Nick Seaver
@nickseaver.website
anthropology, algorithms, attention | he/him | The conversation is characterized by Nick's use of language, but the content of the discussion remains unknown.
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when someone in the university meeting about AI principles suggests that the principles need to change fast because AI changes fast: the nice thing about principles is their durability and generality, such that having AI-specific principles may be at odds with the idea of "principles"
September 21, 2026 at 1:44 PM
when someone in the university meeting about AI principles suggests that the principles need to change fast because AI changes fast: the nice thing about principles is their durability and generality, such that having AI-specific principles may be at odds with the idea of "principles"
Reposted by Nick Seaver
one thing that is worth remember apropos this useful piece is that novel technologies do not necessarily require novel political solutions. americans have had to deal with fast-moving, disruptive technological change in the past, and they did so through collective, democratic action.
Opinion | Bernie Sanders, Steve Case and Others on What Washington Should Do Now on A.I.
How can the government reel in the technology? Here are six ideas.
www.nytimes.com
September 21, 2026 at 1:12 PM
one thing that is worth remember apropos this useful piece is that novel technologies do not necessarily require novel political solutions. americans have had to deal with fast-moving, disruptive technological change in the past, and they did so through collective, democratic action.
Reposted by Nick Seaver
my child birthday present scavenger hunts are getting elaborate enough that I think I need to start using project management tools
September 19, 2026 at 4:40 PM
my child birthday present scavenger hunts are getting elaborate enough that I think I need to start using project management tools
Reposted by Nick Seaver
The Bloomberg report is very good. I am just going to reiterate that I think we should get past the "AI" part and focus on the "every technology is situated in an organizational context" part. None are independent in any relevant sense.
US officials say overreliance on Palantir's Maven AI system was among the factors that contributed to a February missile strike in Iran that killed 123 children (Bloomberg)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
September 19, 2026 at 2:05 PM
The Bloomberg report is very good. I am just going to reiterate that I think we should get past the "AI" part and focus on the "every technology is situated in an organizational context" part. None are independent in any relevant sense.
AI assistant in the form of the dictabird from the live-action Flintstones movie
September 18, 2026 at 11:35 PM
AI assistant in the form of the dictabird from the live-action Flintstones movie
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Nick Covaleski talking about how everything got so fronty
September 18, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Nick Covaleski talking about how everything got so fronty
dad’s night out to see YHWH Nailgun
September 16, 2026 at 11:38 PM
dad’s night out to see YHWH Nailgun
big opportunity for a whole anthology series of “reality tv adaptations of studies you have to read about in IRB training”
Netflix Turning Debunked Stanford Prison Experiment Into Equally Unethical Show nerdist.com/article/netf...
Netflix Turning Debunked Stanford Prison Experiment Into Equally Unethical Show
Netflix is launching a new reality show based on the thoroughly debunked, wholly unethical 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment.
nerdist.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:52 PM
big opportunity for a whole anthology series of “reality tv adaptations of studies you have to read about in IRB training”
I am feeling this in my 90s child habitus as I print a gajillion pages out for my students in seminar this term. Sorry, trees!
A lot of this has to do with green initiatives on campus that limit printing by number of pages and with the massive inaccessibility of publisher provided texts. Many limit the number of pages a student can download.
Maybe I'm just too old, but when I was in college (2003-2007) and then even in grad school in the 2010s, I feel like it was fairly normal for students to (a) buy books in the humanities (profs would assign like 10 books even) and (b) print out articles & book chapters to read in hard copy.
September 15, 2026 at 5:54 PM
I am feeling this in my 90s child habitus as I print a gajillion pages out for my students in seminar this term. Sorry, trees!
student bought me another tesla FSD camera head from the chinese internet, which, incidentally, is from a ronaldo doll, it appears
September 15, 2026 at 4:47 PM
student bought me another tesla FSD camera head from the chinese internet, which, incidentally, is from a ronaldo doll, it appears
hello, comrade Wall Street Journal
Not often in agreement the @wsj.com but am here: "Want to Succeed in an AI World? Study Anthropology"
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...
Want to Succeed in an AI World? Study Anthropology
College students and workers alike are finding a new set of skills is needed for a rapidly changing workplace.
www.wsj.com
September 14, 2026 at 12:37 PM
hello, comrade Wall Street Journal
ooh, what is a “recording”
Apple quietly dropped a ton of detail about the Apple Watch’s new always-on don’t-call-it-transcription feature and it is FASCINATING. support.apple.com/en-us/148354
September 9, 2026 at 11:48 PM
ooh, what is a “recording”
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Got the student paper to quote my line that university AI initiatives are like kindergartners playing soccer, all swarming after the ball in the least effective possible form of coordination: www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2026...
Hey Claude, how is Tufts handling this AI thing? - The Tufts Daily
Like many others, I spent the first few weeks of this summer searching "internship" on LinkedIn jobs and Handshake, praying that there would be any position that required zero experience, or whatever ...
www.tuftsdaily.com
September 8, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Got the student paper to quote my line that university AI initiatives are like kindergartners playing soccer, all swarming after the ball in the least effective possible form of coordination: www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2026...
Reposted by Nick Seaver
It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...
LG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standby
Gamers Nexus comes for LG again.
www.theverge.com
September 8, 2026 at 11:52 AM
It's finally happened: the improved quality of machine transcription and the greater ability to extract value from unlabelled data means "your tech is eavesdropping on you for marketing purposes" has crossed from "false conspiracy theory" to "true and concerning" www.theverge.com/tech/991190/...
First class of the semester is completed. Running iteration 9 of my seminar, How to Pay Attention. Doing it fully on paper this year, but the web copy of the syllabus is here: classes.nickseaver.net/HTPA/
How to Pay Attention
Undergraduate seminar critically examining attention: how it is measured, valued, and managed in social, cultural, and technical contexts, from driver monitoring to AI.
classes.nickseaver.net
September 8, 2026 at 4:05 PM
First class of the semester is completed. Running iteration 9 of my seminar, How to Pay Attention. Doing it fully on paper this year, but the web copy of the syllabus is here: classes.nickseaver.net/HTPA/
printing approximately a trillion pages for the analog version of my attention seminar this term. Let’s find out if it’s worth it.
September 7, 2026 at 8:38 PM
printing approximately a trillion pages for the analog version of my attention seminar this term. Let’s find out if it’s worth it.
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️
September 7, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️