#EPPI-Reviewer new (major) release: Version 6.17.0.0 adds a new system to create prioritised lists of items to screen, as well as other improvements to screening systems. Also extends the list of supported LLMs, adding Llama and Mistral. All details: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default....

📣 Scapegoating people seeking safety in the UK won’t fix inequality, housing shortages, or the NHS. The Government must acknowledge this. We’re proud to join over 100 orgs calling on the Govt. to unite communities. We need compassion, not division. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The comments made by our Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, are deeply harmful, concerning and misleading. There are many reasons why claims are 'last minute' - we know this from our work over the years supporting hundreds of refugee women. 1/🧵 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

As a society, the one thing we were totally unprepared for was annoying leftists being right.

It's not just that there are lots of racist extremists on X (there are) or attempts to 'interact' with them are doomed to failure (they are), it's that your participation on the platform further enriches the racist extremist Elon Musk and amplifies his agenda. Why cannot people understand that?

I need you to understand what this country feels like right now for those of us who look different. I'm sitting here, trying to plan for Saturday, make sure I don't even need to go to the corner shop for milk, like it's Christmas Day or lockdown. Why? Because I live near where Yaxley-Lennon will 1/

#philsky #EpistemicInjustice #YouthMentalHealth #edusky #projectEPIC

2. The craven appeasement of powerful lobby groups, which, in the absence of a moral compass, have been able to steer this government any way they want. 2/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Research Spotlight: Exploring what life is like for families when their baby is in hospital. This co-production study in Mexico by @rosamendizabal.bsky.social will help inform future infant and family development programmes. #coproduction www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departme...

Stefano Benni wrote things that, when I was a teenager struggling with everything, gave me the courage to focus on becoming me. Fuck received wisdom, fuck the rules, fuck small minded teachers, fuck comformism. Think for yourself, make mistakes, find your own way. Now he's dead and I'm heartbroken.😢

I can’t highlight the importance of this research enough. It clearly shows that children must not be in school with covid infections. Schools must treat this like TB and remember there is no current cure for long covid.

Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

Mental illness: I don't want to do anything Mental wellness: I want to do nothing

It's called fascism. Fascist regimes, like Mussolini's Italy, directly nationalized some businesses. American journalists need reminding that this isn't necessarily a 'socialist' thing. Articles like this don't help the public interpret what's happening in the US. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

If it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Perhaps one of the most contorted takes I have ever read from the Atlantic. This is the merger of corporation and state under the direction of an individual- it defines fascism.

"Even if some individuals may benefit from AI interactions, for example where the AI functions as a benign and predictable conversational anchor, there is a growing concern that these agents may also reinforce epistemic instability, blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation."

People seeking asylum in the UK should receive a fair hearing. If the Government is serious about reducing or preventing dangerous Channel crossings, it must open up safe and accessible routes for those who need them. This deal with France is not the answer. 2/2

NO. AI. FOR. WAR. CRIMES!!!

I wish people would do their due diligence on my research and values before inviting me and getting surprised when they discover what I plan to talk about also, immma write about this intense experience

‪ ‪#EPPI-Reviewer new release: Version 6.16.3.0 adds DeepSeek to the list of LLMs available. Additionally, it includes significant improvements on how the Coding tools are shown/handled, and a new search type. All details: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default....

None of these pieces discuss progressives' frustration with Labour being *culturally* indistinguishable from the Tories. Labour has embraced - often accelerated - the cruelty, authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the Tories and we wanted better.

Nigel Farage wants attention for *saying* he’d scrap the 2-child benefit cap. But in the vote against it, did he show up? No. Zero Reform MPs voted against the cap in July. Green MPs put it in our costed manifesto, signed the motion, and voted to scrap it. Actions not words.

‪#EPPI-Reviewer new release: Version 6.16.2.0 introduces a number different LLM models, which can be used for robot/auto coding tasks. Before only one LLM/model was available. This release also contains a bug fix and a security fix. All details: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default....

2nd is Ska/Reggae with a sprinkle of funk. "Mendoza and the Timeless" Saturday 31 May, from 3PM (and until we drop). This gig is part of the #BrockleyMax #MusicTrail; more info here: brockleymax.co.uk/events/2025-... #LiveMusic #London #Ska #Reggae

It's the time of the year when my music buddies and me get "out there" and perform. Two gigs lined up, both at the Good Hope Café (Ladywell Fields Park,London, SE13 7UZ). 1st one is "The Subtle Chord" instrumental music (originals + some covers). Sunday, May 25 from 1PM. #LiveMusic #London 1/2

It's the time of the year when my music buddies and me get "out there" and perform. Two gigs lined up, both at the Good Hope Café (Ladywell Fields Park,London, SE13 7UZ). 1st one is "The Subtle Chord" instrumental music (originals + some covers). Sunday, May 25 from 1PM. #LiveMusic #London 1/2

Two new tracks just dropped! 🎶🎸🎶 Featuring yours truly, with "The Subtle Chord". 1st, a cover, "All of me". Jonathan Wood on lead guitar, Allan Seago on rhythm guitar, and me on bass. soundcloud.com/user-2783223... #Music #MusicSky #Guitars #GypsyJazz 1/3

#EPPI-Reviewer new release: Version 6.16.1.0 introduces the "Automation Logs", provides DIY access to LLM-Driven coding functions, supports "Priority Screening Simulations" and more. All details: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default....

