Paul Harland
@pabloredux.bsky.social
Evolution: it's nothing personal. (Sorry if I ask too many questions... Share nicely!)
I'm here because you're here.
http://pabloredux.wordpress.com/
(Profile photo: a faint shadow of me cast across a weathered lichen-marked stone wall by the sea.)
I'm here because you're here.
http://pabloredux.wordpress.com/
(Profile photo: a faint shadow of me cast across a weathered lichen-marked stone wall by the sea.)
Reposted by Paul Harland
Plant needs a home: I have a large Agave victoria-reginae which has been growing happily & improbably in my window-box, exciting passersby for many years. It has now decided it no longer wants this life & has thrown itself from the window, crushing one side. It's in central London in Fitzrovia 1/2
November 26, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Plant needs a home: I have a large Agave victoria-reginae which has been growing happily & improbably in my window-box, exciting passersby for many years. It has now decided it no longer wants this life & has thrown itself from the window, crushing one side. It's in central London in Fitzrovia 1/2
Reposted by Paul Harland
Got a shoutout for my free newsletter from the UX Consultants Lounge! This is the article in question.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
November 25, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Got a shoutout for my free newsletter from the UX Consultants Lounge! This is the article in question.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Reposted by Paul Harland
New issue of my newsletter: "The Index and the Vector" — Converting ambiguity into precision can help a broader audience discover and learn from collections newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Index and the Vector
Converting ambiguity into precision can help a broader audience discover and learn from collections
newsletter.dancohen.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
New issue of my newsletter: "The Index and the Vector" — Converting ambiguity into precision can help a broader audience discover and learn from collections newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
Reposted by Paul Harland
Pharmacists rejoice
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Pharmacists rejoice
Reposted by Paul Harland
The results are in! www.maximumtruth.org/p/skyrocketi... (but see above)
Skyrocketing AI Intelligence: ChatGPT's o3 sets new record
The world will be changing soon
www.maximumtruth.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The results are in! www.maximumtruth.org/p/skyrocketi... (but see above)
Reposted by Paul Harland
- Gaming the System -
New preprint of a book chapter that will appear in 2026 about the role of games and gaming in the research and development of #AI. Now available from @ssrn.bsky.social . dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
New preprint of a book chapter that will appear in 2026 about the role of games and gaming in the research and development of #AI. Now available from @ssrn.bsky.social . dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
November 24, 2025 at 2:53 PM
- Gaming the System -
New preprint of a book chapter that will appear in 2026 about the role of games and gaming in the research and development of #AI. Now available from @ssrn.bsky.social . dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
New preprint of a book chapter that will appear in 2026 about the role of games and gaming in the research and development of #AI. Now available from @ssrn.bsky.social . dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
Reposted by Paul Harland
Really compelling piece, and we need to incorporate more media literacy and critical thinking skills much earlier on than the college classroom.
@drteague9455.bsky.social set a trap for his students, what he learned is a major bummer. The lure of the large language model is strong, and the students don't know what they don't know. Freedom and literacy are on the line, history urges us to our own work.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/set-tr...
I Set A Trap To Catch Students Cheating With AI. The Result Was Deflating
"I am no stranger to students trying to cut corners by copying and pasting from Wikipedia, but the introduction of generative AI has enabled them to cheat in startling new ways."
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Really compelling piece, and we need to incorporate more media literacy and critical thinking skills much earlier on than the college classroom.
Reposted by Paul Harland
interview with Journal for the History of Ideas www.jhiblog.org/2025/06/11/l... 2/
“Language and Image Minus Cognition”: An Interview with Leif Weatherby
by Robin Manley
www.jhiblog.org
June 24, 2025 at 2:43 PM
interview with Journal for the History of Ideas www.jhiblog.org/2025/06/11/l... 2/
Is this the first modern war (again)? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How robots are a lifeline to troops on Ukraine's eastern front
Land drones are increasingly the only means of transporting supplies to the embattled city of Pokrovsk.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Is this the first modern war (again)? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
“Once the goal of food banks was to work themselves out of a job. Now they have become a necessary part of the welfare state.” www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘Demand is up, donations are down’: how food banks are helping families in Kent
Since the pandemic, the charities have been forced to use cash gifts and grant money to cover their bills
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:25 PM
“Once the goal of food banks was to work themselves out of a job. Now they have become a necessary part of the welfare state.” www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Paul Harland
Twitter obsesses over Bluesky in the manner of a rejected partner convinced that they might still win their ex over
Bluesky obsesses over Twitter in the manner of the partner who left, but who didn't get the last word and can't let it go
Bluesky obsesses over Twitter in the manner of the partner who left, but who didn't get the last word and can't let it go
September 20, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Twitter obsesses over Bluesky in the manner of a rejected partner convinced that they might still win their ex over
Bluesky obsesses over Twitter in the manner of the partner who left, but who didn't get the last word and can't let it go
Bluesky obsesses over Twitter in the manner of the partner who left, but who didn't get the last word and can't let it go
Reposted by Paul Harland
the greatest bitcoin snark of all times from @katie0martin.ft.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:13 AM
the greatest bitcoin snark of all times from @katie0martin.ft.com
Reposted by Paul Harland
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
Reposted by Paul Harland
From the archive. When activist and anthropologist Graeber died unexpectedly in 2020, scholars gathered to mourn him. Contributors to a resulting volume, As If Already Free, reflect on his legacy. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/davi...
