Kyle van Oosterum

Bad Bunny “together we are America”

A little personal, but here's a new post about Imposter Syndrome.

I've dealt with it for years and none of the usual advice worked. Then I realized it behaves like a conspiracy theory – and that insight changed how I relate to it.

Check it out here!
open.substack.com/pub/kylevo/p...

It has been said: start an email with normal human pleasantries and only later get to your request for work.

But I say unto you: no, get your request into the first line so I can see it in the preview without having to click anything.

Is Civility the 'Nice No Matter What' virtue? Integrity and the Bounds of Civility

We talk about civility as if it’s about manners. But what if it’s really about uncertainty — about how we engage others before we’re sure their views are beyond the pale?

New Substack essay⬇️

open.substack.com/pub/kylevo/p...

Three Kinds of Civility What we talk about, how we talk about it, and who we are while doing it.

Everyone talks about civility. Here’s how to think about it.

open.substack.com/pub/kylevo/p...

On Political Wolf-Crying A note on hearing what hasn't been said

Dog-whistling gets a lot of attention. But what about its opposite — when we hear hidden codes that aren’t there?
A short note on “wolf-crying”.

open.substack.com/pub/kylevo/p...

“We should publicly own up to the failures and excesses of our own side. I call this practice partisan admissions of guilt.”

Ooh, it’s rare for me to agree so wholeheartedly with something. @koosterum.bsky.social’s invitation has my full endorsement:

buff.ly/AwWd3q1

Trust Me, I'm Sorry On 'partisan admissions of guilt'

Just wrote my first Substack essay. It’s on “partisan admissions of guilt.”

Check it out ⬇️

open.substack.com/pub/kylevo/p...

A timing problem for instrumental convergence - Philosophical Studies Those who worry about a superintelligent AI destroying humanity often appeal to the instrumental convergence thesis—the claim that even if we don’t know what a superintelligence’s ultimate goals will ...

I'm also excited to share that another paper of mine, co-authored with Helena Ward and Rhys Southan, "A Timing Problem for Instrumental Convergence," is out in Philosophical Studies! doi.org/10.1007/s110...

Some great news this month!
1) Officially finished my philosophy PhD, examined by Elizabeth Anderson and Paul Billingham.
2) Starting a new job at King's College London in September as an Early Career Fellow at the YTL Centre in the Dickson Poon Law School.

Fwiw, if I had to pick a single document at this moment which authoritatively & comprehensively summarizes the causes of & remedies for addressing disinformation, it would be this Institut Jean Nicod policy brief. Highly recommend uploading it into a chatbot for translation.

#BookReview The Ethics of Advising. M. Jonas, 2025. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 256 pp, £77.00 (hb) | David Archard #philsky #philosophy onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/QMJZTT...

Really pleased about how this turned out! Thanks to UCL and Emily McTernan for having me.

See the podcast here:
open.spotify.com/episode/1fia...

See the paper it’s promoting here:

doi.org/10.1111/japp...

Philosophers! Please follow & share our new account with your colleagues - we would ultimately like to move away from Twitter/X. #philosophy #philosophers #appliedphilosophy #philosophyjournal

Thanks for sharing this, Avery!