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Alex Hernandez-Garcia

@alexhergar.bsky.social
519 followers 330 following 109 posts

Assist. prof. at Université de Montreal and Mila · machine learning for science · climate change and health · open science · he/él/il #PalestinianLivesMatter 🍉 alexhernandezgarcia.com

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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Jed Brown @jedbrown.org · 12h
If you are an academic who uses arXiv, please consider signing this. **Give Authors Control: Let Us Decide If AI Bots Can Read Our arXiv Papers** math.mit.edu/~elmos/petit...
Currently, authors posting to arXiv have no control over whether bots scrape their full-text PDFs and LaTeX source files.

We are calling on arXiv to implement a simple permission toggle during submission, allowing authors to decide what automated scrapers can access:

Full Access: Bots can read and scrape the full text and source files.

Metadata Only: Bots are restricted to the Title, Abstract, and Citation metadata.

Open science for human readers should not mean mandatory, unconsented data harvesting by commercial entities. Advancing scientific knowledge demands immense time, resources, and intellectual rigor — we deserve a say in whether our original work is fed into massive, opaque training sets.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 9h
100 % this.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 30/09/2026
Nottingham today. Everywhere tomorrow. 2,700 staff put at risk. 600+ jobs targeted. At least 48 courses facing closure. What happens here sets the template for the sector. Stand with Nottingham.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 24/09/2026
Democracy Now! has now gone from constantly inviting Max Tegmark to platforming people from none other than MIRI. That's right MIRI. Y'all know how bad that is? Do you understand the level to which they are doubling down on the eugenicists?
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is the appropriate reaction when you're kicked out of someone else's tour (Ed Sheeran's) for standing with Palestine and against genocide. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Macklemore announces Free Palestine tour to benefit humanitarian aid organisations
The US rapper, removed from Ed Sheeran’s US stadium tour after voicing support of Palestine, has convened a charity show that will visit Dublin, Paris and London, with a North American run to be annou...
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Imagine the head of a major biochemical company warning the UN that they've made a lethal pathogen that is spreading all around the world. As a response, we invest loads of money in the company so they can make even worse pathogens.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This 15-min video on AI and labour and AI in the workplace are very much worth listening to. I can relate to a lot in it.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول @faredalmahlool.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This video was filmed in Palestine. My heart struggles to comprehend such cruelty and the heartbreaking disregard for human life. No human being should have to endure this.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I love that Codeberg members have voted to prohibit 'vibe-coded projects' and every single reason they explain resonates so much with me! As a summary: We all pay for hungry LLMs to do nonsensical stuff and they put collaboration and human trust at danger. blog.codeberg.org/protecting-o...
blog.codeberg.org
Protecting our FLOSS commons from LLMs — Codeberg News
In Brief: Two motions regarding
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Excellent and important work on how US military funding permeates and captures AI research.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 22/07/2026
Reading that whole OpenAI post describing them unleashing a bunch of bots on Hugging Face as an "unprecedented cyber incident," is a master class in marketing. Lol and branding what happened as OpenAI now working to "help calibrate on what models are now capable of" is top notch propaganda skills.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
c t @whatulysses.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
can't argue with this.
screenshot from a pop-up window received after downloading Microsoft Office. It features a yellow triangle with an exclamation point and the text, "'Microsoft Teams' is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash."
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I very often hear from colleagues the argument that AI compute energy in Québec and Canada is almost free and clean so we don't need to worry about consumption. This is flawed in multiple ways but this report about the fed government plans to feed data centres with gas makes it crystal clear.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
It was disappointing to receive the news that @fairphone.com would stop the support of Fairphone 3. But I'm proud that I chose e/OS/ 6 years ago and Murena will continue updating my smartphone's OS for two more years. Thanks!
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
This is hopeful news for the climate! A coalition of the "willing" is precisely what is needed. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Historic breakthrough’: Colombia climate talks end with hopes raised for fossil fuel phaseout
Nearly 60 countries back voluntary roadmaps to wean world off coal, oil and gas, at conference prompted by frustration with UN climate summits
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Full room at the AI for Peace workshop at @iclr-conf.bsky.social aiforpeaceworkshop.github.io
Nearly full conference room during a presentation by David Gray Widder.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
This is the software we're forced to use at the @umontreal.ca, at work. futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com
Microsoft Mocked for Terms of Service That Admit Copilot Is for "Entertainment Purposes Only"
Microsoft admitting in its own Copilot terms of service that the tool should only be used for "entertainment purposes only."
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
"The only democracy in the Middle East"
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Yesterday and today I'm participating in a symposium by Obvia about digital tech and sustainability. Very refreshing given the current trends in tech and AI. And @parismarx.com gave a great keynote about data sovereignty! www.obvia.ca/evenements/s...
A photo of the presentation by Paris Marx, with ideas to improve data sovereignty.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
That’s more than half the annual budget of the National Science Foundation.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
I'm truly moved, once more, by the strength and determination of the feminist movement in my home country, Spain. 💜 This year's message was explicitly antifascist and anti-war. Feminism is the front line against the current wave of fascism and imperialism! www.eldiario.es/sociedad/mov...
Front of the 8 March protest in Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid. A person wearing a Palestinian scarf and a purple scarf is on front of the banner that says: FEMINISTAS ANTIFASCISTAS. SOMOS MÁS. EN TODAS PARTES.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I gave a short talk at Cornell yesterday on my science-of-science work investigating how AI is being used by researchers and how we should go about crafting policies in response. Blanket policies are hard, privacy is important, we need more measurement. Slides: drive.google.com/file/d/1gNTK...
In early 2024, researchers were already heavily using AI for work
- Survey of 816 verified authors via Semantic Scholar
- 81% of researchers reported using LLMs in their workflow
- Top uses: information seeking & editing
- Rare for data tasks: 6973% never use LLMs for data cleaning or generationThe measurement problem
LLM content has risen sharply in both review and non-review papers.
Review papers do have a higher prevalence rate.
But non-review LLM papers outnumber review papers 6x.
CS.CY Computers & Society) faces potential 50% cuts compared to CS.CV (Computer Vision) would only face 3%Interdisciplinary researchers — who move between cultures and write in the “borderlandsˮ — are experts at adapting their writing. LLMs currently are not.Private information can appear in unlikely prompts
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 04/03/2026
Antibiotics are an essential type of medicine used to treat and prevent bacterial infections, but their use is threatened by growing levels of antibiotic resistance. How does antibiotic resistance develop and spread? This diagram shows four pathways for antibiotic resistance to evolve.
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🌶 David Gray Widder @davidthewid.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
I presented @nathanckim.bsky.social and my "How Big Cloud gets Bigger" paper analyzing crunchbase to show how: *Google/Microsoft/Amazon invest at rates rivaling the largest VCs.* Big Cloud = Critical Infrastructure *AND* Venture Capital. here are the slides:
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Are you an undergraduate student registered in a Canadian University, in chemistry, physics, computer science or material sciences? Check the summer 2026 junior internships of the Institut Courtois in Montreal and consider joining our project! institut-courtois.umontreal.ca/en/summer-in...
institut-courtois.umontreal.ca
Institut Courtois Summer Junior Internship - Institut Courtois
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Arte es Ética @arteesetica.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
DuckDuckGo is asking «Where do you stand on AI?» Now take a look at these answers and the amount of votes 😎 Keep saying that WE DON´T WANT AI ! ✊🔥 Vote here: voteyesornoai.com
https://voteyesornoai.com/vote/results

https://voteyesornoai.com/
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Genius!
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Center for Climate Integrity @climateintegrity.org · 05/01/2026
Big Oil has a long history of interference in Latin America. Documents reveal that "Exxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial," invest in "market-oriented public policies" and ensure "continued strong returns to Exxon’s investors.” 😑
theguardian.com
Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America, documents reveal
Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led climate treaty process
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The EU drops its plan to phase out combustion engine cars by 2035 because of lobbying by both the car industry and Germany and Italy. Not only do these measures always come too late, but also they are eventually dropped because of billionaires' influence. 😫 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
EU plans to water down ban on new petrol and diesel cars
Commission proposes cutting obligation for 100% zero emission vehicles beyond 2035 to 90% after pressure from industry and some EU states
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The EU drops its plan to phase out combustion engine cars by 2035 because of lobbying by both the car industry and Germany and Italy. Not only do these measures always come too late, but also they are eventually dropped because of billionaires' influence. 😫 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
EU plans to water down ban on new petrol and diesel cars
Commission proposes cutting obligation for 100% zero emission vehicles beyond 2035 to 90% after pressure from industry and some EU states
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Rocío Mercado Oropeza @rociomer.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
👉 Just 2 weeks left to apply to these positions in our team (AI Lab for Molecular Engineering) in Sweden. Come design polymers with us! To learn more about our team, please visit our group website: ailab.bio
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Y solo quiero que la ola que surge del último suspiro de un segundo me transporte mecido hasta el siguiente
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Rocío Mercado Oropeza @rociomer.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Happy to have contributed to and now finally share LeMat-GenBench, a new open benchmark + leaderboard for generative crystalline materials models! ⚛️✨ It provides standardised metrics for validity, stability, & much more. Already includes results for 12 models! 🔗 Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2512.04562 1/4
arxiv.org
LeMat-GenBench: A Unified Evaluation Framework for Crystal Generative Models
Generative machine learning (ML) models hold great promise for accelerating materials discovery through the inverse design of inorganic crystals, enabling an unprecedented exploration of chemical spac...
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Since @neuripsconf.bsky.social and co. keep organising conferences in states that don't let most of our students in and many try to reduce air travel, at @mila-quebec.bsky.social we keep organising alternative events for those who stay home. This was a session inspired by Growing up in Science!
A room at Mila filled with students attending a panel discussion with three professors, inspired by Growing up in Science.
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Ezekiel Williams @ezekielwilliams.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
1/4 Psyched to have our paper, 'Irresponsible AI: big tech's influence on AI research and associated impacts', at the Algorithmic Collective Action NeurIPS workshop today! This was a collaboration with @alexhergar.bsky.social, Alexandra Volokhova, and @dounia-kabakibo.bsky.social. Details below...
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Dounia Kabakibo @dounia-kabakibo.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Thrilled to have contributed to "Irresponsible AI: big tech’s influence on AI research and associated impacts." My first project outside physics— learned a lot! Check out our paper on ArXiv or Ezekiel’s post for an overview and visit our poster today at 11:15 am PT if you’re at NeurIPS in San Diego!
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Not that I love it, but I've already switched to using semantic scholar more than google.
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ELLIS @ellis.eu · 25/11/2025
🏹 Job alert: Principal Investigators in artificial intelligence and machine learning at @ellisinstitute.fi 📍 Helsinki 🇫🇮 📅 Apply by Jan 12th 🔗 www.ellisinstitute.fi/PI-recruit-20…
ellisinstitute.fi
Principal Investigator positions at ELLIS Institute Finland | ELLIS Institute Finland
Call for new PIs in artificial intelligence and machine learning
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Ruha Benjamin @ruha9.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
I need everyone, esp anyone working in education or tech (but really everyone) to WATCH THIS CLIP of @drtanksley.bsky.social discussing the technologies infiltrating our schools & psyches and how she is addressing it with our young people. youtu.be/5mtcSL4S3HQ
youtu.be
Howard University AI Panel
YouTube video by Tiera Tanksley
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I'd like to hire one or two graduate students for the autumn 2026 term. I'm particularly eager to find students interested in working on active learning / Bayesian optimisation with generative models for scientific discovery applications. If that resonates with you: mila.quebec/en/prospecti...
mila.quebec
Supervision Requests | Mila
Each student at Mila is supervised by one of our affiliated professors. Applicants are selected through the supervision request process.
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
AI4Good Lab is a seven-week program that equips women and gender-diverse individuals with the skills necessary to develop their own machine learning projects. Applications open now!
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Do you still find generative flow networks (GFlowNets) a mysterious, weird kind of method? Check out this interactive article about GFlowNets from collaborators at Johannes Kepler University Linz! gfn-playground.caleydoapp.org
gfn-playground.caleydoapp.org
Svelte app
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Reposted by Alex Hernandez-Garcia
Richard Benton @bentonlab.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
I'm looking to recruit a post-doc to help push forward our growing interests in insect ecotoxicology. Apply here by Nov 30th! (thanks for reposting) career5.successfactors.eu/sfcareer/job...
career5.successfactors.eu
Career Opportunities: Posdoctoral researcher in toxin susceptibility and evolution of resistance in insects (22517)
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Would you like to join Mila @mila-quebec.bsky.social as a MSc or PhD student? Application from now until Dec 1 for Fall 2026 admission! Mila is a vibrant institute for deep learning research and its applications. I am looking for students interested in active learning for scientific discoveries.
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Iris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
“If you share your knowledge outside the scientific community, then you’re already exerting societal influence, according to Judi Mesman. This isn’t problematic for the prestige of science: ‘Pretending to be neutral doesn’t make sense to me.’” www.nwo.nl/en/there-is-...
nwo.nl
‘There is no clear boundary between science and activism’ | NWO
If you share your knowledge outside the scientific community, then you’re already exerting societal influence, according to Judi Mesman. This isn’t problematic for the prestige of science: ‘Pretending to be neutral doesn’t make sense to me.’
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Very well matched couple of posts on my feed. Links to them: - bsky.app/profile/iris... - bsky.app/profile/jane...
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Free translation: Carbon offset are unsurprisingly useless due to capitalism Or: The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 03/10/2025
Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment
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Alex Hernandez-Garcia @alexhergar.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Montreal gems
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 02/10/2025
My favourite Jane Goodall quotes....so many, so to the point, so wise. How different the world would be if enough people listened to her.
"People think hope is wishful thinking, and actually hope is about action." Quote from the Wiser Than Me podcast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus."Only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in  harmony can we achieve our true potential." Graphic by the Jane Goodall Institute of South Africa."You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." Graphic by Ariana Huffington on Instagram.
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