Tom Roberts
@robtomerts.bsky.social
linguist doing some antics in utrecht | eesti keele suurim fänn | he/him
abstract submission via easychair
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.
rm -rf ~/
rm -rf ~/
"The chancellor approved it"
October 14, 2025 at 11:22 AM
abstract submission via easychair
i promise to any philosopher that they are by no means obligated to outsource the core work of philosophy to a proprietary synthetic text generator, no matter what accountants tell them
Theory-driven customization of AIs (like ChatGPT): why philosophers should try it, and a guide to how they can.
Best Next Moves: How Philosophers Can Make Good Use of Theory-Driven GPTs (guest post) - Daily Nous
We've talked previously about some of the various tasks that philosophers might have large language models help them with in their work, mainly focusing on the ethics of doing so. But what about the mechanics of doing so? There are different ways to make use of AIs like ChatGPT. You could simply open it up
dailynous.com
September 26, 2025 at 8:14 AM
i promise to any philosopher that they are by no means obligated to outsource the core work of philosophy to a proprietary synthetic text generator, no matter what accountants tell them
shaken to my core by learning that in the UK that dance is called the "hokey cokey"
August 27, 2025 at 6:10 PM
shaken to my core by learning that in the UK that dance is called the "hokey cokey"
Reposted by Tom Roberts
"Handen af van de eigen koopwoning," stelt BBB. Wat zeggen ze vervolgens?
Een kort draadje
boerburgerbeweging.nl/fractienieuw...
Een kort draadje
boerburgerbeweging.nl/fractienieuw...
‘Handen af van de eigen koopwoning’ | BBB
Henk Vermeer: “Voor heel veel mensen is hun huis het resultaat van jarenlang hard werken”
boerburgerbeweging.nl
August 17, 2025 at 4:55 PM
"Handen af van de eigen koopwoning," stelt BBB. Wat zeggen ze vervolgens?
Een kort draadje
boerburgerbeweging.nl/fractienieuw...
Een kort draadje
boerburgerbeweging.nl/fractienieuw...
Reposted by Tom Roberts
We're going to need journalists to stop talking about synthetic text extruding machines as if they have *thoughts* or *stances* that they are *trying* to *communicate*. ChatGPT can't *admit* anything, nor *self-report*. Gah.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chat...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chat...
August 7, 2025 at 1:46 PM
We're going to need journalists to stop talking about synthetic text extruding machines as if they have *thoughts* or *stances* that they are *trying* to *communicate*. ChatGPT can't *admit* anything, nor *self-report*. Gah.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chat...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/chat...
Reposted by Tom Roberts
I'm looking to recruit participants aged 18+ who are based in the United States and speak English at home. You'll need headphones for this study (it's listening to audio clips), it will last ~30 minutes, and you can receive $5 for participating!
illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
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illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com
June 27, 2025 at 1:17 AM
I'm looking to recruit participants aged 18+ who are based in the United States and speak English at home. You'll need headphones for this study (it's listening to audio clips), it will last ~30 minutes, and you can receive $5 for participating!
illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
if you're already violating any standard of decency and the rule of law, might as well also violate your own presuppositions
June 11, 2025 at 4:02 PM
if you're already violating any standard of decency and the rule of law, might as well also violate your own presuppositions
de wachtrij voor gratis Op de Ring tickets is terecht een realistische simulatie van in de file staan tijdens de spits
May 21, 2025 at 10:48 AM
de wachtrij voor gratis Op de Ring tickets is terecht een realistische simulatie van in de file staan tijdens de spits
exploring the fecundity of human cognition (from gärdenfors 2014, The Geometry of Meaning, p. 223)
April 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
exploring the fecundity of human cognition (from gärdenfors 2014, The Geometry of Meaning, p. 223)
is there a compelling reason, in the year of our lord 2025 (or ever), for bibliographies to include the city in which a book is published?
April 16, 2025 at 9:58 AM
is there a compelling reason, in the year of our lord 2025 (or ever), for bibliographies to include the city in which a book is published?
Reposted by Tom Roberts
Linguists organizing major conferences in the US: please make your venue hybrid! Many non-US colleagues can't/don't want to travel to the US anymore
Confs: 56th Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society
Confs: 56th Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society
We are pleased to announce that the 56th Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistics Society (NELS 55) will be hosted by New York University in New York, New York, from October 17 to October 19, 2025. Keynote speakers will be announced at a later date.
