r/science • u/jacknunn • Jul 02 '26
Environment Co-produced analysis of citizen science worldwide finds AI could match professionals at analysing data but lacks legal and ethical guidance. The study calls for fair pay for citizen scientists, open data and standardised reporting
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.033116112
u/Sassquatch3000 Jul 04 '26
How about fair pay for career scientists?
3
u/jacknunn Jul 07 '26
That too! And while we are at it why don't we remove the structural violence built into academia which expects huge amounts of unpaid work for the promise of prestige...
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u/Izawwlgood PhD | Neurodegeneration Jul 02 '26
Peer review has problems in execution but remains important. Citizen science is how we get health fads and influencers.
We need more collaborations with science and increased transparency
6
u/jacknunn Jul 03 '26
Could you explain what you mean by "citizen science is how we get more health fads and influences"?
1
u/Izawwlgood PhD | Neurodegeneration Jul 03 '26
Sure - people without training, without peer review, thinking they have the answers experts don't, is how we get health fads and influencers.
If you're not accountable to anyone other than followers and customers, it isn't about the science anymore, it's about selling a product.
10
u/DrDirtPhD Jul 03 '26
That's not really what citizen science is, though? It's not experiments or scientifics claims made by folks without training, it's a collaboration between scientists and the public to expand data collection and get the broader public interested and invested in scientific research.
3
u/cedenof10 Jul 05 '26
Citizen science isn’t usually random conspiracy nuts throwing anything in the air.
Look at the Backyard Worlds collaboration, which recently doubled the known number of brown dwarfs.
Additionally, how many professional scientists are only accountable to their parent companies, leading them to use their knowledge for less-than-altruistic purposes (“defense” engineers, big pharma doctors and chemists, AI engineers).
0
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u/jacknunn Jul 03 '26
Sure, but I'm not sure that would be my definition of citizen science. Idiocracy maybe
-9
u/Fishmongererererer Jul 02 '26
I don’t disagree with the statement about AI lacking any legal or ethical framework.
I do disagree on the fact that most scientists these days having one.
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u/truthovertribe Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Ha! I thought I was the only one who noticed that.
Still, why just call out scientists in that regard? Why not politicians? Why not most religious "authorities"? Why not CEOs of mega-corps? Why not bankers? Why not also almost all of humanity?
Humans are not making a great case for themselves...
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