iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Today I remembered this picture I took in 2017 in Gwalior, India, and I added it to a slide deck for a talk I'll give later this week. It'll serve as a metaphor for privacy.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I recently led the submission of an NSF proposal to fund a research project, requesting just over $800K. As a single document, the proposal totaled to 93 pages. If you've wondered what's in a proposal like this, I wrote an explainer. shomirwilson.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...

shomirwilson.substack.com

What's in a Proposal to NSF for Research Funding?

Research plans, a budget, and a lot more.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This might be romanticism for a mundane thing, but it still strikes me as a special moment when I complete the final actions to submit a grant proposal. Beyond relief that it's finished, we've declared the ask, in the form of intellectual effort and dozens of pages. The die is cast.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Penn State undergraduates participating in the Schreyer Honors College, please consider joining me for this event. On September 21 I'll lead a discussion over dinner about performing research abroad, based on my experiences in Australia, Scotland, and Singapore. www.shc.psu.edu/events/?trum...

shc.psu.edu

Events - Schreyer Honors College (SHC) at Penn State University

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Reposted by Shomir Wilson

Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

25 years later, I reflect on the periods of isolation on 9/11: I temporarily disconnected from the outside world while I attended a class, sat in a circle with other students, or walked across campus. We’re living in the future, with all it entails. shomirwilson.substack.com/p/reflection...

shomirwilson.substack.com

Reflections on Experiencing 9/11 as a College Student

25 years ago in fall of 2001 I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

shomirwilson.substack.com

Reflections on Experiencing 9/11 as a College Student

25 years ago in fall of 2001 I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A small detail in the experience of teaching: I noticed today that as I stand at the podium I can see out the classroom window to the roundabout in front of the Nittany Lion Inn. That's where I first stepped onto Penn State's campus, in February 2018, for my faculty interview.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I've had the good fortune to catch up with several of my lab's alumni over the past 12 months. Years-long career story arcs are often interesting to me: goals that evolve, long bets that pay off (or don't), second acts, and the interplay between effort and luck.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I'm pleased to share a preprint of our accepted EMNLP main conference paper "Affective Context Amplifies Sycophancy in LLM Responses". Sycophancy, an unnatural level of agreement or praise for a person's ideas, is a problem for chatbots, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. arxiv.org/abs/2608.212...

arxiv.org

Affective Context Amplifies Sycophancy in LLM Responses

As conversational companions, large language models (LLMs) often have access to users' emotional states. We study how this affective context modulates LLM sycophancy in subjective, evaluative interact...

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I'm pleased to share our new DocEng paper "Asking for Privacy: Contrasting Consumer Questions with Questions in Privacy Policies". We contrast themes in FAQ-structured privacy policies with those identified by prior work to study users' privacy interests. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

dl.acm.org

Asking for Privacy: Contrasting Consumer Questions with Questions in Privacy Policies | Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Symposium on Document Engineering

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

26 years after my undergraduate new student orientation, some thoughts as a professor. shomirwilson.substack.com/p/reflection...

shomirwilson.substack.com

Reflections for Incoming College Students

Awkwardness, investing in the future, and the long road to great things.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I'm experimenting with writing about travel and academia on Substack. It's an intersection of topics that I think about often, and I wanted to write more without the awkwardness of long Bluesky threads. Subscribing is free. I have no plans for monetization. shomirwilson.substack.com?utm_campaign...

shomirwilson.substack.com

Shomir's Substack | Substack

My personal Substack. Click to read Shomir's Substack, by Shomir Wilson, a Substack publication. Launched a month ago.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

A small but growing number of high schoolers follow me on LinkedIn. I’m kind of honored. (How did you even find me?) The piece I've written that would’ve helped me most in high school is Where I’m From. Take a look if you’re contemplating family, geography, and identity. shomir.net/where_from.h...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Where I'm From

