Sign in

Photini Vrikki

@photini.bsky.social
1.2K followers 783 following 28 posts

I think and write about the impact of technology on society // I teach and do digital humanities at the department of Information Studies at UCL.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Oxford Social Media Observatory @oxsocmedobs.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
📣🚨 New Briefing Paper Alert ! 📃 We are excited to announce the launch of our briefing paper on TikTok, Politics and Elections, co-produced with @wfd.org ➡️ www.wfd.org/tiktok-polit... 🧵[1/4]
wfd.org
TikTok, politics and power: Implications for democracy
1125
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
So punctuation loyalty is suspicious now. Fine. The Oxford comma still stays. I already let the em dash go, and that is as far as I am willing to bend.
100
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Last, I was glad/ sad to see my post (from work w @asheeshksi.bsky.social and @rbtownsend.bsky.social) on the humanities as the leading indicator of research infrastructure collapse hit the top ten. 😣 scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/04/02/t...
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
The Humanities as Canary: Understanding this Crisis Now - The Scholarly Kitchen
The Humanities have always been the canary in the coal mine of the full knowledge industry. What information can help us understand this crisis and its implications?
1123
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 26/12/2025
Like, young people don’t know what file trees are because their tech has trained them to rely on searching instead of organizing. Now that same search function, having attacked organization, is now attacking comprehension while degrading sharply in quality and accuracy. Everything is decaying.
436657
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 26/12/2025
Hot take: kids not knowing what a file system is AND kids misusing LLMs as a search engine are two sides of the same technology incompetence problem this thread is criticizing.
121245198
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The ACM Digital Library, where a LOT of computing-related research is published (I'd say at least 75% of my own publications), is now not only providing (without consent of the authors and without opt-in by readers) AI-generated summaries of papers, but they appear as the *default* over abstracts.
Screenshot of a paper entry:
Fictional Failures and Real-World Lessons: Ethical Speculation Through Design Fiction on Emotional Support Conversational AI
Authors: Faye Kollig, Jessica Pater, Fayika Farhat Nova, Casey Fiesler
(There are tabs with "abstract" and "summary" and "summary" is selected.)
31651334
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 20/12/2025
The doom and gloom about London is ridiculous and harmful. Team FT is Team London - as.ft.com/r/19d3d36d-e...
as.ft.com
Don’t believe the fake gloom about London
[FREE TO READ] The UK capital is subject to more than its fair share of misinformation
2329686
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide. And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft. What does OpenAI offer the world?
1272638718
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Dave Dun @davedun.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
In case you’re worried about the synthetic text extruders becoming conscious and farming us Matrix-style: this is an excellent and very accessible piece on why those concerns are probably overblown. 👇
144
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
🐔 Brian Bucklew 🐔 ₑͤ>∿<ₑͤ ∞🌮 @unormal.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
in the 90s I used to be like "the idea of digital drugs is kind of a dumb sci-fi conceit" and now in the 2020s I'm like "everyones high on GPT and its giving tehm severe brain damage"
919842
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Yvonne Lam @yvonnezlam.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
People have actual problems that need solving, and I would like S. Altman to stop making up new ones, please and thank you.
1276
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 14/10/2025
Definitely nothing can go wrong with OpenAI having a full record of your sexy chatbot interactions.
938888
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
🌱 Mine and Güneş's new paper calls for DH practices that prioritise environmental accountability, decolonial perspectives, and ethical collaboration. Read here: dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/3/000... #DigitalHumanities #Sustainability #EcologicalCare #EnvironmentalJustice
075
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Giota Alevizou @giotita.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I and @photini.bsky.social have a new publication The article reconceptualises London as ‘A Learnt City’, a dynamic learning ecosystem shaped through digital mediation, affective experience, and embodied practices. Read OA here: www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15... #DigitalUrbanism #urbanpedagogies
mdpi.com
073
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
UCL Institute of Advanced Studies @ucl-ias.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
ARt-Z: Unlock the Unseen 1–23 May UCL East Zeyu Zhao's exhibition, supported by IAS Octagon fund, presents 10 digitised paintings from the V&A’s Chinese Export Watercolours Collection. By integrating augmented reality it offers new ways to experience historical artworks www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...
