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Zach Griffen

@runzach.bsky.social
2.1K followers 397 following 271 posts

Sociologist of expertise, quantification, medicine, social policy at NYU zachgriffen.com

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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
While our focus in the paper is on genetic technologies, we argue that this framework might be useful for theorizing topics such as AI or causal inference, in which technologies broadly intersect with different forms of expertise.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We apply this framework to make sense of the production and use of polygenic indices, which occurs in a field featuring tensions between both scientific autonomy vs. heteronomy and technological conservatism vs. provocation.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We introduce the concept of "technological field" as a way of describing social spaces that are layered on top of and help organize scattered forms of expertise around technologies, which serve as cultural totems that coordinate symbolic power and the distribution of "technological capital."
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I've got a new paper out in the Journal of Organizational Sociology, "Polygenic Prediction: How Contested Genetic Technologies Organize Fields of Expertise." Coauthored with Aaron Panofsky. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
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Luke Herrine @lookheron.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Really important piece from @philiprocco.bsky.social today www.crisesnotes.com/r/beea98d7?m...
crisesnotes.com
Russell Vought is Using the Plumbing of Fiscal Federalism to Create a New Patronage System
EDITORS NOTE: I (Nathan) have struggled whether to rush to comment on this proposed OMB rule. Being a recent Fiscal Year 2026 OMB memo, and knowing that the OMB will continue to create new forms of bu...
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ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
See, people always want to make this just about "sports," but the real upshot here is that, 6-3, trans women can't make a claim under the Equal Protection Clause. And if they can't do that, it's hard to see how they have constitutional rights.
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Ignacio Sanchez Prado @isanchezprado.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Good morning! I published this post in my newsletter, on my notebook assignment, my diagnosis on where we stand in relation to AI and EdTech and my view of the role of humanities classes in all of this. Link: ignaciosanchezprado.substack.com/p/a-year-of-...
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
From what I gathered on twitter the other day, NSF basically just adopted this proposal from the "Institute for Progress." The amount of praise it's getting from otherwise center-left EA types is a bummer considering...everything else happening in science policy ifp.org/how-x-labs-c...
ifp.org
Using X-Labs to Unleash AI-Driven Scientific Breakthroughs | IFP
How to adapt our science funding mechanisms to the unique infrastructure needs of large-scale AI projects
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 05/05/2026
Obviously university admin don't realize this, but they are destroying the "value proposition" of their institutions. The more you make a university like a tech company, the more you give people a reason to NOT be part of it. Google will hire you w/o a college degree.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Did you see all his tweets last year about Zohran's Columbia application? Unbelievably cynical
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Dan "Mr. Bones and Me" Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
The union data space is a mess but so is everything and honestly this is one of the most exciting messes to fix rn. Closest you can come to doing military logistics for the good guys. We also know we have trouble hiring from within for this skillset, so do-gooders running from tech/finance welcome
unionjobs.com
Deputy Director – Data, Analytics and Infrastructure Resource - AFL-CIO : District of Columbia — Union Jobs Clearinghouse
Deputy Director – Data, Analytics and Infrastructure Resource - AFL-CIO : District of Columbia — Union Jobs Clearinghouse
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
First thing I did when I opened the report was search for "Yale Model" and what do you know, 0 results
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
A student came to office hours yesterday to talk about her paper and I realized a few minutes in that she was talking about something she'd just read from a Kevin Baker...turns out it was this! I sent it to the whole class, naturally
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Trevor Griffey @trevorgriffey.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The @uofcalifornia.bsky.social is developing new ways to pit #highereducation workers against each other: 1) put faculty on management bargaining teams; 2) require teachers to pick up the work of striking TAs and graders; 3) make faculty collect TA/RA timesheets; and 4) offer $ for adjuncts to scab.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Doesn't help that people are now saying that Trump is doing the abundance agenda for science
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
I know someone whose research uses data from NCAR but voted for Trump because of DEI...
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
🧵 NSF is reducing external review requirements and eliminating routine expert panels, citing staff shortages that this administration implemented. This change expands program officer authority. But the solution to flawed accountability isn't less public accountability.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Last week of the semester at NYU 🥲
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Currently heading home on Amtrak after a great time at the History and Political Economy Project grantee conference. Learned a ton from folks doing archival research and fieldwork all over the world
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
New article based on my dissertation, which shows how economic experts have historically conceptualized and measured “quality” through a comparison of education and healthcare journals.openedition.org/oeconomia/19...
journals.openedition.org
From “Quality, Not Quantity” to “Quality as Quantity”: How the “Car...
