Emily Bryson, PhD

Wiley set to earn $44m from AI rights deals, confirms “no opt-out" for authors The US publisher is the latest to capitalise on deals to give tech firms access to its authors’ content to train their Large Language Models (LLMs).

Everybody makes money out of academic authors except the authors...News.

Wiley is the latest academic publisher to reach a multi-million deal to allow access to its content to AI developers, with no opt out, let alone payment, for the authors who created that content.

An anole extends its dewlap, which says "call for scientists!"

Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.

Fossil Fuel and Petrochemical Lobbyists Overrun Plastics Treaty Negotiations - Center for International Environmental Law At least 234 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered to participate in the final scheduled round of plastics treaty negotiations (INC-5.2).

📈 New analysis by @ciel.org & other civil society organisations highlights another increase in #fossilfuel & petrochemical lobbyists to at least 234, outnumbering EU delegates, as well as @scientistscoa.bsky.social members by ~4: 1 at the #PlasticsTreaty negotiations!
www.ciel.org/news/inc-5-2...

My bestie @aclearing.bsky.social and I bought our first artwork today from the Incognito Art Show. All pieces are $100 and artists are anonymous during the sale. All profits support artists with disabilities.

Can’t wait to have this guy in our home. 🎨🐙🌈

#cephalopod #ArtForArtists #SciArt

Screenshot of article with title "Dead marine life from algal bloom collected from Adelaide beaches amid local extinction fears"

The Australian Government is currently lobbying to host the UN international climate conference in South Australia - and tbh where better to showcase our extinction crisis, punitive protest laws and industry capture?
#auspol #climate

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

If Jeff Bezos can afford to rent Venice for a $50 million wedding, he can afford to pay his fair share in taxes.

Sounds about right!

That looks like a joyful read based on the illustrations. Reminds me of Padma Lakshmi’s Taste the Nation series. We loved that.

A hand holds up a book in front of a white wall. The book title is “Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World” by Toby Walsh. FAKING IT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN A HUMAN WORLD TOBY WALSH Al will be as big a game-changer as the smart phone and nal computer - or bigger! This book will help you navigate the revolution! -Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Photo of the back of a book called Faking It. The brave new world of faking it ... Artificial intelligence is, as the name suggests, artificial and fundamentally different to human intelligence. Yet often the goal of Al is to fake human intelligence. This deceit has been there from the very beginning. We've been trying to fake it since Alan Turing answered the question 'Can machines think?' by proposing that machines pretend to be humans. Now we are starting to build Al that truly deceives us. Powerful Als such as ChatGPT can convince us they are intelligent and blur the distinction between what is real and what is simulated. In reality, they lack true understanding, sentience and common sense. But this doesn't mean they can't change the world. Can Al systems ever be creative? Can they be moral? What can we do to ensure they are not harmful? In this fun and fascinating book, Professor Toby Walsh explores all the ways Al fakes it, and what this means for humanity - now and in the future. 'Refreshingly clear-eyed ... Faking It is an insightful and intelligent book that's a must for those looking for facts about Al hype.' -Books+Publishing Toby Walsh is one of the world's leading researchers in artificial intelligence. He is a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales and chief scientist at its new Al institute, UNSW.ai. He is also the author of three previous books about Al, including Machines Behaving Badly. ISBN 9781760644826

What are y’all reading these days?

I’ve just started Faking It by Toby Walsh, a Prof of AI at UNSW.

GenAI isn’t really my cup of tea, but it’s unavoidable as an academic now.

Looking for some guidance on how to teach my students to use it responsibly, if that’s even possible.

#booksky 💙📚

Seafood Animals Are Probably Sentient — Now What? - Faunalytics Evidence indicates that octopuses, squids, lobsters, crabs, and shrimps experience pain and suffering. The seafood industry needs to change.

Great summary by @faunalytics.bsky.social of our recent paper on welfare risks for cephalopods and decapods
faunalytics.org/seafood-anim...

Here’s a video of him tucking into his cake. It’s made from chicken, rice and veggies and “frosted” with mashed taters.
Bailey did share this with his dog friends, but, apparently, not before thoroughly tasting the whole thing!

A ruby coloured Cavalier King Charles dog sits in front of a colourful background with gold balloons that spell out “happy birthday”. He is looking intently at a birthday cake in front of him. The cake is wrapped in dog bones and a red festive ribbon. The top of the cake has red and orange “frosting” made from mashed potatoes and food colouring.

2 dogs at doggy daycare smile in front of a colourful background with black and white paw balloons and gold balloons spelling out “happy birthday”. Both dogs appear happy and have open mouths and pink tongues.

2 dogs at doggy daycare smile in front of a colourful background with black and white paw balloons and gold balloons spelling out “happy birthday”. Both dogs appear happy and have open mouths and pink tongues. The dog in the foreground is the birthday boy and is wearing a pink sequinned bow tie attached to his harness at his chest.

2 dogs at doggy daycare smile in front of a colourful background with black and white paw balloons and gold balloons spelling out “happy birthday”. Both dogs appear happy.

