👁️
@nathanjurgenson.com
author, The Social Photo (Verso)
former: Real Life magazine, Theorizing the Web conference, Snap. currently: have no idea
los angeles
former: Real Life magazine, Theorizing the Web conference, Snap. currently: have no idea
los angeles
hate social media platforms pitching themselves as real an authentic more than any of the fakery happening elsewhere
October 30, 2025 at 6:21 PM
hate social media platforms pitching themselves as real an authentic more than any of the fakery happening elsewhere
"smart" podcasts as a form leverage the feeling of thought and sociality to get people to consume content that, if written, would seem remedial or downright dumb
thebaffler.com/outbursts/th...
thebaffler.com/outbursts/th...
October 30, 2025 at 6:06 PM
"smart" podcasts as a form leverage the feeling of thought and sociality to get people to consume content that, if written, would seem remedial or downright dumb
thebaffler.com/outbursts/th...
thebaffler.com/outbursts/th...
"people no longer have a choice but to assume that everything is false"
they keep saying this but thats just obviously not what is happening. again, better Q: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of images?
(fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/ai-sora-slop.html)
they keep saying this but thats just obviously not what is happening. again, better Q: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of images?
(fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/ai-sora-slop.html)
October 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
"people no longer have a choice but to assume that everything is false"
they keep saying this but thats just obviously not what is happening. again, better Q: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of images?
(fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/ai-sora-slop.html)
they keep saying this but thats just obviously not what is happening. again, better Q: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of images?
(fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/ai-sora-slop.html)
i dont think real vs fake is whats at stake here (the political valence of AI is). none of these examples are pitching the AI imagery as real.
"fake imagery" is a weird term for this slop bc wouldnt that also encompass most art and memes etc?
"fake imagery" is a weird term for this slop bc wouldnt that also encompass most art and memes etc?
October 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
i dont think real vs fake is whats at stake here (the political valence of AI is). none of these examples are pitching the AI imagery as real.
"fake imagery" is a weird term for this slop bc wouldnt that also encompass most art and memes etc?
"fake imagery" is a weird term for this slop bc wouldnt that also encompass most art and memes etc?
October 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM
read this same take every month for years even though there's a constant stream of newsy widely-believed video happening all around us
the better question is: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of cameras in an age where believable fakes are easy to generate?
the better question is: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of cameras in an age where believable fakes are easy to generate?
October 10, 2025 at 8:32 PM
read this same take every month for years even though there's a constant stream of newsy widely-believed video happening all around us
the better question is: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of cameras in an age where believable fakes are easy to generate?
the better question is: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of cameras in an age where believable fakes are easy to generate?
October 9, 2025 at 3:39 PM
"the end of social media" takes often need to make a too-clean distinction between public broadcast platforms and private group sharing. a lot of social-media-like energy exists in the gradients in-between
September 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM
"the end of social media" takes often need to make a too-clean distinction between public broadcast platforms and private group sharing. a lot of social-media-like energy exists in the gradients in-between
am also dying at the ad in this video for a scam news app that will give you a fake number for how true articles are lol
September 9, 2025 at 11:58 PM
am also dying at the ad in this video for a scam news app that will give you a fake number for how true articles are lol
everything, no matter how much it epitomized rational fake empty nothingness in its time, eventually comes to be something remembered as real and felt nostalgic for
September 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
everything, no matter how much it epitomized rational fake empty nothingness in its time, eventually comes to be something remembered as real and felt nostalgic for
was asked, along with some others, how i approach looking at every photographs
everydayphotography.org/journal/eido...
the eidolon centre is so cool
everydayphotography.org/journal/eido...
the eidolon centre is so cool
August 31, 2025 at 4:39 PM
was asked, along with some others, how i approach looking at every photographs
everydayphotography.org/journal/eido...
the eidolon centre is so cool
everydayphotography.org/journal/eido...
the eidolon centre is so cool
"the looking-glass self", Charles Horton Cooley (1902) lol
this "new trend" is just what identity has always been
this "new trend" is just what identity has always been
August 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
"the looking-glass self", Charles Horton Cooley (1902) lol
this "new trend" is just what identity has always been
this "new trend" is just what identity has always been
good! food delivery slop and AI image slop deserve each other. the fake images dont mislead, they accurately convey the desire for crappy food made and delivered in unethical ways
August 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
good! food delivery slop and AI image slop deserve each other. the fake images dont mislead, they accurately convey the desire for crappy food made and delivered in unethical ways
fun time at the @404media.co event in LA! i liked the conversation at the end about the dangers of protest surveillance vs people wanting to be filmed
July 31, 2025 at 4:07 AM
fun time at the @404media.co event in LA! i liked the conversation at the end about the dangers of protest surveillance vs people wanting to be filmed
honestly a good and accurate phrase for algorithmic content, "empathy" as a superficial, consumerist spectacle
July 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
honestly a good and accurate phrase for algorithmic content, "empathy" as a superficial, consumerist spectacle
imagine thinking "funny" or any of these are some kind of linear slider
this is so Zuck brained, the idea that sociality can be reduced to numbers, then sorted and ranked and made manageable
this is so Zuck brained, the idea that sociality can be reduced to numbers, then sorted and ranked and made manageable
June 4, 2025 at 5:32 PM
imagine thinking "funny" or any of these are some kind of linear slider
this is so Zuck brained, the idea that sociality can be reduced to numbers, then sorted and ranked and made manageable
this is so Zuck brained, the idea that sociality can be reduced to numbers, then sorted and ranked and made manageable
the gamification really makes this explicit, where subjectivity is offloaded to scores
May 14, 2025 at 5:45 PM
the gamification really makes this explicit, where subjectivity is offloaded to scores
this app asks the users to see the world as a machine does, to not just interact with AI but to develop an AI Vision of your world and your self
[learned of it from here: www.phonetime.news/p/i-tried-th...
[learned of it from here: www.phonetime.news/p/i-tried-th...
May 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
this app asks the users to see the world as a machine does, to not just interact with AI but to develop an AI Vision of your world and your self
[learned of it from here: www.phonetime.news/p/i-tried-th...
[learned of it from here: www.phonetime.news/p/i-tried-th...
interacting with an AI can only seem fulfilling because platforms trained these folks to treat other humans in such an instrumental way
people are reduced to numbers when discourse is ranked with metrics and sorted through algorithms, so why not just speak to AI?
people are reduced to numbers when discourse is ranked with metrics and sorted through algorithms, so why not just speak to AI?
May 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
interacting with an AI can only seem fulfilling because platforms trained these folks to treat other humans in such an instrumental way
people are reduced to numbers when discourse is ranked with metrics and sorted through algorithms, so why not just speak to AI?
people are reduced to numbers when discourse is ranked with metrics and sorted through algorithms, so why not just speak to AI?
May 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
hard to think of two people i’ve known that i respect more. last night was fun seeing Malcolm Harris and @mattdpearce.com talks about Mal’s new book What’s Left! which everyone should buy rn
April 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
hard to think of two people i’ve known that i respect more. last night was fun seeing Malcolm Harris and @mattdpearce.com talks about Mal’s new book What’s Left! which everyone should buy rn
focuses on how memes are used and not what politically and materially is being done. exactly the wrong approach imo
March 2, 2025 at 6:31 PM
focuses on how memes are used and not what politically and materially is being done. exactly the wrong approach imo
drive.google.com/file/d/1O2qk... loving this by @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
February 27, 2025 at 6:03 PM
drive.google.com/file/d/1O2qk... loving this by @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social