Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 10/09/2026My book has a website! And a cover! And some very humbling blurbs! THE DIGITAL HAND: ELECTRONICS AND LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS, coming April 2027 Several more posts about it coming before then . . . www.sup.org/books/litera... 0225
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 07/06/2026These systems are changing our style even when we make a point of *not* using them. (From Ethan Mollick's substack.) 010
Reposted by Seth PerlowEryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Anthropic’s response and influence on the encyclical is most evident in the claim that “even its creators don’t understand how it works.” In June, I wrote about what that actually means & why Anthropic says it. (Written while I was in Rome, FWIW). www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...techpolicy.pressThe Black Box Myth: What the Industry Pretends Not to Know About AITech Policy Press fellow Eryk Salvaggio says it's a problem is that those of us outside of the AI industry don’t know what rules they are following. 1012151
Reposted by Seth PerlowEryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 25/05/2026“Nazir’s selection is less about him using AI and more about the irony of Euro-American conceptions about the unintelligibility of postcolonial writing.” 1104
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Closing out a fun week at ULisboa with a class on Poe’s graphology 100
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 07/05/2026If the hackers want me to give everyone an A+, grade nothing, and enjoy my summer, then yes I am down to blame private equity and comply 010
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Canvas is down. Past me would be so disappointed to learn that current me is not absolutely *thrilled* that it's become technologically impossible for me to spend all night grading papers... 030
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Turned in the book! Years of work funneled into one email. Supposedly they're gonna print it . . . 250
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 26/04/2026Zach Galifianakis seems to have experienced some kind of personal crisis, possibly bought a farm upstate, and now has a gardening show called Gardening Show that is an absolute soothing delight. Grateful for Zach’s crisis, hope he’s ok. 010
Reposted by Seth PerlowMatthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 25/04/2026Coming soon to a campus near you. 63512
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 08/04/2026This is a very normal temperature for a professor’s office to be, right? 000
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 07/04/2026Moving forward, I will refer to books of fiction as “so-called novels.” Despite all the hype from industry shills, there’s nothing “novel” about the genre at all. So-called novels have existed for hundreds of years. 030
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 21/03/2026V short notice, but I'll be reading some poems by Marie Howe and talking about them at the Georgetown public library today at 2pm. Come by if you're in the area! 000
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 19/12/2025Waiting for some tiresome nerd to explain why, actually, this news once again confirms the generative grammar IS correct... 000
Reposted by Seth Perlowjeffery --dangerously-skip-permissions @jefferyharrell.bsky.social · 07/12/2025The more I learn about machine learning in general and transformers in particular — and while I have a long way to go, I've learned a LOT — the more I believe that none of it really ought to work. Slamming a set of matrices with training data and demanding with calculus that they figure it out… 4352
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 27/11/2025This post confirms something I discuss in my book project: large, consumer-facing AI models now outdo specialty apps for handwriting recognition. Cohen doesn't mention that they can also tell which handwriting looks more "graceful," "angry," etc. newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...newsletter.dancohen.orgThe Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting RecognitionOne of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved 220
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 27/08/2025Maybe they'll indict a ham sandwich, but not the hero who throws it! 010
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Given that a very viral, very misleading story from WaPo helped to fuel the whole "AI kills the climate" thing in the first place, it's nice to see this more...informed piece from them. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...washingtonpost.comColumn | ChatGPT is an energy guzzler. These things you’re doing are worse.AI services have earned a reputation as energy-hungry beasts. But what about the other emissions in our digital lives? 000
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 21/08/2025New white paper: “Measuring the environmental impact of delivering AI at Google Scale” Curious what people think of this. services.google.com/fh/files/mis...services.google.com 000
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 11/08/2025Is Michael Camille's book, Image on the Edge, still the definitive study of funny/crude marginalia in medieval manuscripts? e. g. for lulz . . . 101
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 06/08/2025- Old old: your phone rings in the movie - New old: it’s in your pocket with the flashlight on 020