123
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Bethany Johnstone @bljohnstone.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Delighted to be included in UCL’s 2025 Student Choice Awards Roll of Honour—I’m honoured to be listed alongside fantastic colleagues Lucy Brownson, @alisonhicks0.bsky.social , @photini.bsky.social, Ahmad Goheer & Daniel Onah! What a way to end year! 🥳
032
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Women's appearance and behaviour is about to get even more highly policed in the UK, with a few people doubtless being emboldened to "take action". This whole billionaire-funded enterprise dials back gender equity by decades.
10747226
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 09/04/2025
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
374189853607
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL. Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
01626
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Kate Devlin @drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
ICYMI: King’s College London is hiring 20 open-ended posts at L/SL level (Asst/Assoc Prof level) in AI + any subject. (Yes, that includes critical studies.) It’s 3 years of 80% “protected” research time, then 2 years to the standard requirements for an open-ended post. www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/role/ki...
kcl.ac.uk
King's AI+ Academic Fellowships (leading to an open-ended academic post)
King’s is making a major strategic investment into driving AI activity across our nine academic Faculties. Our ambition is to accelerate growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven research...
11516
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We are currently recruiting for a Lecturer in Technologies in Digital Humanities to join the Department of Information Studies at UCL. Closing date 12th April: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
01626
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 01/03/2025
"It’s worse than you think because by the time the courts catch up the damage will already have been done. It’s worse than you think because the people running the government seem to have no higher mission than to watch it burn" www.wired.com/story/doge-w...
wired.com
The DOGE Takeover Is Worse Than You Think
What’s happening to the US government right now is bad. What comes next is worse.
13417
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Ross Carroll @rosscarroll.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
When I worked in UK academia I recall hearing of a Japanese man who was baffled at how Britain had decided to run its universities like firms. “Why? Your universities are excellent and your firms are terrible.”
2354221480
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Years ago, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I interviewed a former fb employee, and I remember her continually emphasizing that these tech bros weren't evil geniuses, but were, in fact, dangerous because they were utterly clueless, totally reckless, and had too much power.
287211074356
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
David Ritchie @dritchie.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Cribbed from LinkedIn.
19938299
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Hannes Cools @hannescools.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
BBC just released damning research on AI assistants' news accuracy. Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐 www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social
5322461187
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Dr. Elinor Carmi @elinorcarmi.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
While more tech companies race to the bottom to kiss Trump's ass, they manage to finally show the public what us internet scholars have been shouting for years - that technology is never neutral or objective and is motivated by political and mainly capitalistic motives.
03316
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 09/02/2025
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org
13475102522
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Katherine Stiles @katherinestiles.org · 05/02/2025
“In response to the shocking news predicting up to 10,000 imminent job losses across the UK higher education sector, we write to flag up a fact that the article largely misses: the degree to which arts and humanities subjects are bearing the brunt of these cuts.” ⮛ #academicsky
theguardian.com
The deep cultural cost of British university job cuts | Letters
Letters: Arts and humanities are being hit hardest by cuts in higher education, write Prof Thea Pitman and Prof Emma Cayley, and Dr Ronan McLaverty-Head and another letter writer comment on cuts at Ca...
07447
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Deborah Teramis Christian 🌈 🎲 🇺🇦 @teramis.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Heritage Foundation has always worked to influence and control media communications, to favor conservatives. NOW they're starting to do the same with *information resources*, putting Wikipedia editors in the crosshairs for purported left-leaning bias re anti-semitism forward.com/news/686797/...
forward.com
Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
The conservative think tank told prospective donors that the project was part of its work to combat antisemitism.
28239
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Brian Phillips @brianphillips.lol · 30/01/2025
If you wanted no leaks you should have gone into Settings -> Security -> Configure privacy & security -> Privacy options -> Other -> Configure -> Media interface and clicked “Disallow.” The Leak setting is on by default but we understand your privacy is important so we’ve made it easy to opt out
824315335437
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Hierophant Shelley B Woke - Living Saint of Purity🏳️‍⚧️🖤💜🤍 💛 @shelleybwoke.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
When it is darkest, an angel will appear, rotating a gyro
173
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Can’t make this shit up. You can't steal everyone else's IP to train your models and then claim someone took it from you.