Origins, identities, and an inescapable question.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Newcomers to ACL Rolling Review: If you like the reviews your manuscript received, remember to follow the procedure to commit to a conference. Otherwise, nothing more happens.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I've added a "Thinking Ahead" section to my tenure-track job market guide. Some tenure-line faculty didn't consider this career until partway through grad school, but others entered grad school for it and a few undergraduates (like me) were already thinking about it. shomir.net/tt_job_guide...

shomir.net

Guide for the CS/IS Tenure-Track Job Market

Observations on the academic job market in computer science and information science.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Once in awhile I remember that the ACL Rolling Review Dashboard exists, and I browse it. If you've never seen it before, and especially if you're new to NLP research, check it out. The numbers show the enormity of ARR's undertaking. stats.aclrollingreview.org

stats.aclrollingreview.org

ARR Dashboard

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I recently traveled to Southern California for ACL in San Diego. Here are four pictures I took outside of the conference: - Joshua Tree National Park at night - Antelope squirrel, Joshua Tree National Park - Derelict sign, near Salton Sea - Crab, Cabrillo National Monument

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Having a lab lunch at a conference was a milestone I've long waited for, and at ACL earlier this week it happened. Thanks to HLT Lab PhD alumni Mukund Srinath and Pranav Venkit and current PhD student Shahriar Shayesteh for joining me.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I added two new sections to my tenure-line academic job market guide: "Are You Ready to Apply?", with suggestions for how to self-assess a portfolio, and "Re-Entering Academia", for people with PhDs who have been away from universities or research for a long time. shomir.net/tt_job_guide...

shomir.net

Guide for the CS/IS Tenure-Track Job Market

Observations on the academic job market in computer science and information science.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Travel and Meaning is complete. I added Part 6 (Meaning) and an afterword about the significance of travel to academia and universities. shomir.net/tam_meaning....

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Travel and Meaning, Part 6 - Meaning

Thoughts on the places I've been.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Reflecting on R. F. Kuang's Katabasis six months after reading, it's one of favorite novels about academia. In describing the pursuit of tenure-line faculty jobs, it covers a remarkable amount of ground: the longing, the obstacles, the uncertainty, the failure modes, and the difficult decisions.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Here's Part 5 of Travel and Meaning. Citizen diplomacy, friendship, and conversations without words. shomir.net/tam_people.h...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Travel and Meaning, Part 5 - Pepole

Thoughts on the places I've been.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

I've posted Part 4 (Adventure) of Travel and Meaning. It contains a tornado, a wild boar, a ger camp in the Gobi Desert, an elaborate Pagan ritual, Roman ruins at the edge of the Sahara, and a second wild boar. shomir.net/tam_adventur...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Travel and Meaning, Part 4 - Adventure

Thoughts on the places I've been.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I've written something about my travel experiences, for students and other people trying to understand, in a broad sense, what motivates them. The Foreword and Part 1 ("Origins") are up. I'll post the rest as I finish editing and adding photos from my archives. shomir.net/tam_foreword...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Travel and Meaning - Foreword

Thoughts on the places I've been.

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Reposted by Shomir Wilson

Sarah Rajtmajer @srajtmajer.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I’ll be speaking, sharing new findings on the ways emotion shapes LLM sycophancy (work w/ @shomir.bsky.social and @brettfrischmann.bsky.social)

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

I've added a new section "Generative AI and Writing" to my Guide for Scholarly Writing. LLMs are technological achievements, but we---from students up through the most senior faculty---owe it to ourselves to keep writing. shomir.net/scholarly_wr...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Guide for Scholarly Writing

Good writing means a lot to me. I created this guide to share my writing philosophy with my students and to help students avoid common mistakes that I find in drafts.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I have a temporary office this summer and North Atherton Street runs directly under it. Look closely and you’ll see it.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I recently gave two invited lectures about my paper "Rethinking How We Discuss the Guidance of Student Researchers in Computing", which won a Best Paper Award at this year's SIGCSE. I'd be glad to give more invited talks, for faculty or students. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

dl.acm.org

Rethinking How We Discuss the Guidance of Student Researchers in Computing | Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V.1

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

This image shows me in four places at once in the atrium of an apartment building. I made it using my digital camera and Photoshop ten years ago, before generative AI was an option. I took four photographs through an 8mm fisheye lens, providing a field of view of nearly 180 degrees.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Four of my post-CHI Barcelona photos: Sagrada Família from Montjuïc, the dragon's back on the roof of Casa Batlló, the harbor in Barceloneta, and cascading ponds on Montjuïc.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Four pictures from my recent pre-CHI visit to Albania.

