Sign in

Scott K. Johnson

@sjon.earth
307 followers 522 following 302 posts

sci comm person writing at www.sjon.earth

PostsRepliesMedia
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 8h
I missed this Pew study in August, but was just pondering what this number is up to. This is what an extinction event for the information ecosystem looks like. www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/20...
Timeline chart since 2023, showing new pages climbing to 35% and all pages climbing to 9.6%.

Paragraph reads: In the July 2026 snapshot, signs of AI authorship can be found in over one-third of pages published after ChatGPT was released. This is in line with other studies that have shown that large shares of recently published pages on the internet were likely written or substantially edited by AI.
010
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 02/10/2026
It's not a Gish Gallop, that implies an inappropriate level of control. A Gush Wallop? A Flush Flollop?
011
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 30/09/2026
where do I type in my bank account number
001
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 29/09/2026
It's not every day you get a reenactment of the *entire* Pepe Silvia scene.
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 28/09/2026
✍️
000
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Paul Voosen @voosen.me · 28/09/2026
New Horizons is now *three days away* from shutting off its two heliophysics instruments, simply because NASA has not provided the $2M in funding it had promised to the mission last year or this year. There is no science basis for shutting these off. Our earlier coverage:
science.org
NASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of funding
Decision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say
17663408
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 25/09/2026
The Jira feature request for disabling AI has turned into a help forum where users teach each other how to hide the UI elements with uBlock. jira.atlassian.com/browse/AI-930
011
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 24/09/2026
mouse.dev/blog/muse-ru...
mouse.dev
I asked Meta’s Muse for its filesystem and it sent me 6.8 GB | Mouse
I asked Muse to archive the files it could see and send them to my Google Drive. It did.
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 24/09/2026
On the one hand, there is absolutely no reason to do this. But on the other hand, there's also no reason to do this.
011
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Glen Peters @glenpeters.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The world has a stubborn tendency to rebound... Yes, there are mechanisms for a structural change post-Hormuz, but we said that after the Global Financial Crisis and after COVID. And yet, we still have record emissions of coal, oil, and gas!
64319
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 22/09/2026
✍️
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 22/09/2026
When you install the hot new Build-A-Vulnerability Workshop.
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 20/09/2026
You might think that this sounds like one of the dumbest things you've ever heard, but remember that the architect was a 3rd grader doodling during class.
020
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Bloomberg Law @bloomberglaw.com · 17/09/2026
OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. executives admitted that their AI tools were substitutes for articles published by the New York Times and other outlets and acknowledged the threat their technology posed for the news industry, according to a newly unsealed court document.
bit.ly
OpenAI, Microsoft Leaders Admitted AI Is Threat to News Industry
OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. executives admitted that their AI tools were substitutes for articles published by the New York Times and other outlets and acknowledged the threat their technology posed for the news industry, according to a newly unsealed court document.
001
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A deep dive into the memo that marks the end of how NSF has done business for 76 years www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NSF memo implementing Trump’s ‘golden age’ of science unsettles researchers
New document emphasizes support for White House priorities over curiosity-driven ideas
10158119
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 14/09/2026
✍️
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 11/09/2026
Straight to e-waste.
001
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 11/09/2026
Why are they selling a disposable mop fluid refill as if it were a beverage?
Image of SVEDKA lime vodka water.
000
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Contributed some thoughts to this piece - The Future of Visual Investigations, If We Can’t Trust Our Eyes www.cjr.org/feature/the-...
cjr.org
The future of visual investigations, if we can’t trust our eyes.
Journalists and other experts tell us how, in the age of AI, technology is transforming the work of visual forensics. “We might have to be a little bit more imaginative,” Emily Tripp, of Airwars, says...
017545
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The National Science Foundation has not had a director since April 2025, but is undertaking very significant structural changes in how it funds US science. No permanent leadership appears anywhere in sight.
14423
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 09/09/2026
Interesting: Massachusetts has ordered all new data centers above 25MW to procure clean power.
mass.gov
1636457
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 08/09/2026
✍️
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 08/09/2026
New Notebook post of quick stories including: -narwhals measuring water temperatures under the ice in Greenland -record battery installation numbers in the US www.sjon.earth/notebook-nar...
sjon.earth
