iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Tom

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Can LLMs help us identify an aesthetics of biodiversity in the novel? Excited to share what @aghaly.bsky.social and I have been finding, and how we’ve gone about it. Join us at UVA’s Digital Humanities Center on 6 November at 10am. Coffee, pastries and plenty to discuss!

Event poster for “LLMs & the Aesthetics of Biodiversity in the Novel”, a work-in-progress presentation by Adrienne Ghaly and Tom Williams. Friday 6 November 2026, 10am, Digital Humanities Center, Shannon Library, University of Virginia. Coffee and pastries will be served. A Data Analytics Center–Digital Humanities Center Team Fellowship project. Against a dark blue-grey background, an open-book sculpture is surrounded by geometric structures, plants, a hummingbird and a butterfly. Questions: tom.williams@virginia.edu.

032

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

032

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The progress in agentic models in 12 months is impressive. Last year I prompted an early agentic model to find syllabi for courses in Modernism to catalogue the contemporary sense of the modernist text. It took hours to do a bad job. Today, it took about 10 minutes and was much more effective.

210

Reposted by Tom

John O'Brien @johnobrien.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Behold, a job post in my department. The University of Virginia’s Department of English/Program in Creative Writing (creativewriting.virginia.edu ) invites applications for a tenure-line Assistant or Associate Professor in Fiction. To apply, please visit apply.interfolio.com/192511

creativewriting.virginia.edu

Mother Love

Fiction Reading

11110

Reposted by Tom

Richard Jean So @richardjeanso.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Prospective PhD students: if you work on computational humanities, cultural analytics and/or cultural AI, pls apply to Duke English! We're recruiting in these areas & you'd join a vibrant community. Candidates with training in both lit studies + CS/sciences esp welcome. Email me if any questions!

12824

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I would find this very useful. GenAI tools are a force-multiplier for good and bad code. I nearly got kicked off a High Performance cluster due to an amateurish error. On the other hand, things are moving so quickly that some of what's necessary at the beginning will be out of date in a few months.

000

Reposted by Tom

Amanda Wyatt! Visconti @literaturegeek.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The Scholars' Lab Praxis Program turns 17 next year—if you're a UVA grad student (or know any), please consider applying & getting to work with amazing lab+library+interdisciplinary folks:

12211

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Berkely Law's AI Policy FAQs is more nuanced than the default policy suggests. AI / LLM's aren't exactly banned - legal writing "incorporates" LLMs - and ultimately it is down to discretion of professor. Clearly there's a balance between preparing students for profession and assessing their work.

screenshot of FAQ page. Here is the text

Can faculty allow AI use?

Yes, any faculty member can adopt a different policy that fits the goals and format of their class, simply by providing students with written advance notice.

That flexibility matters because classes have different goals. In one class, the point may be to assess whether students can reason through a problem on their own. In another, the point may be to teach students how to use AI carefully and ethically, or to pilot ideas for how to expand access to legal services using technology.

The default rule is there for clarity. Faculty can depart from it when AI use makes sense for the class.

How does this policy help prepare students for their careers, as AI grows as a force in the legal field?

Berkeley Law is on the vanguard of law and technology. The school has incorporated AI into legal writing classes, offers courses about AI and the law, and has a broad set of law and technology courses taught by full-time faculty and lecturers from practice. In fall 2026 alone, we will offer 22 law and technology courses. Berkeley Law also has 12 technology-law-affiliated student groups.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

This makes my teeth grind. It implies that readers don’t need help and that’s not fair. What if the Axios writer had chosen “Ulysses”? Would it seem so egregious if it was a “difficult” text rather than one by an early bestseller?

A post complaining about a journalist using an llm to help them read along with the article in which the journalist explains what they are doing

100

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

There is so much going on at the moment but, as someone who grew up in Newcastle in the 1990s, this is sad news to hear. Kevin Keegan is a hero and helped make Saturdays in Newcastle something special. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Kevin Keegan, Liverpool legend and former Newcastle manager, dies aged 75

Kevin Keegan, the former England and Newcastle manager who was a member of Liverpool’s serial champions in the 1970s, has died aged 75

020

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Wow — Spain are looking incredible. Conceding only one goal all tournament is insane. They made the French look pedestrian which is hard to do.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Favourite is obviously TXT Least favourite is .pages in the 2000s before the mass migration to to Mac in the UK

020

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Also, 5.6 is very polite

A screenshot from chatGPT work that shows dialogue between LLM and user. The tex says Mai I run a read-only process check to verify Chronicle is active before using its recent-screen context

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Son is napping hard and so can tune into France Morocco match. Allez le Maroc!

