Shreeharsh Kelkar
@shreeharsh.bsky.social
Continuing Lecturer, UC-Berkeley. I study AI, algorithms, organizations, work, labor, and expertise. Writing a book about MOOCs, data, and educational expertise.
Website: https://shreeharshkelkar.net
Substack: https://computingandsociety.substack.com/
Website: https://shreeharshkelkar.net
Substack: https://computingandsociety.substack.com/
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Good to see the New York Times has a lengthy obituary for Margaret Rossiter
Margaret W. Rossiter, 81, Dies; Wrote Women Scientists Into History
www.nytimes.com
August 30, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Good to see the New York Times has a lengthy obituary for Margaret Rossiter
This is an incredible deep dive into data centers and their water consumption. Lots of links that you can look into (though I didn't). The conclusion seems to be that data centers have to be treated like any other industrial center.
andymasley.substack.com/p/i-cant-fin...
andymasley.substack.com/p/i-cant-fin...
Data centers don't raise household water bills at all, anywhere
A lot of journalism on AI's water impacts is misleading
andymasley.substack.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:50 PM
This is an incredible deep dive into data centers and their water consumption. Lots of links that you can look into (though I didn't). The conclusion seems to be that data centers have to be treated like any other industrial center.
andymasley.substack.com/p/i-cant-fin...
andymasley.substack.com/p/i-cant-fin...
Sentence of the day! "If I've learned one bitter lesson about this stuff over the years, it's that the best productivity hack in the world is simply liking your job."
Great post by @caseynewton.bsky.social with some new tools I hadn't heard of: www.platformer.news/productivity...
Great post by @caseynewton.bsky.social with some new tools I hadn't heard of: www.platformer.news/productivity...
What I learned about productivity this year
What I gave up, what I kept, and what's new. PLUS: How I'm using AI
www.platformer.news
August 22, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Sentence of the day! "If I've learned one bitter lesson about this stuff over the years, it's that the best productivity hack in the world is simply liking your job."
Great post by @caseynewton.bsky.social with some new tools I hadn't heard of: www.platformer.news/productivity...
Great post by @caseynewton.bsky.social with some new tools I hadn't heard of: www.platformer.news/productivity...
New post on my Substack about why the dichotomy between "democracy" and "technocracy" is a false one that is premised on a definition of "democracy" as public input as opposed to expert input. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/democracy-.... Thread below.
"Democracy" is not the opposite of "technocracy"
Consulting regular people as opposed to experts does not make something more "democratic." Democracy is an ethos. Advocates should justify policy preferences by describing the value tradeoffs.
computingandsociety.substack.com
August 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
New post on my Substack about why the dichotomy between "democracy" and "technocracy" is a false one that is premised on a definition of "democracy" as public input as opposed to expert input. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/democracy-.... Thread below.
Very happy that "Just Code" is now published. It was a great journey from conference to book. I'm very happy to be among the company of all the writers in the anthology.
Copies of JUST CODE just arrived! Partnering w Con & teaming w 19 brilliant STS authors on the vital topic of code/codes & inequality was so special! Authors (full list ToC below) On bsky: @mysdick.bsky.social @histoftech.bsky.social @dmulvin.bsky.social & blurb from @anitachan.bsky.social #histtech
August 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Very happy that "Just Code" is now published. It was a great journey from conference to book. I'm very happy to be among the company of all the writers in the anthology.
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
🦟 Can the Mosquito Bite? 🦟
The Multispecies Transmutation of Wolbachia Mosquitoes as Biotechnologies of Epidemic Control in Rio de Janeiro
How does the use of a bacterium in vector control reconfigure biopolitical relations?
New article at @estsjournal.bsky.social! #STSsky #AnthroSky
The Multispecies Transmutation of Wolbachia Mosquitoes as Biotechnologies of Epidemic Control in Rio de Janeiro
How does the use of a bacterium in vector control reconfigure biopolitical relations?
New article at @estsjournal.bsky.social! #STSsky #AnthroSky
August 6, 2025 at 1:17 PM
🦟 Can the Mosquito Bite? 🦟
The Multispecies Transmutation of Wolbachia Mosquitoes as Biotechnologies of Epidemic Control in Rio de Janeiro
How does the use of a bacterium in vector control reconfigure biopolitical relations?
