Nic Fox
@foxnic.bsky.social
Researching missing children + harm with NLP + ML (“AI” but not Generative-AI)
1st paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2024.2333561?src=exp-mr
2nd paper (preprint): https://doi.org/10.21428/cb6ab371.a9708ebe
Former IT consultant
1st paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2024.2333561?src=exp-mr
2nd paper (preprint): https://doi.org/10.21428/cb6ab371.a9708ebe
Former IT consultant
Reposted by Nic Fox
We're organising a webinar on 18 February to mark the end of my @adr-uk.bsky.social Fellowship on school absences and crime. With talks from top-notch colleagues including @iainbrennan.bsky.social, @foxnic.bsky.social, Mark Mon-Williams, and many others!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-schoo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-schoo...
From School Absences and Exclusions to Crime: Evidence and Implications
This webinar marks the conclusion of an ADR UK Fellowship examining the longitudinal relationship between school absences and crime.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 9:55 AM
We're organising a webinar on 18 February to mark the end of my @adr-uk.bsky.social Fellowship on school absences and crime. With talks from top-notch colleagues including @iainbrennan.bsky.social, @foxnic.bsky.social, Mark Mon-Williams, and many others!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-schoo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-schoo...
Reposted by Nic Fox
Reposted by Nic Fox
“institutions reward publication volume and citation metrics above everything else”
“Papermills are merely the black-market version of the same sickness: a culture that rewards
output, not validity;
novelty, not truth;
publication, not knowledge.”
“Papermills are merely the black-market version of the same sickness: a culture that rewards
output, not validity;
novelty, not truth;
publication, not knowledge.”
November 17, 2025 at 6:40 AM
“institutions reward publication volume and citation metrics above everything else”
“Papermills are merely the black-market version of the same sickness: a culture that rewards
output, not validity;
novelty, not truth;
publication, not knowledge.”
“Papermills are merely the black-market version of the same sickness: a culture that rewards
output, not validity;
novelty, not truth;
publication, not knowledge.”
“Overambitious […] underdelivered”
Would be interesting to see an analysis of similarities with the Post Office IT scandal in terms of previous members of the board and management responses to staff/stakeholders raising concerns.
Would be interesting to see an analysis of similarities with the Post Office IT scandal in terms of previous members of the board and management responses to staff/stakeholders raising concerns.
“ambitious plan to digitalize the courts […]
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - File on 4 Investigates, The IT bug that's caused chaos in the courts
An IT bug caused evidence to go missing or appear lost in some court cases.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
“Overambitious […] underdelivered”
Would be interesting to see an analysis of similarities with the Post Office IT scandal in terms of previous members of the board and management responses to staff/stakeholders raising concerns.
Would be interesting to see an analysis of similarities with the Post Office IT scandal in terms of previous members of the board and management responses to staff/stakeholders raising concerns.
“ambitious plan to digitalize the courts […]
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - File on 4 Investigates, The IT bug that's caused chaos in the courts
An IT bug caused evidence to go missing or appear lost in some court cases.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 6:46 AM
“ambitious plan to digitalize the courts […]
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost
[…]
was known about for years before action was taken”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
“had received 38 alerts from Abdur's school- including a report that his lunch box contained nothing but "mouldy bread and water" - but despite this, they were in the process of stepping him down from his care plan”
😧😞
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
😧😞
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ten-year-old boy's neglect 'missed' by Oldham social services
A safeguarding review finds there were
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
“had received 38 alerts from Abdur's school- including a report that his lunch box contained nothing but "mouldy bread and water" - but despite this, they were in the process of stepping him down from his care plan”
😧😞
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
😧😞
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Nic Fox
How does a violence intervention program actually work? We interviewed 99 READI participants to find out.
