iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) @clpskuleuven.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The KU Leuven AI Safety Lab studies the large-scale risks of #AI, from the concentration of power in the companies that build it to the loss of democratic control over its development: www.aisafetylab.eu 📢 You can apply for paid residencies atm 👇 www.aisafetylab.eu/open-calls/ #philsci #philsky 🧪

aisafetylab.eu

KU Leuven AI Safety Lab

Academic research on the large-scale risks of advanced AI and on who controls it.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

There's another episode that we recorded on evolution, intuitionism in mathematics, and dependent types, which derives from ideas I explored during a project with @boarders.bsky.social. (Many people know the intuitionism-dependent types relationship; you'll have to wait for the evolution relation.)

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion with Matt Teichman.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Without assuming a background in philosophy of biology or evolutionary theory, @bufordrat.bsky.social and I discussed ideas from my book Evolution and the Machinery of Chance (from @uchicagopress.bsky.social) on his Elucidations podcast. 🌱🐋 #evobio elucidations.vercel.app/posts/episod...

elucidations.vercel.app

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Roberta Millstein 🌎🌱🐩🏊🏼‍♀🎶🥾 @cepaea.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

This has been a really fun project to be a part of, and now we have a cool cover! My co-editors are Alison McConwell, Michael Dietrich, John Beatty, with authors from across biology, history, and philosophy (including one from me). It's due out in June 2027 -- can't wait! 🌱🐋

Artwork that depicts an alternative evolutionary pathway, with fantastical colors and even, improbably, a frog with wings.

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David Colaço @davidcolaco.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The complete version of @phaueis.eurosky.social and my BBS target article, "Metabolic considerations for cognitive modeling," is now available. It includes 32 commentaries and our response. Please share #philsci #philsky #cogsci

cambridge.org

Metabolic considerations for cognitive modeling | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core

Metabolic considerations for cognitive modeling - Volume 49

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Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

How do brightly coloured butterflies successfully evade being eaten? Fascinating new research suggests this relates to visual illusions created by their fluttering wings. The spots & stripes, combined with the dancing flight, interfere with a predator’s sense of the insects’ speed & direction. 🦋🧪

theguardian.com

All of a flutter: how butterflies avoid being a predator’s lunch

Their whirring wings and bright patterns help keep them safe from birds, British study finds

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"... we show that a combination of random environmental fluctuations with fitness benefits that specific microbes provide to their hosts can result in the evolution of vertical transmission, even when microbes are continually acquired from the environment." #philbio

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Tiffany Lowe-Power stands with Minnesota @tlowepower.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Please repost/share We're hiring! UC Davis Plant Pathology seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in plant health & microbiomes. recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07904 My department is full of great colleagues, and we look forward to recruiting our new colleague!

recruit.ucdavis.edu

Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology

University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Seems like a lot of people swear by it. However, when it first came out I tried it, and it flagged as AI a student paper that I absolutely knew were not AI. I've been using other detectors, with mixed results. I might try Pangram again. A lot of time has passed.

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

ispsm @ispsm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

How do philosophers and scientists of mind actually work together, and where does the collaboration break down? ISPSM is launching In Conversation, a new online series that aims to bring philosophers and scientists together to work through questions like these. 📅 23 Oct 2026, 1pm BST/8am EDT

Poster for "Philosophy and Science in conversation", the inaugural ISPSM In Conversation event. Speakers: Megan Peters (UCL/UC Irvine), Ida Momennejad (Microsoft Research, New York), Jorge Morales (Duke). Held online, 23/10/26, 1pm BST/8am EDT. QR code and link: tinyurl.com/ISPSMInConversation.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Mike, @cepaea.bsky.social, and Robert Skipper have a great book on philosophical and historical issues concerning drift that will be coming out before then. My talk will probably draw upon and respond one aspect of it.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm trying to organize a session at the 2027 @ishpssb.bsky.social meeting in Buenos Aires on philosophical, historical, or social science issues related to random drift. Mike Dietrich has expressed interest. Please contact me if you think you might be interested or have questions.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Collins and Thorne's "Large language models and scientific discourse: Where’s the intelligence?" is worthwhile. Standards re good vs. fringe science may arise in verbal discussion at labs, conferences-not in training data. So LLMs don't know the difference. link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci

link.springer.com

Large language models and scientific discourse: Where’s the intelligence? - Synthese

We explore the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) by comparing the way they gather data with the way humans build knowledge. Here we examine how scientific knowledge is made and compare it w...

