Holy Algorithm in Quanta…

Data is a false god

…so much incoming data that it was no data at all
—from “Dead Astronauts” by Jeff Vandermeer

Hello, {Real} People!

After two seasons of chaos and convulsions, I’m back to a regular posting schedule. Posts will once again be going out each Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you for being patient with my flaky nature these past six months!

Before I get into today’s post, I wanted to let you know I’ve started a second newsletter called Systemic.

Something you may not know about me is that since I was a young child, I’ve been captivated by politics and government. I have a degree in political science, a law degree, and as a young college student, I was a U.S. Senate intern working on Capitol Hill. I’ve never stopped reading and researching about the systems that shape American democracy.

Systemic is a newsletter exploring the social, economic, and political systems that create American democracy and the ways to make them more just, equitable, and accountable.

I started Systemic because I have to write about this stuff, but it felt wholly inappropriate for the form and function of Weirdo Poetry. I published my first Systemic post yesterday about the Supreme Court, and I hope you will check it out and consider becoming a subscriber.

Some Co-Equal Branches of Government are More Co-Equal than Others

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Weirdo Poetry newsletter and the eighth year of Weirdo Poetry as the banner under which I’ve done all of my creative work.

To mark the occasion, I will post a mix of old and new poetry comics this month. Hopefully, you will discover some new favorites, see comics you missed the first time, and be reminded of comics you had forgotten about.

Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of articles declaring that the era of gatekeepers is back because generative AI is bringing about the collapse of “the algorithm”. I think the idea of flocking back to gatekeepers misses the point of the internet.

Human recommendations have always been, and always will be, more potent than machine-generated ones because they are about more than just preferences and taste. Recommendations are a social signal like hugs and handshakes. When I recommend a book to you, I’m not trying to goose commerce. I’m signaling to you that this book moved me somehow, and based on what I know about you, I think it will move you, too.

A human recommendation is a way to say I see you, I know you, and I care about you—and that is not replicable through algorithms or artificial intelligence.

The focus and angst over algorithms, AI, and data collection have reminded me of a poetry comic I made a few years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

The Algorithmic Prayer

Thanks for reading!

Be the weird you want to see in the world!

Cheers,

Jason