Alex Freeman
@alexandrafreeman.bsky.social
Crossbencher in the House of Lords and creator of Octopus.ac. Previously Exec Director of the Winton Centre, University of Cambridge; science filmmaker, BBC
Reposted by Alex Freeman
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
Very excited to be taking up the position of Principal at the wonderful @hertfordcollege.bsky.social in Oxford next March.
It’s a forward-thinking and friendly college, and a place where we can really focus on supporting the best research and the best learning environment. Which includes a cat!
It’s a forward-thinking and friendly college, and a place where we can really focus on supporting the best research and the best learning environment. Which includes a cat!
November 13, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Very excited to be taking up the position of Principal at the wonderful @hertfordcollege.bsky.social in Oxford next March.
It’s a forward-thinking and friendly college, and a place where we can really focus on supporting the best research and the best learning environment. Which includes a cat!
It’s a forward-thinking and friendly college, and a place where we can really focus on supporting the best research and the best learning environment. Which includes a cat!
Reposted by Alex Freeman
🚨 5 years on from when the COVID-19 pandemic confined many to their homes, how has remote working changed the UK workplace, and what is its future?
We are publishing our report tomorrow at 00.05 #WFH
We are publishing our report tomorrow at 00.05 #WFH
November 12, 2025 at 10:36 AM
🚨 5 years on from when the COVID-19 pandemic confined many to their homes, how has remote working changed the UK workplace, and what is its future?
We are publishing our report tomorrow at 00.05 #WFH
We are publishing our report tomorrow at 00.05 #WFH
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Applications open: New Generation Thinkers 2026
AHRC is partnering with BBC Radio 4 to offer five early-career researchers the opportunity to work with programme makers, appear on air, and gain first-hand experience of how ideas make it to broadcast.
Apply by Jan 2026
AHRC is partnering with BBC Radio 4 to offer five early-career researchers the opportunity to work with programme makers, appear on air, and gain first-hand experience of how ideas make it to broadcast.
Apply by Jan 2026
AHRC and BBC New Generation Thinkers 2026
This scheme offers five early career researchers the opportunity to work with programme makers at BBC Radio 4. They will appear on a number of episodes and shadow the production process to understand ...
www.ukri.org
November 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Applications open: New Generation Thinkers 2026
AHRC is partnering with BBC Radio 4 to offer five early-career researchers the opportunity to work with programme makers, appear on air, and gain first-hand experience of how ideas make it to broadcast.
Apply by Jan 2026
AHRC is partnering with BBC Radio 4 to offer five early-career researchers the opportunity to work with programme makers, appear on air, and gain first-hand experience of how ideas make it to broadcast.
Apply by Jan 2026
I experimented with directing AI to make a little trailer for my friend Tim Owen’s new historical novel.
For those who like historically accurate tales of monks and mysteries in C12th England, the book’s an ideal Christmas treat!
Available here:
tdowen.co.uk
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZU...
For those who like historically accurate tales of monks and mysteries in C12th England, the book’s an ideal Christmas treat!
Available here:
tdowen.co.uk
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZU...
Gilles of Bec and The Cage Full of Birds: a novel by T D Owen
YouTube video by T D Owen
m.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:42 AM
I experimented with directing AI to make a little trailer for my friend Tim Owen’s new historical novel.
For those who like historically accurate tales of monks and mysteries in C12th England, the book’s an ideal Christmas treat!
Available here:
tdowen.co.uk
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZU...
For those who like historically accurate tales of monks and mysteries in C12th England, the book’s an ideal Christmas treat!
Available here:
tdowen.co.uk
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZU...
Thank you to @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social and all the others who are supporting bird-safe design as part of planning. @rspb.bsky.social and @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social are pushing for it too.
Thirty million birds killed in the UK every year through strikes — with many more injured and unseen.
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
October 31, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Thank you to @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social and all the others who are supporting bird-safe design as part of planning. @rspb.bsky.social and @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social are pushing for it too.
