Prof. Pam Birtill
@diervilla.bsky.social
Professor in the Psychology of Learning at University of Leeds. Welsh learner, #psychology academic, higher education and assessment, #linoprint artist, #allotment holder, weaver, spinner and all round dabbler. Northern. She/her/hi. SFHEA. NTF.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
560 000 ChatGPT users are showing signs of psychosis or mania per week. About twice as many are showing signs of heightened emotional attachment.
www.bmj.com/content/391/...
openai.com/index/streng...
www.bmj.com/content/391/...
openai.com/index/streng...
ChatGPT: More than a million users show signs of mental health distress and mania each week, internal data suggest
Hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users exhibit signs of psychosis, mania, or suicidal intent every week, a company audit indicates.1
The finding, released as part of an update to the AI technology to...
www.bmj.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
560 000 ChatGPT users are showing signs of psychosis or mania per week. About twice as many are showing signs of heightened emotional attachment.
www.bmj.com/content/391/...
openai.com/index/streng...
www.bmj.com/content/391/...
openai.com/index/streng...
It’s quite nice here
November 1, 2025 at 7:14 AM
It’s quite nice here
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
I've written a couple of things over the last days about how the government and much of Westminster remaining on X as the platform becomes increasingly toxic is having consequences for our politics...
Our politics is increasingly normalised to racism – because politicians are addicted to X
The platform has quietly dragged British politics into a dark place
inews.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 7:38 PM
I've written a couple of things over the last days about how the government and much of Westminster remaining on X as the platform becomes increasingly toxic is having consequences for our politics...
Hello Christchurch (not Dorset)
October 28, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Hello Christchurch (not Dorset)
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
"Many scholars, including us, have highlighted the threat posed by techno-solutionism in education: Rather than expanding our intellectual horizons, these technologies undermine the very conditions that allow us to think for ourselves."
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
October 25, 2025 at 6:08 AM
"Many scholars, including us, have highlighted the threat posed by techno-solutionism in education: Rather than expanding our intellectual horizons, these technologies undermine the very conditions that allow us to think for ourselves."
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
1/n
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
I am hiring PhD candidates to study the psychology of attention & technology use at @tilburg-university.bsky.social.
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
October 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I am hiring PhD candidates to study the psychology of attention & technology use at @tilburg-university.bsky.social.
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
New paper published: Having free choice over what to learn improves memory, even in the presence of distraction.
Across two experiments, free choice selectively enhanced recognition for relevant, but not irrelevant items. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Across two experiments, free choice selectively enhanced recognition for relevant, but not irrelevant items. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The influence of free choice on recognition memory in the face of distraction
Recognition memory is typically better for items learned after a free choice (independent of study material) than after a forced choice. However, previous studies presented to-be-remembered items i...
www.tandfonline.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:06 AM
New paper published: Having free choice over what to learn improves memory, even in the presence of distraction.
Across two experiments, free choice selectively enhanced recognition for relevant, but not irrelevant items. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Across two experiments, free choice selectively enhanced recognition for relevant, but not irrelevant items. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
This is stark and dark. The FT! Not some reactionary start up paper.
this is a fearless, clear, alarming explainer by @edwardluce.bsky.social on how Trump is trampling over democratic norms in the USA
www.ft.com/content/1377...
www.ft.com/content/1377...
The Trump Supremacy
Opponents in disarray, allies in line, followers enthralled — the US president is already on his way to building a new world order
www.ft.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:28 AM
This is stark and dark. The FT! Not some reactionary start up paper.
Just an astonishing waste of time and effort applying for grants with these success rates.
Given that people is asking me for the numbers, here the table provided by UKRI:
October 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Just an astonishing waste of time and effort applying for grants with these success rates.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Seen a lot written about The Celeb Traitors and unconscious bias including this BBC Bitesize(!) piece. www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/art...
What can The Celebrity Traitors teach us about unconscious bias? - BBC Bitesize
www.bbc.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Seen a lot written about The Celeb Traitors and unconscious bias including this BBC Bitesize(!) piece. www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/art...
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Looking for a PhD? Interested in cognitive computational neuroscience, motivation and decision-making? See our project listed in the BBSRC MIBTP competition for funding for a 4-year PhD in the @msnlab.bsky.social in the @thechbh.bsky.social. Deadline 27/11. More info: tinyurl.com/5d5vz8m7
The computational and neural dynamics of human motivation and cognitive control at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - The computational and neural dynamics of human motivation and cognitive control at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Looking for a PhD? Interested in cognitive computational neuroscience, motivation and decision-making? See our project listed in the BBSRC MIBTP competition for funding for a 4-year PhD in the @msnlab.bsky.social in the @thechbh.bsky.social. Deadline 27/11. More info: tinyurl.com/5d5vz8m7
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Good set of questions to the minister on the Post 16 Education & Skills white paper. For example, Baroness Alexander on excess profits in franchising what will DfE do “to mitigate the profiteering with public money and tackle the inadequate teaching”?
hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-1...
hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-1...
