“Hype is eating the future, and leaving us the bones.” Sun-ha Hong of UNC-Chapel Hill says the Silicon Valley hype machine systematically “borrows credibility from the future to purchase legitimacy in the present.” The cost, he argues, is a planetary-scale drain on our alternatives.

Tech Hype is Cannibalizing the Future

Every day, we are told that we live in the future—but hype is eating the future and leaving us the bones," writes Sun-ha Hong.

techpolicy.press

I’m in DC scheduled to give this talk today. But the organizers flagged slides in my deck that mention racism, structural gaslighting, New Jim Code and other themes that are off limits in the Land of the Free.

👇🔥

@hypestudies.bsky.social · 3d ago

Fresh off the press! A new article in our Hype Studies series. A brilliant reflection by @sunhahong.bsky.social on how hype cannibalizes the future (and regurgitates the past).

Beyond hyped to have been invited by Lee to appear on his tech talk show 💫 So much to talk about, we really barely scratched the surface... Was exciting to be able to share that we are now formally an association and that we are working on Hype: A Glossary - out 2027!

Lee Vinsel @leev.bsky.social · last wk.

Episode 3 of our new talk show, How to Think About Technology, is the first of what will no doubt be many conversations about HYPE. We chat with Bob Charette about why software failures remain so common and with leaders of the Hype Studies Association, including . . . youtu.be/kCmKnzNonRU?...

Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.

With governments buying stakes in AI and defense contractors, a new political economy is fueling imperialist scrambles abroad, while deepening illiberalism at home. Our essay of the week traces the rise of imperial state capitalism. By @iliasalami.bsky.social in @illsp.bsky.social buff.ly/fJRL9xn

This is quite cool. My university is the first organisation in the world to force Microsoft to allow us to turn off copilot summaries in Word 365, after a backlash against it from staff (including, very vocally, me). That cannot have been easy for our heroic IT people so hats very much off to them!

There were more men in a single documented gang rape at one school than the number of competitive trans athletes nationally. But I’ve heard a lot more politicians being asked about protecting girls from one of these scenarios and not another… I’ll let you guess which is which.

Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 2w ago

There’s something to be said for how most of the political spectrum can unite around hounding some lesbians over niche drama in their spaces but huge segments of society are silent about pervasive campus rape impacting a huge population of primarily youngwomen

Literally every story involving a genie and a bottle ends up with the genie back in the bottle. Read more children's fiction people ffs.

leavesubstack.com

My Glock system went rogue and issued 9mm agents which accessed the internal organs of several victims. Please give me billions of dollars to help me regulate the behavior of the gun whose trigger I keep pulling.

The Why Cheap Art? Manifesto, Bread & Puppet Theater, 1984

Back of the envelope calculations: 3600 years of research time went into the collective application process. The research will fund 3200 years of research. We are 400 research years poorer as a result of this. 1/2

Anna Neumaier@annaneumaier.bsky.social · 3w ago

Alter. 21627 Einreichungen auf ein Fellowship-Programm. Wer soll das alles begutachten? 😶‍🌫️ Wer jetzt nicht für mehr Grundförderung und weniger Drittmittel argumentiert, der ist doch nicht gescheit.

this is fantastic and I learned something new

HAHAHAAAA... incentivsing "slop grenades" wasn't such a good business strategy after all. who could've guessed

Karen Gregory@karengregory.bsky.social · 3w ago

"An April survey of 1,150 office workers found that 40 percent had encountered a phenomenon known as “workslop,” or AI-generated content that looks professional on the surface but lacks any actual substance." futurism.com/artificial-i...

Too much

The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.

This conversation with @naomiaklein.bsky.social and @astra.bsky.social couldn't be more timely. With the AI industry talking about *its own products' potential to cause human extinction* we drill into who might still want to build such technology, and why. Hint: it's in the title of their new book.

The End Times Fascists of AI, ft. Naomi Klein + Astra Taylor

Listen now (64 mins) | A conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor about “end times fascism” in the tech industry.

bloodinthemachine.com

Critical Philosophies of Technology at the University of Florence (September 28-29, 2026) The program is out! Check out all the panels and talks: fasos-research.nl/history-of-p... With Keynote speeches by Dr. Teresa Numerico and Dr. François-Xavier Guchet.

Tired: "Hang in There, Baby!" Wired: "The Old World is Dying. We Will Wear Its Corpse." By @kverityart.bsky.social 👑

Last week, I provided students with my Reasons to Hate AI mini comic, & now you can have it, too. Thanks to @nsousanis.bsky.social for suggestions & so many for the accumulated info, esp. @emilymbender.bsky.social, @alexhanna.bsky.social, @karenhao.bsky.social , @dairinstitute.bsky.social.

For RGS attendees: there is an 'Author Meets Critics' session coming up Thursday for 'Techno-Negative' to talk tech refusal, abolitionism,... Thanks to @casey-lynch.bsky.social & those who kindly agreed to comment @davidjbissell.bsky.social @sophiamaalsen.bsky.social @hannahmorgann.bsky.social

Interested in ethical, social, political, or philosophical questions about technology? Then submit an abstract to ETHICOMP 2027 by @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social in June 2-4 2027. Call for abstracts is open until 23:59 (CET), Monday 19 October. www.aanmelder.nl/ethicomp2027... #ETHICOMP2027

late to the party, but exit she has. union member, vaccine hero, literacy giant, and staunch gay ally. vale, dolly.

William Shakespeare@shakespeare.lol · 2mo ago

[Exit Queen.]

We have written a statement in support of Ghent Uni's decision to suspend Nathan Cofnas. We resist attempts to frame this as a punishment for "whistleblowing" or censorship of "controversial research". We invite all academics who share our views to sign our letter. forms.gle/qwN8xzEM5C7Q...

Open letter on the suspension of Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University

We, colleagues of Nathan Cofnas - supported by many colleagues internationally - want to respond to the negative and incorrect framing of Ghent University’s decision to suspend Nathan Cofnas. With th...

forms.gle

If you’re a white man in academia and you think your problems come from EDI/DEI/woke, you’re failing on observational skills, research methods and critical thinking.

Sunday Taquitos #30: Flock This! Art by @ivan-ehlers.bsky.social

For #FollowFriday some folks I appreciate who post on issues related to tech & society: @hypervisible.blacksky.app @wolven.blacksky.app @toniasutherland.bsky.social @drtanksley.bsky.social @meredithmeredith.bsky.social @olivia.science @emilymbender.bsky.social @alexhanna.bsky.social @danhon.com

DoctorSyntax@doctorsyntax.bsky.social · 3mo ago

As discussed, it’s #FollowFriday, so follow @rexparker.bsky.social @davidwondrich.bsky.social @reelquinn.bsky.social @histoftech.bsky.social @sethcotlar.bsky.social @aselrod.bsky.social Also re Friday: see my TL for “Add a letter, ruin a novel”

senior male academics giving a conference paper, after being shown the "one more minute" sign

Erin Dwyer aka Ginger Is A Construct@erindwyer.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Time keeping is my passion.

Local plumbers two steps ahead of every university administrator in america 👏

Metin Seven, Moon Child's dad 🌝@seven.eurosky.social · 3mo ago