Nicholas Mignanelli
@nmignanelli.bsky.social
Assistant Director for Reference at the Lillian Goldman Law Library, Lecturer in Legal Research at Yale Law School, Critical Legal Information Scholar Studying American Law Book History and Emerging Legal Tech., New Englander
The second talk in the Yale Law Library’s Critical Legal AI Literacies Series: Chaz Arnett on “AI and the Permanence of Racism,” library.law.yale.edu/news/critica...
Critical Legal AI Literacies: Chaz Arnett on “AI and the Permanence of Racism” | Lillian Goldman Law Library
The Lillian Goldman Law Library, through the generous support of the Oscar M.
library.law.yale.edu
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The second talk in the Yale Law Library’s Critical Legal AI Literacies Series: Chaz Arnett on “AI and the Permanence of Racism,” library.law.yale.edu/news/critica...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Deadline extended: abstracts due Oct 31
Your challenge for this weekend is to put in an abstract for Queer Bibliography 2026. It's what all the cool kids are doing.
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
October 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Deadline extended: abstracts due Oct 31
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Your challenge for this weekend is to put in an abstract for Queer Bibliography 2026. It's what all the cool kids are doing.
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
October 11, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Your challenge for this weekend is to put in an abstract for Queer Bibliography 2026. It's what all the cool kids are doing.
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
The theme is Space, Place, Community (widely understood, certainly not limited to the South). CFP: shorturl.at/XAVJ0; Submit: forms.gle/XD7FgrrStp3j...
Athens GA and online
The first talk in the Yale Law Library’s Critical Legal AI Literacies: Emily Bender on “Large Language Models and the Lawyer’s Search for Meaning” library.law.yale.edu/news/critica...
Critical Legal AI Literacies: Emily Bender on “Large Language Models and the Lawyer’s Search for Meaning” | Lillian Goldman Law Library
The Lillian Goldman Law Library, through the generous support of the Oscar M.
library.law.yale.edu
October 10, 2025 at 6:34 PM
The first talk in the Yale Law Library’s Critical Legal AI Literacies: Emily Bender on “Large Language Models and the Lawyer’s Search for Meaning” library.law.yale.edu/news/critica...
Attending Rare Book School at UVA and staying on the Lawn (Jefferson’s “Academical Village”), not far from the room where a young Edgar Allan Poe lived during his brief time as a student here in 1826
July 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Attending Rare Book School at UVA and staying on the Lawn (Jefferson’s “Academical Village”), not far from the room where a young Edgar Allan Poe lived during his brief time as a student here in 1826
My latest piece for Daily Nutmeg (the obsession with Tiffany glass continues): dailynutmeg.com/blogs/blog/c...
Window Treatments
For most of us, stained glass and churches go hand in hand. The medium’s nectar luminosity and capacity for narrative imagery have long been used to invoke the divine. But where we may see a display o...
dailynutmeg.com
July 3, 2025 at 12:40 AM
My latest piece for Daily Nutmeg (the obsession with Tiffany glass continues): dailynutmeg.com/blogs/blog/c...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Coming to #RBMS2025 this week? Interested in queer and LGBTQ+ library work and bibliography? Join us for a casual meet up on Thursday afternoon at the Blue Orchid!
Please repost and share the flyer widely!
#QueerBibliography 📚
Please repost and share the flyer widely!
#QueerBibliography 📚
June 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Coming to #RBMS2025 this week? Interested in queer and LGBTQ+ library work and bibliography? Join us for a casual meet up on Thursday afternoon at the Blue Orchid!
Please repost and share the flyer widely!
#QueerBibliography 📚
Please repost and share the flyer widely!
#QueerBibliography 📚
The Artist House, Key West (c. 1890), one of the most hauntingly beautiful homes I have ever stayed in…
May 29, 2025 at 3:10 PM
The Artist House, Key West (c. 1890), one of the most hauntingly beautiful homes I have ever stayed in…
An important piece about legal tech’s entanglement with the impending AI bubble ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com/2025/05/12/g...
