February was a full-on teaching month. And book writing month. And pass the Calpol and tissues month. I am soooo glad that I chose “cheerful” as my word for the year! It sure came in handy this month, reminding me to embrace the whimsical. For instance, it inspired to me go out, to look for … Continue reading February 2023 round-up
Assessing the risk of misuse of language models for disinformation campaigns
The report “Generative Language Models and Automated Influence Operations: Emerging Threats and Potential Mitigations” discusses how large language models like the one underpinning ChatGPT might be used for disinformation campaigns. It was authored by Josh A. Goldstein, Girish Sastry, Micah Musser, Renee DiResta, Matthew Gentzel and Katerina Sedova, and is available in the arXiv repository. … Continue reading Assessing the risk of misuse of language models for disinformation campaigns
Day in the Life of an Academic #14: Teaching day
Someone asked me the other day what the job of an academic looks like. We talked about the multiple sides of academic life, and the need to balance them; about how we are never truly off, even if people outside of academy (my mother included!) seem to think that we are permanently on holidays; and … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #14: Teaching day
Developing professionals for the digital era
In the discussion about the paper “A Heteronomous Consumer Romance”, for the Tell Me a Story podcast, Mike Molesworth (who authored that paper) reflected on how the job of a marketer has changed as a result of the digitalisation of consumption. It’s a topic that Lee Quinn, Sally Dibb, Lyndon Simkin, Mathew Analogbei and I also discussed in the paper “Troubled Waters: The … Continue reading Developing professionals for the digital era
How are music artists adjusting to algorithmic recommendation systems?
I have written a few times, here, on the blog, about algorithmic recommendation systems. Sometimes, I focus on the technology itself. Other times, I focus on the recipients of those recommendations. Occasionally, I have looked at the impact on advertisers. However, I don’t often consider the perspective of the producer - i.e., the person / company / brand … Continue reading How are music artists adjusting to algorithmic recommendation systems?
Marketing short-stories – a collection and podcast series
Early in 2020, Finola Kerrigan and Stephen Brown guest-edited a special issue of the Marketing Theory journal composed of short-stories about marketing scholarship. The call for papers had invited marketing scholars to “take their research and turn it into (1) a compelling work of short fiction, (2) a work that is more captivating than an orthodox … Continue reading Marketing short-stories – a collection and podcast series
Charging for Twitter’s API changes the nature of Twitter data from “igniter of value” to “end product”
Twitter has announced, on February 2nd, that it is ending free access to its application programming interface (API). Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead 🧵— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) February 2, 2023 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Twitter API is … Continue reading Charging for Twitter’s API changes the nature of Twitter data from “igniter of value” to “end product”
January 2023 round-up
I was reeeeeeally tempted not to write this post. I had high hopes that I would be wrapping up a couple of projects, but that didn’t really happen… mostly because I failed to plan for some tech fails and logistical mishaps. You would think that after all these years I would be better at anticipating … Continue reading January 2023 round-up
The handful of datasets that rule our lives
There are numerous examples of how the datasets that are used to train the algorithms that rule our daily lives are biased. For instance, tools that automatically translate professional titles tends to follow gender stereotypes: males are doctors while nurses are females. There is also bias against faces of females and faces of people of colour. But if these biases are … Continue reading The handful of datasets that rule our lives
New paper: Unpacking the Personalisation-Privacy Paradox in the Context of AI-Enabled Personalisation in the Physical Retail Environment
Once the stuff of fiction, it is now possible for you to enter a store and receive an offer which was personalised to your preferences, past purchases and even what’s happening around you. Unlike John Aderton in Minority Report, though, you don’t need to scan your eyes as you enter the store, in order to … Continue reading New paper: Unpacking the Personalisation-Privacy Paradox in the Context of AI-Enabled Personalisation in the Physical Retail Environment
Ana Canhoto 