Jill Tivey

An important thread putting together materials on the Epstein-Russia-Bannon-Thiel axis as they worked to undermine democracy and establish international fascism.

Excellent thread showing just how corrupt Brexit was and how we were manipulated by the worst people imaginable. This really should get Thiel kicked off Gov contracts and Farage consigned to the bin but I really think this country is too far down the rabbit hole now. They've won..

I think the Epstein affair is turning into the defining political scandal of our time. It is bringing into plain sight how informal networks of powerful, entitled, abusive and often sexually violent men operate outside any form of institutional scrutiny or restraint.

The Metropolitan Police is facing a £5million bill for new toilets and changing rooms for its 12 transgender staff. Following a legal challenge over the rights of transgender people, Britain's largest police force has assessed the cost of dedicated transgender facilities. The Good Law Project argued that guidance that single-sex toilets should only be used by people of the same biological gender breached the rights of transgender people.

The guidance was temporarily withdrawn after the claims, and the Met Police have since calculated the costs to fit new toilets. 'The overall cost of providing new toilets and changing spaces for transgender people at stations and main police buildings is conservatively estimated to be £5million,' one source told The Sun of the Met's financial assessment. 'There would also be a £300,000-a-year bill for maintenance.' It comes as Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his already overstretched force has faced 'eye-watering cuts' with the force plugging a £260million funding gap. Retired Met chief superintendent Simon Ovens said: 'Most of the Met estate is old and not easily converted. At a time of withering financial cuts, spending £5million on such things is frankly ridiculous.'

Quite accidentally, the Daily Mail has given a striking example of the vast compliance cost of the EHRC's guidance: £5m plus £300k pa for the Metropolitan Police alone. And there is no evidence that any of it is necessary.

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Lyric Video)

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst

Directed by Thom Zimny
Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro
Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny

I think I might take one of these "under 20 minutes" AI skills courses the UK Govt. seems very keen on everyone doing and live-post it here... Maybe we can all learn something together! The press release sends me to aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/ - let's go and see!

Inside an AI start-up’s plan to scan and dispose of millions of books www.msn.com/en-us/techno...

Two mudskippers (brown fish with large google eyes and large front fins used for "walking"), one on the mud on the ground, the other up a tree root.

BHL's new chapter has begun! 🌱

Our latest #BHLTransition Update shares where BHL is now: stable, fully operational, and nearing completion of its transition. BHL has retained its people, its expertise, and its ability to operate effectively. 🔗 blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2026/01/tran... #ILoveBHL

Sorry, but pubs are to get 100 million to help prop them up and school libraries have to fight over 5 million is it?
Year of Reading?
They're taking the piss.

When two years of academic work vanished with a single click After turning off ChatGPT’s ‘data consent’ option, Marcel Bucher lost the work behind grant applications, teaching materials and publication drafts. Here’s what happened next.

"If a single click can irrevocably delete years of work, ChatGPT cannot, in my opinion and on the basis of my experience, be considered completely safe for professional use."

well, duh 🙄 #medlibs

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Ditto!

But maybe tomorrow?!

Well done Mr Jaf!

Today's early Spring semester reminder that if your academic library doesn't have an eBook you want and/or tells you they can't provide it, it is most likely not the library staff's fault.

We can't buy what vendors refuse to sell.

Viva la Library! Rebel against The Algorithm. Get a library card.

If you’re looking to ground yourself in a topic with fact-based research, librarians are still your best friends.

“There’s information,” the librarian said to me, “and then there’s the right information.”

nautil.us/viva-la-libr...
#libraries #skybrarians #publibs

How to Spot AI Hallucinations Like a Reference Librarian The verification tricks that would make fact-checkers weep with joy.

cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/how-to-spo...

All hail the reference librarian!

Experts warn AI is making your brain work less Generative AI tools have become hugely popular but some experts worry about the effect they have on the brain.

