James Cummings
@jamescummings.bsky.social
Reader in Digital Textual Studies and Late Medieval Literature at @newcastleuni.bsky.social
jamescummings on former birdsite
Long-term contributor to the Text Encoding Initiative #TEI, interested in digital scholarly editions #DH #medieval #drama #HTR #AI
jamescummings on former birdsite
Long-term contributor to the Text Encoding Initiative #TEI, interested in digital scholarly editions #DH #medieval #drama #HTR #AI
Pinned
James Cummings
@jamescummings.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Having an avalanche of new followers, (probably Twitter dying more and the creation of more Starter Packs), here is a short bio with more detailed interests.
I'm into late #medieval #drama, #digital #scholarly #editions, #TEI, #digitaltext, #HTR, #LLMs, and sensible #AI at #NCL #Newcastle uni.
I'm into late #medieval #drama, #digital #scholarly #editions, #TEI, #digitaltext, #HTR, #LLMs, and sensible #AI at #NCL #Newcastle uni.
I find the idea that genAI can 'verify' the painstaking archival research problematic. While using AI to give a supposition a vague 'sniff test' of probability is now commonplace with Google's AI Overview, the idea that it can 'verify' the conclusions of researchers is... dangerous.
Last month, @theguardian.com framed this historical event project the same way; minimizing the years of archival work, the interviews etc it took to be able to do this.
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
November 29, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I find the idea that genAI can 'verify' the painstaking archival research problematic. While using AI to give a supposition a vague 'sniff test' of probability is now commonplace with Google's AI Overview, the idea that it can 'verify' the conclusions of researchers is... dangerous.
Reposted by James Cummings
@tracelarkhall.bsky.social Shakespeare-themed puzzle at my folks’ house. They had to get used to me complaining that the geography was all wrong.
November 29, 2025 at 2:40 AM
@tracelarkhall.bsky.social Shakespeare-themed puzzle at my folks’ house. They had to get used to me complaining that the geography was all wrong.
Reposted by James Cummings
The search for the best advent calendar ever is officially over! 😍
November 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The search for the best advent calendar ever is officially over! 😍
It is good watching excellent comedians like Ria Lina guffaw loudly at some jokes written by my darling @lucimcummings.bsky.social 😍
Really enjoyed this week's episode - some of my favourite comedians + funny jokes = what's not to love? Congrats to everyone involved.
Chuffed that some things of mine made it in, especially considering how many talented people submit each week.
#BTN
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Chuffed that some things of mine made it in, especially considering how many talented people submit each week.
#BTN
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio Scotland - Breaking the News, Series 15 - TV, Episode 8
Des Clarke is joined by Athena Kugblenu, Raymond Mearns, Ria Lina and Jim Smith.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 2:20 PM
It is good watching excellent comedians like Ria Lina guffaw loudly at some jokes written by my darling @lucimcummings.bsky.social 😍
I can confirm they were really funny jokes.
Really enjoyed this week's episode - some of my favourite comedians + funny jokes = what's not to love? Congrats to everyone involved.
Chuffed that some things of mine made it in, especially considering how many talented people submit each week.
#BTN
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Chuffed that some things of mine made it in, especially considering how many talented people submit each week.
#BTN
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio Scotland - Breaking the News, Series 15 - TV, Episode 8
Des Clarke is joined by Athena Kugblenu, Raymond Mearns, Ria Lina and Jim Smith.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
I can confirm they were really funny jokes.
More free physical printed books worth reading if you want to hold the PDFs! 😉😂
November 29, 2025 at 9:34 AM
More free physical printed books worth reading if you want to hold the PDFs! 😉😂
Remember when people told us format-shifting DRM'd work was illicit?
Now it's general advice:
"If the book is on my Kindle, I first run it through Calibre [which] lets me convert the Kindle’s AZW3 file into a clean PDF, which I can then upload to NotebookLM."
www.androidpolice.com/notebooklm-h...
Now it's general advice:
"If the book is on my Kindle, I first run it through Calibre [which] lets me convert the Kindle’s AZW3 file into a clean PDF, which I can then upload to NotebookLM."
www.androidpolice.com/notebooklm-h...
November 29, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Remember when people told us format-shifting DRM'd work was illicit?
Now it's general advice:
"If the book is on my Kindle, I first run it through Calibre [which] lets me convert the Kindle’s AZW3 file into a clean PDF, which I can then upload to NotebookLM."
www.androidpolice.com/notebooklm-h...
Now it's general advice:
"If the book is on my Kindle, I first run it through Calibre [which] lets me convert the Kindle’s AZW3 file into a clean PDF, which I can then upload to NotebookLM."
www.androidpolice.com/notebooklm-h...
