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Webinar Tues, June 9! Assignment for critical thinking, source evaluation, AI literacy
by Helaine Blumenthal 05 Jun '26

05 Jun '26

*"The Wikipedia assignment is the coolest thing I've done in 10 years of teaching." -Eric Guisbert, University of Nebraska Omaha* ------------------------------ What exactly *is* a Wikipedia assignment and how could it work for your courses? Join our *information session next week* to hear from faculty who teach with the Wikipedia assignment! *High-Impact Pedagogy: The Wikipedia Assignment* *Tuesday, June 9* 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern *Zoom Registration* <http://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/CKPBQfhcTeaisS-4Nv8_sA#/registration> We'll cover questions like: - How does the Wikipedia assignment develop skills in *critical thinking* , *source evaluation*, and *AI literacy*? - What kind of *real-world impact* do students make with the assignment? - How does the assignment *motivate* and *engage* students? - What kind of *free support* do faculty receive for their assignments from nonprofit Wiki Education? ------------------------------ *Interested, but unable to attend?* Register to receive information <http://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/CKPBQfhcTeaisS-4Nv8_sA#/registration> from us following the session. *Questions?* Learn more at teach.wikiedu.org (check out our FAQ <http://teach.wikiedu.org/#faq>!), or email studentprogram(a)wikiedu.org. We're here to help. *Teaching this summer or ready to set up your assignment for the fall term? *Visit teach.wikiedu.org to get started today — no need to attend an info session first. Best, The Wiki Education team *Wiki Education* | *teach.wikiedu.org <http://teach.wikiedu.org/>* -- Helaine Blumenthal,Ph.D. Senior Program Manager Wiki Education helaine(a)wikiedu.org teach.wikiedu.org <https://wikiedu.org/teach-with-wikipedia/> Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/WikiEducationFoundation/>, Linkedin <https://www.linkedin.com/company/wiki-education-foundation/>

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Last call: Hiring a post doc (36 months+) in governance of emergent tech - HPI/Oxford
by Sandra Wachter 05 Jun '26

05 Jun '26

Hi everyone, Are you interested in ethical, legal, and social aspects of AI, generative AI and other emerging technologies? Do you care about the impact of AI on misinformation, free press, academia and science, the future of work and climate change ? Would you like to work on tech policy issues? Come and work with me, Sandra Wachter <https://hpi.de/en/research/research-groups/technology-and-regulation/> (HPI/Oxford) at the Hasso Plattner Institute & Brent Mittelstadt and Chris Russell at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. https://tinyurl.com/556jty8t Application deadline is *June 18, 2026* If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Speak soon, Sandra

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New book: Capitalism and the Media
by Des Freedman 04 Jun '26

04 Jun '26

Hi all New book alert (particularly aimed at those who want a bit more 'critique of capitalism' in the analysis of tech). Capitalism and the Media: Key Concepts for Understanding Communications and Technology (Polity 2026) Des Freedman, Goldsmiths, University of London The blurb: Capitalism is the most powerful, creative and destructive social system the world has ever seen. Vigorously celebrated and fiercely contested, it provides the backdrop for the pipelines and platforms that supply audiences with entertainment, information and connection. This book provides an accessible introduction to the key characteristics of capitalism and illustrates how they shape and distort our media and communications landscapes. Exploring concepts including accumulation, exploitation, ideology, oppression, commodification and colonization, the book discusses the impact of these processes on everything from our experiences online and the dynamics of algorithms to the power of oligarchs and the media's role in the escalating environmental crisis. At a time when tech is often heralded as either the cause or the solution to issues of polarization, disinformation and atomization, an understanding of the simultaneous resilience and fragility of capitalism is essential. Capitalism and the Media will be (at least I hope) useful reading for students of media, communications, cultural studies and politics and provides a valuable resource for scholars and activists. AOIR list members can order the book directly from politybooks.com and receive a 30% discount using the code DFM30. Full details at: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=capitalism-and-the-media-k… All the best Des Des Freedman Professor of Media and Communications Co-Director, Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre Goldsmiths, University of London London SE14 6NW, UK New book: Capitalism and the Media<https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=capitalism-and-the-media-k…> published May 2026 (except for the US where it's August 2026)

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[New Book] Postgrowth Digital Futures
by Sy Taffel 04 Jun '26

