iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Some charcoal pencil experiments

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Seeking the walker. Coloured pencils on kraft paper. Reference was a piece by sparth on Artstation.

Sketch of a human figure crossing a pond or pool on a raft. On the other side are hills and greenery. Beyond them, a giant god the colour of air.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Dark clouds towards meadows. Coloured pencils on kraft paper.

Sketch of dark clouds on the horizon, seen from a green-yellow meadow with tall grass.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Meeting by the edge of the forest. Coloured pencils on kraft paper.

Drawing of a person in a red hood walking towards the edge of a forst with massive trees where a shadow waits. Rough drawing, made with coloured pencils on kraft paper.

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Jim Musil Painter @jimmusilpainter.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

My painting SUMMER STORM

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Drew this on brown cardboard.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Faded distances. Made by copying something by an artist called Andreas Rocha on Artstation.

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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Meanwhile, the Chronicle has decided to interview Dr Kustov, who repeats his claim that AI agents do "qualitative social science research better than most professors globally" Imagine having tenure and stability, and choosing to shit on his colleagues in a time of great instability for academia.

In our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we spoke about AI becoming as divisive as DEI, the prevalence of scholarly slop, and how Bluesky poisons academic discourse.

Evan Goldstein: You’ve described the Substack series as “intentionally provocative.” What — or who — were you trying to provoke?

Alexander Kustov: I started using Claude Code and other agentic tools, and I was impressed with the possibilities and functionalities. Yet I still hear a lot of negativity about AI from colleagues who haven’t used those tools. The vast majority of folks in academia still think AI is that chatbot interface from a couple of years ago that hallucinates and cannot really do anything. But that’s not what I saw on my computer.

I’d written short items about AI, so I thought to try to see whether Claude could assemble that and create a coherent, substantive post. It did a pretty good job. I just posted it. Then I realized it was a big thing.

Kustov: If we look at the best agentic models right now, they can do most quantitative social-science research tasks better than most professors globally. All of the kind of caveats here are important. What made a lot of people upset about this statement is that they interpret it in a very America-centric way. People were thinking about their colleagues at Oxford and R1 research universities. But I was born in Soviet Russia and went to undergrad in Europe. I have seen a lot of human slop. It should not be a controversial statement to say that agentic tools can do better.

The value of qualitative research is going up because that’s something that AI cannot do well — ethnography and actually interviewing people in person, especially in hard-to-reach places. If you are gathering new data that is not yet publicly available, that’s the highest value that you can have as a professor and as a researcher.

But I just came from an International Studies Association conference. I saw so much poor research that, if anything, I’m more convinced that my original point is correct. Too many people with Ph.D.s, with tenure, are producing work that is not contributing to human knowledge.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Grey ghost. Pencil on pencil action. Or maybe pencil on pencil crime.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

When you start drawing in your forties.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

AI bros stole her music and her voice from her YouTube channel, fed it to a model to generate AI music, and then got her youtube channel demonetised for using "their" music apparently. "AI is going to create opportunities" apparently. Opportunities for scammers and thieves.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Millions of American voters wanted to be villains. They came to believe it’s the key to success, while goodness is weak, woke, loser stuff, done only to signal. Offered the option of unvarnished villainy, they enthusiastically took it. Seeing others suffer more made them feel big. And here we are.

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Pat @pizzasuplex.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

How many thousands of people are gonna get charged $70 a month because they didn't read to the third paragraph of this fucking email

Dear Patrick,

At Adobe, our mission is to support your creativity. Over the last few years, we’ve added a lot of new technology, tools, and performance improvements that help you create more efficiently than ever in our core creative apps, like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro, explore new ideas with our Firefly generative AI technology, and exercise expanded creative control.

Aligned with those improvements and ongoing innovation, we’re enhancing the current Creative Cloud All Apps with a new name, price, and benefits.

