David Wachsmuth
@davidwachsmuth.bsky.social
Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance, McGill University
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
I wrote a comprehensive introduction to basic information theory, with added context from social scientists of the cybernetics movement (Gregory Bateson) & later (Katherine Hayles). It covers everything from bit encoding to comparative metrics like cross-entropy.
mikaelbrunila.com/information-...
mikaelbrunila.com/information-...
From Bits to Embeddings – A Critical Introduction to Information Theory
A comprehensive introduction to classical information theory as conceived by Claude Shannon and its connections to neural networks and large language models today.
mikaelbrunila.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:24 PM
I wrote a comprehensive introduction to basic information theory, with added context from social scientists of the cybernetics movement (Gregory Bateson) & later (Katherine Hayles). It covers everything from bit encoding to comparative metrics like cross-entropy.
mikaelbrunila.com/information-...
mikaelbrunila.com/information-...
What an amazing and terrifying story from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social !
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 20, 2025 at 9:09 PM
What an amazing and terrifying story from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social !
Really thought we might see a George Bell drop kick there!
November 2, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Really thought we might see a George Bell drop kick there!
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
"For housing-first to succeed, we need housing first"—key insight from our BSH panel at #CAEH2025
With fed budget next week and $13B committed to affordable #housing and homelessness, the sector is mobilized.
Full reflections:
With fed budget next week and $13B committed to affordable #housing and homelessness, the sector is mobilized.
Full reflections:
Reflections from CAEH 2025: A Sector United for the Right to Housing
This week, the Balanced Supply of Housing team attended the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) conference, and we left energized, inspired, and reminded of something crucial: we are part of…
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
If you are interested in data, large language models (LLMs), and historical/critical accounts of technology, go check out @mikaelbrunila.bsky.social's new article out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social!
Chapter three from my thesis is finally out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social! I explore the parallels between the "bit" and the "embeddings" that are a foundational structure in Large Language Models, showing how the latter endow tech companies with what I call "cosine capital."
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
🚨 New in Big Data & Society 🚨
"Cosine capital: Large language models and the embedding of all things" by Mikael Brunila doi.org/10.1177/2053...
Proposes “cosine capital” to describe how LLM embeddings commodify language and data, reshaping power, abstraction, and AI economies.
"Cosine capital: Large language models and the embedding of all things" by Mikael Brunila doi.org/10.1177/2053...
Proposes “cosine capital” to describe how LLM embeddings commodify language and data, reshaping power, abstraction, and AI economies.
October 22, 2025 at 6:11 PM
If you are interested in data, large language models (LLMs), and historical/critical accounts of technology, go check out @mikaelbrunila.bsky.social's new article out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social!
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
Chapter three from my thesis is finally out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social! I explore the parallels between the "bit" and the "embeddings" that are a foundational structure in Large Language Models, showing how the latter endow tech companies with what I call "cosine capital."
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
🚨 New in Big Data & Society 🚨
"Cosine capital: Large language models and the embedding of all things" by Mikael Brunila doi.org/10.1177/2053...
Proposes “cosine capital” to describe how LLM embeddings commodify language and data, reshaping power, abstraction, and AI economies.
"Cosine capital: Large language models and the embedding of all things" by Mikael Brunila doi.org/10.1177/2053...
Proposes “cosine capital” to describe how LLM embeddings commodify language and data, reshaping power, abstraction, and AI economies.
October 22, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Chapter three from my thesis is finally out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social! I explore the parallels between the "bit" and the "embeddings" that are a foundational structure in Large Language Models, showing how the latter endow tech companies with what I call "cosine capital."
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
bsky.app/profile/bigd...
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
New article: Martine August and I's paper on financial landlords and rents in Toronto is out in @economyandspace.bsky.social! We show how financial landlords charge the highest rents, rent premiums, and rent increases out of all types of landlords. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
April 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New article: Martine August and I's paper on financial landlords and rents in Toronto is out in @economyandspace.bsky.social! We show how financial landlords charge the highest rents, rent premiums, and rent increases out of all types of landlords. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
In my new role at Dal Legal Aid, I’ve been thinking a lot about evictions lately. And what I’ve been finding is that there is a dearth of data in Canada about the level and nature of evictions in Canada. This podcast episode is all about what we *do* know…(it’s not great)
bsh.ubc.ca/episode-11-t...
bsh.ubc.ca/episode-11-t...
Listen to the Overhead Episode 11: Tracking Evictions Across Canada
Evictions are a problem for renters across the country, but they're difficult to quantify and many go unreported. Hear from BSH researchers Alexandra Flynn and David Wachsmuth for more on the topic.
bsh.ubc.ca
March 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
In my new role at Dal Legal Aid, I’ve been thinking a lot about evictions lately. And what I’ve been finding is that there is a dearth of data in Canada about the level and nature of evictions in Canada. This podcast episode is all about what we *do* know…(it’s not great)
bsh.ubc.ca/episode-11-t...
bsh.ubc.ca/episode-11-t...