David Graeber’s Lasting Influence on Anthropology and Activism
When activist and anthropologist Graeber died unexpectedly in 2020, scholars gathered to mourn and reflect on his legacy.
www.sapiens.org
November 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
From the archive. When activist and anthropologist Graeber died unexpectedly in 2020, scholars gathered to mourn him. Contributors to a resulting volume, As If Already Free, reflect on his legacy. Read more: www.sapiens.org/culture/davi...
In the jug! In memory of one of my uncles? More research is called for!
November 22, 2025 at 8:46 PM
In the jug! In memory of one of my uncles? More research is called for!
Reposted by Paul Harland
Oxford Handbook to the End of Academia
November 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Oxford Handbook to the End of Academia
@wxcccccvvvvvv.bsky.social What year is that?
November 22, 2025 at 7:31 PM
@wxcccccvvvvvv.bsky.social What year is that?
Behind the Scenes in academia.
very happy to see the trend of a Behind the Scenes section catching on! transparent & honest science 👌
love the detailed montreal spots mentioned
consider including such a section in your next appendix!
(paper by @a-krishnan.bsky.social arxiv.org/pdf/2504.050...)
love the detailed montreal spots mentioned
consider including such a section in your next appendix!
(paper by @a-krishnan.bsky.social arxiv.org/pdf/2504.050...)
November 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Behind the Scenes in academia.
Are we living in a simulacrum?
The result is a simulated VDA regime; symbolic verification, symbolic deliberation, symbolic accountability. All the procedural shapes of reasoning with none of the real-world safeguards.
November 22, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Are we living in a simulacrum?
Reposted by Paul Harland
The deeper problem isn’t just misinformation, its the collapse of shared verification environments and the rise of influencer-led moral-epistemic systems that feel more authentic than institutions.
November 22, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The deeper problem isn’t just misinformation, its the collapse of shared verification environments and the rise of influencer-led moral-epistemic systems that feel more authentic than institutions.
@michaelsavage.bsky.social "Sir Gibb"?
November 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
@michaelsavage.bsky.social "Sir Gibb"?
Reposted by Paul Harland
There's a very short list of films where no matter how often I've seen them, whenever they show up I have to sit down & watch them again--one's the most clichéd possible choice, Casablanca, & another is Gun Crazy which also captures my culture's firearms obsession better than any modern-day attempt.
Everyone - EVERYONE - should see this movie. Even if you don't like noir, even if you don't like classic movies, even if you don't want to see something made 75 years ago, GUN CRAZY is a wild, impossible masterpiece of the crime genre. It's suspenseful, thrilling, sad, dramatic, and hot as fuck.
November 21, 2025 at 7:19 PM
There's a very short list of films where no matter how often I've seen them, whenever they show up I have to sit down & watch them again--one's the most clichéd possible choice, Casablanca, & another is Gun Crazy which also captures my culture's firearms obsession better than any modern-day attempt.
Reposted by Paul Harland
If ever you find yourself visiting Oxford, why not take a walk round, & see if you can spot any of these "famous cats of Oxford."
I wonder if anyone will spot the cat puns in the story too.
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
I wonder if anyone will spot the cat puns in the story too.
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
College cats of Oxford
Once upon a time, we featured an image of Magdalen's kitten, Ozymandias, in our newsletter. We figured it might be a gentle contrast to our regular diet of planning and local politics.
The grey ball ...
oxfordclarion.uk
November 21, 2025 at 4:57 PM
If ever you find yourself visiting Oxford, why not take a walk round, & see if you can spot any of these "famous cats of Oxford."
I wonder if anyone will spot the cat puns in the story too.
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
I wonder if anyone will spot the cat puns in the story too.
oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
Reposted by Paul Harland
Excited to announce our book “Neuroevolution: Harnessing Creativity in AI Agent Design” by Sebastian Risi, Yujin Tang, Risto Miikkulainen, and myself. We explore decades of work on evolving intelligent agents and shows how neuroevolution can drive creativity in deep learning, RL, LLMs and AI Agents!
November 20, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Excited to announce our book “Neuroevolution: Harnessing Creativity in AI Agent Design” by Sebastian Risi, Yujin Tang, Risto Miikkulainen, and myself. We explore decades of work on evolving intelligent agents and shows how neuroevolution can drive creativity in deep learning, RL, LLMs and AI Agents!