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James Stevenson

@allaboutchemist.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.3K following 483 posts

Research engineer for CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) responsibility at Google DeepMind. Machine learner and quantum mechanic. orcid.org/0000-0003-0950-7775

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by James Stevenson
Bill @bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
This result is crazy. You finetune a teacher model to love owls. Then you have the teacher model generate a string of numbers, and finetune the student model on those numbers. The student model will then also love owls. alignment.anthropic.com/2025/sublimi...
alignment.anthropic.com
Subliminal Learning: Language Models Transmit Behavioral Traits via Hidden Signals in Data
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Reposted by James Stevenson
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
The US is the world's largest oil and gas producer. Yet, "China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels."
economist.com
China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics
The world’s biggest manufacturer now has an interest in the world decarbonising
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Reposted by James Stevenson
ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 29/10/2025
"A critical mass of people who decided the election were bamboozled by America’s horrendously broken information environment, and don’t like the results of their own choices." prospect.org/2025/10/29/v...
prospect.org
Voters Did Not Understand the Stakes in 2024 - The American Prospect
A large majority of American voters are greatly dissatisfied with the state of things, most especially the economy. It turns out that median voters were catastrophically misled about the stakes of the...
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Super Shoe @shoe.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
The Fred Trump treatment. Give him a fake job while Miller draws up missile strike plans on fishermen.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Come join me as a CBRN Research Engineer at Google DeepMind! NYC and Bay Area positions both available.
job-boards.greenhouse.io
Research Engineer, CBRN
New York City, New York, US
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Reposted by James Stevenson
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Good news: carbon intensity has declined Bad news: carbon emissions increased, due to the rapid rise in world GDP Also bad news: the chance of staying below 2°C remained low, at 17% Better news: chance of going above 3°C has gone down substantially, from 26% to 9%
nature.com
Mitigation efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the Paris Agreement have been offset by economic growth - Communications Earth & Environment
Global carbon dioxide intensity declined from 2015 to 2024 following the Paris Agreement, but total emissions still increased due to economic growth, according to a global analysis of population, gros...
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Marwin Segler @marwinsegler.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Do you want to invent the future of Chemistry with us? We‘re looking for a "Digital Native” Organic Chemist to join our team at Microsoft Research AI for Science. We offer an amazing environment where you can do deep research with passionate and talented colleagues to solve problems that matter! 1/2
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 29/09/2025
regrettably if you try to point this out online you'll get yelled out by 79208 journalists going OH SO YOU WANT JOURNALISTS TO STARVE??? even if you're, say, a journalist yourself, and point out that while there are clearly no easy answers, the status quo isn't exactly working for society
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
The strangest thing about these times is watching self-described conservatives trying to figure out which parts of the world are load-bearing using the sledgehammer method.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Mark D. Levine @marklevinenyc.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
It’s much harder to build housing in Blue states than it is in Red states. So yes people are moving away from Blue states. One more reason that addressing the housing shortage in NY and elsewhere must be an urgent priority.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
DEMOCRATS: 1. THE WAY TO MOVE PUBLIC OPINION IS TO ATTRACT ATTENTION 2. THE WAY OT ATTRACT ATTENTION IS TO AMPLIFY GENUINE CONFLICT AND REAL CRISIS 3. THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF WASHINGTON, D.C. IS A GENUINE CONFLICT AND A REAL CRISIS
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
The most impressive thing about this campaign is how *creative* they are. They’re trying new stuff! Multiple times during the last few months I’ve thought “wow, I’ve never seen a campaign do that.” Much more of that needed everywhere.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 09/08/2025
If the federal government can simply seize privately held patents then that is the end of the U.S. patent system, the legal basis for American innovation.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Ben Blaiszik @benblaiszik.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Does anyone have a science application ready that could benefit from running an MLIP like MACE, MatterSim, or SevenNet at scale? Have a fun collaboration opportunity with free large compute access for the right applications. Reply or DM if interested!
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
In machine learning research they don't say "we are always fighting the last war" they say "we achieved state of the art performance on the standard benchmark" and I think that's beautiful.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Reese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Today, our article "The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient, and growing rapidly" is finally published in PNAS. I hope that it proves to be a wake-up-call for the whole scientific community. reeserichardson.blog/2025/08/04/a...
reeserichardson.blog
A do-or-die moment for the scientific enterprise
Reflecting on our paper “The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient, and growing rapidly”
