Guy Leonard
@guyleonard.bsky.social
Bioinformatician w/ Tom Richards & Team at @oxfordbiology.bsky.social
Homebrewer. WSET Beer Level 2.
Rejoiner 🇪🇺🤝🇬🇧
AI is not 'inevitable', resist its uncritical adoption.
Constant politics-doom ruined the other place.
Homebrewer. WSET Beer Level 2.
Rejoiner 🇪🇺🤝🇬🇧
AI is not 'inevitable', resist its uncritical adoption.
Constant politics-doom ruined the other place.
Pinned
Guy Leonard
@guyleonard.bsky.social
· Jul 1
Applications are now open for the Workshop on Genomics 2026 (11-24 Jan) in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia. For the first time, we are offering Early Bird Registration discounts! 🐣 Do not miss the chance! 🤩 Help us spread the word among friends and colleagues! 🙆🏽♀️ #evomics2026
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Early bird applications are now open! Go go go genomics!
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Don't call it a "bubble."
OpenAI, Microsoft, & Alphabet are just fine with that term because they get to tell you that all the dot-com bubble or the railroad bubble or the whatever bubble was, was a shaking out the greats after an intense period of mania. This isn't a bubble. This is a time bomb.
OpenAI, Microsoft, & Alphabet are just fine with that term because they get to tell you that all the dot-com bubble or the railroad bubble or the whatever bubble was, was a shaking out the greats after an intense period of mania. This isn't a bubble. This is a time bomb.
Opinion from Alphaville: OpenAI is a money pit with a website on top. That much we know already, but since OpenAI is a private company, there’s a lot of guesswork required when estimating the depth of the pit. on.ft.com/44xy39L
November 26, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Don't call it a "bubble."
OpenAI, Microsoft, & Alphabet are just fine with that term because they get to tell you that all the dot-com bubble or the railroad bubble or the whatever bubble was, was a shaking out the greats after an intense period of mania. This isn't a bubble. This is a time bomb.
OpenAI, Microsoft, & Alphabet are just fine with that term because they get to tell you that all the dot-com bubble or the railroad bubble or the whatever bubble was, was a shaking out the greats after an intense period of mania. This isn't a bubble. This is a time bomb.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Wired is Expired.
My dog contributes to climate change. I love him anyway. www.wired.com/story/the-cl...
The Climate Impact of Owning a Dog
My dog contributes to climate change. I love him anyway.
www.wired.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Wired is Expired.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
“LLMs aren’t going away” statements are wishes, not predictions, that they’re trying to make happen. Treat them as advocacy for a specific future, not observations of inevitability
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
“LLMs aren’t going away” statements are wishes, not predictions, that they’re trying to make happen. Treat them as advocacy for a specific future, not observations of inevitability
Reposted by Guy Leonard
My thoughts are first and foremost with those who lost loved ones or live with life-limiting conditions like Long Covid. The Inquiry’s finding that an earlier lockdown could have saved 23,000 lives is devastating. We must learn lessons: act early, protect lives & jobs, and ensure Govt is prepared.
November 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM
My thoughts are first and foremost with those who lost loved ones or live with life-limiting conditions like Long Covid. The Inquiry’s finding that an earlier lockdown could have saved 23,000 lives is devastating. We must learn lessons: act early, protect lives & jobs, and ensure Govt is prepared.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Two weeks left to apply for this position!
Feel free to email if there are any questions.
Feel free to email if there are any questions.
📢 We have an open position for a postdoc to join my lab. It's a great position @animecol-uu.bsky.social, fully salaried for 2.5 years with all benefits.
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
The project is about transmission patterns of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquatic insects. 🧬🦠 (1/3)
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
The project is about transmission patterns of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquatic insects. 🧬🦠 (1/3)
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
November 20, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Two weeks left to apply for this position!
Feel free to email if there are any questions.
Feel free to email if there are any questions.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
November 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Twitter and chat gpt are down. Bad day for people who suck.
November 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Twitter and chat gpt are down. Bad day for people who suck.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Oh, the irony of people using generative AI to "summarise" my papers 🫠
(here the real paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
(here the real paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
June 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Oh, the irony of people using generative AI to "summarise" my papers 🫠
(here the real paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
(here the real paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
Reposted by Guy Leonard
I can‘t believe that we‘re willingly handing over crucial parts of our workforce, data management and even education to a criminal version of Clippy
November 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I can‘t believe that we‘re willingly handing over crucial parts of our workforce, data management and even education to a criminal version of Clippy
Presumably the "bot" has not been trained on any review of their paper - pre review policy at the journal - so it's not doing anything other than statistical mud pies of whatever it has been trained on.
It can't think. It can't synthesize. And it cannot understand.
All LLMs are overstated claims.
It can't think. It can't synthesize. And it cannot understand.
All LLMs are overstated claims.
Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
November 12, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Presumably the "bot" has not been trained on any review of their paper - pre review policy at the journal - so it's not doing anything other than statistical mud pies of whatever it has been trained on.
It can't think. It can't synthesize. And it cannot understand.