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Thirty million birds killed in the UK every year through strikes — with many more injured and unseen.
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
October 31, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Thirty million birds killed in the UK every year through strikes — with many more injured and unseen.
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
A country that calls itself a nation of bird lovers must do better than this.
#ProtectNature #BirdSafety
Reposted by Alex Freeman
This really is a shame.
In times like these we really should be commissioning more engaging, informative evidence-based shows, not fewer.
In times like these we really should be commissioning more engaging, informative evidence-based shows, not fewer.
For 61 years the #BBCWorldService has been broadcasting the latest in science via its weekly Science in Action programme. That dies in the next half hour, with this final edition, reflecting on the fall in trust in expertise driven by malign interests over recent years.
October 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
This really is a shame.
In times like these we really should be commissioning more engaging, informative evidence-based shows, not fewer.
In times like these we really should be commissioning more engaging, informative evidence-based shows, not fewer.
I shall be speaking today on amendment 246.
You know that sickening thump when a bird flies into a window? It’s thought around 30m a year die that way in the UK.
Bird safe glass and tweaks to design can reduce that by over 90%.
Bird safe building design is mandatory in many places - but not UK!
You know that sickening thump when a bird flies into a window? It’s thought around 30m a year die that way in the UK.
Bird safe glass and tweaks to design can reduce that by over 90%.
Bird safe building design is mandatory in many places - but not UK!
We urge all Peers to back:
148: To avoid environmental damage first & foremost
114: To add a duty to consider climate & nature in decisions
130: To limit EDPs to where they're effective
140, 245 & 246: To embed Swift bricks, bird-safe glass & hedgehog highways into new homes
148: To avoid environmental damage first & foremost
114: To add a duty to consider climate & nature in decisions
130: To limit EDPs to where they're effective
140, 245 & 246: To embed Swift bricks, bird-safe glass & hedgehog highways into new homes
October 29, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I shall be speaking today on amendment 246.
You know that sickening thump when a bird flies into a window? It’s thought around 30m a year die that way in the UK.
Bird safe glass and tweaks to design can reduce that by over 90%.
Bird safe building design is mandatory in many places - but not UK!
You know that sickening thump when a bird flies into a window? It’s thought around 30m a year die that way in the UK.
Bird safe glass and tweaks to design can reduce that by over 90%.
Bird safe building design is mandatory in many places - but not UK!
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Science projects are designed & funded on the scale of years, so what happens if you need to finish prematurely? @mhagenauer.bsky.social &co discuss solutions for quickly documenting partially finished projects & publishing ‘as you go’ in an uncertain environment @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4ovd1jH
October 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Science projects are designed & funded on the scale of years, so what happens if you need to finish prematurely? @mhagenauer.bsky.social &co discuss solutions for quickly documenting partially finished projects & publishing ‘as you go’ in an uncertain environment @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4ovd1jH
Reposted by Alex Freeman
🧠🥼🧬🧪🔬
Last year at @sfn.org I ran a workshop on "Opening the File Drawer" with Ben Kolber, Stacey Winham, Paul Sternberg, & Alex Freeman (@alexandrafreeman.bsky.social).
We've shared the resources that we compiled for that workshop in this new paper. ❤️
@comm4rigor.bsky.social @ummni.bsky.social
Last year at @sfn.org I ran a workshop on "Opening the File Drawer" with Ben Kolber, Stacey Winham, Paul Sternberg, & Alex Freeman (@alexandrafreeman.bsky.social).
We've shared the resources that we compiled for that workshop in this new paper. ❤️
@comm4rigor.bsky.social @ummni.bsky.social
Science projects are designed & funded on the scale of years, so what happens if you need to finish prematurely? @mhagenauer.bsky.social &co discuss solutions for quickly documenting partially finished projects & publishing ‘as you go’ in an uncertain environment @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4ovd1jH
October 22, 2025 at 7:50 PM
🧠🥼🧬🧪🔬
Last year at @sfn.org I ran a workshop on "Opening the File Drawer" with Ben Kolber, Stacey Winham, Paul Sternberg, & Alex Freeman (@alexandrafreeman.bsky.social).