04 Jun '26

Apologies for cross-listing. I'm really pleased to announce that my book Postgrowth Digital Futures: Degrowth, Digital Technologies and Radical Abundance<https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/postgrowth-digital-futures>, published by University of Bristol Press is out now. The book offers a vision for a fairer, greener digital future. Drawing on degrowth and postgrowth ideas, it challenges capitalism's model of endless growth by focusing on conviviality, limits, decommodification and radical abundance. It explores practical ways to redesign devices, platforms, infrastructure and digital culture to promote social justice, ecological balance and well-being. Kind Regards | Nga mihi Sy Taffel, PhD Senior Lecturer in Media Studies |Co-Director, Political Ecology Research Centre<http://perc.ac.nz/> College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Massey University Email: s.a.taffel(a)massey.ac.nz<mailto:s.a.taffel@massey.ac.nz> | Telephone: +64 (06 ) 356 9099 ext. 84527 Website: sytaffel.com<http://sytaffel.com/> Recently Published: Taffel, S (2026) Postgrowth Digital Futures<https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/postgrowth-digital-futures>, Bristol University Press

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[invitation to virtual event!] Critical Approaches to AI Policy: Digital Politics Summer School 2026
by Daniel Joseph 03 Jun '26

03 Jun '26

Hi there AoIR list! Are you a humanities or social science researcher, student or practitioner, interested in understanding and challenging current policies around generative AI? Organised and led by Dr Jessica Elias, Dr Florence Chee, Dr Daniel Joseph, and Dr Adi Kuntsman, please join us at our online Digital Politics Summer School 2026, "Critical Approaches to AI Policy". You can sign up here for the zoom invites: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/critical-approaches-to-ai-policy-digital-pol… The School is organised by the Digital Policy Observatory<https://digitalsociety.mmu.ac.uk/digital-policy-observatory/>: a new, visionary initiative, to address digital policy through critical, global and interdisciplinary lens. The Observatory is a partnership between CDEP (Center for Digital Ethics & Policy)<https://www.luc.edu/digitalethics/>, Loyola University, Chicago and DISC (Digital Society Research Group).<https://digitalsociety.mmu.ac.uk/>, Manchester Metropolitan University. The School takes place entirely online, on 9-12 June 2026. Attendance is free but registration is required. Please check the programme below and register separately for each event. Programme All times are in UK time zone, please check your time zone conversion here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ Day 1: Tuesday 9 June * 2-3 pm Welcome notes: Jessica Elias, Florence Chee, Daniel Joseph, Adi Kuntsman * Keynote: “Policy at Play: Designing Critical AI Systems in Times of Polycrisis”, Florence Chee * 3-4 pm Discussion panel with André Brock<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-brock-distributedblackness/>, Momin M. Malik<https://www.linkedin.com/in/momin-malik/> and Todd Harple<https://www.linkedin.com/in/tharple/>, chaired by Kyla Williams Tate<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylawilliamstate/> Day 2: Wednesday 10 June * 1-2 pm Critical approach to AI policy: Accountability. Presentations by Critical AI Policy Virtual Fellows * 3-4 pm Critical approach to AI policy: Dignity. Presentations by Critical AI Policy Virtual Fellows Day 3: Thursday 11 June * 2-3 pm Critical approach to AI policy: Sustainability, Equity, Trust. Presentations by Critical AI Policy Virtual Fellows * 6 pm A roundtable on Critical AI Literacies @Manchester Festival of Libraries. Taking place in hybrid format, in Chorlton, Manchester and online. Led by Jessica Elias, Adi Kuntsman and DISC AI Literacies Lab<https://digitalsociety.mmu.ac.uk/critical-ai-literacies/>. Day 4: Friday 12 June * 1-2 pm Engaging Policymakers in/through Creative Practice. Workshop led by Jessica Elias * 2.30-3.30 pm Concluding Event and launch of CDEP+DISC Virtual Policy Observatory All the best, Daniel James Joseph (he/him) Senior Lecturer of Digital Sociology Digital Society Research Group (DISC) co-lead School Ethics co-lead UCU A&H Convener School of Sociology and Criminology Manchester Metropolitan University Recent publications: Young CJ, Joseph DJ and Nieborg DB (2025) Workflow monopolies: A platform historiography of Unity in the immersive app economy. Platforms & Society 2. SAGE Publications: https://doi.org/10.1177/29768624251376562 Young Joseph DJ, Brock T and Partin WC (2025) Towards a geopolitical economy of esports: making sense of Saudi Arabia’s investments. Team Performance Management. DOI: 10.1108/TPM-09-2024-0111<https://www.emerald.com/tpm/article/doi/10.1108/TPM-09-2024-0111/1269265/To…>. "Before acting on this email or opening any attachments you should read the Manchester Metropolitan University email disclaimer available on its website http://www.mmu.ac.uk/emaildisclaimer "

