José Marichal
@josemarichal.bsky.social
Pol Sci Prof at CalLutheran. Author of "You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem" (Bristol Univ Press) and "Machine Liberalism" (Forthcoming from Intellect Ltd. - University of Chicago Press)
https://www.callutheran.edu/faculty/profile.html?id=marichal
https://www.callutheran.edu/faculty/profile.html?id=marichal
Facebook thinks I really like Bjork. I mean, who doesn't like Bjork, but five posts in a row about Bjork? What do they know about me that I don't 🤔
November 27, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Facebook thinks I really like Bjork. I mean, who doesn't like Bjork, but five posts in a row about Bjork? What do they know about me that I don't 🤔
Great example of price collusion via algorithm... I talk about RealPage in my book and on my class on technology and politics.
youtu.be/cwlwrZst7d0?...
youtu.be/cwlwrZst7d0?...
Why Is the Rent So Damn High? The Real Reason Will Shock You
YouTube video by More Perfect Union
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Great example of price collusion via algorithm... I talk about RealPage in my book and on my class on technology and politics.
youtu.be/cwlwrZst7d0?...
youtu.be/cwlwrZst7d0?...
Realist and rationalists say individual self interest is intrinsic to human nature ...
and then there's Bhutan
youtu.be/hPlRmUv7qzo?...
and then there's Bhutan
youtu.be/hPlRmUv7qzo?...
Why Bhutan is Building the Anti-Dubai
YouTube video by The B1M
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Realist and rationalists say individual self interest is intrinsic to human nature ...
and then there's Bhutan
youtu.be/hPlRmUv7qzo?...
and then there's Bhutan
youtu.be/hPlRmUv7qzo?...
"I could make a career out of being blue, smoke clove cigarettes and read Camus"
November 26, 2025 at 8:13 PM
"I could make a career out of being blue, smoke clove cigarettes and read Camus"
Reposted by José Marichal
Doctoral scholarship for EU students to work with me at Oxford on democratic backsliding, democratic defence, or illiberalism: Renato Morelli Corpus Christi College Graduate Scholarship in Politics 2026-27. Deadline 9 Jan 2026. Please circulate!
Details at: users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0073/Ad...
Details at: users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0073/Ad...
November 26, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Doctoral scholarship for EU students to work with me at Oxford on democratic backsliding, democratic defence, or illiberalism: Renato Morelli Corpus Christi College Graduate Scholarship in Politics 2026-27. Deadline 9 Jan 2026. Please circulate!
Details at: users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0073/Ad...
Details at: users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0073/Ad...
Is this the Conor Lamb election of 2025?
November 26, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Is this the Conor Lamb election of 2025?
Ironinc that the lack of interoperability that has "ens**ttified" the Internet is the very thing that is hampering OpenAI's efforts that creating a "shopping assistnat'
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
OpenAI launches shopping assistant
The offering scours websites to recommend top products. It builds on OpenAI’s efforts to become a primary shopping destination, rivaling Amazon and Google.
www.semafor.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Ironinc that the lack of interoperability that has "ens**ttified" the Internet is the very thing that is hampering OpenAI's efforts that creating a "shopping assistnat'
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
Outstanding reflection on the importance of close reading. It's curious that universities are closing the very departments that teach students this critical skill. It's the one "AI-proof" pedagogy that demands attention and rejects cognitive offloading. Which is probably why it's under threat.
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Outstanding reflection on the importance of close reading. It's curious that universities are closing the very departments that teach students this critical skill. It's the one "AI-proof" pedagogy that demands attention and rejects cognitive offloading. Which is probably why it's under threat.
Hot uninformed take: world building/spatial intelligence is the AI that will produce the most benefit to the world and LLM's will mostly give us AI slop.
I'm opened to having my view changed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Nt...
I'm opened to having my view changed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Nt...
With Spatial Intelligence, AI Will Understand the Real World | Fei-Fei Li | TED
YouTube video by TED
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Hot uninformed take: world building/spatial intelligence is the AI that will produce the most benefit to the world and LLM's will mostly give us AI slop.
I'm opened to having my view changed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Nt...
I'm opened to having my view changed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Nt...
