Anupam Basu
@abasu.bsky.social
Collecting data about stories. Telling stories with data.
Book: Shakespeare and Scale
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/25sentkx
Cambridge UP: https://tinyurl.com/287ff98p
Book: Shakespeare and Scale
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/25sentkx
Cambridge UP: https://tinyurl.com/287ff98p
Pinned
Anupam Basu
@abasu.bsky.social
· Oct 7
Been in the works for a while, but delighted it's finally out in the world, especially in the current political environment. I contributed an essay on the demonization of migrants in early modern England, a phenomenon that bears dispiriting similarities to our time.
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
It's board meetings all the way down!
November 6, 2025 at 12:19 PM
It's board meetings all the way down!
So LensKart is about to offer an $8B IPO in India and it's hyping up its claims of #AI based eye testing. Perhaps understandable that he'd want to bandwagon. But alarmingly, there's little mention of either research-based evidence or regulatory approval.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...
AI biggest trigger for IPO: Lenskart's Bansal - The Times of India
India Business News: Lenskart is preparing for its Dalal Street debut on November 10, aiming for an $8 billion valuation to fund significant AI investments. The SoftBank-b
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:56 AM
So LensKart is about to offer an $8B IPO in India and it's hyping up its claims of #AI based eye testing. Perhaps understandable that he'd want to bandwagon. But alarmingly, there's little mention of either research-based evidence or regulatory approval.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind...
"This year 38m farmers received forecasts powered by #AI. Rather than simulateing exactly what is going on in the atmosphere, they make predictions by comparing patterns they see in weather data with previous, similar patterns in the historical weather records."
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
AI models ace their predictions of India’s monsoon rains
Some weather forecasts can now be done on a laptop
www.economist.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"This year 38m farmers received forecasts powered by #AI. Rather than simulateing exactly what is going on in the atmosphere, they make predictions by comparing patterns they see in weather data with previous, similar patterns in the historical weather records."
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
#India is moving towards legislation for the regulation of #AI generated content. All AI content must be clearly labeled.
www.indiatoday.in/india/story/...
www.indiatoday.in/india/story/...
Government plans stricter AI, deepfake rules; proposes platform accountability
The proposed amendments to IT rules provide a clear legal basis for labelling, traceability, and accountability related to synthetically-generated information.
www.indiatoday.in
October 27, 2025 at 8:39 AM
#India is moving towards legislation for the regulation of #AI generated content. All AI content must be clearly labeled.
www.indiatoday.in/india/story/...
www.indiatoday.in/india/story/...
Reposted by Anupam Basu
Cool reflection on the interpretive circularity of models & texts.
We tend to imagine that models tell us about the relations between texts, and differ only by accuracy.
But you can also turn this around and use texts to explore the relations between different models / interpretive approaches.
We tend to imagine that models tell us about the relations between texts, and differ only by accuracy.
But you can also turn this around and use texts to explore the relations between different models / interpretive approaches.
June 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Cool reflection on the interpretive circularity of models & texts.
We tend to imagine that models tell us about the relations between texts, and differ only by accuracy.
But you can also turn this around and use texts to explore the relations between different models / interpretive approaches.
We tend to imagine that models tell us about the relations between texts, and differ only by accuracy.
But you can also turn this around and use texts to explore the relations between different models / interpretive approaches.
October 22, 2025 at 5:11 AM
The #AI realignment of labor relations is going to be long and difficult.
fortune.com/2025/10/14/g...
fortune.com/2025/10/14/g...
Goldman economists on the Gen Z hiring nightmare: ‘Jobless growth’ is probably the new normal | Fortune
“History also suggests that the full consequences of AI for the labor market might not become apparent until a recession hits.”
fortune.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The #AI realignment of labor relations is going to be long and difficult.
fortune.com/2025/10/14/g...
fortune.com/2025/10/14/g...
Been in the works for a while, but delighted it's finally out in the world, especially in the current political environment. I contributed an essay on the demonization of migrants in early modern England, a phenomenon that bears dispiriting similarities to our time.
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
October 7, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Been in the works for a while, but delighted it's finally out in the world, especially in the current political environment. I contributed an essay on the demonization of migrants in early modern England, a phenomenon that bears dispiriting similarities to our time.
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
punctumbooks.com/titles/cross...
Reposted by Anupam Basu
How the Public Sees Philosophy:
Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic | by Vít Gvoždiak & Martin Zach dailynous.com/2025/09/03/h... #philosophy #public #philsky
Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic | by Vít Gvoždiak & Martin Zach dailynous.com/2025/09/03/h... #philosophy #public #philsky
How the Public Sees Philosophy: Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic (guest post) - Daily Nous
What do ordinary people think philosophy is for? That's one of the questions a pair of philosophers, Vít Gvoždiak and Martin Zach (Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences) aimed to answer. ...
dailynous.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:08 AM
How the Public Sees Philosophy:
Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic | by Vít Gvoždiak & Martin Zach dailynous.com/2025/09/03/h... #philosophy #public #philsky
Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic | by Vít Gvoždiak & Martin Zach dailynous.com/2025/09/03/h... #philosophy #public #philsky
1/3 Obviously, much of this is spot on! But I'm skeptical of the "seize the means of knowledge production" flourish. That train left when we decided we were okay with universities being basically hedge funds with attached teaching/research units. When it became normal to pay >50k to get an education
"the solution is still the one that can succeed: to build a new cultural order, a new civilization. To do so, academics must embrace an unusual new role: as knowledge workers, they must seize the means of knowledge production."
www.publicbooks.org/academics-mu...
www.publicbooks.org/academics-mu...
