https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/ en Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:14:00 -0400 https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/08/11/thats-how-it-iswere-literatebut.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:14:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/08/11/thats-how-it-iswere-literatebut.html <p>“That’s how it is—we’re literate….But why do we lock ourselves into one mode? Why either/or? <em>We</em> aren’t binary. Why have we replaced oral text with written? Isn’t there room for both?” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/there-and-here">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/t&hellip;</a></p> “That’s how it is—we’re literate….But why do we lock ourselves into one mode? Why either/or? *We* aren’t binary. Why have we replaced oral text with written? Isn’t there room for both?” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/t...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/there-and-here) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/08/05/182000.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:20:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/08/05/182000.html <p>“Functional information-processing…is so utterly <em>un</em>like the lived intelligence of a human being that to call it ‘intelligence’ at all is to wholly falsify its nature. ‘Artificial intelligence’ is a highly consequential misnomer.” <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bdb3b820-905b-431e-82c0-386535755af1">www.ft.com/content/b&hellip;</a></p> “Functional information-processing…is so utterly *un*like the lived intelligence of a human being that to call it ‘intelligence’ at all is to wholly falsify its nature. ‘Artificial intelligence’ is a highly consequential misnomer.” [www.ft.com/content/b...](https://www.ft.com/content/bdb3b820-905b-431e-82c0-386535755af1) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/07/31/to-reduce-reading-to-the.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:28:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/07/31/to-reduce-reading-to-the.html <p>To reduce reading to the practice of empathy is to divorce it of its real power and pleasure. <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/reading-matters-deeply">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/r&hellip;</a></p> To reduce reading to the practice of empathy is to divorce it of its real power and pleasure. [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/r...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/reading-matters-deeply) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/07/28/erin-is-the-best-person.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:29:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/07/28/erin-is-the-best-person.html <p>Erin is the best person to do this kind of work. Not only because she has the aptitude and care, but also because she is in the right place to both observe the clouds and report back to those of us on the ground. Everyone should throw money at her! <a href="https://www.wrecka.ge/launching-a-cloud-atlas/">www.wrecka.ge/launching&hellip;</a></p> Erin is the best person to do this kind of work. Not only because she has the aptitude and care, but also because she is in the right place to both observe the clouds and report back to those of us on the ground. Everyone should throw money at her! [www.wrecka.ge/launching...](https://www.wrecka.ge/launching-a-cloud-atlas/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/07/24/in-my-personal-headcanon-le.html Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:06:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/07/24/in-my-personal-headcanon-le.html <p>In my personal headcanon, Le Guin and Franklin are the <em>Ursulae</em>, and they are right at this moment resting in the shade of a great big tree, drinking tea (Franklin) and whiskey (UKLG) and talking about the end of the patriarchy—which for them has already happened.</p> In my personal headcanon, Le Guin and Franklin are the *Ursulae*, and they are right at this moment resting in the shade of a great big tree, drinking tea (Franklin) and whiskey (UKLG) and talking about the end of the patriarchy—which for them has already happened. https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/06/10/the-value-added-by-the.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:06:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/06/10/the-value-added-by-the.html <p>“The value [added by the mythical 10x engineer] is literally the wages that the other nine workers are no longer paid, and which thus remain on the credit side of the company’s ledger.” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/ten-times">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/t&hellip;</a></p> “The value [added by the mythical 10x engineer] is literally the wages that the other nine workers are no longer paid, and which thus remain on the credit side of the company’s ledger.” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/t...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/ten-times) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/06/09/the-primary-difference-between-deepfake.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:40:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/06/09/the-primary-difference-between-deepfake.html <p>“The primary difference between deepfake photos and LLM conversations is that the people who generate the former are deliberately trying to fool others, and many of the people who elicit the latter from LLMs have inadvertently fooled themselves.” <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2026/06/no-artificial-intelligence-is-not-conscious/687378/">www.theatlantic.com/philosoph&hellip;</a></p> “The primary difference between deepfake photos and LLM conversations is that the people who generate the former are deliberately trying to fool others, and many of the people who elicit the latter from LLMs have inadvertently fooled themselves.” [www.theatlantic.com/philosoph...](https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2026/06/no-artificial-intelligence-is-not-conscious/687378/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/06/04/i-believe-that-writing-is.