iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kieran Hazzard

John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky

I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking.

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review. Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage. To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.

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lewisryder.bsky.social @lewisryder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

On my last count (Feb 2026) I'd read 160 secondary sources, but that was ages ago - I've lost count now. Of course I have not included all of them, but tried to identify the main ones. Apologies if I've missed any off! You can read the article, open access, here: doi.org/10.1017/S001...

doi.org

The History and Legacy of British Colonial Looting | The Historical Journal | Cambridge Core

The History and Legacy of British Colonial Looting

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lewisryder.bsky.social @lewisryder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Proud of this one - my new article in The Historical Journal is out on first view. It's a historiographical review of the literature on British colonial spoils, or 'loot'.

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“Olde English” seriously?? This is so stupid.

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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

OOOOOOO! Stefan Collini is to give the Nicolai Rubinstein Lecture! On 12 November at 6pm, @qmulsse.bsky.social is the place to be! Excuse to re-read his What Are Universities For?

Picture of a paragraph from a book. The underlined text reads: one rough and ready distinction between university education and professional training is that education relativises and constantly calls into question the information which training simply transmits. In this sense, education encourages the student to recognise the ways in which particular bits of knowledge are not fixed or eternal or universal or self-sufficient. That may be done about almost any subject matter though it can only be done through engagement with some particular subject matter, not simply be ingesting a set of abstract propositions about the contingency of knowledge.

From: Stefan Collini, What are Universities For? (Penguin, 2012), p. 56

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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

This is really disappointing. The original exhibition was thought-provoking, informative, and imaginatively and sensitively done.

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

In perhaps our most devastating briefing we find early career staff in the humanities as a whole have declined by 20% since 2016/17. Between 23/24 and 24/25 early career staff across all SHAPE subject areas fell by 6%, (from 52,795 to 49,410 FPE). That is the pipeline for our disciplines

The British Academy
Mapping SHAPE academic staff briefing:
Pathways for early career
SHAPE
academics are in decline

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I see Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser once again.

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Pat Caruana @patbcaruana.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Wait? You're telling me that the social base for fascism is the petite bourgeoisie??? 🤯

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

'The names of 9,909 British Indian Army servicemen are now being added to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) casualty database after they were uncovered by researchers.' 1/2

bbc.co.uk

Forgotten Punjabi WW1 soldiers recognised for first time

Nearly 10,000 soldiers' names are being added to the official database of war dead, a cherised step for many of their ancestors.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Today’s newsletter: the United Kingdom doesn’t have the antiracism movement that its politicians, or much of the British Jewish community, thinks it does:

ft.com

Anti-racism movement is not ‘muted’ — it has been left to shrink

Instead of asking more from depleted groups, Westminster should focus on how to rebuild and better resource them

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Watched Ozon's take on L’Étranger yesterday. Everyone and everything in it is insanely beautiful! Too beautiful? And so many themes: Colonialism, patriarchy, Vichy, queer desire, depression, existentialism, justice. Go see it. Just don't expect to laugh.

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

The goal of big tech has always been rent-seeking. First create a service monopoly and then charge productive parts of the economy to use it. The current AI arms race is about who will establish the next monopoly.

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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I cannot wait for the insights on this! He's going to: 1. Sample some local street food. 2. Ride a train. 3. Visit a temple. 4. Not mention the pogroms that the serving Prime Minister presided over. 5. Smile at some elephants. 6. Top up his kids' private school fees. 7. Say "India is changing".

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Yes. There was that awkward time when one of them lost his head.

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

It's clear that America has completed the transition to oligarchy to join both Russia and China. It's also increasingly authoritarian. The world is now dominated by 3 oligarchies competing through different means to enrich themselves and dominate everyone else. These are the times we now live in.

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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 22/01/2026

President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered content at national parks that “inappropriately disparage” the U.S. to be reviewed and potentially removed.

inquirer.com

The slavery exhibits at the President’s House have been removed following Trump administration push

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

"Radicalism is not on Starmer’s agenda. It never was. He and his little men play politics as a game where the instructions are handed down from others and the stakes are miserably low."

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Alan Allport @alanallport.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Fun fact: the assassination itself was like that! “That’s sad, that family has no luck” was the initial press response.

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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 08/12/2025

Today’s campaigns against the BBC, from Donald Trump to The Daily Telegraph, have a surprisingly long history. In our latest article, David Nowell Smith explores how commercial rivalries inspired the first accusations of left-wing bias at the BBC.

historyworkshop.org.uk

The Surprising Origins of the BBC’s ‘Left-Wing Bias’

David Nowell Smith explores how commercial rivalries inspired the first accusations of institutional bias at the BBC.

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David Edgerton @davidedgerton.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

With Karel Williams of Foundational Economy a call for a new way of doing things, starting with water ... www.newstatesman.com/politics/lab...

newstatesman.com

Labour's conformism is crushing Britain

Rachel Reeves is just the latest ambassador of a failed political elite

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Over at the Oxford Union tonight: was the British Empire good or bad? If only there was an entire field of scholarship which could address this question! (Or tell you it's a silly question).

