THIS. What I term algorithmic agnotology.
what does it mean to have systems that render decisions at scales that are de facto or de jure impossible to scrutinize or challenge? again, are we not talking about authoritarian totalitarian states?
January 26, 2025 at 8:23 PM
THIS. What I term algorithmic agnotology.
Word of the Day: AGNOTOLOGY - the study of wilful attempts to spread ignorance.
July 10, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Word of the Day: AGNOTOLOGY - the study of wilful attempts to spread ignorance.
agnotology is poisonously alive in transgender health.
May 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
agnotology is poisonously alive in transgender health.
September 21, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Perhaps today is the day we should all learn the term “agnotology” and think about the many mechanisms of ignorance and what/whom it serves.
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
February 11, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Perhaps today is the day we should all learn the term “agnotology” and think about the many mechanisms of ignorance and what/whom it serves.
Let's talk about agnotology: a 🧵
"agnotology (formerly agnatology) is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
"agnotology (formerly agnatology) is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
Agnotology - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
June 5, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Let's talk about agnotology: a 🧵
"agnotology (formerly agnatology) is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
"agnotology (formerly agnatology) is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance or doubt."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
Dr Alondra Nelson on how AI companies use agnotology, strategic production of ignorance, to avoid accountability. They legitimize ignorance via design opacity; generation of uncertainty; claims of unknowability of AI. Move fast, break things. Cast themselves as both the problem creators & solvers.
Algorithmic Agnotology: On AI, Ignorance, and Power – Alondra Nelson | IASEAI '26
YouTube video by International Association for Safe & Ethical AI
youtu.be
September 24, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Dr Alondra Nelson on how AI companies use agnotology, strategic production of ignorance, to avoid accountability. They legitimize ignorance via design opacity; generation of uncertainty; claims of unknowability of AI. Move fast, break things. Cast themselves as both the problem creators & solvers.
"Algorithmic agnotology: How systems manufacture and legitimize not-knowing"
That's a brilliant lens and tool for looking at how systems of PR, CEO interviews, and white papers work to keep us shrugging in epistemic powerlessness.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CRJ...
That's a brilliant lens and tool for looking at how systems of PR, CEO interviews, and white papers work to keep us shrugging in epistemic powerlessness.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CRJ...
Algorithmic Agnotology: On AI, Ignorance, and Power – Alondra Nelson | IASEAI '26
YouTube video by International Association for Safe & Ethical AI
www.youtube.com
September 27, 2026 at 10:23 PM
"Algorithmic agnotology: How systems manufacture and legitimize not-knowing"
That's a brilliant lens and tool for looking at how systems of PR, CEO interviews, and white papers work to keep us shrugging in epistemic powerlessness.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CRJ...
That's a brilliant lens and tool for looking at how systems of PR, CEO interviews, and white papers work to keep us shrugging in epistemic powerlessness.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CRJ...
agnotology innit, epistemological lacunae and that
December 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
agnotology innit, epistemological lacunae and that
agnotology machine
Palantir is its own agnotology machine. Do not engage with their discourse, which throws spaghetti at the wall of media: every strand introduces a new kind of doubt. You try to consume & debate it but in the end all you are is tangled in spaghetti and covered with marinara.
April 19, 2026 at 2:19 PM
agnotology machine
2025 has meant watching the production of agnotology, or the lack of knowledge, in real time
They want to close the NOAA lab (GML) that brings you this, the most iconic time series in the environmental sciences.
gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
July 3, 2025 at 11:57 AM
2025 has meant watching the production of agnotology, or the lack of knowledge, in real time
Big Tech and AI companies have refined these prior industrial tactics into what I call 'algorithmic agnotology': the exploitation of technical complexity to obscure accountability and naturalize inscrutability as inherent to digital systems.
August 6, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Big Tech and AI companies have refined these prior industrial tactics into what I call 'algorithmic agnotology': the exploitation of technical complexity to obscure accountability and naturalize inscrutability as inherent to digital systems.
One of the more surprisingly useful words I've learned in adulthood is "agnotology": the study of deliberate knowledge loss
@rikiwilchins.bsky.social 2026 Jul Guardian
In his pursuit of scrubbing DEI from every facet of govt, Trump has deleted or altered nearly 400 govt datasets from 60 agencies, with the most by far health related datasets which contained data by gender identity and/or sexual orientation .
In his pursuit of scrubbing DEI from every facet of govt, Trump has deleted or altered nearly 400 govt datasets from 60 agencies, with the most by far health related datasets which contained data by gender identity and/or sexual orientation .
Trump 2.0 has deleted or altered nearly 400 US datasets, endangering public health, education and more
Health data appears to be most affected by administration’s attempt to wipe findings that don’t align with its priorities, tracker shows
www.theguardian.com
August 18, 2026 at 4:39 PM
One of the more surprisingly useful words I've learned in adulthood is "agnotology": the study of deliberate knowledge loss
There's a great book on "agnotology" (the study of ignorance) that describes different types of ignorance. One is never knowing. Another stems from the manufacture of doubt. And then there's "forgetting" where info that was once known is forgotten, ignored, or (as in this case) obscured.
