🧵 Public science in the US has taken some heavy hits over the last year, but the White House OMB is proposing a series of changes that will result in a TKO for science as we know it unless we fight back. Here's what's happening, and why it matters. 1/n

Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Joe Dator and Kevin Maher.

Three things said about AI and social science: it's a topic to study, a thing to critique, a tool to use. My new Daedalus essay argues these aren't three conversations; they're one. A 🧵 on "Field Theory: AI as Social Science Question, Object, and Tool." www.amacad.org/publication/...

A federal judge has ordered White House personnel to continue complying with the Presidential Records Act after the Trump Justice Department argued in a legal opinion last month that the law was "unconstitutional" and that Trump has the authority to destroy presidential records from his term.

"Only about 12 percent of trustees at American colleges & universities have professional experience in higher education. If it seems odd to imagine 88% of the directors at, say, investment banks having no particular expertise in investment banking, that is the situation in the field of higher ed."

AI companies are writing their own constitutions. Meanwhile, a shared vocabulary for contesting algorithmic power has been traveling across red and blue states, from legislatures to civil society. New from me in @science.org: "A Civic Grammar for AI Rights" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵

it is crucial that the MLA, the AHA, and the ACLS joined forces to fight the illegal theft of federal research and programming funds i donated to support these efforts, and if you can, in any amount, you should too

"Elon Musk’s AI company abruptly stopped work on a water reuse facility meant to alleviate strain on the Memphis-area water supply. Caught in the confusion are residents and their fragile drinking water source" politi.co/4n7k3M4

So the Canvas hackers are fans of The Pitt, I guess?

Ha. Also pleasantly surprised to see such a clear takedown of the increasingly common practice of trying to avoid accountability through the use of technology-based decision-making. #NEH

now thats an anecdote with a punch, from Gillian Tett www.ft.com/content/c0ae...

In discussing equal protection, Judge McMahon reaffirms NEH's explicit purpose is to "reflect the diversity and richness of our American cultural heritage." She concludes "The very subjects DOGE treated as markers of waste... are the subjects that Congress made expressly germane to NEH’s mission."

Really digging this choice citation from the ACLS/AHA/MLA lawsuit against NEH/DOGE. From Chiles v. Salazar: “In this Nation, no official—‘high or petty’—may command our tongues or silence our voices."

If you don't have an individual MLA membership, or your English/languages dept isn't a member of MLA's academic program services arms (ADE/ALD), this is a damn good reason to reconsider. These individual & institutional memberships (+ tiny donations) made this lawsuit happen. (MAPS link for depts)

"In sum, every aspect of the termination process – the NEH DEI ratings, DOGE’s DEI-based ChatGPT filter, & the spreadsheet sorting grants by “DEI Rationale” – reflects a single, unconstitutional purpose: to drive a particular disfavored viewpoint from the marketplace of humanistic inquiry" (104)

A dozen female Palestinians are working to save and preserve medieval and early modern manuscripts 📕 from the Al-Omari mosque’s library. Hang this picture in the Louvre (and the Met). www.newarab.com/features/ins...

Members made this possible. Collective action requires the collective. Whether MLA, AHA, or another society, please join, engage, and participate. Together, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things.

🤩 The 💪🏼scholarly orgs that challenged and won @historians.org @modernlanguage.bsky.social @acls1919.bsky.social

In case you need to cite a deposition or other legal documents.

In my recent conversation with Politico on my new coauthored book, Auditing AI, I discuss why AI audits matter, why accountability can’t be left only to computer scientists, and how we can evaluate systems for real-world harms. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

The "It cannot stand." conclusion to this 🔥 paragraph is bringing some serious Gandalf "You shall not pass!" vibes. #NEH

Affirming that NEH's stated mission is explicitly to reflect diversity: "Congress did not merely omit the anti-“DEI” criterion DOGE applied; it affirmatively instructed NEH to support programs and research that “reflect the diversity and richness of our American cultural heritage..."

