John Russell
@johnruss28.bsky.social
Associate librarian at Penn State, associate director of the Center for Virtual/Material Studies
Reposted by John Russell
Our tribute to Natalie Zemon Davis, in the Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte. Please share widely!
www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/...
www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/...
Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte - Archive for Reformation History Volume 116 Issue 1
Volume 116, issue 1 of the journal Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte - Archive for Reformation History was published in 2025.
www.degruyterbrill.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Our tribute to Natalie Zemon Davis, in the Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte. Please share widely!
www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/...
www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/...
Reposted by John Russell
Paste any IIIF manifest → model classifies every page locally → see where illustrations appear.
Part of small-models-for-glam: small, efficient models for cultural heritage work.
Not everything needs GPT-4!
Try it: huggingface.co/spaces/small-models-for-glam/iiif-illustration-detector
Part of small-models-for-glam: small, efficient models for cultural heritage work.
Not everything needs GPT-4!
Try it: huggingface.co/spaces/small-models-for-glam/iiif-illustration-detector
IIIF Illustration Detector - a Hugging Face Space by small-models-for-glam
Find illustrated pages in digitized historical books
huggingface.co
December 19, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Paste any IIIF manifest → model classifies every page locally → see where illustrations appear.
Part of small-models-for-glam: small, efficient models for cultural heritage work.
Not everything needs GPT-4!
Try it: huggingface.co/spaces/small-models-for-glam/iiif-illustration-detector
Part of small-models-for-glam: small, efficient models for cultural heritage work.
Not everything needs GPT-4!
Try it: huggingface.co/spaces/small-models-for-glam/iiif-illustration-detector
Reposted by John Russell
happy to see Tressie encourage people to refuse AI.
when people ask me about AI, I give them permission to say no :)
(I even did the useless thing of putting it in my email signature lol)
when people ask me about AI, I give them permission to say no :)
(I even did the useless thing of putting it in my email signature lol)
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
December 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
happy to see Tressie encourage people to refuse AI.
when people ask me about AI, I give them permission to say no :)
(I even did the useless thing of putting it in my email signature lol)
when people ask me about AI, I give them permission to say no :)
(I even did the useless thing of putting it in my email signature lol)
Reposted by John Russell
Lastly, we made an interactive tool for exploring these borrowing trends, and we also released a public dataset.
Exploratory tool: melaniewalsh.github.io/whats-seattl...
Data: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Exploratory tool: melaniewalsh.github.io/whats-seattl...
Data: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
December 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Lastly, we made an interactive tool for exploring these borrowing trends, and we also released a public dataset.
Exploratory tool: melaniewalsh.github.io/whats-seattl...
Data: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Exploratory tool: melaniewalsh.github.io/whats-seattl...
Data: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by John Russell
For "Communities in the Loop: AI for Cultures & Contexts in Multimodal Archives," congrats to: Jim Casey, Christopher Dancy, @snblickhan.bsky.social, Tiffany Smith, Benjamin Lee. (And I must also include @profgabrielle.bsky.social !)
JUST ANNOUNCED: Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11M to 23 teams globally for our Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI).
These projects bring AI to history, archaeology, literature, and film, unlocking new understandings of human culture.
Learn more: buff.ly/tvTUYwY
These projects bring AI to history, archaeology, literature, and film, unlocking new understandings of human culture.
Learn more: buff.ly/tvTUYwY
December 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
For "Communities in the Loop: AI for Cultures & Contexts in Multimodal Archives," congrats to: Jim Casey, Christopher Dancy, @snblickhan.bsky.social, Tiffany Smith, Benjamin Lee. (And I must also include @profgabrielle.bsky.social !)
Reposted by John Russell
“An enduring benefit of Watters’ book is the way it functions like an X-ray machine, providing readers with the ability to see through terms like ‘personalized learning’ to reveal familiar pedagogies and politics of control and conformity.” - Me, on why everybody should read Audrey Watters.
Book Recommendation: Teaching Machines - Kappan Online
This book enables readers to see through terms like “personalized learning” to reveal pedagogies and politics of control and conformity.
kappanonline.org
December 9, 2025 at 8:17 PM
“An enduring benefit of Watters’ book is the way it functions like an X-ray machine, providing readers with the ability to see through terms like ‘personalized learning’ to reveal familiar pedagogies and politics of control and conformity.” - Me, on why everybody should read Audrey Watters.
Reposted by John Russell
📽️ WATCH: Photographer @annie-flanagan.bsky.social went to Clairton, PA, where residents live in the shadow of the country’s largest coke plant. Coke is a product used to manufacture steel.
This is what Annie saw — and inhaled — while on assignment in Clairton.
Link to our story below ⤵️
This is what Annie saw — and inhaled — while on assignment in Clairton.
