Solal Pirelli
@solalpirelli.bsky.social
Automated software verification, scientific integrity, and random rants. Previously: PhD at EPFL.
Ireland's defense policy was created in a lab to make Switzerland look reasonable.
I kinda just like how Ireland just freeloads off of everyone while insisting it never does its share of anything cause its voters are allergic to both spending of any kind and especially defense spending.
November 12, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Ireland's defense policy was created in a lab to make Switzerland look reasonable.
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
I'd just like to point out that we spent an entire shipment of air defense interceptors' worth of money on new signs for a name change that isn't even legally the name of the DoD.
Ukraine is currently experiencing rolling blackouts from Russian strikes, btw.
Ukraine is currently experiencing rolling blackouts from Russian strikes, btw.
Letterheads and signage alone would quickly run the bill upward of $1 billion, with a full overhaul likely rising to double that amount.
Trump’s Insane Pentagon Name-Change Likely to Cost Taxpayers $2 Billion
Changing signage and stationary alone for the Department of Defense would cost at least a billion dollars.
trib.al
November 12, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I'd just like to point out that we spent an entire shipment of air defense interceptors' worth of money on new signs for a name change that isn't even legally the name of the DoD.
Ukraine is currently experiencing rolling blackouts from Russian strikes, btw.
Ukraine is currently experiencing rolling blackouts from Russian strikes, btw.
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
Leftists::data center water use = MAGA::birds killed by windmills
the basic trick here is that liters or gallons of water seem like a lot of water on a human scale but they are tiny piddling units on they scale of water as it actually matters systematically
I really don’t find these arguments persuasive. Take this, for example, from one of the sources: this is another way of saying ‘as much water as it takes for the beef that two people consume annually’. That’s a relatively trivial amount!
November 8, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Leftists::data center water use = MAGA::birds killed by windmills
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
Zürich Opera’s new “La forza del destino” is being advertised with the question: “What if war comes to Switzerland?” It’s a haunting image—until you see Anna Netrebko in the lead, once posing with a Z-ribbon and “To Berlin.” Europe’s opera houses call this bridge-building. But to where? To Kremlin.
Europe’s opera houses build bridges to Putin’s elite—with your tax money
From London to Zürich, Anna Netrebko’s return exposes how cultural institutions bankroll moral blindness.
euromaidanpress.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Zürich Opera’s new “La forza del destino” is being advertised with the question: “What if war comes to Switzerland?” It’s a haunting image—until you see Anna Netrebko in the lead, once posing with a Z-ribbon and “To Berlin.” Europe’s opera houses call this bridge-building. But to where? To Kremlin.
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
>looking for a new leftist movement
>ask the leftist co-leader if their movement is based or tankie
>she doesn't understand
>pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is based and what is tankie
>she laughs and says "It's Your Party, sir"
>join
>it's tankie
>ask the leftist co-leader if their movement is based or tankie
>she doesn't understand
>pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is based and what is tankie
>she laughs and says "It's Your Party, sir"
>join
>it's tankie
We take no joy criticising a young left-wing UK political figure who has often spoken up for workers' rights and progressive causes. But these barely coherent comments from Zarah Sultana on Ukraine sum up much of what is wrong with her wing of the left www.instagram.com/reel/DQT62ys...
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October 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
>looking for a new leftist movement
>ask the leftist co-leader if their movement is based or tankie
>she doesn't understand
>pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is based and what is tankie
>she laughs and says "It's Your Party, sir"
>join
>it's tankie
>ask the leftist co-leader if their movement is based or tankie
>she doesn't understand
>pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is based and what is tankie
>she laughs and says "It's Your Party, sir"
>join
>it's tankie
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
Another example of institutional investigations conducted in secret, without a public report, for 'privacy reasons'.
Investigation found UBC researcher fabricated data, gave spinal patients 'false hope.' The public was not told.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Investigation found UBC researcher fabricated data, gave spinal patients 'false hope.' The public was not told.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
False hope, fabricated data: No public notice after UBC uncovered serious misconduct in medical study | CBC News
A celebrated Vancouver researcher used fabricated data and hid evidence of infected wounds to falsely claim his patented skin treatment could heal years-old bed sores in a matter of weeks, according t...
www.cbc.ca
October 24, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Another example of institutional investigations conducted in secret, without a public report, for 'privacy reasons'.
Investigation found UBC researcher fabricated data, gave spinal patients 'false hope.' The public was not told.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Investigation found UBC researcher fabricated data, gave spinal patients 'false hope.' The public was not told.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
36 cites to the same author? Retracted.
