Reposted by Erik ToraasonAlejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 20hCis guy walks into a women's locker room and immediately proceeds to sexually assault women. JK Rowling: this is trans people's fault. 552492403
Reposted by Erik ToraasonGwênlyn Glusman (she/her) ☸️ @gwenlyn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I have modernized and enhanced the NSF COA generator tool. Results now update dynamically • Published under more than one name? Covered! • Other people share your name? No problem! • You prefer searching by ORCID? Go ahead! Give it a try. Feedback, bug reports, feature requests are MOST welcome! 🧪 05327
Reposted by Erik ToraasonOs Keyes @okeyes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Exactly what we’re seeing in AI in the life sciences: wine and dine a cluster of thinkers, then invite the ones who aren’t put off or critical to contribute to paid-off think tanks 115049
Reposted by Erik ToraasonLisa Messeri @lmesseri.bsky.social · 01/10/2026one of the reasons that I warn researchers away from adapting commercial LLMs into their pipeline is that Big Tech has a history of sunsetting popular, usable products and replacing them with worse ones. (i'm trying to ween myself off of google scholar, but it is hard). 1021779
Reposted by Erik ToraasonAlfie Kohn @alfiekohn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Google's "ubiquitous presence in US classrms through Chromebks & its software partnerships w/schls have provided a critical launchpad for its AI tools...[which have] helped push many students to become acad'ly & emotionally dependent on AI...'They're learning to regurgitate whatever AI tells them.'" 11910
Reposted by Erik ToraasonJeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Also, AI creates cognitive decline, so fuck that. 9130958
Reposted by Erik ToraasonJeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-... 119115452864
Reposted by Erik ToraasonMark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Today's winning Biology All email--in fact this is a contender for best this year 36864184
Reposted by Erik Toraasonjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 28/09/2026this is legitimately very funny 83125121892
Reposted by Erik ToraasonDr Katie Twomey @k2mey.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026This is quite cool. My university is the first organisation in the world to force Microsoft to allow us to turn off copilot summaries in Word 365, after a backlash against it from staff (including, very vocally, me). That cannot have been easy for our heroic IT people so hats very much off to them! 895445937
Reposted by Erik ToraasonIan Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 26/09/2026Amazingly, no one was responsible 301371273
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Greatest trick AI leaders have pulled is convincing many people—especially influential people in govt, media, and business—that their software is intelligent, independent, yet never culpable. Humans build it, humans deploy it, but no one bears responsibility for the things that happen when they do. 421663464
Reposted by Erik ToraasonKevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026My entire life I've heard centrists scolding leftist candidates with "oh, but how will we pay for all that? isn't your agenda unreasonable? shouldn't we run on a modest proposal for means-tested tax rebates?" Then Mamdani gets elected and makes it all look pretty easy. No wonder they hate him. 15084101898
Reposted by Erik ToraasonCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 21/09/2026As Alex notes in this thread, AI doesn't "democratize" science. Rather, it compels scientists to rely on anti-egalitarian means of directing their attention. 322364
Reposted by Erik ToraasonAlejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 17/09/2026Called it. The father was charged with punching the child while the mother did witness intimidation to cover it up. www.wbur.org/news/2026/09... 212605749
Reposted by Erik ToraasonPavel @spavel.bsky.social · 18/09/2026We told everyone that programming wasn't the hard part, but no one believed us. The reason LLMs can excrete sort-of-okay code is that sort-of-okay code has been a commodity good for 20+ years. Then, just like now, the bottleneck was understanding what people actually want.nytimes.comOpinion | A.I. Slopware Is Everywhere Now. Nobody Is Using It. (Gift Article)Just because A.I. is revolutionizing coding, doesn’t mean it will automatically revolutionize our apps. 14466111
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNaomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 12/09/2026"People are really mad and however mad you are, it’s not enough. Because there is something so profound about no longer believing in the future, about seeing no value in our shared home, in the natural world. They’re traitors to creation.” www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...theguardian.comNaomi Klein: ‘Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist’She’s tackled neoliberalism and the digital world, now the writer and activist is taking on tech billionaires. She explains how the super-rich are capitalising on climate and financial chaos in pursui... 6639051332
