Category Archives: Robert’s posts

“Prompt Engineering”

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Robert Basil

Even before my friend Chet fully explained to me what this term meant, I was on board with it. From Forbes the other day: The democratization of Artificial Intelligence and, specifically, the generative models boom seems to have changed everything. … Continue reading →

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Be fair and be good to the artists

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Robert Basil

Artist and writer Molly Crabapple, whose work I have long admired, has written an open letter “imploring publishers to restrict their use of A.I.-generated illustrations.” I signed. Since the earliest days of print journalism, illustration has been used to elucidate … Continue reading →

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Everything will be suspicious

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Robert Basil

Longtime NoContest.ca friend Chet Wisniewski has “Three Cybercrime Predictions in the Age of ChatGPT.” I don’t know anyone who writes more clearly and helpfully on these things. Organizations (like my own) have trained their employees to recognize phishing and other … Continue reading →

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Best answer yet to that question

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Robert Basil

By rocker Susanna Hoffs: It’s worth it for me to remember that, because I am a bit of a snob formalist when it comes to evaluating published writing (prose or verse). The NYTimes “By the Book” series is always fun, … Continue reading →

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New at No Contest

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Robert Basil

We have added two news-feeds, for Artificial Intelligence and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), to go with our feeds on Social Media Policy and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and we’ve significantly expanded our resources list at the top of the page. … Continue reading →

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Phonics and the State of the Union

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Robert Basil

Our friend Jonathan Mayhew has been wondering whether the “balanced literacy” approach to teaching reading has neglected fundamental ways the brain apprehends and organizes sound itself, to the detriment of a generation or more of young would-be readers. Professors of … Continue reading →

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“Pre-Planned Feelings”

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Robert Basil

We have discussed our friend Clarissa‘s opinions on American academia and other topics in the past. She is an Hispanic Studies professor at a midwestern public university whose blog is always vividly written (and is contentious by design, I would … Continue reading →

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“Overlords at the Easel”

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Robert Basil

The brilliant, prolific, and combative political cartoonist Ted Rall has been spreading warnings about the ways AI can and will rob artists of rights to – and earnings from – their work. This week: As a cartoonist of the early … Continue reading →

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Merry Xmas!

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Robert Basil

From the great Bryan Garner: You can buy the new, 5th edition of Garner’s Modern English Usage here.

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This can go a long way

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Robert Basil

This semester I asked a student of mine who’s in my university’s HR program whether human resources professionals needed to actually like people. (I wish I remember why I asked!) She told me nobody had ever asked her that question … Continue reading →

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