Agnotology | Stanford University Press
What don't we know, and why don't we know it? What keeps ignorance alive, or allows it to be used as a political instrument? Agnotology—the study of ignorance—provides a new theoretical perspective to...
www.sup.org
February 11, 2026 at 4:18 PM
There's a great book on "agnotology" (the study of ignorance) that describes different types of ignorance. One is never knowing. Another stems from the manufacture of doubt. And then there's "forgetting" where info that was once known is forgotten, ignored, or (as in this case) obscured.
To anyone out there who is curious about why you are feeling so polarized politically right now… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE listen to the rebroadcast of the Agnotology (Willful Ignorance) episode of Ologies with Alie Ward.
@ologies.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
@ologies.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
Agnotology (WILLFUL IGNORANCE) Encore with Dr. Robert Proctor
Podcast Episode · Ologies with Alie Ward · 02/12/2025 · 1h 20m
podcasts.apple.com
February 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
To anyone out there who is curious about why you are feeling so polarized politically right now… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE listen to the rebroadcast of the Agnotology (Willful Ignorance) episode of Ologies with Alie Ward.
@ologies.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
@ologies.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
Useful term. It sent me down a Wikipedia-hole.
Anti-epistemology; I like that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
Anti-epistemology; I like that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
April 26, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Useful term. It sent me down a Wikipedia-hole.
Anti-epistemology; I like that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
Anti-epistemology; I like that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotol...
Agnotology
March 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Agnotology
There is one.
Agnotology is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance.
Agnotology is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance.
September 27, 2024 at 9:57 AM
There is one.
Agnotology is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance.
Agnotology is the study of deliberate, culturally induced ignorance.
Rule by agnotology
Truly outrageous. Erasing the evidence of mounting suffering won't make it go away.
It's just a matter of time before he cancels the annual homeless count.
It's just a matter of time before he cancels the annual homeless count.
September 21, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Rule by agnotology
One literally could not have built a more efficient agnotology machine if one tried, which is its chief political purpose.
Did a little experiment since Pangram is in the discourse this week. First & second grafs of my dissertation chapter (written 100% by me): judged 100% AI. The two grafs together (no changes): judged 67% AI.
Then I had Deft rewrite the first graf -- completely LLM text, judged 54% AI. 🤷🏻♂️
Then I had Deft rewrite the first graf -- completely LLM text, judged 54% AI. 🤷🏻♂️
August 21, 2026 at 1:31 PM
One literally could not have built a more efficient agnotology machine if one tried, which is its chief political purpose.
Alondra Nelson giving a fascinating talk on Algorithmic #Agnotology @ #IASEAI @unesco in Paris. #IASEAI26 #Epistemology #AI #LLMs
February 25, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Alondra Nelson giving a fascinating talk on Algorithmic #Agnotology @ #IASEAI @unesco in Paris. #IASEAI26 #Epistemology #AI #LLMs
WILLFUL IGNORANCE: there's an -ology for that.
How to people get duped?
What's the truth?
How do you talk to others with seemingly very different realities?
We discuss in this freshly updated Agnotology ep with Stanford prof Dr. Robert Proctor:
www.alieward.com/ologies/agno...
How to people get duped?
What's the truth?
How do you talk to others with seemingly very different realities?
We discuss in this freshly updated Agnotology ep with Stanford prof Dr. Robert Proctor:
www.alieward.com/ologies/agno...
Agnotology (WILLFUL IGNORANCE) Updated Encore with Dr. Robert Proctor — alie ward
Yes, there is an -ology for that. And yes, we’re airing this episode -– with a ton of 2025 updates -– because it’s never felt more relevant. Dr. Robert Proctor is a Stanford professor of the History o...
www.alieward.com
February 13, 2025 at 12:29 AM
WILLFUL IGNORANCE: there's an -ology for that.
How to people get duped?
What's the truth?
How do you talk to others with seemingly very different realities?
We discuss in this freshly updated Agnotology ep with Stanford prof Dr. Robert Proctor:
www.alieward.com/ologies/agno...
How to people get duped?
What's the truth?
How do you talk to others with seemingly very different realities?
We discuss in this freshly updated Agnotology ep with Stanford prof Dr. Robert Proctor:
www.alieward.com/ologies/agno...
Take a moment and look up the word "agnotology."
"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy."
dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...
dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...
University of Wyoming to Drop Philosophy Major - Daily Nous
As for Fall 2027, incoming students at the University of Wyoming will no longer be allowed to major in philosophy. The news was shared by philosophy professor Bradley Rettler in posts on social media....
dailynous.com
July 23, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Take a moment and look up the word "agnotology."