Chris
@multiplicityct.bsky.social
PhD student in philosophy at the University of Staffordshire. Heidegger, analytic ethics (trust and mistrust), philosophy of tech/AI. Marylander. MA Staffs, MBA Duke. Wittgenstein and Cantor handshake numbers = 3 (via John Conway).
Tom Stoppard has died.
R&G was the first (and only) play I’ve ever directed. I just reread it earlier this fall. Huge loss.
R&G was the first (and only) play I’ve ever directed. I just reread it earlier this fall. Huge loss.
Tom Stoppard, playwright of dazzling wit and playful erudition, dies aged 88
A theatrical sensation since the 1960s, whose dramas included Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt, Stoppard also had huge success as a screenwriter
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Tom Stoppard has died.
R&G was the first (and only) play I’ve ever directed. I just reread it earlier this fall. Huge loss.
R&G was the first (and only) play I’ve ever directed. I just reread it earlier this fall. Huge loss.
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve been to
The Shins
Magnetic Fields
Anonymous 4
Goo Goo Dolls
Мумий Тролль
The Shins
Magnetic Fields
Anonymous 4
Goo Goo Dolls
Мумий Тролль
introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've been to
The Lighthouse Family
Wynton Marsalis
Placebo
Reef
Grandmaster Flash
The Lighthouse Family
Wynton Marsalis
Placebo
Reef
Grandmaster Flash
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve been to
-Kendrick Lamar
-Cryptopsy
-Porter Robinson
-Godspeed You! Black Emperor
-The Wood Brothers
-Kendrick Lamar
-Cryptopsy
-Porter Robinson
-Godspeed You! Black Emperor
-The Wood Brothers
November 27, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve been to
The Shins
Magnetic Fields
Anonymous 4
Goo Goo Dolls
Мумий Тролль
The Shins
Magnetic Fields
Anonymous 4
Goo Goo Dolls
Мумий Тролль
Sitting down to the traditional Thanksgiving meal, Julia Child’s Boeuf bourguignon.
November 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Sitting down to the traditional Thanksgiving meal, Julia Child’s Boeuf bourguignon.
Philosophers stop trying to be economists challenge: failed by the author I am currently reading. Homo economicus is bad enough for economics without importing it back into philosophy as a severely defective cartoon of human beings.
November 27, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Philosophers stop trying to be economists challenge: failed by the author I am currently reading. Homo economicus is bad enough for economics without importing it back into philosophy as a severely defective cartoon of human beings.
Thoughtful post by Matt on AI and the democratization of skill. I’d add there is a tension between techne as mastery of the world and techne as self-mastery. Both can tend toward either virtue or vice, but AI seems likely to undercut the latter.
I've blogged on idea that #AI 'democratises' various skills, such as illustration and writing. I think that misses the point of learning a skill entirely. It's the learning of the skill that enriches and frees us, not us being able to offload it to a machine: blog.matthewbarnard.phd/democratisat...
Democratisation and AI
A philosophical critique of AI “democratisation,” exploring how skill, freedom and education relate, drawing on Plato, Aristotle, Heidegger and Berlin.
blog.matthewbarnard.phd
November 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Thoughtful post by Matt on AI and the democratization of skill. I’d add there is a tension between techne as mastery of the world and techne as self-mastery. Both can tend toward either virtue or vice, but AI seems likely to undercut the latter.
Carol Sturka feels like a pretty on-the-nose distillation of what a human being is. (Including me.) I'm not sure it says great things about us.
If you're watching Pluribus, would you move heaven & earth to "put things back"? I'm not sure it would make sense to.
If you're watching Pluribus, would you move heaven & earth to "put things back"? I'm not sure it would make sense to.
November 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Carol Sturka feels like a pretty on-the-nose distillation of what a human being is. (Including me.) I'm not sure it says great things about us.
If you're watching Pluribus, would you move heaven & earth to "put things back"? I'm not sure it would make sense to.
If you're watching Pluribus, would you move heaven & earth to "put things back"? I'm not sure it would make sense to.
I'm fascinating by how many concepts are really markers of our ignorance. Amélie Rorty says here that 'emotion' is one, a grab bag of leftovers from supposedly clearer concepts like will & reason.
We also have chance (Darwin's Origin), freedom (Kant's Groundwork), élan vital (Bergson). #philsky
We also have chance (Darwin's Origin), freedom (Kant's Groundwork), élan vital (Bergson). #philsky
November 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I'm fascinating by how many concepts are really markers of our ignorance. Amélie Rorty says here that 'emotion' is one, a grab bag of leftovers from supposedly clearer concepts like will & reason.
