Project StoryMachine: exploring implications of recommender based spatial hypertext systems for folklore and the humanities

This project aims to preserve, explore and provide greater access to
folklore traditions in Germany and the UK, through the development of a
digital infrastructure called StoryMachine. Folklore is a crucial element in
identity construction and cultural understanding, but it faces archival
and cultural challenges, particularly in an era of alternative truths and
populist separatism. Traditional digital interventions have focused on
archiving and digitising rather than on exploration and analysis.
Consequently, they are often concerned with discrete collections rather
than wider folkloric traditions, lack interactivity and are not designed to
capture emerging folklore and folk experience.
StoryMachine addresses these issues, combining spatial hypertext and
recommender systems to create a dynamic platform for deep-linking
folkloristic narratives. Familiar from commercial contexts like Amazon
or Netflix, this use of recommender systems creates exciting, dynamic
opportunities for information studies and our approach to archives in
general, while spatial hypertext allows this emerging context to be
visually and dynamically represented. The proposed research will
generate new insights into the relationships between folklore and
Project StoryMachine: exploring
implications of recommender
based spatial hypertext systems for
the humanities
1. Details
15/02/2024, 11:48 Application overview - UKRI Funding Service
https://funding-service.ukri.org/applications/APP26532 2/65
identity construction by investigating joint motifs, key differences, and
commonalities in storytelling among participants from different
geographic regions and age groups. The integration of the AarneThompson-Uther Index (a catalogue of folktale types widely used in
folklore studies) with StoryMachine will enable new approaches to the
exploration of folklore.
Following the integration of this folklore index with StoryMachine, the
investigators will explore and augment folklore motifs by: investigating
collaborative digital methods; critically assessing motif analysis;
evaluating community engagement in digital storytelling; considering
the psychological aspects of interacting with such systems; and
demonstrating StoryMachine’s potential for reimagining information
culture. The innovative user interface of StoryMachine facilitates
collaboration between users and the machine, offering a unique middle
ground that empowers users and leverages the co-creative potential of
machine intelligence.
The tools and methods developed for and deployed in this project will
have impact beyond folklore studies, extending to storytelling and
narrative development more widely, offering opportunities for diverse
audiences, including scholars, students, educators and wider interested
publics. The research addresses fundamental questions about authorship
and ownership in generative AI, providing a collaborative approach that
emphasises human-machine equality and is more context-sensitive and
emergent than existing LLM-oriented approaches. The impact of
StoryMachine will be considered in terms of its potential applications in
various fields and its ability to reshape knowledge cultures and
communities.
The project brings together scholars from five distinct but interconnected
disciplines folklore studies, digital humanities, narrative studies,
psychology and computer science. The collaboration aims to strengthen
academic research in folklore between the UK and Germany, in addition
to creating new perspectives within and across disciplines. StoryMachine
advances hypertext and narrative studies by offering a tool that innovates
approaches to exploration, creativity, and collaboration in folklore
studies and beyond.