@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social
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koen_hufkens

@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social

Founder of BlueGreen Labs | addressing #climatechange through data driven methods in #ecology #remotesensing #phenology #foodsecurity

#rstats developer | maker with duct tape and a hammer | #academic omnivore | move fast and fix things

There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

  • Leonard Cohen

Personal account | #politics, #science & #foss software | he / him

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koen_hufkens, to ML
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

These days I find academic research that uses is mostly all show, no tell. Few spill the beans on the full workflow (pre-processing, model and model weights). You get fancy maps, poor uncertainty characteristics and no way to reproduce results (even worse when drivers are hidden behind "platforms").

If has taught us anything it is that platforms are another way of gatekeeping, which is perceived to be sharing but mostly benefits the platform itself. Thusfar, .

koen_hufkens, to random
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

Another banger on the public domain, and why we need it, by @pluralistic

Or, when you are conflicted between a need to wash your eyes and grinning until it hurts when you read some of it.

"Earth to Moms For Liberty: the "good old days," free from sex in culture, ended 2 billion years ago when horny eukaryotes invented fucking."

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/20/em-oh-you-ess-ee/

koen_hufkens, to random
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

Another banger on the public domain, and why we need it, by @pluralistic

Or, when you are conflicted between a need to wash your eyes and grinning until it hurts when you read it.

"Earth to Moms For Liberty: the "good old days," free from sex in culture, ended 2 billion years ago when horny eukaryotes invented fucking."

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/20/em-oh-you-ess-ee/

gamingonlinux, to random
@gamingonlinux@mastodon.social avatar

At the end of this week @gamingonlinux will be entering a mostly hibernating state for the holidays to recharge for a week or so - don't expect much (if anything) next week 🎅

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@gamingonlinux Enjoy the break!

pluralistic, (edited ) to DaftPunk
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

My latest column for @Locusmag is "What Kind of Bubble is AI?" All economic bubbles are hugely destructive, but some of them leave behind wreckage that can be salvaged for useful purposes, while others leave nothing behind but ashes:

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/19/bubblenomics/#pop

1/

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@hnapel @pluralistic The infrastructure won't be lost. There are proper use cases of ML ("AI"). Most of them are niche, and require tons of domain knowledge to make sure they don't spit out garbage. For example AI is used to speed up (certain steps of) weather forecasting (saving energy where physical models are computationally expensive - i.e. ML is a data informed very good best guess).

ataustin, to python
@ataustin@fosstodon.org avatar

Data people: what are some signs that your data analysis project is actually a piece of software (with all the associated accoutrements -- requirements gathering, design, testing, packaging, etc)?

Or, looking at it another way, what are some traits of a software project that differentiate it from a purely data science project (if such a distinction exists)?

#RStats #python #DataScience

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@ataustin I always set them up as a piece of software (or provision for it). It is easier for me to work in this mindset as I force myself to work more cleanly from the start.

The boiler plate template I use also blurs this line from the get go. So to me there is little distinction in terms of workflow, only in terms of scope (i.e. true software will have more re-usable parts, projects are more bound to the data and question at hand).

https://github.com/bluegreen-labs/R_project_template

koen_hufkens, to ai
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

Update on the National Science Foundation () stance on in review and proposal writing.

"A key observation for reviewers is that sharing proposal information with generative AI technology via the open internet violates the confidentiality and integrity principles of NSF's merit review process."

@academicchatter

https://new.nsf.gov/news/notice-to-the-research-community-on-ai

jbaert, to random
@jbaert@mastodon.social avatar

The most American story of the year 👌

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@jbaert Also, this is surprisingly common (not the only case). Which is absolutely bonkers.

koen_hufkens, to Pubtips
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

On the of . Where scientists burn the candle at both ends, paying to read and publish their work, in what is the ultimate grift.

@academicchatter @pluralistic

https://khufkens.com/posts/enshitification-of-academic-publishing/

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mycotropic @academicchatter @pluralistic

Just going to leave this here. Those are the retractions, and not even touching the shady paper mills (described elsewhere in detail).

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03974-8

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mycotropic @academicchatter @pluralistic

On the alarming rise of papermills. This was pre based such as !

https://www.science.org/content/article/fake-scientific-papers-are-alarmingly-common

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mycotropic @academicchatter @pluralistic

And a final one on publishing "what you have".

