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Abe Smith

@abesmith.bsky.social
648 followers 1.1K following 125 posts

a complicated human in complicated times Mathematician and scientist trying to make AI safer. Talk to me about science, rural life, music, and trying to organize for a better future. Wisconsin, USA

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Abe Smith
Mara Wilson @marawilson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I don’t think I’m ever going to get the appeal of pivoting to video for podcasts. I’ve been listening to podcasts for 20 years, and never once have I thought, my God, I need to SEE these people! I’m on a walk or doing the dishes, I don’t need video. 
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Welp
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
NSF has reduced the research budget for all atmospheric, ocean, and earth sciences by ~80%. 80%! A lot of us will not be conducting new research or training new students for the foreseeable future.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
One of the coolest things about people who don't have a lot of power taking a principled stand is it lays bare the complete cowardice of the ones who actually *do* have power when they fail to do even a fraction as much.
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Michal Zgraja @zgr-ftw.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
"Big Tech has proved that its only principles are not paying taxes, invading your privacy, and not being broken up by antitrust enforcers. Tech companies will do anything for any leader who can guarantee those outcomes." Sad but true
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utopia deferred @utopia-defer.red · 07/09/2026
You guys ever think about how the US has exhausted its offensive and defensive capabilities over a body of water with no political objective to the point of risking strategic collapse in any near peer conflict
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Glenn Fleishman @glennf.com · 07/09/2026
Anything that makes you enter information you can’t export should be regulated out of existence.
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Abe Smith @abesmith.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"if true, this is a huge federal crime and should destroy the company" "if false, they are pumping stock price for insider trading"
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Perfect opportunity to remind people "the only reason this and a million other sensible policies aren't happening is because Republicans control Congress and they do what Trump says." But instead Schiff decides to go with: Trump is right, unspecified members of Congress are the problem.
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lorem ipsum 🇧🇷🇺🇸 @whiskeynachos.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Our rulers have gotten so stupid that it’s broken my mind, every last guideline I thought was “the real world” turned out to be negotiable
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 31/08/2026
Abdul El-Sayed: “Canadians are like the only people in the world who are going to preemptively apologize for something they didn't even do. So if you're starting a trade war with Canada, it's because you're the asshole.”
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I’m not joking, Canada should expel American diplomats over this
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julia ghoulia 👻🫀 @whooisjulia.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
hating pop music doesn’t make you deep
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We're being told that if we sacrifice the rights of some people, then the rest of us get to keep our rights. We all know that's some BS.
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Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
When America is gone, remember NYT headlines like this and never again ask what role corporate media played in normalizing the most dangerous man on Earth
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Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Conservatives in 2026 are like: “When we said Barack Obama was like Hitler we meant it as a metaphor for something bad, not a reference to real Hitler who we think is cool but not in a way that lets you say we’re racist.”
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
> @daveweigel.bsky.social
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Congressman Greg Casar @repcasar.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
ICE just arrested a 5-year-old on his way to a soccer game in Austin. His name is Liam, just like the little boy from Minnesota. He should be in kindergarten this week. Instead he's in a trailer prison in the desert. Release Liam. Release these kids. Close the Dilley children’s prison.
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up. In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.
nature.com
Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades
The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.
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The Girl of Lemongrab @mc-hesher.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A load bearing mythos of pop leftism is that the Dems used to be good and for the working man and then embraced neoliberalism so the working man got sold out, instead of "white America as a whole turned on the Dems after the Civil Rights Act and began tearing down their own commons and prosperity"
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I wrote about a reason not to use generative AI in your writing that I haven't seen anyone talking about. Once I realized this, banning GenAI in our lab's writing became a no-brainer. Feel free to share, I think this is probably useful especially for trainees: www.carlsonlab.bio/thoughts/the...
carlsonlab.bio
The only reason you’ll ever need not to write with AI — The Carlson Lab
Over the last year, our lab has been developing a policy on AI use. To do this, we did three main things: We read a lot of academic publications and tech news. We set up an #ai channel on our la...
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Ian Bassin @ianbassin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Has there been a bigger and faster and more total strategic failure in American history than Trump’s decision to attack Iran?
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God @thegodshow.com · 06/08/2026
It was revealed the president's bank accounts got shut down by Capitol One for money laundering but the media is too obsessed with Francesca Hong's take on Thanksgiving to notice.
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Sergio Perez @sergioperez.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Your tax dollars are working to terrorize & arrest & imprison & deport & bomb & kill children but you’re worried about subsidized grocery stores. Go to hell.
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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Academics and scoleres are not gate-keeperes. Thei will talke to you about their topiques. For dayes. Thei will sende lynkes. Thei will order bookes. Thys ys why thei lyve. Thei are the route bitwene past knowledge and future knowledge.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Just so everyone knows, this is a tried-and-true mainstream media tactic. For progressives/leftist candidates, every election is a “crucial test” and any loss would serve as proof to the media that the latest left-side moment is at its end. Any win, though, just means it’s time to find a new test.
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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
