This is the future of marketing

Someday, this will be the good old days www.wired.com/story/i-work...

“As everyday interactions move online & services become automated, ppl are missing the small moments of recognition that once shaped social life… —these small interactions helped build a sense of belonging in communities. Losing them adds to what Pugh calls a ‘depersonalization crisis’.”🧪

ICYMI "When people feel noticed by others, it strengthens mental health, community, and trust. Online networking rarely provides that. “There’s a very constrained emotional range,” Pugh says." www.mitsloanme.com/article/the-...

Paging @allisonpugh.bsky.social ☺️☺️☺️

Congratulations to @allisonpugh.bsky.social and Mark Christian Thompson on being named 2026 @guggfellows.bsky.social. Their selection recognizes outstanding scholarship across sociology, literature, philosophy, and the humanities. hub.jhu.edu/2026/04/26/a...

The end of the barista? Coming to San Francisco is always like coming to the future, question is is it one we want or not?

Congratulations to ASA members Allison Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jhu.edu and Xuefei Ren (Michigan State University) on their appointment to the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows. https://bit.ly/4u72rlZ

Check out this initiative to connect nurse managers from around the country, and invite real talk about the relational challenges in modern healthcare!. See more at slowtalk.us/humanize

A privilege and a pleasure to celebrate the 101st Class of Fellows with an announcement in the @nytimes.com 🎉

Congrats to CASBS fellows selected as 2026 Guggenheim Fellows 🙌👏 Damon Centola | Jamie Kreiner | @allisonpugh.bsky.social |@robbwiller.bsky.social | @dziblatt.bsky.social @guggfellows.bsky.social announcement: www.gf.org/stories/anno...

Thrilled to be part of the 101st class!

The 2028 ASA meeting will be in Baltimore, MD! The 2028 meeting was initially planned to be virtual but was then switched to in-person. This will be the first ASA meeting in the South since the 2010 meeting in Atlanta.

BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained. That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social

"criticizing AI use in journalism or other creative industries is classist" NO IT IS NOT there is a class that benefits enormously from cognitive surrender, epistemic warfare, and the enclosure of all hitherto produced culture and it is NOT THE WORKING CLASS

Our next colloquium will take place on Friday, April 17th, from 3-5. Prof @allisonpugh.bsky.social will join us to discuss her latest book, "The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World." This is a hybrid event. Learn more here: www.gc.cuny.edu/events/last-...

Thoughtful! Yes we can entertain lonely elders with digital companions. But they are not then less alone... "Discussions of the prospects for digital companions have neglected the role played by touch, physical companionship, and mutual aid in promoting human well-being" cacm.acm.org/research/aga...

"Though the AI nurses Kennedy mentions do not exist" Love this casual mention lol www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

It's happening. Kaiser works by saving $ where needed, but using AI for mental health intake may prove pound foolish www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Disturbing anecdotal reports of "AI psychosis" and negative psychological effects have been emerging in the news. But what actually happens during these lengthy delusional "spirals"? In our preprint, we analyze chat logs from 19 users who experienced severe psychological harm🧵👇

Check it out! @jenniferreich.bsky.social in the nytimes, telling it like it is re the danger of daring measles to rise again. Showing the vital importance of sociology for all! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/o...

For ASA’s Hill Day, staffer Heather Young + Council members Allison J. Pugh @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jhu.edu + Rashawn Ray @sociologistray.bsky.social @univofmaryland.bsky.social met w/ U.S. Congressman (MD) Kweisi Mfume’s staff @repkweisimfume.bsky.social to advocate for sociology. #ASA #hillday

In "The Last Human Job", sociologist Allison Pugh identifies the work of connecting with other people, helping them feel seen, and argues that this vital work is under threat by various attempts to make it more efficient and automate it. 💙📚 #bookreview #sociology @allisonpugh.bsky.social

On the unSILOed podcast, we examine how efficiency tools can backfire—sometimes leaving workers with even more tasks, including verifying the accuracy of AI outputs in their workflows. Full episode available at buff.ly/03DRfHb!

