Matthew Kirschenbaum
@mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Critical tech and AI. Cats, letterpress printing, tabletop gaming.
Distinguished University Professor at UMD; come January, Commonwealth Professor at UVA.
I am speaking only for myself—as a private citizen—here. Dunk or be a jerk and you’ll get blocked.
Distinguished University Professor at UMD; come January, Commonwealth Professor at UVA.
I am speaking only for myself—as a private citizen—here. Dunk or be a jerk and you’ll get blocked.
Pinned
Wanted to share here that I have accepted an endowed chair offer from my Alma mater, the University of Virginia, where (after 25 wonderful years at UMD) I will be starting in January as Commonwealth Professor of Artificial Intelligence and English.
Where is the FIFA peace prize in all this?
January 3, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Where is the FIFA peace prize in all this?
You’re not gonna believe this, but the internet is full of terrible takes.
January 3, 2026 at 7:08 PM
You’re not gonna believe this, but the internet is full of terrible takes.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
Just finished it. It’s super weird it’s probably the only novel about digital humanities, as a social environment (working with a computer in a lit/ssh lab: should I learn program?) and a recursive theme (text is constantly self-conscious of lexical patterns). And it predates the word for decades.
Randomly bought one of the few (?) novels about digital humanities. From 1968 but completely fitting the definition: narrator is going to do text statistics on Italian cultural heritage with a giant IBM computer.
January 3, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Just finished it. It’s super weird it’s probably the only novel about digital humanities, as a social environment (working with a computer in a lit/ssh lab: should I learn program?) and a recursive theme (text is constantly self-conscious of lexical patterns). And it predates the word for decades.
He sounds like dog shit.
January 3, 2026 at 4:44 PM
He sounds like dog shit.
Plaster monuments and one-sided “wars” don’t make a nation great. futurism.com/space/nasa-l...
NASA Forced to Shut Down Largest Library, Throw Invaluable Materials in Trash
The Trump administration is shutting down NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's library — NASA's largest — and threatening to destroy books.
futurism.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Plaster monuments and one-sided “wars” don’t make a nation great. futurism.com/space/nasa-l...
Academic flex here on the east coast of the US, I’m taking the rest of the year off.
January 1, 2026 at 4:23 AM
Academic flex here on the east coast of the US, I’m taking the rest of the year off.
Reminder that we still have armed troops in the nation’s capital, where lots of real people live.
Trump announces he’s pulling the National Guard from Portland, LA, and Chicago but threatens that “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!”
December 31, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reminder that we still have armed troops in the nation’s capital, where lots of real people live.
Man the internet really does ruin everything. Take last night, I had to check Grammatologie and my copy was at school. So I googled a PDF, bam! Previously though I would have sent a query on my neighborhood listserv and maybe met up with someone; we would have had nachos and talked erasure, amirite
December 31, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Man the internet really does ruin everything. Take last night, I had to check Grammatologie and my copy was at school. So I googled a PDF, bam! Previously though I would have sent a query on my neighborhood listserv and maybe met up with someone; we would have had nachos and talked erasure, amirite
Anyone have some go-to reporting or data for reliable (whatever that means) stats on AI use in industry and the workforce, broadly construed? “52% of American workers report using AI in some aspect of their job, “ that sort of thing.
December 31, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Anyone have some go-to reporting or data for reliable (whatever that means) stats on AI use in industry and the workforce, broadly construed? “52% of American workers report using AI in some aspect of their job, “ that sort of thing.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
We absolutely do know what DOGE did and how they operated. There are numerous articles outlining it in detail. The coyness is deceitful and harmful. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
We still don’t really know what Elon Musk’s Doge actually did
Calculating the actual savings and impact of the bulldozing US department that vowed to cut $1tn in waste is difficult
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:41 PM
We absolutely do know what DOGE did and how they operated. There are numerous articles outlining it in detail. The coyness is deceitful and harmful. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Trying to write as per below and the cat be like
December 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Trying to write as per below and the cat be like
I consider myself a reasonably well informed citizen and if you stopped me on the street I could only give you the vaguest, most hand-wavy of official answers as to why we are bombing targets in Venezuela and Nigeria.
December 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I consider myself a reasonably well informed citizen and if you stopped me on the street I could only give you the vaguest, most hand-wavy of official answers as to why we are bombing targets in Venezuela and Nigeria.
NB, I’ve really got to stop using NB in casual discourse.
December 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
NB, I’ve really got to stop using NB in casual discourse.
The tiny satisfaction of pulling the day’s clothes straight from a freshly laundered basket, shame having not yet set in for neglected folding and stowing, and the child’s glee of not having to accede to grown-up drawers and wardrobes.
December 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The tiny satisfaction of pulling the day’s clothes straight from a freshly laundered basket, shame having not yet set in for neglected folding and stowing, and the child’s glee of not having to accede to grown-up drawers and wardrobes.
RTing for the weekenders. 🧵 about my recent writing habits. TL;DR: more mobile, on more devices, and more verbal than my previous desktop habits.
Bonus: whole thread about writing with no mention of 🤖!
Bonus: whole thread about writing with no mention of 🤖!
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
December 27, 2025 at 5:19 PM
RTing for the weekenders. 🧵 about my recent writing habits. TL;DR: more mobile, on more devices, and more verbal than my previous desktop habits.
Bonus: whole thread about writing with no mention of 🤖!
Bonus: whole thread about writing with no mention of 🤖!
Dr. No [no changes required]
Make a Bond movie academic
Diamonds Are for Tenure
Diamonds Are for Tenure
Make a Bond movie academic
Live and Let Cite
Live and Let Cite
December 27, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Dr. No [no changes required]
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
December 26, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
As long as we’re getting rid of the penny, how about automatic forgiveness for nuisance medical bills of under $5.
December 26, 2025 at 10:08 PM
As long as we’re getting rid of the penny, how about automatic forgiveness for nuisance medical bills of under $5.
Reposted by Matthew Kirschenbaum
ejected from christmas party after grok delivered requested vulgar roast of resident child
December 26, 2025 at 4:22 PM
ejected from christmas party after grok delivered requested vulgar roast of resident child
💯
I think the "pro-AI" thing comes from people slapping the label on everything. LLMs as *models of language* --interpolatable archives as i term them-- have a lot of usecases, and if stating this simple fact gets you in trouble, this says more about the state of critical AI discourse than AI.
December 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM
💯
Shirt-sleeve weather.
December 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Shirt-sleeve weather.
Alt text: “I came here to build my media brand, not to legislate or serve my constituents.”
December 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Alt text: “I came here to build my media brand, not to legislate or serve my constituents.”
Tater tots /
With their eyes all aglow 🎶
With their eyes all aglow 🎶
December 25, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Tater tots /
With their eyes all aglow 🎶
With their eyes all aglow 🎶
Nuthin’ on my walk but squirrels and delivery trucks.
December 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Nuthin’ on my walk but squirrels and delivery trucks.