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:46:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/06/04/i-believe-that-writing-is.html <p>“I believe that writing is the most astonishing of all human technologies.” <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/06/25/think-for-yourself-ai-dan-chiasson">www.nybooks.com/articles/&hellip;</a></p> “I believe that writing is the most astonishing of all human technologies.” [www.nybooks.com/articles/...](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/06/25/think-for-yourself-ai-dan-chiasson) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/05/27/the-nature-of-generative-ai.html Wed, 27 May 2026 16:01:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/05/27/the-nature-of-generative-ai.html <p>“The nature of generative AI is in fact degenerative, serving only to cut information loose from its tether. It is the opposite of learning.” <a href="https://endlessbookshelf.net/2026/05/15/reading-the-structure-of-the-world/">endlessbookshelf.net/2026/05/1&hellip;</a></p> “The nature of generative AI is in fact degenerative, serving only to cut information loose from its tether. It is the opposite of learning.” [endlessbookshelf.net/2026/05/1...](https://endlessbookshelf.net/2026/05/15/reading-the-structure-of-the-world/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/05/26/fear-that-there-may-be.html Tue, 26 May 2026 15:01:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/05/26/fear-that-there-may-be.html <p>“Fear that there may be no alternative to the will of the AI arise because we have been told for decades that there is no alternative to neoliberalism.” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/promises-and-perils">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/p&hellip;</a></p> “Fear that there may be no alternative to the will of the AI arise because we have been told for decades that there is no alternative to neoliberalism.” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/p...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/promises-and-perils) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/05/14/when-you-have-made-enough.html Thu, 14 May 2026 14:10:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/05/14/when-you-have-made-enough.html <p>“When you have made enough to live on by your profession you must refuse to sell your brain for the sake of money.” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/freedom-from-unreal-loyalties">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/f&hellip;</a></p> “When you have made enough to live on by your profession you must refuse to sell your brain for the sake of money.” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/f...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/freedom-from-unreal-loyalties) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/05/07/we-must-not-work-for.html Thu, 07 May 2026 11:55:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/05/07/we-must-not-work-for.html <p>We must not work for war. <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/into-the-gap">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/i&hellip;</a></p> We must not work for war. [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/i...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/into-the-gap) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/05/04/we-would-be-much-better.html Mon, 04 May 2026 13:20:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/05/04/we-would-be-much-better.html <p>“We would be much better served by teaching many more people how to think rigorously and reason about abstractions (and they would be much better served, too) than we would by just plopping them as-is in front of LLMs.” <a href="https://www.b-list.org/weblog/2026/apr/09/llms/">www.b-list.org/weblog/20&hellip;</a></p> “We would be much better served by teaching many more people how to think rigorously and reason about abstractions (and they would be much better served, too) than we would by just plopping them as-is in front of LLMs.” [www.b-list.org/weblog/20...](https://www.b-list.org/weblog/2026/apr/09/llms/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/30/new-choices-are-hard-but.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:51:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/30/new-choices-are-hard-but.html <p>“New choices are hard. But they’re still yours to make.” <a href="https://dansinker.com/posts/2026-04-30-cave-of-time/">dansinker.com/posts/202&hellip;</a></p> “New choices are hard. But they’re still yours to make.” [dansinker.com/posts/202...](https://dansinker.com/posts/2026-04-30-cave-of-time/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/30/the-passion-for-devotion-to.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 08:22:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/30/the-passion-for-devotion-to.html <p>“The passion for, devotion to, and identification with work would be diminishing if everyone were able to work less and less.” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/correct-attitude">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/c&hellip;</a></p> “The passion for, devotion to, and identification with work would be diminishing if everyone were able to work less and less.” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/c...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/correct-attitude) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/29/the-choice-to-cut-parental.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:25:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/29/the-choice-to-cut-parental.html <p>The choice to cut parental leave is not properly understood as cost-cutting or simple leverage in a bad economy; it’s opposition to gender equality and we should talk about it as such. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/28/parental-benefits-slashed-deloitte-zoom-impact">www.theguardian.com/business/&hellip;</a></p> The choice to cut parental leave is not properly understood as cost-cutting or simple leverage in a bad economy; it’s opposition to gender equality and we should talk about it as such. [www.theguardian.com/business/...](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/28/parental-benefits-slashed-deloitte-zoom-impact) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/22/120400.