‘Practically the only people still pretending scaling LLMs is “all you need” are grifters.’ garymarcus.substack.com/p/game-over-... by @garymarcus.bsky.social

Turing Award laureate Rich Sutton now critiques pure LLMs—echoing @garymarcus.bsky.social . Time to move beyond science fiction and refocus on scientific rigour. #AI #LLM #Neurosymbolic #RichSutton #GaryMarcus garymarcus.substack.com/p/game-over-...

A devastating piece from an anonymous Cardiff Uni academic: “Huddled under blankets in my freezing office, because the anti-suicide lock on the window has seized slightly ajar, I am – like everyone –frantically trying to make it work for the students.” voice.cymru/huge-cardiff...

📢Meet the IIEMCA27 Keynote Speakers. Read about their work on the conference website: www.iiemca27.org/about #EMCA #MCA

👋 Sociologists in Solidarity with Palestinians @socispal.bsky.social have joined Bluesky Give them a follow for resources, events and upcoming actions calling on sociological professional bodies to us their platforms to stand with Palestinian If you want to get involved email [email protected]

In June 2024, a special issue CFP on the Chicago School sparked a collaboration with @robinjsmith.bsky.social, Terry, Erik & Patrik. Inspired by Sacks' (1992:27) appreciative critique, we explored how CS ethnography may relate to the development of #EMCA. Our paper is now out #OpenAccess: t.ly/Has34

“The banana is big, but its skin is bigger.”

Chapter, verse, etc: if you’re an early career researcher with some serious writing to get done, Strictly Come Writing might hold the answer. Apply by 1 September to join the Sociological Review Foundation's annual funded and facilitated writing retreat in beautiful rural Wales. buff.ly/HGegMPZ

This really shouldn't be in question: Do not rely on "generative AI" to bullshit out legal writings that could mean literal life-changing or *-ending* consequences for another person, or yourself. And if you do it, & bad consequences arise, the harmed party should get to sue you & the "AI" company.

New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41... We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance 1/

This is one of the most important conversations in sport. Thank you very much for giving it the focus it deserves, @hebagowayed.bsky.social and @nickocchiuto.bsky.social.

Just 5 days left to submit an abstract… Forensic Conversations symposium (17 Sep Lboro/online) ‼️ Abstract submission deadline ‼️ 📅 15 June 2025

Just spent a while looking for a photo from a missing person search for a talk I’m giving next week. This. This was the photo… Fortunately, there’s more in the detail* of the account that goes with it! #ethnography #fieldwork

Hand written instructions from a paper map was a vibe. And everyone was good at holding a map on the steering wheel, between the thumbs. Always worked out ok… ish…

Thank you @robinjsmith.bsky.social for an inspiring 3 and a half days of exploring #MCA and potential projects for @iiemca27.bsky.social. We are already looking forward to your next visit. #EMCA

Definitely struggling with the cold winter here. Bring a coat! #IIEMCA27

Oh man, what to say about these three days?! We went from “baby cried” and the search for help, through headlines, making sense of political events, memes, comedy sketches, to observations in public space. A brilliant bunch! Cheers @interactemca.bsky.social @cathtam.bsky.social and all! #MCA #EMCA

A run through of the articles in the Special Section on "The Ethics of Collecting, Curating and Sharing Data in Conversation Analysis", now online (1st of 6 posts) #EMCA 1. Joyce et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

First visit to the Wits campus. A real honour to be Visiting Professor in the School of Human and Community Development until 2028.

What a great first day in Johannesburg! Already looking forward to #IIEMCA27 @iiemca27.bsky.social

Holding the actual thing felt a bit special. There’s just so much care gone in to this and it shows in the introductory chapters. #emca

The MSCA Post-doctoral Fellowship competition is open for internal review at Cardiff University. Please do get in touch with me if you have an idea for a project involving #ethnography, #ethnomethodology, and/or #membershipcategorisation #EMCA

VERY much looking forward to this!! #EMCA #MCA

2. Coulter (1996) Human Practices and the Observability of the ‘Macrosocial’. Zeitschrift für Soziologie 25:5 337-345 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi... Thanks to @robinjsmith.bsky.social & Patrik Dahl for the recommendation #JeffCoulter #EMCA

Very sad to hear Jeff Coulter died in hospital in Boston 29-04-25 after a short illness. Jeff leaves a body of work that people will continue to read for years to come, combining insights from ordinary language philosophy and Wittgenstein with EMCA.

we've started up a new thing @uoncompsci.bsky.social the Social Interaction and Technology (SIT) group advances the adoption and deployment of interaction-oriented studies of tech-in-use, particularly #EMCA approaches for more info, we have a website here: people.cs.nott.ac.uk/pszsr/sit/

Very interesting & insightful article on the categorizational asymmetries in interaction by @robinjsmith.bsky.social #EMCA #MCA #CPA #criticalpraxeologicalanalysis #ethnomethodology #membershipcategorizationanalysis #Goffman onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/TE368P...

