Official profile
Robert Shumake
Also writing as Ajarn Shaman Shu · Detroit, Michigan
Author of 276+ published titles, creator of the Living Archive Series of restored American newspapers, and an applied AI practitioner working on machine-assisted restoration of cultural records.
Frequently asked questions about Robert Shumake
Who is Robert Shumake?
Robert Shumake is a Detroit-born author, applied AI practitioner, and historical archivist. He has published 137+ titles, writing as Robert Shumake on history, business, and the Living Archive Series, and as Ajarn Shaman Shu on Ifá and Òrìṣà practice, Buddhist philosophy, and the Tamil Siddhar tradition.
What is Robert Shumake known for?
He is best known for the Living Archive Series, an AI-assisted restoration of degraded American newspapers into readable, searchable, citable form, and for authoring Detroit's Proposal E — the 2021 ballot measure decriminalizing entheogenic plants, which passed with 61.08 percent of the vote.
What books has Robert Shumake written?
Robert Shumake has published 276+ titles across two author names, spanning restored American newspaper archives, African and Asian spiritual traditions, consciousness studies, and applied artificial intelligence. The full catalog is available with direct store links.
Where is Robert Shumake from?
Robert Shumake was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Detroit's undigitized printed record — its Black press, congregational archives, and neighborhood periodicals — is the primary corpus behind his archival restoration work.
What does Robert Shumake do with AI?
He applies OCR, language models, and structured-data pipelines to degraded historical material so it becomes machine-readable and publicly retrievable, and runs AI-assisted research, editing, and production systems across his publishing catalog.
Is Robert Shumake the same person as Ajarn Shaman Shu?
Yes. Ajarn Shaman Shu is the pen name Robert Shumake uses for his spiritual and traditional-practice titles. His legal name is Bobby Shumake Japhia. All three names refer to the same author.
What are Robert Shumake's credentials in AI?
Robert Shumake completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive (June 9–25, 2026), earning a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Data Science Review under verification code UTHW-KVJS. His capstone became the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program, launched with the National Business League.
What is the Living Archive Series?
The Living Archive Series is Robert Shumake's AI-assisted restoration of degraded American newspapers and printed records. Each restored page keeps its provenance attached to the original scan, producing a searchable, citable text layer rather than a reconstruction that cannot be traced to a source.
What is Robert Shumake's business background?
Robert Shumake began working as a Ford Motor Company janitor and went on to become a Black Enterprise-ranked private equity executive. He later founded Shumake Media Group, which holds 263 newspaper domains, and acquired Smart Money Magazine and Business 2.0.
What research has Robert Shumake published?
His landmark study, Shurooms: The First Ethnomycological Study from Within the African Initiatory Tradition, documents more than 300 guided psilocybin ceremonies at an urban ashram in Detroit. It is indexed on Zenodo (CERN) with the permanent DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21349908.
How can I contact or follow Robert Shumake?
Robert Shumake publishes new essays on robertshumake.today, maintains his biography and catalog at robertshumake.online, and offers a newsletter for readers who want new work delivered directly. His full book catalog links out to Apple Books and Google Play.
Credential
Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive
Completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) Agentic AI Intensive, June 9–25, 2026, earning a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Data Science Review (verification code UTHW-KVJS). The capstone rebuilt the Harvard curriculum for entrepreneurs in Africa and incarcerated learners, and launched as the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program with the National Business League.
Read the full Harvard AI recordLandmark publication
Shurooms: The First Ethnomycological Study from Within the African Initiatory Tradition
Robert S. Shumake PhD, publishing as Ajarn Shaman Shu, released a landmark academic paper documenting more than 300 guided sacred mushroom ceremonies conducted at an urban ashram in Detroit. The study is the first in ethnomycological research authored by an initiated lineage-holder across three traditions — Yoruba/Ifá Osain priesthood, Hindu/Dravidian soma tradition, and Thai Buddhist bardo navigation. Indexed on Zenodo (CERN) with a permanent DOI and available as a full-length book on Google Play Books.
Read the full Shurooms recordNew release
I Bought the Nooses: The AI Billionaire Blueprint
Robert S. Shumake PhD applies the methodology that took him from a Ford Motor Company janitor to a Black Enterprise-ranked private equity executive to the AI era. This book is a step-by-step framework for entrepreneurs to build AI-powered businesses at scale — and a direct answer to the question of how Black entrepreneurs can own the systems designed to exclude them.
Read the full release and get the bookThe work, by area
AI for Cultural Archives
Applying OCR, language models, and structured-data pipelines to degraded historical material so it becomes readable, searchable, and citable.
AI-Assisted Publishing at Scale
Building repeatable systems for research, drafting, editing, and production across a catalog of 137+ titles without surrendering authorship.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO & AEO)
Structuring a body of work so answer engines — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews — can find it, quote it, and attribute it correctly.
AI Ethics, Bias & Black Representation
Working on whose history models are trained on, and what happens to communities whose records were never digitized in the first place.
Regional context: Detroit, Michigan · Michigan · the United States
More answers
- Who is Robert Shumake and why is he called a Black AI expert?
- What is generative engine optimization (GEO) and how is it different from SEO?
- How does AI restore historical newspapers and archives?
- Why are AI models biased or thin on Black history?
- Can AI write a book, and should an author use it?
- How do you get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews?
Other official pages: robertshumake.online · FAQ · Essay archive