José Marichal
@josemarichal.bsky.social
Pol Sci Prof at CalLutheran. Author of "You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem" (Bristol Univ Press) and "Machine Liberalism" (Forthcoming from Intellect Books/University of Chicago Press). Tech Policy Press contributor https://josemarichal.github.io/
New OA publication! ✨ Digital Democracy from Below is a collection of 34 essays exploring where less obvious democratic levers are hiding in the digital age. We present democracy as a form of government, a way of living and a skill that can be collectively practiced. Here: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
The great day has arrived! Today is publication day for #PlatformExtractivism! Thank you to my colleagues for their work and inspiration, to the SSRC for funding this research, and to UC Press for making this book possible. I stand on the shoulders of giants! www.ucpress.edu/books/platfo...
We moved in recent years from what I'd call "sockpuppet politics" to just straight up identity theft. Stealing the identity of an organization to stoke up resentment against it is the real election fraud. www.texastribune.org/2026/10/20/t...
Texas trans rights group blames backlash on false mailers
The mailers, sent by an organization formed last month in Wyoming, implicate a Texas transgender rights group that says it was not involved.
texastribune.org
Lots of great examples of what @yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social calls technofeudal "cloud rent"
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · last wk.No matter where you shop, you're getting screwed by Amazon. Amazon has found a way to make everything you buy - at Target, at a mom-and-pop shop, even direct from the manufacturer - more expensive. And they're not the only one: Expedia's done the same thing, but for hotel rooms.
No matter where you shop, you're getting screwed by Amazon. Amazon has found a way to make everything you buy - at Target, at a mom-and-pop shop, even direct from the manufacturer - more expensive. And they're not the only one: Expedia's done the same thing, but for hotel rooms.
Was recently in the Ontario Art Museum during an exhibition of model boats. It strikes me that our age of constant algorithmic distraction is ill suited for the painstaking concentration and attention necessary to build such intricate replicas with meticulous detail.
Whatever happens this cycle, Dems are doing something different. From Troy Jackson running an ad telling Mainers where to get help with heating oil costs to Angie Nixon and Abdul El Sayed's ability to "clap back" with wit... Don't know if it bears results, but at least it isn't the same ol'
Why aren't more Democrats running against tech oligarchs? If it's money, they're not going to get tech money anyway apnews.com/article/musk...
As Musk gained power in Washington, his popularity has fallen, an AP-NORC poll finds
An AP-NORC poll finds that only about one-third of U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of Elon Musk after his brief foray into the federal government.
apnews.com
Following our investigation into the White House's secretive ALPR database, Sen. Wyden is demanding a privacy review / more details: www.404media.co/following-40...
Following 404 Media Investigation, Senator Demands Info About White House's License Plate Surveillance Program
Sen. Ron Wyden is seeking a privacy review report about the HIDTA license plate program.
404media.co
Proposed cover from the publisher for my forthcoming book... Kinda dig the cybernetic glowing orb vibe!!! Nice job!! @intellectbooks.bsky.social @uchicagopress.bsky.social
Anyone else attending the 4S conference in a couple of weeks? It'll be my first time along to it and I'm excited but won't know ANYONE. It's like the first day of school all over again. If you're attending and interested in talking STS then PLEASE drop me a line!
Who else in the Blueskyverse is also going to @4sweb.bsky.social's 4S conference this October? #4Sconference #STS
Ian G. Williams@igraywill.bsky.social · 4w agoI'm going, also first time at 4S (and at an STS conference). A colleague and I at @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social are presenting on this panel on 10/9 at 3:40pm. Happy to chat!
I’ll be presenting on research from my new book project for the first time at the 4S conference in Toronto. Stop by Saturday to hear my take on recent efforts to restrict medication abortion in U.S. via claims of water pollution, or reach out so we can grab a coffee. Hoping to catch up w/ STS folks!
At sea in the #4S conference program, but if you have hot picks (including for your open panels/papers) then LMK. I know two places I'll be...
Then for @ntnsndr.in's panel at #4S on Wednesday, I'll be hosting a short session to critique a co-op protocol/living bylaws demo I 'built'. If you're attending this behemoth of a gathering/confrence, please come!
