A leading scientist at the University of Oxford has resigned from the United Kingdom’s National Academy of Sciences over concerns about Elon Musk’s continuing fellowship.
Prof Dorothy Bishop, Emeritus Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology and a leading expert on children’s communication disorders, she said giving back her fellowship of the Royal Society last week.
Bishop told the Guardian her move was a gut reaction, adding that she met with the president and the CEO after signaling her decision to resign, stressing the need to follow due process on Musk.
“I just started thinking, you know, the Royal Society “It seemed like it was set up to make it very, very difficult for anyone to ever resign or to actually get kicked out, and given everything I know about Musk, it felt, frankly, gross,” she said. said.
“It just felt like having him in the Royal Society seemed such a contradiction of all the values of the Royal Society. And I didn’t really want anything to do with it.”
Bishop also pointed to the Royal Society’s code of conduct, which emphasizes the need for fellows to treat each other with courtesy.
“What I told them was, I’m not going to be polite and nice Elon Musk I’m afraid, so I can’t abide by the code of conduct,” she said.
Bishop wrote in a blog post that she didn’t expect her resignation to have an impact, but it made her feel more comfortable.
“Any pleasure I may take in distinguishing the honor of an FRS is diminished by the fact that it is shared with someone who seems to model himself on a Bond villain, a man who has immeasurable wealth and power which he will use to threaten. scientists who disagree with him,” she wrote.
Although not expressly cited by Bishop, last year Musk threatened to sue a group of researchers for the non-profit Center to Combat Digital Hate, whose work has revealed that since Musk bought the site now known as X, there has been a increase in hate speech on the platform.
Musk was elected fellow in 2018 in recognition of his work and impact in the space and electric vehicle industries.
However, in August revealed the Guardian a number of fellows have written to the Royal Society expressing concern over the tech billionaire’s comments about unrest in the UK, raising the possibility of removing his fellowship.
the same month, Downing Street criticized the comments by the X owner saying “civil war is inevitable” posted under a video of violent riots in Liverpool.
But, Bishop noted, a Royal Society lawyer subsequently determined that Musk had not breached the body’s code of conduct.
“Many of the signatories of the letter, including myself, were unhappy with this response. We have begun to gather further evidence of conduct inconsistent with the Code of Conduct,” she wrote.
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The result is a list that includes Musk’s posts on X about Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to the president of the US; Promote Musk’s posts on X vaccine conspiracy theories; Musk apparently reduce the climate crisis.
The Royal Society’s code of conduct states: “When statements are spoken or made public in a personal capacity, fellows and foreign members must still endeavor to uphold the reputation of the Society and those who work within it, and be mindful that what is said or stated in a personal capacity may still affect the Society.”
Bishop said one problem is that many of the senior fellows of the Royal Society are not active on social media.
“I think the view you form of Elon Musk is completely different if you only read the Guardian or newspapers that cover it than if you’re immersed in social media, like me, where he’s doing something more outrageous every day,” she said. said.
A spokesperson for the Royal Society said: “The Royal Society deeply regrets Dorothy Bishop’s resignation from the Fellowship. She is an outstanding scientist and has contributed much to the Society over her years as a Fellow.
“In the event of any concern about the conduct of a fellow, the Society has a clear set of processes which in our code of conductwhich are published on our website together with relevant disciplinary regulations.
“Any issues raised in relation to individual fellows are treated in strict confidence.”
