David Allsopp
@doublehelix.bsky.social
Scientist turned software engineer. He/him
🏹 Field archery 🐀 Rats 😷 COVID cautious 🏃 Parkrun
https://medium.com/@davidallsopp
@[email protected]
@doublehelix on the birdsite
🏹 Field archery 🐀 Rats 😷 COVID cautious 🏃 Parkrun
https://medium.com/@davidallsopp
@[email protected]
@doublehelix on the birdsite
Pinned
David Allsopp
@doublehelix.bsky.social
· Nov 17
“Sex-based rights” are contradictory nonsense
The term is a dog-whistle slogan, coined just to exclude trans people, with multiple meanings — none of which make sense.
medium.com
A short thread of my essays on Medium - mostly debunking anti-trans disinformation and other bigotry
1) "Sex-based rights" are contradictory nonsense
The term is a dog-whistle slogan, coined just to exclude trans people, with multiple meanings — none of which make sense
medium.com/@davidallsop...
1) "Sex-based rights" are contradictory nonsense
The term is a dog-whistle slogan, coined just to exclude trans people, with multiple meanings — none of which make sense
medium.com/@davidallsop...
Reposted by David Allsopp
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, Canadian Pediatric Society, American Psychological Association, Japan’s Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and 27 German medical assocs have all rejected the Cass Review's findings
Says the woman who disregarded evidence and medical professionals to "weaponise" children to such an extent she got necessary medical support stripped from trans young people, in a manner shown to have contributed to an increase in deaths.
She needs to sit this out.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
She needs to sit this out.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Children 'weaponised' in toxic trans debate, Cass says
Clinician Dr Hilary Cass says
www.bbc.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 9:22 AM
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, Canadian Pediatric Society, American Psychological Association, Japan’s Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and 27 German medical assocs have all rejected the Cass Review's findings
Reposted by David Allsopp
So we stole someone's identity to be Corresponding Author, and plagiarised the figures and images, but "the conclusions of the article are otherwise unaffected."
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
February 14, 2026 at 11:05 PM
So we stole someone's identity to be Corresponding Author, and plagiarised the figures and images, but "the conclusions of the article are otherwise unaffected."
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
doi.org/10.1002/prp2...
Publisher: We see you're reading this Retraction Note. Allow us to recommend the paper that it retracted.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Another part of this conversation 👇 was them being very proud to "recommend guardrails". I say this idea flows from the conclusion that the harmful thing *must* exist and that their role exists to mutually justify this & is effectively marketing; that doesn't go down well
bsky.app/profile/alex...
bsky.app/profile/alex...
Frustrating bit of conversation/argument recently which I am paraphrasing here:
Them: I don't know why my ethics are under scrutiny here
Me: because when your role is effectively applied ethics, that is significant
Them: I never said I worked in applied ethics. I work in AI governance
Them: I don't know why my ethics are under scrutiny here
Me: because when your role is effectively applied ethics, that is significant
Them: I never said I worked in applied ethics. I work in AI governance
November 17, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Another part of this conversation 👇 was them being very proud to "recommend guardrails". I say this idea flows from the conclusion that the harmful thing *must* exist and that their role exists to mutually justify this & is effectively marketing; that doesn't go down well
bsky.app/profile/alex...
bsky.app/profile/alex...
Reposted by David Allsopp
Reminder that Francesca Albanese is not being targeted for a sentence twisted and lifted out of context in a speech.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
It was my great honour to interview the one and only Francesca Albanese yesterday. Watch here, and find out why Trump and Rubio are so determined to stop her vital work:
zeteo.com/p/israels-te...
zeteo.com/p/israels-te...
Israel's Tech Boom & the Economy of Genocide
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur, joins Naomi to discuss calls for her removal and her latest report documenting the 'corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project.’
zeteo.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reminder that Francesca Albanese is not being targeted for a sentence twisted and lifted out of context in a speech.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Guardrails are a scam. It's not that they could work, it's that they cannot and never will for such models. By design. 1/n
Can't stress enough how lax Grok's guardrails are here. We didn't use any deceptive prompting -- just fed it names and asked for addresses / where someone might live. The bot readily complied, often offering up whole lists of names and addresses.
Only *once* did it decline to provide an address.
Only *once* did it decline to provide an address.
![In response to prompts as simple as “[name] address,” we found Grok repeatedly offered up accurate, up-to-date home addresses of everyday people, while offering astonishingly scant pushback.
Out of 33 names of non-public figures we fed into Grok, a total of ten queries immediately returned correct and current residential addresses for the name provided. Seven prompts returned previously accurate but out-of-date addresses, while another four included accurate work addresses — perfect fodder for anybody looking to stalk a target at their workplace.
The bot is also likely to send a prowler after an unrelated person. In a dozen other instances, the chatbot returned addresses and other personal information, but not for the exact person we were searching for. Indeed, Grok often returned lists of people with similar names alongside their purported residential addresses, before then asking us to provide more information for a “more refined search.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fhnih5ovyd5w5pch254ordo2/bafkreihwj4d7n656vf3uxuqoorcbzew5lqzsbfiwlpw3rtirbb5kq4xudi@jpeg)
December 5, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Guardrails are a scam. It's not that they could work, it's that they cannot and never will for such models. By design. 1/n
Reposted by David Allsopp
How Hard Could Getting Voter ID Be?