We also have chance (Darwin's Origin), freedom (Kant's Groundwork), élan vital (Bergson). #philsky
We also have chance (Darwin's Origin), freedom (Kant's Groundwork), élan vital (Bergson). #philsky
This might be the greatest advertisement for a work of philosophy I have ever seen. (The last sentence even more than the highlighted one!)
November 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
This might be the greatest advertisement for a work of philosophy I have ever seen. (The last sentence even more than the highlighted one!)
My kid dragged me into the kitchen to look east at 6:45 this morning. Ours was more cotton candy pink and light blue in the MD burbs, but definitely a stunner.
Here's a beauty from @dcstormchaser.bsky.social:
November 25, 2025 at 2:55 PM
My kid dragged me into the kitchen to look east at 6:45 this morning. Ours was more cotton candy pink and light blue in the MD burbs, but definitely a stunner.
Just submitted a thing. It's sobering to look at the statistics in Microsoft Word and realize how long I spent on it. Not to speak of the background reading, the edits on paper, and the time other readers generously took with it. But I'm prouder of it than anything I've ever written.
November 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Just submitted a thing. It's sobering to look at the statistics in Microsoft Word and realize how long I spent on it. Not to speak of the background reading, the edits on paper, and the time other readers generously took with it. But I'm prouder of it than anything I've ever written.
I love this entire thread. It's a kind of warped naturalistic fallacy: things that are hard about human life must be a) recent devolutions and b) evil. (To be clear, Alex isn't defending anything you don't like -- just pointing out an irritating fallacy.)
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I love this entire thread. It's a kind of warped naturalistic fallacy: things that are hard about human life must be a) recent devolutions and b) evil. (To be clear, Alex isn't defending anything you don't like -- just pointing out an irritating fallacy.)
Me: After 40+ years, I know exactly what I believe.
Also me: Ok, starting draft 7 of this journal article…
Also me: Ok, starting draft 7 of this journal article…
November 23, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Me: After 40+ years, I know exactly what I believe.
Also me: Ok, starting draft 7 of this journal article…
Also me: Ok, starting draft 7 of this journal article…
Eggnog is now in the fridge, mellowing. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
November 23, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Eggnog is now in the fridge, mellowing. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
We just booked flights and lodging for our vacation next year. So excited to go back to Helsinki and Frankfurt!
What other Scandinavian things should we do? We’re likely to use Helsinki as home base and go to Sweden, Norway, or points beyond for at least a few days.
What other Scandinavian things should we do? We’re likely to use Helsinki as home base and go to Sweden, Norway, or points beyond for at least a few days.
November 23, 2025 at 6:18 PM
We just booked flights and lodging for our vacation next year. So excited to go back to Helsinki and Frankfurt!
What other Scandinavian things should we do? We’re likely to use Helsinki as home base and go to Sweden, Norway, or points beyond for at least a few days.
What other Scandinavian things should we do? We’re likely to use Helsinki as home base and go to Sweden, Norway, or points beyond for at least a few days.
This is a great point. I've definitely written that Roombas seem more "life-like" than LLMs. The total lack of goal or drive makes LLMs a less likely candidate for a (future) "conscious" technology in my view.
Related panel discussion, also good (more wide ranging).
Choice quote from Tomasello: "If all life on earth was wiped out, ChatGPT would sit on my desk doing nothing, but my home heating system - run by a thermostat - would keep heating my house...it has a goal..."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ9Z...
Choice quote from Tomasello: "If all life on earth was wiped out, ChatGPT would sit on my desk doing nothing, but my home heating system - run by a thermostat - would keep heating my house...it has a goal..."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ9Z...
November 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
This is a great point. I've definitely written that Roombas seem more "life-like" than LLMs. The total lack of goal or drive makes LLMs a less likely candidate for a (future) "conscious" technology in my view.
The cat on the left (Cookie) is allegedly a stray but has now set up house with our cat Muffen (on the right). She comes in to warm up, eat, snuggle, and then she demands to go back to independent life outside. #caturday
November 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
The cat on the left (Cookie) is allegedly a stray but has now set up house with our cat Muffen (on the right). She comes in to warm up, eat, snuggle, and then she demands to go back to independent life outside. #caturday
One major issue is that a whole lot of K-12 instruction is terrible and not engaging. Much of it conducted on computers since COVID. Not a recipe for making the most of even “remarkable” opportunities like Yale seminars once a student finally gets there.