Performer, Albanian Night, a live show about an Albanian wedding.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

I’ve probably said something like this before, but thanks to anyone who has told me that my advice pages or my posts helped them understand academia or overcome obstacles. Several times at CHI this past week, PhD students and junior faculty whom I hadn't met before approached me to say that.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

5.5K people registered for #chi2026, according to badge pickup volunteer. That’s fewer than AAAI 2026 (just over 10K) but more than SIGCSE 2026, my two conferences earlier this year.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

This isn’t the longest line I’ve been in at a conference—that was the line to get into the evening reception at EMNLP 2018—but it’s the longest badge pickup line by far. #chi2026

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I’m at #chi2026. Find me for conversations about my research, academia, or anything else I post about.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

My lifetime total as a passenger aboard planes is roughly 593K miles during 1.3K hours. Artemis II will travel 685K miles during 218 hours. Best of luck to them.

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Reposted by Shomir Wilson

Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

As a cisgender male, supporting my trans and nonbinary friends and relatives on the Transgender Day of Visibility. You’re important to me and I want you to feel safe and respected being who you are.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I made more lapel pins out of my photography. These are larger, and they might be entering brooch territory. The blue one is sky in Central Colorado blended with lichen in a park in Athens, Greece. The burnt orange one is a coastal cliff blended with two rock faces in Point Lobos, California.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Every talk is also practice for the next talk. You can learn a lot of the basic skills practicing on your own, but the intermediate and advanced skills come from time in front of an audience.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Graph theory was one of my favorite math courses in college. That's fortunate, because I'm currently knee-deep in it. Curriculum management is a complicated activity.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

A few weeks ago when the snow melted, it revealed a hockey puck abandoned in our front yard. "OFFICIAL", "CANADA", "LINDSAY" (with the shown logo), and "19" are written on the sides. Friends with hockey knowledge, what should I know about this puck?

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Curios from a different time.

USB thumb drives from NAACL 2010, ACL 2012, and CSCW 2013

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

My dissertation (2011) on metalanguage in natural language might qualify as an attempt at this, though machine learning was already pulling the field in a different direction.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I first shared this a year ago. I wanted to write something broadly relatable, for people with lots of different identities and experiences. The stories people shared with me in return make it one of my favorite things I've written. shomir.net/where_from.h...

shomir.net

Shomir Wilson - Where I'm From

Origins, identities, and an inescapable question.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I wanted to write some big-picture thoughts about AI research, especially for junior researchers. Separating ourselves from the jargon, the cliches, and the false dilemmas allows us to reflect on the stunning changes we're witnessing. medium.com/@shomir/brie...

medium.com

Reflections on 20 Years as an AI Researcher

I first called myself an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher 20 years ago in 2006, when I joined my PhD advisor’s lab. Being an AI…

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I ask Facilities to install mounting points for frames on my office wall two at a time. Because of that, this placeholder has been hiding in plain sight among my publication awards for over a year. Today the SIGCSE Best Paper certificate replaced it.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

I hear stories about surprise phone interviews and exploding job offers from my students. Employers, if you want professionalism out of your future employees, remember the power dynamics. The responsibility to be professional starts with you. www.inc.com/alison-green...

inc.com

Employers: Stop Doing Surprise Phone Interviews

It's rude and a bad use of everyone's time.

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Shomir Wilson @shomir.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Also: When I started writing this, I thought of it as an analytic philosophy paper and especially aligned with traditions from philosophy of language. It's a computing education paper too, but if you want evidence of the importance of the liberal arts for computing, it can be an example.

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