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James O’Sullivan

@jamesosullivan.bsky.social
995 followers 376 following 377 posts

Professor of Digital Culture & Cultural Analytics at University College Cork. Researcher, educator, essayist, and small-time publisher. Curmudgeonly Corkonian with malfunctioning heart.

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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 10h
Marian Keyes' writing is a powerful force for social change Women's commercial fiction — or chick lit as it is dismissively called — helps to shape society in subtle ways, writes @mariabbutler.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
irishexaminer.com
Marian Keyes' writing is a powerful force for social change
Women's commercial fiction — or chick lit as it is dismissively called — helps to shape society in subtle ways, writes Dr Maria Butler
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Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 29/09/2026
AI has permeated our daily discussions & news cycles as unease grows over its capabilities & the U.S. races to beat China. It's forcing us to ask questions about morality & ethics, how our society is organized, & what it means to be human. Check out 10 deep dives into these questions & more below ⬇️
noemamag.com
Noema’s AI Reading List | NOEMA
Ten deep dives into the fundamental questions that AI poses.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Really enjoyed this evening’s ‘Songs for Shelley’ programme at @mtu.ie Cork School of Music, a recital given in memory of Michèle de Foubert, founding member of the Fleischmann Choir. The choir teamed up with the Irish Project Ensemble. #culturenight #culturenightcork
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Wonderful evening celebrating six artist-in-residence programmes at University College Cork. Particularly pleasing to see @stephenroddy.bandcamp.com recap @alanbutler.info’s tenure as @ucc.ie’s first Digital Artist-in-Residence, generously supported by @artscouncilireland.bsky.social.
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Stephen Roddy @stephenroddy.bandcamp.com · 08/09/2026
The free online version of my ‘Listening in the Shadow of Palantir’ piece for the @thewiremagazine.bsky.social is live today. You can read it here: www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/c...
thewire.co.uk
Against The Grain: Listening after Palantir - The Wire
Machine listening is transforming environmental sound into data points that support surveillance infrastructure, changing what it means to hear, argues Stephen Roddy in The Wire 512
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Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 29/08/2026
“In our ‘post-truth’ age, facts may be jettisoned if they collide with partisan identity. Tribal loyalty often outperforms reality.” —Peter Pomerantsev www.noemamag.com/journalism-i...
noemamag.com
Journalism In An Age Of Authoritarianism | NOEMA
The media needs to rethink its role in protecting democracy — rather than just chronicling its demise.
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Des Fitzgerald @desfitzgerald.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This stuff, btw, is still pure cosplay and liberal fantasia. The numbers of people moving are infinitesimally small. Meanwhile the entire EU research budget, let alone Canada, is dwarfed by the NIH alone, even post trump. Let's try to be serious. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Canada poaches dozens of top US researchers for its universities
Researchers in fields like climate and medicine are being lured north by new research funding.
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Des Fitzgerald @desfitzgerald.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
People want to believe in some massive brain drain, but no other country even vaguely wants to - or is able to - put up the amounts of money that might actually make a difference.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Working through manuscript proofs is like having dinner with an old friend you can no longer abide: they were once important to you, so you get on with the pleasantries, but it’s a slog. You’ve moved on. You have new, more exciting friends now, so spending time with this one is an unbearable chore.
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Stephen Ramsay @sramsay2.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
People seem to be confused about the basic motivations of tech oligarchs. Here's the deal: If it makes lots of money, it doesn't matter if it's a *soap bubble.*
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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 03/08/2026
It's nice that The Odyssey is getting its day in the sun as a synecdoche for history. But when this summer is over, it's back to the relentless, remorseless rise of Jane Austen.
Google Ngram Viewer chart comparing the frequency of “Jane Austen” and “The Odyssey” in English-language books from 1800 to 2022. Both phrases are rare before the mid-nineteenth century. Mentions of “Jane Austen” rise sharply after about 1860, fluctuate through the twentieth century, and then climb steeply after 1990 to roughly 0.000075% by 2020. “The Odyssey” increases more gradually, reaching about 0.000020% by 2020.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Marty Supreme is excellent.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
As someone who always hires a professional indexer (I tried it myself once and it was a disaster), I wonder why LLMs aren't good at indexing? It's basically judging relevance and mapping concepts. Is it the need for a book-wide taxonomy and exact locations that makes indexing unsuited to LLMs?
