Seeking Extra Work and Funding Opportunities for 2026
Simon Bushell
Dear Colleagues and Academics.
I hope this email finds you well, and I wish you a happy new year.
My name is Simon Bushell. I am currently a master's student in Philosophy at the University of Pretoria. I am in the last year and plan to hand in my dissertation at the end of August 2026.
My dissertation aims to prove the claim that music-making AI systems cannot create musical art. To support this claim, I am engaging in aesthetics, artistic intentionality, computational musicology, ontology of music and generative AI literature. By proving this claim, I will show that music-making AI systems cannot replace human artists and that they should only be used as tools in the hands of musicians to bring about their musical works. I will also suggest that music created solely by music-making AI systems should not get any sort of funding (for example funding from the Sports, Art and Culture Department. Furthermore, music created in this way, should not feature on music streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. Please let me know if you would like to see my full proposal that has been fully accepted by the University of Pretoria Philosophy department.
I have also been a tutor for the philosophy department for two years now and will be entering a more senior role this year. I aim to take more lectures and build my teaching report through out the year. Please let me know if you would like to see my Academic CV. Here is a link to my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-bushell-2929411a2?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app).
My longer-term goal is to become a full-time lecturer. I would like to work at an academic institution for at least two years, both to gain further teaching and research experience and to help me pay off my debt that I have accumulated to pay for my post-graduate studies. During these two years I will aim to publish articles as well. After this I plan to start my PhD in Philosphy while I continue to lecture.
I am writing this email in hopes that someone can point me in the right direction to get some extra work to help pay for my studies this year, such as being a research-assistant, extra tutoring or any other related opportunities. I am happy to help in anyway possible. I will be based in Pretoria, but I am also happy to work remotely. I would also be grateful if anyone knows of any funding opportunities for my master's dissertation. I unfortunately found out recently that my NRF application for this year was not successful.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Kind regards
Simon Bushell