Read more cartoons! ---> #PoliCartoon
Help us make more! ----> patreon.com/barry
Read more cartoons! ---> #PoliCartoon
Help us make more! ----> patreon.com/barry
February 15, 2026 at 10:07 AM
How Hard Could Getting Voter ID Be?
Read more cartoons! ---> #PoliCartoon
Help us make more! ----> patreon.com/barry
Read more cartoons! ---> #PoliCartoon
Help us make more! ----> patreon.com/barry
Reposted by David Allsopp
We’re appealing to the High Court.
But we can’t do it without you.
Support our appeal here: https://goodlaw.social/m3oe
But we can’t do it without you.
Support our appeal here: https://goodlaw.social/m3oe
February 15, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We’re appealing to the High Court.
But we can’t do it without you.
Support our appeal here: https://goodlaw.social/m3oe
But we can’t do it without you.
Support our appeal here: https://goodlaw.social/m3oe
Reposted by David Allsopp
If you've seen the Sunday Times today you'll know Labour Together were secretly hiring people to investigate journalists.
Sadly you won't know that The National broke this story six months ago, since our work is not credited at all.
Here's the original 👇
www.thenational.scot/news/2550403...
Sadly you won't know that The National broke this story six months ago, since our work is not credited at all.
Here's the original 👇
www.thenational.scot/news/2550403...
Starmer allies hired investigators to look into author of McSweeney book
KEIR Starmer's allies hired private investigators to explore the background of an author whose book led to the resignation of the Prime Minister's…
www.thenational.scot
February 15, 2026 at 12:12 PM
If you've seen the Sunday Times today you'll know Labour Together were secretly hiring people to investigate journalists.
Sadly you won't know that The National broke this story six months ago, since our work is not credited at all.
Here's the original 👇
www.thenational.scot/news/2550403...
Sadly you won't know that The National broke this story six months ago, since our work is not credited at all.
Here's the original 👇
www.thenational.scot/news/2550403...
Reposted by David Allsopp
- Major health events — defined as medical claims exceeding $100,000 annually — are now about twice as common as they were five years ago.
www.uhc.com/news-article...
1/2
www.uhc.com/news-article...
1/2
New Report Reveals Americans Are Getting Sick More Often, Earlier in Life
UnitedHealthcare and Health Action Council (HAC), a nonprofit employer coalition, today released their ninth annual white paper highlighting emerging health trends linked to workforce health and affor...
www.uhc.com
February 15, 2026 at 11:15 AM
- Major health events — defined as medical claims exceeding $100,000 annually — are now about twice as common as they were five years ago.
www.uhc.com/news-article...
1/2
www.uhc.com/news-article...
1/2
Reposted by David Allsopp
At 9:18, 3rd period of the Finland-Switzerland women's ice hockey QF game, the ice crew came to clean the ice during a pause
What follows is the funniest use of the slo-mo alternate angle tech I've seen them use during these Olympics of one of the crew members falling
What follows is the funniest use of the slo-mo alternate angle tech I've seen them use during these Olympics of one of the crew members falling
February 15, 2026 at 12:14 AM
At 9:18, 3rd period of the Finland-Switzerland women's ice hockey QF game, the ice crew came to clean the ice during a pause
What follows is the funniest use of the slo-mo alternate angle tech I've seen them use during these Olympics of one of the crew members falling
What follows is the funniest use of the slo-mo alternate angle tech I've seen them use during these Olympics of one of the crew members falling
Reposted by David Allsopp
This is also half the reason for @fyi.org.nz going down so frequently: 95% of our traffic is from AI scrapers. They don't limit their request rates or react to site slowdowns, and just keep hammering away even if all requests are timing out.
The "AI revolution" in science is going so smoothly that my instititutional library is having to deploy multiple technical protection measures against "poorly behaved Gen AI crawling" just to maintain its timely service library.ed.ac.uk/research-sup...
February 15, 2026 at 2:44 PM
This is also half the reason for @fyi.org.nz going down so frequently: 95% of our traffic is from AI scrapers. They don't limit their request rates or react to site slowdowns, and just keep hammering away even if all requests are timing out.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Out driving just now and saw this giant mural of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee who got stabbed on a bus.
Despite the fact that her family has asked them not to use her death for political reasons, Elon Musk has been funding these murals all over the country.
Despite the fact that her family has asked them not to use her death for political reasons, Elon Musk has been funding these murals all over the country.
February 15, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Out driving just now and saw this giant mural of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee who got stabbed on a bus.
Despite the fact that her family has asked them not to use her death for political reasons, Elon Musk has been funding these murals all over the country.
Despite the fact that her family has asked them not to use her death for political reasons, Elon Musk has been funding these murals all over the country.
Reposted by David Allsopp
We've invented a technology that will give everyone their time back and allow all of us to work less!
