iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 26/09/2026

Please sign if you can! OPEN LETTER: PAUSE THE NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF AI-MEDIATED TUTORING IN ENGLAND'S SCHOOLS > Children should not be exposed to a technology whose future, effectiveness, and safety we cannot predict, and for which the evidence is mostly negative.

docs.google.com

OPEN LETTER: PAUSE THE NATIONAL ROLLOUT OF AI-MEDIATED TUTORING IN ENGLAND'S SCHOOLS

OPEN LETTER To the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Prime Minister, and the Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP, Secretary of State for Education The Department for Education has announced plans to develop, what it calls, “...

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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.

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Nicola Spurr @nicolaspurr.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A bunch of fash are currently in a standoff protest with the #RNLI in Portsmouth, simply because they brought a boatload of people ashore today. The RNLI! I’ve just donated to the RNLI. You can too 👇 rnli.org/support-us/g... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

140 migrants in single dinghy rescued in English Channel

They were transferred onto two lifeboats and taken to shore in the UK.

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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The Haywain 2026

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walkhighlands @walkhighlands.co.uk · 12/08/2026

Walkers are being asked to unite to challenge attempts to close Glen Lyon hills this autumn. @ramblersscotland.bsky.social has today launched a petition to challenge a Perthshire estate’s controversial 2-month ban on accessing 4 popular Munros in Glen Lyon. www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/new-pet...

walkhighlands.co.uk

New petition to fight walking ban at 4 popular Munros

Walkers are being asked to unite to challenge attempts to close Glen Lyon hills this autumn. Ramblers Scotland has today launched a petition to challenge a Perthshire estate's controversial 2-month ba...

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Ramblers Scotland @ramblersscotland.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Remember when a Perthshire landowner blocked access to 4 Munros for 2 months last year? 🗻 Well, sadly he's at it again - and we really need your help. ✅ Sign our petition today at www.ramblers.org.uk/glenlyon @scotways.com @walkhighlands.co.uk @ramblers.org.uk

ramblers.org.uk

Campaigning for walkers’ access in Glen Lyon

Ramblers Scotland is campaigning for walkers’ right to enjoy 4 popular Munros in Glen Lyon, one of Scotland's most beautiful glens.

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Alex Harvey @alexharvv.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

It's a well worn stereotype that people from Yorkshire, including myself, can't stop going on about Yorkshire But today it's our day (or 'ARE DAY') - #YorkshireDay - so to celebrate, and in-keeping with all my recent mentions of my book LITTLE KINGDOMS, a short 🧵 on the territories' early origins..

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Yorkshire Bylines @yorkshirebylines.co.uk · 01/08/2026

Giving Yorkshire Day new meaning Yorkshire Day is about more than celebrating the county – it's a chance to renew the case for meaningful devolution By Colin Speakman

yorkshirebylines.co.uk

Giving Yorkshire Day new meaning

Yorkshire Day is about more than celebrating the county – it's a chance to renew the case for meaningful devolution

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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Happy Yorkshire Day to all those who celebrate! And commiserations to all those who arent fortunate enough to do so

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Clive Lewis MP @labourlewis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

1/4 A growing number of higher education institutions are using dirty tactics to undermine staff pension rights, pay and working conditions.

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John Wainwright @tjohnwainwright.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Microsoft is planning to build three massive AI data centres in Leeds. It’ll drain thousands of litres of water from the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Stop the Microsoft AI megasite in Leeds!

Microsoft wants to build three huge AI data centres at Skelton Grange. It would drain the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop it - add your name to the petition.

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World Archaeology @world--archaeology.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

We welcome papers that explore how archaeologists transform empirical data into visual representations that communicate interpretations about the human past. We invite submissions that examine the visualization of archaeological data and narratives. think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...

Late summer at Çatalhöyük, Türkiye. Illustration by Kathryn Killackey (www.killackeyillustration.com).

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Dr Joby Razzelliot @jobium.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Westminster MPs have until the end of the month to reject the proposed anti-trans guidance. If you haven’t written to your MP yet, here’s a good template for you to use. writetheletter.bimini.workers.dev

writetheletter.bimini.workers.dev

Write the Letter, Babes

EDM 240 / prayer motion is live. Your MP needs to sign it. Two taps via the coalition tool.

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QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Relieved to see more coverage of the grip Nous is getting on #UKHE. Thanks @privateeyenews.bsky.social! A million pound @cardiffucu.bsky.social alone. That’s a lot of money for the very same PowerPoint…

Scrap merchants. Australian management consultancy Nous, which promises to help universities define the pathway forward for budget model change, has been picking up plenty of lucrative work in the struggling UK higher education sector this year. Having been involved in controversial restructurings at Australian and Canadian universities, Eye 1659 notes last year that the company was one of several being paid thousands of pounds for management advice by de Montfort University (which has its own business school chock full of people who teach postgraduate-level management). Since thenNous is known to have advised the university of Edinburgh on academic efficiency opportunities, carried out a portfolio review at QMUL and been involved in the hunt for savings atpartsmoith, Plymouth, and Derby universities. Information released by Cardiff university, in response to a freedom of information request from UCU revealed the university has paid more than £1 million to Nous in the last couple of years much of it for transformationsupport

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Chance the Lawyer @chancethelawyer.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

because I know y’all can’t click and read

1. "Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing.
Speech is the secondary or overlaid function.
Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
2. Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface.
Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs."

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Led By Donkeys @ledbydonkeys.org · 17/05/2026

Immigration make Britain brilliant

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Bert’s Books @bertsbooks.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Your safe space is open until 4pm- Sally

Book shops are time machines, spaceships , story makers, secret keepers, dragon tamers, dream catchers, fact finders and safe places

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Postcard From The Past @pastpostcard.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Thank you for the fountain ball point pen.

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Chris Lloyd @cilloyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Hey Bluesky folks. If you’re in education or just follow for my thirst traps, would you please sign this if you can, and share far and wide? c.org/dCKk9vjqxY It’s much appreciated. My university is cancelling all UG humanities degrees. We need support and love right now x

c.org

Sign the Petition

Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire

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John Wainwright @tjohnwainwright.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Ministers are exploring triggering the break clause in Palantir's NHS contract. I've signed the open letter to Wes Streeting calling on him to get Palantir out of the NHS. www.foxglove.org.uk/campaigns/we...

foxglove.org.uk

Wes Streeting: Trigger the break clause and get Palantir out of the NHS - Foxglove

Wes Streeting: trigger the break clause and kick Palantir out of our NHS. ADD YOUR NAME NOW!

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Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

The House of Lords Digital & Communications Committee just published their report on AI, copyright & the creative industries, and their conclusions could not be clearer. 🧵 1/5

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 16/02/2026

Hollow ways are shallow linear depressions that stretch across Mesopotamia: traces of ancient route systems that facilitated trade and connections between settlements. Analysis of these networks shows how societies changed and adapted over time. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Six graphs, each representing a different period (from Early Bronze Age 1 to Iron Age 2) depicting settlements as dots and hollow ways between them as lines, displaying how network density and connectivity changed over time.

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Prof Rachel Oliver @profrachelgan.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Three weeks on. Still no response.

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Deborah Priß @deborahpriss.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Thanks for the great thread about our newest research @antiquity.ac.uk! Very proud of this third and last paper from my PhD thesis which emphasises how much we can learn by adapting interdisciplinary methods and framework for archaeological contexts. 🏺#Archaeology #Connectivity #Resilience

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 30/01/2026

NEW How did ancient cities adapt to changes and overcome crises? By applying resilience theory to Northern Mesopotamian urban centres, researchers empirically analyse how settlement networks and connectivity changed over time. A resilient #AntiquityThread 🧵 1/9 🏺 #Archaeology

Map of the study are in Northern Mesopotamia, with major sites pinpointed and blue lines representing ancient route systems between them.

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Andrew Cherry @kolektiv.xyncro.com · 28/01/2026

I think I might take one of these "under 20 minutes" AI skills courses the UK Govt. seems very keen on everyone doing and live-post it here... Maybe we can all learn something together! The press release sends me to aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/ - let's go and see!

aiskillshub.org.uk

AI Skills Boost - AI Skills Hub

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Deborah Priß @deborahpriss.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

New paper out 🥳 In "#Urban #resilience in Ancient #Mesopotamia: insights into the socioeconomic system of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley", we are mapping network metrics of urban dynamics onto #Holling's adaptive cycle. Full open-access paper here: doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

doi.org

Urban resilience in Ancient Mesopotamia: insights into the socioeconomic system of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

Urban resilience in Ancient Mesopotamia: insights into the socioeconomic system of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley

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Jake Wright @bcnjake.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I just updated my explainer for why I don't allow generative AI in my classrooms with a new section and an expanded section. New: Generative AI has a literal body count Expanded: Generative AI is dehumanizing CETERUM AUTEM CENSEO INTELLIGENTIA ARTIFICIALIS ESSE DELENDAM

Al is dehumanizing I've saved the most important part for last. GenAl is dehumanizing. By this, I mean that using genAl means saying that the people involved in what you're trying to do don't matter. I've already talked about part of this; building an entire commercial enterprise around comical levels of theft while racking up a body count is not a project that takes people's humanity seriously. It says that the people being harmed don't matter.

If I were to use genAl to grade your work, which is now a possibility with new Canvas integrations, I would be saying that your work is not worth taking seriously enough to read myself. It's saying that you don't matter enough to take seriously. A world where genAl grades genAl generated submissions from a genAl generated assignment is not a world where people and the work they do matters, and I refuse to live in that world.

The dehumanizing aspect of genAl is even worse when you consider the effects of genAl on you as a student. Using genAl as a substitute for doing the work yourself robs you of your voice. It prevents you from developing your own sense of who you are, what you believe, and how you express that in your own unique way and replaces it with statistically generated slop that is literally incapable of forming a novel thought. In a world that works to dehumanize us every day to say who we are and the relationships we form don't matter I don't want to add to that work. I don't want to do this because the relationships you form matter. Your voice matters.

Generative Al has a literal body count

In the short time genAl platforms have been available, they have repeatedly encouraged people to harm themselves or others. This includes murder and suicide. In one case, ChatGPT told a user who killed his mother before killing himself that his mother may have been a demon, that he "wasn't crazy" to think she tried to poison him using the air vents of his car, and said that it ChatGPT-would meet the man in the afterlife. In another case, ChatGPT encouraged a man to commit suicide in part by rewriting the text of Goodnight Moon to what one news report called "a nihilistic philosophy that romanticized suicide and encouraged him to let go of his life." There are cases where genAl has not only encouraged suicidal ideation but told users to hide these thoughts from loved ones.

These cases were not users who found some exploit or were pushing the edges of with new technology. They were normal people convinced by a computer program to do terrible things when using that program normally. These aren't the only cases. There have been enough deaths related to Al chatbots that there's a Wikipedia article. OpenAI's data suggests that hundreds of people in mental distress interact with ChatGPT weekly. This is not the behavior of a moral company.

In 1982, seven people died in Chicago when someone tampered with Extra-Strength Tylenol, lacing pills with cyanide. Johnson & Johnson responded by voluntarily recalling all Extra-Strength Tylenol in Chicago, offering refunds to anyone who had purchased it, ceasing advertising, and taking out national ads advising consumers to not use Tylenol. Compare that to what companies like OpenAl have done in response to murders and suicides encouraged by their products.

A platform that encourages murder and self-harm under normal conditions is not a platform I think belongs in my classroom. The fact that genAI companies aren't taking meaningful steps to address these outcomes only makes it worse.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

'“Embedded precarity” in higher education is diminishing research quality as staff on short-term contracts favour “safer” work to secure future employment, according to the author of a new report.' Royal Geographical Society maps important connections between precarity and research topics. 1/3

timeshighereducation.com

Use of fixed-term posts ‘stifling more critical research’

Scholars with short contracts seen as more likely to favour doing ‘safer’ work, with ‘serious ramifications’ for their disciplines

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Andrew B. Watkins @windjunky.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average. climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...

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Prof Rachel Oliver @profrachelgan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

Dear Sir Paul,

Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct

I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied.

A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial.

I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research.

I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists.

I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Rachel A. Oliver.

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 15/12/2025

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

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Dr Emma Shuttleworth @em-shuttleworth.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

@drlucyclarke.bsky.social kicking off the @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social Windsor Workshop for first year PGRs with the importance of having an online presence #PhDchat #AcademicSky #BSGWindsor2025 #BSGTNG

A blond haired woman stands in front of a lecture in front of a projector screen

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Laura Turnbull-Lloyd @ecogeo.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Another paper out from the I-CONN network. Well done Deborah

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Deborah Priß @deborahpriss.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

New paper out! 🥳 We use MCMC-MLE Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (MTERGMs) to assess which network patterns and social processes explain the formation of the ancient hollow ways. Read the full open access paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Archaeology #NetworkScience

sciencedirect.com

The social behind the physical - Assessing tie formation processes of ancient route systems

Analysing and understanding connectivity of human social networks of (ancient) societies offers new perspectives on their functioning. However, social…

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John Wainwright @tjohnwainwright.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Delighted that our paper led by Deborah Priß "The social behind the physical" on connectivity of Bronze and Iron Age societies is now out in Journal of Archaeological Science. It's available Open Access at authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

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John Wainwright @tjohnwainwright.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Anyone interested in a PhD project modelling resilience of dryland ecosystems in a changing climate, led by @ecogeo.bsky.social and with @blindmath.bsky.social, Denis Patterson and Roy Sanderson, please apply to our @iapetusdtp.bsky.social PhD position iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

A composite image of vegetation change at the Sevilleta LTER site in New Mexico USA, illustrating how grass landscapes on the left of the image are progressively invaded by shrubs, leading to a shrub-dominated landscape on the right. Image by John Wainwright

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Glenn Shepard @tweettropiques.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

University College London seeks candidates for a FUNDED Ph.D. in #geoarcheology and #archeobotany examining the antiquity of slash and burn agriculture in the northwest Amazon of Brazil Deadline 17 December! www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/how...

trees-dla.ac.uk

How old is slash-and-burn in Amazonia? | TREES DLA

Slash-and-burn is the dominant strategy for plant cultivation in rural Amazonia yet its antiquity in pre-Colonial times is unclear. Ascertaining both its antiquity and differences compared to modern s...

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chimart.bsky.social @chimart.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Tremendous tribute to Danny Thompson by Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music atm www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

Radio 6 Music - Listen Live - BBC Sounds

Listen live to Radio 6 Music on BBC Sounds

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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 07/10/2025

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day? Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

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RiscBal @riscbal.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

RiscBal welcomed @geogdurham.bsky.social students last week with two field trips: 1. Exploring the Flash-Flood Early Warning System in the Balearic Islands at Ca n’Amer River catchment. 2. Learning about ecogeomorphic modelling in Mediterranean catchments at Sa Font de la Vila River catchment.

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Jules Segrestin @jsegrestin.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

🌿 Excited to share FAIRTraits! A data set with 189,452 records of 180 quantitative #traits from 240 Mediterranean plant species, fully FAIR-compliant & openly available 📊🌐 🔗🔓 doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... Started back in 2013 when I was a MSc student, now a huge team effort 💪 @esajournals.bsky.social

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Dr. Verena Krebs @krebsverena.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Well, it's finally *really* out: habemus full citation — Krebs, V. (2025). ‘People and Things Have Always Been Mixed Up’: Notes on the So-Called Global Middle Ages. Journal of Medieval History, 51(4), 581–585. doi.org/10.1080/0304... 50 free downloads at: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RAEXD...

tandfonline.com

‘People and Things Have Always Been Mixed Up’: Notes on the So-Called Global Middle Ages

This essay takes the 1429 execution of a Persian merchant in Mamlūk Cairo, sent by a Christian king in the Horn of Africa to procure relics in Latin Europe, as a point of departure for reflecting o...

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