Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 311.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2026-02-03 13:50:05+00:00
        From: Richard Rogers  <rogers@govcom.org>
        Subject: Cfp: Digital Methods Summer School '26 - Univ. Amsterdam

Digital Methods Summer School and Data Sprint 2026
Media Studies, University of Amsterdam 29 June - 3 July 2026

Call for Participation

The Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), Amsterdam, is holding its annual
Summer School on 'Visual AI for internet research? On and beyond slop'.
The format is that of a (social media, web and AI) data sprint, with
training tutorials as well as hands-on work for telling stories with
data. There is also a programme of keynote speakers. It is intended for
advanced Master's students, PhD candidates and motivated scholars who
would like to work on (and complete) a digital methods project in an
intensive workshop setting.

Visual AI for internet research? On and beyond slop

This year’s Summer School builds on the theme of using chatbots for
internet research, particularly visual AI. Slop currently dominates the
discussion of visual AI, especially given its routine use at the top of
the US government, be it to denigrate street protestors demonstrating
against policing policies or to depict the chief executive in a variety
of costumes from the papal to the kingly. It’s also associated with
other vocabulary attached to the effects of the deployment of generative
AI in image and video: from brain rot to rage and engagement bait,
including its accompanying creative and dark participatory cultures.

To date the exploration of chatbots for internet research has been
related to text rather than still and moving images. It has included
how-to’s and research-with-AI critique concerning prompting, annotation,
classification, bias, guardrail sensitivity as well as ‘reference
anxiety’, or how chatbots remix sources to create new lineages of ideas
and concepts. But how to consider the work visual AI can do for research
across the social sciences and the humanities?

One approach — studying its biases as well as using it as a prism for
societal ones more generally — has been undertaken through creative
prompting and reverse prompting. How to determine its offensiveness,
sensitivities as well as hierarchies of concern? Apart from just
prompting it, visual AI proclivities may also be teased out through
inserting their output into content moderation APIs as well as other
trained AI. But can visual AI be otherwise repurposed? The annual
Digital Methods Summer School takes up this question for visual AI both
for the frontier models as well as others in cross-cultural perspective.

Applications: Key Dates

There are rolling admissions, and applications are now being accepted.
To apply please send a letter of motivation, your CV, a headshot photo,
100-word bio as well as a copy of your passport (details page only) to
summerschool [at] digitalmethods.net. Notifications of acceptance are
sent 1-2 weeks after application. Final deadline for applications is 22
May 2026. The full program and schedule of the Summer School are
available on or about 22 June 2026.

Tuition Fees

The fee for the Digital Methods Winter School 2026 is EUR 795, and upon
completion all participants receive certificates of completion or
transcripts (worth 6 ECTS).

Full call for participation and all additional information is here:
https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/WinterSchool2026

Prof. Richard Rogers
Media Studies
University of Amsterdam


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