We invite abstracts for 20-minute talks and posters on any theoretical or formal aspect of natural language, including but not limited to phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and their interfaces. There will be a special sessi
dlvr.it
April 16, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Linguists organizing major conferences in the US: please make your venue hybrid! Many non-US colleagues can't/don't want to travel to the US anymore
wow, can't believe how much daylight we're saving now
March 30, 2025 at 8:27 AM
wow, can't believe how much daylight we're saving now
Reposted by Tom Roberts
again, the us is no longer a safe venue: conferences, conventions, personal visits …
bsky.app/profile/lexi...
bsky.app/profile/lexi...
again: the US is no longer a safe venue for academic conferences, or anyone else
bsky.app/profile/grav...
bsky.app/profile/grav...
March 29, 2025 at 10:23 AM
again, the us is no longer a safe venue: conferences, conventions, personal visits …
bsky.app/profile/lexi...
bsky.app/profile/lexi...
TIL that the United Auto Workers, a union who also represents tens of thousands of US grad students and which I used to be a member of, expressed unequivocal support for the disastrous tariffs (www.cbc.ca/player/play/...)
when your unions start backing authoritarians, may I suggest making a new one
when your unions start backing authoritarians, may I suggest making a new one
The UAW has thrown support behind Trump's tariffs. Here's a look at why
If you're an auto worker, how you feel about tariffs, may depend on which side of the border you're on. In Canada, the union representing auto workers has come out strong against tariffs. But on the A...
www.cbc.ca
March 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
TIL that the United Auto Workers, a union who also represents tens of thousands of US grad students and which I used to be a member of, expressed unequivocal support for the disastrous tariffs (www.cbc.ca/player/play/...)
when your unions start backing authoritarians, may I suggest making a new one
when your unions start backing authoritarians, may I suggest making a new one
hagiography (the study of the hague)
March 16, 2025 at 10:24 AM
hagiography (the study of the hague)
started saying "zed" instead of "zee" in lectures to accommodate the audience but it makes me feel deeply fraudulent
March 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
started saying "zed" instead of "zee" in lectures to accommodate the audience but it makes me feel deeply fraudulent
tony hawk's pro nouns
February 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
tony hawk's pro nouns
"I'm a drug addict to cope with my drug addiction"
February 27, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"I'm a drug addict to cope with my drug addiction"
editing government documents and blacklisting agencies/programs to implement censorship of the very idea of trans people is disturbing and authoritarian enough, but the fact that it's obviously being implemented with string find+replace tells you how carefully considered it is
‼️ The National Park Service has REMOVED mentions of transgender people being involved with Stonewall. Not only did the remove the world "Transgender" but changed "LGBTQ+" to "LGBQ+".
The federal government is attempting to erase us and take away our history.
This pride, we riot.
The federal government is attempting to erase us and take away our history.
This pride, we riot.
February 14, 2025 at 1:07 PM
editing government documents and blacklisting agencies/programs to implement censorship of the very idea of trans people is disturbing and authoritarian enough, but the fact that it's obviously being implemented with string find+replace tells you how carefully considered it is
wie zegt dat Jehovah's getuigen geen gevoel voor humor hebben?
February 11, 2025 at 10:58 AM
wie zegt dat Jehovah's getuigen geen gevoel voor humor hebben?
Reposted by Tom Roberts
Tonight staff of Utrecht University who came together to discuss new actions against the budget cuts to higher education, have decided that there will be a strike on Tuesday 11 March. At this moment, a preparation action-comittee is being formed, coordinated by the Union FNV. >
February 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Tonight staff of Utrecht University who came together to discuss new actions against the budget cuts to higher education, have decided that there will be a strike on Tuesday 11 March. At this moment, a preparation action-comittee is being formed, coordinated by the Union FNV. >
Reposted by Tom Roberts
As someone who has reported on AI for 7 years and covered China tech as well, I think the biggest lesson to be drawn from DeepSeek is the huge cracks it illustrates with the current dominant paradigm of AI development. A long thread. 1/
January 27, 2025 at 2:12 PM
As someone who has reported on AI for 7 years and covered China tech as well, I think the biggest lesson to be drawn from DeepSeek is the huge cracks it illustrates with the current dominant paradigm of AI development. A long thread. 1/
new headline question example just dropped
the answer to a question in a headline is always "no", but never has the answer to a question in a headline been MORE "no" than how much "no" it is here
January 6, 2025 at 11:14 PM
new headline question example just dropped