As unpopular as the Iran war is, the coverage still doesn't do justice to the fact that they just could have not done any of this. There was literally no reason beyond general bloodthirstiness and incompetence.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This should be a lightbulb moment for Democrats: You are free to run on this platform because Republicans are going to accuse you of it whether you do or not!
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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Communist!!!
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⚸ Gingersnapped 🐺🌕🎃 @gingerspiced.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Pete Hegseth: "We need our warriors to embrace the Spartan mindset" U.S. Military: *suffers crushing defeat to the Persians*
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SAG-AFTRA @sagaftra.org · 10/07/2026
Meta now lets anyone use your Instagram photos in AI images without your consent. SAG-AFTRA recommends that #SagAftraMembers (and all Instagram users) opt-OUT of Meta’s new AI image generation tool, Muse Image. Take action to protect your likeness.
If you want to avoid AI generations of your Instagram posts without switching your account to private, you’ll have to dig into the app’s settings. Open the Instagram app, tap your profile, and then tap the three lines in the top-right corner of the screen. Then, scroll down to the Sharing and reuse tab. Here is where you should see a section labeled Allow people to use your content on Instagram and with AI features on Meta, with a toggle for Posts and one for Reels.
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 09/07/2026
Another important definition is Wilhoit's Law: > Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. pluralistic.net/2025/08/26/s... 15/
pluralistic.net
Pluralistic: By all means, tread on those people (26 Aug 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
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Floris Didden 🇪🇺🌻 @didden.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Anything directly advertised to me on the Internet is a scam. Only products I find myself are real.
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Abbey @abbeyarletto.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 17/06/2026
this may well be the defining joke of our era theonion.com/guy-who-suck...
theonion.com
Guy Who Sucks At Being A Person Sees Huge Potential In AI
SAN MATEO, CA—After spending the past three decades of his life being totally unable and unwilling to engage in any meaningful way with the world around him, James Parker, a local guy who sucks at bei...
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Mary (geographile) @geographile.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Damn Colbert is a treasure. He very knowingly and intentionally played Linus and Lucy on the air, and the copyright holder joyfully got a fine out of CBS for it and then donated it to World Central kitchen. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
rollingstone.com
Stephen Colbert's Unauthorized Use of Vince Guaraldi's 'Peanuts' Music Leads to Donation
The owners of Vince Guaraldi’s music reached a licensing agreement with CBS over Stephen Colbert playing 'Peanuts' music during final ‘The Late Show.’
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Tim Fernholz @timfernholz.com · 13/06/2026
people who work and invest in AI frequently ask me why their work polls so badly
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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 07/06/2026
I just want to point out that temperatures over land (where we all live) have warmed over twice as fast as ocean surface temperatures. The latest update through 2025 is... not great 🥴 Graphic created by www.columbia.edu/~mhs119/Temp...
Line graph time series of land surface temperature and sea surface temperatures from 1880 to 2025 relative to a 1880-1920 baseline. Land areas are warming at 0.28°C/decade from 1970-2010, while sea surface temperatures are warming at 0.11°C decade. Graphic shows the linear trends over these periods. Land temperatures reached well over 2.0°C above the 1880-1920 baseline in 2025. Data is from NASA/GISS GISTEMPv4.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/06/2026
very noticeable that Trump is doing his exact rally speech in Wisconsin, only sitting. Almost like he's not able to stand for a long period of time right now and the "roundtable" (nobody has spoken other than him!) is a front
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Aaron Black @aaronblack.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The War Powers resolution just passed the House! This is a massive win. Leader Jeffries stayed consistent while Republicans led by Speaker Johnson ran away and went home. Now we get to watch vulnerable Republicans who voted against it lose in the Midterms. #FundHealthcareNotWar
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
If only someone could figure out how to make milk safe to drink! It'd be such a big deal the process would be named after them.
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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 04/06/2026
Americans: •Cancel student debt! •Cancel medical debt! •Make insulin free! Most of Developed World: •What is student debt? •What is medical debt? •Insulin is already free! What GOP & Corporate Democrats calls “socialism”—even conservative parties in most developed nations call “human rights.”
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Dan Shafer @danshafer.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Look beyond the noise and it becomes easier to understand why Francesca Hong’s campaign is gaining momentum. This is not a traditional Democratic campaign, nor is it a copy-and-paste progressive movement campaign. It is something distinct. www.therecombobulationarea.news/p/wildcard-c...
therecombobulationarea.news
From wildcard to contender: The rise of Francesca Hong
A special feature story from The Recombobulation Area.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 28/05/2026
ah the Peace President
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
🚨BREAKING: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said in a yet-to-be-published proposed rule Friday that it’s drawing up plans to radically crack down on mail voting by sending ballots only to voters who are registered with the federal government. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Postal Service moving forward with Trump’s attack on mail voting
It signaled it plans to only send ballots only to voters who are registered with the federal government.
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.
thebetter.news
Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 30/05/2026
Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts on implementation of Project 2025: "We proposed 1,913 recommendations for Project 2025. 1,055 have been implemented."
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
"Why are people so negative about the economy?" Consider this. There are two possibilities: 1) He's right and my livelihood is screwed. Maybe not 18 months but soon. 2) He's full of shit, it won't happen, and AI is a giant bubble that will crash the economy. Why would I feel good about either?
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
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Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
This is very bad. Much worse than this article depicts. It could seriously require very serious changes to the court system. This is kind of the DDOS attack theory of AI.
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