Fifteenth #17: On unlearning Why do we do research? This might seem like an insultingly simple question, yet perhaps we have never paused to reflect before considering our honest answer. In the quest for a new job or promotion, w...

New essay! Fifteenth no. 17: On unlearning.

Link below. 👇🏾

www.first-and-fifteenth.co/fifteenth-17...

#FirstAndFifteenth #uxmichaelco

First #17: Research for People Who Think They Would Rather Create Research for People Who Think They Would Rather Create is a slender manual written by Dirk Vis — a Dutch lecturer at Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam and the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague — who...

💥 New review! First no. 17: Research for People Who Think They Would Rather Create by Dirk Vis

(with bonus review of BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions)

www.first-and-fifteenth.co/first-17-res...

#FirstAndFifteenth #BLKNWS #uxmichaelco

Fifteenth #16: On the Men (and sometimes Women) Who Corrupted Hadleyburg In 1899, Mark Twain published the short story The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg. Written towards the end of his two-year residency in Austria, this potent satire punctures the moral pomposity of ninete...

www.first-and-fifteenth.co/fifteenth-16...

Four Forbes business magazines, each with celebrated tech CEOs who have in different ways disgraced their companies.

Fifteenth no. 16: On the Men (and sometimes Women) Who Corrupted Hadleyburg.

Shady CEOs, Sianne Ngai's Theory of the Gimmick, why gimmicks are natural accessories of the tech industry, and a short story by Mark Twain.

Link below. 👇🏾

#FirstAndFifteenth #TheoryOfTheGimmick #uxmichaelco

First #16: The AI Con The AI Con, as its name misleadingly suggests, is not solely about AI; rather, it is an assiduous exercise in excoriating the runaway hype engulfing the technology industry. Co-written by computatio...

New review! First no. 16: The AI Con by @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social

www.first-and-fifteenth.co/first-16-the...

#FirstAndFifteenth #CriticalAI #uxmichaelco

Still from BLKNWS Terms & Conditions, showing a world map zoomed in on the Atlantic Ocean, South America, Caribbean, and Africa with red and green dots in the ocean visualising the thousands of Africans who were transported as enslaved people.

I really like BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions: its dialogue with Black history, Black futures, the ease with which Black creativity traverses these oppositional poles; and W.E.B. Du Bois 👈🏾

Peep the essay on Du Bois I wrote 2 years ago.

open.substack.com/pub/uxmichae...

#ThisIsNotAnAd #BLKNWS

First and Fifteenth Essays from a critical technologist, told through the interpretative lens of Black Studies and conceptual art.

Subscribe to First and Fifteenth to receive my next newsletter on 1 March: www.first-and-fifteenth.co

Photo of the book” The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create The Future We Want”, by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna. The cover a plain white cover with the word “The” in giant black letters, “AI” in giant red letters, and “Con” in giant black letters, and the book is shot close up and top down on a light green textured wool covered sofa material.

First #16 on The AI Con by @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social — “a wonderful riposte to the magical thinking propelling the indiscriminate deployment of generative AI.”

S/O @hypestudies.bsky.social for capturing its spirit. Link below 👇🏾

#FirstAndFifteenth #CriticalAI #uxmichaelco

Distinct “tee-cher, tee-cher, tee-cher” call of a male great tit outside. First sign of spring, courtship, and breeding season. Now hearing a coal tit nearby. Competition is on for this patch of trees! #UKBirding #Birdwatch

Tickets UX Scotland 2026 tickets selling fast - our Advance & Super duper early bird tickets have already sold out...

Details for how to apply for Opportunity (Scholarship) tickets are here: uxscotland.net/tickets

UX Scotland UX Scotland is a friendly international conference, established in 2013, for people working in UX, UCD, HCD, Service Design, or other digital specialisms

Next stop, Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I will be delivering a keynote to open day 2 of @uxscotland.bsky.social

Wed 10 – Thu 11 June. Over thirty talks, workshops, and case studies across four tracks.

Discounts for freelancers. Scholarships also available.

uxscotland.net

#UXScotland #UXScot #uxmichaelco

A lecture in a university building filled with people. On the projector screen is the logo "NO & __" in reference to the forum on Technological Refusal

These past few days were certainly stimulating, provocative and inspirational at the inaugural NO & __ forum on Technological Refusal at @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social thank you for having me! @danishanley.bsky.social 💥

Photo of a new book called Design Beyond the Human: Transdisciplinary Conversations About the Planet, published by Bloomsbury

Design Beyond the Human: essays on activism, anthropology, conservation, creative writing, design practice, design theory, economics, education, environment, ethics, history, indigenous knowledge, law, philosophy, poetry, politics, regenerative agriculture, science, sociology and technology.

What a coincidence, and perfectly timed for the forum at in Maastricht University next month.

www.aanmelder.nl/techrefusal

I often think this too. Who are the UX designers, software testers, PM, and devs? Do they know what the system will be do or are they just blinkering their unease by only looking at the Jira ticket they’ve been assigned and clocking off at 5pm?

Check out @hypestudies.bsky.social 👀

First and Fifteenth Essays from a critical technologist, told through the interpretative lens of Black Studies and conceptual art.

First and Fifteenth returns in 2026. New website, new schedule. 💁🏾‍♂️

www.first-and-fifteenth.co

#FirstAndFifteenth #uxmichaelco

‘No & ...’ : A Forum on Technological Refusal - Home

No & ...’: A Forum on Technological Refusal, Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February from the Critical Technoscience Platform at Maastricht University. Registration is now open! www.aanmelder.nl/techrefusal #FirstAndFifteenthOnTheRoad

I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, but your presentation was so thought-provoking and lyrical. 🙌🏾

Promotional post of Brain Rot, AI Slop, and the Enshittification of the Internet showing an AI Slop image of Jesus juggling two shrimps (yes you read that right)

Day out thinking about #BrainRot #AiSlop #CriticalAI

So many memories of childhood disappointment when I tried to secretly take a biscuit only to be met by balls of wool, thread, and ribbons! 😭

First & Fifteenth 2025 roundup What I've said and read since summer

First & Fifteenth, 2025 wrapped.

#FirstAndFifteenth #uxmichaelco

open.substack.com/pub/uxmichae...

First and Fifteenth evergreens (by Michael Kibedi) — Semble Literature shaping my practice which are constant sources of influence, inspiration, and ideas.

Inspired by @rude1.blacksky.team, I've made my own evergreen reading list — the titles I repeatedly return to and re-read — which are central to my thinking and practice. The service runs on #atproto, made by @cosmik.network 👌🏾 #CriticalAI

semble.so/profile/uxmi...

How did my leisure time on the internet get turned into staring at a bunch of inboxes? 😩

#ffconf is the reason I created my @uxmichael.co BlueSky account. 1 year old! 💁🏾‍♂️ 🎂

ffconf an independent web dev conference in Brighton at the Duke of York cinema

Back again 🤗 #ffconf #uxmichaelco

Will check this out! 🎧

Futurisk - Lonely Streets (1982 Ocean Sound) YouTube video by Futurisk

Tune. 🎹
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5WY...

Was just the medicine we needed 💥

😹 you know what I mean!