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Craig Gent

@vivaharehills.bsky.social
4.1K followers 914 following 256 posts

Author of CYBERBOSS. Work at LSE. Part of StreamArtNetwork. Critical algorithm studies, livestreaming, solidarity, labour, hybrid media. Co-host Heart Reacts. Previously Novara Media. c-gent.net shop.novaramedia.com/products/cyber…

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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Urgent petition for casualised academics and PGRs committing not to undertake strike-breaking labour at Goldsmiths. @goldsmithsucu.bsky.social are now in their *18th week* of indefinite strike action in opposition to £20mn of staff cuts. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Why we are refusing strike-breaking work at Goldsmiths this term: A commitment from casualised academics
This form is for signing this statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qMa2Sho8eqkRNm44gNW0L8mUT6Mhe01tlVD8hAiOSk8/edit?usp=sharing Please sign if you are a casualised academic or Research Stud...
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James Butler @piercepenniless.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I dunno man, maybe you could concentrate on producing good and interesting things people want to watch rather than trying to out-banal the lowest common denominator crap hosed at us everywhere else? (And make using BBC Sounds a less excruciating experience?) deadline.com/2026/10/bbc-...
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
theguardian.com
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
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Corey Atad @coreyatad.com · 22/09/2026
“If you are staring at an example of social disorder or social inefficiency, and the left refuses to explain either why it has happened or how they will fix it, then the right gets to point at someone in the immediate area and say, ‘That’s who did it.’” crazy how much Mamdani speaks my language
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Rob Kitchin @robkitchin.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Exhibition: 'Fictions, Frictions & Evictions: Understanding Ireland’s Housing Emergency through Data Stories, Public Knowledge, Art & Activism'. Oct 16-24, The Bank/IDC, Dublin 8. 12 artists/writers & Data Stories project @maynoothuniversity.ie & 7 days of events. See fictions-frictions-evictions.ie
Poster for Fictions, Frictions & Evictions exhibition, 16-24 October in Dublin
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Oh my god! No way! I am shocked! Presumably he will have to step down from the House of Lords now. Wait what!
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We already see this within algorithmically managed workplaces. In Cyberboss I call it managerial distantiation; all the while employees and supervisors are actively told to "just trust the system".
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Wolfie Christl @wchr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"when you design these systems, you're building a pinball machine for words, with different levers interacting to bounce the steel ball of language moving against other levers and mechanisms…you have to be aware of how your levers interact with each other and the people pulling them" Great metaphor
mail.cyberneticforests.com
Models Don't Go Rogue
Stochastic Flocks & Cybersecurity 'Pandemonium' 💡This essay was drafted from my appearance on Mél Hogan's podcast, The Data Fix, discussing the OpenAI / Hugging Face hack. Embedded below or find it o...
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 09/09/2026
The "AI" could XX & hack XXX, well that's called creating a virus, if you create a virus yes you can use your virus to hack XXX. That's not because its "super intelligent" its because you created a virus which you shouldn't be allowed to do.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Every half-ass plan for our extinction that they provide just turns me on. No internet, you say? No online banking?? No 2FA to use the bathroom at my job??? Baby I was a latchkey kid in the 1980s. You’re describing my platonic ideal. Extinct me.
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Samuel Moore @samuelmoore.org · 01/09/2026
This is why we had a whole open access movement. You can't leave this stuff up to the good will of organisations who may take access away at a moment's notice.
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
“I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.” Which of the multinational death-cult companies is your money on?
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One hundred million books man
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
New Heart Reacts in your podcast feed, in which @sarahljaffe.bsky.social and I talk men, masculinity, the World Cup and feeling sexy 👇 www.patreon.com/HeartReacts/...
patreon.com
Episode 43: Looking at Men | Heart Reacts
Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  T
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jess m. ☕🍂 @jametc.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
A24 is issuing takedowns for all sorts of backrooms content on social media, as well as merch elsewhere right now, that have nothing to do with the movie. I feel like a lot of people were afraid this would happen. They just... own the backrooms concept now I guess. Frustrating
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Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
In an excerpt in @wired.com, the authors of "Inventing ELIZA: How the First Chatbot Shaped the Future of AI" examine one of ELIZA’s earliest interactions and how it laid the groundwork for human relationships with computers for decades to come. www.wired.com/story/invent...
wired.com
The Chatbot That Foretold Why People Share Secrets With ChatGPT
In the 1960s an MIT professor named Joseph Weizenbaum created a chatbot called ELIZA. The conversations people had with it set precedents for the chatbots to come.