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand: $678M raised through those spam tactics $282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies. $11M to actual campaigns (1.6%) The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
open.substack.com
The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine
How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Unquestionably the most dangerous and corrupt attack on the independence of US economic data in American history. Trump is firing the head of the BLS, a longtime civil servant confirmed 86-8 by the Senate, simply because the job numbers came in below his expectations today
I was just informed that our Country’s “Jobs Numbers” are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory. This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000. These were Records — No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes. McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months. Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under “TRUMP” despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting “Kamala” elected – How did that work out? Jerome “Too Late” Powell should also be put “out to pasture.” Thank you for your attention to this matter!
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Too Big to Fail @toobigtofail.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
This is the map that NY had drawn up for 2022 redistricting that was struck down because Cuomo appointed conservatives to the NY Court of Appeals. It would have had 4 GOP districts instead of the current 7. This can be reduced to 2.
NY Congressional map with Republican districts in the Southern Tier, Adirondacks, northwestern NY excluding Rochester and Buffalo, and the South Shore of Long Island.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Professor Diaz forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure someone wrote an English-language ad ("Draw the S for less") and ordered it translated into Spanish with no regard for rhyme. This got to me sufficiently that I made my own ("draw the Ss and don't stress").
A Spanish-language ad for a drawing tablet saying "Dibuja la S por menos." This is likely a translation of the English phrase "Draw the S for less" (the S being a common S-shaped pattern drawn by kids), but in translation the rhyme is lost.My fixed version of the "Dibuja la S por menos" ad. Now it says "Dibuja las eses y no te estreses," which rhymes and means "Draw the Ss and don't stress." The tablet is now shown with more than one S pattern drawn on it, since "las eses" is plural.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
I expect this to be a real headline by the end of Trump's term.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Remember how the Tea Party & MAGA called their opponents "Republicans In Name Only" until they eventually took over the party? This is what winning looks like in the American political system. Define AOC as the real Democrat and make her President.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
When the professional ethics of a crucial profession no longer match the morality of society at large, it's an invitation to charlatans, populists, and sham reformers. And it can feel impossible to fix, since both the public and the professionals feel they're in the right.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 22/07/2025
The neurologist Oliver Sacks found that the social-media era resembles a neurological catastrophe on a gigantic scale.
newyorker.com
The Machine Stops
The neurologist Oliver Sacks on steam engines, smartphones, and fearing the future.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
I liked this piece by Calvin French-Owen on his time at OpenAI. One part, though, struck me as naive: "If you tweet something related to OpenAI that goes viral, chances are good someone will read about it and consider it." Do they not know that a competitor controls what goes viral on Twitter?
calv.info
Reflections on OpenAI
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 08/07/2025
I can't stress enough how close U.S. science is to the cliff. "Numbers released in May by the National Science Foundation (NSF) indicate that if Congress approves the cuts to the agency proposed by the White House, the number of early-career researchers it supports could fall by 78%" (@science.org)
science.org
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
The job they applied for: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ...” It doesn't say Messiah, but it doesn't say bystander either.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Evan Spotte-Smith (they/them) @ewcss.info · 05/07/2025
The Materials Project is one of the most important databases in materials science. Now, 12 years after the original publication, we have a new manuscript describing the history and current state of MP, the MP software ecosystem, and the MP community. #CompChem #MatSky #MaterialsProject ⚗️ 🧪 (1/2)
nature.com
Accelerated data-driven materials science with the Materials Project - Nature Materials
Materials design and informatics have become increasingly prominent over the past several decades. Using the Materials Project as an example, this Perspective discusses how properties are calculated a...
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Reposted by James Stevenson
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
oh so you say that twitter is a brainwashing machine controlled by a nazi, yet i have a negative perception of the brainwashing machine's competitor, how do you explain THAT? checkmate, atheists.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Thinking again about how the media turned Bill Clinton talking to AG Loretta Lynch for 15 minutes into a major scandal for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
I want to reiterate that countless conservative judges issued universal injunctions against the Biden administration, and the Supreme Court never halted the practice. Now, barely five months into Trump's second term, the court puts an end to these injunctions. A brazen double standard.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
It looks like the year after Democratic gerontocracy lost us the whole government might be the chance of a lifetime for young Democrats to run for higher office.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Trump may have pissed away the entire concept of deterring nuclear proliferation with conventional air power, costing us not only our lives but also our enjoyment of Top Gun: Maverick.
