author, The Social Photo (Verso) former: Real Life magazine, Theorizing the Web conference, Snap. currently: have no idea los angeleshttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mguq4im3nc2oalways skeptical of AI apologism that rests on "people want," "humans are inherently" essentialism. as rob notes, the creation of those desires is the whole point here [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Mar 2026 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mguq4im3nc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mfkfum3l6c2eAI slop and nostalgia go so well together because nostalgia itself is the desire to misconstrue the past by smoothing its messy lived reality away into conceptual ideals. nostalgia and AI work in similar ways [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Feb 2026 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfkfum3l6c2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mf3pleb7mk2timproved framing, takes into account the enduring truth-telling function of cameras and is not just the too-easy panic over some linear descent into fakery https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/us/politics/minneapolis-videos-killings-artificial-intelligence.html [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Feb 2026 23:25 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf3pleb7mk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mejmt5jiwc26there’s a new edition of The Social Photo (Verso) and i wrote a little preface for it10 Feb 2026 18:48 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mejmt5jiwc26https://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mdyfbvdjik23modernity is the doom loop of having to describe the same thing with ever new terms03 Feb 2026 22:17 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdyfbvdjik23https://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mci7756gp22lBauman never misses15 Jan 2026 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mci7756gp22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3mcd2nzy6pc2e [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Jan 2026 17:16 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcd2nzy6pc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3maguthfwjk2iall i want to do is read old social theory and apply it to new stuff but i dont want to start a substack. help lol20 Dec 2025 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3maguthfwjk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3magt3ltwns2ibest place to start for defining "slop" is Weberian theory. one key aspect there, and for slop, is understanding the link between rationalization and irrationality ie "slop" is often used to describe both that which is "fully optimized" *and* chaotic purposeless hallucinations20 Dec 2025 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3magt3ltwns2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3ma7f6yg3mk27yes - better than trying to arbitrate what has "soul" or not is to critique that which is centrally conceived and controlled, made primarily to be efficient and profitable, AI or not [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Dec 2025 19:24 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma7f6yg3mk27https://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m76ji27z3s2di mean, "a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion" is pretty much the underlying philosophy of metrics based gamified social media, from twitter to instagram to this place [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Dec 2025 17:42 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m76ji27z3s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m5tw2ghvc22pfeels like the right question! why should people think something that was previously inhuman slop now being slop thats even less human is especially noteworthy? [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Nov 2025 19:03 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5tw2ghvc22phttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m4glc26tdc2ghate social media platforms pitching themselves as real an authentic more than any of the fakery happening elsewhere30 Oct 2025 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4glc26tdc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m4gkhxwut22g"smart" podcasts as a form leverage the feeling of thought and sociality to get people to consume content that, if written, would seem remedial or downright dumb https://thebaffler.com/outbursts/the-hatred-of-podcasting-belden30 Oct 2025 18:06 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4gkhxwut22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m3sreb33ps2d"people no longer have a choice but to assume that everything is false" they keep saying this but thats just obviously not what is happening. again, better Q: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of images? (fromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/ai-sora-slop.html) [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Oct 2025 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3sreb33ps2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m3sqb6xhrk2di dont think real vs fake is whats at stake here (the political valence of AI is). none of these examples are pitching the AI imagery as real. "fake imagery" is a weird term for this slop bc wouldnt that also encompass most art and memes etc?22 Oct 2025 20:56 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3sqb6xhrk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m3cuivdt6k2dhttps://robhorning.substack.com/p/there-are-too-many-waterfalls-here16 Oct 2025 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3cuivdt6k2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m2ujbtlhpc2dread this same take every month for years even though there's a constant stream of newsy widely-believed video happening all around us the better question is: what accounts for the enduring truth-telling function of cameras in an age where believable fakes are easy to generate?10 Oct 2025 20:32 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2ujbtlhpc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nathanjurgenson.com/post/3m2riiiem7k25https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-uses-of-the-past/articles/nostalgia-and-its-discontents [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Oct 2025 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:bdedyoefdrczpepygm4elwlc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2riiiem7k25