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 21/07/2025Did the scary thing! Wrote the first paragraph of the book. The first word of this book is “In.” Stay tuned for the rest . . . 030
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 05/07/2025Recently had the pleasure of interviewing the founders of @leotranscribes.bsky.social and trying their platform, which is *very* effective with tricky manuscripts. If you’re doing a transcription project, check them out! Easier and more accurate than other common HTR tools today. 041
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 16/06/2025Funniest thing about transcribing Dickinson manuscripts is where an early editor (likely Todd) wrote "No" on a bunch of manuscripts, presumably flagging those too week for publication. But it turns out, actually: yes! 150
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 12/06/2025New book—and free! EXPRESSIVE NETWORKS: POETRY AND PLATFORM CULTURES, ed. Matthew Kilbane. Love the open access. Check it out . . . www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...fulcrum.orgExpressive Networks: Poetry and Platform CulturesExpressive Networks convenes an urgent conversation on digital media and the social life of contemporary poetry. Tracing how poems circulate through online spaces and how capitalized platforms have co... 1147
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 12/06/2025Have you used Transkribus, eScriptorium, or similar tools to transcribe post-1800 manuscripts? Drop me a line! Would love to ask you some questions… 100
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Very happy to share that my next book, tentatively called *The Digital Hand: Electronics and Literary Manuscripts*, is under contract with Stanford University Press! Now just need to finish writing it . . . @stanfordpress.bsky.social 2272
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 28/04/2025Very sad to hear about Joshua Clover. Nice to see folks sharing his poems and essays. Here's his "How I Quit Spin," one of the truly great Twitter threads of olden times—not his best or most influential work, but it'll make you smile if you haven't read it. genius.com/Joshua-clove...genius.comJoshua Clover – How I Quit Spin (in about 200 tweets)#HowIQuitSpin 1. I moved to France on the day GWB was inaugurated. Email was a little squiggly in 2001 but good enough. / — Pirate Bae (@bookofriot) July 19, 2015 / #HowIQuitSpin 2 0162
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 16/04/2025Do any paleography or ML peeps on here know how I can get access to eScriptorium? ✍️Appears to be invite-only. 🙏 120
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 26/03/2025Look at these fascist cowards pulling up their masks as they abduct someone off the street for expressing the wrong opinions. 050
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 17/03/2025This is an autopen. The orange fascist claims that Biden’s pardons are invalid because an autopen was used to sign them. This is, of course, a load of shit, but because I’m currently writing a chapter about signature machines, I can’t resist…will add to this 🧵through the day… 27022
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 19/01/2025At MLA, I talked about how AI is changing aesthetic judgment. This is that: a perception of “AI style” in an illustration (one I actually like, and apparently made by a human) makes the logo toxic enough to be replaced. Even as things to resist, these tools are reshaping aesthetic values. 14311
Reposted by Seth PerlowMelanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 11/01/2025Absolutely fantastic panel on “Rereading Generative AI” at #MLA2025. One of the best conversations I’ve heard about AI, copyright, language, & the future of the humanities and university. Highly recommend you check out all their essays in this PMLA special issue: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...cambridge.orgPMLA: Volume 139 - Issue 3 | Cambridge CoreCambridge Core - PMLA - Volume 139 - Issue 3 25115
Reposted by Seth PerlowMatthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Tomorrow afternoon! #MLA25 #MLA2025 0315
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Presenting, I guess…the MLA jazz band. In my grad program we learned to call this kind of thing “problematic.” 020
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 07/01/2025OK, whose dad is currently trying his best on Reddit? 040
Reposted by Seth PerlowWilliam J.B. Mattingly @wjbmattingly.bsky.social · 02/01/2025What happens when you combine the best open-source HTR model (Qwen 2 VL) with the best open-source zero-shot classification NER model (Knowledgator's fine-tune for Gliner)? Caracal. Try it now on Hugging Face : lnkd.in/e5bUZm-w #CulturalHeritage #DigitalHumanities #MachineLearning #HTR #NER 4447
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 29/12/2024RIP to President Jimmy Carter. Here’s a feel-better pic of Jimmy Carter the pup. 041
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 08/12/2024He once told a seminar I was in (with Dan?) that “I don’t need anyone to write more poetry. The poetry I need to do my work has been written.” I think Ashbery had been situated as the last poet useful to him, but not totally sure… 2112
Seth Perlow @sethperlow.bsky.social · 04/12/2024Had a great time last night hosting a webinar on my research for 900+ high school teachers thru the National Humanities Center’s “Humanities in Class” series. Look them up if you’re a prof/researcher who wants to share ideas with enthusiastic secondary education folks! 030