Reposted by Erik ToraasonChanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 08/09/2026Accusing AI critics of not doing the reading is funny because usually it’s AI users are the most likely to have not done the reading So what now then 121332217
Reposted by Erik ToraasonChanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 06/09/2026It’s actually ok to be a person who does not enjoy doing research but then you should not be doing research for pay 464068
Reposted by Erik ToraasonChanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 06/09/2026Everyone doing this just needs to understand that they are actively skipping the thinking step 131133187
Reposted by Erik ToraasonBWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 06/09/2026When I say I want Nuremberg like trials, I am not kidding. Every person who has assisted this administration in their crimes needs consequences. It is the only way to safeguard against future transgressions by them and others who would see them get away with their crimes. 88530
Reposted by Erik Toraasonjonny (leachate composite form) @jo.nny.rip · 05/09/2026Scientists will be freed from the onerous labor of having to understand anything they are doing or being able to believe any published result, at long last. 2134
Reposted by Erik ToraasonAdrian Daub @adriandaub.bsky.social · 05/09/2026The only thing academic administrators seem to love more than the phrase "whether we like it or not" are LLMs 3691
Reposted by Erik ToraasonBrian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Across the US, workers are souring on AI. The tech industry has insisted that AI would make workers’ lives easier and more productive, that the more people understood and used AI, the more they would like it. Something closer to the opposite has happened.bloodinthemachine.comWhy office workers are turning against AIWhether or not you like AI at work ultimately boils down to a question of power. 201548454
Reposted by Erik ToraasonDon Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Very good point here: A lot of university leaders will think, "the Trump administration just wants us to make some vague statements - we can live with that." They are not counting on the DOJ using those statements as the basis for legal investigations. Which this DOJ will be willing to do. 191104275
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNeedhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 04/09/2026I went to Columbia for undergrad in 1991. It had only begun admitting women 4 years earlier, in 1987 69933
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNeedhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 02/09/2026“'We relied too much on AI rather than our own critical thinking,' the group told rangers." 2164
Reposted by Erik ToraasonMarisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 01/09/2026while milo gets to chit chat on TV with clear access to safety and basic needs, the US is flying untold numbers of immigrants to unsafe countries of origin or other countries where they don't speak the language or know anyone. 6752411312
Reposted by Erik ToraasonCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 28/08/2026The good news: this year's COVID vaccines have been approved. The bad news: thanks to RFK Jr. / GOP antivax fuckery, it'll be a pain in the ass getting yours—and getting it covered by insurance—if you're not over 65.nytimes.comWhat to Know About New Covid Vaccines for Fall 2026 (Gift Article)The shots have been approved for people 65 and older, and for younger people with underlying conditions. Others may be able to get them off label. 1421374
Reposted by Erik ToraasonChris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 26/08/2026This morning in Danbury, ICE was arresting parents at school bus stops. But it’s more sinister. ICE waited until the kids were on the bus so when they are dropped off at the end of the day, they are alone, scared to death they can’t find their parents. I’m heading to Danbury. 964203007345
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNeedhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 27/08/2026"For context, NIH has not funded anything close to the top 25% for >2 decades...The likely result is that everyone will resubmit their applications in the absence of more information, & review will be overrun with applications that may not have needed resubmission at all" 2238
Reposted by Erik ToraasonStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 24/08/2026Today is the LAST DAY to leave your public comment on the NSF Proposal. The Proposal implements Vought’s science destroying OMB Policies ahead of time, and we cannot let this sneaky proposal scoot by quietly. Leave your public comment today by visiting the link: zurl.co/ZGP3i 497107
