Natasha Saunders
@negsaunders.bsky.social
Lecturer in IR and Political Theory at University of St Andrews. Interested in: Migration | Rights | Borders | Digital Tech | Activism
When not working, I’m travelling, eating nice food, and being a mum to Chocolate Labrador Bonnie.
When not working, I’m travelling, eating nice food, and being a mum to Chocolate Labrador Bonnie.
Today I paid off my student loan. It only took 17 years…
a woman is sitting at a table drinking a beer and smiling while another woman looks on .
ALT: a woman is sitting at a table drinking a beer and smiling while another woman looks on .
media.tenor.com
January 5, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Today I paid off my student loan. It only took 17 years…
I don’t know how anyone is supposed to manage Chelsea as a football team when the owners are running the squad like an investment portfolio. #Maresca #ChelseaFC
January 1, 2026 at 11:38 PM
I don’t know how anyone is supposed to manage Chelsea as a football team when the owners are running the squad like an investment portfolio. #Maresca #ChelseaFC
Umm, he knows that Sauron is defeated in the story, right? The ‘security measures’ in Mordor really aren’t that impressive and even Sauron in his all-seeing eye form can’t sense the ring when it’s literally in his freaking backyard.
JFC I’ve had it with tech bros.
JFC I’ve had it with tech bros.
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for "super premium" customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos | TechCrunch
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Umm, he knows that Sauron is defeated in the story, right? The ‘security measures’ in Mordor really aren’t that impressive and even Sauron in his all-seeing eye form can’t sense the ring when it’s literally in his freaking backyard.
JFC I’ve had it with tech bros.
JFC I’ve had it with tech bros.
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.
December 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
If I hear one more person refer to Gen Z or Gen Alpha as digital natives when the students do not know:
1. How to use built-in Word functions like outlining and spellchecker
2. The different types of basic files
3. Interoperability
4. The issues related to uploading
#EduSky #AcademicSky
1. How to use built-in Word functions like outlining and spellchecker
2. The different types of basic files
3. Interoperability
4. The issues related to uploading
#EduSky #AcademicSky
the angry bird from inside out is sitting on a chair with his mouth open .
ALT: the angry bird from inside out is sitting on a chair with his mouth open .
media.tenor.com
December 21, 2025 at 8:01 PM
If I hear one more person refer to Gen Z or Gen Alpha as digital natives when the students do not know:
1. How to use built-in Word functions like outlining and spellchecker
2. The different types of basic files
3. Interoperability
4. The issues related to uploading
#EduSky #AcademicSky
1. How to use built-in Word functions like outlining and spellchecker
2. The different types of basic files
3. Interoperability
4. The issues related to uploading
#EduSky #AcademicSky
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
the whole point of having an academic industry that is supposed to pay professional wages & provide job security is so that we have the time to do this: produce knowledge.
No accident AI is getting shoved down our throats just as the US tries to kill off what little remains of this system
No accident AI is getting shoved down our throats just as the US tries to kill off what little remains of this system
December 22, 2025 at 2:23 AM
the whole point of having an academic industry that is supposed to pay professional wages & provide job security is so that we have the time to do this: produce knowledge.
No accident AI is getting shoved down our throats just as the US tries to kill off what little remains of this system
No accident AI is getting shoved down our throats just as the US tries to kill off what little remains of this system
What an utterly bizarre thing to say/think
I would struggle to trust an academic who doesn‘t know how to
use AI tools.
Which is not the same as not being critical.
use AI tools.
Which is not the same as not being critical.
December 21, 2025 at 6:39 AM
What an utterly bizarre thing to say/think
This won’t happen if you just read what you cite and cite what you read. This is just so fucking basic I can’t believe it needs to be stated.
Anyone using an LLM for their ‘research’ should just quit. Plenty of qualified people out there without jobs who take basic integrity seriously
Anyone using an LLM for their ‘research’ should just quit. Plenty of qualified people out there without jobs who take basic integrity seriously
December 20, 2025 at 9:59 PM
This won’t happen if you just read what you cite and cite what you read. This is just so fucking basic I can’t believe it needs to be stated.
