incredibly ambiguous), but also length, structure, content, formality and even paper size.
what even is a cover letter?
there is substantial disagreement about not only the need to 'tailor' (also itself incredibly ambiguous), but also length, structure, content, formality and even paper size.
December 17, 2025 at 9:26 AM
re recent job market discourse:
what even is a cover letter?
there is substantial disagreement about not only the need to 'tailor' (also itself incredibly ambiguous), but also length, structure, content, formality and even paper size.
what even is a cover letter?
there is substantial disagreement about not only the need to 'tailor' (also itself incredibly ambiguous), but also length, structure, content, formality and even paper size.
thanks. i hate it
These boxes are not moving. A mind-bending optical illusion by Japanese artist Jagarikin.
December 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
thanks. i hate it
nah the cool thing to do right now actually is to flee canada www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/w...
‘Come North!’ Canada Makes Play for H-1B Visa Holders With New Talent Drive
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
nah the cool thing to do right now actually is to flee canada www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/w...
Reposted by mikes barnes
Today, DWI publishes a powerful essay by @mgasia.bsky.social, who works impersonating an AI sex companion: data-workers.org/michael/
This piece offers a rare glimpse into the psychological and economic realities behind one of the fastest-growing sectors: AI-assisted intimacy.
This piece offers a rare glimpse into the psychological and economic realities behind one of the fastest-growing sectors: AI-assisted intimacy.
December 9, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Today, DWI publishes a powerful essay by @mgasia.bsky.social, who works impersonating an AI sex companion: data-workers.org/michael/
This piece offers a rare glimpse into the psychological and economic realities behind one of the fastest-growing sectors: AI-assisted intimacy.
This piece offers a rare glimpse into the psychological and economic realities behind one of the fastest-growing sectors: AI-assisted intimacy.
ok but who even is Tarantino?! lol never heard of the guy till this week
December 8, 2025 at 8:40 AM
ok but who even is Tarantino?! lol never heard of the guy till this week
just saw this on linkedin and now I'm having an aneurysm
December 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
just saw this on linkedin and now I'm having an aneurysm
good reading for anyone thinking about the philosophy of journalism
I have a new paper coming out in Inquiry called ‘The Perils of Epistemic Idealism': philpapers.org/rec/SHITPO-40. I argue that especially in applied, political work, philosophers have a tendency to assume that political harms are primarily a product of false beliefs and misguided concepts.
Matthew Shields, The Perils of Epistemic Idealism - PhilPapers
I argue that philosophers are vulnerable to an occupational hazard that I call ‘epistemic idealism.’ This is the assumption that a practice in our epistemic lives with harmful political consequences i...
philpapers.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
good reading for anyone thinking about the philosophy of journalism
Reposted by mikes barnes
I have a new paper coming out in Inquiry called ‘The Perils of Epistemic Idealism': philpapers.org/rec/SHITPO-40. I argue that especially in applied, political work, philosophers have a tendency to assume that political harms are primarily a product of false beliefs and misguided concepts.
Matthew Shields, The Perils of Epistemic Idealism - PhilPapers
I argue that philosophers are vulnerable to an occupational hazard that I call ‘epistemic idealism.’ This is the assumption that a practice in our epistemic lives with harmful political consequences i...
philpapers.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I have a new paper coming out in Inquiry called ‘The Perils of Epistemic Idealism': philpapers.org/rec/SHITPO-40. I argue that especially in applied, political work, philosophers have a tendency to assume that political harms are primarily a product of false beliefs and misguided concepts.
little known fact but these ResearchGate emails save thousands of lives every year
December 3, 2025 at 12:10 PM
little known fact but these ResearchGate emails save thousands of lives every year
went to the university Christmas concert mainly for the murals
December 2, 2025 at 7:57 AM
went to the university Christmas concert mainly for the murals
this is as bad as it sounds
US telecom company trained an ai model to scan incarcerated people’s “calls, texts, and emails in the hope of predicting and preventing crimes.”
An AI model trained on prison phone calls now looks for planned crimes in those calls
The model is built to detect when crimes are being “contemplated.”
www.technologyreview.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:16 PM
this is as bad as it sounds
i worked briefly at OU and I'm sure glad I don't anymore!*
(*solidarity with those still there)
(*solidarity with those still there)
December 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
i worked briefly at OU and I'm sure glad I don't anymore!*
(*solidarity with those still there)
(*solidarity with those still there)
the OU situation is another example of an employer just utterly failing their employee when given the slightest pressure
obviously an orchestrated fiasco, and folding here wins nothing (a lesson no other institution will learn)
this response is somehow more embarrassing than the original essay
obviously an orchestrated fiasco, and folding here wins nothing (a lesson no other institution will learn)
this response is somehow more embarrassing than the original essay
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
December 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
the OU situation is another example of an employer just utterly failing their employee when given the slightest pressure
obviously an orchestrated fiasco, and folding here wins nothing (a lesson no other institution will learn)
this response is somehow more embarrassing than the original essay
obviously an orchestrated fiasco, and folding here wins nothing (a lesson no other institution will learn)
this response is somehow more embarrassing than the original essay
ok just one month to go before we confirm whether 2025 was a failure or not
December 1, 2025 at 11:24 AM
ok just one month to go before we confirm whether 2025 was a failure or not
i know it's been said many many times before but how is outlook soooooooooo bad
November 28, 2025 at 10:01 AM
i know it's been said many many times before but how is outlook soooooooooo bad
not good not good not good
AI porn generator and ERP chatbot Secret Desires left millions of images and videos exposed in unsecured cloud storage. I took a look and found folders called "faceswap," where people had uploaded tons of stolen content and random photos of women www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
Massive Leak Shows Erotic Chatbot Users Turned Women’s Yearbook Pictures Into AI Porn
Chatbot roleplay and image generator platform SecretDesires.ai left cloud storage containers of nearly two million of images and videos exposed, including photos and full names of women from social me...
www.404media.co
November 19, 2025 at 3:48 PM
not good not good not good
i encourage my friends (only my friends. no enemies) to apply to this workshop in Lillehammer, where ski lessons are part of the package. I further encourage my friends to get their abstracts accepted, come to Norway, and spend a little extra time visiting me in Oslo
philevents.org/event/show/1...
philevents.org/event/show/1...
Slippery Slope Normativity Summit 2026
Why should bankers and politicians have all the good summits?
The Philosophy Research Group at the University of Inland Norway is pleased to invite submissions to the fifth Slippery Slope Normativity ...
philevents.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
i encourage my friends (only my friends. no enemies) to apply to this workshop in Lillehammer, where ski lessons are part of the package. I further encourage my friends to get their abstracts accepted, come to Norway, and spend a little extra time visiting me in Oslo
philevents.org/event/show/1...
philevents.org/event/show/1...
at London Heathrow and the shower I had in the lounge is sufficient evidence to prove the UK is poised to make the miraculous comeback on the global stage
November 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
at London Heathrow and the shower I had in the lounge is sufficient evidence to prove the UK is poised to make the miraculous comeback on the global stage