Bryan Pfaffenberger
@bpfaffenberger.bsky.social
Bio: https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/bryan-pfaffenberger
Retired but not yet expired scholar of STS | Anthropology of Technology | History of technology | Sri Lanka Studies| technological dramas theory
Retired but not yet expired scholar of STS | Anthropology of Technology | History of technology | Sri Lanka Studies| technological dramas theory
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
We may have the chance to hire an outstanding researcher 3+ years post PhD to join Tarleton Gillespie, Mary Gray and me in Cambridge MA bringing critical sociotechnical perspectives to bear on new technologies.
jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/jo...
jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/jo...
Search Jobs | Microsoft Careers
https://jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/job/1849026/Principal-Researcher-–-Sociotechnical-Systems-–-Microsoft-Research
July 28, 2025 at 5:26 PM
We may have the chance to hire an outstanding researcher 3+ years post PhD to join Tarleton Gillespie, Mary Gray and me in Cambridge MA bringing critical sociotechnical perspectives to bear on new technologies.
jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/jo...
jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/jo...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Against Constitutional Originalism by @jgienapp.bsky.social is as accessible as it is important, which can rarely be said about a work of Constitutional theory and interpretation. Should be great for course use in law, poli sci, and history.
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
July 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Against Constitutional Originalism by @jgienapp.bsky.social is as accessible as it is important, which can rarely be said about a work of Constitutional theory and interpretation. Should be great for course use in law, poli sci, and history.
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Delighted to announce CBI Research Fellow (& close friend & collaborator) Prof. Gerardo Con Díaz's (Con's) stellar new book is out (got to read it early & blurb it).
Everyone Breaks These Laws: How Copyright Made the Online World.
Congrats Con! #histtech
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Everyone Breaks These Laws: How Copyright Made the Online World.
Congrats Con! #histtech
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Everyone Breaks These Laws
Copyright’s profound impact on the online world as we know it This book is a captivating exploration of the profound impact of American copyright law on...
yalebooks.yale.edu
June 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Delighted to announce CBI Research Fellow (& close friend & collaborator) Prof. Gerardo Con Díaz's (Con's) stellar new book is out (got to read it early & blurb it).
Everyone Breaks These Laws: How Copyright Made the Online World.
Congrats Con! #histtech
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Everyone Breaks These Laws: How Copyright Made the Online World.
Congrats Con! #histtech
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
The 🏆4S Mullins Prize winner for 2025🏆 is Anin Luo for “Animal Scientism: Making Biology Experimental in Republican China.” East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal 19(1): 8–36.
Read more here:
4sonline.org/2025_anin_lu...
Read more here:
4sonline.org/2025_anin_lu...
June 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
The 🏆4S Mullins Prize winner for 2025🏆 is Anin Luo for “Animal Scientism: Making Biology Experimental in Republican China.” East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal 19(1): 8–36.
Read more here:
4sonline.org/2025_anin_lu...
Read more here:
4sonline.org/2025_anin_lu...
Assignment: use AI to find and discuss one of the issues in our class and identify a response that is clearly hallucinated and evaluate its implications for rational discourse
May 20, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Assignment: use AI to find and discuss one of the issues in our class and identify a response that is clearly hallucinated and evaluate its implications for rational discourse
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
AI is a plagiarism engine built on stolen data, exploited labour, and enviro harm. Marketed as “intelligent,” it erodes critical thinking, empathy, and causes psychological harm. Run by authoritarian billionaires, it’s used for surveillance, profiling, and genocide—whether it works or makes up shit.
can i ask my followers here perhaps too earnestly - if you hate AI or find it utterly worthless, why?
it's jolting how little AI skepticism has reached the general public. i've had many acquaintances ask whether i use AI for research and seem shocked when i tell them it's completely useless for that purpose. my wife recently told her colleagues about hallucinations and it was news to all of them.
May 7, 2025 at 8:52 PM
AI is a plagiarism engine built on stolen data, exploited labour, and enviro harm. Marketed as “intelligent,” it erodes critical thinking, empathy, and causes psychological harm. Run by authoritarian billionaires, it’s used for surveillance, profiling, and genocide—whether it works or makes up shit.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
For a long time, I thought, if we could just *explain things* properly, people would see that technical decisions are absolutely, without doubt, political decisions. But I’ve seen enough to be convinced that there is no appetite to learn this. +
May 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
For a long time, I thought, if we could just *explain things* properly, people would see that technical decisions are absolutely, without doubt, political decisions. But I’ve seen enough to be convinced that there is no appetite to learn this. +
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
April 30, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
I know how horrible everything is, but I just got tenure and I refuse to let that man prevent me from celebrating. I genuinely didn't know if I was going to stagger across this line, so I have no intention of taking it for granted.