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Why Might READI Chicago Work to Reduce Gun Violence? Qualitative Evidence from the Field - University of Chicago Crime Lab
Building on a body of evidence showing that behavioral science-informed programs can reduce violence among youth and adults, this report highlights findings from a qualitative analysis to understand w...
crimelab.uchicago.edu
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
How does a violence intervention program actually work? We interviewed 99 READI participants to find out.
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Reposted by Nic Fox
Fantastic! Theory in violence interventions is often weak and simplistic. Qualitative work with programme participants is the way to improve.
How does a violence intervention program actually work? We interviewed 99 READI participants to find out.
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Key finding: They came for the job, stayed for the therapy.
crimelab.uchicago.edu/resources/wh...
Why Might READI Chicago Work to Reduce Gun Violence? Qualitative Evidence from the Field - University of Chicago Crime Lab
Building on a body of evidence showing that behavioral science-informed programs can reduce violence among youth and adults, this report highlights findings from a qualitative analysis to understand w...
crimelab.uchicago.edu
November 7, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Fantastic! Theory in violence interventions is often weak and simplistic. Qualitative work with programme participants is the way to improve.
Reposted by Nic Fox
We are looking for #rstats community feedback on 3 new dplyr functions!
We're aiming to expand the `filter()` family:
- `filter()` to keep rows
- `filter_out()` to drop rows
- `when_any()` and `when_all()` as modifiers
Read more and leave feedback here:
github.com/tidyverse/ti...
We're aiming to expand the `filter()` family:
- `filter()` to keep rows
- `filter_out()` to drop rows
- `when_any()` and `when_all()` as modifiers
Read more and leave feedback here:
github.com/tidyverse/ti...
November 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
We are looking for #rstats community feedback on 3 new dplyr functions!
We're aiming to expand the `filter()` family:
- `filter()` to keep rows
- `filter_out()` to drop rows
- `when_any()` and `when_all()` as modifiers
Read more and leave feedback here:
github.com/tidyverse/ti...
We're aiming to expand the `filter()` family:
- `filter()` to keep rows
- `filter_out()` to drop rows
- `when_any()` and `when_all()` as modifiers
Read more and leave feedback here:
github.com/tidyverse/ti...
Reposted by Nic Fox
Next week LinkedIn will use your personal data for AI training by automatically enabling permissions.
To manually turn off go to:
Settings ➡️ Data Privacy ➡️ under
“How LinkedIn uses your data” click “Data for Generative AI improvement” ➡️ toggle off
To manually turn off go to:
Settings ➡️ Data Privacy ➡️ under
“How LinkedIn uses your data” click “Data for Generative AI improvement” ➡️ toggle off
November 2, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Next week LinkedIn will use your personal data for AI training by automatically enabling permissions.
To manually turn off go to:
Settings ➡️ Data Privacy ➡️ under
“How LinkedIn uses your data” click “Data for Generative AI improvement” ➡️ toggle off
To manually turn off go to:
Settings ➡️ Data Privacy ➡️ under
“How LinkedIn uses your data” click “Data for Generative AI improvement” ➡️ toggle off
Reposted by Nic Fox
“We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically.”
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
November 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
“We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically.”
“Rather than choosing between two flawed approaches […] we advocate for explicitly acknowledging the model uncertainty they introduce. We demonstrate how this can be achieved…” ❤️
Using DAG and being careful about bad controls in Criminology is not frequent
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
November 1, 2025 at 7:33 AM
“Rather than choosing between two flawed approaches […] we advocate for explicitly acknowledging the model uncertainty they introduce. We demonstrate how this can be achieved…” ❤️
Reposted by Nic Fox
Using DAG and being careful about bad controls in Criminology is not frequent
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
October 30, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Using DAG and being careful about bad controls in Criminology is not frequent
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
Great paper on sentencing discrimination
Reposted by Nic Fox
Reposted by Nic Fox
Candy bar charts!
November 1, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Candy bar charts!
Reposted by Nic Fox
I was selfish and took the milestone episode to explain why we must get off US tech, some options that are already available to us, but also why our governments need to step up.