Let's have some lovely non-AI images. Repost with a photo of a seafront/shoreline/beach that you took.

OK I had announced this before but forgot to say that Andrew Gelman would be joining Nancy Cartwright and myself as well. Short idea talks, lots of panel discussion and Q&A. Join us on April 25th to discuss RCTs, replications, and scientific inference. sites.google.com/view/cepbi/t...

Feels like virtually nobody here "gets it", triggering one of my rants. Actions are to be judged on the smart/stupid dimension with respect to their purpose. Actions likely to bring about the desired outcome are smart, those likely to hinder it are stupid. And you all assume the wrong purpose! 1/n

Mega wealthy people will not just "be OK" during an economic crash. They will make *more* money. They buy stuff at fire sale prices, and when value returns to normal, they make a killing. Poor people lost half a trillion dollars during the pandemic shock. Billionaires gained half a trillion.🙂🙃

1. One of capitalism’s greatest successes is to shut down our imaginations. With the help of its favoured tools - neoliberalism and fascism - it persuades us that “there is no alternative”. Our first task is to re-ignite our moral imaginations and name our alternatives. 🧵

Terribly convenient, isn't it, for a generation in power which has ruthlessly screwed young people - house prices, tuition fees and grants, environmental breakdown, hostility to their speech and identity - to blame smart phones for their poor mental health.

has anyone done analysis comparing the pace of wealth and market growth of big tech compared to other major industries (like automotive, supermarket chains, tobacco, etc) in the past?

To spell out the stats more clearly: Young men’s AfD vote is somewhat higher than the national average (25% vs 21%), but their leftwing vote is even more above average (15 vs 9). Whereas young women’s AfD vote is significantly lower than average (14 vs 21), and leftwing vote far higher (34 vs 9).

DeepSeek hot take: The emperor still has no clothes, but it's very distressing to the emperor that their non-clothes can be made so much more cheaply.

"Eight pieces of …" ( #jazzsky series 17) BRAZIL, BOTH WAYS* (2)* PS2: "Little Train [of the Backcountry]" (= O Trenzinho do Caipira - H. Villa-Lobos, arr, NHØP) Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen: db Philip Catherine: g Billy Hart: d Live, Copenhagen, 2 or 3 Oct 1977 *(Pls see note at end of PS1!)

"Anti-migrant politics will not build a single house, staff a single hospital or raise anyone’s wages. Instead, by echoing its rhetoric, the government is simply fuelling the rise of Reform UK" Well done to these Labour MPs, trade unionists, and members. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Unison is the largest women’s organization in the UK. It has a million women members. The Unison women’s conference just voted for a motion that said; “trans women are women and trans men are men” with no-one speaking against it. Transphobia is a top-down, elite practice.

🧵 and v interesting paper on the use of LLMs for data extraction in #systematicreviews “Our results show that there might be value in using LLMs, for example as second or third reviewers. However, caution is advised when integrating models such as GPT-4 into tools.”

Yesterday we (at work) reached a key milestone. Something that has dominated my work life for more than a year, and will keep doing so too. So I wrote a thread about it. Allowed me let some thoughts to "get out" and (I hope) stop crowding my own mind! 🤭

Doing evidence synthesis and grappling with the ever-widening range of promises about using new Large Language Models to speed up the process? Perhaps you’re worried about how such tools may be misused? Yeah, we (the #EPPI-Reviewer team) feel the same. A thread on our journey so far. 🧵 1/n

#EPPI-Reviewer new release: Version 6.16.0.0 makes the LLM-driven auto-coding functionalities available (on demand) to all users. It also includes a new Machine Learning facility to retrospectively check Screening decisions. More details are here: eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Default....

Every day, we support women who are locked up in detention. This causes HUGE harm to their mental health and wellbeing. Filming individuals in such a vulnerable position is extremely cruel. We urge the Government to act with compassion, not cruelty. 2/2

Yesterday, the Government posted shocking footage of people being taken from detention centres - by force - and put on deportation flights. This act of performative cruelty gives rise to racism and could have dangerous consequences. www.theguardian.com/politics/202... 1/2

Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines? Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take. thebullshitmachines.com