Couldn't agree more with @jackconte.bsky.social in this @nytopinion.nytimes.com short. To get to an "algorithm that doesn't rot your brain," we need to see algorithms through the lens of contract theoy... It's the basis of my book "You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem"
I’m Building an Algorithm That Doesn’t Rot Your Brain
YouTube video by New York Times Opinion
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Couldn't agree more with @jackconte.bsky.social in this @nytopinion.nytimes.com short. To get to an "algorithm that doesn't rot your brain," we need to see algorithms through the lens of contract theoy... It's the basis of my book "You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem"
De Maistre was the original edgelord
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
November 21, 2025 at 11:05 PM
De Maistre was the original edgelord
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
I'm not saying history repeats itself, but California only became a deep blue state after anti-immigration overreach (Pete Wilson/Prop 187). There are lots of students whose are from or whose parents are from Mexico or Central American who are becoming increasingly engaged in immigration politics.
Axios PM - 1 big thing: Charlotte crackdown confusion
www.axios.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM
I'm not saying history repeats itself, but California only became a deep blue state after anti-immigration overreach (Pete Wilson/Prop 187). There are lots of students whose are from or whose parents are from Mexico or Central American who are becoming increasingly engaged in immigration politics.
I'm bothered by this podcast. Owning assets in the US is a source of power and security... and a main source of intergenerational wealth transfer. One that had let to massive race based wealth inequities. "Renting is freedom from owning a risky asset" feels like private equity talking points.
The case for renting forever
Podcast Episode · Today, Explained · 11/16/2025 · 29m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I'm bothered by this podcast. Owning assets in the US is a source of power and security... and a main source of intergenerational wealth transfer. One that had let to massive race based wealth inequities. "Renting is freedom from owning a risky asset" feels like private equity talking points.
An excerpt of my book had just been published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review. @ssir.org
We must either renegotiate the terms of our "contract" with engagement/surveillance algorithms or break the contract altogether....
We must either renegotiate the terms of our "contract" with engagement/surveillance algorithms or break the contract altogether....
Breaking the Algorithmic Contract (SSIR)
An excerpt from You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem on the internet’s social contract
ssir.org
November 19, 2025 at 1:55 AM
An excerpt of my book had just been published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review. @ssir.org
We must either renegotiate the terms of our "contract" with engagement/surveillance algorithms or break the contract altogether....
We must either renegotiate the terms of our "contract" with engagement/surveillance algorithms or break the contract altogether....
Thank you to @ssir.org for publishing an excerpt of my book "You Must Remain an Algorithmic Problem."
"instead of algorithms predicting us better, we are encouraged to behave in accordance with the algorithmic recommendation...The model classifies us, but we also learn to ‘classify ourselves’"
"instead of algorithms predicting us better, we are encouraged to behave in accordance with the algorithmic recommendation...The model classifies us, but we also learn to ‘classify ourselves’"
Breaking the Algorithmic Contract (SSIR)
An excerpt from You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem on the internet’s social contract
ssir.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Thank you to @ssir.org for publishing an excerpt of my book "You Must Remain an Algorithmic Problem."
"instead of algorithms predicting us better, we are encouraged to behave in accordance with the algorithmic recommendation...The model classifies us, but we also learn to ‘classify ourselves’"
"instead of algorithms predicting us better, we are encouraged to behave in accordance with the algorithmic recommendation...The model classifies us, but we also learn to ‘classify ourselves’"
Reposted by José Marichal
Here's the thing I still don't know -- is the liberal idea of caring about human rights dead among US citizens or are they too distracted so they are either deliberately or accidentally walling themselves off from this kind of illiberal rhetoric and behavior? (No snarky responses pls)
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Here's the thing I still don't know -- is the liberal idea of caring about human rights dead among US citizens or are they too distracted so they are either deliberately or accidentally walling themselves off from this kind of illiberal rhetoric and behavior? (No snarky responses pls)
Here's the thing I still don't know -- is the liberal idea of caring about human rights dead among US citizens or are they too distracted so they are either deliberately or accidentally walling themselves off from this kind of illiberal rhetoric and behavior? (No snarky responses pls)
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Here's the thing I still don't know -- is the liberal idea of caring about human rights dead among US citizens or are they too distracted so they are either deliberately or accidentally walling themselves off from this kind of illiberal rhetoric and behavior? (No snarky responses pls)
Fantastic from Adam Mastroianni asking "where has all the weirdness gone"? He attributes it to our reluctance to take risks because we live safer, more comfortable lives. I argue in my book that recommendation algorithms drive sameness by encouraging us to "cluster" into pre-set aesthetic groups.
