iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Robyn Caplan

Livia Garofalo @livgar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

After two years of work, the AI factory is out! We spent months in Pennsylvania understanding how the "AI race " is landing on communities and how they are fighting back.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There is something very “what if the company behind Kool-Aid funded Heaven’s Gate” about the current AI doomsday discourse.

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DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy @duke-dwc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

New book: De Gruyter Handbook of Technology, Media, & Democracy Co-edited by DWC faculty @pmnapoli.bsky.social, @robyncaplan.bsky.social & Ken Rogerson About the @degruyterbrill.bsky.social Handbook: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi…

The cover of 'De Gruyter Handbook of Technology, Media, and Democracy' and portraits of co-editors: Philip Napoli, Robyn Caplan, and Ken Rogerson.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

It's baby's first edited volume! Check out the now-published Handbook of Technology, Media, and Democracy, edited by Philip Napoli, me, and Ken Rogerson. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Today I randomly won a $500 gift card for being a WUNC sustaining member. I've never won anything before and I definitely thought this might be a scam but it was not.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

This post is going to make me sound high (I'm not), but if the "computer" was once just a metaphor for the mind, and then sometimes hardened into an ontological claim, are we now just seeing the reverse? i.e. the "mind" as a metaphor for AI that's being taken too literally?

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Flummoxed as to why our #AoIR2026 round table proposal on age verification legislation was rejected even though all of our reviews strongly recommended acceptance. Anyone else in this boat?

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Made it through third-year review, so I'll be on my junior sabbatical next fall. Can folks recommend writing workshops/retreats they have enjoyed? I've applied to a few, but I'm looking for more.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

In a very strange twist, TMZ (at least on TikTok) is now a news channel.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

I don’t care what you think about the companies themselves, but that K.G.M. vs Meta decision is a bad one and it will have very bad consequences regardless of appeals.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

My kid just asked me what the “you” and “tube” meant (respectively) in “YouTube.” I have literally prepared my whole life for this moment.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

SOS: Desperately need a photo of someone with a conference lanyard for a talk I'm giving (I am not someone who keeps lanyards, and I am deeply regretting that in this moment).

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Why do people go on threads? Every time I click on a post on my insta feed out of morbid curiosity, it seems to be entirely populated by rage bots or people acting like rage bots (often in response to those rage bots).

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Happy “am I getting sick or is it allergies” season to all who celebrate.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The amount of times I have navigated away from the #AOIR2026 CFP only to have to re-google it to look at the guidelines today has been bananas. Why is this the one tab in my life I insist on closing?

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The best part of paper writing is listening to a podcast while you do the works cited.

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

the actual story of what happened at the National Endowment for the Humanities last year is even more infuriating than we thought

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

It does not matter how many times I have done this in my career, I will *always* feel like a weirdo sending out interview requests.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Is there anything more overwhelming than reaching out to research participants you interviewed several years prior

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Wild to be told that nothing can be done about the pedophilic cabal running our institutions because it's "too big to fail/jail."

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Oh wow, yikes, but Karla Hamolka (obviously predated me by many many years). #infamous

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

How are there so many podcasts now but also still somehow not enough podcasts?

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

My students this year are so aware of their lack of privacy that almost none of them have social media accounts, none of them are out protesting, and they all seem hypervigilant in class. Their concerns aren't unfounded, but damn, this is the most scared I have been about the future in a long time.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

We are mourning the loss of a brilliant scholar and a wonderful partner and friend. Please give what you can to help Fobazi’s wife, @elenamaris.bsky.social with medical and other bills following Fobazi’s passing. Please share the go fund me link with your community as well: gofund.me/4092df86f

gofund.me

Donate to Honoring the life of Fobazi Ettarh: Funeral & other costs, organized by Ysabel Gerrard

NEW UPDATE Dear readers, This isn’t the update I was … Ysabel Gerrard needs your support for Honoring the life of Fobazi Ettarh: Funeral & other costs

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Reposted by Robyn Caplan

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

“I do not think that 50 year old men should be having sex with 16 year old girls. But “

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Truly embarrassing how many times I’ve listened to the Grammy version of Yukon at this point. And it’s only on YouTube so I am just driving around blasting YouTube on my phone.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I'm really mourning the loss of a place on the internet where I can both say earnest things and incredibly stupid things.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Quinoa was to the 2010s what sundried tomatoes were to the 1990s.