Link to our story below ⤵️
December 8, 2025 at 12:01 AM
📽️ WATCH: Photographer @annie-flanagan.bsky.social went to Clairton, PA, where residents live in the shadow of the country’s largest coke plant. Coke is a product used to manufacture steel.
This is what Annie saw — and inhaled — while on assignment in Clairton.
Link to our story below ⤵️
This is what Annie saw — and inhaled — while on assignment in Clairton.
Link to our story below ⤵️
Reposted by John Russell
We are going to focus @douglassday.bsky.social in Feb 2026 on the Colored Conventions and their visions for citizenship.
We need to tell a much fuller story about the 14th amendment. The history is crystal clear. The Constitution is crystal clear.
We need to tell a much fuller story about the 14th amendment. The history is crystal clear. The Constitution is crystal clear.
December 8, 2025 at 12:06 AM
We are going to focus @douglassday.bsky.social in Feb 2026 on the Colored Conventions and their visions for citizenship.
We need to tell a much fuller story about the 14th amendment. The history is crystal clear. The Constitution is crystal clear.
We need to tell a much fuller story about the 14th amendment. The history is crystal clear. The Constitution is crystal clear.
Reposted by John Russell
Western PA (where a 4 GW gas power plant is being constructed) does have access to the underground reservoirs required for seasonal green H2 storage and the combustion system could be modified to run the same turbines on pure H2.
Now we just need the solar and wind resources and the electrolyzers.
Now we just need the solar and wind resources and the electrolyzers.
December 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Western PA (where a 4 GW gas power plant is being constructed) does have access to the underground reservoirs required for seasonal green H2 storage and the combustion system could be modified to run the same turbines on pure H2.
Now we just need the solar and wind resources and the electrolyzers.
Now we just need the solar and wind resources and the electrolyzers.
Reposted by John Russell
We are hiring at the University of Arizona libraries for a Data Science Specialist/Librarian. Expertise/experience in Python is a must. Not on the search committee, will be your colleague. arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Data Science Specialist/Librarian (Assistant or Associate)
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIESData
Science Outreach and ServicesDevelop and lead training opportunities in tools and
resources such as data visualization, data...
arizona.csod.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
We are hiring at the University of Arizona libraries for a Data Science Specialist/Librarian. Expertise/experience in Python is a must. Not on the search committee, will be your colleague. arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Reposted by John Russell
PJM is the regional grid serving 67 million customers in 13 states
November 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
PJM is the regional grid serving 67 million customers in 13 states
Reposted by John Russell
New #AIstories publication by @annesigrid.bsky.social! I love this one: it compares human-told variants of a folktale with LLM-generated variants, finding 1) the implicit is made explicit 2) floatif motifs (fascinating new concept) 3) sex is censored, cannibalism augmented doi.org/10.3390/h141...
doi.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:18 PM
New #AIstories publication by @annesigrid.bsky.social! I love this one: it compares human-told variants of a folktale with LLM-generated variants, finding 1) the implicit is made explicit 2) floatif motifs (fascinating new concept) 3) sex is censored, cannibalism augmented doi.org/10.3390/h141...
Reposted by John Russell
Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!
What's the deal with balcony solar?
Cora Stryker joins me to explain how "plug-in" solar took Europe by storm and is finally, via Utah (?), making its way to America.
www.volts.wtf
November 26, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!
Reposted by John Russell
“After that extra-contaminated water leaves Amazon’s data center, it then gets dumped and sprayed across local farmland in Oregon.”
Eewwww
Eewwww
Everyone knows data centers use a ton of water.
What hardly anyone knows: they can poison the water that remains.
And in eastern Oregon, Amazon is doing exactly that.
What hardly anyone knows: they can poison the water that remains.
And in eastern Oregon, Amazon is doing exactly that.
AI’s water problem is worse than we thought
A new investigation reveals how Amazon is amplifying Oregon’s nitrate pollution crisis.
heated.world
November 25, 2025 at 8:46 PM
“After that extra-contaminated water leaves Amazon’s data center, it then gets dumped and sprayed across local farmland in Oregon.”
Eewwww
Eewwww
Reposted by John Russell
why "today’s LLMs might be the best that they will ever be" asimovaddendum.substack.com/p/are-llms-t...
Are LLMs the Best That They Will Ever Be?
Without careful disclosure architectures, AI products may only get worse, even as the technology gets better.
asimovaddendum.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
why "today’s LLMs might be the best that they will ever be" asimovaddendum.substack.com/p/are-llms-t...
Reposted by John Russell
📣New paper!
Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social
👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...
Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social
👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...
November 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
📣New paper!
Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social
👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...
Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social
👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...