The Decline of Deviance
Where has all the weirdness gone?
www.experimental-history.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Fantastic from Adam Mastroianni asking "where has all the weirdness gone"? He attributes it to our reluctance to take risks because we live safer, more comfortable lives. I argue in my book that recommendation algorithms drive sameness by encouraging us to "cluster" into pre-set aesthetic groups.
Not sure who bought this property, but it speaks to a creeping "privatization of everything" that significantly restricts one's ability to experience the physical world.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Mystery Fuels Unease in Maine Woods: Who Bought Burnt Jacket Mountain?
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Not sure who bought this property, but it speaks to a creeping "privatization of everything" that significantly restricts one's ability to experience the physical world.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Damn Gary Snyder!!
“Three-fourths of philosophy and literature is the talk of people trying to convince themselves that they really like the cage they were tricked into entering.”
From "Earth House Hold" (1969)
“Three-fourths of philosophy and literature is the talk of people trying to convince themselves that they really like the cage they were tricked into entering.”
From "Earth House Hold" (1969)
November 16, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Damn Gary Snyder!!
“Three-fourths of philosophy and literature is the talk of people trying to convince themselves that they really like the cage they were tricked into entering.”
From "Earth House Hold" (1969)
“Three-fourths of philosophy and literature is the talk of people trying to convince themselves that they really like the cage they were tricked into entering.”
From "Earth House Hold" (1969)
Reposted by José Marichal
"David Graeber was the anthropologist who re-framed economics by showing that its most basic assumptions were myths.
Where conventional economists traced money to barter and exchange, Graeber traced it to trust and relationships.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Where conventional economists traced money to barter and exchange, Graeber traced it to trust and relationships.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Economic questions: The David Graeber question
This is one of a series of posts that will ask what the most pertinent question raised by a prominent influencer of political economy might have been, and what the relevance of that question might be ...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 1:58 AM
"David Graeber was the anthropologist who re-framed economics by showing that its most basic assumptions were myths.
Where conventional economists traced money to barter and exchange, Graeber traced it to trust and relationships.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Where conventional economists traced money to barter and exchange, Graeber traced it to trust and relationships.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Reading Marshall Berman's "The Politics of Authenticity" .. good stuff... like citing Burke's quote that the enlightenment pursuit of the authentic self meant that “All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off”
Sometimes it has to be torn off, but what to replace it with? If anything
Sometimes it has to be torn off, but what to replace it with? If anything
November 16, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reading Marshall Berman's "The Politics of Authenticity" .. good stuff... like citing Burke's quote that the enlightenment pursuit of the authentic self meant that “All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off”
Sometimes it has to be torn off, but what to replace it with? If anything
Sometimes it has to be torn off, but what to replace it with? If anything
Reposted by José Marichal
A short while ago, Dr Janani Shanthosh and I had an engaging conversation about The Foreign Gaze, which she's now beautifully captured in text and audio.
It's the first in her series of interviews titled On Theory.
Please read, listen, and follow the series.
Here goes ontheory.com/interviews/s...
It's the first in her series of interviews titled On Theory.
Please read, listen, and follow the series.
Here goes ontheory.com/interviews/s...
Seye Abimbola | On Theory
Seye Abimbola wants us to stop mistaking prestige for insight – and inclusion for equity.
At a bustling restaurant tucked into a leafy corner of the University of Sydney, Associate Professor Seye Abim...
ontheory.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
A short while ago, Dr Janani Shanthosh and I had an engaging conversation about The Foreign Gaze, which she's now beautifully captured in text and audio.
It's the first in her series of interviews titled On Theory.
Please read, listen, and follow the series.
Here goes ontheory.com/interviews/s...
It's the first in her series of interviews titled On Theory.
Please read, listen, and follow the series.
Here goes ontheory.com/interviews/s...
Great insight from my students today. We're taking about Waltz "states as billiard balls" theory of international relations and I ask what role do corporations play? One of my students answers "the pool cue".... Brilliant!!!
November 15, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Great insight from my students today. We're taking about Waltz "states as billiard balls" theory of international relations and I ask what role do corporations play? One of my students answers "the pool cue".... Brilliant!!!
Seems like the value proposition are questionable.
Hold up
November 15, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Seems like the value proposition are questionable.