Category Archives: Robert’s posts
Learning but slowly
Apropos the use of AI in academia, a student asked me, “We want to work more quickly in the workplace, but do we really want to LEARN more quickly? Is that even possible?” To the latter question, I would say … Continue reading
Autofilling the Data Gaps
My macroeconomics professor at The University at Buffalo told our class, at semester’s end, that people in his profession “had a lot to be humble about.” I loved that line and have used it hundreds of times since, to describe … Continue reading
The work international students must do in B.C.
Several years ago my late Kwantlen colleague Arley McNeney organized a class project in which her students presented research on the challenges international students at our school face. I was embarrassed when I read their report; I had been so … Continue reading
Leaving Substack …
One of my favourite authors, Talia Lavin, has moved her blog, “The Sword and the Sandwich,” from Substack to the Buttondown platform. That’s because [Substack] founders stated, in no uncertain terms, that they’re not just OK with, but in principle supportive … Continue reading
An artist’s hand
I suppose we could file this post under “learning” and “technology” – themes from our website’s subtitle. In this case the technology (the “application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals”) is a carefully placed and pressing hand. The learning … Continue reading
Talia Lavin’s cri de coeur
I admire the writing of Talia Lavin. Her beautifully written Substack blog, “The Sword and the Sandwich,” always charms me. This week she published “Fuck You and Your Word-Stealing Machine: A Luddite stands against AI language models and their plunder.” … Continue reading
Threads and news reporting
In part as a consequence of the Israel-Hamas war, more journalists are posting news and analysis on Meta’s Threads platform. From QZ’s Ananya Bhattacharya: Since its inception, Threads has decided to steer clear of handling hard news—and the Israel-Hamas war … Continue reading
AI and the future of music copyright
Rick Beato’s recent interview with Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA focused as much on AI technology as on the creation of ABBA’s songs and records. The co-writer of “Waterloo,” “SOS,” and “Dancing Queen” was mostly sanguine – indeed, enthusiastic – about … Continue reading