We can’t keep allowing the US government and Silicon Valley billionaires to have so much power over us!
We can’t keep allowing the US government and Silicon Valley billionaires to have so much power over us!
Tech Won’t Save Us is celebrating 300 episodes! 🎉
This week @parismarx.com took over the show to discuss an issue that’s been motivating a lot of his work this year: the problem with our dependence on US tech and why we need digital sovereignty!
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/300_...
This week @parismarx.com took over the show to discuss an issue that’s been motivating a lot of his work this year: the problem with our dependence on US tech and why we need digital sovereignty!
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/300_...
October 31, 2025 at 12:18 PM
I was selfish and took the milestone episode to explain why we must get off US tech, some options that are already available to us, but also why our governments need to step up.
We can’t keep allowing the US government and Silicon Valley billionaires to have so much power over us!
We can’t keep allowing the US government and Silicon Valley billionaires to have so much power over us!
Reposted by Nic Fox
NEW: you can't refuse to be scanned by ICE's new facial recognition app, according to internal DHS document 404 Media obtained. Photos taken by the app are stored for 15 years, including of U.S. citizens. We've published the full document here: www.404media.co/you-cant-ref...
You Can't Refuse To Be Scanned by ICE's Facial Recognition App, DHS Document Says
Photos captured by Mobile Fortify will be stored for 15 years, regardless of immigration or citizenship status, the document says.
www.404media.co
October 31, 2025 at 1:50 PM
NEW: you can't refuse to be scanned by ICE's new facial recognition app, according to internal DHS document 404 Media obtained. Photos taken by the app are stored for 15 years, including of U.S. citizens. We've published the full document here: www.404media.co/you-cant-ref...
Reposted by Nic Fox
how it feels to do physical activity after the age of 35
October 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
how it feels to do physical activity after the age of 35
Reposted by Nic Fox
Why would someone pay $20k for a robot controlled by a human in a remote location to do things more slowly and clumsily when the median wage for a maid or housekeeper is $33k per year, which is typically spread across 10-20 households?
October 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Why would someone pay $20k for a robot controlled by a human in a remote location to do things more slowly and clumsily when the median wage for a maid or housekeeper is $33k per year, which is typically spread across 10-20 households?
Reposted by Nic Fox
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Nic Fox
Smart glasses that protect against surveillance v. Smart glasses that are surveillance. What a world.
NEW: we tested Zenni's anti-facial recognition glasses coating. "ID Guard" adds a pink sheen to the surface of the glasses that reflects the infrared light used by some facial recognition cameras.
www.404media.co/zennis-anti-...
www.404media.co/zennis-anti-...
Zenni’s Anti-Facial Recognition Glasses are Eyewear for Our Paranoid Age
These anti-facial recognition glasses technically work, but won’t save you from our surveillance dystopia.
www.404media.co
October 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Smart glasses that protect against surveillance v. Smart glasses that are surveillance. What a world.
“In 10 years, who’s going to mentor the next generation? The developers who’ve been using AI since day one won’t have the architectural understanding to teach. The product managers who’ve always relied on AI for decisions won’t have the judgment to pass on.“
“[AI] would generate something, […] I’d correct it, it would make the same mistake again, I’d correct it again. I was working harder than if I’d just written the code myself, but with none of the learning or skill development
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”
October 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
“In 10 years, who’s going to mentor the next generation? The developers who’ve been using AI since day one won’t have the architectural understanding to teach. The product managers who’ve always relied on AI for decisions won’t have the judgment to pass on.“
“[AI] would generate something, […] I’d correct it, it would make the same mistake again, I’d correct it again. I was working harder than if I’d just written the code myself, but with none of the learning or skill development
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”
October 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
“[AI] would generate something, […] I’d correct it, it would make the same mistake again, I’d correct it again. I was working harder than if I’d just written the code myself, but with none of the learning or skill development
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”
…I’d abdicated ownership while telling myself I was being innovative”