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-019-0687-2

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mycotropic @academicchatter @pluralistic All these issues contribute to the problem. But what I highlighted was the fact that the financial model can be seen as the ultimate grift, where authors pay twice (whatever their incentives).

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mycotropic @academicchatter @pluralistic You go low on the first interaction, I'll happily match that.

ErikJonker, to random Dutch
@ErikJonker@mastodon.social avatar

Extremely scary...how some people in the US view the holocaust.

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@ErikJonker If you don't teach history it is bound to repeat itself.

mbojan, to academicchatter
@mbojan@sciences.social avatar

Adding to the ToRead list https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2023/12/07/where-did-the-open-access-movement-go-wrong-an-interview-with-richard-poynder/ @academicchatter

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mbojan @academicchatter I think this is a nice summary of the deadspin of

The tacit approval in conclusion of the need to therefore then return to a closed ecosystem, and further excluding the public from science is a hard capitalist spin pulling the publisher's cart.

The problem always has been advocacy, i.e. academics talking the talk but not walking the walk.

The take on is also stale, CC BY isn't CC0. Widespread violation by companies of the BY needs a legal answer.

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@mbojan @academicchatter But, thanks for the reading suggestion!

koen_hufkens, to climate
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

Current vibes.

koen_hufkens, to climate
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

WTF? Are they fucking kidding me. Also, told you so.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels

koen_hufkens, to tesla
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

"Maybe the rich survivalists playing out Blade Runner meets Mad Max in their Cybertrucks haven't considered that when everything burns down, the power grid will go down too."

https://www.engadget.com/teslas-cybertruck-is-a-dystopian-masturbatory-fantasy-225648188.html

koen_hufkens, to academicchatter
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

Cleaning my academic CV. I sort of forgot that I wrote three papers with just my two supervisors.

I was funded on an interdisciplinary grant, and both didn't really know the topic.

The first true feedback I would get after submission to the journals. Luckily they trained me well, being critical of my own work in the context of the literature and having me seek out other opinions.

Seems wild I pulled this all off.

@academicchatter

jbaert, to random
@jbaert@mastodon.social avatar

Elke keer ik iets lees over dat PMD-systeem met QR-codes denk ik aan hoeveel pret @intidc en andere vrolijke hackers daarmee gaan beleven. Als dat idiote systeem er komt hoop ik dat ze het laten pentesten.

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@jbaert @intidc Dit is ook een ramp. Men zwaait wel wat met GDPR, maar in de praktijk gaat dit dan weer een dark UX patroon zijn waar de meeste mensen ja op klikken.

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

COOL! The spicy article I wrote about satellite pollution is FINALLY published! "Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy research worldwide" in Nature News & Views.

This article required weeks of back-and-forth with the editor, the editor-in-chief, and Nature's lawyers, so I hope that means it's a good one.

During this process, I learned that satellite companies are so powerful and litigious that even giant publishers like Nature are terrified of getting sued. Which is...rather worrying.

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@sundogplanets As an amateur astronomer and someone who generally enjoys the night sky, thank you for fighting the good fight. Despite the grim prospects.

koen_hufkens, to academia
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

👌 Academic and small business owner here. This couldn't be more on point.

Academics lack key business skills which I argue are required even within but are never taught with systemic management dysfunction as a result.

@academicchatter

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03411-w

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@DrSuzanne @academicchatter Some of this is also prone to gate keeping. I wanted to join some of the start-up tech groups at Harvard, but I didn't have access to them as a post-doc (only for students). So try as you may...

elduvelle, (edited ) to academia
@elduvelle@neuromatch.social avatar

Is a predatory publisher?

(Asking in general, but feel free to mention specific journals)
(I know you want to, but let’s not discuss other publishers there 🙏)

Here’s a Wikipedia attempt at defining predatory publishing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_publishing


@academicchatter

koen_hufkens,
@koen_hufkens@mastodon.social avatar

@gepasi @ivanrmanuel @neuralreckoning @elduvelle @academicchatter I think in the current context you are right. These businesses outstrip profits of large tech by a significant margin. Now, I'm not against publishers making a profit. But much is beyond reasonable.

Also, most people forget that these companies aren't really publishers. They are data / IP brokers. They collate and gatekeep information on the academic process and resell it, much like Facebook / Google does.

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