iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 02/10/2026

Like, this simply isn't true! You don't find evidence of introspection, you see a machine generating output that you as a human inject meaning into.

“I will be honest: We keep finding things that are mysterious, even unsettling,” he said. “We find structures that mirror results from human neuroscience. We find evidence of introspection. We find internal states that functionally mirror joy, satisfaction, fear, grief and unease. I don’t know what that means, but I think it warrants ongoing discernment.”

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 15/09/2026

Her favorite place when I’m folding laundry

Winnie the Shih Tzu pokes her head out from under the bed

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 07/09/2026

We're talking about race in class tomorrow, which means I get to share my favorite* ever Benjamin Franklin quote. I don't know what catches my eyes more, the list of people Ben doesn't think are White or the fact that he doesn't want to "darken" America in the "eyes of inhabitants in Mars or Venus."

An excerpt from a letter written by Benjamin Franklin that reads:
"...the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased. And while we are, as I may call it, Scouring our Planet, by clearing America of Woods, and so making this Side of our Globe reflect a brighter Light to the Eyes of Inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the Sight of Superior Beings, darken its People? why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an Opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawneys, of increasing the lovely White and Red?”

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 04/09/2026

Now it's official official. Tenured!

"Dear Dr. Jackson,
I am pleased to confirm your continuing appointment to Associate Professor effective September 01, 2026 at the State University of New York at Albany."

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 17/08/2026

Book release dates are funny. I bought my copy yesterday at B&N.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 08/08/2026

TIL. I had no idea ASL had a different grammar from other forms of English!

AUTHOR'S NOTE
American Sign Language, regularly abbreviated as ASL, has its own grammar, which differs from that of either spoken or written English. For ease of reading, all ASL conversation in this book has been rendered as if it were SEE (Signing Exact English). This is an imperfect choice, but was necessary for the sake of textual consistency.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 18/07/2026

A couple weeks ago, I saw this. The sign is hard to read, but the top says “this kiosk is preserved for future generations.”

A picture of two classic London telephone booths

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 19/06/2026

Also, grunt style seems to not know what “100-proof” means.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 16/06/2026

The gall of this fucking man. To go up to someone you’ve just denied the humanity of, and ask if you can *pray* with them, in order to ask god to help them give up a core part of who they are, so they can become more like you?

When Hussein broke down crying, Scarborough said he realized he had pushed Hussein too hard. After insisting that Hussein should give up Sharia or leave the country,
"the pastoral side of me reached out to him in genuine care," he said, and he offered to pray with Hussein.
Scarborough said he has asked God and Hussein for forgiveness for not setting a good example of Judeo-Christian morality. He prayed that Mohamed would convert to Christianity.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 26/05/2026

Me when trying to figure out how to find all the possible misspellings of Hurricane Helene

The xkcd comic about regular expressions.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 04/05/2026

I don't know if I have many Albany-area followers, but in case y'all are out there: My department is hosting @queenofthinair.bsky.social this afternoon on campus (ETEC 149/151) to talk about obedience, professional responsibility, and authoritarianism. Join us!

A poster advertising a talk by Pauline Shanks Kaurin, entitled "On Obedience: Reflections on Community, Care and Authoritarianism." May 4 at the University at Albany.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 16/04/2026

This looks like a really cool special issue! New Media & Society: Contextual Complexities of Violence on Digital Platforms. journals.sagepub.com/toc/nmsa/28/4

A screenshot of the table of contents of the linked special issue from NM&S

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 12/02/2026

Gotta include this one too! (Don't have an original source for the image, but here's a video from the person talking about how she became a meme www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZIC...)

A picture of a woman in a white and pink party hat, standing in front of a mic. There is a slide behind her that reads "The greatest research skill you can have is being a nosy bitch who wants to find out"

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 01/02/2026

Signal setting: Screen lock, set to instant. Phone setting: Face ID access to Signal turned off.

A screenshot of the privacy window of Signal, showing the screen lock setting.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 29/01/2026

I mean, I use the example of genAI “enhancing” (but really just changing) a still of Charlie Kirk’s shooter as part of my argument to students that they shouldn’t use the tech for anything that matters! I know at least a bit about this stuff!! And yet…

A screenshot of a PowerPoint slide from one of my courses. The slide is entitled “Generative AI Lies to You.” The right side of the slide shows Kirk’s shooters mug shots. The left side is an “AI” “enhanced” still of the shooter from surveillance footage. The man in the mug shot looks nothing like the man in the AI image.

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Sam Jackson @sjacks26.myatproto.social · 12/01/2026

The world is a dumpster fire, so enjoy a picture of Winnie blending in with her bed.

Winnie, a white fluffy shih tzu, sleeps in a white fluffy bed. She almost blends into the bed.

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