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:04:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/22/120400.html <p>Becoming automatons: <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/automation-conformity">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/a&hellip;</a></p> Becoming automatons: [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/a...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/automation-conformity) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/09/chewing-on-something-here-about.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:16:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/09/chewing-on-something-here-about.html <p>Chewing on something here about how tools for professionalizing work (Kanban, etc) can also be used to abstract and make distant the ethics and consequences of that work. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/26/ai-got-the-blame-for-the-iran-school-bombing-the-truth-is-far-more-worrying">www.theguardian.com/news/2026&hellip;</a></p> Chewing on something here about how tools for professionalizing work (Kanban, etc) can also be used to abstract and make distant the ethics and consequences of that work. [www.theguardian.com/news/2026...](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/26/ai-got-the-blame-for-the-iran-school-bombing-the-truth-is-far-more-worrying) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/04/01/you-have-to-refuse-to.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/04/01/you-have-to-refuse-to.html <p>You have to refuse to read the proposal from the person who also hasn’t read it. <a href="https://everythingchanges.us/blog/mouthwords/">everythingchanges.us/blog/mout&hellip;</a></p> You have to refuse to read the proposal from the person who also hasn’t read it. [everythingchanges.us/blog/mout...](https://everythingchanges.us/blog/mouthwords/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/24/there-is-something-that-learning.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:21:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/24/there-is-something-that-learning.html <p>“There is something that learning is for, that thinking is for, that work is for, and that you are for, the discovery of which belongs to <em>you</em>.” <a href="https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/an-open-letter-to-georgetown-students-in-response-to-recent-announcements-about-generative-ai-8869dcd523ef">medium.com/center-on&hellip;</a></p> “There is something that learning is for, that thinking is for, that work is for, and that you are for, the discovery of which belongs to *you*.” [medium.com/center-on...](https://medium.com/center-on-privacy-technology/an-open-letter-to-georgetown-students-in-response-to-recent-announcements-about-generative-ai-8869dcd523ef) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/18/what-must-be-done-is.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:29:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/18/what-must-be-done-is.html <p>“What must be done is to bring the future into the present, to make power tangible <em>now</em> by means of actions which demonstrate to the workers their positive strength.” <a href="https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/reformed">aworkinglibrary.com/writing/r&hellip;</a></p> “What must be done is to bring the future into the present, to make power tangible *now* by means of actions which demonstrate to the workers their positive strength.” [aworkinglibrary.com/writing/r...](https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/reformed) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/13/ive-worked-really-hard-to.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:06:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/13/ive-worked-really-hard-to.html <p>“I’ve worked really hard to set myself up with a life and career in which I can ‘me’ as much as possible.” Lovely piece from good people thinking about doing good work in these trying times: <a href="https://www.talkscratch.com/the-group-chat-how-we-get-by/">www.talkscratch.com/the-group&hellip;</a></p> “I’ve worked really hard to set myself up with a life and career in which I can ‘me’ as much as possible.” Lovely piece from good people thinking about doing good work in these trying times: [www.talkscratch.com/the-group...](https://www.talkscratch.com/the-group-chat-how-we-get-by/) https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/12/every-time-they-bomb-a.html Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:41:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/12/every-time-they-bomb-a.html <p>Every time they bomb a school, a place of worship, a family picnicking on the beach, a wedding, a hospital, a shelter, a refugee camp, the wrong house, the wrong building, the wrong block, they say the same thing: it was a mistake. The mistake is to believe them.</p> Every time they bomb a school, a place of worship, a family picnicking on the beach, a wedding, a hospital, a shelter, a refugee camp, the wrong house, the wrong building, the wrong block, they say the same thing: it was a mistake. The mistake is to believe them. https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/10/more-and-more-convinced-that.html Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:51:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/10/more-and-more-convinced-that.html <p>More and more convinced that the technocrats’ assertion that “AI” will take all of our jobs is a projection of their fear of a general strike.</p> More and more convinced that the technocrats’ assertion that “AI” will take all of our jobs is a projection of their fear of a general strike. https://social.aworkinglibrary.com/2026/03/09/we-cannot-meaningfully-separate-the.html Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:52:00 -0400 http://aworkinglibrary.micro.blog/2026/03/09/we-cannot-meaningfully-separate-the.html <p>“We cannot meaningfully separate the everyday use of ‘AI’ platforms from their application in death and war.” <a href="https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/propellant/">ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/pro&hellip;</a></p> “We cannot meaningfully separate the everyday use of ‘AI’ platforms from their application in death and war.” [ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/pro...](https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/propellant/)