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Congratulations to HEA colleagues on the publication of their Education for Sustainable Development framework for higher education. Particular congrats to Dr Mark Kelly, who led this work. #sustainability #ESD #highereducation #SDG #SDGs #climateaction hea.ie/2026/07/29/h...
hea.ie
HEA Launches Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Framework for Higher Education, Welcomed by Minister Lawless | Higher Education Authority
→
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Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 22/07/2026
“Prediction markets are an endpoint of the gamification of finance, when it stops pretending to be finance at all.” — @jamesosullivan.bsky.social www.noemamag.com/this-is-not-...
noemamag.com
‘This Is Not Financial Advice’ | NOEMA
How finfluencers prey on economic desperation.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Man, America must be really be big on equality and inclusion. #WorldCup
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
What an absolute circus the #WorldCup final has become.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
‘Against all authority except my mom’
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Claire Connolly @claireconnolly.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Very nice not only to have good news but to have it shared - thanks @martindoyle.bsky.social @uccresearch.bsky.social @acirishstudies.bsky.social
irishtimes.com
Claire Connolly wins Robert Rhodes Prize
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
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University College Cork @ucc.ie · 24/06/2026
Professor Claire Connolly wins major Irish literature award ⁣⁣⁣ Congratulations to Prof. @claireconnolly.bsky.social on being awarded the prestigious Robert Rhodes Prize for her acclaimed work ‘Irish Romanticism: A Literary History’.⁣⁣⁣ www.ucc.ie/en/news/2026...
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Dear editors, Stop sending me books comprised solely of AI slop to review. The tells are so obvious it frightens me that someone whose job is to read cannot spot them immediately. Sending manuscripts composed without any authorial effort for review is damaging the reputation of your press. James
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Ciara Breathnach @ciarab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
So this was a nice surprise to wake up to, thanks to all Cambridge University Press & Assessment and series editor @woolf-atthedoor.bsky.social Delighted that it is Open Access doi.org/10.1017/9781... @researchireland.ie @ucc.ie
doi.org
Absence in the Archives
Cambridge Core - Global History - Absence in the Archives
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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 17/06/2026
If "cheating on assignments" was all we had to worry about, paper would be a fix. What should scare academics about AI is that higher ed might be losing its central role in producing, evaluating, and transmitting useful knowledge. I'm hopeful we won't, but that is the concern.
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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 17/06/2026
Every academic I know who uses or studies AI is also deeply worried about the technology’s effect on universities. Concern is universal. What separates people is how they think we should respond: whether by pumping the brakes, backing up, or trying to steer through the hazard. +
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Enjoyed contributing to ‘Human–AI Collaboration in Education: Bridging Policy, Innovation and Community’ at EDEN Digital Learning Europe, University of Porto. A worthwhile exchange of views between policymakers, business leaders and colleagues working across higher ed. #EDEN2026 @researchireland.ie
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Congratulations to Dr Olga Concetta Patroni, who received the CDE-DTC Lazio Award for 2025, which recognises outstanding doctoral research in digital cultural heritage. Dr Concetta Patroni is a postdoc @ucc.ie’s Minimal Curation project, funded by @researchireland.ie. www.ucc.ie/en/dah/news/...
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Claire Connolly @claireconnolly.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The open letter regarding industry and applied bias in Research Ireland's strategy is still open for signing ... openletter.earth/concern-abou...
openletter.earth
Concern about Research Ireland’s Strategy and Programme Plan
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Elaine Burke @elaineburke.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Also I feel very much like I was just at an Enterprise Ireland announcement, not a Research Ireland one. Major focus on industry, commercialisation of research, turning scientists into entrepreneurs, creating a talent pipeline for industry, and an overriding theme of fairly ill-defined "scale".
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Congratulations to my @ucc.ie colleague @eimearryan.bsky.social, editor @bansheepress.bsky.social, on the publication of Billy Ramsell’s new collection of poetry, Render. Masterfully launched by our other colleague, @adamhanna.bsky.social. Get it while you can: bansheepress.org/shop/p/rende...
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Some nice personal news to share! Delighted to reveal that I have been promoted to Professor of Digital Culture & Cultural Analytics @ucc.ie Thanks to all of my colleagues at UCC and beyond for supporting me throughout my career. I've always had the good fortune of working with good people.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
‘This is not financial advice’ I’ve a new essay in @noemamag.com on how ‘finfluencers’ use #socialmedia to prey on economic desperation. It’s a cautionary tale on under-regulated financial markets like the OTC & #crypto attracting gamblers, typically men, chasing the dream of ‘financial freedom’.
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Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 02/06/2026
“At a time when traditional markers of male success, such as homeownership & predictable family formation, have become less attainable, many men feel increasing pressure to find a way — however reckless — to achieve prosperity & demonstrate value.” — @jamesosullivan.bsky.social #fintwit #wallstreet
noemamag.com
‘This Is Not Financial Advice’ | NOEMA
How finfluencers prey on economic desperation.