At a time when seemingly every aspect of social life is being subjected to quantification in one way or another, “quality, not quantity” remains an omnipresent aphorism. Scholars have meticulously ...
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Spent the last day of Thanksgiving break writing three job applications, submitting extraordinarily detailed revisions on a 12,000 word article about the history of the economics of social policy (conditionally accepted and forthcoming at a journal near you), and making a lamb ragu 💫
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Emily Guskin @emgusk.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined
washingtonpost.com
Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined
See how Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s new payment package compares with other occupations in the United States.
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 12/11/2025
Here's the full Summers email, btw.
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erin pineda @erinrpineda.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Important update from two months into my “experiment” (lol) assigning college juniors and seniors to read whole physical books and then having a seminar where they use the physical book and physical notebooks and their ideas and questions to fill three hours of class time: It rules
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
lmao this was exactly what I thought when his Theory and Society piece about this came out
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Neil Selwyn @neilselwyn.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Wired has just published an in-depth piece on Alpha Schools ... giving us a deep-dive on the realities of AI-driven schools sold on the promise of students plugged into personalised learning systems and doing ('crushing') a full day's schoolwork in only 2 hours: www.wired.com/story/ai-tea...
wired.com
Parents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out
In Brownsville, Texas, some families found a buzzy new school’s methods—surveillance of kids, software in lieu of teachers—to be an education in and of itself.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
New from me and @kellieowens.bsky.social: we argue that the practice of maintaining AI models in healthcare exists in a "responsibility vacuum," resulting in the emergence of creative forms of invisible labor to monitor and repair technical systems bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com
Managing a “responsibility vacuum” in AI monitoring and governance in healthcare: a qualitative study - BMC Health Services Research
Background Despite the increasing implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies in healthcare, their long-term safety, effectiveness, and equity remain compromised by a lack of sustained oversight. This study explores the phenomenon of a “responsibility vacuum” in AI governance, wherein maintenance and monitoring tasks are poorly defined, inconsistently performed, and undervalued across healthcare systems. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 experts involved in AI implementation in healthcare, including clinicians, clinical informaticists, computer scientists, and legal/policy professionals. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using abductive qualitative methods to identify themes related to maintenance practices, institutional incentives, and responsibility attribution. Results Participants widely recognized that AI models degrade over time due to factors such as data drift, changes in clinical practice, and poor generalizability. However, monitoring practices remain ad hoc and fragmented, with few institutions investing in structured oversight infrastructure. This “responsibility vacuum” is perpetuated by institutional incentives favoring rapid innovation and strategic ignorance of AI failures. Despite these challenges, some participants described grassroots efforts to monitor and maintain AI systems, drawing inspiration from fields such as radiology, laboratory medicine, and transportation safety. Conclusions Our findings suggest that institutional and cultural forces in healthcare deprioritize the maintenance of AI tools, creating a governance gap that may lead to patient harm and inequitable outcomes. Addressing this responsibility vacuum will require formalized accountability structures, interdisciplinary collaboration, and policy reforms that center long-term safety and equity. Without such changes, AI/ML technologies designed to improve patient health may introduce new forms of harm, ultimately eroding trust in AI and machine learning for healthcare.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
New piece from me and @kellieowens.bsky.social on ambient documentation systems ("AI scribes") and the potential risks this technology may pose for medical education and the socialization of trainees www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
healthaffairs.org
Ambient Documentation And The Dilemma Of Deskilling In Medical Education | Health Affairs Forefront
The digitization of health care has had important consequences for how medical training is conducted, and with the advent of ambient documentation, this important social component of health care is li...
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Matt Barnum @mattbarnum.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
New: The Education Department's cuts have left the niche, government-backed "industry" of education research in a dire state. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
wsj.com
Trump’s Job Cuts Leave a Profession Looking for Its Next Act
Niche researchers in a government-dependent education field are trying to pivot. “There are no crops coming out of this ground anymore.”
