Liz Rodwell

It’s Design Sprint Day in #UX class today. An excuse to bust out my school supplies and get us off the screens (um, after I type this I guess).

Ok anyone doing any cool panels at #4S that I can jump onto? My current project is an ethnography of the intersection of UX and AI (and conversation design). I’ve just been swamped and forgot to ask around until now! @4sweb.bsky.social

But I think in addition to planning and fighting and resisting, it’s important to understand how bad this all feels.

Losing my battle with the despair today. The massive layoffs at the @washingtonpost.com- carried out for no really defensible reason- have me feeling like everything I love is being destroyed. I will try again (to paraphrase Pig and Elephant) but allow me a moment to wallow.

Donald Trump Has Built a Clicktatorship Even the administration’s budget proposals read like Truth Social posts.

Of note: Our government lost 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s last year, but seemingly has more [Twitter] posters than ever. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

“The moderator of r/catbongos, a subreddit for playfully patting your cat like you’re playing the bongos, posted an anti-ICE screed—and it quickly became the subreddit’s most-upvoted post ever”

Well that’s a collection of words I’d never seen together before

Reminds me of the time I tried to make homemade “instant” hot chocolate as a Christmas gift and instead of a pinch of cayenne added a tbsp to each. That hot chocolate certainly… woke people up when they sipped it. Until the heart attack took them down.

Americans are waking up. A grand reckoning awaits us | Robert Reich I’d like to believe that the horrific darkness of this past year is a necessary prelude to a brighter and saner future

This R Reich editorial ticked off all of the points I’ve been raising in indignation to like minded friends and family: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Someone Behind This Technology: Conversation Designers in the Artificial Intelligence Loop Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are advancing rapidly, yet their development remains opaque, particularly in terms of the collaborative practices that shape their design. This article presents f...

My newest article is out! More about conversation designers and conversational AI. It’s called “Someone Behind This Technology: Conversation Designers in the Artificial Intelligence Loop” #sts #anthropology #conversationdesign Here’s a link to get it free: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/XNX78...

Lemme see if I got this right. The guy who lies almost every time he opens his mouth insisted a guy he hates be indicted for maybe lying to Congress? Hmm. #Comey

I can’t figure out what this man is getting in exchange for his soul.

I keep finding myself drawn to posting here every once in a while, mostly to say things like “what do we do, guys?” In a sort of existential rather than practical way.

I’m not sure if he can do more good by going or staying to fight this mess but I’m not sure what the best way to fight most of this is anymore.

When I psych myself to post on here I am reminded that it has already fallen into the Twitter pattern wherein I only see a few people’s posts and nobody sees mine. I mean truly what is the point?

The censorship has somehow gotten even more demoralizing this week.

If you’re wondering how TX public University professors are doing right now, the answer is “really not great.” We’re worried and sad, but still working hard despite endemic poor mental health. We are accepting massage gift cards or coffees (joking). #aaup #txprofessors #professors

Well this quote certainly sums up what’s wrong with the U.S. right now:

“House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence on the chamber floor, which quickly turned into a shouting match about whether the observance was too little or too much.” (From the WSJ) #gunviolence

Push the Button

I have a fantasy- earning a royalty check for my book. If you know of a library or course that could benefit from a really awesome book about TV experiments, independent journalism, right wing trolls battling with Indy media in Japan please check out: www.dukeupress.edu/push-the-but...

Yeah. I live in the part of town among places you live if you work at NASA. My husband works in aerospace. It is massively devastating around here. NASA was so many people’s life dream.

Peter Thiel Just Accidentally Made a Chilling Admission. Five Decades Ago, One Man Saw It Coming. He was laughed out of academia for this take about the internet. Turns out he was right.

As someone who studies and loves computers, and has since I was a kid, I still share McLuhan’s general discomfort. I am uneasy in the present moment even as I work on AI. slate.com/technology/2...

Trump has now spent an estimated $63,000,000 of our money golfing since Jan. 20. Think of what that could do for our schools.

www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...

The Entire Internet Is Reverting to Beta The AI takeover is changing everything about the web—and not necessarily for the better.

The Atlantic continues its helpful series on AI. I’ll be using this article in my fall classes. Thank you @theatlantic.com and- y’all should subscribe. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

State Department unveils social media screening rules for all student visa applicants Applicants will be vetted for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.”

From www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

Universities need the best students- from all over the world-
and their critical thinking skills.
“Applicants [for student visas] will be vetted for ‘any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the U.S.’

This is a wonderful article. Thank you, from someone who studies the media. The title captures how hard it is to explain the U.S. to colleagues in Japan while I’m here.

The Fulbright board has resigned after accusing Trump of political meddling The Fulbright program has long had bipartisan support to operate independently. Trump might be changing that.

Resurfacing because a few people texted me this (I’m in Japan on a Fulbright right now.)
The Fulbright people are absolutely lovely, generous, and considerate. They deserved better. We all, in research oriented professions, deserve better. #fulbright www.msnbc.com/top-stories/...

I just wanted to say thank you for the conversation on Hysteria. Every time hormonal changes come up my mind is blown and I am relieved to not be alone. I was tearing up walking down the street.

Chiba. I was in Chiba.

I’m in Tokyo right now working with colleagues at Waseda University. When I tried to explain what’s going on in the U.S. to them, they were shocked.

Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.

Is anyone else sad a lot these days? I study convo AI as an anthropologist and tend to have a nuanced view, but my 9 year old told me this morning how much he loves to write and I hope he will keep trying to write even when no one else is. I still try bc I love it too nymag.com/intelligence...