Academics Must Seize the Means of Knowledge Production - Public Books
Trumpism has canceled the knowledge society.
www.publicbooks.org
October 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM
1/3 Obviously, much of this is spot on! But I'm skeptical of the "seize the means of knowledge production" flourish. That train left when we decided we were okay with universities being basically hedge funds with attached teaching/research units. When it became normal to pay >50k to get an education
October 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Anupam Basu
"The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year... In a way, then, America has become one big bet on AI."
America is now one big bet on AI
It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy
www.ft.com
October 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
"The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year... In a way, then, America has become one big bet on AI."
Reposted by Anupam Basu
Spot the North-American anomaly: only region where social media use is still growing.
Great work by the FT’s @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/a072... “Have we passed peak social media?”
Great work by the FT’s @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/a072... “Have we passed peak social media?”
October 4, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Spot the North-American anomaly: only region where social media use is still growing.
Great work by the FT’s @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/a072... “Have we passed peak social media?”
Great work by the FT’s @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/a072... “Have we passed peak social media?”
The AI representation of the murder victim "speaks from the heart" in court!!!
Judge Todd Lang said, "I loved that AI. Thank you for that." He added, "It says something about the family because ... you allowed Chris to speak from his heart."
www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g...
Judge Todd Lang said, "I loved that AI. Thank you for that." He added, "It says something about the family because ... you allowed Chris to speak from his heart."
www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g...
Family shows AI video of slain victim as an impact statement — possibly a legal first
AI experts say this is likely the first time that AI has been used in the U.S. to create an impact statement read by an AI rendering of the deceased victim
www.npr.org
October 5, 2025 at 9:51 AM
The AI representation of the murder victim "speaks from the heart" in court!!!
Judge Todd Lang said, "I loved that AI. Thank you for that." He added, "It says something about the family because ... you allowed Chris to speak from his heart."
www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g...
Judge Todd Lang said, "I loved that AI. Thank you for that." He added, "It says something about the family because ... you allowed Chris to speak from his heart."
www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g...
A very thorough, thoughtful analysis of the #AI bubble.
blog.siliconroundabout.ventures/p/trillion-d...
blog.siliconroundabout.ventures/p/trillion-d...
Trillion-Dollar Crash
Why Markets Consistently Misprice Breakthrough Technologies & The Opportunity Beyond The AI Rush
blog.siliconroundabout.ventures
October 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
A very thorough, thoughtful analysis of the #AI bubble.
blog.siliconroundabout.ventures/p/trillion-d...
blog.siliconroundabout.ventures/p/trillion-d...
Interesting survey of #AI research on humor.
Should we care if an algorithm "understands" a joke as long as it can classify or even explain it? I think we should, but would have a hard time defending that position because it entails clearly defining understanding.
www.ft.com/content/ee51...
Should we care if an algorithm "understands" a joke as long as it can classify or even explain it? I think we should, but would have a hard time defending that position because it entails clearly defining understanding.
www.ft.com/content/ee51...
Why is this funny? And why AI doesn’t know — yet
The longtime New Yorker cartoon ed who turned to writing papers about AI humour
www.ft.com
October 4, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Interesting survey of #AI research on humor.
Should we care if an algorithm "understands" a joke as long as it can classify or even explain it? I think we should, but would have a hard time defending that position because it entails clearly defining understanding.
www.ft.com/content/ee51...
Should we care if an algorithm "understands" a joke as long as it can classify or even explain it? I think we should, but would have a hard time defending that position because it entails clearly defining understanding.
www.ft.com/content/ee51...
"One widely cited report ... found that 95% of 52 organizations surveyed had a zero return on their AI initiatives. This suggests AI has yet to make enough impact to raise the economy’s aggregate productivity."
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/behi...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/behi...
Behind Job Weakness Are Hints of a Productivity Revival. Is AI the Reason?
The artificial intelligence investment boom resembles the tech spree that brought a productivity renaissance three decades ago.
www.wsj.com
October 4, 2025 at 1:40 PM
"One widely cited report ... found that 95% of 52 organizations surveyed had a zero return on their AI initiatives. This suggests AI has yet to make enough impact to raise the economy’s aggregate productivity."
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/behi...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/behi...
The AI data-center bubble. Many reasons this boom is hype-driven, short-sighted, and headed for a crash.
www.economist.com/business/202...
www.economist.com/business/202...
The murky economics of the data-centre investment boom
How similar is it to the 1990s telecoms bubble?
www.economist.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM
The AI data-center bubble. Many reasons this boom is hype-driven, short-sighted, and headed for a crash.
www.economist.com/business/202...
www.economist.com/business/202...
The semiconductor arms race. Huawei Ascend GPUs use foreign made component despite US restrictions.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Huawei Used TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix Components in Top AI Chips
Huawei Technologies Co. used advanced components from Asia’s largest technology firms in at least some of its leading Ascend AI processors, a research firm discovered during teardowns, highlighting Ch...
www.bloomberg.com
October 4, 2025 at 8:36 AM
The semiconductor arms race. Huawei Ascend GPUs use foreign made component despite US restrictions.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...