Timofei Protasov

About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.

are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost

New episode just up.
open.spotify.com/episode/4tmW...

In case you missed it, we've got a new episode up. It's here 👇🏼

This two-day workshop will explore several questions. How can environmental history complement or offer alternatives to existing historiographical narratives and periodisations in British history? What new actors, events, or phenomena might come to the fore? How should it foster engagements with places beyond its national borders or with other disciplines? Is environmental history different from longstanding traditions of ‘landscape’ or ‘urban’ histories of Britain? What contributions can historians make to environmental advocacy and policymaking? And how might a focus on the environment reshape teaching in British history? To take part, participants should submit a 300 word proposal for a short ‘position paper’ (approx. 2500 words) that will be pre-circulated at the workshop. These position papers will address the place of environmental approaches and themes within modern British history (1800 to the present) from the perspective of the participant’s own research. Participants will orally summarise their papers at the workshop. The event is free to attend and includes lunch and refreshments. Submissions are welcomed across a range of perspectives and topics, including but not limited to: energy, extraction, non-human actors, pollution, toxicity, rural and urban landscapes, everyday environmental histories (including how they are shaped by class, gender, and race), imperialism and decolonisation, ‘green’ policy, activism, and the political economy of the natural world. Please send proposals and a one-paragraph biography in a single PDF to andrew.seaton@manchester.ac.uk by 15 May 2026. Please also direct enquiries to this address. This event is organised by Dr. Max Long (Oxford) and Dr. Andrew Seaton (Manchester).

CALL FOR PAPERS - Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'.

A two-day workshop organised by @maxlong.bsky.social and myself at Lincoln College, Oxford, 16-17 September. Deadline for abstracts is 15 May.

Details in poster below, please share.

I think we all need a dark academia x muppets movie

Russian cover of Francesco Paolo De Ceglia's "Vampyr. Storia naturale della resurrezione"

That's from Francesco Paolo De Ceglia's "Vampyr. Storia naturale della resurrezione" (the Russian translation published by Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, NLO)

Возможно, именно из этой практики возникло румынское поверье: если вампир умывался или погружался в воду, начинался дождь. Поэтому в засуху знатные дамы отправляли своих мужей купаться — ведь каждый мог оказаться живым вампироидом

Some bedtime reading about vampires:

“Perhaps it is from this practice that the Romanian belief arose: if a vampire washed or submerged in water, it would start raining. So in droughts, noble ladies would send their husbands bathing — because everyone could turn out to be a living vampire.”

Btw, if you're the kind of person who likes knowing about things before other people, this particular bonus episode might be of particular interest to you, I'm just saying 👀

A journey that began with one hobbit dreaming of an adventure has now grown into a Fellowship of 10,000 editors. A huge thank you to all our dedicated volunteers!

New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped

‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university? When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...

A good illustration of the wide-reaching impact of university campus closures on students, staff, and communities www.theguardian.com/environment/...

(someone I know was doing a research project with art students asking them to use image generation AI stuff for their art class and I told them they couldn’t force students to use it and so they changed the research design on my insistence and EVERY SINGLE STUDENT REFUSED TO USE IT AHAHAHAHAHA)

An interview with my lovely @uonenglish.bsky.social colleague, Kevin Harvey, about his fascinating and moving book about the power of literature as a form of medicine. You should read the interview, and then buy the book!

a woman is biting her nails while standing in front of trees . Alt: fleabag looking at her sister. she is biting her nails. they both look very serious and upset

Google docs mobile suddenly made it so you can't indent or un-indent a bulleted list without going into a sub-menu after like at least half a decade of it being an easy click. listen I'm sorry I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. it's just.

*whispering* stop ruining my things

🎓✨ Fully Funded PhD Opportunity (UK & International applicants) ✨🌍

A PhD studentship is available @corpussocialsci.bsky.social starting Oct 2026. We’re seeking outstanding candidates in #corpuslinguistics, #languagetesting, or #appliedlinguistics 📊💻

🔗 More info: cass.lancs.ac.uk/fully-funded...

DOCTOR: I told him he needed to get out to a show, that was how he would cure his depression.

CHOTINER: So you learned this technique in school?

DR: No, not— listen it was good advice. Pagliacci was in town.

C: Right. Is it standard to give advice before learning a patient’s name?

DR: Now look

Our first Linguistics Colloquium of the semester is coming up!
🎤 Maria Kouneli (Rutgers University)
📖 Marked nominative in Nilo-Saharan
🗓 Feb 5, 2026 | ⏰ 4:15 PM ET
📍 Room 9205

Register at the link in bio!

