Liz Rodwell
@lizrodwell.bsky.social
Media & Tech anthropologist, STS nerd. Studying Conversational UX/AI. Founder of the UH UX Lab. My TV/Japan book: http://dukeupress.edu/push-the-button (Views are my own and not that of my employer.)
It’s Design Sprint Day in #UX class today. An excuse to bust out my school supplies and get us off the screens (um, after I type this I guess).
February 5, 2026 at 6:48 PM
It’s Design Sprint Day in #UX class today. An excuse to bust out my school supplies and get us off the screens (um, after I type this I guess).
Ok anyone doing any cool panels at #4S that I can jump onto? My current project is an ethnography of the intersection of UX and AI (and conversation design). I’ve just been swamped and forgot to ask around until now! @4sweb.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Ok anyone doing any cool panels at #4S that I can jump onto? My current project is an ethnography of the intersection of UX and AI (and conversation design). I’ve just been swamped and forgot to ask around until now! @4sweb.bsky.social
Losing my battle with the despair today. The massive layoffs at the @washingtonpost.com- carried out for no really defensible reason- have me feeling like everything I love is being destroyed. I will try again (to paraphrase Pig and Elephant) but allow me a moment to wallow.
February 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Losing my battle with the despair today. The massive layoffs at the @washingtonpost.com- carried out for no really defensible reason- have me feeling like everything I love is being destroyed. I will try again (to paraphrase Pig and Elephant) but allow me a moment to wallow.
Of note: Our government lost 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s last year, but seemingly has more [Twitter] posters than ever. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Donald Trump Has Built a Clicktatorship
Even the administration’s budget proposals read like Truth Social posts.
www.theatlantic.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Of note: Our government lost 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s last year, but seemingly has more [Twitter] posters than ever. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Well that’s a collection of words I’d never seen together before
January 27, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Well that’s a collection of words I’d never seen together before
This R Reich editorial ticked off all of the points I’ve been raising in indignation to like minded friends and family: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Americans are waking up. A grand reckoning awaits us | Robert Reich
I’d like to believe that the horrific darkness of this past year is a necessary prelude to a brighter and saner future
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
This R Reich editorial ticked off all of the points I’ve been raising in indignation to like minded friends and family: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My newest article is out! More about conversation designers and conversational AI. It’s called “Someone Behind This Technology: Conversation Designers in the Artificial Intelligence Loop” #sts #anthropology #conversationdesign Here’s a link to get it free: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/XNX78...
Someone Behind This Technology: Conversation Designers in the Artificial Intelligence Loop
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are advancing rapidly, yet their development remains opaque, particularly in terms of the collaborative practices that shape their design. This article presents f...
urldefense.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
My newest article is out! More about conversation designers and conversational AI. It’s called “Someone Behind This Technology: Conversation Designers in the Artificial Intelligence Loop” #sts #anthropology #conversationdesign Here’s a link to get it free: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/XNX78...
Lemme see if I got this right. The guy who lies almost every time he opens his mouth insisted a guy he hates be indicted for maybe lying to Congress? Hmm. #Comey
September 26, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Lemme see if I got this right. The guy who lies almost every time he opens his mouth insisted a guy he hates be indicted for maybe lying to Congress? Hmm. #Comey
I keep finding myself drawn to posting here every once in a while, mostly to say things like “what do we do, guys?” In a sort of existential rather than practical way.
September 26, 2025 at 1:05 AM
I keep finding myself drawn to posting here every once in a while, mostly to say things like “what do we do, guys?” In a sort of existential rather than practical way.
When I psych myself to post on here I am reminded that it has already fallen into the Twitter pattern wherein I only see a few people’s posts and nobody sees mine. I mean truly what is the point?
September 23, 2025 at 1:03 AM
When I psych myself to post on here I am reminded that it has already fallen into the Twitter pattern wherein I only see a few people’s posts and nobody sees mine. I mean truly what is the point?
The censorship has somehow gotten even more demoralizing this week.
September 18, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The censorship has somehow gotten even more demoralizing this week.
If you’re wondering how TX public University professors are doing right now, the answer is “really not great.” We’re worried and sad, but still working hard despite endemic poor mental health. We are accepting massage gift cards or coffees (joking). #aaup #txprofessors #professors
September 11, 2025 at 12:51 AM
If you’re wondering how TX public University professors are doing right now, the answer is “really not great.” We’re worried and sad, but still working hard despite endemic poor mental health. We are accepting massage gift cards or coffees (joking). #aaup #txprofessors #professors
Well this quote certainly sums up what’s wrong with the U.S. right now:
“House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence on the chamber floor, which quickly turned into a shouting match about whether the observance was too little or too much.” (From the WSJ) #gunviolence
“House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence on the chamber floor, which quickly turned into a shouting match about whether the observance was too little or too much.” (From the WSJ) #gunviolence
September 11, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Well this quote certainly sums up what’s wrong with the U.S. right now:
“House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence on the chamber floor, which quickly turned into a shouting match about whether the observance was too little or too much.” (From the WSJ) #gunviolence
“House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence on the chamber floor, which quickly turned into a shouting match about whether the observance was too little or too much.” (From the WSJ) #gunviolence
I have a fantasy- earning a royalty check for my book. If you know of a library or course that could benefit from a really awesome book about TV experiments, independent journalism, right wing trolls battling with Indy media in Japan please check out: www.dukeupress.edu/push-the-but...
Push the Button
www.dukeupress.edu
August 12, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I have a fantasy- earning a royalty check for my book. If you know of a library or course that could benefit from a really awesome book about TV experiments, independent journalism, right wing trolls battling with Indy media in Japan please check out: www.dukeupress.edu/push-the-but...
