Ben Swift
@benswift.me
Computer scientist/researcher/dev and creative technologist (livecoder). Academic, but looks longingly over the fence sometimes. Judge me by my GitHub profile, not my h-index :)
Senior Lecturer and Cybernetic Studio Lead at the ANU School of Cybernetics.
Senior Lecturer and Cybernetic Studio Lead at the ANU School of Cybernetics.
Reposted by Ben Swift
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
www.chronicle.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Reposted by Ben Swift
SensiLab Melbourne is hiring. One of the best groups in Australia researching creative tech. sensilab.monash.edu/work-with-us...
Jobs at SensiLab - SensiLab
sensilab.monash.edu
November 3, 2025 at 5:59 AM
SensiLab Melbourne is hiring. One of the best groups in Australia researching creative tech. sensilab.monash.edu/work-with-us...
Reposted by Ben Swift
yeah, this is why I like framing AI stuff in terms of cybernetics. it really can be an extension of your capability, but it requires you to think of it that way and plan your work differently.
October 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
yeah, this is why I like framing AI stuff in terms of cybernetics. it really can be an extension of your capability, but it requires you to think of it that way and plan your work differently.
Reposted by Ben Swift
This might surprise some people given I'm very pro-AI, but I feel this on a visceral level about my own creative writing process.
Coding? Whatever, I'm happy for an LLM to write most of that for me. But I want to solve *these* problems myself, because that feels intrinsic to my creative expression.
Coding? Whatever, I'm happy for an LLM to write most of that for me. But I want to solve *these* problems myself, because that feels intrinsic to my creative expression.
October 9, 2025 at 6:58 PM
This might surprise some people given I'm very pro-AI, but I feel this on a visceral level about my own creative writing process.
Coding? Whatever, I'm happy for an LLM to write most of that for me. But I want to solve *these* problems myself, because that feels intrinsic to my creative expression.
Coding? Whatever, I'm happy for an LLM to write most of that for me. But I want to solve *these* problems myself, because that feels intrinsic to my creative expression.
Reposted by Ben Swift
AI is interesting to me because it has mainstreamed “what does it mean to be human” and “what is the value of creativity and labor?” Unfortunately it’s also mainstreamed a lot of really dumb responses to those questions
August 29, 2025 at 7:18 AM
AI is interesting to me because it has mainstreamed “what does it mean to be human” and “what is the value of creativity and labor?” Unfortunately it’s also mainstreamed a lot of really dumb responses to those questions
Reposted by Ben Swift
Reposted by Ben Swift
Instead of regurgitating the bromide that LLMs are just "autocomplete on steroids" (even by people who know better), maybe we can actually engage in some public education. The problem with genAI is better expressed through a classic computer science concept, known as SYMBOL GROUNDING. 🧵
August 12, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Instead of regurgitating the bromide that LLMs are just "autocomplete on steroids" (even by people who know better), maybe we can actually engage in some public education. The problem with genAI is better expressed through a classic computer science concept, known as SYMBOL GROUNDING. 🧵
Reposted by Ben Swift
These three paragraphs are so spot on
July 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
These three paragraphs are so spot on
Reposted by Ben Swift
i prefer my AI content explicitly hallucinogenic and nightmarish
July 16, 2025 at 1:59 AM
i prefer my AI content explicitly hallucinogenic and nightmarish
if you’re in Canberra this week (either for #nime2025 or otherwise) then my installation PANIC! is installed in the ANU School of Art & Design foyer gallery
June 25, 2025 at 12:04 AM
if you’re in Canberra this week (either for #nime2025 or otherwise) then my installation PANIC! is installed in the ANU School of Art & Design foyer gallery
Reposted by Ben Swift
One of the most lucid tweets I ever saw regarding AI was along the lines „We created a machine that acted like middle management and believed that meant it had a soul instead of understanding it meant that middle management didn’t.“
June 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM
One of the most lucid tweets I ever saw regarding AI was along the lines „We created a machine that acted like middle management and believed that meant it had a soul instead of understanding it meant that middle management didn’t.“
Reposted by Ben Swift
In terms of art, there are SO many great artists thinking critically about AI and its place in society. @eryk.bsky.social is one I consistently recommend as an artist who sees value in expression through the kinds of ecosystems of noise through which AI models articulate. Fascinating work.
June 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
In terms of art, there are SO many great artists thinking critically about AI and its place in society. @eryk.bsky.social is one I consistently recommend as an artist who sees value in expression through the kinds of ecosystems of noise through which AI models articulate. Fascinating work.
Reposted by Ben Swift
Worthwhile reading.
Some of the features that John rightly criticizes in AI writing are shared by the sort of committee reports and consensus papers that emerge from workshops and symposia because someone felt that there had to be a “product“ associated with the meeting.
Some of the features that John rightly criticizes in AI writing are shared by the sort of committee reports and consensus papers that emerge from workshops and symposia because someone felt that there had to be a “product“ associated with the meeting.
I wrote a very long blog post about AI writing. I hope you'll read it.
meresophistry.substack.com/p/the-mental...
meresophistry.substack.com/p/the-mental...
The mental tyranny of AI writing
An arduously long blog post
meresophistry.substack.com
March 30, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Worthwhile reading.
Some of the features that John rightly criticizes in AI writing are shared by the sort of committee reports and consensus papers that emerge from workshops and symposia because someone felt that there had to be a “product“ associated with the meeting.
Some of the features that John rightly criticizes in AI writing are shared by the sort of committee reports and consensus papers that emerge from workshops and symposia because someone felt that there had to be a “product“ associated with the meeting.
Reposted by Ben Swift
Great piece by @benswift.me for @timeshighered.bsky.social highlighting how dynamic the #GenAI space is - and that universities are well advised not to keep all their eggs in one AI basket by signing exclusive deals.
Strong agree with Ben's arguments.
www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/deeps...
Strong agree with Ben's arguments.
www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/deeps...
DeepSeek and shallow moats: what does it mean for higher education?
DeepSeek’s arrival may have spooked the markets, but what does it mean for the research and development of LLMs? Higher education should avoid putting all its eggs in one GenAI basket, writes Ben Swif...
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 21, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Great piece by @benswift.me for @timeshighered.bsky.social highlighting how dynamic the #GenAI space is - and that universities are well advised not to keep all their eggs in one AI basket by signing exclusive deals.
Strong agree with Ben's arguments.
www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/deeps...
Strong agree with Ben's arguments.
www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/deeps...
February 16, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Ben Swift
OK, shit is getting real. A lot of teachers that understand the limits of straight LLMs — and know when an assignment falls outside them — are going to need to recalibrate in 2025.
The new OpenAI model announced today is quite wild. It is essentially Google's Deep Research idea with multistep reasoning, web search, *and* the o3 model underneath (as far as I know). It sometimes takes a half hour to answer. Let me show you an example. 1/x
February 3, 2025 at 4:59 AM
OK, shit is getting real. A lot of teachers that understand the limits of straight LLMs — and know when an assignment falls outside them — are going to need to recalibrate in 2025.
Reposted by Ben Swift
Reposted by Ben Swift
look i made it the 1979 ibm warning
January 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM
look i made it the 1979 ibm warning