The Royal Society is one of the oldest, most respected, and most exclusive scientific societies in the world. Imagine my surprise to learn that Elon Musk is a member.
This brings us, then, to the case of Elon Musk, who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018 on the basis of his technological achievements, notably in space travel and electrical vehicle development. Unfortunately, since that time, his interests have extended to using social media for political propaganda, while at the same time battling what he sees as “woke mind virus” and attacks on free speech. Whereas previously he seemed to agree with mainstream scientific opinion on issues such as climate change and medicine, over the past year or two, he’s started promoting alternative ideas.
They thought Elon Musk was inventing new technology with his mighty brain, rather than simply buying large teams of engineers with his mighty bank account? Tsk.
That account comes from a former FRS who has resigned at this tainting of the society. She is asking that he be stricken from the rolls, and lists multiple reasons why he brings shame on a distinguished scientific organization.
Scientific misconduct
Ethics & management of Neuralink
Promoting vaccine hesitation
Downplaying the climate emergency
Spreading deep fakes and misinformation on X
The Royal Society has done nothing; I guess once enrolled, forever enrolled, and no amount of anti-science ignorance or the promotion of atrocities will change that (that’s to be expected, given the history of the British Empire.) The society did contact a lawyer to make sure it was OK to keep a known professional troll in their ranks.
I gather that at this point the Royal Society Council opted to consult a top lawyer to determine whether Musk’s behaviour breached their Code of Conduct. The problem with this course of action is that if you are uncertain about doing something that seems morally right but may have consequences, then it is easy to find a lawyer who will advise against doing it. That’s just how lawyers work. They’re paid to rescue people from ethical impulses that may get them into trouble. And, sure enough, the lawyer determined that Musk hadn’t breached the Code of Conduct. If you want to see if you agree, you can find the Code of Conduct here.
The Society has promised to look more deeply at the Musk case, but don’t expect much.
I’ve been told that in the light of the evolving situation, the Royal Society Council will look again at the case of Elon Musk. In conversations I have had with them, they emphasise that they must adhere to their own procedures, which are specified in the Statutes, and which involve a whole series of stages of legal scrutiny, committee evaluation, discussion with the Fellow in question, and ultimately a vote from the Fellowship, before a Fellow or Foreign Member could be expelled. While I agree that if you have a set of rules you should stick to them, I find the fact that nobody has been expelled for over 150 years telling. It does suggest that the Statutes are worded so that it is virtually impossible to do anything about Fellows who breach the Code of Conduct. In effect the Statutes serve a purpose of protecting the Royal Society from ever having to take action against one of its Fellows.
Sounds like most other human cliques.
I wouldn’t join a club that’d have Elon Musk as a member.
Even his own platform’s AI acknowledges that he spreads mis- and disinformation.
When the priest raping kids scandal was hitting the RCC hard, one of the responses was that removing the priest from the priesthood was extremely difficult. This was only partly true. Kicking a man out of the priesthood is easy for the crime of disobedience and very difficult for other offenses. The only conclusion is that raping children is not disobedient.
You are assuming that lot of the people in the Royal Society disagree with Elon Musk.
That isn’t a good assumption.
I’m sure many or most of them in fact, do agree with Elon Musk!!!
It’s 93% white and 91% male.
Just guessing based on the place, UK with its class system, and the composition of the Royal Society at 93% white and 91% male, that most of them can’t even imagine why anyone would have a problem with Elon Musk and his increasingly erratic mental state.
Next up.
Ask the GOP what they think of Elon Musk.
Don’t be surprised.
My bet is that the Royal Society is also afraid to kick Elon Musk out. Musk has so much money that he could financially ruin them, no matter the right or wrong of the issue.
They could at least ask him to resign.
That’s a very poor guess. Sure, the membership is likely to be somewhat small-c conservative and don’t-rock-the-boat in outlook, but also generally pro-science, and therefore disgusted at Musk’s plunge to the anti-science far right.
What technological achievements, exactly? None of that can be credited to Musk.
Elon Musk Muses About Buying MSNBC: “How Much Does It Cost?”
Elon’s societal acceptance was in May of ’18. A month later he would be thinking a submarine in a cave would be a good idea.
This brings me back to The Young Ones in the 1980s.
They need money and go to the the British police recruiting office where they are met by a sign saying “We take absolutely anyone”.
Scientific societies were perhaps once useful due to lack of communication technologies nowadays they are completely redundant. There is nothing more pointless than joining one. It’s the scientific equivalent of “look at my car”.
@10
I’ll allow Musk suggesting a specialized submarine as a well-intentioned if ill-informed desire to help. For me at least, his replying to good-faith criticism with accusations of pedophilia was the point where I started to realize that he was a slimeball.
This just proves that almost any organization will prostitute themselves for the obscenely rich and clueless. OOOHHH, the elongated muskrat is so sciency. But, his words and actions both prove he is a wealthy imbecile. He couldn’t invent anything technical if his life depended on it. He buys the innovations and work of others, shows it off as if he created it and the sheople drool at what a genius he is. All Hat No Cattle blog posted a sign that said: ‘elon musk sounds like a cheap after shave you would buy at walgreens as a teenager’
And, the correct interpretation of that is that his stench contaminates everything he touches.