LLC Commons: Simon Smith In brief Date - 12 November 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh, Main Library)Theme - Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management About the eventJoin us for the inaugural event of the LLC Commons initiative this semester!The session will feature a talk on "Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management," presented by Simon Smith. The session will be followed by a Q&A and general discussion. Stay on for an informal pub social after.This space is to build community across the six departments in the School and hold interdisciplinary conversations among research staff and students - so come along!AbstractThe potential value of AI to scholarly research is well-known; likewise, the potential harm. Significantly enhanced data processing capabilities sit alongside the corruption of the scientific record. It’s never been easier to analyse large and increasingly complex datasets at speed; no small benefit in an increasingly pressurised academic world. Unfortunately, it has also never been easier to generate fraudulent journal articles “supported” by fake data. It is, inevitably, all rather worrying. And that’s before we get to the terrifying data protection implications.The enshitification of All Things may be inevitable; all is not lost, however. While we cannot claim to have The Solution to all of the problems that AI raises for scholarly research, we do have a strategy for mitigating some of the worst which does not entail rejecting the advantages. That strategy is Open Research.In this session, therefore, we will consider examples of both the good, the bad, and the terrifying. We will then explore some of the ways in which Research Data Management and the FAIR principles continue to support integrity and transparency in scholarly research, helping to address fraud and fabrication.About the speakerSimon Smith is the Research Data Support Officer from Library and University Collections. He has worked in Research Data Management since 2015, when he joined the Open Research Team at the University of Surrey. He has spent his time helping to develop a range of research data management (RDM) services, implementing two repositories, and learning to love data management planning.Simon assists PGRs and researchers in meeting funder and institutional requirements around data management and Open Research but he also engages critically around questions of data and ethical access (e.g. CARE principles, Global Indigenous Data Alliance). His teaching and research background is in philosophy, in the service of which he edited a scholarly journal.How to attendThis event is free to attend, and open to all. No registration is required - just show up!About the seriesLLC Commons, coordinated by research colleagues and postgraduate research students, aims to embed work undertaken across the School’s six departments in a supportive seminar series. The initiative responds to calls from staff and students alike who have indicated that they would like more opportunities to share their work and invite feedback. The series aims to build a more integrated research culture among the School community, and to connect researchers across all its departments.Presentations might take a variety of formats: work in progress for conference papers or publications, outline plans for a chapter, a book proposal, or further research or grant plans. Tags Research Nov 12 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm LLC Commons: Simon Smith Join us on 12 November for the first event in the slate of LLC Commons Autumn events with Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh, Main Library) giving a presentation around the theme of 'Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square This article was published on Thursday 5 November 2026
LLC Commons: Simon Smith In brief Date - 12 November 2026Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh, Main Library)Theme - Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management About the eventJoin us for the inaugural event of the LLC Commons initiative this semester!The session will feature a talk on "Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management," presented by Simon Smith. The session will be followed by a Q&A and general discussion. Stay on for an informal pub social after.This space is to build community across the six departments in the School and hold interdisciplinary conversations among research staff and students - so come along!AbstractThe potential value of AI to scholarly research is well-known; likewise, the potential harm. Significantly enhanced data processing capabilities sit alongside the corruption of the scientific record. It’s never been easier to analyse large and increasingly complex datasets at speed; no small benefit in an increasingly pressurised academic world. Unfortunately, it has also never been easier to generate fraudulent journal articles “supported” by fake data. It is, inevitably, all rather worrying. And that’s before we get to the terrifying data protection implications.The enshitification of All Things may be inevitable; all is not lost, however. While we cannot claim to have The Solution to all of the problems that AI raises for scholarly research, we do have a strategy for mitigating some of the worst which does not entail rejecting the advantages. That strategy is Open Research.In this session, therefore, we will consider examples of both the good, the bad, and the terrifying. We will then explore some of the ways in which Research Data Management and the FAIR principles continue to support integrity and transparency in scholarly research, helping to address fraud and fabrication.About the speakerSimon Smith is the Research Data Support Officer from Library and University Collections. He has worked in Research Data Management since 2015, when he joined the Open Research Team at the University of Surrey. He has spent his time helping to develop a range of research data management (RDM) services, implementing two repositories, and learning to love data management planning.Simon assists PGRs and researchers in meeting funder and institutional requirements around data management and Open Research but he also engages critically around questions of data and ethical access (e.g. CARE principles, Global Indigenous Data Alliance). His teaching and research background is in philosophy, in the service of which he edited a scholarly journal.How to attendThis event is free to attend, and open to all. No registration is required - just show up!About the seriesLLC Commons, coordinated by research colleagues and postgraduate research students, aims to embed work undertaken across the School’s six departments in a supportive seminar series. The initiative responds to calls from staff and students alike who have indicated that they would like more opportunities to share their work and invite feedback. The series aims to build a more integrated research culture among the School community, and to connect researchers across all its departments.Presentations might take a variety of formats: work in progress for conference papers or publications, outline plans for a chapter, a book proposal, or further research or grant plans. Tags Research Nov 12 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm LLC Commons: Simon Smith Join us on 12 November for the first event in the slate of LLC Commons Autumn events with Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh, Main Library) giving a presentation around the theme of 'Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management'. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square This article was published on Thursday 5 November 2026
Nov 12 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm LLC Commons: Simon Smith Join us on 12 November for the first event in the slate of LLC Commons Autumn events with Simon Smith (University of Edinburgh, Main Library) giving a presentation around the theme of 'Enshittification and Enlightenment: Saving the World with Research Data Management'.
