Julie Carpenter, PhD

Figure’s Terminator 2 reenactment turns corporate obsolescence into a story of willing sacrifice. Figure trained its humanoid robots to jump into a furnace, filmed their destruction, and sold replicas of their heads made from the recovered metal. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

I spoke with Andrew Karlsruher about my book "The Naked Android," the experience of feeling watched by a robot, and what the machines we build reveal about human expectations and cultural values. Gift link: storylayer.substack.com/p/would-i-ge...

I was gifted a few watermelon Jolly Ranchers and this taste is taking me back. Classic.

Character.AI’s bankruptcy brings uncertainty for its users. After two decades studying attachment to AI and robots, I take the prospect of loss seriously. In June, I wrote “Mourning Social AI is Not a User Error.” jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

Don't let Elon Musk shape culture and don't let J.K.R. shape culture by playing in their sandboxes. Find better sandboxes. Take your game elsewhere. Have some gd self-worth.

Just to note how stupid this system is...we just learned that 15 days ago, the Dept of Education awarded a brief contract to consulting firm Accenture to oversee sending emails to student debtors. It's a $350M contract. So it costs more to *service* the debt than to cancel it.

I spoke with Andrew Karlsruher about my book "The Naked Android," the experience of feeling watched by a robot, and what the machines we build reveal about human expectations and cultural values. Gift link: storylayer.substack.com/p/would-i-ge...

US policy is: if you’re smart, don’t come, and if you’re already here, leave.

I wrote about the Pelkey avatar being used in court as part of a larger discussion of grief, storytelling, family, ethics, and technology in "Your Settings Are Saved" (2025). jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

Former Alpha School students describe webcam monitoring that flags their looking away and labels their emotions. Their accounts raise concerns about the values Alpha embeds in AI and software systems to define what learning should look like. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

Former Alpha School students describe webcam monitoring that flags their looking away and labels their emotions. Their accounts raise concerns about the values Alpha embeds in AI and software systems to define what learning should look like. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

A former Alpha School student has described moving the mouse so the software would register "thinking." Reading that account as a learning scientist, I wanted to ask what children learn when they must produce the signs a system accepts as learning. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

A former Alpha School student has described moving the mouse so the software would register "thinking." Reading that account as a learning scientist, I wanted to ask what children learn when they must produce the signs a system accepts as learning. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

I’m also working on an essay about AS from a learning sciences angle, particularly how the school measures attention and treats those measures as evidence of learning or "waste." I’m looking forward to reading Seybold's piece tomorrow; the wider EdTech picture and AI angles are very relevant.

I’m here for any All That Jazz appreciation.

“Anti-patterns were like this AI system that decided whether or not you were doing good enough. It saw that your eyes were moving away from the screen, you’ll get flagged for those. You did not want to get an anti-pattern. It was creepy.”

A very dear cat mom friend of ours has really been going through it with one of her boys she rescued off the street. He’s been dealing with recurrent painful urination because of bladder stones. Despite medication & urinary diet, he needs them removed with surgery. www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-...

I’m sure this won’t complicate…..everything. Not now, brain. Brains.

He’s literally building a fortified bunker, now an arch that holds major weapons, and controls the military and nukes. He has zero plams to leave, people better wake tf up

I cannot smile on cue. The best I can do is a sincere wry expression. I have photographic evidence that I have inherited this trait because I have pics of at least two other generations of wry guys on dad's side. Resting wry face but, no that is our smile, actually.

This hello 👋👇

I need coffee to flow through my veins today. A caffeine infusion.

Voice AI doesn't just sound humanlike, it's built to feel present. From Q's gender-ambiguous human-based voice to today's conversational systems, I talk about the design choices behind that feeling. jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

For my blog this.weekinsecurity.com, I wrote about Apple's launch event this week announcing its upcoming "always-listening" features for Apple Watch, and the risks of normalizing surveillance tech. There's also a big catch: There is no clear way to opt-out of other people's use of these features.

I talked with Charles Hill Jr, LPC, about grief tech on Equilibria podcast: privacy for the dead and the grieving, and what an AI-curated persona of someone lost does to the grieving process. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXhO...

I talked with Charles Hill, LPC, of the Grief Center of Excellence, about grief tech: privacy for the dead and the grieving, and what an AI-curated persona of someone lost does to the grieving process. open.spotify.com/playlist/47A... youtu.be/bXhOM37kYEo

Twelve states now have "companion bot" laws aimed at reducing risks, particularly for minors. Danny Tobey, Ashley Carr, and Michael Atleson of DLA Piper analyze the substantive provisions and identify four overarching principles for AI providers. buff.ly/qturQKB

Synthetic socialness, human obsession with relationships with machines...'Rosie' the robot ' aka Roomba...in Spanish culture 'Maria' was often the nickname for families' dishwasher since 1970's remember 'Annanova' from Orange? Or corporate web design romanticising chatbots? ..humanity loss continues

A bit belated, but I have seen the clanker discourse rise up again. Here is something I wrote about the word as a power critique in "The Misdirection." jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

Putting this out to my Bluesky people: I'm looking for UXR work, contract or full-time—my focus is human behavior with AI systems, robots, AR/VR, or web-based. If a lead comes to mind, I'd welcome it. DMs open. 🧵

Soldiers were working with robots long before today’s humanoid boom. Dr. Julie Carpenter explains why bomb technicians became experienced robot users—and how their experiences help us understand human-robot bonds. 🎧 youtu.be/vEwyVBfrbs8 #Robotics

A bit belated, but I have seen the clanker discourse rise up again. Here is something I wrote about the word as a power critique in "The Misdirection." jgcarpenter.com/blog.html?bl...

Reminds me of how they tried to make AOC uncool by showing a video of her dancing with friends in high school, exuding talent and poise. “Look at this witch!” 😂

I was interviewed about my book "The Naked Android" and how we are culturally negotiating a world with humanoiod robots in our everyday life. soundcloud.com/kalaradio/ro...

May her memory be a blessing.

Painful: I just reread one of my early published papers (2005, from a baby PhD student era, deeply embarrassing prose). But! I argued robots needed ethicists in the room before shipping. Baby PhD me would be thrilled to know this is still my whole personality 21 years later. #evergreen

And I thought my research was niche. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Again, no one is coming to save you. No politician. No party. No institution. No election.We have to save ourselves.

BREAKING: The FDA is planning to end most of its routine food safety inspections, according to CBS News. www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-foo...

🚨Just a gentle reminder- Chapter 13 of Project 2025 spells out how they will create food insecurity by cutting safety nets and slashing regulations and restrictions on food production and safety inspections. Just in case anyone finds it interesting.

Coffee first, then words.

Quoted here on AI companions, progressive attachment, and the design choices that makes a chatbot relationship feel like it's growing naturally when it isn't. san.com/cc/social-me...

Quoted here on AI companions, progressive attachment, and the design choices that makes a chatbot relationship feel like it's growing naturally when it isn't. san.com/cc/social-me...

If I am unemployed, what part of that makes you think I can afford you as a "life coach." Like, I'm already doubting your math skills at this point.