Thomas Dekeyser
Geographer at Uni of Southampton. Research: refusal, tech, cities. Films: Breached/Machines in Flames. Book: Techno-Negative (forthcoming, Uni of Minnesota Press).
thomasdekeyser.com
- Got to present the book in full for the first time yesterday at the 'Technological Life Research Cluster' (@oxfordgeography.bsky.social). Big thank you to @atmosphericthings.bsky.social and attendees for the wonderful questions and comments.
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserI pre-ordered this book "Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine" and am looking forward to it. I don't know the author's work but I am very interested in the topic. Seems very timely. www.upress.umn.edu/978151791773...
- Reposted by Thomas Dekeyser
"We might not win in the end, but even in the attempt to resist, we will salvage some of our humanity." @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social 's TECHNO-NEGATIVE is a @lithub.com.web.brid.gy anticipated book of '26! lithub.com/lit-hubs-mos... - Reposted by Thomas DekeyserHappy to finally launch Disjunctions with an article from the editorial team! Stay tuned for our first issue, which we will start publishing in the new year.
- Had a long conversation with Jake Hanrahan @hanrahan.tv for his great Hanrahan Live series. We discuss anti-tech politics, Ted Kaczynski, AI, etc etc. Have a listen if you're interested. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKX4...
- First blurb for Techno-Negative 👐 wonderful to read the words of someone whose works I greatly admire. pre-order the book here: www.upress.umn.edu/978151791773...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserNext up in the series… Say hello to Thomas Dekeyser (he/him), our new Website Co-ordinator, keeping all things DGRG online running smoothly! 👇 @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social And why not check out the site to see what we're up to: digitalgeographiesrg.org #DGRGCommittee
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserExcited to announce @leverhulmecal.bsky.social posts - we are looking for 7 interdisciplinary fellows to join our Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life, closing date 30 January 2026 (1/3) durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
- 💥 New publication out on the alignment of AI & authoritarianism 💥 We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes. rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- I am inviting applications for PhD projects at Uni of Southampton, focused on: politics of refusal, digital tech, urban interventions and/or geographical theory. Funding app's would be made to the South Coast DTP. Please check out my work to ensure a fit! www.thomasdekeyser.com/phd-supervis...
- Additionally, I am looking for applications specifically interested in critically examining (/theorising) the implementation of digital technologies (including AI) into physical retail environments. This PhD would be co-supervised with Brian Hracs. static1.squarespace.com/static/61978...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserHuman Geography at Leicester is facing closure. Staff contracts are to end in June 2026; students are to be relocated to other universities, or taught out by a maximum of two (!) teaching-only staff. Other departments and subjects are facing closure, too. Please join the demo!
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserWe're going to have people like @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social with us talking about his book. How could I not be excited? there's still time to submit something... www.aanmelder.nl/techrefusal
- Announcing my book, Techno-Negative! It will be out in Spring 2026, published with @uminnpress.bsky.social.
- Reposted by Thomas Dekeyser*very* excited about @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social’s new book, out next year w/ @uminnpress.bsky.social 🤖 🚫 www.upress.umn.edu/978151791773...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserRead my latest commentary on Big Tech Authoritarianism, which discusses how Big Tech actively constructs authoritarian spaces – both within their organisational structures and across broader socio-political contexts. doi.org/10.1177/2976...
- Crawford's new essay in e-flux offers the best summary of the monstrous absurdity of contemporary AI that I've read in a long time. (via @jonnyjjt.bsky.social) www.e-flux.com/architecture...
- To those attending the RGS conference this week: interested in authoritarianism and/or AI, do come and join us on Friday for this brilliant set of papers. It will be insightful, bleak, and much more. ✨ organised w/ @sophiamaalsen.bsky.social @casey-lynch.bsky.social
- Announcing my book, Techno-Negative! It will be out in Spring 2026, published with @uminnpress.bsky.social.
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserNew commentary with @dcockayne.bsky.social now out! As part of a special issue on AI refusal, we offer brief speculative narrative imagining working life in an AI-dominated future, navigating between dystopian and utopian visions of AI and its refusal. Open Access Here: doi.org/10.1177/1474...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserAn open letter has been launched today (27/7/25) for members of the UK academic community (academics and other university staff) to sign, to press the UK Home Office to facilitate safe passage out of Gaza for 40+ students with offers for UK universities. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Wrote a book review of Roy Christopher's "Escape Philosophy", a rich, if somewhat universalist, dive into the human desire to escape the body. Part of a forthcoming special issue on 'Geographies of Leaving' in Social and Cultural Geography. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserICYMI: Thomas Dekeyser, 'Pessimism, Futility and Extinction: An Interview with Eugene Thacker' - offers a unique insight into Thacker’s approach to the thinking, doing and writing of ‘philosophy’. (Open Access) journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
- Job advert: Fixed-term Lectureship (24 months) in our School of Geography and Environmental Science, with a focus on qualitative methods and health geographies. jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
- Tired of the politically-stale state of much contemporary film? If so, you might vibe with this manifesto I co-wrote with Andrew Culp. It's available for online reading and for printing. Read: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/y4nbk... Print: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rf7c2...
- We trace the limits of political media content focused on 'information', 'entertainment' and 'exposure', and offer a polemic in favour of fuelling the negative passions.
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserThere's a big piece on resistance to AI and Luddism in the New Yorker — pleased to see @jathansadowski.com's great book and This Machine Kills get shouts, as well as a nice nod to Blood in the Machine. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserCome join our School of Geography as a permanent lecturer!!!! We are looking for someone who does research on AI & securitisation; AI & the future of work; AI & humanitarianism; the politics/geopolitics of AI; & algorithmic activism. Pls share widely! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMQ970/l...