April 28, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I know how horrible everything is, but I just got tenure and I refuse to let that man prevent me from celebrating. I genuinely didn't know if I was going to stagger across this line, so I have no intention of taking it for granted.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
I have just finished The Dawn Of Everything and I highly recommend it if you're interested in the structure of society or how we look at history. It's a commitment (525 pages and reasonably dense) but it's eye-opening. And gives you hope for the future - there are *other* ways of doing things.
April 23, 2025 at 10:52 AM
I have just finished The Dawn Of Everything and I highly recommend it if you're interested in the structure of society or how we look at history. It's a commitment (525 pages and reasonably dense) but it's eye-opening. And gives you hope for the future - there are *other* ways of doing things.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
A Busy #NoKings day in #Durham #NorthCarolina
#AntiTrump
#StopTrump
#HandsOff
#TeslaShutDown
#FiftyFiftyOne
#50501Movement
#HandsOff
#PeoplesMovement
#PROTESTS50501
#HandsOff
#FiftyFiveZeroOne
#StopTheCoup
#AntiTrump
#StopTrump
#HandsOff
#TeslaShutDown
#FiftyFiftyOne
#50501Movement
#HandsOff
#PeoplesMovement
#PROTESTS50501
#HandsOff
#FiftyFiveZeroOne
#StopTheCoup
April 19, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Next on the reading list.
(…Why do I do this to myself?)
(…Why do I do this to myself?)
April 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Next on the reading list.
(…Why do I do this to myself?)
(…Why do I do this to myself?)
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Trump treats immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America worse than we treated Germans and Japanese subject to the Alien Enemies Act in World War II. He is a monster, not just a tyrant.
April 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Trump treats immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America worse than we treated Germans and Japanese subject to the Alien Enemies Act in World War II. He is a monster, not just a tyrant.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
This thread is a helpful reminder of the historical contingency of America's R&D infrastructure and the very real possibility that its strength could eventually decline...
(Also be sure to check out @williamthomas.bsky.social's slides: aip.brightspotcdn.com/91/cc/b6a413...)
#histSTM #innovation 🗃️📜
(Also be sure to check out @williamthomas.bsky.social's slides: aip.brightspotcdn.com/91/cc/b6a413...)
#histSTM #innovation 🗃️📜
April 19, 2025 at 10:32 PM
This thread is a helpful reminder of the historical contingency of America's R&D infrastructure and the very real possibility that its strength could eventually decline...
(Also be sure to check out @williamthomas.bsky.social's slides: aip.brightspotcdn.com/91/cc/b6a413...)
#histSTM #innovation 🗃️📜
(Also be sure to check out @williamthomas.bsky.social's slides: aip.brightspotcdn.com/91/cc/b6a413...)
#histSTM #innovation 🗃️📜
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
Frighteningly true…
“Trump compounds bad decisions with worse decisions, and worse decisions with catastrophic ones. This has always been his nature, and it’s why he bankrupted and destroyed so many businesses.
The one thing Trump is really good at is fraud.”
“Trump compounds bad decisions with worse decisions, and worse decisions with catastrophic ones. This has always been his nature, and it’s why he bankrupted and destroyed so many businesses.
The one thing Trump is really good at is fraud.”
If Trump’s erratic behavior feels like it’s accelerating, that’s because it is. An important message from our founder:
Very Important Thursday Message from Meidas Founder
By Ben Meiselas
www.meidasplus.com
April 17, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Frighteningly true…
“Trump compounds bad decisions with worse decisions, and worse decisions with catastrophic ones. This has always been his nature, and it’s why he bankrupted and destroyed so many businesses.
The one thing Trump is really good at is fraud.”
“Trump compounds bad decisions with worse decisions, and worse decisions with catastrophic ones. This has always been his nature, and it’s why he bankrupted and destroyed so many businesses.
The one thing Trump is really good at is fraud.”
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
🚀Fellowship opportunity🚀 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum invites applications for its four fellowships in aerospace history (pre- and postdoc; mid-career & independent scholars; senior scholars). Due Dec. 15 airandspace.si.edu/get-involved...