Your Creative Cloud All Apps plan will be renamed Creative Cloud Pro and will include all your existing benefits, along with a wide range of new benefits explained below. This will happen at your upcoming renewal. Creative Cloud Pro will cost US$69.99/month (plus applicable taxes). Your subscription will automatically renew monthly on 05-May-2026 (PT) until you cancel. As always, you can manage or cancel your plan at any time via your Adobe Account or by contacting Customer Support.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

There is no difference between "aayega toh Modi hee" and "AI is inevitable". It's chest-thumping intended to demoralise. Don't fall for that shit.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

In fact, whatever damage AI companies have suffered till now has been on account of the massive backlash they have received from creative quarters. It is because of us that they moed from "AI will replace you" to "AI was only ever intended to help you." Creative backlash did that.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Whenever spmeone says this "AI users have to hide now" as if they're a persecuted minority, we all should just respond with glee and supervillain laughter. No. All authors don't use AI. That's just a lie AI hustlers tell you to make you think you are the odd one out. You're not.

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Laura Keating @lorekeating.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I keep seeing "all authors use AI, the real issue is they're being forced to be sneaky about it" headlines. Full stop No. This is a lie peddled for normalization. It's schoolyard-level pressure tactics "C'mon, all the cool kids are already doing it. We won't tell. It's fine. We're on your side."

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

When you have criminals in power, all you get as solutions are crimes.

A comic featuring two characters, presumably in the government. One keeps wondering how to solve the opposition he is facing due to his bad policies and the other keeps saying "maar denge fasaa denge", meaning we will hurt them and entrap them. Eventually they get to problems like climate change etc. and the other keeps saying "maar denge fasaa denge". When the primary says that can't be the answer to everything, he replies, "It has to. I don't know how to do anything else."

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The Doctor (Commissions open) @lucidillusions.in · 01/04/2026

The opening paragraph of “The Leviathan’s Mercy” that got published in @theberlinreview.bsky.social is perfect for today's #WIPSnips looking for “fool” If you've not read it yet, go give it a read today! theberlinliteraryreview.com/dr-suvajeet-... #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The Triton plunged even deeper into the Mariana Trench, a silver needle piercing the ocean's black heart. I pressed a hand against the cold view-port, the fortified glass a fragile barrier between our hubris and a crushing demise. Our team had spent years on this project, meticulously planning, designing, and testing to withstand these unimaginable pressures. Still, I couldn't shake the memory of those other fools from the SeaCrate incident — the sheer arrogance of men who had disregarded every safety measure and treated the deep as if it were a simple weekend adventure.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Why we must scream as we fight AI www.patreon.com/posts/154326...

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

A great assessment of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. A male pattern fantasy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x6L...

youtube.com

Project: Hail Mary is a pathetic fantasy

YouTube video by Science Fiction with Damien Walter

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Dynamics of the distraction machine.

A webcomic about a monkey-balancing centrist who keeps trying to minimising rising hate in society on every level until eventualy hate takes over and he reveals himself to be one of the supremacists.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

This appears to be a roguelike.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Centrism explained using a spoon.

A webcomic / infographic explaining how centrism that insists on remaining equidistant from both extremes ends up aiding the powerful side and is therefore pointless.

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Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Book club scams are now threatening authors who don't fall for their BS. In December, I received an email from Herry Sharp, so-called CEO of "Super Book Lover Curator" praising my novella We Who Hunt Alexanders. Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond. Now Herry is threatening me. 1/

