James Fern
@jamesfern.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer; SFHEA; Academic GenAI lead; #Sport #Exercise #Science #rstats #openscience #bayes #MUFC
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1102
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1102
Pinned
James Fern
@jamesfern.bsky.social
· Nov 17
A More-than-Human Ecology: Evolving Generative Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education
The significant improvements in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) observed in recent years present higher education with both an opportunity and a significant challenge. Its successful integr...
www.mdpi.com
Seem to have picked up a bunch of new followers in the last couple of days. Hello! 👋
If you’re interested in GenAI and its potential role/impact in HE would love to hear your thoughts on this www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14.... 🤖📚
If you’re interested in GenAI and its potential role/impact in HE would love to hear your thoughts on this www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14.... 🤖📚
Reposted by James Fern
On Trump, Epstein, and their social circle of pedophiles. From HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT, written in 2019, before Epstein was indicted.
"The story of Jeffrey Epstein is one that will define our era..."
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
"The story of Jeffrey Epstein is one that will define our era..."
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
February 2, 2026 at 9:05 PM
On Trump, Epstein, and their social circle of pedophiles. From HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT, written in 2019, before Epstein was indicted.
"The story of Jeffrey Epstein is one that will define our era..."
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
"The story of Jeffrey Epstein is one that will define our era..."
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
Reposted by James Fern
"Scientific literacy has long been a cornerstone of higher education but the open research movement has redefined what it means to be literate as a researcher" with @flavioazevedo.bsky.social & @drcpennington.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-p...
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-p...
If progress is not to falter, students must be trained in open research, say Madeleine Pownall, Charlotte Pennington and Flavio Azevedo
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-progress-not-falter-students-must-be-trained-open-research
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-progress-not-falter-students-must-be-trained-open-research
February 12, 2026 at 8:43 AM
"Scientific literacy has long been a cornerstone of higher education but the open research movement has redefined what it means to be literate as a researcher" with @flavioazevedo.bsky.social & @drcpennington.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-p...
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/if-p...
“A striking feature of recent reporting is how much attention is given to preventing and detecting cheating with AI detectors, bans on AI use and invigilated exams, presented as the “only way” forward. Detection is not assurance, and it never was.”
www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-c...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-c...
The real crisis isn’t cheating. It’s mistaking marks for learning.
With Brian Stout In recent days, the Australian has painted a stark picture of higher education under siege: empty lecture theatres, students “outsourcing” degrees to generative AI, and universities c...
www.linkedin.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:32 PM
“A striking feature of recent reporting is how much attention is given to preventing and detecting cheating with AI detectors, bans on AI use and invigilated exams, presented as the “only way” forward. Detection is not assurance, and it never was.”
www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-c...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-c...
Reposted by James Fern
good article
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It
One of the promises of AI is that it can reduce workloads so employees can focus more on higher-value and more engaging tasks. But according to new research, AI tools don’t reduce work, they consisten...
hbr.org
February 9, 2026 at 10:31 PM
good article
Working on a lecture, whilst being watched…
February 6, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Working on a lecture, whilst being watched…
Excellent piece on smart glasses and education - hard not to feel that the sector is far from ready in responding to the widespread adoption of such tech nationalcentreforai.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2026/01/2...
Smart Glasses in Education - Artificial intelligence
Why look at smart glasses now? Smart glasses have been commercially available in some form for over a decade. More recently, they have returned to popular conversation, driven largely by Meta and its ...
nationalcentreforai.jiscinvolve.org
February 3, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Excellent piece on smart glasses and education - hard not to feel that the sector is far from ready in responding to the widespread adoption of such tech nationalcentreforai.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2026/01/2...
Reposted by James Fern
February 1, 2026 at 1:19 PM
2nd trip to OT for the nephews ❤️
February 1, 2026 at 1:21 PM
2nd trip to OT for the nephews ❤️
Reposted by James Fern
“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.”
Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life.
Common sense.
Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.
Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life.
Common sense.
Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.
Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.
Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:16 AM
“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.”
Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life.
Common sense.
Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.
Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life.
Common sense.
Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.
Am generally supportive of a ban (am not sure we need to 'wait for evidence', and a year seems arbitrary), but only if it comes with much stricter regulation for everyone, given its negative effects don't harm just children.
Don't really have a dog in the ban-social-media-for-under-16s fight, but seems utterly irrational to demand it now. A country which is comparable to Britain has just done so. Surely, if you were remotely committed to evidence, you would take a year to see how it goes before proposing we copy them.
January 20, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Am generally supportive of a ban (am not sure we need to 'wait for evidence', and a year seems arbitrary), but only if it comes with much stricter regulation for everyone, given its negative effects don't harm just children.
Reposted by James Fern
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:06 PM
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
Reposted by James Fern
I am actually very optimistic about the long-run outcome of genAI for the humanities but the reaction *from* humanities specialists is going to delay the benefits to their fields.
It's really good when ppl suddenly have a bunch of tools they interact with via effective use of *natural language*.
It's really good when ppl suddenly have a bunch of tools they interact with via effective use of *natural language*.
One thing that is very interesting in the topic of writing in particular, is that even if you accept the premise that AI is an incredibly powerful and useful tool, the *way you communicate with that tool* is by writing.
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
Even though I absolutely hate reading AI writing, I am getting negatively polarized by the stunning incuriosity of so much of the professoriate about the objectively strangest technology in the last hundred years
January 18, 2026 at 12:50 AM
I am actually very optimistic about the long-run outcome of genAI for the humanities but the reaction *from* humanities specialists is going to delay the benefits to their fields.
