Tay, the Turing test, and us

Yesterday (March 24th, 2016), Microsoft launched Tay, an artificial intelligent chat bot developed by Microsoft's Technology and Research and Bing teams to experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding. Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation. The more you chat with … Continue reading Tay, the Turing test, and us

10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter

Twitter turned 10 years old, and I, like many others, have been reflecting on what it means to me. Twitter tells me that I joined it in July 2008. I remember the day, vividly. I was following a thread on an online forum, where academics were sharing experiences of using Second Life, Facebook, Twitter, … Continue reading 10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter

Umberto Eco’s advice to young writers

Umberto Eco died last Friday (Feb 19th 2016). You may know him as the author of great fiction books, such as 'The Name of the Rose' or 'Foucault’s Pendulum'. However, Eco described himself as primarily a ‘university professor who has found a nice way to spend his weekends’. His academic work has been … Continue reading Umberto Eco’s advice to young writers

January 2016 round-up

January was busy / interesting / crazy. 2016 has certainly started with a bang, and a very big mix of positives and negatives (I am looking at you, parking attendant!). I am starting the new month – and the new semester – quite tired, already, which is less than ideal. But, hey, onwards and upwards … Continue reading January 2016 round-up

December 2015 round-up

December was a busy month, though not as productive as November (specially on the writing and research front). I think that AcWriMo really helped to motivate me to write every day, and that in turn helped me move on with various writing projects. December was also the last month of my #5pmproject, and these … Continue reading December 2015 round-up

Looking back to move forward

Sometimes, I write inspirational notes to myself, or reminders, and add them to my calendar, or leave them in places that I know I will not access for some time. Weird, maybe. But it is, usually, really nice to come across those notes. Like this one. I have no idea when I wrote … Continue reading Looking back to move forward

September 2015 round up

A few days ago, my line manager asked me if the start of the semester had felt like a great shock, following the sabbatical. That got me thinking about how different things are now and six months ago, and how I feel about it. Six months ago I was doing things (reading, writing, meeting, discussing…) … Continue reading September 2015 round up

Day in the Life of an academic #3: welcoming new students

The sabbatical is well and truly over, and the days of focusing on research are just a distant (but cherished) memory. I am now deep into the new semester, busy welcoming the new students (in my role as programme leader for the MSc Marketing), class preparation for the new semester, and dissertation supervision (for students … Continue reading Day in the Life of an academic #3: welcoming new students