If you are in Toronto, I'll be up next week for 4S presenting a paper on the AI+ conference series here in DC, what specific technical imaginaries are at play, from whom, and how you can tell. LMK if you wanna hang!
We’re exhibiting at the 50th 4S Annual Conference, 8–10 Oct in Toronto! 📚Use INTELLECT30 for 30% off online book purchases. Discover our journals and chat to us about publishing with Intellect. 📩 james@intellectbooks.com 👉https://www.intellectbooks.com/4s26 Society for Social Studies of Science
This is so good! Especially the section that illustrates how generative AI art fits into predictable aesthetic motifs... Generative AI doesn't engage in the spontaneous, exploratory process of aimless creating that sparks new forms.
Opinion | The Path to Great Art Is Not Through A.I. (Gift Article)
Anything worth remembering came from a person who did not know where she or he was going until arriving.
nytimes.com
Riot Women is a fun watch, but as much fun has been remembering how great Hole's "Live Though This" album is! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyn9...
H̲o̲le - Live Through This (Full Album)
YouTube video by Gal Godonut
youtube.com
More people should see this short doc on the pressure to plead guilty to avoid languishing in jail awaiting trial youtu.be/47mUlbUflao?...
How Long Can You Wait in Jail Without Being Charged? | holding bodies, Episode 2 | PBS Short Docs
YouTube video by PBS
youtu.be
Although we don't think of it this way, this deep "ontological enclosing" of ourselves is a radical (and deeply illiberal) political act. "The share of adults who say they regularly have friends over has declined dramatically since 1975."
Why Americans Stopped Throwing Dinner Parties
The share of adults who say they regularly have friends over has declined dramatically since 1975.
theatlantic.com
A US News and World report, but colleges are ranked on whether graduates go on to "live well"
Some-one has to do a study that localizes the independent effect of "clap-back ability" in political campaigns.... Angie Nixon may not win, but her "clap back" game is solid.
Bikepedantic@pedantic.bike · 3w ago"The most ordinary man imaginable" is just a perpetually-twisting dagger
Fantastic from @jeffsharlet.bsky.social .. This resonates completely with my experience teaching undergraduates.. "They used AI because it was there, because their classmates use it, because they fear if they don’t use it they’ll fall behind." www.chronicle.com/article/my-s...
Opinion | My Students Hate AI. But They Can’t Stop Using It.
Big Tech has gotten them addicted to cheating, and they’ve internalized the blame.
chronicle.com
Imagine how Fox would have covered this if Obama rolled out the red carpet to Xi at the same time this news story came out...
Iran Has a Secret Weapon in Its War With America: Help From China
Trump wants to preserve relations with Xi, but Iranian customs data show Chinese entities have made thousands of shipments of components used in drones and missiles.
wsj.com
AI agents are going to kill us in our sleep, but also.... x.com/PopCrave/sta...
Pop Crave (@PopCrave) on X
Meta announces Muse Charm, a handheld gadget allowing people to utilize an AI personal agent without their phone, computer or glasses. Available in time for the holidays.
x.com
Tech CEO's want liberal internationalism in an increasingly hyper-realist world... “(Amodei's ideas include" evaluation and verification systems so countries can verify each other’s commitments, and common global standards for testing AI along with a notification system for AI security incidents.”
Sam Altman, Dario Amodei urge UN Security Council to adopt international AI standards | CNN Business
The leaders of two of the world’s top AI companies are usually fierce rivals. But in front of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, they were in agreement: The AI industry needs international standard...
cnn.com
This is how ppl lose faith in liberal democracy... the legislative opposition party refuses to support legislation intended to address a problem because they want to use it as a campaign issue.. R's did this on immigration in 2024. Now it's the Dems turn... www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
Exclusive: Some Republicans push to prioritize Husted data center bill
Republican senators have discussed the idea but made no final decision.
semafor.com
IR heads, did the US get anything out of this agreement that they could not have gotten with garden variety diplomacy? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump Plans Two Military Bases in Greenland as Deal Signed
Donald Trump signed a security deal with Denmark and Greenland to end a bitter dispute over the Arctic island, saying the US will start building two “very major military bases” on the territory.
bloomberg.com