So well deserved!!! Congrats, Craig!
Congratulations to our Associate Director, Craig E. Jones, for receiving the @opendatasociety.bsky.social's Leader of the Year Award for his exceptional contributions to open data in Canada.
To learn more and explore HART's tools for yourself, visit hart.ubc.ca
To learn more and explore HART's tools for yourself, visit hart.ubc.ca
March 6, 2025 at 4:34 AM
So well deserved!!! Congrats, Craig!
Looks awesome, and proud to see 66.7% of panelists are McGill MUP grads!
📣 Two weeks away! Join us for our next Research in Progress webinar on "Holding Ground: BIPOC-led CLTs and Resisting Gentrification" with researchers @e_ezvan, @janeobd, and Nat Pace from the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts (CNCLT).
Register here 👉 buff.ly/IdmqWqJ
Register here 👉 buff.ly/IdmqWqJ
March 5, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Looks awesome, and proud to see 66.7% of panelists are McGill MUP grads!
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
We have a new episode of The Overhead for you! How do evictions change from province to province? Are evictions caused by poverty, or do they cause poverty? All that and more: spacing.ca/national/202... @bshnode.bsky.social
The Overhead: Tracking Evictions Across Canada - Spacing National
THIS EPISODE: Tracking Evictions Across Canada Evictions are a problem for renters across the country. As we explored in the last episode: part of tackling the housing crisis requires improving “secur...
spacing.ca
February 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We have a new episode of The Overhead for you! How do evictions change from province to province? Are evictions caused by poverty, or do they cause poverty? All that and more: spacing.ca/national/202... @bshnode.bsky.social
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
What can we learn about eviction policy by comparing provinces and municipalities? Be the first to hear from experts Alexandra Flynn and @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social on the challenges of tracking evictions in our latest episode of the Overhead with @spacingradio.bsky.social.
https://buff.ly/3D78t0W
https://buff.ly/3D78t0W
February 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
What can we learn about eviction policy by comparing provinces and municipalities? Be the first to hear from experts Alexandra Flynn and @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social on the challenges of tracking evictions in our latest episode of the Overhead with @spacingradio.bsky.social.
https://buff.ly/3D78t0W
https://buff.ly/3D78t0W
This is such an excellent and perceptive essay on the politics of AI. Historicization and politicization in one package. Highly recommended!
A convergence between AI & cryptography is necessary to break with AI as surveillance. The key metaphor is "tunneling": Cultivating many models & peer-to-peer training strategies, small models, encrypted models... How do we build this? How do we direct funds here?
www.e-flux.com/journal/151/...
www.e-flux.com/journal/151/...
Taking AI into the Tunnels - Journal #151
Mikael Brunila argues for a politics of opacity in the face of AI dominance.
www.e-flux.com
February 5, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This is such an excellent and perceptive essay on the politics of AI. Historicization and politicization in one package. Highly recommended!
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
I'm so happy to see my dear friend @sethjprins.bsky.social;;s new book!
When it comes to measuring cause and effect, Seth is one of the clearest, more rigorous thinkers out there. Don't sleep on this text!
When it comes to measuring cause and effect, Seth is one of the clearest, more rigorous thinkers out there. Don't sleep on this text!
January 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I'm so happy to see my dear friend @sethjprins.bsky.social;;s new book!
When it comes to measuring cause and effect, Seth is one of the clearest, more rigorous thinkers out there. Don't sleep on this text!
When it comes to measuring cause and effect, Seth is one of the clearest, more rigorous thinkers out there. Don't sleep on this text!
Huge congrats, @jasonthorne.bsky.social !
Toronto’s new chief planner is @jasonthorne.bsky.social !
December 6, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Huge congrats, @jasonthorne.bsky.social !
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
We put together a starter pack of some of our favourite commentators and policymakers on housing in Canada (those who have made the jump to bluesky!) Follow these folks for meaningful engagement on housing in Canada.
go.bsky.app/LrYY3kV
go.bsky.app/LrYY3kV
December 5, 2024 at 9:53 PM
We put together a starter pack of some of our favourite commentators and policymakers on housing in Canada (those who have made the jump to bluesky!) Follow these folks for meaningful engagement on housing in Canada.
go.bsky.app/LrYY3kV
go.bsky.app/LrYY3kV
Reposted by David Wachsmuth
Another revised All Things Urban and Housing @bsky.app Starters Pack 3.0!...at least from my perspective + bias
Welcome @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social + @jdhulchanski.bsky.social !!!
go.bsky.app/3hpC7aT
Welcome @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social + @jdhulchanski.bsky.social !!!
go.bsky.app/3hpC7aT
November 26, 2024 at 10:43 PM
Another revised All Things Urban and Housing @bsky.app Starters Pack 3.0!...at least from my perspective + bias
Welcome @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social + @jdhulchanski.bsky.social !!!
go.bsky.app/3hpC7aT
Welcome @davidwachsmuth.bsky.social + @jdhulchanski.bsky.social !!!
go.bsky.app/3hpC7aT