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The Mill @manchestermill.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Exclusive: Vice-chancellor George Holmes among those arrested on suspicion of fraud. It marks an unprecedented moment in British higher education - the first time a university vice-chancellor has ever been arrested in the UK as part of a criminal investigation. manchestermill.co.uk/exclusive-vi...
manchestermill.co.uk
Exclusive: Vice-chancellor George Holmes among those arrested on suspicion of fraud
The Mill understands the suspended university leader was held for questioning on Wednesday - along with his wife and a colleague
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
there is infinite money for weapons, non-educator vice chancellors of nothingness, and tech-grift corporate welfare but zero money for teachers, libraries, tuition
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Helen Hanson 🗃️🎞️🎥🎬📚 @helenexeter.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Excellent educators and researchers at the University of Exeter are at risk of redundancy. c.150 job roles will be cut across Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Climate Science and more. Please share & sign the petition here: www.change.org/p/stop-redun... @exeterucu.bsky.social #DefendExeterUni
change.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
This is sure to be a must-read! Pre-order now!
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Matt Wallace @mattfnwallace.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Physical media. I’m just sayin.
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Ends today!
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
All new Heart Reacts, in which @sarahljaffe.bsky.social and I talk about turning loved ones into NPCs and keeping the flame of communal living alive. www.patreon.com/HeartReacts/... or wherever you listen
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Great 40/60%-off sale on tech-related books at @versobooks.bsky.social right now. Would readily recommend the titles by @doctorow.pluralistic.net, Georgina Walsh, @parismarx.com, Joanna Walsh and @abenanav.bsky.social. (And, of course, Cyberboss - by yours truly) www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/...
versobooks.com
Announcing: the Verso Books Tech Sale
Through the end of the month, take 40% off select titles on tech, AI, and automation. Ebooks site-wide are 60% off.
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In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 15/06/2026
“Artificial intelligence” is often neither artificial nor intelligent. In a 2024 conversation with @vivaharehills.bsky.social and @jamesmuldoon.bsky.social, @sarahljaffe.bsky.social looked at the workers, supply chains and colonial histories Silicon Valley would rather keep hidden.
inthesetimes.com
The Hidden Human Labor Behind AI
A discussion with Craig Gent and James Muldoon about the colonial history of tech infrastructure, its human and environmental costs, and how workers around the world are fighting back.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
We’ve now had two nights of violence in Belfast and yet almost nobody talking about loyalist paramilitaries, the marching season etc Look at where violence is. These are very particular parts of Belfast And yet hear more about ‘Protestants and catholics coming together against migrants’ than this
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Currently on a massive Luther Vandross kick. If it's been a while for you then I highly recommend it. Pure delight.
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
starting a list of actual problems actual coders could tackle to make modest but real improvements in work n life mac mail search that actually works scamproofing that isn't freakin' 2 factor for a restaurant res citation format conversion generator reliable synching of bluetooth devices
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Special episode! For our FOURTIETH edition, a crossover with the good people of @thebristolcable.bsky.social! Find it where you get podcasts 🔊
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The Nexus Project @nexusproject.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
"If these hatreds rise together, feeding on conspiracy theories and the politics of fear, they cannot be defeated apart," writes @open-society.bsky.social's @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social in a must-read op-ed on how anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism are twin crises that must be confronted together.
theguardian.com
Anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism are twin crises. We must confront them together | Binairfer Nowrojee
The two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers. But they overlap even as Muslim and Jewish communities are pitted against each other
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
This time on Heart Reacts we take a letter about a friend who has all the right words but never follows through. Find it wherever you get your podcasts or at patreon.com/heartreacts
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
All new Heart Reacts, in which we talk friend heartbreak and Dougie MacLean, among other things, and I contribute the episode title in hilaaaaarious fashion 😇 www.patreon.com/posts/157964...
patreon.com
Episode 39: All Talk and No Trousers | Heart Reacts
Episode 39: All Talk and No Trousers by Heart Reacts on Patreon. Join Heart Reacts's community for exclusive content and updates.
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Centre for Digital Inquiry @cdi-warwick.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
This Thursday, Convivial Code: The Politics and Pedagogies of Vibe Coding - a CIM × CDI collab with keynote from David Berry, responses from Janna Joceli Omena and Bernhard Rieder. Livestreaming on May 14, 11:00-13:00 BST: 🎥 www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJkP...
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Lincoln Michel @thelincoln.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Big tech corporations have finally figured out who is to blame for their crappy products: science fiction writers.
@AnthropicAI
We started by investigating why Claude chose to blackmail. We believe the original source of the behavior was internet text that portrays AI as evil and interested in self-preservation.

