Amaranth is a collaborative studio that brings the humanities and technology together. It’s a place where you come to learn, experiment, fail, and make things, even when they aren’t what you initially had in mind. We work alongside you as we explore AI research workflows, design decisions, and technical challenges. When you leave, your comfort should be a little higher and your reach a little further than when you arrived.
Human-centered technology
Amaranth’s work starts with people, sources, communities, and questions, not tools. That matters most with AI. We are interested in AI when it helps humanists see across larger collections, structure messy materials, compare images, or make public projects possible sooner. We are not interested in AI as a substitute for interpretation, accountability, or care.
Human-centered AI means keeping the researcher close to the evidence: prompts that can be inspected, outputs that can be checked, sources that remain traceable, and communities that are treated as partners rather than data. Instead of trying to automate humanities work, we experiment with ways to make more of that work visible, discussable, and responsible.
Our interests and focus
- Developing AI-assisted research workflows that expand what humanists can study and ask without sacrificing rigor and nuance
- Interdisciplinary collaborations across the humanities and social sciences
- Community-engaged projects that connect scholarly work to broader audiences and partners
- Building student capability and confidence through real projects with real stakes
Amaranth at UNM
Amaranth’s mission is deliberately aligned with UNM’s priorities and 2040 vision: experiential learning through projects students actually care about, university research connected to community partners, digital literacy across tools and workflows, and humanities voices in the AI conversations already happening across campus.
What’s with the name?
The name comes from the Greek amarantos: unfading. There’s a deliberate irony in naming a digital humanities studio after a symbol of permanence, given how quickly technology becomes obsolete. We embrace the contradiction—and the richer story of a plant that has meant sacred grain, colonial threat, superfood, and superweed, depending on who’s growing it and why. Read the full story →
Team
Director
Fred Gibbs
Fred sets strategic direction for Amaranth, with a focus on outreach, grant writing, and lowering technical barriers for humanists.
Studio Co-Manager
Jonathan Seyfried
Jonathan facilitates the daily operations of the studio, including project management, studio consultations, class visits, and equipment support.
Studio Co-Manager
Allie Love
Allie supports the studio’s class projects and daily activities, providing students and faculty with assistance in project development, equipment use, studio resources, and consultations.