As someone who studies and loves computers, and has since I was a kid, I still share McLuhan’s general discomfort. I am uneasy in the present moment even as I work on AI. slate.com/technology/2...
Peter Thiel Just Accidentally Made a Chilling Admission. Five Decades Ago, One Man Saw It Coming.
He was laughed out of academia for this take about the internet. Turns out he was right.
slate.com
July 28, 2025 at 10:56 PM
As someone who studies and loves computers, and has since I was a kid, I still share McLuhan’s general discomfort. I am uneasy in the present moment even as I work on AI. slate.com/technology/2...
Trump has now spent an estimated $63,000,000 of our money golfing since Jan. 20. Think of what that could do for our schools.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...
July 28, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Trump has now spent an estimated $63,000,000 of our money golfing since Jan. 20. Think of what that could do for our schools.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/07...
The Atlantic continues its helpful series on AI. I’ll be using this article in my fall classes. Thank you @theatlantic.com and- y’all should subscribe. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
The Entire Internet Is Reverting to Beta
The AI takeover is changing everything about the web—and not necessarily for the better.
www.theatlantic.com
June 24, 2025 at 10:59 PM
The Atlantic continues its helpful series on AI. I’ll be using this article in my fall classes. Thank you @theatlantic.com and- y’all should subscribe. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Universities need the best students- from all over the world-
and their critical thinking skills.
“Applicants [for student visas] will be vetted for ‘any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the U.S.’
and their critical thinking skills.
“Applicants [for student visas] will be vetted for ‘any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the U.S.’
June 18, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Universities need the best students- from all over the world-
and their critical thinking skills.
“Applicants [for student visas] will be vetted for ‘any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the U.S.’
and their critical thinking skills.
“Applicants [for student visas] will be vetted for ‘any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the U.S.’
Resurfacing because a few people texted me this (I’m in Japan on a Fulbright right now.)
The Fulbright people are absolutely lovely, generous, and considerate. They deserved better. We all, in research oriented professions, deserve better. #fulbright www.msnbc.com/top-stories/...
The Fulbright people are absolutely lovely, generous, and considerate. They deserved better. We all, in research oriented professions, deserve better. #fulbright www.msnbc.com/top-stories/...
The Fulbright board has resigned after accusing Trump of political meddling
The Fulbright program has long had bipartisan support to operate independently. Trump might be changing that.
www.msnbc.com
June 11, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Resurfacing because a few people texted me this (I’m in Japan on a Fulbright right now.)
The Fulbright people are absolutely lovely, generous, and considerate. They deserved better. We all, in research oriented professions, deserve better. #fulbright www.msnbc.com/top-stories/...
The Fulbright people are absolutely lovely, generous, and considerate. They deserved better. We all, in research oriented professions, deserve better. #fulbright www.msnbc.com/top-stories/...
I’m in Tokyo right now working with colleagues at Waseda University. When I tried to explain what’s going on in the U.S. to them, they were shocked.
Brutal account of what it’s like to teach at the University of Florida right now in the NYT—extraordinary climate of fear. People afraid to say intersectional and talk about lynchings. Fake students trying to entrap Muslim faculty or just making things up altogether. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/o...
May 9, 2025 at 11:34 AM
I’m in Tokyo right now working with colleagues at Waseda University. When I tried to explain what’s going on in the U.S. to them, they were shocked.
Is anyone else sad a lot these days? I study convo AI as an anthropologist and tend to have a nuanced view, but my 9 year old told me this morning how much he loves to write and I hope he will keep trying to write even when no one else is. I still try bc I love it too nymag.com/intelligence...
Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College
ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.
nymag.com
May 9, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Is anyone else sad a lot these days? I study convo AI as an anthropologist and tend to have a nuanced view, but my 9 year old told me this morning how much he loves to write and I hope he will keep trying to write even when no one else is. I still try bc I love it too nymag.com/intelligence...
I do a lot of research in Tokyo and one of my peculiar specialties is getting on a train and becoming so engrossed in reading on my phone that I ride somewhere very random and far away. It just happened again. Where am I this time?
May 6, 2025 at 7:57 AM
I do a lot of research in Tokyo and one of my peculiar specialties is getting on a train and becoming so engrossed in reading on my phone that I ride somewhere very random and far away. It just happened again. Where am I this time?
I have had Yeats’ The Second Coming circling around in my mind on a loop for the last week:
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/...
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/...
The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and eve...
www.poetryfoundation.org
April 30, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I have had Yeats’ The Second Coming circling around in my mind on a loop for the last week:
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/...
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/...
I hear Columbia University is hiring another new president. Sounds like a relaxing job. Maybe I’ll apply.
April 23, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I hear Columbia University is hiring another new president. Sounds like a relaxing job. Maybe I’ll apply.
I often talk up the importance of anthropology to technology and engineering. If you love #conversationalAI and #conversationdesign too, here's my nudge to take a linguistic anthropology course (or check out any of the learning opportunities I link to). anthrocareerready.net/how-can-ling...
How can linguistic anthropology help you work with AI? - The Anthropology Career Readiness Network
I started working on voice assistants as a usability challenge in 2019 after one of the students in my User Experience (UX) Principles class asked, “I
anthrocareerready.net
April 4, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I often talk up the importance of anthropology to technology and engineering. If you love #conversationalAI and #conversationdesign too, here's my nudge to take a linguistic anthropology course (or check out any of the learning opportunities I link to). anthrocareerready.net/how-can-ling...