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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 28/05/2026
Data-centre energy demand adds hundreds of euros to home electricity bills, study claims
irishtimes.com
Data-centre energy demand adds hundreds of euros to home electricity bills, study claims
Report draws criticism from representative body Digital Infrastructure Ireland, which says data centres ‘vital’
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 27/05/2026
i really can’t understand why many journalists fail to provide a link to the original scientific paper/survey when reporting on a given work… its my biggest pet peeve
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UCC Research @uccresearch.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
VP for Research and Innovation @ucc.ie Prof @jfcryan.bsky.social opens this year's Research and Innovation Awards, acknowledging the breadth of research, innovation and entrepreneurial activity across the UCC campus.
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Stephen Roddy @stephenroddy.bandcamp.com · 27/05/2026
Our Call for essays is closing on June 30th for volume 2 of Digital Art in Ireland. (Ireland being VERY broadly construed). If you've got something that you think could fit please do get in touch. www.blackwaterpublishing.com/digital-art-...
blackwaterpublishing.com
Call for Submissions Digital Art in Ireland — Blackwater Publishing
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UCC Innovation @uccinnovation.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
President of @ucc.ie Prof @joh2024.bsky.social addresses attendees at the UCC Research and Innovation Awards 2025. He acknowledges the work of UCC researchers and innovators in pushing boundaries, embracing knowledge and creating real-world impact through their work #UCCRIAwards
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Having coffee in WebWorkHouse. Haven’t been in a long time despite it being close to home. Only a small few computers left 😢. I spent many a happy overnighter here playing Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft; messing with Geocities etc. I miss the online culture I grew up with. Man, I’m old.
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jcpillars.bsky.social @jcpillars.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
The fact that Nyong’o’s beauty is causing a war between two rival cultures in America right now is proof enough that she is the perfect Helen of Troy.
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Remember the metaverse? 🫠
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I’m not at all surpised by the Jamir Nazir Commonwealth Prize / Granta fiasco (it was bound to happen at some point), but we should be deeply concerned that literary culture can no longer verify authorship through reading alone (no, AI detectors are not a solution). open.substack.com/pub/jamescos...
open.substack.com
AI can write prize-winning fiction. Now what?
The controversy surrounding Jamir Nazir's The Serpent in the Grove, published by Granta, shows that reading is no longer enough to establish authorship
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Everyone is losing their minds about who's playing Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s adaption of The Odyssey but nobody says a word when classics departments are shut down. We all know that this is not about Homer. open.substack.com/pub/jamescos...
open.substack.com
Be honest, you don't really care about Homer or classical literature
I will believe you actually care about Homer when you fight for a classics department.
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Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning @ijtel.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
📣 New publication alert: The Humanities in the Age of Generative AI by @jamesosullivan.bsky.social "The question addressed here is [how universities] should think about teaching and learning, research, & governance under conditions in which genAI has become infrastructural." doi.org/10.22554/26y...
Generative AI is a threat to humanistic authority, but the response to that threat lies in re-articulating that very authority in dialogue with the technical systems that increasingly mediate our intellectual life.
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Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 17/05/2026
“The machines are coming for us, or so we’re told. Not today, but soon enough that we must seemingly reorganize civilization around their arrival.” — @jamesosullivan.bsky.social www.noemamag.com/the-politics...
noemamag.com
The Politics Of Superintelligence | NOEMA
Today’s tech “prophets” push a narrative that God-like artificial superintelligence is inevitable, and only they can ensure humanity’s safety from their creations.
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Oliver Moran 🌻🇮🇪🇪🇺 @oliver.ie · 17/05/2026
This stuff has to be pointed out for the extremism it is — Wanting to live in places, rural and urban, where you are safe and free to go about daily life without depending on the expense of a car — or being terrorised by users of them — isn't wanting to "live like hobbits", it's freedom.
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University College Cork @ucc.ie · 14/05/2026
Harassment by online influencers requires legal change People have been subjected to humiliation and degradation by an influencer using Meta's glasses - this needs urgent attention, @jamesosullivan.bsky.social, UCC School of English and Digital Humanities, writes.
irishexaminer.com
Harassment by online influencers requires legal change
Ordinary people in Cork have been subjected to humiliation and degradation by an influencer using Meta's glasses - this needs urgent attention from policymakers, writes James O’Sullivan
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James O’Sullivan @jamesosullivan.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Read my latest opinion piece for the Irish Examiner on the need for the regulation of devices like Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and the role of universities in filling the gap when policymakers fail to act. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm... #privacy #socialmedia #meta #rayban #smartglasses #pov
irishexaminer.com
Harassment by online influencers requires legal change
Ordinary people in Cork have been subjected to humiliation and degradation by an influencer using Meta's glasses - this needs urgent attention from policymakers, writes James O’Sullivan
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Rhi @rhilovestv.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
if only Mary Shelley had warned us in 1818 about the dangers of literature instead of the reckless, hubristic pursuit of scientific and technological advancement carried out by ghoulish men with no regard for humanity—men who would desecrate the dead and kill the living to feed their power hunger.
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David Pearson @dj-pearson.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
@jamesosullivan.bsky.social
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