iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Timing is everything. I am just about to present "Ars Ex Machina" at the "Art Matters: Art-AI-Sustainability" workshop @friasunifreiburg.bsky.social And as if on cue, @lerandomart.bsky.social has just released this updated Generative Art Timeline. timeline.lerandom.art

timeline.lerandom.art

The Living Timeline · Generative Art History · Le Random

The Le Random Generative Art Timeline: 1,147 moments from 71,000 BCE to 2025. Explore art, technology and their connections.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Tomorrow (7 Oct 2026) I will be presenting "Ars Ex Machina: Ethics and Aesthetics in the Age of Generative AI" during the "Art Matters: Art-AI-Sustainability" event at @friasunifreiburg.bsky.social uni-freiburg.de/frias/art-ma...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Depends on what kind of personhood one has in mind. If we are talking "natural personhood," then consciousness has been (historically speaking) one of the qualifying criterion. But "legal personhood" is very different. We already have artifacts that are legal persons but not conscious: Corporations.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Pope Leo's recent remark that #AI cannot create art because "algorithms lack the spark of humanity" lit a fire under the ass of the Big Dada Project, which generated this song in reply. youtube.com/shorts/8bikI21LF7s?feature=share/

youtube.com

Sparks of Humanity

YouTube video by David Gunkel

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

During "Art Matters: Art-AI-Sustainability" @friasunifreiburg.bsky.social I will be connecting the dots between hip hop and other #remix practices and generative #AI, following research presented in the book Understanding #AI @politybooks.bsky.social uni-freiburg.de/frias/art-ma...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ars Ex Machina Organizing the slide deck for my presentation at the "Aesthetics of Extraction: Sustainability and Responsibility in Times of AI" workshop @friasunifreiburg.bsky.social And my talk will be addressing #remix and generative #AI in both content and form uni-freiburg.de/frias/art-ma...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the book "A Relational Ethics for #AI and #Robots" co-edited with Abootaleb Safdari and published by @springer.springernature.com will be available this December 2026. link.springer.com/book/9783032...

link.springer.com

A Relational Ethics for AI and Robots

A Relational Ethics for AI and Robots reconsiders key ethical concepts and moral frameworks for an era of AI systems and robots.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

During conversations at the "Last Man at 200" conference @notredame.bsky.social, it became abundantly clear to me that everyone--even (and maybe especially) scholars in modern literature and the humanities--want and need to know about #LLM #AI. Now there's an app for that: tinyurl.com/5eucuxy5

tinyurl.com

Understanding Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Introduction for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Understanding Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Introduction for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to research and development in a handful of STEM di...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"The Last Man Complex: Artificial Intelligence and Existential Risk." - My presentation at 2026 Curran Symposium: THE LAST MAN AT 200–Imagining the Future After Environmental Disaster. k-saa.org/events/curra...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today I will be presenting "The Last Man Complex: #AI and Existential Risk" during the closing session of the "Last Man at 200" conference @notredame.bsky.social. www.k-saa.org/events/curra... Preprint of the book chapter is now available from @ssrn.bsky.social dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I've got a new game. Call it "The Reverse Turing Test." Write a short paragraph that emulates #LLM generated content, test it in an #AI detection tool, and then iteratively modify it until you achieve the score of 100% #AI Generated.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

True, but it is not the technological singularity of #AI; it is the singularity of a particular brand of authoritarian capitalism.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Prompted #ChatGPT to generate an image for my "Last Man Complex" presentation about #AI x-risk coming later this week at @notredame.bsky.social Paid for it by sacrificing one glass of water and working in the dark.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Coming up this Friday: I will be presenting my paper "The Last Man Complex: #AI and Existential Risk" as part of the "2026 Niemeyer Lectures in Political Philosophy: The Last Man at 200" @notredame.bsky.social My thanks to the chorus of x-risk doomers for making this research relevant.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I am always--it seems--in the "other" line. Not that I am complaining.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Reviews (aka back cover blurbs) for "Understanding Artificial Intelligence" @politybooks.bsky.social come from a trio of luminaries in communication, artificial intelligence, and philosophy of technology: @zizip.bsky.social, @blaiseaguera.bsky.social and @svennyholm.bsky.social tinyurl.com/5eucuxy5

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

It is publication day for my 19th book, "Understanding Artificial Intelligence" @politybooks.bsky.social. This one is an #AI primer for students in the humanities, social sciences and the arts. Available now in the UK and worldwide. US release will be 24 November 2026. tinyurl.com/5eucuxy5

tinyurl.com

Understanding Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Introduction for the Humanities and Social Sciences

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Oh FFS...know your enemy. Targeting the machines as the problem--like the luddites of the 19th century--does little or nothing to effectively challenge the fundamental social, political, and economic disparities that organize contemporary life. Think outside the technological determinist box.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I saw some publicity about it, but I have not yet checked it out. Thanks for the recommendation; I'll definitely be giving it a look.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Like all binary oppositions, the current debate between #AI enthusiasts and anti #AI opponents fails to critically question what both sides tacitly endorse and agree upon. The problem is not the #AI or even the Data Centers. The problem is the asymmetries of power under late-stage capitalism.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I am not as concerned about @microsoft.com's "Humanist #AI" not entertaining #AI consciousness as I am with how this anthropocentric framing marginalizes other conscious entities (like animals) and the non-human world of things (natural and otherwise). microsoft.ai/code-of-cond...

