Is it hyperbolic of me to say that “Artificial intelligence provides the hardware on which the software of totalitarianism runs most efficiently and effectively”? Maybe so, but July 4th put me in a mood.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/indistingu...
Is it hyperbolic of me to say that “Artificial intelligence provides the hardware on which the software of totalitarianism runs most efficiently and effectively”? Maybe so, but July 4th put me in a mood.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/indistingu...
The final(ish) chapter in my series on digital asymmetry, featuring ghost artists, phantom friends, and the platformization of the human psyche (that last with a major h/t to @lmsacasas.bsky.social )
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/asymmetry-...
Managed my first promotion case as Chair this year, and one of the things I did this spring was to send thank you letters to each of the external reviewers (as well as the good news).
This isn't meant to be a brag, but rather an observation that this sort of basic politeness ought to be normal.
I was shocked to realize that it's been 25 years since Gladwell's Tipping Point. I'd been meaning to read his update/retrospect for a while, so I finally did and wrote about it a bit.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/side-effects
I wrote a bit about Vauhini Vara’s Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age. I definitely recommend it, although not without some friction.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/communion
I wouldn't entirely dismiss the possibility that this is a phish. Since I became chair, I've seen a whole bunch of emails allegedly from me to my colleagues asking if they're available, if they can join a "Tasks" spreadsheet, etc. It's made me become a lot more concrete in my own email practice...
30.05.2025 21:21 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
I take the long way around to a quick discussion of Bracket City, which I'm still obsessed with.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/nesting
Spent some time this week reading and writing (more) about friction, specifically in the context of Ai.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/stronger-t...
Part-review, part-reflection on Ray Nayler's latest, Where the Axe is Buried. Tried to stay spoiler-free, so I write mostly about the resonances I found with Orwell, Ai, etc. But it's a great book--Nayler's quickly becoming a fave.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/2084
Can confirm that this lecture is incredibly informative and useful. Our graduate students (and I) got a lot out of that 2022 "visit" 😉
13.05.2025 15:56 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
TIL about Bracket City, a word game over at the Atlantic, and I'm more than a little obsessed with it.
www.theatlantic.com/games/bracke...
"I’m still searching for the words that will set my soul apart, but I’m sure they’re just around the corner."
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/summertime
It felt like it was time for a little change... cgbrooke.substack.com/p/unpacking-...
07.05.2025 20:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
After an unfortunately light spring semester, I'm trying to rev up my writing schedule for the summer. This week, a couple of book reviews: Klein and Thompson's Abundance (cgbrooke.substack.com/p/a-bun-dance), and Wynn-Williams' Careless People (cgbrooke.substack.com/p/dirty-rott...)
03.05.2025 20:29 — 👍 2 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0Data retcon?
19.12.2024 18:40 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A quick post on the occasion of my Substack's 2nd anniversary
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/the-fabric...
Wrote a few words on the passing of Jim Leach, who was a family friend and my Representative growing up. He exemplified much of what's missing from contemporary politics. RIP
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/james-leac...
Some thoughts about Ai tonewashing, and the impact that it has on our ability to trust one another.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/pretty-lit...
A quick review of Marie-Helene Bertino's Beautyland, which I really enjoyed.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/beautyland
I haven't had a lot of writing time over the past couple of weeks, but what time I've had has gone to this (sorta rambling) post, about the vanishing role of productive disagreement, a trend (imho) worth reversing.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/disagreeab...
I expect it's more acute as a dean, but I feel the same uncanniness as chair. One of the challenges was learning how and when I was being addressed as the office rather than the human. (I'm still not always able to tell the difference.)
08.12.2024 03:54 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0congratulations!
22.11.2024 02:40 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0In other, more personal news, my new glasses (which my ophth called "cheaters") arrived today, allowing me to see both screen and bookshelf equally well (for the first time in 2-3 years, bc cataracts) 🤓
16.11.2024 00:47 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
I know that it's a little redundant to share this on Bluesky itself, but I found myself doing some gentle evangelizing today, so it was what was on my mind during my writing group.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/should-i-s...
As the Legion of Doom is currently assembling, I found myself wondering why the Superfriends are so incompetent when it comes to media...
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/whats-afoo...
I've been seeing a small cloudburst of new follows as folks move over to the Sky. Welcome, and thanks! I haven't really posted much here--most of my writing these days is taking place on my Substack (cgbrooke.substack.com). But I'll start sharing entries more often, and try to be more present.
12.11.2024 03:07 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Haven't been around here much, but I've been writing. Today marks my 100th post on Substack:
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/centenary
In the hopes of being more public about what I'm reading, I posted a review of Dannagal Young's new book Wrong. TLDR: 👍
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/wrong
The palate cleansing continues. Today's episode reflects on the newfound (to me) ritual of the writing group.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/ritual
Today was a day to cleanse the palate, after last week's long multi-episode digression about scale. Here's a short piece on the idea of "love languages"
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/snowclones...