@robinjsmith.bsky.social ‘s brilliant addition to our Asymmetries in Action special issue is now available online. #EMCA @francescaorfw.bsky.social

I’d written a more polemic post about the Supreme Court ruling, but from listening to the community I’ve learned that’s not the way. Instead, I’ll just say to trans folk that I see you, I hear you, I value you, I’ll keep working with you, and my office door and email remains open.

When you submit your carefully formatted ms to the publisher Vs When the proofs come back

This month we turn to Gauteng, the province where IIEMCA27 will be hosted… #EMCA @interactemca.bsky.social www.iemca27.org

I helped build a government AI system. DOGE fired me, rolled the AI out to the whole agency, and implied the AI can do my job and the jobs of the others they've fired. It can't. But, what DOGE accidentally revealed about themselves in the process is fascinating. 🧵

Sewing some EM seeds at Paderborn University and the centre for Constructing Explainability #EMCA

WIT Advanced Video Analysis Summer School - June 12th to 13th 2025. More information here: www.kcl.ac.uk/events/wit-a... #EMCA #Sociology #Video

Congratulations to my dear Finnish colleagues for living in the happiest country in the world, again! 🇫🇮

Strong “spend the cash before April” vibes in the civic centre…

Damning stuff! Jenny Rathbone MS warned Cardiff University has been engulfed in an existential crisis that could threaten its future. “I hope the vice-chancellor and her executive board will reflect and think again, because, when you’re in a hole, stop digging.” 👇👀 nation.cymru/news/cardiff...

The “Cities and Mobilities” students engaged in the work of producing place and animating the map by following a tourist trail around Cardiff. It threw up some really nice practices of coordination, orientation, and discovery. #MScSociology

Leighton Andrews: "What they have done is frankly destroy trust and goodwill within the university and morale at the moment is through the floor. These are the people you need, to boost the university, but at everybody's focus is on their own jobs." www.walesonline.co.uk/news/educati...

If I say: “if science proves the moon is made of cheese, we would really have to rethink our theories of the universe”, I’m either saying something entirely banal or at least entertaining the possibility that the moon is made of cheese.

The sketch maps tutorial is always a favourite session of mine. Chiasmatic reflexivity in action. I also think we had a first today…One group managed to very successfully and accurately follow a map to a completely wrong destination. #EMCA

I’ve started running again after a way too long lay off (for various reasons). It’s so good to be back and feels like rediscovering a part of myself. I could barely run at all at the start of year, and it’s amazing seeing how the body adapts. The world always seems a little better from up high…

Uni management: Student experience and NSS scores are everything! Also Uni management: we’re making courses generic, cancelling a bunch of joint honours degrees, ending library subscriptions to a bunch of resources, firing specialists, and cracking down on peaceful protest.

Dear #EMCA community, I'm very happy to announce the foundation of a small study group devoted to Conversation Analysis in Peru, composed primarily of undergraduate and graduate students eager to understand the technicalities of naturally occurring social interaction.

Save the School of Music protest. It's a very bittersweet feeling watching these incredible musicians play. This is the talent we will be losing if Cardiff University go ahead with their shortsighted plans.

My own chapter describes MCA as an ethnomethodological orientation. It was ever thus. MCA as an attention to the practices of culture-in-action. There’s so much more to be said. Read this chapter as a part 1… Part 2 coming soon. #emca

Views change and evolve, as they should, but read this chapter. Read the whole Handbook. It marks a particular moment, perhaps, but also offers traces to where the field is at now and where it might go. Footprints in the sand… So many thanks to the Editors for getting this thing together. #emca

Ethics committee response to a project on robots and social interaction asks us to define what a robot is… My guys, that’s a research question.

A BBC study just found that generative AI can't even generate news story synopses with any consistent accuracy, and here we are happily pretending it's a symmetrical replacement for education and experience