New article at @estsjournal.bsky.social! #STSsky #AnthroSky
The Multispecies Transmutation of Wolbachia Mosquitoes as Biotechnologies of Epidemic Control in Rio de Janeiro
How does the use of a bacterium in vector control reconfigure biopolitical relations?
New article at @estsjournal.bsky.social! #STSsky #AnthroSky
The problem with Michel Foucault's work: I wrote a post on my favorite philosopher explaining why his habit of calling his contribution as "power" makes the term "power" essentially meaningless. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/what-was-m...
What was Michel Foucault guilty of? He neutered the word "power" of any analytical heft whatsoever.
How to do a Foucaldian analysis: replace "power" with a technical term like "dispositif." Also, you must actually suggest an alternative organizing machinery to replace the dispositif you find unjust.
computingandsociety.substack.com
August 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The problem with Michel Foucault's work: I wrote a post on my favorite philosopher explaining why his habit of calling his contribution as "power" makes the term "power" essentially meaningless. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/what-was-m...
Thanks to @markfabian.bsky.social for interviewing me. It was really fun to talk about my research. In the interview, I expand on what happened to MOOCs, how they became domesticated in that the wild hopes associated with them (access, big data!) abated but some concrete gains remained.
New episode of ePODstemology!
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
Will EdTech change the university? - ePODstemology
Dr Shreeharsh Kelkar from UC Berkeley on to discuss massive online open courses or “MOOCs” and other varieties of education technology. Are they destined to displace the traditional university, or are...
www.buzzsprout.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Thanks to @markfabian.bsky.social for interviewing me. It was really fun to talk about my research. In the interview, I expand on what happened to MOOCs, how they became domesticated in that the wild hopes associated with them (access, big data!) abated but some concrete gains remained.
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
New episode of ePODstemology!
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
Will EdTech change the university? - ePODstemology
Dr Shreeharsh Kelkar from UC Berkeley on to discuss massive online open courses or “MOOCs” and other varieties of education technology. Are they destined to displace the traditional university, or are...
www.buzzsprout.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
New episode of ePODstemology!
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
@shreeharsh.bsky.social from Berkeley is on to discuss EdTech like MOOCs (remember those?), how it has evolved, and what effect it might have on the university of the future!
www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/epis...
I wrote about what universities could do about the problem of students rampantly using ChatGPT (or LLMs or generative AI or whatever we call them now)to do college writing assignments. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you.... Thread on the main argument follows.
How do you solve a problem like ChatGPT?
LLMs have disrupted college teaching and not in a good way. But there is a solution, it just involves technology, enforcement, and sanctions--three things that make progressives deeply uncomfortable.
computingandsociety.substack.com
May 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I wrote about what universities could do about the problem of students rampantly using ChatGPT (or LLMs or generative AI or whatever we call them now)to do college writing assignments. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you.... Thread on the main argument follows.
Wrote an appreciation for the great Kevin Drum who passed away last week and how I learned to love time-series charts by reading him. I ended up building a small module around them in my "Research Methods" class.
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/a-remembra...
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/a-remembra...
A remembrance of Kevin Drum and his time-series charts
Kevin Drum's writing was crystal-clear, heterodox, very opinionated, and often illustrated with time-series charts. Here's how I learned to love those charts by reading him.
computingandsociety.substack.com
March 14, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Wrote an appreciation for the great Kevin Drum who passed away last week and how I learned to love time-series charts by reading him. I ended up building a small module around them in my "Research Methods" class.
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/a-remembra...
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/a-remembra...
I have been reading Kevin Drum for the last 20 years across various websites. His analysis was refreshingly bracing and heterodox, very empirical (he taught me the value of time-series charts), and very opinionated (like his views on AI). RIP, Kevin. I will miss you and your writing.
March 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I have been reading Kevin Drum for the last 20 years across various websites. His analysis was refreshingly bracing and heterodox, very empirical (he taught me the value of time-series charts), and very opinionated (like his views on AI). RIP, Kevin. I will miss you and your writing.
New post on A.G.I. and why it is a concept that hinders rather than helps in thinking about the impact of LLMs on the workforce. open.substack.com/pub/computin...
The "A.G.I." category hinders rather than helps in thinking about technological change and human displacement.