Even Conscientious Students in Their Favorite Courses…
| By Justin Weinberg
In a philosophy seminar—“my favorite class I’ve taken so far,” she said—Gwen used AI to write almost all her essays just to avoid late submissions dailynous.com/2025/11/17/e... #AI #studying #PhilosophySky #philsky
| By Justin Weinberg
In a philosophy seminar—“my favorite class I’ve taken so far,” she said—Gwen used AI to write almost all her essays just to avoid late submissions dailynous.com/2025/11/17/e... #AI #studying #PhilosophySky #philsky
Even Conscientious Students in Their Favorite Courses… - Daily Nous
In a philosophy seminar—“my favorite class I’ve taken so far,” she said—Gwen used AI to write almost all her essays just to avoid late submissions. That's "Gwen", a student at Yale, interviewed for an...
dailynous.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:25 AM
One major issue is that a whole lot of K-12 instruction is terrible and not engaging. Much of it conducted on computers since COVID. Not a recipe for making the most of even “remarkable” opportunities like Yale seminars once a student finally gets there.
Gemini has all of a sudden become the most practically useful model to me, and Nano Banana can do amazing things in corporate comms (infographics, for example).
Especially surprised to see how quickly Claude has fallen behind.
Especially surprised to see how quickly Claude has fallen behind.
November 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Gemini has all of a sudden become the most practically useful model to me, and Nano Banana can do amazing things in corporate comms (infographics, for example).
Especially surprised to see how quickly Claude has fallen behind.
Especially surprised to see how quickly Claude has fallen behind.
Blindingly obvious take, but Strawson’s “Freedom and Resentment” and Amélie Rorty’s “Explaining Emotions” are really good. In case you were wondering whether classic papers are classic for a reason. #philsky
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Blindingly obvious take, but Strawson’s “Freedom and Resentment” and Amélie Rorty’s “Explaining Emotions” are really good. In case you were wondering whether classic papers are classic for a reason. #philsky
I ran my current paper draft through an academic "AI detector" out of curiosity. It came up 56% likely to be AI written (a coin flip), labeled in red text, because of analysis like this. The word "trust" all by itself is 53% likely to be AI-written.
Hope no one is relying on these things.
Hope no one is relying on these things.
November 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I ran my current paper draft through an academic "AI detector" out of curiosity. It came up 56% likely to be AI written (a coin flip), labeled in red text, because of analysis like this. The word "trust" all by itself is 53% likely to be AI-written.
Hope no one is relying on these things.
Hope no one is relying on these things.
This is brilliant. LLMs are so WEIRD. Just underscores that "program them real, real good and we'll hold their curators accountable" is not a real strategy for trustworthy AI. Their curators can't hope to understand how they're going to behave under the weird stimuli humans throw at them.
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
This is brilliant. LLMs are so WEIRD. Just underscores that "program them real, real good and we'll hold their curators accountable" is not a real strategy for trustworthy AI. Their curators can't hope to understand how they're going to behave under the weird stimuli humans throw at them.
Reposted by Chris
We’re watching a shift where AI simulates the cohesion and reinforcement that used to require an entire online community. A single person can now build a complete parallel reality with nothing more than a prompt window. Which seems bad.
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
We’re watching a shift where AI simulates the cohesion and reinforcement that used to require an entire online community. A single person can now build a complete parallel reality with nothing more than a prompt window. Which seems bad.
LLMs can help shore up disordered thinking that otherwise would have become unsustainable (e.g., conspiracy theories). Online communities have "helped" make this problem worse, too. If you're fringe, other people can help you hold your fringe together, speed-running your rationalization of crazy.
Previously, these belief systems tended to collapse under their own weight. Contradictions and memory gaps made them hard to sustain. Now the AI removes that friction, it produces timelines, summaries, and "forensic" explanations on demand.
November 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
LLMs can help shore up disordered thinking that otherwise would have become unsustainable (e.g., conspiracy theories). Online communities have "helped" make this problem worse, too. If you're fringe, other people can help you hold your fringe together, speed-running your rationalization of crazy.
Models are not temporal creatures. They are now awfully good at pretending to exist in time, but they don’t.
November 19, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Models are not temporal creatures. They are now awfully good at pretending to exist in time, but they don’t.
I had to retell this entire Justin Wilson anecdote to my 12yo, because she only has experience with a few American dialects and couldn't understand it. Feeling a little bit wistful about public broadcasting days gone by!
New Orleans Cajun, Justin Wilson - Squirrel Hunting
YouTube video by taaral
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I had to retell this entire Justin Wilson anecdote to my 12yo, because she only has experience with a few American dialects and couldn't understand it. Feeling a little bit wistful about public broadcasting days gone by!