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The success of count binface—and his policies to nationalise Adele and cap the prices of flakes—is stirring stuff for this Brit. Is there an equivalent in the US? A professional and perennial joke candidate. Serious question.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

It’s fascinating to watch America wrestle with World Cup. This morning Axios described the USMNT match against Belgium but didn’t name De Ketelaare, referring to him as “a Belgian” who scored. Meanwhile, NYT recommends a book about how poor the USMNT is if you want to get into soccer.

100

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

England are so often the recipient of other nations' dislike because of their perceived arrogance. I don't think its deserved but "It's coming home" isn't the most endearing chant. So wonderful to see USA take that mantel from us this World Cup.

110

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

That was a football match 🦁🦁🦁

000

Reposted by Tom

Prof Michaela Mahlberg @michamahlberg.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

📣 Job opportunity: We are looking for up to 5 outstanding postdoctoral or doctoral researchers in #DigitalHumanities to join us at the @textandlanguagelab.bsky.social Please share widely 🙏 ⏰ Deadline: 24 July 2026 For more info: www.fau-jobs.de/jobposting/6...

03750

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Watching American coverage of World Cup is fascinating. They are currently describing how many boxes the US men’s team staff have packed to move them from base camp to their next match. This is the real drama clearly.

010

Reposted by Tom

Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

"Hiring of college grads is down across the board. But certain majors are able to access opportunities in a wider array of industries, new LinkedIn data shows." ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH 69% VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS 68% www.forbes.com/sites/courtn...

The Most Versatile Majors Chart, TOPPED BY ENGLISH and VISUAL&PERFORMING ARTS

35721287

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Kinda crazy that we live in an era where the Bond villain who commands armies and alters the course of nations is not outlandish and unbelievable.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

This is my dog, Mrs Dalloway and she might be the bougiest dog in DC. She will only eat her food if it has snowfall of Parmesan microplaned over the top of it. This might also be a DC dachshund thing as we stole this method from her friend.

010

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Having sat through any number of nervous, tentative England opening games that result in a draw, this match is truly thrilling. #ComeOnEngland

000

Reposted by Tom

leah toth @thescrvnr.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Happy Bloomsday to all who celebrate: a literary holiday that wouldn’t exist if Nora hadn’t give JAAJ a handjob on June 16, 1904.

1194

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

I know I’m a besotted new father but whenever I see the Whitehouse Octagon I am reminded of my son’s play gym.

010

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Something here seems off. Using “ai methods” to examine large corpora is — I think — slow and expensive because context windows are limited, local models need time consuming help and api calls are expensive. ML / bag-of-words methods are cheaper and more useful I would think.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Had some spare time to look @jtauber.com Guardian Reader's Poll data this morning. What is striking -- but perhaps not surprising -- is that Reader's tastes are more modern (the books they vote have a median year of 1953; Critic's median is 1937). So Readers prefer more recent books.

Chart titled "Guardian readers chose a newer canon." It compares the Guardian critics' top 100 and reader-voted top 100 by original publication year. The critics' median publication year is 1937.5, while the readers' median is 1953. A stacked period bar shows critics: 28% pre-1900, 23% 1900-1945, 25% 1946-1979, 24% 1980 or later. Readers: 27% pre-1900, 16% 1900-1945, 25% 1946-1979, 32% 1980 or later.

221

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

We’re all suspicious readers now.

010

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Fascinating experiment. Big Law is under pressure to rethink its billing system -- which relies heavily on junior associates -- and one would think LLM products could replace some of this labour. Will the JDs who graduate from departments where products are banned thrive in this environment or not?

100

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Another look at the Guardian Top 100 novels using @jtauber.com data. This uses broad periods and captures how much each period makes up different voter's lists. It's not surprising that academics lean towards pre-1945 texts but what struck me was that modernism is less important to journalists.