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Deadline Extended and Important Updates! LaborTech Awards Submissions, & Prize Money Update!
by Ripley, Karina (gxy9fq) 02 Jun '26

02 Jun '26

The deadline for LaborTech’s Book, Graduate Student Paper, and Social Justice Awards has been EXTENDED! The new deadline is June 15. Please Note These Updates: 1. Look for a Receipt Confirmation Email from Us: If you have already made a submission, please look for a confirmation email of receipt. If you **did not** receive one, **please submit again** to karina.alexis.ripley(a)gmail.com<mailto:karina.alexis.ripley@gmail.com>. Due to a glitch with our email server, we may have missed some submission emails. Many apologies for the inconvenience. 2. Upgraded Prize Money! For the first time since we started our awards, we are finally able to provide a bit more in the way of prize money. This is thanks to an Anonymous member of LaborTech who offered funds for this purpose - we are so grateful to you! The prize is now $500 for each of three awards. Please tell your networks :) —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Labor Tech Research Network<https://www.labortechresearchnetwork.org/> (LaborTech) invites submissions for our fifth annual Book, Graduate Student Paper, and Social Justice Awards. *About Us* LaborTech is an interdisciplinary and transnational group of over 700 experts concerned with the intersection of technology and labor. We aim to reframe conversations about technology and labor towards issues of power, inequality, and social justice, and incorporate themes of feminism, anti-racism, and transnationalism. We also seek to foster an interdisciplinary, cross-regional, and community-oriented space for discussion, collaboration, and empowerment. For a deeper discussion of our mission, please visit our webpage. For a list of our previous winners, click here<https://labortechresearchnetwork.org/awards>. *Call for Nominations* As part of our mission to promote scholarship and activism towards more equitable forms of labor and technology, LaborTech is announcing a call for three awards -- Book, Graduate Student Paper, and Social Justice. These will honor projects which: * have distinctive intellectual merit or activist impact; * advance the knowledge about labor and technology in the global society; and * address our core focus on labor and technology and which may simultaneously address feminism, anti-racism, and/or transnationalism. *Eligibility*: Works from all disciplines and methodologies are eligible for nomination. Nominations are open to members and non-members of LaborTech. We welcome self-nominations especially, but also nominations from publishers, colleagues, and others familiar with the projects. We encourage submissions from women, people of color, queer communities, and those from the global south. LaborTech executive board members and committee chairs, as well as books published in our Labor and Technology series with MIT Press, are ineligible for these awards. *Prizes*: Winners receive $500 and a certificate. In addition, we will promote visibility for your project by connecting with our globally-dispersed expert membership. This includes making a video of winners, to be distributed both in and out of our network, and hosting an End of Year Showcase for enhancing public exposure and attention forf your work. Winners will be announced in December. *Deadline and Contact*: The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2026. Send questions to awards(a)labortechresearchnetwork.org. See below for separate criteria and instructions for the various awards. CRITERIA AND SUBMISSION DETAILS *Book Award* Criteria: * Monographs only (no edited volumes or anthologies) * Multiple authors accepted * Published in the last three years (2024-26). * If your book is not out by the deadline for this award, please send proofs from the manuscript and a letter from the press editor confirmation publication before the end of 2026. Submission details: Please submit the following items in English to awards(a)labortechresearchnetwork.org: 1. An electronic version in PDF format (contact us if only print form is available for books) 2. The author's contact email address 3. A one-page nomination letter stating the significance and contribution of the work *Graduate Student Paper* Criteria: * Written by students currently enrolled in a graduate program or who have graduated in 2025 * Single-authored pieces are preferred, but co-authored pieces will be accepted with the above conditions in Submission Details * If a co-authored piece, *the first author must be a graduate student.* * Papers may be published within the last three years (2024-26) or unpublished * Page length: 25-40 pages, double-spaced Submission details: Please submit the following items in English to awards(a)labortechresearchnetwork.org. 1. Electronic version in PDF format 2. The author's email address 3. A one-page nomination letter stating: * the significance and contribution of the work * when the PhD was started and, if applicable, granted * if the paper was published, then state when and in what journal * if co-authored with faculty/advisors/other PhDs, please include a paragraph attesting to the student's dominant role in generating the paper (such as working on its theoretical components, doing the research, and writing it up). In addition, we ask that the cover letter is signed (digitally, or otherwise) by all co-authors, so that they are aware of this submission. *Social Justice Award* Criteria: * Those who are interfacing with technology in the course of their organizing, or who are organizing against inequitable technologies, in the context of labor, feminism, anti-racism, transnationalism struggles. This may include: * tech workers * labor organizers, whether in unions or other workers' associations * feminist, immigrant, community, and ethnic rights activists * scholar-activists. For this, we are not looking for purely academic work (i.e., scholars who are studying activism), but rather those who are participating in activism themselves, or who are promoting collaborations between activists and scholars. * people creating design alternatives for social justice, like engineers and designers * Open to individuals, small groups, and if appropriate, organizations * Focus will be on a particular campaign or project that is done with the aim of social justice regarding labor and/or technology. These projects may be broad (such as educating the public on a social justice issue) or specific (such as organizing a protest for higher wages). They may use a variety of strategies (e.g., art, design, social media, marches and strikes, policy interventions, etc.). We'd like to honor activists who, through these projects, have developed novel approaches or who are pioneers in the fight for more equitable relations of technology and/or labor. Submission details: * Fill out this Google Form<https://forms.gle/BirfWfuyJtPwmmDF8>: It has a few short questions regarding the significance and contribution of your social justice activities * Answers to this form should be a minimum 400 words each, in order to give us enough understanding of the nominee's accomplishments. No single sentence answers please :) Note: If you’re a busy activist, with little time for filling out applications, feel free to find a willing colleague who can speak to your activities and nominate on your behalf. * Please submit all items in English. However, if you have a submission in another language, contact us and we'll attempt to find a translator in our group. -- Dr. Karina Ripley (they/them) Assistant Professor @ University of Virginia Lead Organizer @ Labor Tech Research Network<https://labortechresearchnetwork.org/> @kaareeenah.bsky.social // karinaripley.com

