David J. Warne

Report: Creating a 5-second AI video is like running a microwave for an hour That's a long time in the microwave.

So…about AI’s energy use…

“…to create a five-second video, a newer AI model uses ‘about 3.4 million joules, more than 700 times the energy required to generate a high-quality image’. That's the equivalent of running a microwave for over an hour.”

Right. Tax it to the fucking skies.

Make it cost what it costs. Make it unfeasible to use.

Then stop using it.

This is one of the worst violations of research ethics I've ever seen. Manipulating people in online communities using deception, without consent, is not "low risk" and, as evidenced by the discourse in this Reddit post, resulted in harm.

Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵

Come to Canada for graduate work: zero or few courses, no Trump, no ICE, no DOGE.

(We have other problems but I won’t get into those here)

#academicsky

Cory Booker breaks record for longest Senate speech with Trump condemnation In speech that began Monday night, Democratic senator warns of ‘grave and urgent’ danger of Trump administration

Great work! Good to see someone standing up to and calling out #TheOrangeTrumpet / #Trump and his attempt to wreck the #US

#POTUS #USA #BlackSky #AcademicSky #Republican #GOP

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

When researchers cannot engage in legitimate scientific discourse out of fear that the government will strip away their livelihoods, we no longer live in a society that values freedom, truth, or progress.

I received a heartbreaking email today: A paper in a special issue I’m editing is being retracted because one of its authors is afraid of losing their job and their legal status in the U.S. if they publish a scientific study on evolution. Yes, on evolution, nature's engine of diversity.

Congrats to MACSYS Dep. Director @mjsimpson.bsky.social & his colleagues @apbrowning.bsky.social @profruthbaker.bsky.social @davidjwarne.bsky.social & @omaclaren.bsky.social - just awarded the Lewis Wolpert Prize for Best Paper by Journal of Theoretical Biology
www.sciencedirect.com/journal/jour...

Concerned about the environmental impact⚡💧 of AI/ML systems? Interested in doing a PhD in 🌞 Brisbane, Aus?

I have PhD positions available exploring power and statistical efficiency in AI/ML/Stats!
👇
www.qut.edu.au/research/stu...
www.qut.edu.au/research/stu...
www.qut.edu.au/research/stu...

“As a professional statistician, I have an ethical responsibility to protect and the rights of data subjects and those directly affected by statistical practices; I have an ethical responsibility to stakeholders in collection, release, and dissemination of data;

kuwisdelu.github.io/letter-on-pu...

Maybe a hot take, but what about the following advice to the next gen:
Don't get an AI degree; the curriculum will be outdated before you graduate. Instead, study math, stats, or physics as your foundation, and stay current with AI through code-focused books, blogs, and papers.

HHMI kills program aimed at boosting inclusivity in STEM education “Inclusive excellence” program had committed $60 million to 104 institutions

Universities and Institutions have to push back NOW.

When they threaten one group of scientific institutions, if we are silent, we will be next.

HHMI and the other potential targets need to work with red state Unis to stall this illegal targeting in courts.

www.science.org/content/arti...

I am so happy to know someone else has noticed this!

What fascinates me the most about people who think LLMs are in any way reliable is that they've clearly never asked an LLM for information on literally anything they know the answer to themselves 😅

For what it's worth, today is Monday, February 10, so third time lucky (fourth time not so much)

About our agency NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep the public informed of the changing environment aro...

“Why do I need NOAA? I’ve got a weather app.”

Is equivalent to asking

“Why do I need farms? I can go to the supermarket.”

www.noaa.gov/about-our-ag...

🌿 Green Action Week 2025 🌿

This week, we’re embracing sustainability! In our department, members are swapping plants, sharing plant-based cakes, and discussing green ideas with our Green Team. 🌍💚

#GreenActionWeek #Sustainability #Environment #OxfordUniversity

Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place

advait.org/files/lee_20...

OpenAI says Chinese rivals using its work for their AI apps ChatGPT maker says it will need extra protection from US government, following emergence of Chinese rival, DeepSeek.

Anyone get a sense of irony from OpenAIs claim here? www.bbc.com/news/article...

I am thrilled to share our recent publication, "An off-lattice discrete model to characterise filamentous yeast colony morphology", which uses agent-based modelling and Bayesian inference to understand how yeast grows, is now available online in PLoS Computational Biology.

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

The 21st Workshop of the LHC Higgs Working Group The aim of the LHC Higgs Working Group (LHCHWG) is to collect and produce theoretical predictions relevant for Higgs physics in the Standard Model and beyond. Summaries of these activities have been m...

Two talks at CERN today related to first results using simulation-based inference (likelihood-free inference) at the LHC.
CMS (talk by Calandri): indico.cern.ch/event/138922...
ATLAS (talk by Gosh): indico.cern.ch/event/1479992/
ATLAS paper: arxiv.org/abs/2412.01600

Thread on need to fight for evidence-based policy - a response to Trump's cabinet picks.

Based on new @bmj.com article by me, @martinmckee.bsky.social & @kentbuse.bsky.social

TLDR: Now is the time to stand up for science, not appease those in power attacking it

www.bmj.com/content/387/... 1/14

I'm very happy to see papers like this. We need more contributions to the underlying theory. Similarly, we need more theory to understand pros and cons of density estimation based methods (posterior or likelihood) to ratio-based methods (likelihood ratios and posterior-to-evidence ratio)

Check out this #SMB #SocietyMathBio starter pack. This was the default Starter Pack set up on our feed, but we can add to this as well to help build the mathematical biology community on BlueSky.

go.bsky.app/2sXtZV4

Great Barrier Reef suffering ‘most severe’ coral bleaching on record – video Marine researcher says widespread event is 'absolutely heartbreaking' and that Australia is 'running out of time' to save the reef

This video will break your heart if you care about nature.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Nice starter pack of mathematical biologists by @joshuabull.bsky.social

go.bsky.app/GVkxwBv

@rellypops.bsky.social dropping the wisdom - people often misunderstand self care, she says.

"The self does not have to be selfish". Think about it as extended beyond you. Approach self care on the spirit of "what do I have to do for myself to be able to be there for others?"

The ✨ML Internship Feed✨ is here!

@serge.belongie.com and I created this feed to compile internship opportunities in AI, ML, CV, NLP, and related areas.

The feed is rule-based. Please help us improve the rules by sharing feedback 🧡

🔗 Link to the feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...

To celebrate the new beginnings on Bluesky, let's reminisce about one of our highlights from the old days:

The unexpected shout-out by @fchollet.bsky.social that made everyone go crazy on the BayesFlow Slack server and led to a 15% increase in GitHub stars.

Utter anti-science bullshit from the Australian Financial Review.

Next week - “Australia’s high-grade arsenic can improve your health.” https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/how-australia-s-high-grade-coal-can-reduce-global-emissions-20210317-p57bof

Wonderful to see this paper out! It was a pleasure to work with David Frazier, @ryanpkelly.bsky.social and @chris-drovandi.bsky.social again!