Thiago Krause
@thiagokrause.bsky.social
Associate Professor of History & African American Studies, Wayne State University. Brazilian historian in the US. Interested in LLMs for research and wary of its impacts on learning and society. Opinions are my own and do not reflect my employer. PT/ENG.
Pinned
My chapter with Chris Ebert is finally online! We view the asiento from Salvador da Bahia—the South Atlantic's main commercial hub. Brazil was the largest destination for enslaved Africans, yet it's usually absent from asiento scholarship. We ask: why was Brazil never supplied by foreign slavers?
An interesting and (almost) non-judgmental take on a phenomenon I’m EXTREMELY judgmental about:
The People Who Marry Chatbots
A growing community is building a life with large language models.
www.theatlantic.com
January 4, 2026 at 10:33 AM
An interesting and (almost) non-judgmental take on a phenomenon I’m EXTREMELY judgmental about:
Beautiful piece about Einstein and the IAS.
Albert Einstein’s Brilliant Politics
The physicist fought for the promise of a diverse, meritocratic America. We need his optimism today.
www.theatlantic.com
January 4, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Beautiful piece about Einstein and the IAS.
Do you all have any suggestions of (early modern) History podcasts in Italian?
@stmoderna.bsky.social @caferro.bsky.social @steventeasdale.bsky.social @joanafraga.bsky.social @adapalmer.bsky.social @leo.vansnippenburg.nl @guidoalfani.bsky.social @maartjevg.bsky.social @carlamenegat.bsky.social
@stmoderna.bsky.social @caferro.bsky.social @steventeasdale.bsky.social @joanafraga.bsky.social @adapalmer.bsky.social @leo.vansnippenburg.nl @guidoalfani.bsky.social @maartjevg.bsky.social @carlamenegat.bsky.social
January 2, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Do you all have any suggestions of (early modern) History podcasts in Italian?
@stmoderna.bsky.social @caferro.bsky.social @steventeasdale.bsky.social @joanafraga.bsky.social @adapalmer.bsky.social @leo.vansnippenburg.nl @guidoalfani.bsky.social @maartjevg.bsky.social @carlamenegat.bsky.social
@stmoderna.bsky.social @caferro.bsky.social @steventeasdale.bsky.social @joanafraga.bsky.social @adapalmer.bsky.social @leo.vansnippenburg.nl @guidoalfani.bsky.social @maartjevg.bsky.social @carlamenegat.bsky.social
Reposted by Thiago Krause
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
January 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
What’s missing in the article is a discussion as to why tech giants are doing that… (Gift article)
Tech Giants Are Racing to Embed A.I. in Schools Around the Globe
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:11 PM
What’s missing in the article is a discussion as to why tech giants are doing that… (Gift article)
“Analysts at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan estimate AI’s infrastructure push could drive up to $1.5 trillion in additional borrowing by tech companies in the coming years. UBS analysts forecast as much as $900 billion in new issuance coming in 2026 alone.”
Dust to data centers: The year AI tech giants, and billions in debt, began remaking the American landscape
Big Tech is remaking the U.S. map into an AI empire — kingdom-scale data centers, unprecedented debt, power constraints, and a near-religious belief in scaling.
www.cnbc.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:06 AM
“Analysts at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan estimate AI’s infrastructure push could drive up to $1.5 trillion in additional borrowing by tech companies in the coming years. UBS analysts forecast as much as $900 billion in new issuance coming in 2026 alone.”
Reposted by Thiago Krause
There are no uninteresting topics. Only uninteresting historians.
January 1, 2026 at 3:49 PM
There are no uninteresting topics. Only uninteresting historians.
The problem is that entry-level creative jobs are much more than grunt work. Working within established formulas and routines is how young artists develop their skills.Low-level creative jobs offer practice time and pathways for mentorship that side gigs such as waiting tables and tending bar do not
The Problem With Letting AI Do the Grunt Work
Artificial intelligence is destroying the career ladder for aspiring artists.
www.theatlantic.com
January 1, 2026 at 9:51 AM
The problem is that entry-level creative jobs are much more than grunt work. Working within established formulas and routines is how young artists develop their skills.Low-level creative jobs offer practice time and pathways for mentorship that side gigs such as waiting tables and tending bar do not
Updated
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Train Dreams
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
F1
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Sorry, Baby
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Train Dreams
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
F1
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Sorry, Baby
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
January 1, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Updated
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Train Dreams
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
F1
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Sorry, Baby
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Train Dreams
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
F1
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Sorry, Baby
“The US blue-chip S&P 500 index is now more expensive on a cyclically-adjusted 10-year price/earnings ratio than it was before the 1929 Wall Street crash and well above where it was on the eve of the 2008 global financial crisis.”
