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Tom Roberts

@tomroberts.bsky.social

Philosopher at the University of Exeter (Perception, Emotion, Cognition; Aesthetics; AI).

198 Followers  |  78 Following  |  21 Posts  |  Joined: 11.10.2023  |  1.7617

Latest posts by tomroberts.bsky.social on Bluesky


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Lopes, Dominic McIver. Aesthetic Injustice. Oxford University Press, 2024. Pp. 208. $100.00 (cloth). | Ethics: Vol 136, No 2

Tom Roberts and Daisy Dixon review Dominic McIver Lopesโ€™s โ€œAesthetic Injusticeโ€ for ETHICS at doi.org/10.1086/738315 #philsky #PolTheory #legalphil #moralphil #moralphilosophy #legalphilosophy

23.02.2026 15:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Feral AI gossip with the potential to spread damage and shame will become more frequent, researchers warn "Feral" gossip spread via AI bots is likely to become more frequent and pervasive, causing reputational damage and shame, humiliation, anxiety, and distress, researchers have warned.

AI chatbots are increasingly generating and spreading gossip, which can lead to reputational harm, anxiety, and social unrest as these outputs circulate widely and unchecked. doi.org/hbgmbz

22.12.2025 16:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Lopes, Dominic McIver. Aesthetic Injustice. Oxford University Press, 2024. Pp. 208. $100.00 (cloth). | Ethics: Vol 136, No 2

Daisy Dixon and I have a friendly-critical review of Dominic Lopesโ€™s *Aesthetic Injustice* out in the new issue of Ethics.

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

22.12.2025 09:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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PhD: AHRC Studentship | University of Exeter Project descriptionThe University of Exeter is offering up to three fully funded AHRC doctoral studentships and training and development opportunities across a range of the AHRCโ€™s disciplines for cand...

Three AHRC PhD Scholarships available for Humanities subjects at Exeter, including Philosophy! February deadline, see link for details:

www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

18.11.2025 20:32 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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If you are wondering what Labour plans to do to British universities, I wrote a piece for you! isrf.org/blog/labours...

06.11.2025 13:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

It me!

28.10.2025 19:41 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Friends. Lovers. Therapists. Deathbots. AI is now fulfilling new roles for millions of us every single day. How are these new 'relationships' changing how we view technology - and each other?

Love Machines by James Muldoon is the first book on AI companions. Out January: linktr.ee/lovemachinesbook

14.10.2025 09:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Sarah, I really fancy you so eh, how about it?
YouTube video by Steven Rae Sarah, I really fancy you so eh, how about it?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=DgTK...

28.09.2025 20:38 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Thanks to Cardiff for funding our Sad Philosophy Workshop next week with me, @lopezcantero.bsky.social and @bexmillar.bsky.social

Weโ€™ll be in the melancholy domains of grief and negative relationships, heartbreak and chatbots, and ai psychosis ๐Ÿ–ค ๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ–ค

15.09.2025 15:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 20    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A cover of the British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 65, Number 3. A special issue on embodied voices: aesthetics and ethics of bodies in performance.

A cover of the British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 65, Number 3. A special issue on embodied voices: aesthetics and ethics of bodies in performance.

Embodied voices: an introduction

Performing arts and affordances: moving toward poetic justice through embodied learning

Is there anybody out there?

โ€œHer fresh voiceโ€: representatively staging Pucciniโ€™s Turandot with Andrea Dworkin

An artistโ€™s voice: expressive achievement, experiential content, and authority

Embodied voices: an introduction Performing arts and affordances: moving toward poetic justice through embodied learning Is there anybody out there? โ€œHer fresh voiceโ€: representatively staging Pucciniโ€™s Turandot with Andrea Dworkin An artistโ€™s voice: expressive achievement, experiential content, and authority

The swirl of emotion among us: affect, the voice, and performance training

The beautiful voice in opera: the injustice of vocal discrimination

Voice, rhyme, and aesthetic injustice

The swirl of emotion among us: affect, the voice, and performance training The beautiful voice in opera: the injustice of vocal discrimination Voice, rhyme, and aesthetic injustice

A list of reviews in the latest issue of the BJA.

A list of reviews in the latest issue of the BJA.

This is a public service announcement. The BJA has published a brand new issue. That is all. academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics... #philsky

07.09.2025 13:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

๐ŸŽ‰ What a lovely way to celebrate my first day at Exeter! This fun conversation with Jim Baxter @ethicsuntangled.bsky.social about a paper my now-colleague @joelkrueger.com and I wrote on AI Gossip is now up!

In the podcast we discuss how AI systems might engage in gossip-like behaviour ๐Ÿ™Š

01.09.2025 15:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Narrator: The answer was the secret fifth and sixth โ€œEโ€, situatEdnEss.

22.08.2025 14:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Situated Cognition in Early Modern Experimentation: the Case of Compelled Assent

Why was Newton so sure that if you just did his optical experiments youโ€™d *have* to believe him about light? Kirsten Walsh, Tom Roberts and I use 4E cognition to suggest an answer. Anachronism? You be the judgeโ€ฆ (also iโ€™m real proud of this paper) www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.... #philsci

22.08.2025 10:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 29    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
AI and Semantic Pareidolia: When We See Consciousness Where There Is None <p><span>The article introduces the concept of โ€œsemantic pareidoliaโ€ - our tendency to attribute consciousness, intelligence, and emotions to AI systems that la

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

08.08.2025 14:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon drawing of Nietzsche hoovering and thinking "God I hate this thing". Caption reads Nietzsche abhors a vacuum.

Cartoon drawing of Nietzsche hoovering and thinking "God I hate this thing". Caption reads Nietzsche abhors a vacuum.

Nietzsche abhors a vacuum

www.worldofmoose.com/products/nie...