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article on Phaedrus now available
by Charles Melvin Ess 02 Jun '26

02 Jun '26

Hi all, Some of you may be interested in having a look (open source): Ess, C. (2026). “The Gardens of Letters”: Writing, AI, and the Kubernētic Cultivation of Phronēsis and Eudaimonia in Plato’s Phaedrus. Danish Yearbook of Philosophy (published online ahead of print 2026). https://doi.org/10.1163/24689300-bja10091 It may be of specific interest for a) its background review of the readings / uses of the Phaedrus in philosophy and media and communication studies (including apparently only fairly recent - ca. from 2012 or so forward - uses as an exemplar of moral panic); b) how reading the Phaedrus as an inclusio / ring composition / "growing up" story gives us a very different (pre-modern / post-modern?) understanding of Plato's treatment of writing as the then-new media technology; c) how all of this can be applied to contemporary understandings of generative AI, LLMs, etc., including in our teaching. And a thousand thanks to the several dozen AoIR-istas who, especially around 2019-2020 or so, helped with looking further into the history of the Phaedrus as an exemplar of moral panic. All best, - charles Professor Emeritus University of Oslo

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37th IEEE International Symposium on Software Reliability Engineering (ISSRE 2026): Last Call for Papers (Industry Track)
by Announce 01 Jun '26