Experts warn AI is making your brain work less

while i am not an academic i did see this coming and post about it on bluesky, which is why i am quoted in this article

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

“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…”

This is nauseating...

www.icrc.org/en/article/i...

The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling 3697-3705 Apr 30, 2025 Education The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Gulu College of Health Sciences, Gulu City, Northern Uganda DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90400265 Received: 13 March 2025; Revised: 22 March 2025; Accepted: 25 March 2025; Published: 30 April 2025 ABSTRACT The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in social interactions has transformed how humans experience companionship, communication, and mental well-being. This review examines the psychological impact of AI-driven social interactions, focusing on virtual assistants, AI chatbots, and digital companions. It explores the benefits, risks, and ethical concerns associated with AI companionship. A systematic review methodology was employed, detailing inclusion criteria, databases searched, and analysis techniques. Findings suggest that while AI can offer emotional relief and support, over-reliance may disrupt real-world social bonding. Ethical concerns such as data privacy, emotional manipulation, and regulatory gaps are highlighted. The study underscores the need for balanced AI integration in human socialization. The study also addresses gaps in previous literature by examining AI’s influence on different demographic groups and cultural contexts.

Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.

I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵

The book Made in Scotland by Billy Connolly

A quote from Billy Connolly. 'But, for me, the library is the key. That is where the escape tunnel is. All of the knowledge in the world is there. The great brains of the world are at your fingertips.'

Happy Birthday to the legendary Billy Connolly who turns 83 today, and who from a young age realised the importance of #Libraries.

'When I was an unhappy little boy, going to the library changed my life. It may even have saved it.'

Happy Birthday Big Yin. 🎉🎂🌟❤️

Marking essays in the age of Gen AI, I find myself nostalgic for the days when people did their own plagiarism rather than have machines do it for them.

Medical educators: please help your students develop their skills and knowledge to link patients to quality information sources. NHS Inform, Patient Information Forum, Right Decision Service, other decision support tools. Need help? Ask your library service.

Background with cream, blue and yellow curved shapes with purple text over it, reading "Not in Our Name Over fifty thousand cis women have signed an open letter rejecting the false narrative that trans women are a danger to women. Add your name"

Over 50,000 cis women have signed the @nionwomen.bsky.social open letter rejecting the narrative that trans women are a danger to women.

The real threat to women has never been trans women. The real threat to women is male violence.

Add your name today: notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

As boys shift to the right, we are seeing the rise of the ‘new chill girl’ | Naomi Beinart Even in comparatively liberal spaces, such as my high school, girls who wince at locker room talk risk exclusion

THIS. “The boys makes an off-handed offensive joke. The girls can speak up, getting the reputation as annoying…or they can let it pass & be regarded as a chill girl who isn’t angry or woke. Since Nov. 2024, the latter reaction has become far more common.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Marking 125 years of #EJBotany #OpenAccess and its forerunner, Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, we are delighted to announce that ALL content is now freely available at journals.rbge.org.uk/notes and journals.rbge.org.uk/ejb

Photo of 2 men with white bold letters that say “men who abuse their power are the real threat to women, not trans people”

Trans people are not a threat to women’s safety.

Over 52,000 women have signed the open letter to say not in our name.

Will you join them?
notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

GWL at 30: Challenging Violence against Women | Glasgow Women's Library In this podcast volunteers Amy, Niamh and Joy chat with Co-founder and Co-director Adele Patrick, BME Women’s Project Development Worker Syma Ahmed, and Librarian Wendy Kirk, about our approaches to…

A new podcast from @womenslibrary.bsky.social - reflecting on particular aspects of our work over the past 30+ years: womenslibrary.org.uk/2025/09/18/g...

This, from the Quakers, is worth reading. It's a serene, confident, utter rebuke of the hate and fear that's peddled by Sex Matters. The last two pages are smokin'. If you're on the wrong side of the Quakers, you really need to sit down and have a good chat with yourself.