Arfon Smith
arfon.bsky.social
Arfon Smith
@arfon.bsky.social
Senior Fellow, Schmidt Sciences
Exciting to be a part of the team introducing this to the world yesterday. Lots of work ahead of us, but a great team behind this plan.

Also, we're hiring! www.schmidtsciences.org/careers/
January 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
We've shipped a major update to the JOSS submission scope requirements, affecting what is eligible for submission and what information we require from authors.

You can read more about the changes and our motivations here: blog.joss.theoj.org/2026/01/prep... #joss #opensource #openscience
Preparing JOSS for a generative AI future: From code to human creativity and design | Journal of Open Source Software Blog
Blog for the Journal of Open Source Software • <a href='https://joss.theoj.org'>https://joss.theoj.org</a>
blog.joss.theoj.org
January 5, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Looking forward to catching up with old friends and colleagues at #AAS247 – it has been a while!

I'll be speaking in this session: "The Schmidt Observatory System – More Astrophysics for More People" on Wednesday at 3pm in 227A.
January 3, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
📣 New for #RSECon26! We’re launching a Research Software submission route! 🎉
Have software ready for publication? Submit to @joss-openjournals.bsky.social as part of RSECon26. Accepted or pre-reviewed papers get JOSS+RSECon26 branding and a 15-min talk. More info: tinyurl.com/rsecon26joss
Research Software Submissions
Research Software Papers @RSECon26 1-Rationale As part of the RSECon26 conference vision, we are launching the RSECon26 research software submissions. The goal of this new submission is to encourage…
tinyurl.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Love astronomy + large-scale scientific data systems?

Schmidt Sciences is hiring an Astrophysics Institute Program Scientist [Data & Software Systems] to help shape data pipelines and archives for new observatories:
jobs.lever.co/schmidt-enti... #astronomy #astrophysics #spacescience #openscience
jobs - Astrophysics Institute Program Scientist [Data & Software Systems]
Summary The Astrophysics Institute at Schmidt Sciences seeks a Data Management & Software Systems expert to guide the design and implementation of next-generation data management systems for astronomy...
jobs.lever.co
December 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
"One of the challenges of Generative AIs is they amplify existing behaviours, and that is both good and bad." @arfon.bsky.social

Watch Technomoral Conversations: How will AI change science? ▶️ edin.ac/3VSUXUt

@edfuturesinstitute.bsky.social @shannonvallor.bsky.social
Technomoral Conversations: How Will AI Change Science? — Centre for Technomoral Futures
During this Technomoral Conversation, we will hear from Dr Emily Sullivan, Dr Eran Tal, Dr Arfon Smith, and Professor Anna Scaife on the impact of data driven machine learning and AI on science and kn...
edin.ac
November 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
Great to see the big turnout for our annual Flagship Lecture yesterday - now we have our regular fireside chat series coming up 4 Nov on AI and Science, led by my amazing new colleague & co-Director Emily Sullivan, with @erantal.bsky.social @arfon.bsky.social and Anna Scaife! Registration link below
In our upcoming Technomoral Conversation we will discuss how AI has transformed science for better or worse, what it means for AI to be seen as a scientist & whether AI can truly fulfill its promise for science.

🗓️ Tues 4 Nov 18.00-19.30 GMT
📍 Edinburgh Futures Institute & online
🎟️ edin.ac/3VSUXUt
Technomoral Conversations: How Will AI Change Science? — Centre for Technomoral Futures
During this Technomoral Conversation, we will hear from Dr Emily Sullivan, Dr Eran Tal, Dr Arfon Smith, and Professor Anna Scaife on the impact of data driven machine learning and AI on science and kn...
edin.ac
October 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
Scientists in nearly every field are reaching for new powerful machine learning & AI methods to see if AI has been the missing piece to solve longstanding problems & make new discoveries. Not only has AI started to change how science is done, but also how science is taught, organized & credited.
October 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
🎉 ReSA welcomes @schmidtsciences.bsky.social as our newest Organisational Member! Schmidt Sciences aims to accelerate scientific knowledge and breakthroughs with the most promising, advanced tools. Read the full announcement: preview.mailerlite.io/preview/7781...
@arfon.bsky.social
ReSA News | July 2025
preview.mailerlite.io
July 23, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
✴️ REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS! ✴️ @navigation.org is seeking bold projects at the intersection of AI and Open Science. We support innovative applications that make science more transparent, efficient, and trustworthy. Deadline: July 15, 2025. os.nav.fund/ai-for-os/ #openscience #AIforScience
AI for Open Science - Request for Proposals
os.nav.fund
April 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Arfon Smith
🟥 We are happy to announce that the SSI has received £4.8m from @ukri.org to launch the Research Software Maintenance Fund.
Find out more about this exciting opportunity at www.software.ac.uk/news/ukri-aw...
March 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Cross-posting from LinkedIn as I'm going to try and be more present here going forward. tl;dr – I have a new job, at Schmidt Sciences: www.linkedin.com/posts/arfon_...
www.linkedin.com
February 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
"Building LLMs is probably not going be a brilliant business": calpaterson.com/porter.html – interesting commentary by Cal Paterson on what makes for a good business, and why building LLMs might not be a good plan...
Building LLMs is probably not going be a brilliant business
The Netscapes of AI
calpaterson.com
December 1, 2024 at 9:24 PM