Reposted by John Russell
If you are interested in a primary source for the beginning of next semester, may I recommend the earliest recorded indigenous description of Appalachia, translated by yours truly?
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
Luisa and Teresa of Appalachia — Scott Cave
www.scottcave.net
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 AM
If you are interested in a primary source for the beginning of next semester, may I recommend the earliest recorded indigenous description of Appalachia, translated by yours truly?
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
Reposted by John Russell
I'm very happy to have published a chapter in this excellent, open-access collection, "Being Human in the Digital World:"
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Kudos to expert editors Beate Roessler and Valerie Steeves, as well as fellow authors Julie Cohen, David Lyon, Helen Nissenbaum, & more!
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Kudos to expert editors Beate Roessler and Valerie Steeves, as well as fellow authors Julie Cohen, David Lyon, Helen Nissenbaum, & more!
www.cambridge.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:23 AM
I'm very happy to have published a chapter in this excellent, open-access collection, "Being Human in the Digital World:"
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Kudos to expert editors Beate Roessler and Valerie Steeves, as well as fellow authors Julie Cohen, David Lyon, Helen Nissenbaum, & more!
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Kudos to expert editors Beate Roessler and Valerie Steeves, as well as fellow authors Julie Cohen, David Lyon, Helen Nissenbaum, & more!
Reposted by John Russell
“Teaching curiosity is perhaps what we really need to be doing at this moment in time, more than anything else.”
Cloth and Complicity: Seth Rockman on Plantations, Textiles, and the Art of Weaving - Public Books
“But I had found a set of instructions in the archives of one of New England's leading manufacturers of low-end woollen cloth for enslaved wearers.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Teaching curiosity is perhaps what we really need to be doing at this moment in time, more than anything else.”
Reposted by John Russell
On the third anniversary of ChatGPT, I aimed to pull back from “AI” as a flowing current of new models, new data centers, new initiatives, “new new new” — and look at it as a product of a specific and unique moment in history. What *was* ChatGPT? A few points in the thread ⬇️
What was ChatGPT? Now nearly three years old, we can look at OpenAI's LLM as a product of its time, optimized ever since to its earliest uses. While this period of deep disorientation and social isolation has been obscured from public memory, it remains embedded within the interface.
What Was ChatGPT?
A Chatbot Optimized for Social Distance
Three years after the launch of ChatGPT, we can finally speak in hindsight about what it was and how it came to be. Its meteoric rise shocked the world, gather...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:28 AM
On the third anniversary of ChatGPT, I aimed to pull back from “AI” as a flowing current of new models, new data centers, new initiatives, “new new new” — and look at it as a product of a specific and unique moment in history. What *was* ChatGPT? A few points in the thread ⬇️
Reposted by John Russell
It took some time, but now my essay «Images from Images: Generative AI and the Reconfiguration of the ‹Photographic›» is finally out in open access, as part of the latest issue of «Photography & Culture» www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Images from Images Generative AI and the Reconfiguration of the ‘Photographic’
AI image generators such as Midjourney, Dall-E or Stable Diffusion are able to perfectly simulate the appearance of photographic images, but they are no longer part of the history of optical media....
www.tandfonline.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM
It took some time, but now my essay «Images from Images: Generative AI and the Reconfiguration of the ‹Photographic›» is finally out in open access, as part of the latest issue of «Photography & Culture» www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by John Russell
Quite an opening.
November 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Quite an opening.
Reposted by John Russell
📢 The #CHR2025 proceedings are out!
97 papers, ~1600 pages of computational humanities 🔥 Now published via the new Anthology of Computers and the Humanities, with DOIs for every paper.
🔗 anthology.ach.org/volumes/vol0...
And don’t forget: registration closes tomorrow (20 Nov)!
97 papers, ~1600 pages of computational humanities 🔥 Now published via the new Anthology of Computers and the Humanities, with DOIs for every paper.
🔗 anthology.ach.org/volumes/vol0...
And don’t forget: registration closes tomorrow (20 Nov)!
Edited by Taylor Arnold, Margherita Fantoli, and Ruben Ros
anthology.ach.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:53 PM
📢 The #CHR2025 proceedings are out!
97 papers, ~1600 pages of computational humanities 🔥 Now published via the new Anthology of Computers and the Humanities, with DOIs for every paper.
🔗 anthology.ach.org/volumes/vol0...
And don’t forget: registration closes tomorrow (20 Nov)!
97 papers, ~1600 pages of computational humanities 🔥 Now published via the new Anthology of Computers and the Humanities, with DOIs for every paper.
🔗 anthology.ach.org/volumes/vol0...
And don’t forget: registration closes tomorrow (20 Nov)!
Reposted by John Russell
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
www.govscape.net
November 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010