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Philip Seargeantr

Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The Open University

Philip Seargeant is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Open University. He has published extensively on topics from language and social media, to English around the world, to language and creativity.

His publications include 'The idea of English in Japan' (2009), 'Exploring World Englishes' (2012), and 'From Language to Creative Writing' (with Bill Greenwell, 2013), and the edited collections 'English in Japan in the Era of Globalization' (2011, Palgrave Macmillan), 'English in the World: history, diversity, change' (with Joan Swann, 2012), 'English and development' (with Elizabeth J. Erling, 2013), 'Futures for English Studies' (with Ann Hewings and Lynda Prescott, 2016), and 'Creativity in language: From everyday style to verbal art' (with Zsofia Demjen, 2016).

How AI threatens free speech – and what must be done about it

Jan 19, 2024 10:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Headlines about the threats of artificial intelligence (AI) tend to be full of killer robots, or fears that when theyre not on killing sprees, these same robots will be hoovering up human jobs. But a serious danger which...

From Z to Q: when letters become political symbols

Mar 23, 2022 13:38 pm UTC| Politics

Painted on the side of tanks and emblazoned on the shirt of Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, the letter Z has come to represent support for Russias invasion of Ukraine. It has even been incorporated into the spelling of place...

The real reason you can't quit Facebook? Maybe it's because you can judge your friends

Jul 12, 2017 19:02 pm UTC| Technology

Facebook recently announced that it now has over 2 billion monthly users. This makes its population larger than that of China, the US, Mexico and Japan combined. Its popularity, and with it the influence it has in society,...

Truthiness and alternative facts: meaning is a moveable feast

Jan 28, 2017 06:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Sales of George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four have apparently surged since Kellyanne Conway introduced the phrase alternative facts into public discourse. For many, the term is reminiscent of Orwells dystopian Newspeak,...

Why Tolkien's fantastic imaginary languages have had more impact than Esperanto

Jan 11, 2017 17:44 pm UTC| Life

A hundred years ago this month, JRR Tolkien began writing The Fall of Gondolin while on medical leave from the war. This is the first story in what would become his legendarium the mythology that underpins The Lord of the...

US Election Series

The filter bubble isn't just Facebook's fault -- it's yours

Dec 06, 2016 07:43 am UTC| Technology Politics

Following the shock results of Brexit and the Trump victory, a lot of attention has focused on the role that Facebook might have played in creating online political ghettos in which false news can easily spread. Facebook...

Economy

Russell 1000 Companies Hit $2.2T Cash Record While Aggressively Reinvesting in Growth

Large-cap U.S. corporations are sitting on record cash reserves while simultaneously pouring money back into their businesses at an unprecedented pace. According to Morgan Stanleys latest benchmark report on Q4 2025 data,...

U.S. Jobs Market Eyes March Recovery Amid Inflation Pressures

Economists are forecasting a modest rebound in U.S. employment for March, with nonfarm payrolls projected to climb by 60,000 a significant turnaround after a 92,000 decline in February, one of the steepest monthly drops...

EU and CPTPP Nations Push for Landmark Digital Trade Agreement

The European Union and member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) have officially agreed to pursue a groundbreaking digital trade deal, marking a potentially...

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Gold Prices Rise Amid Geopolitical Tensions and Safe Haven Demand

Gold prices climbed on Friday, positioning the precious metal for a weekly gain as investors retreated from riskier assets and sought refuge in safe haven investments like bullion and the U.S. dollar. The move came amid...

Politics

Pentagon Eyes Weeks-Long Ground Operations in Iran, Reports Say

Senior U.S. military officials are reportedly drawing up plans for extended ground operations in Iran spanning several weeks, according to a Saturday report from The Washington Post. The report, which cited unnamed U.S....

Israeli Airstrikes Kill Six Palestinians in Gaza Despite Ongoing Ceasefire

Israeli airstrikes struck two Hamas-led police checkpoints in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, killing at least six Palestinians, including a young girl, according to local health officials. Three police officers and...

Pakistan Hosts Multilateral Talks on U.S.-Iran War as Region Seeks De-escalation

Pakistan is positioning itself as a key diplomatic hub as it prepares to host foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt for two days of high-stakes talks beginning Sunday. The meetings center on the ongoing...

Brazil and Mexico Stand Firm Behind Bachelet's UN Secretary-General Bid

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reaffirmed his countrys unwavering support for former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as a candidate for the next United Nations Secretary-General, even after Chile...

Middle East Conflict Escalates: Gulf Infrastructure Hit, U.S. Troops Wounded, Ceasefire Talks Underway

A month into the intensifying Middle East conflict, military strikes are increasingly targeting critical economic infrastructure across the Gulf region, raising global market concerns and drawing deeper U.S. military...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Technology

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...

Reflection AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation in Massive $2.5 Billion Funding Round

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI is in advanced discussions to secure $2.5 billion in fresh funding, with negotiations pointing to a staggering pre-money valuation of $25 billion, according to a...