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Brian Klaas

@brianklaas.bsky.social

80K followers 460 following 770 posts

Professor of Global Politics @UCL. Author of “Fluke." Writer @TheAtlantic. Host, Power Corrupts podcast. The Garden of Forking Paths Substack.

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Reposted by Brian Klaas

MGEmancipation @mgemancipation.bsky.social · 12h

A year from now the US will be consumed with election tension. It is already building: Will midterms be free and fair? Will MAGA Republicans accept the results? Give @brianklaas.bsky.social and I 56 minutes to talk it through
frdhfirstroughdraftofhistory.substack.com/p/what-condi...

WHAT CONDITION WILL AMERICA'S SOUL BE IN AT THE MIDTERMS?

A Conversation with Professor Brian Klaas

frdhfirstroughdraftofhistory.substack.com

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 2d

Uh

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote about some good news: a UK charity that's combating homelessness with some extremely simple, straightforward interventions that use flexible, decentralized decision-making and treat people as people. Their approach showcases the importance of experimental and evidence-based public policy:

Should we just give cash to the homeless?

A new charity is tackling homelessness with a simple approach. Does it work?

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 5d

Two years on from October 7th, here’s my essay on Just War Theory and how philosophers are making sense of the carnage in Gaza:

Just War Theory and the Philosophers of Gaza

Philosophers have long tried to develop clear moral principles to govern the conduct of warfare. Here's why they're engaged in a fierce debate over Gaza.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 5d

Very normal conception of journalism from a person who has never been a reporter but now is in charge of one of the largest media outlets in the most powerful country on the planet.

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 5d

Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Victorious Boo Bleue @bwellsmc.bsky.social · 6d

"We’ve invented an upside-down world where Starbucks never changes, while rivers dry up and democracies collapse."

An interesting read:

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Jill Fisch @jillfisch.bsky.social · 6d

This was fascinating.

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Kathy Love @kathylove.bsky.social · 6d

This is a really arresting way to look at how different our experience is from that of almost all our progenitors. An intriguing read.

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Christopher Kelly @hfmatters.bsky.social · 6d

Some lovely thoughts and reflections about what it means to be human today - "an experience of living that’s jarring, thrilling, and worrying (...) and celebrating that many of our most banal daily experiences are unique, impossible for all humans who came before us"

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote about all the lived experiences and strange structures of modern society — many of which we take for granted — that were literally impossible for all previous generations of Homo sapiens. www.forkingpaths.co/p/we-are-dif...

We are different from all other humans in history

Countless experiences that have become routine for us are unprecedented in the history of our species. Here's why that matters.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Ron Manton @ronmanton.bsky.social · 9d

I'm still an amateur on these matters, but I cannot recommend enough @brianklaas.bsky.social's book, "Fluke". It has reshaped the inside of my head when it comes to randomness, chance, evolution, predetermination and free will. #Fluke

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 11d

I don't use the term "illiberal democracy," as it's an oxymoron. Without liberal institutions to enforce its core principles, democracy is meaningless. I use the phrase "competitive authoritarianism," which is what exists in Hungary, Turkey, etc. Those are the models of where the US is headed.

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 11d

A new report from Bright Line Watch finds experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy. The rating is dragged down by Trump's attacks on institutions, a weak legislature, political violence, and partisan gerrymandering www.gelliottmorris.com/p/experts-no...

Experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy

Experts say political violence, Trump's attacks against non-partisan agencies and institutions, and partisan gerrymandering are their top concerns

www.gelliottmorris.com

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 11d

DOGE savaged government services. Costs went up.

stephen fowler @stphnfwlr.com · 11d

NEW @npr.org: The so-called Department of Government Efficiency effort has failed to deliver on its outsized promises to cut costs and increase efficiency, NPR's latest analysis of federal data finds.

Federal agencies are rehiring workers and spending more after DOGE's push to cut

Eight months after the Department of Government Efficiency effort to shrink the federal workforce began, some agencies are hiring workers back – and spending more money than before.