- Submitted the final manuscript of 'Techno-Negative' recently (@uminnpress.bsky.social). If all goes well, the book should be out in Spring 2026. Can't wait to share it with the world.
- Tomorrow: Montreal screening of our two films - Machines in Flames + BREACHED - in case anyone is in the area.
- Enjoyed being able to present a new project alongside @vickiezhang.bsky.social yesterday at King's' geography seminar series. Thank you to @kbrickell.bsky.social @drruthcraggs.bsky.social and Alex Loftus for hosting us!
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserWhat does it mean to be ‘out of it’? 🤔 How might foggier experiences of cognition change our relationship with place, to each other, and ourselves? 🌫️ Open access ✨ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserFirst proper article in five years, due to life stuff. If you’re interested in work, automation, the future & imagination this may be of interest #geosky doi.org/10.1177/0263...
- The theme of our CfP is - painfully - gaining in further relevance as the Trump-Thiel-Musk triad deepens its AI-inflected authoritarian tendencies. Deadline for abstract submission is this Friday.
- Are you thinking through questions about authoritarianism & AI? Do you like geographers? If so, please consider this session on ‘Authoritarianism and the Geographies of AI’ by @casey-lynch.bsky.social & @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social & myself which we are hoping to get up at this year’s RGS-IBG.
- "Without defaulting to imagining dystopias or non-affirmative worlds, we need to find ways to imagine imagination outside affirmation, if that is possible." New Progress report by Harriet Hawkins. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
- Organising an RGS session on 'Authoritarianism and the Geographies of AI' - check out our Call for Papers!
- @sophiamaalsen.bsky.social @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social and I are hoping to organize a session on the theme of 'Authoritarianism and the Geographies of AI' at this year's RGS-IBG (26-29 August 2025, Birmingham, UK). Please consider submitting! #geography #rgs
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserOrganising sessions with @aurorafredriksen.bsky.social on negative affects of planetary crises at RGS-IBG 2025 and would love to hear from you if interested in participating! @rgsibg.bsky.social @cperguom.bsky.social
- Who's going to transmediale this year? We're contributing with a Conversation: what if our central political problem is not that we are all too pacified - lured into passivity - but that we’re overly activated? Join us if you're around.
- The full programme, line-up, and a preliminary version schedule are available online now ✨ ► bit.ly/tmschedule25
- In this new article, Andrew Culp and I reflect on the making of our film 'Machines in Flames' and the problem of 'archive fever' for conducting historical research. Big thank you to A Bussy and M Goddard for the delightful reviews. intransition.openlibhums.org/article/id/1...
- Reposted by Thomas Dekeyser💫 Our #DigitalEcologies book is out now! 💫 Thank you to all involved in its production. What an incredible journey! Really excited to see what everyone makes of it. 📚 Can't wait to get my hands on a copy 📚
- 🌐 Digital ecologies: Mediating more-than-human worlds is OUT NOW with @manchesterup.bsky.social! 🍃 Eds: @jonnyjjt.bsky.social, @admsrl.bsky.social, Henry Anderson-Elliott & @evahaifa.bsky.social. 🎁 Get yours in time for Christmas! manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526170347/ #DigitalEcologies
- A reminder: looking for PhD project applications around 2 topics✨ 'Digital Futures of Physical Retail'(co-supervised w B Hracs) thomasdekeyser.com/s/Digital-Fu... 'AI geographies of human-animal relations'(co-supervised w @emmajroe.bsky.social) thomasdekeyser.com/s/AI-geograp... Links = details
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserTwo permanent human geography posts at Durham University ( a focus on nature, climate change and just futures) durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserWith input from friends, I’ve made a starter pack of early-career researchers across digital geography, STS, and critical AI studies. It isn’t meant to be definitive or exhaustive (though somewhat arbitrary at this stage), so please feel free to comment your own or others’ names for inclusion!at://did:plc:fysiwgucbyn3zkaaghh6qhh5/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3lbtzbuxgjt2f
- Very excited to just have gotten the green light for my book 'Techno-Negative: A History of Refusal' (Uni of Minnesota Press). The book, which traces histories of techno-refusal, is due early next calendar year. (re-)Reading these reviewer recommendations for help with final revisions.
- Reposted by Thomas DekeyserSchool seminar today included a great conceptual explication of technological refusal from colleague @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social One of the chapters in his forthcoming book: doi.org/10.1177/0263... Histories of tech refusal as inextricable from innovation – super interesting system dynamics. 🦋🦫
- We are inviting applications for a PhD project on the theme of 'AI geographies of human-animal relations', supervised by @emmajroe.bsky.social & I in Geography at Uni of Southampton. Full details re the project, funding options & how to express interest here: www.thomasdekeyser.com/s/AI-geograp...
- I am new to Blue Sky, so a brief intro: I'm a cultural-digital geographer and film maker interested in techno-politics, negative affects, and politics/theories of refusal. I've recently published on AI-enabled retail, anti-technology movements, and 'bad feelings'. Some recent works 👇
- A paper with @casey-lynch.bsky.social arguing that 'automated shops' like Amazon Go have introduced ubiquitous sensing and deep learning into retail spaces & how that shapes the conditions of control & refusal in retail. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
- A short opinion piece with Mark Whitehead problematising the 'artificial' in 'artificial intelligence' as a misnomer that has significant political and ethical effects. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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View full threadAnd finally, my latest short film BREACHED co-directed with Andrew Culp. Synopsis: in 2021, freight train robberies grabbed headlines as images of tracks strewn with amazon packages went viral. BREACHED traces the politics of (counter)logistics, through the eyes of a local worker. breached.mov
