Political Sociologist, studying discursive dynamics and democratic lawmaking. Program Chair MetaCRiSP 2026 (IEEE S&P) Website: https://hendrik-erz.de I develop @zettlr.com, a free academic writing app.https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.dehttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mvui5ulmmc2v+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ No, AI is never going to kill us all, and we really need to get our act together as a society not to fall for some random thoughts of a tech bro from Silicon Valley. https://hendrik-erz.de/post/no-ai-is-not-going-to-kill-us-all19 Sep 2026 10:32 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvui5ulmmc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mvtaeb33722aIf you're worried that AI may kill us all, then (a) no, it won't, and (b) this statement explains it (+ the linked literature): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauBYSQ1K_c18 Sep 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvtaeb33722ahttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mvpcsm7vwc2aI like how Microsoft's online services are so broken beyond salvation that it's impossible to log in on some days, and there's nothing you can do but remain locked out of your documents17 Sep 2026 09:13 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpcsm7vwc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mvmmexaur22hJust got approved for the beta of Siri AI, and … I must say: I'm blown away. Apple appears to be using LLMs exactly as they work best: Not by generating slop ex nihilo but by ingesting loads of data and putting the insight to good use.16 Sep 2026 07:26 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvmmexaur22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mvkaupccxs2nIt’s almost as if LLMs are good at reproducing existing patterns, but not at producing new patterns. It is as if LLMs are merely good as tools, not as the main developer. It almost seems like LLMs are not what Sam Altman or Dario Amodei claim they are. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Sep 2026 08:55 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvkaupccxs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mva32vopzc2k+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ Agentic AI is the new buzzword, but it also turns your favorite LLM into what I call stochastic malware. Read more on what stochastic malware is, and why I think you should avoid it unless you know what you’re doing. https://hendrik-erz.de/post/stochastic-malware-when-your-llm-randomly-decides-to-steal-your-data11 Sep 2026 07:44 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mva32vopzc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mv44dcce7s27Duo?! They called it DUO? Apple, do you have any idea how many people have a trauma from the green owl?!09 Sep 2026 17:56 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv44dcce7s27https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mv3kraa4uk2jThe best investment of the year was really to buy those overpriced hard drives to reinstate my old music library. I have already spent so many hours browsing old labels and new artists on Bandcamp, and, who would've guessed: I spent more money to artists than I would ever give to Spotify.09 Sep 2026 12:42 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3kraa4uk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mux4j7ehlc2fCurrently en route to replaying the Mass Effect trilogy for the third time, and I just realized that the reapers are essentially just a 30 million year old paper clip machine.07 Sep 2026 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mux4j7ehlc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3muezxphvrc2kI wrote a dense summary of my PhD thesis for @emppolitikwiss.bsky.social! Read it here: https://www.politik-wissenschaft.org/2026/08/31/a-political-sociology-of-parliamentary-politics/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]31 Aug 2026 13:43 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3muezxphvrc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3muadvlve7c23I love how VS Code is so broken on Linux that when you tell it to auto-detect light/dark themes, it just doesn’t do it and you have to manually adjust the theme every morning and evening. (All other apps I have do it properly.)29 Aug 2026 16:57 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3muadvlve7c23https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mtntohlvm222+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ Recently, a new EU regulation went into force that requires AI watermarking. I see many arguments pro and con online, but feel like they don’t quite get LLMs right. Here’s my counter argument: https://hendrik-erz.de/post/on-ai-text-watermarking22 Aug 2026 08:19 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtntohlvm222https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mtgfx5g6xs2nBREAKING: The AI fear has reached the PolSci departments19 Aug 2026 09:24 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtgfx5g6xs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mtdph2lghc27Modern problems require stupid solutions. It’s kind of amazing: as a society, we have learned the hard way to secure our computers, and now a bunch of tech evangelists demands we just yolo it. This article essentially describes malware behavior. https://jadjoubran.io/blog/prevent-antigravity-env18 Aug 2026 07:36 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdph2lghc27https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mtbmyolplc2eEUSN 2026 is over! It was an amazing event, and it was so nice to see so many of the people I hold dearly. Until next time!17 Aug 2026 11:47 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbmyolplc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3msxchhshos2eI wonder how long it’ll take until NPM is declared a national security risk 🙄13 Aug 2026 09:12 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3msxchhshos2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mss5cjfwc22zConference time! #EUSN202611 Aug 2026 07:57 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mss5cjfwc22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3msokjfuzq22yWe’re in the bus and it’s amazing, because nobody knows nothing about what the plan is because nothing looks even remotely like a plan. From an organizational sociology perspective, it’s a fascinating case study of spontaneous organization [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Aug 2026 21:42 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3msokjfuzq22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3msoezz55lc25Riding with SJ (the Swedish rail company) tonight: The train is more than two hours late, and then it’s not even a train, but a bus, while the actual train still goes, but without my carriage and in Malmö we allegedly can board that same train, that — again — still goes?!?!09 Aug 2026 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3msoezz55lc25https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mso6nzijxk2qThis right here. If you expect me to read a paper for a day, and give good comments, I expect you to do the same in writing. If you let a machine write your entire thing, you can also let a machine read it. It’s a simple matter of respect for the mental work reviewers put into papers. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Aug 2026 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mso6nzijxk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3msickmkh6s2q+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ It's 2026, so you should switch to Linux. (Especially if you're an academic. Our software already works there.) https://www.hendrik-erz.de/post/the-year-of-the-linux-desktop07 Aug 2026 10:04 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3msickmkh6s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mrwmk3nh2s2d+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ Entitlement and Culture in Open Source Projects, amplified by LLMs. https://www.hendrik-erz.de/post/entitlement-and-culture31 Jul 2026 09:15 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwmk3nh2s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mrufgndhls2dWhat studying U.S. Congress for six years does to your political stance.30 Jul 2026 12:02 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrufgndhls2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mrsre6bz2s2vAn accurate depiction of the pain of every text analysis scholar. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jul 2026 20:30 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrsre6bz2s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mrg3vgkuts2b+++ NEW ARTICLE +++ Your weekend read is here: I illuminate the relationship between code and data and explain what LLMs are made of. Also, of course, some tips for social scientists and our R code! https://hendrik-erz.de/post/llms-and-the-blurry-distinction-between-code-and-data24 Jul 2026 19:34 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrg3vgkuts2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mr45fzuu6k2qThe fact that the currently most unhinged take on the improvements in Chinese LLMs comes both from the biggest racketeering company and, more specifically, an important Heritage Foundation fellow, tells you everything you need to know that OpenAI is scared sh**less. Which is good.20 Jul 2026 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr45fzuu6k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mqzsb7kdr222Oh sure, because the politics academia subordinates itself to is wokeness. Famously the most anti-scientific politics of them all. Jesus Christ, why are people so incredibly tasteless? [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Jul 2026 22:10 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzsb7kdr222https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mqzr7imxb222I agree that peer review has its issues, but this take is just insane. “Experts point to good ones” is not how science works. The solution to AI is not to throw one’s hands up in the air and give up, but by enforcing ethical standards. Defeat is not an option. [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Jul 2026 21:51 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzr7imxb222https://bsky.app/profile/hendrik-erz.de/post/3mqywjiq6pc2yDark times are upon us. I just received a bunch of perfectly valid and useful PRs for Zettlr from what I could gather, but the descriptions don't follow the template, and reek of LLM-speak. I really don't want to close them prematurely, but I really also don't want to talk to an LLM.19 Jul 2026 13:53 +0000at://did:plc:kpxids2fr2j757z4lnvzn2vc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqywjiq6pc2y