Vicki Blud
@vickiblud.bsky.social
Medievalist / writer / editor
(she/her. KingsManorGhost on the bird app)
(she/her. KingsManorGhost on the bird app)
Reposted by Vicki Blud
If you have the means I highly recommend the cause of supporting a fellow scholar
The @royalhistsoc.org is running a charitable donation campaign to fund the research of historians who lack support. The number of applications we're seeing is way up. I've been very lucky to have a career as a historian, I've donated, and I think this Christmas you should too. Pay it forward.
royalhistoricalsociety2.beaconforms.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:01 AM
If you have the means I highly recommend the cause of supporting a fellow scholar
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Is Santa Real? Many users feel they're getting presents from him. Scientists say it's time to consider whether they're onto something.
November 26, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Is Santa Real? Many users feel they're getting presents from him. Scientists say it's time to consider whether they're onto something.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Recently, Blake Gutt and I had the great fortune to sit down with @eocieslik.bsky.social & record a converation for the Whiplash pod with @maxwellkuzma.bsky.social on medieval trans & genderqueer saints--and why they matter today, more than ever
#MedievalSky 🗃️
#MedievalSky 🗃️
Full episode is on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube. Links and full episode description here:
open.substack.com/pub/maxwellk...
open.substack.com/pub/maxwellk...
Medieval Trans and Genderqueer Saints
Queer and trans people are often told that our lives have no place in the Christian past—that we’re modern disruptions, not part of the story. But when you look closely at the Middle Ages, that certai...
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Recently, Blake Gutt and I had the great fortune to sit down with @eocieslik.bsky.social & record a converation for the Whiplash pod with @maxwellkuzma.bsky.social on medieval trans & genderqueer saints--and why they matter today, more than ever
#MedievalSky 🗃️
#MedievalSky 🗃️
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Microsoft Excel also does not understand jokes
Genuinely, it is such a serious problem that academics and media outlets are presenting text processing software as if it could ever "understand" anything. All this does is misinform the public and do supply free PR for tech companies
Genuinely, it is such a serious problem that academics and media outlets are presenting text processing software as if it could ever "understand" anything. All this does is misinform the public and do supply free PR for tech companies
Can’t tech a joke: AI does not understand puns, study finds
Researchers say results underline large language models’ poor grasp of humour, empathy and cultural nuance
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Microsoft Excel also does not understand jokes
Genuinely, it is such a serious problem that academics and media outlets are presenting text processing software as if it could ever "understand" anything. All this does is misinform the public and do supply free PR for tech companies
Genuinely, it is such a serious problem that academics and media outlets are presenting text processing software as if it could ever "understand" anything. All this does is misinform the public and do supply free PR for tech companies
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Many people have noted that the Primary / Social / Forums / Updates tabs are missing when you do this 👀. You can recreate these manually using the "Multiple Inbox" setup in settings. Basically, tell your inbox to include emails tagged "inbox" and exclude the social / forums / updates.
November 20, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Many people have noted that the Primary / Social / Forums / Updates tabs are missing when you do this 👀. You can recreate these manually using the "Multiple Inbox" setup in settings. Basically, tell your inbox to include emails tagged "inbox" and exclude the social / forums / updates.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
I am currently, because I know how to enjoy a Saturday morning, writing some guidance for people on filling this consultation in. As I do several things are highly apparent. Before I go through them though I don't want this to put people off of filling it in. It is important to do so nonetheless. 1/
Government has today published its consultation into "earned settlement", the forward alone contains a hot mess of misrepresentation of the current system by the Home Secretary. I would strongly urge anyone affected by the current system to respond.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691edd...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691edd...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
November 22, 2025 at 8:57 AM
I am currently, because I know how to enjoy a Saturday morning, writing some guidance for people on filling this consultation in. As I do several things are highly apparent. Before I go through them though I don't want this to put people off of filling it in. It is important to do so nonetheless. 1/
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers.
Direct result of racism and insecurity unleashed by major political parties.
Not enough home trained doctors. Takes years and high debt to become a doctor.
A healthcare crisis in the making.
