Justin Joque
@jjoque.bsky.social
visualization librarian | philosophy, media, cyberwar, stats | Deconstruction Machines (UMN Press, 2018) | Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial Intelligence, Statistics and the Logic of Capitalism (Verso, 2022) | my views are yours
Pinned
Justin Joque
@jjoque.bsky.social
· Feb 14
Revolutionary Mathematics
Our finances, politics, media, opportunities, information, shopping and knowledge production are mediated through algorithms and their statistical approaches to knowledge; increasingly, these methods ...
www.versobooks.com
Posting this so I can pin it. This is my most recent book about artificial intelligence, statistics and capitalism. It was written largely before the most recent AI boom, but feel that everything I wrote is even more true today than when I wrote it. (also available in Spanish, Japanese and Korean)
We were driving home from a party and the 9yo was kind of upset that all the other kids were talking too much during the movie they watched and she wanted to watch it again so she could pay attention. So proud of her
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 PM
We were driving home from a party and the 9yo was kind of upset that all the other kids were talking too much during the movie they watched and she wanted to watch it again so she could pay attention. So proud of her
Reposted by Justin Joque
Arbitrage Opportunity: have a dozen or so thawed turkeys for sale on Thanksgiving morning for $250 apiece
November 27, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Arbitrage Opportunity: have a dozen or so thawed turkeys for sale on Thanksgiving morning for $250 apiece
Reposted by Justin Joque
Yes. And also people ruining hobbies/interests for others whom they perceive to be outsiders. Case in point, I like cars, but there are tons of events I stay away from (even though I’d like to go) because I know the culture at that car show/track event/etc is likely going to make it shitty for me.
I think too this has a lot to do with the loneliness crisis, people trying to force themselves to like things they don't and refusing to explore things they might enjoy and make genuine connections with other people over. People need to dork out over stuff a lot more
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
November 27, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Yes. And also people ruining hobbies/interests for others whom they perceive to be outsiders. Case in point, I like cars, but there are tons of events I stay away from (even though I’d like to go) because I know the culture at that car show/track event/etc is likely going to make it shitty for me.
"You know what, I'd like to live in a warehouse. That would be a nice design for a modern house"
The inventor of the open plan kitchen wanted to be able to sneak bites of dinner all day without having to help cook.
November 27, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"You know what, I'd like to live in a warehouse. That would be a nice design for a modern house"
Reposted by Justin Joque
Top-five book I’ve read in the last couple years
It's been almost three years since this came out and a lot about AI has changed but in my humble opinion I think what I had to say back then has only become more relevant
November 27, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Top-five book I’ve read in the last couple years
Reposted by Justin Joque
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
November 26, 2025 at 9:49 PM
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book!
www.versobooks.com/products/303...
Reposted by Justin Joque
My book came out last month! Its very weird and chaotic and fun, I think bookshop.org/p/books/happ...
Happy People Don't Live Here
Check out Happy People Don't Live Here - Just past the edge of summer, Alice and her daughter, Fern, arrive at the Pine Lake Apartments--a former sanatorium occupied by an ensemble of peculiar neighbo...
bookshop.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:05 AM
My book came out last month! Its very weird and chaotic and fun, I think bookshop.org/p/books/happ...
Reposted by Justin Joque
Got a book about the political economy of AI - and because you can't have critiques of political economy without ghost stories and dead labor, it features stuff like Hayek's ghost, steam demons, and AI nightmares!
Why We Fear AI — Common Notions Press
Fears about AI tell us more about capitalism today than the technology of the future.
www.commonnotions.org
November 26, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Got a book about the political economy of AI - and because you can't have critiques of political economy without ghost stories and dead labor, it features stuff like Hayek's ghost, steam demons, and AI nightmares!
It's been almost three years since this came out and a lot about AI has changed but in my humble opinion I think what I had to say back then has only become more relevant
November 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
It's been almost three years since this came out and a lot about AI has changed but in my humble opinion I think what I had to say back then has only become more relevant
I think too this has a lot to do with the loneliness crisis, people trying to force themselves to like things they don't and refusing to explore things they might enjoy and make genuine connections with other people over. People need to dork out over stuff a lot more
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
November 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I think too this has a lot to do with the loneliness crisis, people trying to force themselves to like things they don't and refusing to explore things they might enjoy and make genuine connections with other people over. People need to dork out over stuff a lot more
Reposted by Justin Joque
Sad to see. The Holy See’s virulent anti-AI stance will hold the Church back as other religions continue to innovate. Praying the Pope adopts a grindset more compatible with the speed of the modern world
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Sad to see. The Holy See’s virulent anti-AI stance will hold the Church back as other religions continue to innovate. Praying the Pope adopts a grindset more compatible with the speed of the modern world
Tired: AI is/isn't conscious
Wired: AI "won't stand in wonder before the beauty of God's creation"
Wired: AI "won't stand in wonder before the beauty of God's creation"
November 26, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Tired: AI is/isn't conscious
Wired: AI "won't stand in wonder before the beauty of God's creation"
Wired: AI "won't stand in wonder before the beauty of God's creation"
Reposted by Justin Joque
More and more often colleagues ask if I as a humanist use genAI and I always flatly and without flinching say, “No. Never.” Honestly, having it clean up an email or whatever, I don’t care if you do that. But this? I will never do this. Ever. I don’t care what the circumstances are.
November 26, 2025 at 1:44 AM
More and more often colleagues ask if I as a humanist use genAI and I always flatly and without flinching say, “No. Never.” Honestly, having it clean up an email or whatever, I don’t care if you do that. But this? I will never do this. Ever. I don’t care what the circumstances are.
Reposted by Justin Joque
I fear the future when the students use the LLM to write the thing and the prof uses the LLM to grade the thing, and the prof uses an LLM to write their tenure narrative, and the external reviewer uses an LLM to write their letter, and higher ed is just a bunch of LLMs talking to each other.
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I fear the future when the students use the LLM to write the thing and the prof uses the LLM to grade the thing, and the prof uses an LLM to write their tenure narrative, and the external reviewer uses an LLM to write their letter, and higher ed is just a bunch of LLMs talking to each other.
Reposted by Justin Joque
Hey librarians,
How is sustainability one of our core values if we're also supposed to be all-in on the AI hype?
Asking for these folks.
#medlibs 📚
How is sustainability one of our core values if we're also supposed to be all-in on the AI hype?
Asking for these folks.
#medlibs 📚
In Morrow County, healthy adults were coming down with unexplained medical conditions, including diseases that usually afflicted the elderly.
In a survey of 30 homes, at least 25 miscarriages and a half dozen people living with one kidney were reported.
🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
In a survey of 30 homes, at least 25 miscarriages and a half dozen people living with one kidney were reported.
🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
November 25, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Hey librarians,
How is sustainability one of our core values if we're also supposed to be all-in on the AI hype?
Asking for these folks.
#medlibs 📚
How is sustainability one of our core values if we're also supposed to be all-in on the AI hype?
Asking for these folks.
#medlibs 📚
Reposted by Justin Joque
FYI: most students don't want the kind of detailed feedback you'd get from a professional editor, they want you to care about their work. Using AI to do the former proves that you aren't doing the latter.
November 25, 2025 at 6:17 PM
FYI: most students don't want the kind of detailed feedback you'd get from a professional editor, they want you to care about their work. Using AI to do the former proves that you aren't doing the latter.
Reposted by Justin Joque
This part... this is the best
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
This part... this is the best
Reposted by Justin Joque
November 25, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Justin Joque
This sucks; what are we even doing?
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This sucks; what are we even doing?
This sucks; what are we even doing?
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This sucks; what are we even doing?
Reposted by Justin Joque
We @uam-umd.bsky.social won. Faculty packed town halls, talked to their colleagues and collected hundreds of petition signatures. Now UMD is coughing up $8.75m, during a deficit, to fund faculty whose research is under attack. Not enough, but a helluva thing for a union the state calls illegal.
$8.75M Investment Supports ‘Research Resilience’… | Maryland Today
UMD, MPower Funds Combine to Help Preserve Institutional Capabilities, Lab Operations and More
today.umd.edu
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
We @uam-umd.bsky.social won. Faculty packed town halls, talked to their colleagues and collected hundreds of petition signatures. Now UMD is coughing up $8.75m, during a deficit, to fund faculty whose research is under attack. Not enough, but a helluva thing for a union the state calls illegal.
The "There is no bubble all the hype is real" to "it's a load bearing too big to fail turns out everyone's pensions are over invested in meme investment" pipeline
November 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The "There is no bubble all the hype is real" to "it's a load bearing too big to fail turns out everyone's pensions are over invested in meme investment" pipeline
Reposted by Justin Joque
Bot Friday.
November 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Bot Friday.
Going to try to jail break some shopping AI chatbots to get them to make custom coupon codes for me.
November 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Going to try to jail break some shopping AI chatbots to get them to make custom coupon codes for me.
Reposted by Justin Joque
bring back graphs like this
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
bring back graphs like this