Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 13d

@maxread.info re: your latest newsletter on a public-option AI, FYI: the Public Interest Corpus project we're working on: publicinterestcorpus.org

more here:
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/book...
and here:
newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/huma...

The Public Interest Corpus

publicinterestcorpus.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 27d

New issue of my newsletter: "The Reboot of Digital Humanities Now" — Discover the latest work from across the field and around the world newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...

The Reboot of Digital Humanities Now

Discover the latest work from across the field and around the world

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · 29d

My essay on the tense relationship between authors and AI, as embodied in a major lawsuit against Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now in the Chronicle of Higher Education: www.chronicle.com/article/what...

Opinion | What a New Landmark AI Settlement Will Mean for Authors

Creators should demand credit, not just compensation.

www.chronicle.com

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 8

I have updated my in-depth analysis of Bartz v Anthropic to reflect this important and overlooked aspect of the proposed settlement: “In what may be a rude surprise for authors, partial or full payments for many books may go to publishers rather than authors.” newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/land...

Will a Landmark AI Settlement Make Authors Feel Whole?

The remuneration from Bartz v. Anthropic may not provide what writers really want: respect, recognition, and readers

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 6

@gruber.foo I thought you might appreciate this in-depth analysis of the Anthropic settlement—not only what it means for Anthropic and other big AI companies, but for authors and other creators: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/land...

Will a Landmark AI Settlement Make Authors Feel Whole?

The remuneration from Bartz v. Anthropic may not provide what writers really want: respect, recognition, and readers

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Reposted by Dan Cohen

Leif Hancox-Li, PhD @struthious.bsky.social · Sep 5

best piece I've read on this because it actually engages with the existing material incentives instead of just doing moral grandstanding.

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 5

My take on the landmark $1.5 billion settlement between authors and Anthropic: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/land...

Will a Landmark AI Settlement Make Authors Feel Whole?

The remuneration from Bartz v. Anthropic may not provide what writers really want: respect, recognition, and readers

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 5

New issue of my newsletter: “Will a Landmark AI Settlement Make Authors Feel Whole?” — The remuneration from Bartz v. Anthropic may not provide what writers really want: respect, recognition, and readers

A black and white photograph of library bookshelves in the dark

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 5

My take on the landmark $1.5 billion settlement between authors and Anthropic: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/land...

Will a Landmark AI Settlement Make Authors Feel Whole?

The remuneration from Bartz v. Anthropic may not provide what writers really want: respect, recognition, and readers

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Aug 29

New issue of my newsletter: “The Stones of Newton” — A bell tower with a surprising name is in danger of falling

A sepia-toned photograph of a Romanesque Revival church with a tower

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Aug 18

New issue of my newsletter: “AI and Libraries, Archives, and Museums, Loosely Coupled"—A new framework provides a way for cultural heritage institutions to take advantage of the tech with fewer misgivings, and to serve students, scholars, and the public better newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/ai-a...

AI and Libraries, Archives, and Museums, Loosely Coupled

A new framework provides a way for cultural heritage institutions to take advantage of the technology with fewer misgivings, and to serve students, scholars, and the public better

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Aug 18

New issue of my newsletter: “AI and Libraries, Archives, and Museums, Loosely Coupled”—
A new framework provides a way for cultural heritage institutions to take advantage of the technology with fewer misgivings, and to serve students, scholars, and the public better

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Jun 26

This was built upon Syllabus Finder's approach, and is now a much bigger database, but is mostly for data mining rather than finding specific syllabi (disclosure: I'm on its nonprofit board) www.opensyllabus.org

Open Syllabus

Map the college curriculum across 27.6 million syllabi

www.opensyllabus.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Apr 14

“When Information is Networked” — My tribute to Clifford Lynch, who sadly passed away last week. Cliff saw before anyone else how digital technology would enable new forms of research and learning, and completely transform the production and dissemination of knowledge

A watercolor of a thin waterfall in the mountains, and an associated rainbow emerging from the mist

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Apr 3

belated hello from Belle, Darth, she was also napping

Red dog lies on pillow with long legs outstretched

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Mar 19

I took the history section of "Humanity's Last Exam" and got an F. But I learned something important about our current methods of assessing AI

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Mar 18

New issue of my newsletter: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/aski...

Asking Good Questions Is Harder Than Giving Great Answers

The tests we are using to assess the intelligence of AI are missing an essential aspect of human inquiry — the query itself

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Mar 18

New issue of my newsletter: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/aski...

Asking Good Questions Is Harder Than Giving Great Answers

The tests we are using to assess the intelligence of AI are missing an essential aspect of human inquiry — the query itself

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Jan 21

For those who might be interested in traveling to our archives and special collections at Northeastern University to do research for an extended period, there’s a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (deadline: Feb 1, so act soon)

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Jan 17

I've gotten a lot of responses from instructors struggling with the questions raised here. I probably should have also noted that students most likely to use AI in a way that truly improves their deep learning are the ones least likely to need that extra boost. This was true for MOOCs as well.

Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Jan 16

New issue of my newsletter: “The Unresolved Tension Between AI and Learning” — If education is accelerated using AI, will we lose some crucial aspects of learning that will prove to be problematic?

A yellow neon sign that says “Teach your tongue to say “I don’t know”

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Jan 16

New issue of my newsletter: “The Unresolved Tension Between AI and Learning” — If education is accelerated using AI, will we lose some crucial aspects of learning that will prove to be problematic?

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Reposted by Dan Cohen

Derek Bruff @derekbruff.bsky.social · Dec 8

"What can book-informed AI do for the creation of library metadata and comprehensive search? How can AI help locate works for careful human reading rather than summarization?" @social.dancohen.org on a new Mellon-funded project about books and AI. newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/book...

Books, AI, and the Public Good: A New Grant

A Mellon-funded project to develop an ethical, public-interest way to incorporate books into artificial intelligence

newsletter.dancohen.org

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Dec 8

The Catalog of Distinctive Type, a visual catalog of distinctive and damaged printing type originating in books published in England from 1660 to 1700

A grid of old typewritten letters, in different shapes and shades

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Dec 5

A periodic reminder that you can subscribe to my newsletter Humane Ingenuity on my website

Four colorful images of creative uses of physical and digital media, including a paper peacock and a digital boat at sea

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Dec 5

New issue of my newsletter: “Books, AI, and the Public Good: A New Grant” — A Mellon-funded project to develop an ethical, public-interest way to incorporate books into artificial intelligence

A black and white photo of a patent model of a book sewing machine, with gears and a conveyor belt, made out of wood and metal.

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Oct 15

New issue of my newsletter: “Synths and Sensibility” — From Beethoven to Kraftwerk, innovative artists have used new technology to make music more human, not less

The cover of the sheet music for the 1913 song “There’s a Wireless Station in my Heart,” showing a woman answering the phone while sitting on a yellow heart, with a transmission tower below

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Dan Cohen @dancohen.org · Sep 11

New issue of my newsletter: “No Happy Medium for Books” — A court ruling curtails the circulation of the written word

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