How the AI ‘bubble’ compares to history
US stock valuations are higher than before 1929 Wall Street crash but the dominance of a single sector has precedents
www.ft.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:17 AM
“The US blue-chip S&P 500 index is now more expensive on a cyclically-adjusted 10-year price/earnings ratio than it was before the 1929 Wall Street crash and well above where it was on the eve of the 2008 global financial crisis.”
Is there anyone with access to this Gale database that could check if volumes T 70/592 and T 70/593 (Royal African Company, 1718-21 and 1721-23) have available, and, if so, could download them for me? I've been trying to get my library to purchase it, but as usual for Gale, it is REALLY expensive.
Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive
El proyecto más ambicioso de este tipo, el contenido de Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive ha sido cuidadosamente examinado por un prestigioso consejo de especialistas y ordenado temáti...
www.gale.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Is there anyone with access to this Gale database that could check if volumes T 70/592 and T 70/593 (Royal African Company, 1718-21 and 1721-23) have available, and, if so, could download them for me? I've been trying to get my library to purchase it, but as usual for Gale, it is REALLY expensive.
“The Nuremberg trials showed us that normal people can commit war crimes for normal reasons, such as wanting to make a profit or to keep their job. What hasn’t been normal is to see them held accountable.”
(Gift link)
(Gift link)
Opinion | The Oil Company Drilled. The Government Slaughtered. Who Is Guilty?
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
“The Nuremberg trials showed us that normal people can commit war crimes for normal reasons, such as wanting to make a profit or to keep their job. What hasn’t been normal is to see them held accountable.”
(Gift link)
(Gift link)
Another rabitt hole I fell into this morning (I do not like to start writing as soon as I wake up, so I read or procrastinate) is this reference in the British Treasury Books to a Danish ship from India who stopped in Brazil and sold Asian goods there around 1710, the Printz Georg.
December 30, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Another rabitt hole I fell into this morning (I do not like to start writing as soon as I wake up, so I read or procrastinate) is this reference in the British Treasury Books to a Danish ship from India who stopped in Brazil and sold Asian goods there around 1710, the Printz Georg.
I'm always amazed by the random things that end up in special collections in US libraries. I just found out that the University of Kansas has a random cachet of letters of English diplomat John Methuen (of Methuen-Treaty-with-Portugal fame) while in Lisbon, bought at Southeby's in 1967. Why?!
Collection: Correspondence of John Methuen and Sir William Simpson | Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections
archives.lib.ku.edu
December 30, 2025 at 11:20 AM
I'm always amazed by the random things that end up in special collections in US libraries. I just found out that the University of Kansas has a random cachet of letters of English diplomat John Methuen (of Methuen-Treaty-with-Portugal fame) while in Lisbon, bought at Southeby's in 1967. Why?!
Good overview of OpenAI’s challenges.
“Leaked figures indicate that Openai expects to burn through $17bn of cash in 2026, up from $9bn in 2025, and that its losses will continue to pile up in each of the subsequent three years“
It does not add up without AGI or a massive reduction in inference costs
“Leaked figures indicate that Openai expects to burn through $17bn of cash in 2026, up from $9bn in 2025, and that its losses will continue to pile up in each of the subsequent three years“
It does not add up without AGI or a massive reduction in inference costs
OpenAI faces a make-or-break year in 2026
One of the fastest-growing companies in history is in a perilous position
www.economist.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Good overview of OpenAI’s challenges.
“Leaked figures indicate that Openai expects to burn through $17bn of cash in 2026, up from $9bn in 2025, and that its losses will continue to pile up in each of the subsequent three years“
It does not add up without AGI or a massive reduction in inference costs
“Leaked figures indicate that Openai expects to burn through $17bn of cash in 2026, up from $9bn in 2025, and that its losses will continue to pile up in each of the subsequent three years“
It does not add up without AGI or a massive reduction in inference costs
One more must read book: slavery, US, the Caribbean, and Brazil all in one volume! What’s not like? You all should stop publishing until I have time to catch up…
"An example of cultural history at its very best."