microsoft.ai

Humanist AI Code of Conduct | Microsoft AI

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I recently had the opportunity to discuss my research and publications in #AI personhood, #robot rights, and technology #law and #ethics with Mykyta Zhukov. Published version of our conversation is now available from the Tenderium blog. tenderium.net/blog/when-ai...

tenderium.net

When AI Answers Back: A Conversation with David J. Gunkel on Personhood, Programming and Robot Rights | Tenderium

A Tenderium conversation on anthropomorphism, free will, artificial identity, self-replication, ownership and the difficult line between a person and a thing

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It is, and it is already written. Just waiting for its public debut during the symposium.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Why are big tech CEOs and billionaires so interested in and convinced of the #AI apocalypse? Because, as Mark Fisher once wrote: "It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism." I call this (following Mary Shelley) The Last Man Complex.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I call this "The Last Man Complex." And I will be talking about it (and my essay that develops the concept) at the Curran Symposium on the topic of Mary Shelley’s "The Last Man" (1826) that will be taking place at @notredame.bsky.social 24-25 September 2026. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

theatlantic.com

The Thrill of Wanting AI to Destroy the World

An Anthropic researcher quit his job because he believes AI will destroy humanity. His story is going viral because so many others want to believe too.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Given that the term #Robot precedes that of #Artificial_Intelligence by 30+ years, I suggest we flip the script on this "Embodied #AI" moniker and begin referring to cloud distributed #AI applications as "Disembodied #Robots."

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Play that Gunky Music. In philosophy, it is inconvenient when one's surname does not lend itself to being turned into an adjective. And mine is definitely the poster-child as both "Gunkelian" and "Gunkelist" are just cumbersome. But the alternatives may be no better: "Gunkist" or "Gunky."

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Just got notification of the publication earlier this morning. From a cursory review of the abstract and intro, it definitely looks interesting. And I cannot wait to give it a proper read. Thank you....and congratulations on its publication.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

As well you should. It's always the logocentrism that is to blame.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🇯🇵 Future Human #AI Relations. The last official event at Hakkaido University. Sapporo, Japan. My thanks to Hayate Shimizu for organizing the event and providing the opportunity for four days of interesting and insightful conversations.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

"Understanding Artificial Intelligence" @politybooks.bsky.social will be out and available mid-September (UK/EU) and mid-November (North America/Global). The book is an #AI primer designed for use with undergraduates in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts. read.amazon.com/sample/15095...

read.amazon.com

Read a sample: “Understanding Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Introduction for the Humanities and Social Sciences (AI & Society)”

David J. Gunkel

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🇯🇵 Here I am at the bookstore of Hakkaido University proudly displaying the place where the Japanese translation of "Communicative #AI" @politybooks.bsky.social (co-authored with @coeckelbergh.bsky.social) had been before it sold out. You can clearly see the disappointment on my face.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

By "machine" do you mean my mouth?

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

"I begin with an act of plagiarism because the title to my talk today is not my own..." My presentation "Does Writing Have a Future?--Literary Theory for #LLMs" at "Rethinking Humanity in the Age of #AI" Hakkaido University. Sapporo 🇯🇵 - Photo by Masahiro Morioka

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

"What does it Matter Who is Speaking?" New radio op ed on @WNIJ-Northern Public Radio concerning the uncertainty of provenance for ALL written content in the wake of #LLM #AI. www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-perspec...

northernpublicradio.org

Perspective: What does it matter who is speaking?

David Gunkel tries a different way of thinking about AI-generated content.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🇯🇵 Today I will be presenting "Does Writing have a Future?--Literary Theory for #LLMs" as one of the keynotes at the conference Rethinking Humanity in the Age of AI. The presentation is based on the final chapter in the book "Communicative #AI" @politybooks.bsky.social @coeckelbergh.bsky.social

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

And based on your recommendation I also read it. But since I also read a lot of Derrida--we're talking 30 years of reading--and a lot of essays and books about Derrida, I was puzzled by a reading of Derrida that did not look like anything that I would have called Derrida. So I had questions.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If I remember correctly, it was you who started it.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Now I will definitely have to read it. I have worked with and written about "Plato's Pharmacy" on a number of occasions. In fact, I was fortunate enough to talk with Derrida about the essay during the Philosophy and Architecture conference that we held at DePaul University in the mid-1990's.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Actually that is what I have already wrote in the book. What was written here is arguably a result of that book now speaking through me.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I have not, but I am taking requests (as the band would say). And this one looks very promising. I will get a hold of a copy just as soon as I get on the ground. I'm currently in transit to Sapporo for a conference keynote with the title "Does Writing Have a Future?--Literary Theory for LLMs").

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

For myself, I'd say that Kitzinger is right with a caveat. #LLMs do not speak. And they do not write, if by "write" what is meant is that standard Aristotelian understanding of the term as the derived representation of what would have been said.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Thank god. Otherwise there would be no one to talk to about this stuff and (for the sake of my publisher) no one interested in buying books about Derrida and #LLMs.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Yes..All language is dependent on arche-writing.

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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It is possible that your (LG's) reading of Derrida might eventually produce something useful for our understanding of LLMs. But if getting there requires distorting Derrida to such an extent that others question it, maybe take a pass on speaking through Derrida and do it directly in your own voice.

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