Anyone using an LLM for their ‘research’ should just quit. Plenty of qualified people out there without jobs who take basic integrity seriously
Anyone using an LLM for their ‘research’ should just quit. Plenty of qualified people out there without jobs who take basic integrity seriously
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
References to fake papers should get people dis-barred (need a term here) automatically from ever submitting to peer-reviewed journals.
That's a pretty low bar if you're actually reading papers and have done due diligence in checking that the publication exists.
#academicsky
That's a pretty low bar if you're actually reading papers and have done due diligence in checking that the publication exists.
#academicsky
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
References to fake papers should get people dis-barred (need a term here) automatically from ever submitting to peer-reviewed journals.
That's a pretty low bar if you're actually reading papers and have done due diligence in checking that the publication exists.
#academicsky
That's a pretty low bar if you're actually reading papers and have done due diligence in checking that the publication exists.
#academicsky
Yet another reason we tell our students again and again and again to only cite what they themselves have read! Lots of them listen but it feels like more and more don’t. I am so sick of seeing citations in papers that are simply lifted out of other sources.
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Yet another reason we tell our students again and again and again to only cite what they themselves have read! Lots of them listen but it feels like more and more don’t. I am so sick of seeing citations in papers that are simply lifted out of other sources.
Christ! Saying that outputs will be “accurate” does not accurate outputs make…
This shit is only fast if you don’t care about accuracy!!!!
I feel like I’m constantly being gaslighted by this utter crap.
This shit is only fast if you don’t care about accuracy!!!!
I feel like I’m constantly being gaslighted by this utter crap.
Bringing the disruption to Brussels: The European Commission encourages its managers to draft policy-making documents with AI, including "explaining/summarising legislative initiatives". According to a newly released Commission document, this will "boost your team's productivity". 🫢
December 15, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Christ! Saying that outputs will be “accurate” does not accurate outputs make…
This shit is only fast if you don’t care about accuracy!!!!
I feel like I’m constantly being gaslighted by this utter crap.
This shit is only fast if you don’t care about accuracy!!!!
I feel like I’m constantly being gaslighted by this utter crap.
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
I believe that, in no uncertain terms, A.I. as we know it today is a technology designed explicitly to destroy consensus reality, undermine human labor, and estrange its users from other human beings and ultimately themselves.
I do not use it and will not accept its supposed "inevitability."
I do not use it and will not accept its supposed "inevitability."
December 14, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I believe that, in no uncertain terms, A.I. as we know it today is a technology designed explicitly to destroy consensus reality, undermine human labor, and estrange its users from other human beings and ultimately themselves.
I do not use it and will not accept its supposed "inevitability."
I do not use it and will not accept its supposed "inevitability."
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom
December 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
A 123% increase in tribunal receipts, predominately driven by asylum appeals, majority successful, caused by poor initial decision making.
This is what happens when you focus on denials over processing applications properly. It doesn't cut the "backlog", just shifts it.
www.gov.uk/government/s...
This is what happens when you focus on denials over processing applications properly. It doesn't cut the "backlog", just shifts it.
www.gov.uk/government/s...
Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2025
www.gov.uk
December 11, 2025 at 4:02 PM
A 123% increase in tribunal receipts, predominately driven by asylum appeals, majority successful, caused by poor initial decision making.
This is what happens when you focus on denials over processing applications properly. It doesn't cut the "backlog", just shifts it.
www.gov.uk/government/s...
This is what happens when you focus on denials over processing applications properly. It doesn't cut the "backlog", just shifts it.
www.gov.uk/government/s...
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
Huh, I guess Labour doesn’t have a profound belief in the ‘fundamental freedoms which are the foundation of justice and peace in the world’ & isn’t much interested in collective enforcement of the UDHR after all. Bit of a shame really. So sick of this. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Starmer is lobbying Europe to join him in watering down the ECHR. This illiberalism will harm us all | Steve Valdez-Symonds
The prime minister and his counterpart in Denmark want a concerted effort to weaken human rights across Europe. This isn’t pragmatism – it’s cruelty, says Steve Valdez-Symonds, refugee and migrant rig...
