Kieron Flanagan

@[email protected]
446 Followers
445 Following
72 Posts

Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research @MIOIR at the University of Manchester. Also member of The Productivity Institute and academic lead, NW Regional Productivity Forum.

Views own, reposts not. 🐝🇮🇪🇬🇧🇪🇺

Web profilehttps://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/kieron.flanagan.html
Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7299-3158
LinkedInhttps://linkedin.com/in/kieron-flanagan-13289814
That bird apphttps://twitter.com/kieronflanagan
Kieron FlanaganNov 3, 2023

Much discussion about societal implications of #AI this week! But what might be the societal implications of increasing AI and automation in research? @barbararibeiro Priscila Ferri and I raise some questions from a neglected #scipolicy perspective:
https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-political-science-blog-2023-11-ai-driven-research-risks-eroding-the-science-base/

#AISummit

AI-driven research risks eroding the science base - Research Professional News

Don’t let automation threaten broad scientific training, say Kieron Flanagan, Barbara Ribeiro and Priscilla Ferri

Research Professional News
Show threadKieron FlanaganFeb 20, 2023
@RoRInstitute
Show threadKieron FlanaganFeb 20, 2023
@MIOIR
Kieron FlanaganFeb 20, 2023

Really delighted to say that Prof Cassidy Sugimoto will deliver the University of Manchester's Fred Jevons science policy lecture on 23rd March.

Please join us in Manchester or online to hear Cassidy discuss the gender gap in science and what can be done about it.

https://t.co/odo8W6cTTP

Equity for women in science

The Fred Jevons lecture will explore the gender gap in science and technology, and what can be done to address it.

Eventbrite
Kieron FlanaganFeb 17, 2023

The UK's new S&T ministry @SciTechgovuk is a week and a half old!

My first reaction was published by New Scientist last week (£, sorry):

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2358518-will-the-uks-new-science-and-tech-department-achieve-anything/

My further thoughts on what this might mean are now out at Research Fortnight:

https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/political-science-blog/2023/2/Science-ministry-must-avoid-being-all-R-and-no-D.html

#scipolicy

Will the UK's new science and tech department achieve anything?

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, headed by Michelle Donelan, is intended to show the UK government is serious about these fields, but a reshuffle is no substitute for a clear plan, says Kieron Flanagan

New Scientist
Kieron FlanaganJan 21, 2023
Tiffany LiJan 21, 2023
I don’t know how to explain it, but time works differently in airports. 5 minutes and 5 hours are somehow the same. Your flight is delayed but arrives early. The carpets are from 1980. The water machines are from 2045. It is always happy hour. You have always been in the airport.
Kieron FlanaganJan 19, 2023
Just popped into University Place for some grub, found a nice little photography exhibition, Manchester music past and present… normally would be too crowded with students to get to the walls to see the pictures
Show threadKieron FlanaganJan 19, 2023
…based on pattern matching rather than any understanding at all. And push the button a second time and you’ll get a completely different, equally plausible argument. Remind you of anything?
Kieron FlanaganJan 19, 2023
I’ve just realised what the output of ChatGPT and similar language models reminds me of. Congratulations techies, you’ve managed to automate the British public school education. Both the AI and the old boys produce superficially articulate and plausible word salads on demand…
Kieron FlanaganJan 12, 2023
John Mark OckerbloomJan 12, 2023
Aileen Fyfe has an interesting post on the relationship between journals and scholarly societies, and how it's changed over time: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2023/01/11/do-journals-need-societies-and-do-societies-need-journals/ Among the bits interesting to me is the observation that journals have not been profitable, or even seen as money-making enterprises, for most of their lifetime. There's also a link to a new open access book she co-wrote on the history of scientific journals, focusing on the Royal Society: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/187262
Do journals need societies, and do societies need journals?

Historically, there has been a tight link between journals, journal publications and a community of scholars working in specific fields of research who contribute to and manage them. As journal pub…

Impact of Social Sciences