Reposted by Brian Klaas

RK @rohtweets.bsky.social · 12d

This is a great essay, and this bit is particularly on the nose.

This isn’t to say that AI is uniformly bad-it’s clearly not-but that we must not fall into the trap of mistaking the outputs of writing (which are increasingly substitutable through technology) from the value of the cognitive process of writing (which hones mental development and cannot be substituted by a machine).

Reposted by Brian Klaas

⛧ Mother Suspiria ⛧ (StinaMarie) @stinasdemons.com · 12d

This is a great, thoughtful, wise read, and a sad warning about the fragility of curiosity.

"...the rapidly improving ability to impressively mimic human language poses an existential threat to traditional methods of crafting smarter minds—which thereby challenges the future of human cognition...

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

With classes underway, I’ve switched from essays to exams. But with the death of the student essay (RIP, slain by ChatGPT), there’s a larger human tragedy: an erosion of critical cognition and the creation of two sharply divided classes of people: those who learn how to think and those who don’t:

The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition

One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

Everything is for Fox News and memes

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Die Booth @diebooth.bsky.social · 12d

"When artificial intelligence is used to diagnose cancer or automate soul-crushing tasks that require vapid toiling, it makes us more human and should be celebrated. But when it sucks out the core process of advanced cognition, cutting-edge tools can become an existential peril."
Excellent article.

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

With classes underway, I’ve switched from essays to exams. But with the death of the student essay (RIP, slain by ChatGPT), there’s a larger human tragedy: an erosion of critical cognition and the creation of two sharply divided classes of people: those who learn how to think and those who don’t:

The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition

One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Jann Matlock (formerly @autopsiesgroup in the Other Place) @drjannmatlock.bsky.social · 12d

"glittering sludge" is such a great way to describe the chatgpt smooth slop....Great piece about how AI is threatening critical thinking.

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

With classes underway, I’ve switched from essays to exams. But with the death of the student essay (RIP, slain by ChatGPT), there’s a larger human tragedy: an erosion of critical cognition and the creation of two sharply divided classes of people: those who learn how to think and those who don’t:

The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition

One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 12d

from @brianklaas.bsky.social, "a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns"
www.forkingpaths.co/p/guns-at-an...

Guns at Annunciation

I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Chris Gooch @chrisdg.bsky.social · 12d

A few short minutes to read, and a lot of clarity on a subject that invites hysterical overreactions from the gun lobby

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

It's a fool's errand to try to figure out why each individual shooter did what they did; it centers one erratic, unwell individual (which is impossible to solve) rather than the structural problems (which are possible to solve). And the structural problem is this: guns. I explain more here:

Guns at Annunciation

I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

It's a fool's errand to try to figure out why each individual shooter did what they did; it centers one erratic, unwell individual (which is impossible to solve) rather than the structural problems (which are possible to solve). And the structural problem is this: guns. I explain more here:

Guns at Annunciation

I was baptized at the church where kids were murdered. It's a canary in the coal mine for a dystopian America, where people blame everything but the real cause: a country awash with unlimited guns.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 12d

With classes underway, I’ve switched from essays to exams. But with the death of the student essay (RIP, slain by ChatGPT), there’s a larger human tragedy: an erosion of critical cognition and the creation of two sharply divided classes of people: those who learn how to think and those who don’t:

The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition

One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.

www.forkingpaths.co

Reposted by Brian Klaas

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 16d

I wrote about Dan Brown’s new book, the perils of intellectual snobbery, and why I’m no longer hiding my copy of “The Secret of Secrets” in a paper bag.

In Defense of Dan Brown

Brown's new book doesn't offer award-winning literary prose. But intellectual snobbery and review elitism is foolish in an era of growing cultural ignorance and counterproductive political sneering.

www.forkingpaths.co

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 15d

So much has gone wrong in US press reporting on Trump because the White House reporters are people who have exclusively covered US politics.

They need people who have worked in Hungary, Turkey, etc. The relevant knowledge isn't Reagan factoids; it's the dynamics of competitive authoritarianism.