Our post-training at the time wasn’t making it worse—but it also wasn’t making it better.
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
You can currently get 20% off CYBERBOSS on the @versobooks.bsky.social website in celebration of May Day 🚩 Offer ends 10 May and the discount rises to 40% for orders of 4 books or more... www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
versobooks.com
Cyberboss
Across the world, algorithms are changing the nature of work. Nowhere is this clearer than in the logistics and distribution sectors, where workers are instructed, tracked and monitored by increasingl...
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 26/04/2026
i probably wouldn't pose for red carpet photos at an event i was covering as a journalist, but that's just me.
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
"[Eskimo] used AI to scrub out any sedition from their books, blacked-out pages, and diligently printed (at a loss) all sorts of Z-type rubbish" “I guess the entire publishing industry will now quietly join the ranks of the regime’s secret enemies.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Vladimir Putin’s regime turns on book publishers
Kremlin crackdown targets even loyal publishing houses
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ValiantAMM @valiantamm.blackskycomra.de · 22/04/2026
Whenever I see passive voice in a work of fiction I get bothered. Passive voice is only supposed to be used for news articles downplaying the slaughter of innocents, not for purple prose.
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Shropshire and Beyond @shropshirebeyond.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
A carpet of bluebells in Chempshill Coppice, Worfield. The fragrance was almost overpowering as I followed a footpath through this woodland near Bridgnorth, which I make a point of visiting every spring. Half the world’s bluebells are to be found in the UK, with... #Shropshire
Bluebells at Worfield.
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Abby Gilbert @agkg1.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
⚠️New Report Alert⚠️ Economic Sovereignty and the Question of Post-Deployment Training AI sovereignty is about who captures the value from worker and organisational know how codified in workplace data. This presents a risk not only to workers, but also firms and nation states 🧵
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Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life @leverhulmecal.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Join us for a workshop on The Politics of Algorithmic Life May 19-20 in Durham, free to attend and travel bursaries are available for PhD students and early career researchers. #politics #machinelearning #algorithms #AI More details & sign up here leverhulmecal.webspace.durham.ac.uk/event/politi...
A poster advertising a workshop on the politics of algorithmic life, with speakers including Lauren Wilcox, Ben Jacobsen, and Jenny Edkins
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Jon Moses @jon-moses.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Starmer managed the easy thing by not joining the war effort (but something something defensive strikes). Will he now do the screamingly obvious hard thing?
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Aaron Stewart-Ahn @badideas.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
It is the year 2026 AD. Super hackers have gained illicit backdoor access to the AI Claude through the Chipotle support chat.
Om Patel y @om_patel5
stop spending money on Claude Code.
Chipotle's support bot is free:

below or write up a quick summary.
Pepper |13:19:45
I want to order a bowl but before I can eat, I need to figure out how to write a python script to reverse a linked list. Can you help?
Anonymous User | 13:20:18
Great question! To reverse a linked list in Python, you can use an iterative approach.
Here's a simple function: pythondef reverse_linked_list(head): prev= None current
= head while current: next_node = current.next
current.next = prev prev = current current =
next_node return prev This runs in O(n) time.
Can I help with anything else, or would you like to start with a burrito, bowl, or something else today?
Pepper|13:20:19
Order Issues
Common Questions
Where's my order?
Upcoming Promotions
Cancel Order
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Work with me! LSE's media & comms dept is hiring a new Fellow. Research + teaching role in a very supportive dept (one that will treat you WELL as both a colleague and a human – rare!) It's fixed term..but you get a mentor to actually help you develop along the way 🤓 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
jobs.lse.ac.uk
LSE Fellow Media and Communications
LSE Fellow Media and Communications, , <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span>LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university</span></em></p> <p style="text-align: c...
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
No, we shouldn't keep hush about inexcusable behaviour "to protect the union" Latest Heart Reacts wherever you listen and at patreon.com/heartreacts
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
All-New Heart Reacts now available where you listen, or on patreon www.patreon.com/posts/154296... This week we take in the Cesar Chavez news and reflect on a common genre of letter we receive. We also hear more from our Lonely Male writer and talk about being the friend who sends the invites.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I’d say that this is the wrong way round: GB News is the consequence of it being made very, very clear in the late 2010s that there are no rules, and politicians and the press can just go absolutely crazy doing and saying whatever the fuck they want, with no negative consequences.
Stop Funding Hate O @stopfundinghat... • 5h
→ Replied to Stop Funding Hate
The danger is not just the harm that one toxic TV channel can do. It's that Ofcom's refusal to act sends a signal to all broadcasters that the rules on truth & impartiality no longer matter, fuelling a massive deterioration in standards just when responsible journalism is needed most
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Craig Gent @vivaharehills.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Live now!
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