Oh no it made tech bros MORE addicted to work.
Oh no it made tech bros MORE addicted to work.
Token Anxiety
i think i mostly echo this for myself. with so much that can be done, i often feel like i *should* be doing something, always
i think i mostly echo this for myself. with so much that can be done, i often feel like i *should* be doing something, always
February 15, 2026 at 4:47 PM
We've invented a technology that will give everyone their time back and allow all of us to work less!
Oh no it made tech bros MORE addicted to work.
Oh no it made tech bros MORE addicted to work.
Reposted by David Allsopp
this is the description of life in a cult
Token Anxiety
i think i mostly echo this for myself. with so much that can be done, i often feel like i *should* be doing something, always
i think i mostly echo this for myself. with so much that can be done, i often feel like i *should* be doing something, always
February 15, 2026 at 5:59 PM
this is the description of life in a cult
Reposted by David Allsopp
I don't know how many times in how many ways i have to say "AI encodes, reinforces, & iterates on the prejudicial biases & other values & beliefs of humans, so events like this are entirely predictable as long as we keep building & training these systems the ways we do" before it fucking sinks in.
WhatsApp’s AI shows gun-wielding children when prompted with ‘Palestine’
By contrast, prompts for ‘Israeli’ do not generate images of people wielding guns, even in response to a prompt for ‘Israel army’
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2023 at 6:01 PM
I don't know how many times in how many ways i have to say "AI encodes, reinforces, & iterates on the prejudicial biases & other values & beliefs of humans, so events like this are entirely predictable as long as we keep building & training these systems the ways we do" before it fucking sinks in.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
Reposted by David Allsopp
When I first transitioned, I would drive a mile to a public gender neutral bathroom rather than use one at work. I found out later a dozen staff held “meetings” about what they would do if I used the women’s room. I was their boss’s boss at the time, still had no recourse, just had to let it happen.
The BBC reporting on Beth Upton’s current employment situation is definitely not in the public interest, and it is insane how much the British press freely get away with harassing her for the crime of simply living her life existing as a trans person in the UK.
February 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
When I first transitioned, I would drive a mile to a public gender neutral bathroom rather than use one at work. I found out later a dozen staff held “meetings” about what they would do if I used the women’s room. I was their boss’s boss at the time, still had no recourse, just had to let it happen.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Anyone who had genuine concerns about youth gender medicine would staunchly and wholeheartedly support social transition. Let kids explore their identities to see what works for them!
The fact that this movement opposes even pronouns and haircuts shows that it's just bigotry all the way down.
The fact that this movement opposes even pronouns and haircuts shows that it's just bigotry all the way down.
This draft guidance reproduces Cass insisting that clinicians must be involved in decisions about *social transition* which actually should be none of their damn business
They take the line that this "non-directive" intervention should force things to be "keeping options open and flexible"...
They take the line that this "non-directive" intervention should force things to be "keeping options open and flexible"...
February 12, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Anyone who had genuine concerns about youth gender medicine would staunchly and wholeheartedly support social transition. Let kids explore their identities to see what works for them!
The fact that this movement opposes even pronouns and haircuts shows that it's just bigotry all the way down.
The fact that this movement opposes even pronouns and haircuts shows that it's just bigotry all the way down.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Cass had the data and government resources to investigate whether this moral panic was true but instead of looking at it critically she just reinforced the panic.
and then cass has the absolute nerve to go on the bbc and say shit like this
February 15, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Cass had the data and government resources to investigate whether this moral panic was true but instead of looking at it critically she just reinforced the panic.
Reposted by David Allsopp
Since Bridget Phillipson announced her transphobic “guidance” for schools, how many trans people have been interviewed or even quoted in mainstream media about it?
February 15, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Since Bridget Phillipson announced her transphobic “guidance” for schools, how many trans people have been interviewed or even quoted in mainstream media about it?
Reposted by David Allsopp
"A Saint Louis scientist has discovered that we shall all be crazy by the year 2016. This, alas, is not the worst of it. We shall also be dead."
The Evening Herald, Ottawa, Kansas, January 27, 1902
The Evening Herald, Ottawa, Kansas, January 27, 1902
February 15, 2026 at 4:28 AM
"A Saint Louis scientist has discovered that we shall all be crazy by the year 2016. This, alas, is not the worst of it. We shall also be dead."
The Evening Herald, Ottawa, Kansas, January 27, 1902
The Evening Herald, Ottawa, Kansas, January 27, 1902
Reposted by David Allsopp
If you want to understand why the BBC's stance on trans rights - only platforming cis people (and only those with a sceptical perspective) - is so outrageous imagine if it only platformed men talking about women's rights (and only those with a sceptical perspective).
February 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM
If you want to understand why the BBC's stance on trans rights - only platforming cis people (and only those with a sceptical perspective) - is so outrageous imagine if it only platformed men talking about women's rights (and only those with a sceptical perspective).
Reposted by David Allsopp
A new classic from yesterday
February 6, 2026 at 4:39 PM
A new classic from yesterday
Reposted by David Allsopp