Direct result of racism and insecurity unleashed by major political parties.
Not enough home trained doctors. Takes years and high debt to become a doctor.
A healthcare crisis in the making.
Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers
Medical bodies warn that hostility towards migrants is behind a 26% rise in departures last year that imperils NHS
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers.
Direct result of racism and insecurity unleashed by major political parties.
Not enough home trained doctors. Takes years and high debt to become a doctor.
A healthcare crisis in the making.
Direct result of racism and insecurity unleashed by major political parties.
Not enough home trained doctors. Takes years and high debt to become a doctor.
A healthcare crisis in the making.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
All those people, including current government, who falsely claim migrants are to blame for failings with the NHS, along with infrastructure in general, are in for one hell of a shock with how much worse things will get with Labour's anti-immigration policies.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers
Medical bodies warn that hostility towards migrants is behind a 26% rise in departures last year that imperils NHS
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:43 AM
All those people, including current government, who falsely claim migrants are to blame for failings with the NHS, along with infrastructure in general, are in for one hell of a shock with how much worse things will get with Labour's anti-immigration policies.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Vicki Blud
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
Reposted by Vicki Blud
The core aim of the Terf movement - a tiny number of newspaper columnists who melted the brains of middle aged reactionaries - was always to encourage maximum public hostility against transgender people, and give them the impunity to act upon it.
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 AM
The core aim of the Terf movement - a tiny number of newspaper columnists who melted the brains of middle aged reactionaries - was always to encourage maximum public hostility against transgender people, and give them the impunity to act upon it.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Firstly, this article actually has the "artwork" at an angle that helps make sense of what it's supposed to be, secondly it names the artist, and thirdly the 'you'll never guess why it's being taken down' bait absolutely deserves to be bait. You won't. Read it. Weep.
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
London's giant AI artwork to be torn down
The bizarre story of why a much-talked-about creation is being torn down. Plus: Docklands Light Railway extension, giant laser stalks the night sky, and more tales of Android phone theft rejection.
www.londoncentric.media
November 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Firstly, this article actually has the "artwork" at an angle that helps make sense of what it's supposed to be, secondly it names the artist, and thirdly the 'you'll never guess why it's being taken down' bait absolutely deserves to be bait. You won't. Read it. Weep.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Remember, always, that the post-Brexit-vote Tory government, and specifically Home Secretary Sajid Javid, deliberately and with malice aforethought reduced to almost zero the timely processing of asylum claims in the UK. They literally created the "overwhelming backlog" that traps people in hotels.
November 18, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Remember, always, that the post-Brexit-vote Tory government, and specifically Home Secretary Sajid Javid, deliberately and with malice aforethought reduced to almost zero the timely processing of asylum claims in the UK. They literally created the "overwhelming backlog" that traps people in hotels.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
There is no downside
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:45 AM
There is no downside
Reposted by Vicki Blud
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 AM
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
Reposted by Vicki Blud
I'm reading through the white paper or whatever it is. RESTORING ORDER AND CONTROL: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy www.gov.uk/government/p...
Asylum and returns policy statement
This policy statement sets out significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and returns policy.
www.gov.uk
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I'm reading through the white paper or whatever it is. RESTORING ORDER AND CONTROL: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Just buried in a paragraph and not highlight with a visual or anything: total global energy emissions WOULD BE 7% HIGHER if we had chosen to sit around and do nothing about this shit
OUR ACTIONS MAY BE INSUFFICIENT BUT THEY ARE NOT FRUITLESS
THERE ARE 2600000000000000 GRAMS OF FRUIT EVERY YEAR
OUR ACTIONS MAY BE INSUFFICIENT BUT THEY ARE NOT FRUITLESS
THERE ARE 2600000000000000 GRAMS OF FRUIT EVERY YEAR
November 14, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Just buried in a paragraph and not highlight with a visual or anything: total global energy emissions WOULD BE 7% HIGHER if we had chosen to sit around and do nothing about this shit
OUR ACTIONS MAY BE INSUFFICIENT BUT THEY ARE NOT FRUITLESS
THERE ARE 2600000000000000 GRAMS OF FRUIT EVERY YEAR
OUR ACTIONS MAY BE INSUFFICIENT BUT THEY ARE NOT FRUITLESS
THERE ARE 2600000000000000 GRAMS OF FRUIT EVERY YEAR
Reposted by Vicki Blud
"Historical analysis is fundamentally different and more complex than producing a mass of visualizations and statistics that are the lifeblood of many A.I. programmes."
Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.
Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.
Artificial Intelligence: A Warning for History
Does A.I. have the potential to simplify, and ultimately impoverish, our study of the past? Gordon McKelvie considers the recent explosion in A.I. and what it means for historians facing the current H...
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 PM
"Historical analysis is fundamentally different and more complex than producing a mass of visualizations and statistics that are the lifeblood of many A.I. programmes."
Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.
Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
I wrote about the irony of the AI bubble, a phenomenon driven by storytelling and imagination in an industry that has contempt for both
The AI Bubble Is Not a Question. What Happens If It Bursts Is.
The AI industry's most important product is not a chatbot or a video generator; it's the story the AI industry is telling about itself
www.theringer.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I wrote about the irony of the AI bubble, a phenomenon driven by storytelling and imagination in an industry that has contempt for both
Reposted by Vicki Blud
... and Leicester... Languages, History...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University of Leicester to consult on redundancies
University bosses are also planning to stop a number of courses.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
... and Leicester... Languages, History...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Vicki Blud
"I suppose you’ve come to say you’re sorry? I hope so, given your years of sneering and hand-wringing about how I was ruining knowledge. Meanwhile, you turned your information environment into a hypercapitalist post-truth digital snuff film."
Hi, It’s Me, Wikipedia, and I Am Ready for Your Apology
“Wikipedia, the constantly changing knowledge base created by a global free-for-all of anonymous users, now stands as the leading force for the dum...
buff.ly
October 27, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"I suppose you’ve come to say you’re sorry? I hope so, given your years of sneering and hand-wringing about how I was ruining knowledge. Meanwhile, you turned your information environment into a hypercapitalist post-truth digital snuff film."
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Here’s where it gets personal for me. When I was 9, I started experiencing suicidal ideation … disinterested in living, and at least some of the time contemplating death and how it might happen … It’s easy to imagine how I would have used programs like these chatbots.
Perry: How can AI be used ethically when it’s been linked to suicide?
"It’s not on us, on you and me, to use AI ethically or responsibly. It’s on the companies to build safe, reliable, ethical products," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Here’s where it gets personal for me. When I was 9, I started experiencing suicidal ideation … disinterested in living, and at least some of the time contemplating death and how it might happen … It’s easy to imagine how I would have used programs like these chatbots.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
"Since when did we become Big Tech's free PR department?"
I'm really pleased to see an article like this pushing back on the uncritical adoption of (gen)AI by our universities. It hits all the major concerns.
I'm really pleased to see an article like this pushing back on the uncritical adoption of (gen)AI by our universities. It hits all the major concerns.
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Belgian AI scientists resist the use of AI in academia
Several AI scientists have published an open letter calling for a ban on AI use by students.
apache.be
October 24, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"Since when did we become Big Tech's free PR department?"
I'm really pleased to see an article like this pushing back on the uncritical adoption of (gen)AI by our universities. It hits all the major concerns.
I'm really pleased to see an article like this pushing back on the uncritical adoption of (gen)AI by our universities. It hits all the major concerns.
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Why is a Labour Home Secretary perpetuating this myth in The Sun?
Asylum applications in the UK are significantly below the average for all European countries. The only person helped by spreading this falsehood is Nigel Farage
Asylum applications in the UK are significantly below the average for all European countries. The only person helped by spreading this falsehood is Nigel Farage
October 23, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Why is a Labour Home Secretary perpetuating this myth in The Sun?
Asylum applications in the UK are significantly below the average for all European countries. The only person helped by spreading this falsehood is Nigel Farage
Asylum applications in the UK are significantly below the average for all European countries. The only person helped by spreading this falsehood is Nigel Farage
Reposted by Vicki Blud
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...
www.thecrimson.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero