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Nov 13, 2026
Good Vibes Only
Phenomenology and the Biopolitics of Algorithmic Legitimation
Summary
In Good Vibes Only: Phenomenology and the Biopolitics of Algorithmic Legitimation, Robin James argues that “vibes” have become a way for how we see ourselves and understand our tastes, as well as how corporations and governments see us in order to categorize and control. Vibes, according to James, are an orientation that situate beings and things in space with others, closer to some things than others, facing is certain directions, and more likely to be grouped together. Drawing from a diverse set of theoretical and methodological perspectives, including continental feminist philosophy, critical philosophy of race, phenomenology, and popular music studies, James walks the reader through how vibes are understood, the mathematical models that vibes are based on, and how vibes function as a new form of biopower and therefore as a means of categorization and control.
You can find a transcript of our conversation here.
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