01 Jun '26

*** Last Call for Papers (Industry Track) *** 37th IEEE International Symposium on Software Reliability Engineering (ISSRE 2026) October 20-23, 2026, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina Limassol, Cyprus https://cyprusconferences.org/issre2026/ The ISSRE Industry Track gathers industry representatives as well as researchers from, within or in collaboration with industry to discuss software reliability, quality assurance as well as experiences and lessons learned. This year we will bring experiences from self- made tools, usage of AI, generative AI and machine learning in relation to software reliability. Industry track papers are expected to be of interest to software development professionals, as well as to anyone researching or working in the area of software reliability, software quality, and process improvement groups, with concrete relevance to industrial problems and practical applications. All presenters of accepted papers will be required to attend the conference in person. Participating in the conference would give a chance to meet and discuss with a wide selection of researchers and other industry experts in the area. Topics of Interest Topics of interest include development, analysis methods and models throughout the software development lifecycle, from an industrial and practitioner-oriented perspective. Ask yourself this: Is the work grounded in real-world systems, operational experience, or industrial practice, and does it address reliability or dependability concerns? If it is, you have found the right conference track. For a more detailed list check out the detailed topics list for the research track on this site. • Use cases, practical experiences, lessons learned, improvement programs in reliability or dependability. • Foundations of reliability and dependability, including process, technology, methods, metrics and lessons learned. • Design for reliability or dependability, failure and incident case studies, including experiences in security, testing, verification, and related practices in the field. • Reliability in AI-driven and autonomic systems or AI techniques used for Reliability Engineering. • Software reliability in any system domain. • Trustworthiness, security, and Responsible Software Engineering. • Human-centric focus on reliability and dependability. • Adoption of reliability standards, measurements and similar experiences. We look for papers with good evaluation, honest data, new insights and practical experiences that can be used to help others. We also encourage submissions reporting negative results, unexpected outcomes, and lessons learned from real-world practice. Submission Guidelines and Instructions We invite three kinds of submissions to the Industry Track: • Enlightening Talk or Tool Demo: 1-2 page abstract (OR a Power Point presentation OR a video for a tool demo). • Short paper: 4-pages (including references). • Full paper: 6-pages (including references). All the submissions will be reviewed by members of the Industry Track Program Committee. Accepted papers (with an abstract) will be included in the ISSRE Supplemental Proceedings and submitted for publication to IEEE Xplore. Papers are submitted via Easy Chair https://easychair.org/conferences?conf=issre2026 . Submissions must adhere to the IEEE Computer Society Format Guidelines (for more Information, please refer to the relevant part on the conference website: https://cyprusconferences.org/issre2026/industry-track/) Note that: • A paper must include the title, the name and affiliation of each author, an abstract of up to 150 words, and up to 4 keywords. Thus, submissions are not anonymous. • Reviewers will use the abstract during the bidding process for peer-review. Thus, the abstract should state the paper goals clearly, along with the means used to achieve them. • The first page is not a separate page, but is a part of the paper (i.e., it has technical material in it). Thus, this page counts toward the total page budget for the paper. • Symbols and labels used in the graphs should be readable as printed, without requiring on-screen magnification. • Limit the file size to less than 15 MB (for Video’s – provide a live link). Papers that exceed the page limits specified, on topics not in the scope of ISSRE, or that do not follow the formatting guidelines will be rejected without review. Authors of accepted papers will have the chance to present their work at ISSRE 2026. Submission implies the willingness of at least one of the authors to register for the conference and to give the talk, if the paper is accepted. Best Paper Awards The Industry Program Chair will select three candidates among top-ranked papers presenting and motivating novel and disruptive ideas that address problems relevant for industry. Selection will be based on the reviewers’ feedback, novelty and potential impact of the results. The final selection of the best paper will be done by the audience attending the presentation of the candidate papers. Eligible papers must be (1) full papers accepted to the industry track, and (2) co-authored by at least one author whose primary affiliation is in Industry. Important Dates (AoE) • Abstract Submission Deadline: June 28, 2026 & July 3, 2026 • Paper Submission Deadline: July 5, 2026 & July 12, 2026 • Notification to Authors: August 12, 2026 • Camera Ready Papers: August 19, 2026 • Enlightening Talks or Tool Demos (without abstract; not to appear in the proceedings): August 15, 2026 • Author Registration Deadline (Industry Track): August 19, 2026 Organisation General Chairs • Leonardo Mariani, University of Milano - Bicocca, Italy • George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Program Coordinator • Roberto Natella, GSSI, Italy Research Program Committee Chairs • Domenico Cotroneo, UNC Charlotte, USA • Jie M. Zhang, King's College London, UK Industry Program Chairs • Jinyang Liu, Bytedance, USA • Sigrid Eldh, Ericsson AB, Sweden Workshop Chairs • Georgia Kapitsaki, University of Cyprus, Cyprus • August Shi, The University of Texas at Austin, USA Doctoral Symposium Chairs • Stefan Winter, LMU Munich, Germany • Lili Wei, McGill University, Canada Fast Abstract Chairs • Luigi Lavazza, University of Insubria, Italy • Yintong Huo, SMU, Singapore JIC2 Chair • Helene Waeselynck, LAAS-CNRS, France Publicity Chairs • Allison K. Sulivan, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA • Jose D'Abruzzo Pereira, University of Coimbra, Portugal Publication Chairs • Sherlock Licorish, Otago Business School, New Zealand • Maria Teresa Rossi, GSSI, Italy Artifact Evaluation Chairs • Naghmeh Ivaki, University of Coimbra, Portugal • Fumio Machida, University of Tsukuba, Japan Diversity and Inclusion Chair • Eleni Constantinou, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Financial Chair • Costas Pattichis, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Web Chairs • Michalis Ioannides, Easy Conferences LTD • Elena Masserini, University of Milano - Bicocca, Italy Registration Chair • Easy Conferences LTD