"The Executive Orders and DOGE-directed termination process did not carry out the NEH grantmaking scheme Congress prescribed by law in a duly enacted statute. They displaced it."

The AHA at work! Thankful for @historians.org leadership and collab with ACLS and MLA in this critical case.

"The Government cannot escape liability for DOGE’s work by scapegoating ChatGPT." A US judge slammed DOGE's use of AI in a decision today blocking the termination of $100M in humanities grants, finding DOGE lacked authority and unlawfully based decisions on race and viewpoint buff.ly/Qw0qcDH

“A federal judge ruled Thursday that the U.S. DOGE Service did not have the authority to cancel National Endowment for the Humanities grants” wapo.st/42VAhi4

NYT story on the decision [gift link]: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/a...

Nika! Now this is why you support the @acls1919.bsky.social, @historians.org and MLA! Hell yeah. Judgement (all 143 pages) here: www.acls.org/wp-content/u...

Members made this possible. Collective action requires the collective. Whether MLA, AHA, or another society, please join, engage, and participate. Together, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things.

"undisputed evidence"

I love some good news!! Our scholarly societies went to bat for us and won this important suit against DOGE and the Trump administration officials running the NEH. 🙏

An important step in restoring the integrity of the NEH and affirming the value of the humanities in our society. I am very grateful for the efforts of my colleagues, our members, our collaborators, and our legal team.

Today is a good day.

a small group of conservatives have taken over the neh, and two of them were classmates at duke. i've got a new story out in partnership with @chronicle.com about how it happened and what it means www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...

Or they could just reinstate President Biden's AI Executive Order which had begun to address these concerns in 2023.

A great humanities-centered opportunity for new and experienced department chairs, directors of undergraduate & graduate studies, and program leaders to learn important leadership strategies & build a supportive community.

Powerful, honest and brave 🔥 Read this 🧵 and watch this video from IAS Member and friend @mjcrockett.bsky.social, who uses the occasion of her distinguished @nationalacademies.org award to challenge the uncritical automation of science and the erosion of federal funding for social science research

OK, this is incredible. Mad genius @samplereality.bsky.social has created a web tool for exploring Subcutanean (my novel where each copy is unique) across every axis you can think of: source code, 25 diffed versions, VR projections(!), bubble viz(!!) & a lot more. (1/2) subcutanean.fugitivetexts.net

While there is much we can do to improve higher ed, I’ve similarly grown weary (& distrustful) of the “restoring trust” framing. If there’s trust to be restored, it can begin with those who earnestly and regularly engage with higher ed—faculty, staff, administrators, & students.

Starting in 15 minutes -- join us for a *free* MLA webinar on AI in the Spanish Higher Ed Classroom!

SSRC’s Just Tech calls for applications from researchers working at the intersection of technology and society for the 2027 Just Tech Fellowship, providing up to $60,000 to support research and creative practice. Applications due June 28. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4u3YKxh

I resigned from the National Science Board in May when meaningful oversight became untenable. I respect colleagues who stayed to serve the NSB's mission. Today's news clarifies that was an erosion of oversight and function has become open elimination of the Board itself. 🧵 time.com/7285045/resi...

This is obviously batshit on so many levels, but something particularly dystopian about the “you must skip that chapter of history” part.

Last call: free webinar at 4pm EST today on "AI IN THE CHINESE HIGHER ED CLASSROOM" offered in collaboration with the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA). Please join us! www.mla.org/Events/Webin...

Proposed rule to cut federal student loan support: "students in Religious Studies programs, #Humanities/Liberal Arts programs, Education programs, Drama programs, and Music programs will be most impacted" bit.ly/4cwFWzt

TRUST TEACHERS. Two words that, if people actually widely believed them, would utterly reform education in this country.

Registration is open for our annual summer leadership events! Whether you are a new or experienced leader, the ADE-ALD Summer Seminar in San José and the virtual MAPS Leadership Institute will give you the support you need to strengthen your department. www.maps.mla.org/Seminars