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Larry Au @larryau.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
#ASA2025 regular sessions on Knowledge were fantastic! Wonderful mix of undergraduate (!) and graduate students, junior and senior faculty. Kudos to @runzach.bsky.social @peterore.bsky.social serving as discussants and putting the papers in conversation. No more regular sessions at ASA next year!
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
I blame the brioche bun craze. Bourdain used to rail against it all the time
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
It was a pleasure to read!
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
donmoynihan.substack.com
Alert: The Trump administration is quietly slashing new NIH grant awards, and it's not via the budget
NIH’s sudden move to multiyear grant funding is forcing shocking cuts in the number of grants funded. This is an effective budget cut. It's bad, folks.
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Ed Burmila @edburmila.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Glad my graduate alma mater cut 60 degree programs in subjects that require people to think so that they could offer this. Looking forward to living in a world full of Prompt Engineers.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Won't have to keep cutting costs after this weekend pagesix.com/2025/07/01/s...
pagesix.com
Exclusive | Mayor Eric Adams getting ritzy Hamptons fundraiser as people line up with ‘oodles of cash’ after Mamdani win: sources
Power couple Maria and Kenneth Fishel will host an Adams reelection event at their Bridgehampton estate.
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
thinking about how the times called Mahmoud Mamdani and asked him whether any of his ancestors had intermarried while in Africa like ok the creepy race science here goes beyond the sourcing
Mr. Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Mira Nair, an acclaimed film director who grew up in India and later emigrated to the United States, and Mahmood Mamdani, then a college professor at Makerere University.
Both his parents are of Indian descent, but his father's family came to East Africa more than 100 years ago, Mr. Mamdani said.
When asked if any of his family had intermarried while in East Africa, he said in the interview on Thursday, "They're all of Indian origin, from Gujarat."
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Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Mahmood was in pan-African nationalist movements in the 70s until Idi Amin expelled Indo-Ugandans? Zohran’s dad gave him the middle name Kwame to honour the first President of Ghana? idk maybe three white American journalists aren’t the best ones to opine on whether or not he’s African.
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Aaron Bady @zunguzungu.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
A thing that makes that Times story especially odious is that Zohran Mamdani's father was LITERALLY expelled from Uganda during Idi Amin's fascist effort to scapegoat Asian Ugandans as not really African www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Mahmood Mamdani · The Asian Question: On Leaving Uganda
President Yoweri Museveni was careful not to refer to Asians as citizens; he explained that they were ‘investors’,...
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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 03/07/2025
You know, when I heard that all of our personal data had been hacked, I didn't expect the first major use of it to be the NYT trying to fuck over Zohran but maybe I'm naive www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/n...
nytimes.com
Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
So am I reading this court decision correctly? We now have 50 micronations with their own laws interpreting the U.S. Constitution wholly separate from one another? But there's one guy with private law enforcement who is immune from all punishment who can do whatever he wants in those 50 states?
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
🚨 BREAKING: Nearly 4 months the NIH cut its first grants, a judge has ruled that the directives and process that led to cuts are arbitrary and capricious. "The explanations are bereft of reasoning — virtually in their entirety... unsupported by [facts]." Each of them are VOID and ILLEGAL, he says.
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Yeah 100%. Ultimately that’s a message for a very specific audience I think
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
You joke, but in a ranked choice election with only two viable candidates that’s kind of the whole ballgame
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Voted for Zohran
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today. The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥 I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
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Terence McDonnell @mintytem.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Erin McDonnell's (@profmcdonnell.bsky.social) amazing new paper "Bureaucracy in Action: The Sociology of Public Administration" is online now at the Annual Review of Sociology. Check it out!!! @ndsociology.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social doi.org/10.1146/annu...
doi.org
Bureaucracy in Action: The Sociology of Public Administration | Annual Reviews
This review articulates sociology's emerging approach to public administration, building on long-standing interest in bureaucracy. The sociology of public administration aims to understand how pu...
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Just a little scratch. Some walking around money!
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Yeah and that’s why I’m interested in the role orgs like Arnold play in all this (you and Jeff know way more about those guys). They affect being nice liberal technocrats but I saw an interview with Arnold a few weeks ago where he said “the private sector does everything better”
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Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Yeah it’s like using the rhetoric of “rigor” and causal identification and whatnot in a purely symbolic sense without trying to actually win credibility with public health experts
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