111

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I supplemented @jtauber.com guardian top 100 data with publication date to produce this network graph. The lines connect books if they're on the same list (and the slide at the top adjust the min number of lists). twilliams81.github.io/guardian-nov...

twilliams81.github.io

Guardian 100 Best Novels: Book Co-Selection Network

172

Reposted by Tom

Arsenal FC @arsenalfc.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The Arsenal. Your Premier League champions.

10237951164

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Reposting this from the weekend -- I am trying to create a stable(ish) modernist corpus and would like to use syllabi so if anyone has any experience with Open Syllabus, please let me know.

010

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

There are few things more satisfying than getting a four and a half month old who has breezed through his morning naps to sleep.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Has anyone used Open Syllabus before? I wanted to see if its Explore Syllabus function would help me curate a set of modernist syllabi. The idea being to create a snapshot of “modernism” as it is taught

010

Reposted by Tom

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

All the philosophy students who pursued their passion made a wise decision. Learning how to think is a always a good investment. Psychology grads are not doing too badly on the job market either.

50800188

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I wonder what Instructure’s future looks like. Not just because of The Hack, but because agentic coding tools make it much easier for universities to build / maintain LMS infrastructure. Maybe this is just swapping one kind of dependency for another but open source models help.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

This is not an uncommon outcome. Hacker groups run sophisticated operations with customer service portals to ensure support during payment. There is a whole ecosystem surrounding data theft at scale

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

So two / three party politics in Britain seems to be over after local election results. Is this the end for first past the post? It seems to me that labour and conservatives might be incentivised to favour PR to cling to some relevance while Reform and Greens will want to lock in their position.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Universities will need to get copies of data stored in Canvas from Instructure and analyse it in great detail to understand their legal obligations. It’s going to take real grunt work to get through all that.

010

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Shiney Hunters are also a nasty lot. Some of these hacking groups are so well organised and have customer service portals to negotiate through.

011

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The Canvas hack will be costly for the affected universities. The university is responsible for the student data in an LMS and they will have to demonstrate that they diligently assessed Instructure. The legal fees — and institutional time — working through this will divert other resources too.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This is an amazing story. Awarding yourself a prize isn’t the problem here but profiting from it is. That it took a decade to uncover a bloke from France gave himself a medal says a good deal about social life of prestige.

010

Reposted by Tom

Scholars' Lab @scholarslab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

We're co-sponsoring a new funded pair fellowship round (due 5/15) for a UVA faculty+grad student to explore how high-performance computing could support your humanities research questions. Think things that your laptop can't handle: big 3D, image, audio, text etc datasets; machine learning; etc+

scholarslab.lib.virginia.edu

DAC-DHC Fellowship

The Scholars’ Lab

133

Reposted by Tom

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

"Even the most high-art novel is still a commodity to be traded for money—and literary fiction is only sacred when such business is invisible." Tom Williams on Laura B. McGrath’s “Middlemen”: lareviewofbooks.org/article/middlem…

lareviewofbooks.org

The Power of Fit | Los Angeles Review of Books

Laura B. McGrath’s new book looks at how the largely invisible work of literary agents shapes American literature.

062

Reposted by Tom

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

"While the focus of the book can at times make the profession look more powerful and more organized than it is in practice, this is not a flaw." Tom Williams on Laura B. McGrath’s “Middlemen”: lareviewofbooks.org/article/middlem…

032

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

I reviewed the very smart Middlemen by Laura B. McGrath for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social It’s the first book to seriously consider the effect of literary agents on the American novel. lareviewofbooks.org/article/midd...

lareviewofbooks.org

The Power of Fit | Los Angeles Review of Books

Laura B. McGrath’s new book looks at how the largely invisible work of literary agents shapes American literature.

061

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Added saline solution to 3:1 tanquery ten martini. It really boosts the citrus and so I approve.

000

Tom @twilliams81.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

One of the most beautiful places in America, The Northern Mariana Islands in the the Northwest Pacific, was hit by super typhoon Sinlaku. The damage is enormous and recovery will take months. The NYT covered it but events on America's pacific fringes are often ignored www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/w...

nytimes.com

Super Typhoon Slams Northern Mariana Islands, Causing Widespread Damage

123