59 of them? Not retracted!
4 self-cites? Retracted.
21 self-cites? Not retracted!
70 unused cites to the same author? Retracted.
77 of them? Not retracted!
Plagiarism? Cites authors didn't add? 113 cites to the TPC chair in a 0.5-page paper? Not retracted!
59 of them? Not retracted!
4 self-cites? Retracted.
21 self-cites? Not retracted!
70 unused cites to the same author? Retracted.
77 of them? Not retracted!
Plagiarism? Cites authors didn't add? 113 cites to the TPC chair in a 0.5-page paper? Not retracted!
Good news: ACM retracted some problematic papers.
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
Troubling ACM Venues | Solal Pirelli
solalpirelli.github.io
October 22, 2025 at 7:56 PM
36 cites to the same author? Retracted.
59 of them? Not retracted!
4 self-cites? Retracted.
21 self-cites? Not retracted!
70 unused cites to the same author? Retracted.
77 of them? Not retracted!
Plagiarism? Cites authors didn't add? 113 cites to the TPC chair in a 0.5-page paper? Not retracted!
59 of them? Not retracted!
4 self-cites? Retracted.
21 self-cites? Not retracted!
70 unused cites to the same author? Retracted.
77 of them? Not retracted!
Plagiarism? Cites authors didn't add? 113 cites to the TPC chair in a 0.5-page paper? Not retracted!
Good news: ACM retracted some problematic papers.
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
Troubling ACM Venues | Solal Pirelli
solalpirelli.github.io
October 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Good news: ACM retracted some problematic papers.
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
Bad news: Only some, without apparent logic, as you can tell by following the links of my old blog post.
Doesn't look like they understand the concept of trust in an organizing/reviewing committee.
solalpirelli.github.io/2023/01/25/t...
The kind of hard-hitting science you can find in @acm.org's International Conference Proceedings Series, a.k.a. the stuff that no established group is sponsoring.
doi.org/10.1145/3456...
doi.org/10.1145/3456...
October 18, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The kind of hard-hitting science you can find in @acm.org's International Conference Proceedings Series, a.k.a. the stuff that no established group is sponsoring.
doi.org/10.1145/3456...
doi.org/10.1145/3456...
Today in "how not to do comms": send an email to all authors whose title begins with "Immediate Action Needed" just to advertise they have 7 days to submit their abstract.
Not nice, @wcrifoundation.bsky.social .
Not nice, @wcrifoundation.bsky.social .
October 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Today in "how not to do comms": send an email to all authors whose title begins with "Immediate Action Needed" just to advertise they have 7 days to submit their abstract.
Not nice, @wcrifoundation.bsky.social .
Not nice, @wcrifoundation.bsky.social .
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
I invite @acm.org to review their articles with Tortured Phrases dbrech.irit.fr/pls/apex/f?p... (not the first time I'm doing so, here and on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/posts/guilla...)
October 2, 2025 at 9:33 AM
I invite @acm.org to review their articles with Tortured Phrases dbrech.irit.fr/pls/apex/f?p... (not the first time I'm doing so, here and on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/posts/guilla...)
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
In fact, ACM is hiding behind *its own policies* that *it decided by and for itself*.
Nobody is forcing ACM to refuse to comply with COPE recommendations, and publishers who do comply see better results in practice.
Nothing prevents ACM from updating its policies to match other publishers'.
Nobody is forcing ACM to refuse to comply with COPE recommendations, and publishers who do comply see better results in practice.
Nothing prevents ACM from updating its policies to match other publishers'.
September 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
In fact, ACM is hiding behind *its own policies* that *it decided by and for itself*.
Nobody is forcing ACM to refuse to comply with COPE recommendations, and publishers who do comply see better results in practice.
Nothing prevents ACM from updating its policies to match other publishers'.
Nobody is forcing ACM to refuse to comply with COPE recommendations, and publishers who do comply see better results in practice.
Nothing prevents ACM from updating its policies to match other publishers'.
Just noticed that @acm.org's list of "charged terminology" now includes "binary classification" because it may be charged for "persons who identify either as binary or as non-binary", a class of people that presumably includes everyone. 🤔
In practice those principles mean banning random words like "byzantine" on the off chance they offend someone, rather than concrete action, though.
www.acm.org/diversity-in...
www.acm.org/diversity-in...