It's really good when ppl suddenly have a bunch of tools they interact with via effective use of *natural language*.
It's really good when ppl suddenly have a bunch of tools they interact with via effective use of *natural language*.
Reposted by James Fern
Even though I absolutely hate reading AI writing, I am getting negatively polarized by the stunning incuriosity of so much of the professoriate about the objectively strangest technology in the last hundred years
January 18, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Even though I absolutely hate reading AI writing, I am getting negatively polarized by the stunning incuriosity of so much of the professoriate about the objectively strangest technology in the last hundred years
Reposted by James Fern
One thing that is very interesting in the topic of writing in particular, is that even if you accept the premise that AI is an incredibly powerful and useful tool, the *way you communicate with that tool* is by writing.
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
Even though I absolutely hate reading AI writing, I am getting negatively polarized by the stunning incuriosity of so much of the professoriate about the objectively strangest technology in the last hundred years
Yes in thunder. My syllabus statement:
January 18, 2026 at 12:48 AM
One thing that is very interesting in the topic of writing in particular, is that even if you accept the premise that AI is an incredibly powerful and useful tool, the *way you communicate with that tool* is by writing.
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
The technology of AI makes written communication skills more valuable, not less
This is a really great read.
Are we now in a period of “reverse” reverse adaptation, as per Langdon Winner? At least as it pertains to LLMs and writing?
Are we now in a period of “reverse” reverse adaptation, as per Langdon Winner? At least as it pertains to LLMs and writing?
I do worry about the rush to claim certain things are definitely AI, which people think they can tell with certainty (they absolutely cannot) will lead to bad outcomes as well. A while back I wrote about the hoops my kid went through to try to avoid sounding like AI, which made the writing worse.
January 18, 2026 at 2:00 AM
This is a really great read.
Are we now in a period of “reverse” reverse adaptation, as per Langdon Winner? At least as it pertains to LLMs and writing?
Are we now in a period of “reverse” reverse adaptation, as per Langdon Winner? At least as it pertains to LLMs and writing?
Reposted by James Fern
YES! We shouldn't have norms for voices.
January 18, 2026 at 1:23 AM
YES! We shouldn't have norms for voices.
Reposted by James Fern
I do worry about the rush to claim certain things are definitely AI, which people think they can tell with certainty (they absolutely cannot) will lead to bad outcomes as well. A while back I wrote about the hoops my kid went through to try to avoid sounding like AI, which made the writing worse.
January 18, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I do worry about the rush to claim certain things are definitely AI, which people think they can tell with certainty (they absolutely cannot) will lead to bad outcomes as well. A while back I wrote about the hoops my kid went through to try to avoid sounding like AI, which made the writing worse.
Reposted by James Fern
Tracking the details of an experiment in successively cited Methods sections
January 17, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Tracking the details of an experiment in successively cited Methods sections
Reposted by James Fern
It's good to see that the FDA has done something right, even under Makary. It's more than has happened in most journals. They remain wedded to p values because they are the easiest way to get "statistical significance". Robert Matthews may have been a bit too critical, but there is truth in this:
January 13, 2026 at 5:51 PM
It's good to see that the FDA has done something right, even under Makary. It's more than has happened in most journals. They remain wedded to p values because they are the easiest way to get "statistical significance". Robert Matthews may have been a bit too critical, but there is truth in this:
Cannot recommend @birchlse.bsky.social book 'The Edge of Sentience' highly enough, one of the best things I read last year.
I've been working for ages on a comprehensive revamp of the Stanford Encyclopedia Entry on "Animal Consciousness", with new sections on non-Western perspectives, methodological challenges and evolutionary big pictures, and it's out today: plato.stanford.edu/entries/cons.... Hope you find it useful!
January 13, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Cannot recommend @birchlse.bsky.social book 'The Edge of Sentience' highly enough, one of the best things I read last year.
Sesko is actually explaining to Bruno that it would be helpful if he could try to pass the ball to within at least a 5m circle around him.
Again, Benjamin wants to learn! He’s going straight to the 🔝 #MUFC
January 12, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Sesko is actually explaining to Bruno that it would be helpful if he could try to pass the ball to within at least a 5m circle around him.
Reposted by James Fern
Happy academic "just circling back on that email from November 22nd" day to all who celebrate 😅
January 12, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Happy academic "just circling back on that email from November 22nd" day to all who celebrate 😅
Carrick's selection for his first game in charge in 2021...
a 2-0 win over Villarreal. How many of the current squad get into this 11...not sure it's many.
a 2-0 win over Villarreal. How many of the current squad get into this 11...not sure it's many.
January 12, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Carrick's selection for his first game in charge in 2021...
a 2-0 win over Villarreal. How many of the current squad get into this 11...not sure it's many.
a 2-0 win over Villarreal. How many of the current squad get into this 11...not sure it's many.
Reposted by James Fern
Just block the whole toxic site
Malaysia and Indonesia become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.
Malaysia, Indonesia become first to block Musk’s Grok over AI deepfakes
Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok due to its misuse in generating explicit images.
bit.ly
January 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Just block the whole toxic site
Don’t get my hopes up! He dropped Bruno for his first game last time 😬😍
🔴📰 • Michael Carrick has emerged from the interview process as the favourite ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjær to be Manchester United’s interim manager for the rest of the season, with the club’s executive expected to seal the decision tomorrow. [@JamieJackson___] #MUFC
January 11, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Don’t get my hopes up! He dropped Bruno for his first game last time 😬😍