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Huh, I guess Labour doesn’t have a profound belief in the ‘fundamental freedoms which are the foundation of justice and peace in the world’ & isn’t much interested in collective enforcement of the UDHR after all. Bit of a shame really. So sick of this. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My marking this semester has taken me roughly twice as long as it did before because I have to spend extra time checking that sources my students are using are even real. Obviously I don’t have to check every single one, but the number I do check - and the number that aren’t real - has gone up.
“AI models not only point some users to false sources but also cause problems for researchers and librarians, who end up wasting their time looking for requested nonexistent records…”
AI Slop Is Spurring Record Requests for Imaginary Journals
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that artificial intelligence models are making up research papers, journals and archives
www.scientificamerican.com
December 9, 2025 at 7:53 AM
My marking this semester has taken me roughly twice as long as it did before because I have to spend extra time checking that sources my students are using are even real. Obviously I don’t have to check every single one, but the number I do check - and the number that aren’t real - has gone up.
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
Hey everyone, here's the news, if you aren't a high earner, entrepreneur or a "skilled frontline worker" (whatever the fuck that means) the "Labour" Party says you aren't contributing, you're a taker!
December 7, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Hey everyone, here's the news, if you aren't a high earner, entrepreneur or a "skilled frontline worker" (whatever the fuck that means) the "Labour" Party says you aren't contributing, you're a taker!
Being a Chelsea fan is so immensely frustrating. The inconsistency is infuriating. We outplayed Arsenal at the weekend and wiped the floor with Barca in the Champions League last week, but we’ve been utterly woeful against Leeds tonight. What is going on!! #ChelseaFC
December 3, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Being a Chelsea fan is so immensely frustrating. The inconsistency is infuriating. We outplayed Arsenal at the weekend and wiped the floor with Barca in the Champions League last week, but we’ve been utterly woeful against Leeds tonight. What is going on!! #ChelseaFC
A Christmas Bonnie 🐾🎄❤️
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
A Christmas Bonnie 🐾🎄❤️
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
like big tobacco funding cancer research
December 1, 2025 at 11:42 PM
like big tobacco funding cancer research
If Norris had been in P1 when the Safety Car was called and Piastri in P3 there is no doubt that McLaren would have double stacked them and pitted when everyone else did. #QatarGP
December 1, 2025 at 7:26 AM
If Norris had been in P1 when the Safety Car was called and Piastri in P3 there is no doubt that McLaren would have double stacked them and pitted when everyone else did. #QatarGP
The UK Home Office know that there is no evidence to substantiate their claims that ever harsher border control policies will reduce asylum seeking or stop irregular arrivals. They commissioned a review of existing evidence under the last government hoping it would provide a solid evidence base for
November 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The UK Home Office know that there is no evidence to substantiate their claims that ever harsher border control policies will reduce asylum seeking or stop irregular arrivals. They commissioned a review of existing evidence under the last government hoping it would provide a solid evidence base for
There always seems to be money for cruelty, doesn’t there…
Labour's anti-asylum policies are already fundamentally inhumane and discriminatory. Applying them retrospectively is pure cruelty though. It serves absolutely no purpose. Meanwhile it will increase the costs and bureaucracy of an already dysfunctional Home Office.
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 9:47 PM
There always seems to be money for cruelty, doesn’t there…
Reposted by Natasha Saunders
Actual analysis of the BBC’s coverage of Gaza is devastating for Prescott and the right wing attacks on the BBC. Ratio of Israeli-Palestinian deaths: 1 /34. Ratio of coverage of those deaths: 19 / 1.
cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-...
cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-...
BBC On Gaza-Israel: One Story, Double Standards - Centre For Media Monitoring
cfmm.org.uk
November 23, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Actual analysis of the BBC’s coverage of Gaza is devastating for Prescott and the right wing attacks on the BBC. Ratio of Israeli-Palestinian deaths: 1 /34. Ratio of coverage of those deaths: 19 / 1.
cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-...
cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-...