@allisonpugh.bsky.social's The Last Human Job is a compelling argument for us to recognize, value, and protect humane work in an increasingly automated and disconnected world. Now in #paperback! Read a free preview: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... #AI #Sociology #Labor

So, what have we learnt from this paper: First, that this "AI stethoscope" offers no apparent benefit in practice. Second, that you still can't trust a per-protocol analysis presented in a general medical journal. Third, as with anything AI, you have to look beyond the hyped headline. 🧵 16/

In other words, doctors selectively used the AI stethoscope on dramatically older, sicker patients. Presumably when they had good reason to suspect a heart problem. It is no surprise then that more heart problems are found in these patients! 🧵 12/

This recent RCT of an "AI stethoscope" claims the technology "shows promise" for diagnosing cardiovascular conditions. It does not. It is a textbook example of the risks of conducting unprincipled 'per protocol analyses'. Once again, peer review at a major medical journal has failed. 🧵 1/

Minneapolis resident here! Happy to help with sharing tactics and resources with anyone who wants to replicate our ways of doing things / adapt them to your local contexts. Every neighborhood can do this!

A wonderful, sustaining, inspiring piece. Now is the time to ask yourself what you would have done. I hope all of our neighborhoods are as ready as Minneapolis www.theringer.com/2026/02/19/n...

Even if AI does make us more productive, there's no evidence that these gains will be shared with workers. Robert Reich says the quiet part out loud here: The bogus four-day workweek that AI supposedly ‘frees up’ www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

I thought of the below from @allisonpugh.bsky.social as I read about the AI robot with "heart" and "soul" here [gift link]: nytimes.com/2026/02/12/us/elliq-ai-robot-senior-companion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.GVj4.WXh61XTTxyKI&smid=url-share

Looking back today at another highly cited JMF article — 2020's "Families Across the Income Spectrum: A Decade in Review": tinyurl.com/4ksyw3r7 by @mariannecooper.bsky.social & @allisonpugh.bsky.social #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #FamilyScience #SocialScience #SocialScienceResearch #FamilyEconomics

I don't know if I have adequately fangirled on here about @allisonpugh.bsky.social's book, THE LAST HUMAN JOB. It documents in exquisite detail how AI and technology are making daily life miserable. It is so smart and also so beautifully written. www.allisonpugh.com/the-last-hum...

Amen EMB

It's publication day! A different cover, a (slightly) different title, a brand new preface! Happy (second) birthday to The Last Human Job

Worth noting that one reason you’re benefitting so fully from the Star-Tribune’s timely, extensive coverage of unfolding events is that it’s a metro newspaper that hasn’t been systematically starved to further enrich shareholders and executives.

So glad to see @fastcompany.com focusing on connection! "Pugh’s research underscores this point: These relational dimensions are the very aspects of work that machines cannot automate. “The irreplaceable human contribution,” she writes, “is connection itself.” www.fastcompany.com/91475008/sto...

With #TheLastHumanJob coming out in paperback January 27, I'm excited to share some upcoming appearances - it's going to be a busy spring! Come join the conversation about the value of human connection. For more info see allisonpugh.com or press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

A terrific piece about a vital issue. "Children need our human attention — especially in this age of social isolation and political trauma.". And not just children! #TheLastHumanJob

Revisiting this now that I have a moment to reflect, and I'm so pleased with how this article turned out, esp the ways we were able to connect w/ work by @allisonpugh.bsky.social @jessicacalarco.com @dmgreene.bsky.social & so many other scholars who've had such a profound influence on my research.

Saving the best for last! "The A.I. industry claims it wants to democratize creativity, but the real goal is dominance. It can seem inevitable that A.I. will rewrite the future of the arts...But the impacts of technological change are always shaped by human action." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/o...

"Seven News reported the bystander was a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire named Ahmed. ... the father of two had been admitted after being shot twice."

"Remember that an AI girlfriend responding to your loneliness might just be a man in a Nairobi slum, wondering if he'll ever feel real love again" An important report here data-workers.org/wp-content/u...

So many connective labor-related (from @allisonpugh.bsky.social) use cases for AI make me so sad, and for so many reasons. This one makes me think of Enobarbus describing Cleopatra -- "she makes hungry / Where most she satisfies" -- which is the most hungry ghost description of desire I know.

Important thread worth reading

Are human beings becoming invisible? The Unseen (Allison J Pugh • Aeon) Our crisis of work and technology is one in which too many people feel that nobody sees them as a fellow human being. aeon.co/essays/our-c...

Fantastic piece by Allison Pugh. aeon.co/essays/our-c...

So grateful for Judy Wajcman's review essay on #TheLastHumanJob. "It is hard to convey how rich and evocative...this book is. It is beautifully written & so immersive that reading it I felt I got to know several of the interviewees personally...The book could not be more welcome"

Furthermore, they're fields where human beings do connective labor, the primary contribution humans make in an AI world. This is very short sighted. Did AI suggest this policy move? #TheLastHumanJob