"Programs building programs to build super-programs" is not how successful technologies get made and succeed. LLMs will be consequential but it will depend on actual products and their deployment.
open.substack.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:35 PM
New post on A.G.I. and why it is a concept that hinders rather than helps in thinking about the impact of LLMs on the workforce. open.substack.com/pub/computin...
Posted on my blog after a long time (and hope to do so every week from now!). computingandsociety.substack.com/p/vaccine-he...
This is a response (perhaps a quibble) to a great op-ed and equally great interview with Jerusalem Demsas by Dr. Rachael Bedard.
This is a response (perhaps a quibble) to a great op-ed and equally great interview with Jerusalem Demsas by Dr. Rachael Bedard.
Vaccine hesitancy and the problem of "science"
The concerns of vaccine hesitant people must be taken seriously. But the specter of "science" needs to be used consistently.
computingandsociety.substack.com
February 14, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Posted on my blog after a long time (and hope to do so every week from now!). computingandsociety.substack.com/p/vaccine-he...
This is a response (perhaps a quibble) to a great op-ed and equally great interview with Jerusalem Demsas by Dr. Rachael Bedard.
This is a response (perhaps a quibble) to a great op-ed and equally great interview with Jerusalem Demsas by Dr. Rachael Bedard.
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Just released cover of our book JUST CODE, out in Fall 2025. Honored to partner with Con in working alongside an absolutely stellar team of scholars for this interdisciplinary volume from Johns Hopkins University Press!!!
#histtech
#histtech
January 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Just released cover of our book JUST CODE, out in Fall 2025. Honored to partner with Con in working alongside an absolutely stellar team of scholars for this interdisciplinary volume from Johns Hopkins University Press!!!
#histtech
#histtech
Great post by @jonathanstray.bsky.social. And this suggests that “facts” are the wrong hooks to hang trust on. Facts work only within an architecture of objectivity and that's the thing we need to build. Conservatives have to be a part of this project. www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/meta-drops...
Meta Drops Fact-Checking Because of Politics, but Also Because It Wasn’t Working
The change is politically motivated, yes, but the program never really achieved trust or scale. Issue #133
www.betterconflictbulletin.org
January 12, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Great post by @jonathanstray.bsky.social. And this suggests that “facts” are the wrong hooks to hang trust on. Facts work only within an architecture of objectivity and that's the thing we need to build. Conservatives have to be a part of this project. www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/meta-drops...
Haven't read the report yet but this strikes me as an astute observation. The big question, of course, is whether the creators' regime of objectivity proves institutionally durable.
The key finding of my comparison of how journalists & creators build trust with audiences:
Journalism has placed many markers of trust in institutional processes that are opaque to audiences, while creators try to embed the markers of trust directly in their interactions with audiences.
Journalism has placed many markers of trust in institutional processes that are opaque to audiences, while creators try to embed the markers of trust directly in their interactions with audiences.
With trust in traditional media at an all-time low, a new paper from Shorenstein Fellow @juliaangwin.com examines what content creators — currently engaged in journalist-style work & courting large, loyal audiences — can teach journalists about trustworthiness loom.ly/90Ja7CM
December 25, 2024 at 3:05 AM
Haven't read the report yet but this strikes me as an astute observation. The big question, of course, is whether the creators' regime of objectivity proves institutionally durable.
New post: how do you solve a problem like Bluesky? Some reflections on centralized and decentralized labeling for content moderation.
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
How do you solve a problem like Bluesky?
Third-party labeling of posts and posters can be used to trade off between speech and reach. But this model has run into problems on Bluesky. The solution might be old-fashioned standardization.
computingandsociety.substack.com
December 20, 2024 at 2:21 PM
New post: how do you solve a problem like Bluesky? Some reflections on centralized and decentralized labeling for content moderation.
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
computingandsociety.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
Great thread here.
🧵Hi all! Been continuing my investigation into rate limits / starter packs and was digging into the source code (specifically bsky.app/static/js/79... and associated files), here’s what I found:
bsky.app
December 20, 2024 at 5:11 AM
Great thread here.
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Busy week last week wrapping up classes here, but if you should definitely tune into my interview with @bshestakofsky.bsky.social about his book, _Behind the Startup: How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality_, if you haven't checked it out yet.
newbooksnetwork.com/behind-the-s...
newbooksnetwork.com/behind-the-s...