October 23, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Good set of questions to the minister on the Post 16 Education & Skills white paper. For example, Baroness Alexander on excess profits in franchising what will DfE do “to mitigate the profiteering with public money and tackle the inadequate teaching”?
hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-1...
hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-1...
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.
October 23, 2025 at 2:20 AM
When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.
This is well worth a listen. Worrying!
SURVEILLANCE SECRETS: @lighthousereports.com uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries, including the US.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire.
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.
revealnews.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:33 AM
This is well worth a listen. Worrying!
Seems completely mad to me that anyone would think AI, especially LLMs would provide anything like valid data in this space. All investigating LLMs can tell
Is about is… LLMs.
Is about is… LLMs.
Can AI simulations of human research participants advance cognitive science? In @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, @lmesseri.bsky.social & I analyze this vision. We show how “AI Surrogates” entrench practices that limit the generalizability of cognitive science while aspiring to do the opposite. 1/
AI Surrogates and illusions of generalizability in cognitive science
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have generated enthusiasm for using AI simulations of human research participants to generate new know…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Seems completely mad to me that anyone would think AI, especially LLMs would provide anything like valid data in this space. All investigating LLMs can tell
Is about is… LLMs.
Is about is… LLMs.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Can AI simulations of human research participants advance cognitive science? In @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, @lmesseri.bsky.social & I analyze this vision. We show how “AI Surrogates” entrench practices that limit the generalizability of cognitive science while aspiring to do the opposite. 1/
AI Surrogates and illusions of generalizability in cognitive science
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have generated enthusiasm for using AI simulations of human research participants to generate new know…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Can AI simulations of human research participants advance cognitive science? In @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, @lmesseri.bsky.social & I analyze this vision. We show how “AI Surrogates” entrench practices that limit the generalizability of cognitive science while aspiring to do the opposite. 1/
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
An OpenAI executive said GPT-5 found solutions to 10 "previously unsolved" math problems when in reality all it did was find online references to places where people had already solved them
techcrunch.com/2025/10/19/o...
techcrunch.com/2025/10/19/o...
OpenAI’s ‘embarrassing’ math | TechCrunch
No, GPT-5 did not solve a bunch of previously unsolved math problems.
techcrunch.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
An OpenAI executive said GPT-5 found solutions to 10 "previously unsolved" math problems when in reality all it did was find online references to places where people had already solved them
techcrunch.com/2025/10/19/o...
techcrunch.com/2025/10/19/o...
Come and work with us! We have two grade 8 teaching and research lectureships in Psychology at University of Leeds. Its a great department, in a great University, in one of the best cities in the UK. jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... Closing date 9th November, get in touch if you have any questions!
Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Lecturer (Teaching and Research) in Psychology
Are you passionate about furthering your research career in a research-intensive Russell Group University? Are you committed to delivering a first class learning and teaching experience? The School is...
jobs.leeds.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Come and work with us! We have two grade 8 teaching and research lectureships in Psychology at University of Leeds. Its a great department, in a great University, in one of the best cities in the UK. jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... Closing date 9th November, get in touch if you have any questions!
Ran away to the hills.
October 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Ran away to the hills.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
It’s fascinating how in the 50s-70s it was almost taken for granted that you could condition the control and awareness of a wide range of visceral signals, from GSR to heart rate and gastric contraction. Numerous authors claimed evidence that this process was even amenable to conscious control.
October 17, 2025 at 7:31 AM
It’s fascinating how in the 50s-70s it was almost taken for granted that you could condition the control and awareness of a wide range of visceral signals, from GSR to heart rate and gastric contraction. Numerous authors claimed evidence that this process was even amenable to conscious control.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Just to be super clear, if you’re phoning in your peer review to ai you should quit your job so someone else who actually likes science can have it.
October 16, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Just to be super clear, if you’re phoning in your peer review to ai you should quit your job so someone else who actually likes science can have it.
Important question… will I be able to watch #CelebrityTraitors from New Zealand and Australia?!
October 16, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Important question… will I be able to watch #CelebrityTraitors from New Zealand and Australia?!
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Enough.
Awesome to see this billboard up in Vancouver.
Was really incredible to work with the people at @visionzerovancouver.ca to bring this to life.
Awesome to see this billboard up in Vancouver.
Was really incredible to work with the people at @visionzerovancouver.ca to bring this to life.
October 16, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Enough.
Awesome to see this billboard up in Vancouver.
Was really incredible to work with the people at @visionzerovancouver.ca to bring this to life.
Awesome to see this billboard up in Vancouver.
Was really incredible to work with the people at @visionzerovancouver.ca to bring this to life.
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Reposted by Prof. Pam Birtill
Trans people have been warning about these people for *years*
This is a huge story but massively under the radar in the UK.
A US Christian legal org called the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is working to roll back abortion rights here using the same playbook it used in the US: briefing politicians, watching, waiting.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...
A US Christian legal org called the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is working to roll back abortion rights here using the same playbook it used in the US: briefing politicians, watching, waiting.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...
They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain.
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Trans people have been warning about these people for *years*