Almost 500 Etchings by Rembrandt Now Free Online, Courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum Seventeenth-century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn may have more name recognition than nearly any other European artist, his popularity due in large part to what art historian Alison McQueen identif...

Almost 500 Etchings by Rembrandt Now Free Online, Courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum

Podcast episode 54: Neil Cohn on Speaking in Pictures In this interview, Neil Cohn tells us about his theory that visual art and spoken language draw on the same underlying cognitive abilities.

When pictures speak, they podcast 😉

Neil Cohn (@neilcohn.bsky.social) joins James McElvenny (@jamesmcelvenny.bsky.social) to talk about his new book and the shared cognitive foundations underlying visual art and spoken language.

🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2026/02/01/p...

#Histlx

I'm on the excellent @hiphilangsci.bsky.social podcast talking about linguistics and my research on visual languages. Check it out!

[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]

Every ad now

1 [Scene is a GREGGS interior. A lone MAN, the only customer in the shop, is standing at counter] MAN: Please can I have a sausage roll. 2 GREGGS SHOP ASSISTANT: Certainly sir [She pulls a leaver on the panini machine and WOOSH the man disappears through a trapdoor]. Whoosh 3 [The MAN appears through a chute in an underground bunker. A voice from off-scene greets him]: Welcome, friend 4 [We see the voice is of a military-looking resistance COMMANDER with a moustache] COMMANDER: You said "please can I have" instead of “can I get”… So now you're one of us. 5 MAN: W-where am I ...? [We see him looking at a hi tech UNDERGROUND MILITARY BUNKER - it has resistance vibes, and has lots of screens with maps etc] 6 COMMANDER: You've joined the resistance… ...against people saying things all American. 7 COMMANDER: We are an underground network of sleeper agents poised to have a right go at young people the moment they say "mom" or "bangs”. 8 LIEUTENANT [Staring at screen]: Agent 244 has just given a Zoomer in Halifax the “could/couldn't care less" speech, sir COMMANDER: Very good 9 [Show the map of the UK with digital pop ups on it saying ‘GOTTEN’, ‘ZEE’, ‘MATH’ etc COMMANDER: You may have heard our name... We are... 10 COMMANDER: ...the Fight Against New Yankee Pronunciations and Americanisms Corrupting the King's English! 11 [Show the military command center panel. It says on the wall in big metal letters]: F.A.N.Y.P.A.C.K.E. 12 MAN You've called yourselves the 'Fanny Pack' COMMANDER: We didn't spot the acronym [/end]

This took me fucking ages

Come and talk Lit in the Lang classroom with us in Nottingham!

@baal-linguistics.bsky.social
@palapoeticsling.bsky.social
@lagbling.bsky.social
@iatefl.bsky.social

Graphic announcing an opportunity to become a Mentorship Program Associate. Text reads: “Become a Mentorship Program Associate and help expand the Cognitive Science Society’s flagship mentoring initiatives.” The background is teal with bright green and white text and subtle maze-like design elements.

📣 Opportunity for early-career researchers: Mentorship Program Associate position with the Cognitive Science Society.

💵 Paid role
⏲️ March–August 2026
🗓️ Deadline for application: February 20, 2026

See the website for details and application info.
cognitivesciencesociety.org/get-involved/

Anyone else having problems with Google Books?
#library #archive #research #HigherEd

I can't tell you how many of the databases and vendors we work with are just adding AI stuff to their platforms. We are drowning trying to keep track and manage all of them!

A poster advertising a PG symposium for Scottish Literature

CFP: 2026 Scottish Literature PG Symposium

(Mis)placing Scottish Literature
8 May 2026, University of Glasgow

Details: ucsl-scotland.com/2026-pg-symp...
Deadline 15 March, student travel bursaries available!

We are pleased to announce the Digital Humanities and Digitization Workshop for Japanese Materials workshop, which will be held 3/13 during #AAS2026! Learn about text encoding, codicology, & more from field experts. 💻 The workshop is free, but please register by 2/15! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Just a reminder that I'm doing this tomorrow!

We’re working on a story about how children’s immune systems and microbiomes develop and we want to hear from you. Have you let your kids eat food that was dropped on the ground? 🍭 Argued with grandparents about cleanliness? 🧼 Saw your child do something incredibly gross? 🤢 Call us at 877 4 SCIFRI.