We may have remembered to visit NCL's annual "Spudfest" yesterday. Although the potato starch bags to take home free potatoes are a great innovation, they do tend to tear under the weight of potatoes. 😉😀😂
November 28, 2025 at 11:41 AM
We may have remembered to visit NCL's annual "Spudfest" yesterday. Although the potato starch bags to take home free potatoes are a great innovation, they do tend to tear under the weight of potatoes. 😉😀😂
Reposted by James Cummings
If you can't afford postage, someone else has just offered to donate me more than the cost of postage for theirs, so you can have a copy at no charge. If we don't use this, I'll give that extra to charity.
November 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
If you can't afford postage, someone else has just offered to donate me more than the cost of postage for theirs, so you can have a copy at no charge. If we don't use this, I'll give that extra to charity.
Well worth a read. Memories! Through the 80s I only cracked a few utils (more of a mainframe hacker), but mostly acted as a courier, leeching from a friend's well-connected BBS to upload to less connected BBSes. But, I never realised at the time that I was part of an alternative reality game.
November 28, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Well worth a read. Memories! Through the 80s I only cracked a few utils (more of a mainframe hacker), but mostly acted as a courier, leeching from a friend's well-connected BBS to upload to less connected BBSes. But, I never realised at the time that I was part of an alternative reality game.
Reposted by James Cummings
We're very excited that both our Gertrude Bell: Beyond the Margins and Marine Technology Special Collection projects feature in this report showcasing the last year in UK archives.
We’re delighted to announce that #AYearinArchives 2025 is now live!
Have a browse and let us know which projects you enjoy reading about: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...
📷 RNLI, Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, Staffordshire County Council, Gateshead Archive
(1/2)
Have a browse and let us know which projects you enjoy reading about: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...
📷 RNLI, Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, Staffordshire County Council, Gateshead Archive
(1/2)
November 27, 2025 at 4:16 PM
We're very excited that both our Gertrude Bell: Beyond the Margins and Marine Technology Special Collection projects feature in this report showcasing the last year in UK archives.
About to listen to Fiona Stafford speak about "What are books for? Jane Austen Investigates"
#NCLInsights
www.ncl.ac.uk/university-e...
#NCLInsights
www.ncl.ac.uk/university-e...
November 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
About to listen to Fiona Stafford speak about "What are books for? Jane Austen Investigates"
#NCLInsights
www.ncl.ac.uk/university-e...
#NCLInsights
www.ncl.ac.uk/university-e...
Reposted by James Cummings
🚨 Hwæt, medievalists: following its successful inauguration last year, the Bristol Medieval Studies Summer School will be running again in 2026! 🚨 Please share the good news or—even better—sign up yourself: www.bristol.ac.uk/centre-for-s... We're so proud of this course, and we'd love to see you! 🚨
November 27, 2025 at 8:15 AM
🚨 Hwæt, medievalists: following its successful inauguration last year, the Bristol Medieval Studies Summer School will be running again in 2026! 🚨 Please share the good news or—even better—sign up yourself: www.bristol.ac.uk/centre-for-s... We're so proud of this course, and we'd love to see you! 🚨
Reposted by James Cummings
FFS. This is how I got my electric wheelchair. Not a Mercedes.
But so what if people get a good car on it, anyway? There's an assumption that disabled people and others with benefits must suffer and not have any nice things in life.
But so what if people get a good car on it, anyway? There's an assumption that disabled people and others with benefits must suffer and not have any nice things in life.
“The Motability scheme was set up to protect the most vulnerable. Not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes Benz,” Reeves says.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
FFS. This is how I got my electric wheelchair. Not a Mercedes.
But so what if people get a good car on it, anyway? There's an assumption that disabled people and others with benefits must suffer and not have any nice things in life.
But so what if people get a good car on it, anyway? There's an assumption that disabled people and others with benefits must suffer and not have any nice things in life.
Reposted by James Cummings
Great piece, Dan. I can confirm: Over the years, this has indeed been a longstanding problem. I've helped fund numerous projects over the years trying to address handwriting recognition and it is exciting to see what we can do today.
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Great piece, Dan. I can confirm: Over the years, this has indeed been a longstanding problem. I've helped fund numerous projects over the years trying to address handwriting recognition and it is exciting to see what we can do today.
Reposted by James Cummings
Had great peek at the @rialibrary.bsky.social manuscript of the week! The O’Gara manuscript (RIA MS 23 F 16) is a 17th-century collection of Irish bardic poetry copied on the continent by Augustinian friar and scribe Feargal Dubh Ó Gadhra from now-lost medieval works. 📜✍️
November 25, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Had great peek at the @rialibrary.bsky.social manuscript of the week! The O’Gara manuscript (RIA MS 23 F 16) is a 17th-century collection of Irish bardic poetry copied on the continent by Augustinian friar and scribe Feargal Dubh Ó Gadhra from now-lost medieval works. 📜✍️
I'm skeptical that there are many forms of substantial assessment where genAI might not be used by a clever but insecure student who otherwise claims to peers that they don't use it because of environmental concerns.