Reposted by Erik ToraasonMark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 21/08/2026These are frankly disastrous numbers for the future of 🇺🇸 democracy. We cannot be a full democracy w/o major SCOTUS reform & addressing the egregious malapportionment of the Senate & EC. Democrats, & democrats, have a ton of hard work ahead to convince voters of the necessity of the top 4 reforms 👇 813828
Reposted by Erik ToraasonJohn Scalzi @scalzi.com · 17/08/2026"AI" has existed in its current form for barely four years and the fact that it's jammed up the cognitive development of an entire generation that fast (and that there's a specific overclass of techofascists who are deeply thrilled about this) is a big damn red flag. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/u...nytimes.comWhat Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing? (Gift Article)Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without A.I. And it’s costing more than just grammar skills. 6436561193
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNeedhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 15/08/2026every accusation is an admission of their own guilt: Ramaswamy accuses scientists of corruption and data manipulation because HE is guilty of corruption and data manipulation 1277
Reposted by Erik ToraasonNature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 14/08/2026A study published in Nature reports that naked mole-rat queens produce a unique scent molecule called isopropyl myristate (IPM) which suppresses reproduction in other females, preventing power struggles and controlling social hierarchy.🧪go.nature.comA queen odour mediates reproductive suppression in a eusocial mammal - NatureNaked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) queens produce isopropyl myristate, a low-volatility ester that high-ranking animals detect and avoid, which alters prolactin and progesterone in other females to suppress reproduction and preserve eusocial hierarchy. 0204
Reposted by Erik ToraasonElizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 14/08/2026The NIH just released a proposal that will apparently hide peer reviewers’ impact scores and percentiles from the research team, their institution, and NIH program officers. All the better to obscure how funding decisions will be made primarily via political review, I’m guessing.grants.nih.govNOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer ReviewNIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH 17395215
Reposted by Erik ToraasonRichard McElreath 🐈⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 13/08/2026These ratio outcome variables are a plague in the sciences. If your analysis treats 1/2 and 10/20 as the same evidence, then you have discarded uncertainty in the outcome. Model what you measure, not what you construct. Use the denominator as an exposure instead. 612237
Reposted by Erik ToraasonAnat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Imagine a country where the ruling regime is putting babies in concentration camps and people openly advertise the fight for higher wages and universal healthcare as their greatest foe. 5753228
Reposted by Erik ToraasonJared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 12/08/2026The "centrist" think tank Third Way is looking to pay someone between $140,000 and $150,000 to spend their days trying to dig up dirt on DSA members. They're trying to sell this gig as "anti-extremism" work, which I find completely disgusting. 48267471677
Reposted by Erik ToraasonErnest "Dead" Penfold @penfoldsfiv.eurosky.social · 12/08/2026the media when the centrist loses by 1% vs the media when the leftist loses by (less than) 1% 11780261991
Reposted by Erik ToraasonCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 06/08/2026Killing off the Social and Behavioral Sciences directorate for this… 59529
Reposted by Erik ToraasonMoira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026I actually think that the confusion over this question—the mistaken idea that perverts and preachers have opposing projects—is responsible for a lot of the stagnated and remedial quality of sexual politics discourses. 1039187
Reposted by Erik ToraasonChad Loder @chadloder.dev · 02/08/2026The diarrhea lettuce company, Taylor Farms, uses slave labor contracted from the Arizona Dept. of Corrections. The backbreaking labor is often performed by imprisoned Mexican nationals who would be otherwise ineligble to work in the US. They are paid $1.50 an hour.futurism.comThe Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced LaborThe lettuce-producing Taylor Farms was linked to the widespread use of prison labor before its involvement in a cyclospora outbreak. 380112506090
Reposted by Erik ToraasonVeerender Singh Jubbal @veerenderjubbal.bsky.social · 01/08/2026 437338926562
Reposted by Erik ToraasonRuth Deyermond @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Evidence of the great benefits of AI: it used to take a huge amount of time and effort to make yourself look this stupid; now AI allows you to humiliate yourself almost instantly. 19630190