Allison Pugh
allisonpugh.bsky.social
Allison Pugh
@allisonpugh.bsky.social
Care, Tech, Culture, Inequality. Check out The Last Human Job re the "scaling up" of humane work @PrincetonUPress. Johns Hopkins sociologist
Pinned
Still grateful for and honored by this piece, posted here ICYMI

Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/o...
Opinion | Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good
We’re increasingly becoming a society in which very wealthy people get human care, like concierge medicine and private schools with tiny class sizes.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Allison Pugh
I look forward to listening to @allisonpugh.bsky.social talk about the value of these vital human moments at #AAMC25 and how we can better connect in a disconnected world. www.aamc.org/news/human-c...
Human connection in health care is under threat
Sociologist Allison Pugh, PhD, sees efficiency pressures and tech reducing MDs’ “connective labor” with patients. She wants a movement to build relationships.
www.aamc.org
October 21, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Giant copy of the Constitution being carried down Pennsylvania Avenue.
October 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Tomorrow (October 14th) at 9:00 and 10:45 am EDT, see keynote speaker @allisonpugh.bsky.social, author of The Last Human Job, at Planetree's Person-Centered Care Global Forum!

Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz
October 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Allison J. Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jhu.edu received the 2025 Distinguished Scholarly Book Award during the ASA 2025 Annual Meeting for her book The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World. @princetonupress.bsky.social 

#ASA #sociology #ASA2025
October 6, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Next week, attend Planetree's Person-Centered Care Global Forum to see keynote speaker @allisonpugh.bsky.social, author of The Last Human Job. The Forum will run October 12th-15th, with Pugh speaking on the 14th at 9:00 am and 10:45 am EDT.

Learn more about this ticketed event here: buff.ly/w4nuUaz
October 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Sounds like an epitaph for our times: "longing for communion without the cost of mutuality"

Putting ChatGPT on the Couch www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Putting ChatGPT on the Couch
When I played doctor with the chatbot, the simulated patient confessed problems that are real—and that should worry all of us.
www.newyorker.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Today translators, tomorrow... We need to prioritize human-to-human connection.

“The more we remove human elements from human interaction, the more it could distort relationships between people. Now more than ever, we need humans connecting with humans.”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
www.washingtonpost.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
I first met @allisonpugh.bsky.social on the page of her book, Longing and Belonging. I was instantly mesmerized by her writing and thinking. She offered a model of what I aspired to be as a sociologist.

So grateful to have her support now as I publish my first book!
September 25, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Folks, you can't report the United States to its manager. There's no superhero coming to save us.

We don't need one giant act of heroism. We need millions of small acts of solidarity. Help one person in your community for nothing in return. Then, do it again. And again.

That's the revolution.
September 19, 2025 at 1:03 PM
The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: ‘We’re not OK with our babies being born into poverty’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The US town that pays every pregnant woman $1,500: ‘We’re not OK with our babies being born into poverty’
Infants in Rx Kids in Flint, Michigan, saw lower rates of prematurity and other issues, saving millions in NICU visits
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔
on.ft.com/3K05vhS
September 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
The Last Human Job author @allisonpugh.bsky.social returned to @hiddenbrain.bsky.social to answer audience questions about connection:
Escaping Perfectionism - Hidden Brain Media
Perfectionism is everyone’s favorite flaw. It’s easy to assume that our push to be perfect is what leads to academic, athletic and professional success. But psychologist Thomas Curran says…
hiddenbrain.org
September 5, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Thanks to the Hidden Brain for revisiting #TheLastHumanJob! Still getting used to the personal angle that Shankar prefers: Preschool! Garlic! A false start in my dissertation! But I get how it helps the ideas come alive...

Check it out! My part starts at 50:10

hiddenbrain.org/podcast/esca...
Escaping Perfectionism - Hidden Brain Media
Perfectionism is everyone’s favorite flaw. It’s easy to assume that our push to be perfect is what leads to academic, athletic and professional success. But psychologist Thomas Curran says perfectioni...
hiddenbrain.org
September 1, 2025 at 9:38 PM
That's telling: "Guides are not required to have teaching licenses or an education background."

For $65,000 a year, a teacher-less AI private school comes to Virginia www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
August 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Friendly reminder that AI data centers are working overtime to help cook the planet. If the fires are scaring you— start using ‘-AI’ at the end of all Google searches to cut out any AI response to your query. Refusal is possible & responsible.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
OpenAI will not disclose GPT-5’s energy use. It could be higher than past models
Experts working to benchmark resource use of AI models say new version’s enhanced capabilities come at a steep cost
www.theguardian.com
August 17, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
"internet and the artificial neural networks that enable generative AI arose out of basic research at U.S. universities. So did the most fundamental discoveries in molecular biology, (..) potential cures for painful genetic diseases such as sickle cell." And I'd add, so so much more! Save science!
August 16, 2025 at 2:41 PM
How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
How States Could Throw University Science a Lifeline
There’s a way to respond to Trump’s brutal and reckless funding cutbacks—and it doesn’t need Washington’s permission.
www.theatlantic.com
August 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
Another one is people starting fandom subreddits for their chatbot “friends” so that other people can form para-parasocial relationships with them, in a similar way to how people make social media accounts for their cats
August 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Allison Pugh
I wish it was more common to acknowledge that kids are people with rights, not the property of their parents. Their consent should matter.
July 31, 2025 at 2:00 PM