It’s weird to miss #4S2026 in the fall, especially since I’ve seen some incredible panels. But I plan to fly to PA to surprise my Dad for his 80th birthday and I think the look on his face will cancel out any #STS FOMO I have.
I felt sheepish arriving so late but SFAA is always lovely to be a part of so it’s worth it.
Oops I meant #SFAA2026. And also #TSA and #Governmentshutdown
3 hours to get through security at #IAH, so I missed my flight and will be late to #SFAA. But I did get to read this cool @newyorker.com article that aligns with my own research. I won’t be able to stop thinking about Lewis-Kraus referring to the brain as a “meat computer” for the rest of the day.
Still trying to get to #SFAA2026. The security lines at the Houston airport (IAH) are now about 2 hours long. Probably going to miss my flight. And I feel for the TSA folks who are here trying to manage the chaos.
Woah. And hear hear.
Made a place to talk #STS, #AI, and #ConversationalUX. The world probably doesn’t need another substack newsletter, but here’s mine in all its glory. Now with more ‘90s tech references! lizrodwell.substack.com/p/humans-in-... See some of you at #SFAA2026 soon.
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
But I think in addition to planning and fighting and resisting, it’s important to understand how bad this all feels.
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...
“The moderator of r/catbongos, a subreddit for playfully patting your cat like you’re playing the bongos, posted an anti-ICE screed—and it quickly became the subreddit’s most-upvoted post ever”
Well that’s a collection of words I’d never seen together before
Reminds me of the time I tried to make homemade “instant” hot chocolate as a Christmas gift and instead of a pinch of cayenne added a tbsp to each. That hot chocolate certainly… woke people up when they sipped it. Until the heart attack took them down.
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...
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 can’t figure out what this man is getting in exchange for his soul.
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.
I’m not sure if he can do more good by going or staying to fight this mess but I’m not sure what the best way to fight most of this is anymore.
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.
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
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...
Yeah. I live in the part of town among places you live if you work at NASA. My husband works in aerospace. It is massively devastating around here. NASA was so many people’s life dream.
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...