We've shared the resources that we compiled for that workshop in this new paper. ❤️
@comm4rigor.bsky.social @ummni.bsky.social
Last year at @sfn.org I ran a workshop on "Opening the File Drawer" with Ben Kolber, Stacey Winham, Paul Sternberg, & Alex Freeman (@alexandrafreeman.bsky.social).
We've shared the resources that we compiled for that workshop in this new paper. ❤️
@comm4rigor.bsky.social @ummni.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
Mammals & Lice
We are interested in understanding what drives host-parasite relationships. We are using the Anoplura (sucking lice) parasite and mammalian host system to generate a comprehensive sucking louse phylog...
sites.google.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Did you miss the ASAPbio September 2025 Community Call: Experiments in publishing with PubPub & Octopus, where we heard from @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social and @gabestein.com?
Don't worry, we've got you covered! Watch the recording📽️ on YouTube and read a brief summary 📄on our blog.👇
Don't worry, we've got you covered! Watch the recording📽️ on YouTube and read a brief summary 📄on our blog.👇
ASAPbio September 2025 Community Call: Experiments In Publishing With PubPub & Octopus – ASAPbio
During the September Community Call, we heard from Alex Freeman from Octopus and Gabe Stein from PubPub.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Did you miss the ASAPbio September 2025 Community Call: Experiments in publishing with PubPub & Octopus, where we heard from @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social and @gabestein.com?
Don't worry, we've got you covered! Watch the recording📽️ on YouTube and read a brief summary 📄on our blog.👇
Don't worry, we've got you covered! Watch the recording📽️ on YouTube and read a brief summary 📄on our blog.👇
Reposted by Alex Freeman
In general I think it's hard to combat scientific misinformation when some of the best research is locked behind an academic paywall, while lots of nonsense gets published free for everyone to read in predatory journals.
September 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
In general I think it's hard to combat scientific misinformation when some of the best research is locked behind an academic paywall, while lots of nonsense gets published free for everyone to read in predatory journals.
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Join us on September 18 for a panel discussion on various experiments within science publishing!
We will hear about their publishing experiments from @meganhoch.bsky.social from @arcadiascience.com, @gabestein.com from PubPub, and @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social from Octopus.
buff.ly/pfwTgVE
We will hear about their publishing experiments from @meganhoch.bsky.social from @arcadiascience.com, @gabestein.com from PubPub, and @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social from Octopus.
buff.ly/pfwTgVE
August 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Join us on September 18 for a panel discussion on various experiments within science publishing!
We will hear about their publishing experiments from @meganhoch.bsky.social from @arcadiascience.com, @gabestein.com from PubPub, and @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social from Octopus.
buff.ly/pfwTgVE
We will hear about their publishing experiments from @meganhoch.bsky.social from @arcadiascience.com, @gabestein.com from PubPub, and @alexandrafreeman.bsky.social from Octopus.
buff.ly/pfwTgVE
Reposted by Alex Freeman
🆕 Following recent press speculation that the UK may soon agree to pay more for drugs used within the #NHS as part of a trade deal with the USA, we asked experts @markgdayan.bsky.social and @sallygainsbury.bsky.social to explain the situation. 💊
Trump, medicines and the NHS
Following recent press speculation that the UK may soon agree to pay more for drugs used within the NHS as part of a trade deal with the USA, we spoke to Mark Dayan and Sally Gainsbury to discuss the ...
www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk
July 1, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🆕 Following recent press speculation that the UK may soon agree to pay more for drugs used within the #NHS as part of a trade deal with the USA, we asked experts @markgdayan.bsky.social and @sallygainsbury.bsky.social to explain the situation. 💊
Reposted by Alex Freeman
🤖 What could workplace AI and other tech developments mean for 🏡 home working?