Hi Jason,
I just came across We Who Hunt Alexanders, and I have to say it immediately grabbed me. Amelia’s story is gripping, dark, and layered with emotion. The way you explore a monster who feels happiness, sadness, fear, and love in a world that’s cruel and unforgiving makes this story compelling and unforgettable.
That’s exactly why I wanted to reach out.
I run a book review service through Super Lovers Book, connecting books with real readers who genuinely enjoy science fiction, dark fantasy, and emotionally rich stories. These readers don’t just leave stars they leave thoughtful, honest reviews that highlight what makes a story unique, powerful, and worth discovering.
Here’s why reviews are so important for We Who Hunt Alexanders:
Build Trust: Potential readers often decide whether to pick up a book based on reviews. Authentic feedback signals that your story is worth their time.
Increase Visibility: Platforms like Goodreads reward books with steady, genuine reviews, helping them appear in search results, recommendations, and “readers also enjoyed” lists.
Generate Momentum: Each review encourages more readers to pick up the book, engage with the story, and leave their own thoughts, creating a snowball effect of attention.
Reach the Right Audience: Reviews written by readers who love sci-fi and dark fantasy ensure your story reaches the readers most likely to appreciate and recommend it.
I truly believe We Who Hunt Alexanders deserves this kind of engagement. A few honest reviews now can amplify your book’s reach, help it gain visibility, and connect it with the readers who will love it most.
Would you be open to having We Who Hunt Alexanders read and reviewed by genuine readers who are passionate about sci-fi and dark fantasy?
No pressure at all I just wanted to reach out because your work deserves to be discovered by more readers.
Warmly,
Herry Sharp
CEO, Super Lovers Book

if you continue to ignore my messages, I might do something you would regret for the rest of your life. I already have access to your book, and instead of giving it a positive review, I will leave a negative one and damage its reputation. It seems you have forgotten that I have a community of readers, and I can easily influence them to bring your book down.

You can try me though.

CEO | Super Book Lover Curator
Helping brilliant books find their people, one honest review at a time.

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Reid Southen @rahll.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

AI filmmaking is completely unserious. You've got people with $30k begging the internet for ideas by next week because they have nothing of their own to say, it's just slop for the sake of slop. Embarrassing state of affairs.

Tweet from a loser that says, "I will have 30k to make a fully AI film, what’s the plan? I’m supposed to have ideas by next week. cmon guys what would you want to see? I like sci-fi but it feels to obvious for AI 🤷‍♂️"

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

He means "the Left needs to start accomodating greed and exploitation because they seem impossible to escape".

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Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

No, it's that it's an infoweapon built by evil billionaire oligarchs to disenfranchise labour, surveil, destroy art, poison all information on the internet, spread disinfo & propaganda, poison education, & make a pliant, uncritical population that accepts any content fed to them by the ruling class.

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Vijayendra Mohanty @vimoh.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Today I learned that some people have an internal monologue.

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Los Angeles Worldcon @laworldcon.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Hugo Awards! Emails are going out to eligible nominators (those who became a member of LAcon V by January 31, 2026, or were a member of the Seattle Worldcon 2025) about how to set up their LAcon V virtual convention account.

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Blaft Publications @blaft.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Kolkata!!! We have a very special event scheduled for next Saturday! 3 contributors to THE BLAFT BOOK OF ANTI-CASTE SF will be discussing their work, including Nebula- and Hugo-nominated, Locus-Award-winning author @mimimondal.bsky.social on a rare India visit! Head to Bahrisons on Feb 21, 5 PM!

Archita Mittra, Ipsa, & Mimi Mondal in conversation with Padmini Ray Murray on
THE BLAFT BOOK OF ANTI-CASTE SF
Bahrisons Booksellers Kolkata
Feb 21, 5 pm

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Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

This morning, I got one of those scam emails that are currently abundant in the writing community, where someone offers to "feature" your book at a book club for a fee. These messages always include an effuse essay about how great your book is, written by a LLM.

I am writing to you because your collection, Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories, is a masterclass in modern speculative fiction. The way you’ve humanized (and cat-ified) the birth of artificial intelligence through our search histories is not just clever, it’s a profound commentary on what it means to be seen and understood in the digital age. Your ability to balance "wit and intelligence" with genuine tenderness is a rare gift.

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WhatsLeftComics @whatsleftcomics.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

This account stuck my comic through an ugly AI filter, removed my @ from the bottom and blocked me when I called them out.

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Tade "Will Eat Your Heart in the Marketplace" Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

I'm an Oxford guy, but this might just make me switch allegiance to Merriam-Webster.

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