The “Ask a Scholar!” Advising Service - Dr. Milena Anfosso

In 2022, I had the privilege of working with Tami Parr on the research for her upcoming book, which explores the fascinating world of goats and goat culture in the United States. This work is set to be published by Oregon State University Press. My role involved delving into Italian newspapers published in the United States from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, uncovering details about Italian traditions about kids and goats. This included Easter banquets and other customs brought to the United States by Italian immigrants, alongside insights into cheese importation, production, and the broader dairy industry. Furthermore, I translated several key passages into English for direct inclusion in the publication. It was an incredibly rewarding project, and I eagerly anticipate seeing the final printed book.

In 2024, I leveraged my expertise in Ancient Greek Literature and History to contribute to the cutting-edge field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). I collaborated as an “Expert Contributor and Prompt Engineer in Ancient Greek Literature and History” for a project by Snorkel AI, a startup originating from the Stanford AI Lab. As part of a select team of specialists across various fields, I was tasked with designing multi-constraint prompts to create a rigorous benchmark for evaluating the limits and biases of current Large Language Models (LLMs). This involved crafting multiple-choice questions with ten options (one right and nine wrong), adhering to strict guidelines to eliminate subjectivity and self-referentialism. My role focused on developing questions requiring expert-level knowledge of Ancient Greek literature and history, ensuring that at least one tested LLM achieved an accuracy rate below 20%—in other words, deliberately pushing it to choose a wrong answer. It was incredibly rewarding to see how knowledge of the ancient world could be applied to advancing the technology that will shape our future.