Join us on Monday 30 June as we explore this subject with:
- Prof Efpraxia Zamani @efpraxiaz.bsky.social, Durham University Business School
- Prof Carl Frey @carlbfrey.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk Internet Institute
Join us on Monday 30 June as we explore this subject with:
- Prof Efpraxia Zamani @efpraxiaz.bsky.social, Durham University Business School
- Prof Carl Frey @carlbfrey.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk Internet Institute
June 27, 2025 at 10:59 AM
🤖 What could workplace AI and other tech developments mean for 🏡 home working?
Join us on Monday 30 June as we explore this subject with:
- Prof Efpraxia Zamani @efpraxiaz.bsky.social, Durham University Business School
- Prof Carl Frey @carlbfrey.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk Internet Institute
Join us on Monday 30 June as we explore this subject with:
- Prof Efpraxia Zamani @efpraxiaz.bsky.social, Durham University Business School
- Prof Carl Frey @carlbfrey.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk Internet Institute
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
slate.com
June 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Alex Freeman
"Have you thought about applying the @opensafely model, for data privacy and efficiency, to non-health data?"
YES WE HAVE
Behold the new... OpenSAFELY-Schools!!
schools.opensafely.org
YES WE HAVE
Behold the new... OpenSAFELY-Schools!!
schools.opensafely.org
OpenSAFELY Schools
A collaboration between the National Institute of Teaching and the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science
schools.opensafely.org
June 17, 2025 at 11:19 AM
"Have you thought about applying the @opensafely model, for data privacy and efficiency, to non-health data?"
YES WE HAVE
Behold the new... OpenSAFELY-Schools!!
schools.opensafely.org
YES WE HAVE
Behold the new... OpenSAFELY-Schools!!
schools.opensafely.org
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Cheltenham Science Festival was ace again this year. Thanks to all those who gave us such great feedback on our Citizen Science project on nappies. 300,000 nappies per minute become waste globally. Please help us by joining the project here: www.bigtoiletproject.org
June 9, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Cheltenham Science Festival was ace again this year. Thanks to all those who gave us such great feedback on our Citizen Science project on nappies. 300,000 nappies per minute become waste globally. Please help us by joining the project here: www.bigtoiletproject.org
Reposted by Alex Freeman
We are reviewing the current state of scientific publishing, and we want to hear from researchers on their perceptions of publishing in the current context and how it might develop in future. Complete our short survey now:
The Future of Scientific Publishing - survey
forms.royalsociety.org
June 4, 2025 at 4:59 PM
We are reviewing the current state of scientific publishing, and we want to hear from researchers on their perceptions of publishing in the current context and how it might develop in future. Complete our short survey now:
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Possibly the best thing I've read about ChatGPT yet.
h/t @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
h/t @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
Diabolus Ex Machina
This Is Not An Essay
amandaguinzburg.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Possibly the best thing I've read about ChatGPT yet.
h/t @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
h/t @melaniemitchell.bsky.social
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
Reposted by Alex Freeman
Yesterday, Monday 2 June, the #HouseOfLords voted through a change to the #DataBill on the transparency of copyrighted materials used to train AI models.
Lords members scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Find out more ⬇️ www.parliament.uk/business/new...
Lords members scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Find out more ⬇️ www.parliament.uk/business/new...
Lords consider changes to Data (Use and Access) Bill
Members discuss House of Commons changes to the bill in
www.parliament.uk
June 3, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Yesterday, Monday 2 June, the #HouseOfLords voted through a change to the #DataBill on the transparency of copyrighted materials used to train AI models.
Lords members scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Find out more ⬇️ www.parliament.uk/business/new...
Lords members scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Find out more ⬇️ www.parliament.uk/business/new...