030
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
151
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Can’t be repeated often enough ‘The UK’s creative industries are vital to the economy. Valued at £124bn, they are worth more than the life sciences, aerospace and automotive industries combined. Arts and culture alone contribute an impressive £34.6bn.’ on.ft.com/42hzVmL
on.ft.com
The UK should take a leaf from France’s book to boost arts funding
Tax breaks for corporate sponsors can benefit the creative sector at a time of dwindling public funds
281410413
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Now, THIS is a headline.
020
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Daniel Aldana Cohen @aldasky.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
This is the shape of the crisis: to prevent cataclysmic climate breakdown, we have to RADICALLY cut carbon pollution at a completely unprecedented rate. All prior climate policy has failed. Any university without a massive, cross-disciplinary program to inform this task is part of the problem.
918288
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
now featured in the criterion collection @anem0ne.net · 06/01/2025
sometimes i think about how recent studies have suggested that men are much more credulous towards gen "ai" and i wonder how much of that is because it returns output that sounds exactly like how they'd reply and if women's skepticism arises from that same effect
0315
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 05/01/2025
"I am writing this from Europe, the land that has fought so hard to keep me out...this place has made itself unavoidable. It has reached deep into my land, taken what it wanted, and left the rest in ruins." www.refugeesinlibya.org/post/chronic... @davidyambio.bsky.social.
refugeesinlibya.org
16022
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
spooky tail latency @bluespacecanary.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Thanks to having read Baudrillard I don't actually have to care if Adrian Dittman "actually exists", because I know that even if he is not Elon Musk he is still Elon Musk
210019
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Kristen Hanley Cardozo @khandozo.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
This is also part of why the PhD is being devalued as a degree. More women than men get PhDs now.
161156343
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Dr. Dominik Huenniger @dominikhhh.bsky.social · 22/12/2024
Interviewer: Can you explain this gap in your resume? Leonard Cohen: That's how the light gets in.
442488
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Shell @risu.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Working in tech harm reduction is being unable to watch certain documentaries because tech bros sit on screen denying any awareness of harm, and you know you and others sat in rooms and TOLD them, showed them harm. But I guess “tech doesn’t listen and your heroes hurt you on purpose” isn’t great tv
0182
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
I guess we are all capitulating to these AI companies now for ‘efficiency’, ‘growth’, and ‘profit’.
theguardian.com
UK proposes letting tech firms use copyrighted work to train AI
Consultation suggests opt-out scheme for creatives who don’t want their work used by Google, OpenAI and others
010
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Oliver Duke-Williams @oliverdw.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Come and work with my colleagues in the UK Data Service! Vacancy in the UKDS Computational Social Science training team, based at the Cathie Marsh Institute, University of Manchester Job: 2yrs starting April 2025; £36-45k Applications close: 17/1/25 www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
jobs.manchester.ac.uk
Research Associate in Computational Social Science:Oxford Road
025
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Rebecca Coleman @rcecoleman.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Job advert! Lecturer in Digital Futures, with specialisms in art and humanities. Come and join us at Bristol Digital Futures Institute. 80% of your time for first five years will be research and further developing BDFI work across the university and with partners www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
bristol.ac.uk
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol
13020
Photini Vrikki @photini.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Going through admissions for next year's cohort and the use of AI is..staggering.
010
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Bill Newton @nillbewton.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
"It'll get so good, bro. It's gonna change everything bro. I just need one more update, one more round of funding bro and then we're good, it'll replace art as we know it bro..."
321033
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Adam Crymble @adamcrymble.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
📢 Job Klaxon: Lecturer in Cultural Analytics and Knowledge Systems (UCL) Looking for someone who studies text at scale, with humanities applications. To work with me on a new programme in London Permanent role £51-60k 19 Dec deadline www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
01121
Reposted by Photini Vrikki
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 04/12/2024
when the wheels fall off it will be fun to watch all the tech journalists that (once again) mythologized a fabulist pivot to pretending they saw him for what he was the entire time without missing a beat
1824657