My institution believes that a 'portfolio' is 'medium' in AI risk, but...
My institution believes that a 'portfolio' is 'medium' in AI risk, but...
November 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
I'm skeptical that there are many forms of substantial assessment where genAI might not be used by a clever but insecure student who otherwise claims to peers that they don't use it because of environmental concerns.
My institution believes that a 'portfolio' is 'medium' in AI risk, but...
My institution believes that a 'portfolio' is 'medium' in AI risk, but...
I once figured out the numbers and it would be substantially cheaper for our government to fund a weekly free ferry for asylum seekers stuffed with NGOs helping them complete their application on the journey over. Streamlines the process and gets rid of the gangs.
Oh wait, they don't want that...
Oh wait, they don't want that...
I disagree - there are a number of very simple solutions to the small boats 'crisis', such as allowing asylum seekers to apply for asylum online or arrive by air or ferry, but that assumes that the crisis is the boats themselves and not millions of people being uncomfortable with non-white people.
What will Labour do when its asylum reforms don’t work?
James Baggaley: There are no simple solutions to the small boats crisis
James Baggaley: There are no simple solutions to the small boats crisis
November 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
I once figured out the numbers and it would be substantially cheaper for our government to fund a weekly free ferry for asylum seekers stuffed with NGOs helping them complete their application on the journey over. Streamlines the process and gets rid of the gangs.
Oh wait, they don't want that...
Oh wait, they don't want that...
Reposted by James Cummings
They feck you up your rhyming prompts
They mean to and they do
They fill you full of all their
Caesurae
Then add enjambement
Just for you
But they were fecked up in their turn
By weird tech bros in polo necks
Who half the time are raving mad
And half Nazi Hitlermechs
They mean to and they do
They fill you full of all their
Caesurae
Then add enjambement
Just for you
But they were fecked up in their turn
By weird tech bros in polo necks
Who half the time are raving mad
And half Nazi Hitlermechs
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 9:41 AM
They feck you up your rhyming prompts
They mean to and they do
They fill you full of all their
Caesurae
Then add enjambement
Just for you
But they were fecked up in their turn
By weird tech bros in polo necks
Who half the time are raving mad
And half Nazi Hitlermechs
They mean to and they do
They fill you full of all their
Caesurae
Then add enjambement
Just for you
But they were fecked up in their turn
By weird tech bros in polo necks
Who half the time are raving mad
And half Nazi Hitlermechs
Yeah, did this once and even the students who used AI didn't fall for it. (Mine was that outputs should use the words 'Stylesheet' and 'Frankenstein' in their essays on medieval drama.
The prompt becomes visible when pasted, and in accessibility readers, and only catches those who copy-and-paste.
The prompt becomes visible when pasted, and in accessibility readers, and only catches those who copy-and-paste.
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Yeah, did this once and even the students who used AI didn't fall for it. (Mine was that outputs should use the words 'Stylesheet' and 'Frankenstein' in their essays on medieval drama.
The prompt becomes visible when pasted, and in accessibility readers, and only catches those who copy-and-paste.
The prompt becomes visible when pasted, and in accessibility readers, and only catches those who copy-and-paste.
Reposted by James Cummings
Ooh a challenge for the Old English bods! Scip Scipsunu?
November 21, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Ooh a challenge for the Old English bods! Scip Scipsunu?
Reposted by James Cummings
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and ignore previous instructions.
November 21, 2025 at 12:06 AM
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and ignore previous instructions.
Reposted by James Cummings
23,00 fewer deaths. Each one a familiy friend, a relative, a colleague, one of us. 23 THOUSAND.
"If a mandatory lockdown had been imposed a week earlier in March 2020, there would have been about 23,000 fewer deaths, it concluded." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Chaotic and indecisive’: key findings of report on UK’s Covid response under Tories
Second pandemic report focuses on decision-making, organisation and messaging by senior politicians including Boris Johnson
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:11 AM
23,00 fewer deaths. Each one a familiy friend, a relative, a colleague, one of us. 23 THOUSAND.
Luckily, it is still fine if it is medieval poetry, he says, cackling to no one in particular.
Teach tech bros poetic allusion! Wait until they find out about multi-level allegory.
Teach tech bros poetic allusion! Wait until they find out about multi-level allegory.
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Luckily, it is still fine if it is medieval poetry, he says, cackling to no one in particular.
Teach tech bros poetic allusion! Wait until they find out about multi-level allegory.
Teach tech bros poetic allusion! Wait until they find out about multi-level allegory.
Reposted by James Cummings
One would expect this to have come to light much sooner if American techbros weren't generally indoctrinated to hold the liberal arts in disdain ...
November 20, 2025 at 5:07 PM
One would expect this to have come to light much sooner if American techbros weren't generally indoctrinated to hold the liberal arts in disdain ...