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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

“Cataclysmically bad” This new series of ECR blog posts on the French History Network makes for grim reading, perhaps grimmer even than some in UK #FrenchHistory might have realised. 1st post, anon ECRs in French History on what it’s like right now out there: frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/6691/ 🗃️

frenchhistorysociety.co.uk

ECR in 2025: Part One- What is it like? – SSFH

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Me, every time Google suggests an AI summary.

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Rhys Kaminski-Jones @rhyskamjones.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Publication day!! Find out how C18th Welsh cultural revivalism positioned itself within an expanding British Empire and a newly-minted British state. Includes Welsh sources on slavery/abolition, settler colonialism, Indigenous America, and more 🚨🚨🚨 35% off all formats with the code BB135 🚨🚨🚨

boydellandbrewer.com

Welsh Revivalism in Imperial Britain, 1707-1819

Reframes the study of Welsh cultural revivalism, highlighting transnational and imperial contexts.

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

"His former home, Powis Castle in Wales, contains hundreds if not thousands of objects that he took." Not defending Clive, obviously. BUT he never lived at Powis and his collection of countably hundreds of objects contains a small amount of loot. Most was purchased or received as a (complex) gift.

theguardian.com

Labour peer calls for removal of Clive of India statue from outside Foreign Office

Thangam Debbonaire says Indian visitors to the ministry should not have to walk past ‘historically inaccurate’ bronze

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

One of those articles where you read it and keep saying 'yes, exactly!"

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Second journalist in the last week to assert that the empire meant nothing to the average Brit! That it was just an elite game. Which is really WEIRD. Because historians have spent the last 30+ years proving the exact opposite!

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 28/07/2025

We are very sorry to learn of the death last Saturday of Professor Peter J. Marshall (1933-2025), former Rhodes Professor of Imperial History @kingshistory.bsky.social and President of the Royal Historical Society, 1996-2000 bit.ly/4lUl74K Peter will be greatly missed by many #Skystorians

bit.ly

Peter J. Marshall (1933-2025) - RHS

We are deeply saddened to learn of the death, on Saturday, of Professor Peter Marshall, former Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King's College London and President of the Royal Historical Socie...

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

all i want is to one day own a modest sized home in a walkable neighborhood and raise money for shelter animals. wear an outfit i like, walk to the grocery store, buy some nectarines, feed cats, and live in peace. just don't understand why achieving this is so hard

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

I was researching institutional colonial legacies in 2020 when many roles like this were created in the US & UK in response to the George Floyd protests. I worried at the time if there would be lasting a commitment to such research. Seems not.

theguardian.com

Harvard hired a researcher to uncover its ties to slavery. He says the results cost him his job: ‘We found too many slaves’

When the extent of the university’s involvement with slavery was unearthed, a scholar tracking descendants of enslaved workers was suddenly fired

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Welcome to the archives.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Not true. I see you're a luxury watch dealer. I'm also interested in watches. Let me show you how free and easy migration has allowed you to earn a living. 🧵

Corey Wiley on Twitter writes: "You don’t get it.
Foundational immigration law is morally just and has been established over millennia. Disrespecting these rules and ideals is very offensive to folks who highly value civilized society"

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Ewan McGaughey @ewanmg.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

💷 I spoke with Andrew Marr @lbc.co.uk about how it would cost nearly £0 to put Thames Water into public ownership, not the £billions asserted by water company lobbyists. 💧 This is how we start to clean up our water. Report with @cmmonwealth.bsky.social 👇 www.common-wealth.org/perspectives...

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Jonas Fossli Gjersø @jonasgjerso.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Nicolas Sprenger delves into the structural violence of empire in this latest @jich.bsky.social Current Debates essay entitled: Imperial Violence: Thinking With and Against 'Perpetrator' and 'Victim'. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

Imperial Violence: Thinking With and Against ‘Perpetrator and ‘Victim’

The categories of perpetrator and victim are hardwired into how historians have studied the violence of the British Empire. These categories, however, fail to capture the full spectrum of the viole...

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

"What will they think of next: a festival of Cromwell?" Brilliant quote. But also, this 'row' is a great illustration of how silly all nations and nationalisms are at their core.

theguardian.com

European year of the Normans reopens debate over Irish identity

Ministers approve Ireland’s participation in cultural initiative but Sinn Féin calls commemoration offensive

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

The framers of the US Constitution absolutely had Britain in mind when they wrote the Foreign Emoluments Clause. So it would be HILARIOUSLY apposite if Britain was the cause for impeachment.

theguardian.com

Trump’s bid to host golf tournament in Britain could violate US constitution, experts warn

British government’s push for tournament to be at Trump-owned venue in Scotland is likely to seek favor with US

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

British media. Trump says something: a billion column inches. Two nuclear states threaten each other, and China says “go on, do it” to one of them: silence.

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Kieran Hazzard @kieranhazzard.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

It's an overconfident language roulette wheel.

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