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Journalists keep asking me, baffled, “What’s the Trump administration really trying to do to the science agencies?” So I say “They are trying to destroy them. Cut off their funding, ruin their facilities, harass their staff into leaving.” It’s not reform, and it never was. It’s destruction.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Any bunker-busting weapon is less useful after its first use. Before, you have the deterrence of ambiguity; after, they know how deep to dig.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I am a New Yorker and this is dead right. Vote for the Lander-Mamdani cross-endorsed team and don't rank Cuomo at all.
My NYC "I Voted Early" sticker.
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Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Just got back from a great outreach event at Washington Square Park! We asked people to fill out postcards to their Senators to support science funding and got 25 postcards in less than two hours. Postcards had images of fired scientists from silencedsciencestories.com on them!
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
to anyone who needs further proof that Zohran is the abundance candidate over Cuomo: Zohran wrote a bill giving the MTA streamlined permitting authority, which would speed up and reduce the costs of subway construction
to anyone who needs further proof that Zohran is the abundance candidate over Cuomo: Zohran wrote a bill giving the MTA streamlined permitting authority, which would speed up and reduce the costs of subway construction
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Reposted by James Stevenson
Alex Padilla @alex-padilla4ca.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
I encourage everyone to consider attending one of the many demonstrations planned for tomorrow across the country. Show up. Demand accountability. Peacefully protest. Find the rally closest to you: NoKings.org
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
It is actually nuts that even when the NYC political establishment was presented with a broad field of talented candidates w/ many ideas, in a time of generational change & anti-corruption, they STILL chose to line up behind scandal-ridden Andrew Cuomo. It’s cowardice.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Giving ChatGPT a chance to rearrange one of my old comics from one-column to two-column. The result is not accurate, but still funny.
A chemistry joke in a one-column format. The superhero Ideal Gas Man starts out as big as a skyscraper, but ends up being the size of a toddler, because being a superhero means a lot of pressure.The same comic strip rearranged into a two-column format by ChatGPT. Text and panels are mixed up in a jumble. The punchline is moved to the second-to-last panel, with the final panel just saying "Guys."
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
I’ve never forgotten this picture from 2016 and how it completely reshaped my understanding of how the media covers protests.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
I endorse the construction of the Jimbo Stevenson Bridge at the earliest opportunity.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
from "Classical Studies memes for Hellenistic teens" on FB
Plato's Cave allegory, illustrated. the shadows on the cave wall are captioned "increasingly insane and extreme positions", the prisoners labeled "internet users", the figures holding the shadow's shapes labeled "algorithms", the fire labeled "random internet users expressing their idiosyncratic beliefs". the space above the cave is labeled "literally just outside" and the philosopher freed from the chains of the physical world labeled "guy who logs off"
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
if you want to lead a successful protest in America, hinging it on "America is bad" is foolish. Gallup regularly polls "Are you proud to be an American" and respondents who said at least "a little" recently hit a record low... of 95%. (67% say "very" or "extremely") bsky.app/profile/john...
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
The end of the American era in science has begun. Only we can stop the slide, but only if we act up.
A full-page editorial from the June 5, 2025 issue of Science magazine titled “America is ceding the lead in creating the future” by H. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief. The article criticizes U.S. federal government policies—especially under the Trump administration—for defunding basic science, warning that this will allow other countries, notably China, to take the lead in innovation and technological development.

A prominent pull quote in bold at the center reads:
“The United States will no longer have the same window into the technologies of the future that will allow it to shape and anticipate commercial and societal advances.”

The editorial emphasizes how basic research underpins advances in fields like AI, and notes a steep decline in U.S.-funded publications in major journals such as Science and Science Advances. It contrasts this with rising research output from China, particularly in AI, referencing the success of companies like DeepSeek. Thorp argues that commercial innovation is rooted in basic research, much of which has historically been publicly funded. He warns that without investment, the U.S. risks losing global leadership in science and technology.

The editorial concludes with a quote from Sudip Parikh, CEO of AAAS, asking whether future language requirements in science might be German or Chinese instead of English, underscoring the global consequences of American withdrawal from leadership in science.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Scientists have never been good politicians, but we need to be out explaining this.
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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Heartbreaking, cruel and stupid. The one thing this administration turns out to be good at is finding (relatively) little-known institutions that perform great services and destroying them.
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James Stevenson @allaboutchemist.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
I regret to say I have gotten old enough to tolerate oatmeal.
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