November 12, 2024 at 8:23 PM
🚀Fellowship opportunity🚀 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum invites applications for its four fellowships in aerospace history (pre- and postdoc; mid-career & independent scholars; senior scholars). Due Dec. 15 airandspace.si.edu/get-involved...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
“I would be lying if I said I don’t worry. I do. But as I wrote last month: “Despite that worry, I cannot stop standing up for what is right. I cannot turn a blind eye to injustice.” — @marcelias.bsky.social (4/5/25). Me too, Marc. In solidarity, LHT
April 5, 2025 at 12:28 PM
“I would be lying if I said I don’t worry. I do. But as I wrote last month: “Despite that worry, I cannot stop standing up for what is right. I cannot turn a blind eye to injustice.” — @marcelias.bsky.social (4/5/25). Me too, Marc. In solidarity, LHT
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
MSNBC just showed a montage of world leaders calling the USA idiotic, illogical, hostile, unhinged.... literally never seen anything like this. From the shining city on a hill to an object of global derision and contempt.
April 3, 2025 at 10:41 PM
MSNBC just showed a montage of world leaders calling the USA idiotic, illogical, hostile, unhinged.... literally never seen anything like this. From the shining city on a hill to an object of global derision and contempt.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
The longest Zoom meeting I ever participated in (Summer 2023) was an NEH review panel. 5.5 hours, one 15-minute break. The fifteen of us all spent weeks preparing. All of the contenders were fantastic. D0Gee could never compete.
If you’ve ever sat on an NEH review panel (as many of us have), you know how difficult it is to win a grant. It’s an incredibly exacting process, with way too many excellent projects competing for funding. Awardees are scrutinized from every direction, with more rigor than DOGE can even imagine.
April 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
The longest Zoom meeting I ever participated in (Summer 2023) was an NEH review panel. 5.5 hours, one 15-minute break. The fifteen of us all spent weeks preparing. All of the contenders were fantastic. D0Gee could never compete.
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
It’s important to understand the context of AI as a part of a toolkit of fascism, and how it fits into the history of political and social repression in the United States, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Dia Kayyali: www.techpolicy.press/ai-surveilla...
AI Surveillance on the Rise in US, but Tactics of Repression Not New | TechPolicy.Press
Resistance sends a message that intimidation tactics won’t work and to those targeted that they are not alone, writes Dia Kayyali.
www.techpolicy.press
March 29, 2025 at 10:14 PM
It’s important to understand the context of AI as a part of a toolkit of fascism, and how it fits into the history of political and social repression in the United States, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Dia Kayyali: www.techpolicy.press/ai-surveilla...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
This speaks volumes:
Yale professors, Timothy Snyder, a historian of totalitarianism and the author of "On Tyranny," and Jason Stanley, a philosopher and the author of "How Fascism Works", move to Canada.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/03...
munkschool.utoronto.ca/person/timot...
Yale professors, Timothy Snyder, a historian of totalitarianism and the author of "On Tyranny," and Jason Stanley, a philosopher and the author of "How Fascism Works", move to Canada.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/03...
munkschool.utoronto.ca/person/timot...
Stanley from Yale to Toronto
Jason Stanley (philosophy of language, epistemology, political philosophy), Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, has accepted a senior offer from the University of Toronto, where he will be thr...
leiterreports.typepad.com
March 26, 2025 at 12:13 AM
This speaks volumes:
Yale professors, Timothy Snyder, a historian of totalitarianism and the author of "On Tyranny," and Jason Stanley, a philosopher and the author of "How Fascism Works", move to Canada.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/03...
munkschool.utoronto.ca/person/timot...
Yale professors, Timothy Snyder, a historian of totalitarianism and the author of "On Tyranny," and Jason Stanley, a philosopher and the author of "How Fascism Works", move to Canada.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/03...
munkschool.utoronto.ca/person/timot...
In my elder years it’s so satisfying to see that younger scholars have found my work useful. For links to my most cited works see my bio page at UVa engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/brya...
Bryan Pfaffenberger | University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science
My career mission has been to awaken my discipline, anthropology, to the analysis of technology from an anthropological point of view.
engineering.virginia.edu
March 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
In my elder years it’s so satisfying to see that younger scholars have found my work useful. For links to my most cited works see my bio page at UVa engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/brya...
Reposted by Bryan Pfaffenberger
The Institute for Complex Social Dynamics and the Department of Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon are hiring a postdoctoral fellow who works at the intersection of social dynamics and machine learning. Please encourage anyone interested to apply!
cmu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CMU/job/Pitt...
cmu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CMU/job/Pitt...
Postdoctoral Research Associate - ISCD & MLD - School of Computer Science
The Institute for Complex Social Dynamics (ICSD) and the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University are seeking a talented and motivated postdoctoral researcher for a joint position. Th...
cmu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
March 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The Institute for Complex Social Dynamics and the Department of Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon are hiring a postdoctoral fellow who works at the intersection of social dynamics and machine learning. Please encourage anyone interested to apply!
cmu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CMU/job/Pitt...
cmu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CMU/job/Pitt...