01.08.2025 10:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1353    ๐Ÿ” 345    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 36    ๐Ÿ“Œ 15
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Home - HUGERA The Human Genomics without Racism (HUGERA) project brings together geneticists, philosophers, and social scientists to create tools for an ethically sound science of human variation. Latest News

๐ŸšจProject ๐ŸšจMy project โ€œHuman Genomics without Racismโ€ kicks off during #ISHPSSB25.

Join us for the Symposium โ€œValues, Bias, and Controversiesโ€ on Monday 21, 14:30.

#philsky
#popgen
#evosky
#STS
#biological
#HPbio

hugera.org

18.07.2025 13:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 28    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
A black and white drawing of three dachshunds arranged vertically, each holding a different optical illusion object in its mouth, and the dogs themselves drawn as if a single line optical illusion. The top dog holds a Penrose triangle, the middle dog holds a Necker cube, and the bottom dog holds a Penrose trident. The dogsโ€™ bodies are elongated in an exaggerated cartoon style. The artwork is signed โ€œ@IndieTheIntrovertโ€ in the bottom right corner.

A black and white drawing of three dachshunds arranged vertically, each holding a different optical illusion object in its mouth, and the dogs themselves drawn as if a single line optical illusion. The top dog holds a Penrose triangle, the middle dog holds a Necker cube, and the bottom dog holds a Penrose trident. The dogsโ€™ bodies are elongated in an exaggerated cartoon style. The artwork is signed โ€œ@IndieTheIntrovertโ€ in the bottom right corner.

Everyone stop, this is important

07.07.2025 00:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5212    ๐Ÿ” 1615    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 94    ๐Ÿ“Œ 81

Iโ€™m going to read this in my inner voice.

23.06.2025 15:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Many of these examples came together in our new chapter on Lonely Objects and Obsolete Affordances (@tomroberts.bsky.social and @joelkrueger.com)! Thanks so much for the inspiration โค๏ธ

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

23.06.2025 09:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 30    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@celsoneto.bsky.social?

13.06.2025 13:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

44!

28.05.2025 09:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Labour has a whopping great majority and four years left to turn this country around.

They should be setting the agenda, not chasing about trying to placate voters of a party with five MPs who will never vote for them anyway.

It's not only disappointing... it's embarrassing

12.05.2025 07:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6441    ๐Ÿ” 1564    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 300    ๐Ÿ“Œ 96
โ€˜[O]n the one hand, by far the longest-standing theories of beauty construed it as partly objective and dependent on form; on the other hand, many of late think that there is little we can say about what makes objects beautiful, other than that they please us..โ€™
- Panos Paris, 'On Beauty and Wellformedness'

โ€˜[O]n the one hand, by far the longest-standing theories of beauty construed it as partly objective and dependent on form; on the other hand, many of late think that there is little we can say about what makes objects beautiful, other than that they please us..โ€™ - Panos Paris, 'On Beauty and Wellformedness'

In this open access ๐Ÿ”“ article, Panos Paris breathes new life into a view of beauty that has fallen on hard times, despite holding sway for millennia. doi.org/10.1093/aest...

25.04.2025 11:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
โ€˜When I read the poem in my accent, which retains some of its regional inflections, tones, and cadences despite my own years in the formal institutions of British life, the lines do not rhyme. And they do not rhyme to the ear of those with many of the standard accents of the north-east or south-west of England, for example, or of Wales and Northern Ireland. More significantly for what follows, the lines do not rhyme in the voices of those from the post-industrial heartlands of central Scotland, from working-class regions of London, Birmingham, or Liverpool, or from traditional rural constituencies across the United Kingdom.โ€™
- Tom Roberts 'Voice, Rhyme, and Aesthetic Injusticeโ€™

โ€˜When I read the poem in my accent, which retains some of its regional inflections, tones, and cadences despite my own years in the formal institutions of British life, the lines do not rhyme. And they do not rhyme to the ear of those with many of the standard accents of the north-east or south-west of England, for example, or of Wales and Northern Ireland. More significantly for what follows, the lines do not rhyme in the voices of those from the post-industrial heartlands of central Scotland, from working-class regions of London, Birmingham, or Liverpool, or from traditional rural constituencies across the United Kingdom.โ€™ - Tom Roberts 'Voice, Rhyme, and Aesthetic Injusticeโ€™

In this advance article, Tom Roberts argues that appreciators can suffer aesthetic injustice when excluded from aesthetic goods more fully available to others.

31.03.2025 15:41 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Lecturer in Philosophy (Artificial Intelligence and Data) (Education and Research) at University of Exeter Searching for an academic job? Explore this Lecturer in Philosophy (Artificial Intelligence and Data) (Education and Research) opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academ...

We're hiring! Lecturer in Philosophy (Artificial Intelligence and Data). Deadline for applications: 17th April 2025 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DML775/l... #philsky #philmind #cogsci #philsci

27.03.2025 16:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 41    ๐Ÿ” 31    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

This is just to say

I have read the Yemen strike plans
that were in
the group chat
and which
you were probably saving
for those
with appropriate security clearance

Forgive me
they were delicious
so strategic
and so secret

24.03.2025 21:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Great colloquium talk this evening by the inimitable Ian Kidd.

#miseries
#misanthropy
#meaninglessness
#mortality

26.02.2025 17:49 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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One underreported facet of the Great University Crisis is the contribution of a small number of consultancy firms who recommend:
*Centralise functions
*Cut small courses
*Reduce student options
*Abolish loads of joint awards
*Chop staff headcount
This is *exactly* what you must not do. (1/3)

13.02.2025 10:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 199    ๐Ÿ” 92    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11    ๐Ÿ“Œ 17

@tomroberts is following 20 prominent accounts