Ben Roberts
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brabazon.bsky.social
Ben Roberts
@brabazon.bsky.social
89 followers 81 following 4 posts
Digital Humanities, University of Sussex
co-director Sussex Digital Humanities Lab
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Reposted by Ben Roberts
swebb.bsky.social
Super proud of this co-authored paper with Caroline Bassett & Kylie Jarrett. Collaborative papers can often take a little longer to write but the experience of working with amazing scholars, colleagues & friends is well worth it. I should say our paper is about stacks politics & feminism in DH 🤩
November 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Very proud to have worked on this statement of the Modern Language Association with @annamillsoer.bsky.social and other colleagues on the MLA’s task force on AI in Research and Teaching. It is a direct call for faculty input into Ed Tech decision-making, especially AI: www.mla.org/Resources/Ad... 🧵
Screenshots of the following text: Statement on Educational Technologies and AI Agents The following statement of endorsement was drafted by the MLA Task Force on AI in Research and Teaching. The Executive Council approved it as an MLA statement in October 2025. Software, specifically learning management systems (LMSs), is as important to teaching and learning as physical classrooms and facilities. The recent and hasty integration of generative AI features into those systems is already redefining student and instructor relationships, evaluative standards, and instructional outcomes—with no compelling evidence that any of it is for the better. At the same time, so-called agentic browsers are becoming widely available to the public. These offer AI “agents” that can navigate LMSs and complete assignments without any student involvement. All of this is unfolding at a time when contractual arrangements between institutions and commercial vendors often lack transparency, with worrisome implications for data collection and student privacy. Screenshots of the following text: The Modern Language Association therefore unequivocally 1. Advocates for full faculty and instructional involvement, including faculty of languages, literatures, and the humanities, at all levels of decision-making in the selection, procurement, and responsible implementation of instructional technology systems and software, including those incorporating AI.

The instructional mission cannot be fulfilled in the absence of faculty expertise, and this expertise extends not only to the “content” of the curriculum but also to the infrastructures and environments—virtual and otherwise—in which learning happens.
  2. Calls upon law- and policymakers, LMS vendors, and companies offering agent-based AI browsers to cooperate in order to prevent misuse and to ensure that academic institutions have the ability and option to block agentic AI when needed.

Without dedicated outside cooperation from lawmakers and technology providers, academic institutions may not have the technical capacity to do so on their own. If we do not act, we risk seeing the development of a fully automated loop in which assignments are generated by AI with the support of a learning management system, AI-generated content is submitted by an agentic AI on behalf of the student, and AI-driven metrics evaluate the work on behalf of the instructor.
November 4, 2025 at 1:09 AM
brabazon.bsky.social
Looking forward to this book launch event on cultures of automation today at 5pm BST www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-human-...
The Human and the Machine in Literature and Culture: Cultures of Automation
Celebrating the launch of 'The Human and the Machine in Literature and Culture: Cultures of Automation' with readings and discussion.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
kate-foster.bsky.social
No way to control it, it’s totally automatic… take a look at this collected volume on Automation, edited by moi and Molly Crozier www.routledge.com/The-Human-an...
The Human and the Machine in Literature and Culture: Cultures of Automation
Automation is everywhere: in the supermarket, in home appliances, and on our commutes. While we worry about what automation means for human autonomy now, human societies have long wondered about their...
www.routledge.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
britishlibrary.bsky.social
Join us for the Post-1800 and Contemporary British Society & Culture Doctoral Open Day on Friday 14 March:

- Discover our rich collections
- Connect with our expert curatorial teams
- Expand your network with like-minded researchers

Book your place: bit.ly/BLPhDOpenDay...
Front cover of 'Black & White.' The march of the suffragettes.
February 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
kcimc.bsky.social
i'm building an experimental tool for exploring 25 years of my old sketchbooks, with image and text recognition powered by gemini
December 12, 2024 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
jwbaker.bsky.social
DH Climate Coalition report led @jolwalton.bsky.social and friends @sussexdigitalhums.bsky.social: 'The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures' zenodo.org/records/1392...
The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures
This report gives a snapshot of current critical issues around AI, the cloud, and climate change. Awareness of the environmental impacts of AI and the cloud has been growing rapidly. While there are p...
zenodo.org
November 21, 2024 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
nerdjpg.com
Verso books lost one of its trusted partners - they are the largest independent, radical publishing house in the English-speaking world, publishing one hundred books a year.

Make a pledge and share please!
There are rewards for supporting as well

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ver...
Comrades! Verso Needs Your Support for Radical Publishing
Verso Books needs your help to launch its Autumn 2024 list of books after the bankruptcy of one its most trusted partners.
www.kickstarter.com
September 24, 2024 at 5:06 PM
brabazon.bsky.social
The setup for yesterday's Oscillographics workshop at @sussexdigitalhums.bsky.social Sussex Digital Humanities Lab looks great
February 22, 2024 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Ben Roberts
tedunderwood.com
I started out skeptical here, but it’s persuasive: letting institutions that can track you across the web also monopolize ad sales is a bad idea. If someone else can sell *the audience of* The New Yorker, there’s no reason to place ads *in* The New Yorker.
How Fighting Monopoly Can Save Journalism | Washington Monthly
The collapse of the news industry is not an inevitable consequence of technology or market forces. It’s the result of policy mistakes over the past 40 years that the Biden administration is already ...
washingtonmonthly.com
February 2, 2024 at 3:46 AM