Words matter: Alternatives for charged terminology in the computing profession
ACM’s efforts to combat exclusion in the computing profession, ACM's Diversity and Inclusion Council has launched "Words Matter," an effort to replace offensive or exclusionary terminology in the comp...
www.acm.org
September 30, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Just noticed that @acm.org's list of "charged terminology" now includes "binary classification" because it may be charged for "persons who identify either as binary or as non-binary", a class of people that presumably includes everyone. 🤔
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
this jailbreak shit too easy even on gpt-5 (i didn't even bother correcting any typos)
September 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
this jailbreak shit too easy even on gpt-5 (i didn't even bother correcting any typos)
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
A CRO has been scamming academic and industry labs in the US with fraudulent data that has been published in Nature and other high impact journals. Leonid has written a great piece on my findings: forbetterscience.com/2025/09/22/i...
In Bad Company
“Authors thank the members of NeuroDigitech for their contribution to data generation, and all the animals that contributed to these studies.”
forbetterscience.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:18 AM
A CRO has been scamming academic and industry labs in the US with fraudulent data that has been published in Nature and other high impact journals. Leonid has written a great piece on my findings: forbetterscience.com/2025/09/22/i...
Swiss far-right propaganda vs Switzerland in the real world
September 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Swiss far-right propaganda vs Switzerland in the real world
Whichever YouTube employee decided to enable AI translations and dubs by default for videos not in the user's language apparently doesn't know people can speak more than 1 language.
US folks not beating the stereotypes.
US folks not beating the stereotypes.
September 15, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Whichever YouTube employee decided to enable AI translations and dubs by default for videos not in the user's language apparently doesn't know people can speak more than 1 language.
US folks not beating the stereotypes.
US folks not beating the stereotypes.
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
ACM is not short of a bob or two, but seem oblivious to the reputational damage that this kind of response creates
PubPeer: pretty clear duplicate publication going on here. Probably should do something.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
In which @acm.org acknowledges blatant plagiarism and... Decides not to do anything unless someone copies that information into the right form.
pubpeer.com/publications...
pubpeer.com/publications...
September 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
ACM is not short of a bob or two, but seem oblivious to the reputational damage that this kind of response creates
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
PubPeer: pretty clear duplicate publication going on here. Probably should do something.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
In which @acm.org acknowledges blatant plagiarism and... Decides not to do anything unless someone copies that information into the right form.
pubpeer.com/publications...
pubpeer.com/publications...
PubPeer - Multisource domain adaptation and its application to early d...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: Multisource domain adaptation and its application to early detection of fatigue (2012)
pubpeer.com
September 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
PubPeer: pretty clear duplicate publication going on here. Probably should do something.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
*lots of time passes*
ACM: oh hi! you didn't submit the right form.
Best recent example of the complete lack of proactivity you can see in research integrity. Just *chef's kiss*.
In which @acm.org acknowledges blatant plagiarism and... Decides not to do anything unless someone copies that information into the right form.
pubpeer.com/publications...
pubpeer.com/publications...
PubPeer - Multisource domain adaptation and its application to early d...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: Multisource domain adaptation and its application to early detection of fatigue (2012)
pubpeer.com
September 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM
In which @acm.org acknowledges blatant plagiarism and... Decides not to do anything unless someone copies that information into the right form.
pubpeer.com/publications...
pubpeer.com/publications...
TIL computer scientists aren't the only ones giving cute names to discoveries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu...
Pikachurin - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
August 30, 2025 at 11:58 AM
TIL computer scientists aren't the only ones giving cute names to discoveries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikachu...
Fun fact of the day: there's a small town in Switzerland called "Fully", population <10k.
According to LinkedIn, there are hundreds of job openings there. Presumably because people wrote "fully remote" in the wrong field.
According to LinkedIn, there are hundreds of job openings there. Presumably because people wrote "fully remote" in the wrong field.
August 18, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Fun fact of the day: there's a small town in Switzerland called "Fully", population <10k.
According to LinkedIn, there are hundreds of job openings there. Presumably because people wrote "fully remote" in the wrong field.
According to LinkedIn, there are hundreds of job openings there. Presumably because people wrote "fully remote" in the wrong field.
Reposted by Solal Pirelli
This is rich: following the publication of our study, ARDA has changed its website to include a pop-up disclaimer that they do not guarantee journal publications.
August 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
This is rich: following the publication of our study, ARDA has changed its website to include a pop-up disclaimer that they do not guarantee journal publications.
Even by paper mill standards this abstract is quite something.
August 13, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Even by paper mill standards this abstract is quite something.