Guest Post: A Thought on Legal Technology and Silicon Valley
Guest post by Nor Ortiz I’ve recently been thinking about how interconnected exactly the futures of Silicon Valley and the legal technology industry are. The past couple of years have been qu…
ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com
May 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
An important piece about legal tech’s entanglement with the impending AI bubble ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com/2025/05/12/g...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
If outlets must continue publishing pieces like this, they should consult the critics, or at least a few folks who aren't actively excited to outsource their scholarly work to machines. Failing that, do just a bit more reading beyond the enthusiasts' output: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Generative AI and the Purpose of Legal Scholarship
What does generative AI mean for the future of legal scholarship? The topic has been the talk of the town around academic water coolers. Some legal scholars hav
papers.ssrn.com
May 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
If outlets must continue publishing pieces like this, they should consult the critics, or at least a few folks who aren't actively excited to outsource their scholarly work to machines. Failing that, do just a bit more reading beyond the enthusiasts' output: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Librarian here- yes Gen AI is not a search engine and Google is not a database.
May 1, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Librarian here- yes Gen AI is not a search engine and Google is not a database.
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Say it after me: Chat GPT is not a search engine. It does not scan the web for information, it just generates statistically likely sentences. You cannot use it a search engine, or as a substitute for searching.
Now. Please never use an LLM for information searches ever again.
Now. Please never use an LLM for information searches ever again.
April 30, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Say it after me: Chat GPT is not a search engine. It does not scan the web for information, it just generates statistically likely sentences. You cannot use it a search engine, or as a substitute for searching.
Now. Please never use an LLM for information searches ever again.
Now. Please never use an LLM for information searches ever again.
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
4) I need some information and I wish to just pose my question to an all-knowing oracle.
DO NOT DO THIS. Chatbots, even if they could reliably return "the" correct answer, are not a good tech for information access.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
>>
DO NOT DO THIS. Chatbots, even if they could reliably return "the" correct answer, are not a good tech for information access.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
>>
Information literacy and chatbots as search
By Emily This post started off as a thread I wrote and posted across social media on Sunday evening. I'm reproducing the thread (lightly edited) first and...
buttondown.com
April 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
4) I need some information and I wish to just pose my question to an all-knowing oracle.
DO NOT DO THIS. Chatbots, even if they could reliably return "the" correct answer, are not a good tech for information access.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
>>
DO NOT DO THIS. Chatbots, even if they could reliably return "the" correct answer, are not a good tech for information access.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
>>
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
LLMs are nothing more than models of the distribution of the word forms in their training data, with weights modified by post-training to produce somewhat different distributions. Unless your use case requires a model of a distribution of word forms in text, indeed, they suck and aren't useful.
There are a lot of critiques of LLMs that I agree with but "they suck and aren't useful" doesn't really hold water.
I understand people not using them because of social, economic, and environmental concerns. And I also understand people using them because they can be very useful.
Thoughts?
I understand people not using them because of social, economic, and environmental concerns. And I also understand people using them because they can be very useful.
Thoughts?
April 24, 2025 at 4:54 PM
LLMs are nothing more than models of the distribution of the word forms in their training data, with weights modified by post-training to produce somewhat different distributions. Unless your use case requires a model of a distribution of word forms in text, indeed, they suck and aren't useful.
“Most of the time, government officials, landlords, employers, educators, and others who use AI to make decisions don’t announce it. This guide is meant to help you figure out if AI is being used and what you can do about it.”
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/ti...
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/ti...
Tips For Identifying AI Use — TechTonic Justice
www.techtonicjustice.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:52 AM
“Most of the time, government officials, landlords, employers, educators, and others who use AI to make decisions don’t announce it. This guide is meant to help you figure out if AI is being used and what you can do about it.”
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/ti...
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/ti...
Spring on the New Haven Green
April 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Spring on the New Haven Green
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
WHOOF. Going to have to add this one to the "Boolean tools are powerful but easy to misuse" example bank (I maintain that searching for "haunted house" when searching for Stambovsky v. Ackley is the best example of this, but this one has more material consequences).
