Matthew Kirschenbaum
@mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Critical tech and literary/cultural AI. Also cats, letterpress printing, and tabletop gaming. Commonwealth Professor of AI and English at the University of Virginia— —but speaking for myself and in my own capacity here. Be rude and you’ll be blocked.
Fifty years ago, Carlo Ginzburg published a book about the extraordinary mind of an Italian miller, demonstrating the power of microhistory. A new edition has just been published and I've reviewed it for @historytoday.com: www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...
Has the Poet ever sung of the satisfactions of picking dried superglue off of one’s fingertips?
I’d like to speak with a manager.
Capital Weather@capitalweather.com · yesterdayGet ready to sweat. A prolonged surge of tropical humidity is headed for the DC area, with oppressive dew points, heat indexes nearing 100 and almost daily storm chances for more than a week. Details: www.capitalweather.com/a-surge-of-o...
BOOM. The AAUP is suing Texas A&M University System over their censorship policy that prohibits faculty from discussing topics & viewpoints related to race, sexual orientation, & gender. www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/... 1
![AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, LEONARD BRIGHT, VANITA REDDY, LANDON SADLER, and AARON GEORGE,
Plaintiffs,
V.
ROBERT L. ALBRITTON, JAY GRAHAM, DAVID
C. BAGGETT, JOHN W. BELLINGER, JAMES R.
BROOKS, MICHAEL A. HERNANDEZ III,
WILLIAM MAHOMES JR., KELLEY SULLIVAN GEORGIADES, and SAM TORN, in their official capacities as members of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents,
Defendants.
CIVIL ACTION NO.
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs American Association of University Professors ("AAUP"), on behalf of
its members in the Texas A&M University System ("Texas A&M"), and individually named member professors Leonard Bright, Vanita Reddy, Landon Sadler, and Aaron George (collectively, "Plaintiffs") challenge Texas A&M System Policy ("System Policy") 08.01's prohibition on teaching "gender and race ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation, and gender identity" in academic coursework (the "Censorship Policy" or the "Policy").
On its face, the Censorship Policy imposes a complete prohibition, in all core-
curriculum courses, on courses "advocat[ing]" particular disfavored views of race or gender, or
any topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, but the Policy does not impose any corresponding ban on opposing views on these issues.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jcats4toei4ybf5ibk3njty3/bafkreidml3fbnbiivajg7rverpx3nckfhv3zdron6klbxc7kaffoyslpty)
this isn’t quite about the same thing that i’ve been thinking about but it is a really excellent and very fun read: @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social "The Writing Lesson Revisited: AI [and | in | is] the Scriptural Economy." Social Research: An International Quarterly, dx.doi.org/10.1353/sor.....
Nina Markl 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈@ninamarkl.bsky.social · 6d agois now a good time to revive my "language as training data == language as a type of raw material -> language commodified in a new and depressing way" paper?
Future country-western leitmotif: “Lookin’ as lonely as a salad bar in a cyclospora outbreak” 🎵
If only there was an opposition party capable of delivering this message.
Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d agoEvery vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general is a vote to continue the coverup of the Epstein Files.
Once again struck that the most fraught part of automated retail transactions is the question of whether or not one wants a bag. I am asked to enter number of bags, to confirm the number, and if zero to confirm I am not using bags, a three-step interaction.
Four university presidents, "Andrew Martin at Washington University in St. Louis, Michael Crow at Arizona State University, Douglas Girod at the University of Kansas, & Ronald Daniels at the Johns Hopkins University" collaborated in the latest attack on higher ed. www.chronicle.com/liveblog/her...
Trump Has Released a New ‘Call to Action’ for Universities. 4 College Presidents Helped Draft It.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter Monday imploring colleges to adopt a series of familiar-sounding reforms — this time, in partnership with leaders in the Association of American Univers...
chronicle.com
Whoever wrote this headline should be fired and made our leader.
Not my model or figs or photo, but too nice not to post.
From the verbing of "text" to AI-generated "slop," writing is treated as an extractable resource. This talk asks how material practices such as printing, bookmaking, and hands-on work can still create friction. Ft. @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social at @rarebookschool.bsky.social
Matthew Kirschenbaum: "From text to .txt: Making Material Messes in a Sloppy World" (Malkin Lecture)
Matthew Kirschenbaum delivered Rare Book School's 2026 Sol M. and Mary Ann O’Brian Malkin Endowed Lecture, "From text to .txt: Making Material Messes in a Sloppy World," at the University of Virginia…
buff.ly
Anyone else (sincerely) love waking up to the sound of trash pick up, the distant but drawing closer grinding of the trucks, the unparsable shouts and bawls of the crews?
This may dramatically slow down the attacks on science. It also provides a template for how to prevent the federal government from becoming a patronage state. It’s a big deal!
Politico@politico.com · 3d agoSenate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump’s grant overhaul
So close but the correct answer is obviously Permanent Waves, MP, Signals.
Mia Murphy 🏳️⚧️@miamurphy.com · 4d agoWhat's the best three album run from a band? (the correct answer is Moving Pictures, Signals, and Grace Under Pressure by Rush, but I'm excited to learn second place)
This all seems pretty on point to me. 🧵
Zach Weinersmith@zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 4d agoThere's lots of stuff LLMs can't do, but if you want to disbelieve all the recent math, you have to believe a bunch of Fields Medalists with long track records are just straightforwardly lying about the thing they care most about. Here's a recent blog by Gowers: gowers.wordpress.com/2026/05/08/a...
Update: I have an offer in on this fine volume and am on tenterhooks as to whether the seller accepts it.
Matthew Kirschenbaum@mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 5d agoFeeling a strong urge to cultivate an arbitrary interest in, say, the Austro-Hungarian navy
I can't stress enough what a crisis this is. Trump's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran attacked Minnesota's critical infrastructure and Trump is saying that it's Minnesota's own fault and denying it was Iran. The federal government won't defend blue states in a literal war.
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems (Gift Article)
Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink.
nytimes.com
There’s a literary scandal involving AI on a weekly basis now. Prizes, contracts, allegations, retractions. Individual authors will make their own choices as they always have. But collectively and industry-wide, there is no putting the stopper back in this bottle. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
$2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use
Agents withdraw Jerry Falade’s hotly anticipated debut after saying they can no longer authenticate ‘how the manuscript evolved’
theguardian.com
Holy wow. We've been tracking the DOJ withdrawals of indictments, dismissals by judges, rejections of subpoenas, no bills by grand juries and more. All those are collected here: www.justsecurity.org/146665/court... Add this one to the list:
Scott MacFarlane@macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 5d agoFLASH: Justice Dept seeks to dismiss Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn Trump Admin acknowledges: "Damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor"
