AI for Scholars
Featuring a Q+A with Avi Staiman and Editor's Picks.
Using AI Tools for Scholarship
You’ve probably already received a thousand newsletters in the last month on this topic, but I promise you, you’ll actually find this one useful. Avi Staiman is a host for our Scholarly Communication channel and CEO of Academic Language Experts, a company that specializes in helping scholars translate their work into other languages. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the speed and accuracy of translation and editing, allowing scholars, especially those not working in English, to make their research available to a broader audience. Avi is currently working on new search tools that find citations and fact-check claims, similar to spell-check in Microsoft Word. Here, you can listen to my conversation with Avi about these new technologies and their ethical use.
Scholarly Communication
Avi Staiman is the founder and CEO of Academic Language Experts.
Q: What are you reading right now?
A: How I Became a Moderate is a book in Hebrew written by Polly Bronstein, about her journey moving from the political left to the center and her reflections on the blind spots she had while leading some of Israel’s most important NGOs on the left. I really identify with her approach of truly listening to all sides and taking a pragmatic, instead of ideological, approach to politics.
Q: What is your favorite book or essay to assign to give to people and why?
A: Raving Fans. This is very much not an academic book but it talks about how to build a product or service that is so incredible that everyone wants to share it with their colleagues and friends. I have bought copies for my staff and it is a big part of our work culture.
Q: Is there a book you read as a student that had a particularly profound impact on your trajectory as a scholar?
A: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. This book has shaped my worldview on how to approach the projects I take on, the decisions that I make, and being able to say no to things I don’t want to do. While not an academic book per se, I think there is a lot of wisdom for academics struggling with always juggling multiple tasks at once.
Q: Which deceased writer would you most like to meet and why?
A: Job from the Bible. I would want to ask him how he was able to critique God but continue a lengthy dialogue with him while going through unbearable suffering.
Q: What's the best book you've read in the past year?
A: Academia: All the Lies: What Went Wrong in the University Model and What Will Come in its Place. It is quite a provocative book on the ills of higher education and research and while it is far from a balanced perspective, it does give me pause for thought about how academia is structured and incentivized, especially in the context of research publication and success metrics such as university ranking and impact factor.
Q: Have you seen any films, documentaries, or museum exhibitions that left an impression on you recently?
A: Paywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary that sheds light on the scholarly publishing business and not always for the better. As part of the scholarly publishing industry, I believe it is important to always be reflective and understand how researchers perceive the work of publishers and vice versa with the goal of building a bridge between authors and publishers.
Q: What do you plan on reading next?
A: Believe it or not, I have never read Lord of the Rings (although I have seen the movies) and am looking forward to having a bit of time this summer to read through the entire trilogy!