April 15, 2025 at 4:08 PM
WHOOF. Going to have to add this one to the "Boolean tools are powerful but easy to misuse" example bank (I maintain that searching for "haunted house" when searching for Stambovsky v. Ackley is the best example of this, but this one has more material consequences).
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
The latest issues of Lawyer Ex Machina is out. More AI Fabrication Follies, the SEC drops its suit against Ripple, and more. #lawsky #lawlibrarians #legaltech buttondown.com/LawyerExMach...
Happy Nowruz 2025
A small newsletter about legaltech
buttondown.com
March 20, 2025 at 9:54 PM
The latest issues of Lawyer Ex Machina is out. More AI Fabrication Follies, the SEC drops its suit against Ripple, and more. #lawsky #lawlibrarians #legaltech buttondown.com/LawyerExMach...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Tapping this sign again. By @emilymbender.bsky.social
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
"As OpenAI and Meta introduce LLM-driven searchbots, I'd like to once again remind people that neither LLMs nor chatbots are good technology for information access."
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
"As OpenAI and Meta introduce LLM-driven searchbots, I'd like to once again remind people that neither LLMs nor chatbots are good technology for information access."
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
March 20, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Tapping this sign again. By @emilymbender.bsky.social
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
"As OpenAI and Meta introduce LLM-driven searchbots, I'd like to once again remind people that neither LLMs nor chatbots are good technology for information access."
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
"As OpenAI and Meta introduce LLM-driven searchbots, I'd like to once again remind people that neither LLMs nor chatbots are good technology for information access."
Connecticut folklore makes the @nytimes.com
Following in the footsteps of the Old Leatherman, a sort of real-life Northeastern Sasquatch, gave one writer an excuse to step outside of his own life.
What I Found on the 365-Mile Trail of a Lost Folk Hero
The Old Leatherman, a sort of real-life Northeastern Sasquatch, gave me an excuse to step outside my own life.
www.nytimes.com
March 9, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Connecticut folklore makes the @nytimes.com
The Yale Law Library acquires the notes of an American (colonial Maryland) student who attended Blackstone’s 1758 lectures at Oxford library.law.yale.edu/news/new-acq...
March 8, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The Yale Law Library acquires the notes of an American (colonial Maryland) student who attended Blackstone’s 1758 lectures at Oxford library.law.yale.edu/news/new-acq...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
Our new "PACER Pray and Pay Project" is launched! This project lets you "Pray" for PACER documents you want, and has a leader board where other people can "Pay" for the most-wanted items.
When your prayer is granted, we let you know! Details below and here: www.courtlistener.com/help/pray-an...
When your prayer is granted, we let you know! Details below and here: www.courtlistener.com/help/pray-an...
March 4, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Our new "PACER Pray and Pay Project" is launched! This project lets you "Pray" for PACER documents you want, and has a leader board where other people can "Pay" for the most-wanted items.
When your prayer is granted, we let you know! Details below and here: www.courtlistener.com/help/pray-an...
When your prayer is granted, we let you know! Details below and here: www.courtlistener.com/help/pray-an...
Reposted by Nicholas Mignanelli
The more vendor AI demos I attend, the more I think the end result, if not the end goal, is further dissociation from information. A lot of our technology already removes us from active processing, and this next step allows yet another step back while it all flows by.
February 20, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The more vendor AI demos I attend, the more I think the end result, if not the end goal, is further dissociation from information. A lot of our technology already removes us from active processing, and this next step allows yet another step back while it all flows by.
“Kirby’s on My Mind: A Material Culture Approach to Critical Legal Information Literacy,” my essay about teaching the foundations of legal research with rare law books, is now out in the Journal of Legal Education and posted to SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 16, 2025 at 11:28 PM
“Kirby’s on My Mind: A Material Culture Approach to Critical Legal Information Literacy,” my essay about teaching the foundations of legal research with rare law books, is now out in the Journal of Legal Education and posted to SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....