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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

People are going to have to drag the democrats to the right place on immigration and ICE just like they had to drag them to the right place on opposing the Iraq war and impeaching Trump. It’s fucking exhausting to have a party that refuses to do the right thing right away,

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

I feel like Gawker was taken down by Thiel because it was the only site that would have properly exposed the insanity of everything, and with the wry wit to make traditional media too intimidated (in the way they could) to not cover it. But perhaps this is my version of romanticizing of the past...

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jess reia • 何杰茜 @jhereia.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Join us for the 7th event in our Gender & Tech Online Talk Series "Dis/Misinformation & Political Extremism” on Jan 27 at 11am EST, with the amazing @pinheiromachado.bsky.social + @robyncaplan.bsky.social. Free & open to all: dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/gender.... See you there @yasmincurzi.com

This is a horizontal poster for the Gender & Tech Online Talk series in a combination of white, dark blue and teal. The topic is "Dis/Misinformation and Political Extremism,” the speakers are Rosana Pinheiro-Machado (University College Dublin) and Robyn Caplan (Duke University), and the moderation will be done by Jess Reia. Date and time: January 27, 11am EST.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

After a fairly light year of review requests, I have somehow received about 8 of them in the last month (in some cases, multiple requests for the same journal). What is happening here...

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I can’t tell if I need a good cry, a stiff drink, an entire day at a spa, or like a week-long phone/computer detox.

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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/12/2025

Even UNICEF is like "yo, Australia, this social media ban for kids is a terrible fucking idea." www.unicef.org/press-releas...

“Social media is not a luxury – for many children, especially those who are isolated or marginalised, it is a lifeline providing access to learning, connection, play, and self-expression. What’s more, many children and young people will still access social media, whether through workarounds, shared devices, or turning to less regulated platforms, ultimately making it harder to protect them.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I may be getting older, but at least I get to (quietly, just to myself) say "Enhance. Enhance!" as I repeatedly zoom in to grade my students' assignments.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

YouTube algorithm is now basically "you know that video we recommended to you 100 times that you didn't want to watch? Want to watch it now? Or how about this video that was uploaded *5 years ago.*"

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Moritz Schramm @schrammmo.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Anyone interested in platform & AI governance check out the third annual PlatGov conference Mon/Tue - all online, free & truly global 🌍🌎🌏⌨️💽🤓 Here’s the program: platgov.net/assets/site/...

platgov.net

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Every “new” media scholar becomes a media historian (yesterday I found out my students were all born between 2005-2007…).

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Duke Sanford @dukesanford.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

🎙️From deepfakes to the growing importance of social media verification, @robyncaplan.bsky.social talks to @agpines.bsky.social about the role of #AI today. This episode of Duke Sanford's Policy 360 podcast can be found on Apple, Spotify & Amazon.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Glad that this says this is an official website of the United States government because it would be very hard to tell otherwise.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Podcast idea: a podcast where the hosts interview other podcast hosts about their podcasts.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Am I depressed or is it just raining

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Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Featuring D&S research affiliate @robyncaplan.bsky.social! bsky.app/profile/duke...

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Duke Sanford @dukesanford.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Will AI prompt a new golden era? On Policy 360 Podcast, @robyncaplan.bsky.social explores deepfakes to the growing importance of social media verification w/ @agpines.bsky.social. @duke-dewitt.bsky.social @datasociety.bsky.social @dukescisoc.bsky.social #EduSkyAI sanford.duke.edu/story/will-a...

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 26/09/2025

With TikTok’s potential sale to a group of Donald Trump allies, “we should be far less worried about what foreign governments could do with our social-media information than about how our own government might abuse it,” David Karpf argues.

bit.ly

The MAGA Media Takeover

Trump and his powerful friends are creating a dangerous moment for free speech.

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Robyn Caplan @robyncaplan.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

My favorite new tiktok trend is the "alt-left pipeline" where swoll white dudes talk about how abortion is healthcare, backing black liberation, and translating anti-imperialism into gym-bro speak.

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