On a more joyful topic, Bailey had his 9-and-half birthday party at daycare last month. He changed doggy daycares in Jan and has been absolutely loving his new human and pup mates. They also take fun very seriously and throw awesome parties!
#DogMum #FurFriends

Average house price surpasses $1 million, sparking affordability fears The average home in Australia has surpassed $1 million for the first time, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The main drivers of the rise were increases in house prices in Western Aust...

This is bad news for so many people struggling to afford rent. Such a shame housing, an essential human right, has been co-opted as a tool for creating wealth.

I bought my first house, well, mortgage, ~1.5 years ago to escape the insecurity of renting with a dog.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Screen shot of conference program showing Emily’s upcoming presentation on Wednesday June 4: Understanding and managing PFAS and microplastics in FOGO waste

Hey fellow compost nerds!

I’m really looking forward to next week’s AORA conference in Newcastle where I’ll be giving a talk on PFAS and microplastic contamination in FOGO waste.

Be sure to say hi and show me photos of your pets please.
#compost #microplastics #pfas

Breaking: Australia's largest gas project approved for operation to 2070 The life of Australia's largest oil and gas project will be extended to 2070, with Environment Minister Murray Watt giving the long-awaited environmental approval for Woodside's North West Shelf proje...

I feel sick. I feel angry. I feel so, so sad.

What a legacy, @albomp.bsky.social.

I'll NEVER forgive what you've done to this country and our future.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05...

Acronyms are one of my biggest pet peeves in academic literature. They’re fine for abbreviating an experiment’s treatments and commonly used things like UN SDGs and OECD.

But, seriously people, use your words. Readers shouldn’t have to have to play hide & seek to find out what you’re talking about.

Please listen to the story the birds are telling us #ForTheOceans

A bar graph titled Figure 2-1: Future Scenario of global data centre (DC) electricity consumption with the y-axis labeled Annual Electricity Consumption in TWh ranging from 0 to 1600. The x-axis spans from 2010 to 2030 with labels for 2010, 2015, 2020, 2025, and 2030. The graph shows stacked bars in different colors representing various categories: Other Data Centres in green, Cryptocurrencies in dark green, Large Scale DCs (10% CAGR) in light green, and Large Scale DCs (18% CAGR) in dark green with an upper scenario line. Data points are marked for years 2010 (487 TWh), 2015 (563 TWh), 2020 (661 TWh), 2025 (879 TWh), and 2030 (1381 TWh). Source compilation based on IEA 2022, Deloitte 2024, McKinsey 2024, LBNL 2024, Digiconomist 2025.

A bar graph titled Figure 2-4: Estimated greenhouse gas emissions from data centres (2023-2030) by type with the y-axis labeled Million tonnes CO2e from data centres by type ranging from 0 to 400. The x-axis spans from 2023 to 2030. The graph shows stacked bars in different colors representing various categories: Other DC in light green, Cryptocurrencies DC in dark green, and AI specific DC in green. Data points are marked for each year: 2023 (212, 55, 28), 2024 (217, 55, 30), 2025 (242, 55, 30), 2026 (267, 63, 40), 2027 (292, 63, 81), 2028 (317, 63, 103), 2029 (342, 63, 151), 2030 (366, 63, 196). Source: own calculation based on expected electricity consumption (Figure 2-1), electricity emission factors from ember-energy.org and comments on declining emission factors.

Fantastic and very detailed, evidence-based report from @greenpeace.eu @oekoinstitut.bsky.social
out today on the environmental impacts of uncontrolled data centre expansion, predicated largely on machine learning applications like generation of text and images ->

www.greenpeace.de/publikatione...

🤮

Two years ago, I started my job as a permanent, part-time uni lecturer after a long series of casual contracts. This was, and still is, an incredibly rare opportunity for job security in academia. My probation period just ended! I’m celebrating by joining the local union. #AcademicSky

I remember this one well.

Why I Played the Kennedy Center How our band made the decision to perform—and why we probably won’t be welcomed back

I’m a huge @guster.bsky.social fan and this piece is terrific

www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Hillside Dog Park near the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is offering dog poop composting services to visitors who use a scooper and chuck it into a collection bucket. No plastic bags! Finished compost will help the trees to grow. Sign up for a free webinar www.epwn.org/event-detail...

A silly red-brown dog is looking at the camera with bright eyes and an open mouth in a smile expression. He is perched between the legs of his human. The human is scratching his back with her left hand.

A red-brown dog is facing the camera while being rubbed on the chin by his human. The dog’s mouth is open in an expression of enjoyment.

Can you guess what time it is?

🥐☕️🍩🍗

A gorgeous red-brown dog lays on a blanket-covered dog cot in a home office. He’s looking at the camera with an expression of bright anticipation. It’s treat time.

Happy Monday to the southern hemisphere! I work from home but I’m still well-supervised by this guy.

He makes sure I get up from desk regularly to get some fresh air and snack breaks. He encourages snack sharing. He says it helps with team building.

Tonnes of microplastics infiltrate Australia’s agricultural soils each year, study shows

Without swift and effective action, composting may become an environmental crisis, rather than a solution.

ChatGPT is not a search engine nor a research database. Y'all need to stop treating it that way. You have to verify everything it tells you.