Darkly disturbing.
Palantir, of course, now in possession of our NHS data.
05.03.2026 10:30
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Darkly disturbing.
Palantir, of course, now in possession of our NHS data.
Download advice on feeding newborns to teens
Reminds me of Swiftβs Modest Proposal.
Dr Simon Williams did a great job today at representing UK postdocs and PhD students in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics in front of the Science, Innovation, and Technology select committee.
We are all looking forward to what's coming next! π§ͺπ
Great summary of today's Science, Information & Technology Committee hearing (House of Commons) from @astroroyalscot.bsky.social.
It seems pretty clear that there have been serious structural and governance failures at STFC that have led to the current crisis.
just hit submit on a paper from an experiment we did 7 years ago
So much of the STFC funding crisis seems to hang on whether PPAN researchers are actually able to access this big new AI fund. That seems a huge risk and a messy restructuring.
Screen shot from the UKRI Funding Finder. Title: Fundamental AI Research Lab. Timeline Open 2nd March, intention to submit date 16 March, Closing Date 31 March 2026.
Can anyone think of an example of government spend of this magnitude and speed (excluding covid)??
4 weeks from call announcement to submission (no advance warning) and within that only 2 weeks to flag your intention to submit.
Β£40M total - individual awards Β£9.4M
www.ukri.org/opportunity/...
Here we are: "Almost 60 heads of university departments in physics and related disciplines have told science minister Lord P. Vallance that the cuts will damage the UKβs scientific standing" #UKRI π§ͺπ
Top academics warn UK physics cuts threaten effort to boost economy www.ft.com/content/a235...
Two stories this week highlight growing resource fights in UK science.
Leading physicists are battling the government over cost cuts.
www.ft.com/content/a235...
Meanwhile the private London Institute for Mathematical Sciences aims to make itself a research power.
www.ft.com/content/6e0e...
UKRI funding changes are raising serious concern across the UK science community. More than 50 university physics leaders including all 23 Russell Group universities with physics facilities have warned that proposed cuts risk undermining innovation-led economic growth.
π www.ft.com/content/a235...
Good luck and thank you for representing us all πͺβ¨
It is really important for the proponents of commercial deep space to understand that there are no "customers" other than scientists. None. And if you drive all of the scientists out by starving them of opportunities, then there will be no deep space economy. None. It's a telecom orbiter to nowhere.
β<Driverless cars> have to prove they meet strict safety standards, including protection from misuse via hacking or cyber threats, β¦ . By contrast, AI tools that enable the harassment, humiliation, abuse and relentless hounding of women apparently require no such guardrails.β
The question may not be "why are British students taking so many useless degrees?" so much as "why can't the British economy generate enough graduate vacancies?"
Over 1,000 early-career researchers have now signed our open letter to UKRI on the proposed STFC funding changes
Planned cuts will fall directly on postdoctoral and early-career recruitment, hollowing out the pipeline of young scientists and damaging long-term UK scientific capability
#saveSTFC
What hasn't changed is the line on curiosity-driven research, which Chapman said is βprotected overall, both in scale and in scopeβ
The budget for applicant-led research is rising over the spending review, but is that reassuring for those seeing their funding paused (at MRC) or cut (at STFC) now?
Ahh itβs so beautiful! Stoked to read it ππ‘οΈπ³π³οΈβπ
A friend texted me some emails that Epstein sent about physics and was like he sounds so stupid and I was like these are things physicists say too
So much power in physics (yes including astronomy) is concentrated in the hands of narcissistic, racist, sexist fucks and people who look the other way
We have written to Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance urging him to step him and help reverse the cuts to astronomy and space science proposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council last month.
Read the letter in full ποΈ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
The proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful, but we also shouldn't forget that the manner in which the proscription was enforced was blisteringly stupid. Continuing to arrest grandmothers for holding signs was a massive waste of police resources and did nothing to deal with the supposed threat
This means that even if Palestine Action ad not won on Human Rights Act/ECHR grounds, Palestine Action would have won on another ground.
No doubt this will be missed by a lot of media reporting of this judgment, but even if HRA repealed etc, Palestine Action would have *still won*.
Today is a serious day! The prime minister is at risk of being toppled! The Scottish Labour leader has called for him to go! What Rayner and Lammy and Reed say now really does matter!
And they're saying it pretty much exclusively on a site that is arguably incomptable with UK law
Not today's main point, but I do find it odd that ministers are signalling their support of Keir Starmer - pretty important as their silence is interpreted as a sign they might quit and force him to resign! - by... posting on X.
You know, the site condemned for being an AI porn hellscape last month
STFC's science board was told of "long-term cut" to grants for physics and astronomy researchers, former member claims.
STFC, which funds both major facilities and grants, plans cuts of Β£162m by 29-20, as @resprofnews.bsky.social has revealed.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
The STFC Funding Crisis β Guest Post by GeorgeΒ Efstathiou
The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele Dougherty. I include the letter here forβ¦
π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ Glasgow highlighted as an exemplar of excellence transferring knowledge from academia into the growing space sector!
Basically as we know : STFC is also funding a bunch of facilities (many which are not even STFC remit!) and those costs have gone up (a lot). So to balance the books, they have to cut (sorry I mean reduce costs) grants to scientists.
this is literally all I have thought about the last few days. if the vetting people are not independently checking people's finances then what are they doing?
Iβm not sure βour national security developed vetting technique can be beaten if a candidate is prepared to lieβ is an especially helpful line to push.