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This ought to be of interest to some #philbio people.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Wow--I didn't expect that, but it makes sense.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Well, the Aztec Science book looks like it might be very interesting for history and philosophy of biology people. #hpbio upcolorado.com/university-p...

upcolorado.com

Aztec Science

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Philosophy of Science Association @philsci.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The symposium schedule for PSA26 San Diego is now live! Preview it here (and check back later for the contributed paper schedule) ☀️🌴https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/e/PSA2026/program

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Philosophy of Science Association @philsci.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

☀️The PSA has been awarded 2026 NSF Travel Grants! If you're in need of funding, please fill out both applications by Sept. 11, 2026 👇 PSA Travel Grant: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... NSF Travel Grant: airtable.com/appBolcu2KSW...

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

"newly discovered microbe living inside ancient stromatolite communities may offer a rare look at how complex life first emerged...an Asgard archaeon physically connected to a bacterium...Scientists think similar partnerships billions of years ago may have helped produce the 1st complex cells #HPBio

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Molly Schumer @mollyschumer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Help needed! Does anyone know of a lab that has glass (pigmentless) guppies? We are interested in getting them for a project

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Watching animals eat is like my biology crack. I don’t need it, I don’t have to do it, I don’t even always like it, but there’s just something about critters noshing on one another that leaves me gobsmacked. And nothing does it like the comb jelly Beroe [Thread 🧵] 📽️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xkN...

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This paper might be of interest to some people in #philbio.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Phenotype. OK, that's not easy to quantify.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Interesting. Is the idea that the amount of change is typically greater here than with meiosis in multicellular sexual reproducers? I suppose that extreme experiments are less risky with microbes, since reproduction would be so fast when a genetic experiment succeeded.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Should be of interest to some folks in #hpbio.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

"All [University of Chicago] social science Core classes will transition to an 'analog' approach for the upcoming academic year, restricting in-classroom technology use and banning AI-assisted writing and grading for students and professors." chicagomaroon.com/53262/news/s...

chicagomaroon.com

Sosc Core to Institute AI Ban, Technology-Free Classrooms This Fall

All social science Core classes will transition to an “analog” approach for the upcoming academic year, restricting in-classroom technology use and banning AI-assisted writing and grading for students...

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Yes, but: normally, when I close the lid, I don't use it for several hours--between morning and evening, or maybe not til the next day. So also correlates with time unused--and just time. I can experiment with closing in the middle of work sessions. Maybe it's just a Mac thing. Many mysteries there.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Now I want to ask about how rsync is flaky.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

If there was proper, old-school support maybe it would be different.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

It's a weird effect--only one one computer, only in the last six months, and they're running the same OS version.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

@richpuchalsky.bsky.social and @vcaston.eurosky.social, it's a small thing, but persistent and annoying. Not losing data or anything like that. On one of my two Macs, every day or two, the Mac app stops syncing until I kill and restart it. No advice on the Dropbox site seems relevant--I've tried.

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

For cloud storage, I use Apple's iCloud and Dropbox, but I use them for different kinds of material. Used Dropbox for years without problem, but now it's flaky. Do you have a cloud service you prefer?

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Reposted by Marshall Abrams

Gregory Morgan 🇺🇸🇳🇿 @drgregorymorgan.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Interested in a concrete intersection between Science and Art? Check out the early history of virus structure. Viruses structured like Bucksminster Fuller's Geodesic Domes or Kenneth Snelson's Tensegrity Sculptures #virosky 🧪 #STS #historyofbiology apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

apsjournals.apsnet.org

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Call for Abstracts International Society for the History, Philosophy & Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting ISHPSSB 18–23 JULY 2027 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Submissions deadline: October 15, 2026 #HPS congressin.com/e/ishpssb2027/

congressin.com

ISHPSSB 2027 | CongressIn

ISHPSSB 2027

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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Final Call: PSA Outreach & Engagement Prize Nominations recognizing outstanding work of a scholar or team to engage members of general public about philosophy of science. Recipient will receive a $500 cash prize & recognition at #PSA26 Deadline: September 1, 2026 11:59 pm (anywhere) #philsci

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Marshall Abrams @marshall0i.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Thanks. My background in dev bio is not very deep, but this looks very interesting.

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