Benjamin J. Shestakofsky on How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
December 16, 2024 at 4:18 PM
Busy week last week wrapping up classes here, but if you should definitely tune into my interview with @bshestakofsky.bsky.social about his book, _Behind the Startup: How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality_, if you haven't checked it out yet.
newbooksnetwork.com/behind-the-s...
newbooksnetwork.com/behind-the-s...
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Is sociocultural #anthropology a career? 🤔 In my chapter for this brilliant new volume, I argue that anthropology is not a #career in the same way that other majors are—that is a specific set of skills and knowledge for a specific set of occupations.💡 bit.ly/4iFD2L5 🧵
December 16, 2024 at 6:52 PM
Is sociocultural #anthropology a career? 🤔 In my chapter for this brilliant new volume, I argue that anthropology is not a #career in the same way that other majors are—that is a specific set of skills and knowledge for a specific set of occupations.💡 bit.ly/4iFD2L5 🧵
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Growing up, the right wing people in my family were all in for vaccines and some of the liberal hippies had fringe anti-vax beliefs. I have seen real-time sorting around this issue: those who are/became more conservative adopted anti-vax views, & the hippies morphed into normie pro-vaccine liberals.
December 13, 2024 at 7:02 PM
Growing up, the right wing people in my family were all in for vaccines and some of the liberal hippies had fringe anti-vax beliefs. I have seen real-time sorting around this issue: those who are/became more conservative adopted anti-vax views, & the hippies morphed into normie pro-vaccine liberals.
ICYMI: New post.
New post: what makes social media different and harder to regulate? It's not your usual suspects: profit making motives and advertisements. It's three things: sheer scale, the collapse of contexts, and the puzzle of virality. computingandsociety.substack.com/p/whats-the-...
What's the matter with social media?
The problem with platforms is not that they are for-profit or because the beguile viewers with "algorithms." Scale, context collapse, and virality--these make social media different from mass media.
computingandsociety.substack.com
December 13, 2024 at 1:34 PM
ICYMI: New post.
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
Have only today realized that this 1978 Business Week article, which I have only ever seen in B&W and thus always cited as "The New Diversification Oil Game" probably has "diversification" in a different color & should thus be cited as "The New Oil Game: Diversification."
![Business Week article from April 24, 1978 - "The New Diversification Oil Game" [or is it "The New Oil Game: Diversification"?]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bccn7tklqm4cy4bg2fztoia7/bafkreihrphbbuniht5xtldhupjrwip3bpur2vqwezz35disd6jpbl5nxbm@jpeg)
December 13, 2024 at 12:48 PM
Have only today realized that this 1978 Business Week article, which I have only ever seen in B&W and thus always cited as "The New Diversification Oil Game" probably has "diversification" in a different color & should thus be cited as "The New Oil Game: Diversification."
Reposted by Shreeharsh Kelkar
🚨EVENT!🚨 LaborTech's End-of-Year Showcase!
**Happening Thurs, Dec 12-Fri, Dec 13**
Come for discussions on how to organize, research, & teach around labor + tech issues, with spotlights on South Asia and Latin America!
For more info/to RSVP: bit.ly/4fIoBE2
**Happening Thurs, Dec 12-Fri, Dec 13**
Come for discussions on how to organize, research, & teach around labor + tech issues, with spotlights on South Asia and Latin America!
For more info/to RSVP: bit.ly/4fIoBE2
LaborTech End-Of-Year Showcase Announcement
*End-Of-Year Showcase* Labor Tech Research Network Come join LaborTech’s virtual End of Year Showcase December 12-13! Help celebrate the work our members have done this year, and the beautiful diver...
bit.ly
December 2, 2024 at 3:18 PM
🚨EVENT!🚨 LaborTech's End-of-Year Showcase!
**Happening Thurs, Dec 12-Fri, Dec 13**
Come for discussions on how to organize, research, & teach around labor + tech issues, with spotlights on South Asia and Latin America!
For more info/to RSVP: bit.ly/4fIoBE2
**Happening Thurs, Dec 12-Fri, Dec 13**
Come for discussions on how to organize, research, & teach around labor + tech issues, with spotlights on South Asia and Latin America!
For more info/to RSVP: bit.ly/4fIoBE2