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Job Opportunity: 36+ month postdoc in AI & technology law, ethics, and governance @ Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany (Oxford collab.)
by Brent Mittelstadt 01 Jun '26

01 Jun '26

Apologies for any cross-posting. Professor Sandra Wachter<https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/profiles/sandra-wachter/> is hiring a postdoctoral researcher in AI & technology law, ethics, and governance to work at the Hasso Plattner Institute<https://hpi.de/forschung/fachgebiete/technology-and-regulation/>, and collaborate with me and Chris Russell<https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/profiles/chris-russell/> in the Governance of Emerging Technologies group<https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/governance-of-emerging-technolog…> at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford<https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/>. The post (36 months+) is in governance of emerging technologies. If you care about ethical, legal, and social aspects of AI, generative AI and other emerging technologies and EU tech laws, then apply now! Deadline: June 18, 2026 Link: https://jobs.plattnerfoundation.org/HPI/job/Potsdam-Postdoctoral-Researcher… All the best, Brent --------------------------------------- Professor Brent Mittelstadt Professor of Data Ethics and Policy Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG @bmittelstadt.bsky.social +44 (0)1865 287221 http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/?id=365

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ANU School of Sociology x ANU Computational Culture Lab: Dr Scott Wark (Goldsmiths University)
by Thao Phan 31 May '26

31 May '26

Please join us for this ANU School of Sociology x ANU Computational Culture Lab event on 'The “Contentification” of the Web: Studying Digital Culture Before and After GenAI' by Dr Scott Wark (Goldsmiths, University of London) - *Date: *Wednesday 10 June - *Time: *12 - 1:00pm (AEST) - *Location:* RSSS Room 4.69, and Zoom - *Register to receive Zoom link:* https://events.humanitix.com/anu-school-of-sociology-x-cclab-dr-scott-wark-… The “Contentification” of the Web: Studying Digital Culture Before and After GenAI Generative Artificial Intelligence is changing the web. From undermining whole industries to flooding digital spaces with ‘AI slop,’ it’s clear that the web –digital culture – is in transition. This paper uses an engagement with GenAI as the basis for a critical reflection on what it means for our capacity to conceptualise and critique digital culture. In the platform-driven, Web 2.0 era, digital culture has been organized by a tension between the user and the platform: the user has been encouraged to produce and share content, while the platform is designed to control culture’s byproducts (in the form of data, labour, value, access, etcetera). One possible future inaugurated by GenAI is a break with this Web 2.0 compact. This paper questions this narrative by arguing that we ought to see GenAI as an extension of existing processes encapsulated by the term ‘platformisation.’ Amongst other things, platforms have arguably been designed to automate the production and circulation of media content. In this view, the emergence of ‘AI slop,’ or content reduced to a bland ‘mean,’ is an extension of an already-existing process: what I call ‘contentification,’ or the production of contentless content for the purposes of keeping media circulating and attention captured.What does ‘contentification’ mean for digital culture and its study? Such processes may undermine the attention-based economy that supports the web as we know it today. But this moment ought to make us question how we conceptualise and study digital culture and its content(s). GenAI is able to smooth content into a contentless, mediocre mean because this is what comprises the vast majority of the web’s contents: filler such as stock images, marketing copy, placeholder videos, etcetera. To understand GenAI, it’s the production and circulation of this kind of media that we urgently need to study. About the speaker: Scott Wark is a Lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. His research combines an interest in theoretical approaches to media and culture with analyses of digital cultural phenomena, media infrastructures, data processing, artificial intelligence, and techniques of racialisation. He is co-editor of Figure: Concept and Method (with Celia Lury and William Viney; Palgrave, 2022) and 'Pharmacologies of Media,' a special issue of Media Theory (w. Yiğit Soncul)

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