The Thélyson Orélien affair raises an important question: who is allowed to tell stories? Is it only those with enough socio-cultural capital to write books (or to have them written for them in an acceptable way)? What of people with compelling stories who are less able to master grammar or to pay ghost-writers? Is theContinue reading “Is it the elite’s prerogative to tell stories? The Orélien affair.”
Tag Archives: writing
Thélyson Orélien : What is the Problem?
Over the last few weeks the French publishing world has been in turmoil. Accusations of AI-use have been levelled at M.Orélien, the author of C’était ça ou mourir, which has won the FNAC literary prize and was shortlisted for more. The whiff of prejudice First, a whiff of prejudice surrounds the singling out of thisContinue reading “Thélyson Orélien : What is the Problem?”
AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life
Voice and authorship are important A few years ago I took the night train from Amsterdam to Prague, and then on to Budapest. I was reading Imre Kertesz’ book, Fatelessness. The train ride was eerie, as I was riding South on some of the same tracks that Kertesz’ character had been taken North on, inContinue reading “AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life”
AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?
Thinking about new technology When powerful oligopolistic corporations force a technology upon us, telling us that there is no alternative, shoe-horning it into search engines, answering services, operating systems, etc…, it is sensible to take a step back and think about it. It is sensible to wonder why these oligopolies are doing this, who willContinue reading “AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?”
Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’
As traditional media fizzles out, overtaken by billionnaires such as Murdoch, Bezos and Ellisson unashamedly peddling their ideological and technological agendas as journalistic fact, and as social media cannibalizes what is left, channeling us into echo-chambers, many independent analysts have turned towards platforms such as Substack or Patreon (which allow for paid subscriptions). These contributorsContinue reading “Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’”
Belief in stats and algorithms : an illusion of objectivity
Algorithms: or how to make responsibility disappear I am reading a fascinating book (Revolutionary Mathematics, by Justin Joque, Verso, 2022) in which he develops the idea that the current takeover of many everyday processes by algorithms (of which he explains the logic and maths – which I find fascinating!) is a form of objectification inContinue reading “Belief in stats and algorithms : an illusion of objectivity”