Find out why COFFEE NATION by Michelle Craig McDonald is one of our most popular and celebrated titles of 2025! Order your copy today and save 40% with code PENN-HOLIDAY25 at checkout. bit.ly/448PrAZ
Find out why COFFEE NATION by Michelle Craig McDonald is one of our most popular and celebrated titles of 2025! Order your copy today and save 40% with code PENN-HOLIDAY25 at checkout. bit.ly/448PrAZ
December 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
One more must read book: slavery, US, the Caribbean, and Brazil all in one volume! What’s not like? You all should stop publishing until I have time to catch up…
The major “AI” “startups” (OpenAI, Anthropic) might be vacuuming money to prepare for the winter after the bubble bursts - and then go on a buying spree to consolidate the sector. Still, I wonder how that would work with no path to profitability. Wouldn’t that just stave off the reckoning?
AI start-ups amass record $150bn funding cushion as bubble fears mount
Mega funding rounds create ‘fortress balance sheets’ as investors advise top groups to brace for tougher markets
www.ft.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:59 AM
The major “AI” “startups” (OpenAI, Anthropic) might be vacuuming money to prepare for the winter after the bubble bursts - and then go on a buying spree to consolidate the sector. Still, I wonder how that would work with no path to profitability. Wouldn’t that just stave off the reckoning?
There are many topics I will never pursue but would love to read. One of them is a systematic cross-checking of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro notarial records (partially online) between 1600-1640. One could write amazing work on trans-imperial trade and early Iberian slaving with these sources.
FamilySearch.org
Discover your family history. Explore the world’s largest collection of free family trees, genealogy records and resources.
www.familysearch.org
December 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
There are many topics I will never pursue but would love to read. One of them is a systematic cross-checking of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro notarial records (partially online) between 1600-1640. One could write amazing work on trans-imperial trade and early Iberian slaving with these sources.
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
December 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Not that anyone cares, but that is my ranking of 2025 movies:
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
Sentimental Value
Rental Family
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Still want to watch:
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
F1
Train Dreams
Sorry, Baby
The burst is gonna hurt.
The AI Boom Is Opening Up Commercial Real-Estate Investing to New Risks
Spending on data-center construction is poised to surpass office-building construction for the first time, changing the nature of property investing.
www.wsj.com
December 28, 2025 at 1:14 AM
The burst is gonna hurt.
I’m pretty sure someone said it first, but I’m really impressed that “A Man on the Inside” (Netflix) is one of the most realistic representations of US higher education than I’ve ever watched.
a man in a suit and tie says really in a netflix ad
ALT: a man in a suit and tie says really in a netflix ad
media.tenor.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I’m pretty sure someone said it first, but I’m really impressed that “A Man on the Inside” (Netflix) is one of the most realistic representations of US higher education than I’ve ever watched.
Dear Dutch historians, I'm trying to find Amsterdam price currents in the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia. McCusker (1991) says that there are dozens of them, starting in 1734. I searched the website and did not find much, and what I did find I could not access. Any advice?
Digital Inventory :: Sejarah Nusantara
Digital Inventory
sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id
December 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Dear Dutch historians, I'm trying to find Amsterdam price currents in the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia. McCusker (1991) says that there are dozens of them, starting in 1734. I searched the website and did not find much, and what I did find I could not access. Any advice?
Always a treasure trove! Hard to keep up with everything they have.
This week we release some letters that were on board the Fort de Nantes. These were not delivered to the official mail circuit but were instead entrusted to passengers who would deliver them personally. #earlymodern #maritimehistory
December 27, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Always a treasure trove! Hard to keep up with everything they have.
An interesting piece - although I don't find that a LLM ability to generate passable imitations of short scenes upon command means much at all. Good book-length writing requires a level of coherence that is impossible right now because of the context window, besides a bunch of other limitations.
What if Readers Like A.I.-Generated Fiction?
If economic and technological transformations have changed our relationship with literature before, they could do so again.
www.newyorker.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:33 AM
An interesting piece - although I don't find that a LLM ability to generate passable imitations of short scenes upon command means much at all. Good book-length writing requires a level of coherence that is impossible right now because of the context window, besides a bunch of other limitations.
This is a good piece to understand the limits of LLMs: their training to average things out does not lend itself to creativity. They are useful in multiple ways, but not to produce outstanding research or art. I don’t think a LLM-generated article can pass any credible peer review in history.
I had a blast with this piece, interviewing such talented jingle writers—including the man who is literally the reason Blue Öyster Cult put more cowbell on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell
AI struggles to write a good jingle.
www.theatlantic.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:50 PM
This is a good piece to understand the limits of LLMs: their training to average things out does not lend itself to creativity. They are useful in multiple ways, but not to produce outstanding research or art. I don’t think a LLM-generated article can pass any credible peer review in history.