What better way to condescend to your users than to visually present your unwanted GenAI features as happy sparkly Tinkerbell magic.
Christian Cooijmans
@ccooijmans.bsky.social
Viking Historian | Research Fellow @uio.no | Assoc. Researcher @livunihss.bsky.social | vikings in continental Europe | medieval(ism) | histor(iograph)y https://hcommons.org/members/ccooijmans
What better way to condescend to your users than to visually present your unwanted GenAI features as happy sparkly Tinkerbell magic.
'Straatje-zonder-einde' (lit. 'little street without end') Mechelen, Belgium
This is just to say I have OCRed the text thet was in tne arch:ve and whicb yov were prabaldy seamhing for "breahtast" Fargme ms fheg mem debo:w5 sb ?mccf mmb 5c oc1b
Had a nightmare some time ago in which we had gotten rid of physical books and other markers of culture, and tech bros decided it was a great idea to let AI 'reimagine' the losses, i.e. algorithmically approximate all cultural and creative heritage as a soulless simulacra. Humankind by autocomplete.
Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele@drdragases.bsky.social · last wk.No longer content with pillaging intellectual work and dismembering our environment (already critically weakened), AI companies are now hellbent on destroying books galore including rare editions. Shut down these nefarious enterprises already.
'I don’t see that much difference between the Elgins deciding to ramraid the Parthenon to decorate their living room and rich people paying millions to buy up fossilised remains or repurposing ancient artefacts as jewellery.'
Of all the things rich people have ruined, one thing infuriates me
Kate Lister: The privatisation of history enrages me like nothing else
inews.co.uk
You can find out more about Viking Connections, and read Christian's chapter #OpenAccess, here ⬇️ www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Christian Cooijmans@ccooijmans.bsky.social · 4w agoHappy to have received these chonky bois in the post. Congratulations to @downham.bsky.social and the editorial team for seeing this work to publication. Thanks to @iashedinburgh.bsky.social and @makingawarrior.bsky.social for supporting the exploration and development of the ideas in my chapter.
Thanks @ccooijmans.bsky.social we should also mention your fascinating paper is open access on the @livunipress.bsky.social website!! David, Nancy and Fiona were a lovely team to work with on this book #medievalsky
Christian Cooijmans@ccooijmans.bsky.social · 4w agoHappy to have received these chonky bois in the post. Congratulations to @downham.bsky.social and the editorial team for seeing this work to publication. Thanks to @iashedinburgh.bsky.social and @makingawarrior.bsky.social for supporting the exploration and development of the ideas in my chapter.
Happy to have received these chonky bois in the post. Congratulations to @downham.bsky.social and the editorial team for seeing this work to publication. Thanks to @iashedinburgh.bsky.social and @makingawarrior.bsky.social for supporting the exploration and development of the ideas in my chapter.
Heading to the Walloon Mediterranean this weekend? Leave early to avoid traffic along the Hlitagts ring road and Mapmie-Kortriijk motorway into Krlon. 🚧🚦🚗
Anthony Zacharzewski@anthonyzach.be · 4w agoNothing says “this insurance company knows my country” than using an AI generated map of Belgium that puts Ghent in Wallonie, gives us two Namurs and a south coast on the Med.
Heading to the Walloon Mediterranean this weekend? Leave early to avoid traffic along the Hlitagts ring road and Mapmie-Kortriijk motorway into Krlon. 🚧🚦🚗
Anthony Zacharzewski@anthonyzach.be · 4w agoNothing says “this insurance company knows my country” than using an AI generated map of Belgium that puts Ghent in Wallonie, gives us two Namurs and a south coast on the Med.
Those who point to the Netherlands as a bastion of tolerance and equality are often unaware of - or knowingly gloss over - the fact that the country still treats many of its minority ethnic groups with a deep social and institutional prejudice.
Race discrimination case over child’s swim puts ‘Dutch paradox’ in focus
Father of boy refused entry to pool says case is reminder that some Dutch do not acknowledge reality of racism
theguardian.com
Spare a thought for colleagues at Edinburgh Napier University today, which is selling off its castled Merchiston campus amid talk of a 'merger by stealth' with other regional institutions. Another victim of the ongoing UK HE crisis.
Napier set to quit historic Merchiston home amid cash crisis
Plus: 'Frustrated' Historic Scotland chief quits; and celebrating Doddie at 60
edinburghinquirer.co.uk
When, during the World Cup, you feel the urge to contest a viking heritage by claiming other Scandinavian groups - hang on - 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠, it may be time to go outside for a bit.
I'm a TIDAL (as opposed to a Spotify) user for streaming music (primarily because I like that they pay their artists more, but the audio quality is better IMO as well). TIDAL just dropped their initial stance on AI - generated music.
Six key messages from Exeter UCU. The upshot is that these proposed cuts are unnecessary and damaging. We must stop them. Please amplify these messages if you can!
LLM companies: Our models are designed to be ethical, truthful, transparent, and forthright. LLMs: beep boop let me check my giant stolen dataset by burning through an entire country's annual water and electricity supply beep boop
LLM companies: Our models are designed to be ethical, truthful, transparent, and forthright. LLMs: beep boop let me check my giant stolen dataset by burning through an entire country's annual water and electricity supply beep boop
New in Viking Europe | Viking Connections is the latest volume in the new series, a milestone publication from the most important and prestigious academic conference on the Viking Age. Find out more here ⬇️ www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Rosamond McKitterick (1949-2026) A formidable scholar, an inspiring teacher, a generous spirit and a supportive colleague - truly, we have lost one of the great ones. @sidneysussex.bsky.social @camhistory.bsky.social @camedieval.bsky.social
Many congratulations to our friends at the Museum of Danish America for a successful first month of Vikingmania! We were very happy to contribute survey data and videos to the exhibition. In Elk Horn, IA until Apr 2027; on tour afterwards! www.danishmuseum.org/exhibition/v... 📸 Adam Bierstedt/MoDA
Please join us to celebrate, remember, and raise a glass to Anna Ritchie and her work as archaeologist, author, and lifelong advocate of Scotland’s premodern history and heritage 25th June @15:30-17:45 Room 1.06 (Project Room), School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures, University of Edinburgh.
A veritable Where's Waldo of threadbare viking tropes, in which everyone and everything is Waldo.
Making a Warrior@makingawarrior.bsky.social · 2mo agoToday's vikingism: this composite photograph of Norway's national football team dressed as pop-culture vikings ⚽ 📸 David Yarrow
New open access paper by Dr Cooijmans (former Liverpool postdoc) in Proceedings of the 19th Viking Congress, (Liverpool Uni. Press) "A Place of Contact and Contradiction: the socially constructed space(s) of viking encamp" #medievalsky #archaeology www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/pb-assets/OA...
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Excellent piece from Ted Chiang: 'Employing philosophers might endow LLM companies with an air of respectability that slot-machine makers don’t get from the behavioral psychologists they hire, but in both cases, the companies are preying on people’s tendency to see something that’s not there.'
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
Taken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning.
theatlantic.com
Really can't cope with the fact that Nottingham's now departed VC (now VC at Leeds - god help them) wasted £80 MILLION on a building it is now selling at a crushing loss (£14m), and is attempting to recoup some of that by sacking 100s of academics and decimating the institution. Absolutely criminal.
Onni Gust@onnigust.bsky.social · 2mo agoShedding 608 academic posts but creating 75 new managerial posts. No clear answers as to what those posts are, who they will go to, and why we need them.