All LLMs are overstated claims.
It can't think. It can't synthesize. And it cannot understand.
All LLMs are overstated claims.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Really excited to see that seats are filling up! There are still a handful left - get them while you can!
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
bsky.app/profile/jlst...
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
bsky.app/profile/jlst...
November 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Really excited to see that seats are filling up! There are still a handful left - get them while you can!
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
bsky.app/profile/jlst...
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
bsky.app/profile/jlst...
Reposted by Guy Leonard
since chatgpt has coached another young person in a mental health crisis to their death, I am yet again tapping the sign
November 7, 2025 at 10:59 AM
since chatgpt has coached another young person in a mental health crisis to their death, I am yet again tapping the sign
Nothing irks me more from a pub when you're sat at a table and a staff member comes over and reserves the table for later. I am here now, I might have stayed later. I am not coming back.
The Pellicle Essential Guide to Pub Ettiquette!
Already noted as curmudgeonly by @boakandbailey.bsky.social, we prefer "righteously bothered."
Table rezzies, bogey-filled tissues in empty glasses, rounds and more, all documented for posterity.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/10...
Already noted as curmudgeonly by @boakandbailey.bsky.social, we prefer "righteously bothered."
Table rezzies, bogey-filled tissues in empty glasses, rounds and more, all documented for posterity.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/10...
The Essential Guide to Pub Etiquette — Pellicle
It was the writer and politician Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) who famously said, “ Change your hearts or you will lose your inns and you will deserve to have lost them. But when you have lost your inns ...
www.pelliclemag.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Nothing irks me more from a pub when you're sat at a table and a staff member comes over and reserves the table for later. I am here now, I might have stayed later. I am not coming back.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Arthur took a deep breath without much enthusiasm.
November 4, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Arthur took a deep breath without much enthusiasm.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
Has life today been enshittified? Cory Doctorow's new book explores
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
www.newscientist.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Enshittification is a term coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022. In his new book, Doctorow lays out how tech companies have made our lives progressively worse, finds Matthew Sparkes
Reposted by Guy Leonard
"The new Luddites aren’t afraid of AI. They’re afraid of the people who profit from pretending it’s intelligent." Erik J. Larson reviews "The AI Con" by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-return-of-the-luddites/
October 31, 2025 at 3:31 PM
"The new Luddites aren’t afraid of AI. They’re afraid of the people who profit from pretending it’s intelligent." Erik J. Larson reviews "The AI Con" by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-return-of-the-luddites/
Reposted by Guy Leonard
@guyleonard.bsky.social et al. report a near-complete genome and transcriptome sequence dataset for green algae host Paramecium bursaria, an endosymbiotic model system.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf183
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf183
#genome #evolution
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
Abstract. How two species engage in stable endosymbiosis is a biological quandary. The study of facultative endosymbiotic interactions has emerged as a use
doi.org
October 31, 2025 at 10:54 AM
@guyleonard.bsky.social et al. report a near-complete genome and transcriptome sequence dataset for green algae host Paramecium bursaria, an endosymbiotic model system.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf183
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf183
#genome #evolution
Reposted by Guy Leonard
There's so much being researched and published about GenAI that I update the 'Against Generative AI' resource list almost every day. Check it out catherinedenial.org/blog/uncateg...
Against Generative AI – Cate Denial
catherinedenial.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:52 AM
There's so much being researched and published about GenAI that I update the 'Against Generative AI' resource list almost every day. Check it out catherinedenial.org/blog/uncateg...
Apply to our sister workshop now!
It's a great follow on from the Workshop on Genomics, and in the same great town with even more great people!
It's a great follow on from the Workshop on Genomics, and in the same great town with even more great people!
Come join the Workshop on Phylogenomics in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia, from January 25 through February 7, 2026!
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Apply: Workshop on Phylogenomics 2026 - Evolution and Genomics
Application for the 2026 Workshop on Phylogenomics Use this form to apply for the 2026 Workshop on Phylogenomics being held in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia from 25th January through 7th February, ...
evomics.org
October 30, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Apply to our sister workshop now!
It's a great follow on from the Workshop on Genomics, and in the same great town with even more great people!
It's a great follow on from the Workshop on Genomics, and in the same great town with even more great people!
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Online today!
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
October 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Online today!
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
Online today!
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
October 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Online today!
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
De Novo Genome Sequence Assembly of the RNAi-Tractable Paramecium bursaria 186b: An Endosymbiotic Model System
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
Reposted by Guy Leonard
Merce Montoliu brings us a presentation about wonderful #lichens at the #biodiversity25. Lichens are associations between mycobionts (fungi), photobionts (green algae or cianobacteria) and microbiomes. 38 different lichens were sequenced in DToL & ASH. Results show complex multiorganismal scenarios
October 28, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Merce Montoliu brings us a presentation about wonderful #lichens at the #biodiversity25. Lichens are associations between mycobionts (fungi), photobionts (green algae or cianobacteria) and microbiomes. 38 different lichens were sequenced in DToL & ASH. Results show complex multiorganismal scenarios