Notebook: narwhal glaciologists, US battery storage boom, EV recycling, extreme heat by the hour
The watchers on the narwhal Collecting ocean data is expensive. It takes a long time for a fully crewed ship to get out to each location and drop the sensors, and the meter is running the whole time....
010
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 04/09/2026
On The Climate Brink, I post my comment about the USGCRP's proposed amendment to eliminate RCP8.5/SSP5-8.5 from the National Climate Assessment. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-worst-...
theclimatebrink.com
The Worst Case Is Still on the Table
Why removing RCP8.5 from the National Climate Assessment would be a serious mistake
23822
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 04/09/2026
The clearest lesson of COVID was that no one around you is capable of giving a shit.
020
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
NSF slights the social sciences and STEM education in new solicitation for graduate research fellowships www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NSF shrinks support for social sciences in prestigious graduate fellowship program
New solicitation excludes students in seven fields and science education
134
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
molly taft @mollytaft.com · 25/08/2026
NEW: gas power in development in the US explicitly for data centers have nearly doubled in less than a year, soaring from 97GW at the end of 2025 to more than 189GW mid-2026, according to shocking new figures from @globalenergymon.bsky.social that's up from just 4 GW in 2024:
wired.com
Data Centers Are Driving an Alarming Gas Power Expansion in the US
There’s no clearer sign of the data center boom than rampant gas projects that have been proposed or that are already under construction.
28696358
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
EarthScope Consortium @earthscope.org · 20/08/2026
Detecting flash floods while they’re still trickles is essential for early warning of the growing threat. A new study uses NSF NGF instruments and facilities to demonstrate how Distributed Acoustic Sensing can pick up signals from these initial flows. Read it here: doi.org/10.1785/0220260087
A five-panel comic explaining the importance of understanding when overland flow starts and how DAS can be used to detect this transition. The comic features a conversation between an anthropomorphized DAS instrument, cloud, and raindrops.
001
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 20/08/2026
✍️
110
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
EXCLUSIVE: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Investigation by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
5727831765
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 16/08/2026
Not enough people talk about how Word's grammar checker has become hilariously, unusably bad since they AI-ified it. www.microsoft.com/en-us/resear...
120
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 13/08/2026
We like to play around with the ol' Up Goer Five in science communication training sessions, and this year our kick-ass interns decided to turn some entries into video. www.youtube.com/shorts/nsuaF...
youtube.com
How do we explain complex science? #shorts #geology #scicomm
YouTube video by EarthScope Consortium Science
100
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 12/08/2026
If you also experience curiosity...
010
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 11/08/2026
✍️
000
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 10/08/2026
I was curious, so I ran some numbers on the metals we'd lose by launching a giant AI data center constellation into space where they can't be recycled. I was still curious, so I figured out how big of an asteroid you'd have to mine for an equivalent amount. www.sjon.earth/launching-or...
sjon.earth
Launching orbital data centers is like asteroid mining in reverse
How much e-waste material would be lost by putting AI data center servers in space, instead of a building where they can easily be collected and recycled?
111
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
The Australian Antarctic Division and the Australian aviation company Skytraders just conducted a spectacular medevac of an American from the US National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station in -43°C, something that's never been done in July.
nytimes.com
Inside the Mission to Carry Out a Midwinter Medevac in Antarctica (Gift Article)
An Australian flight crew faced subfreezing temperatures, changing weather conditions and almost constant darkness as they worked to rescue a U.S. national.
520053
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Jane Rosenzweig @janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Trying out the features in Claude for education. Join me as I see how it "helps" me write a research paper. My chosen topic: "AI and education". /1
workspace where you can tell Claude what you are writing about. Screenshot shows that user is writng a  paper about "AI and Education"
313365
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 04/08/2026
Their trees are all gross.
110
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 31/07/2026
✍️
000
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
22068522697
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 30/07/2026
ICYMI I wrote about what we can and can't say about one possible environmental consequence of the orbital AI data center megaconstellation concept—ozone depletion. www.sjon.earth/elon-musks-o...
sjon.earth
Elon Musk’s orbital data centers could be an environmental catastrophe
Tens of thousands of satellites burning up on reentry might not be the best thing for the ozone layer.
001
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
EarthScope Consortium @earthscope.org · 29/07/2026
How are ocean waves and earthquakes linked? A new study combines buoy wave height measurements with NSF NGF seismic data to examine how winter ocean swells impact seismicity at California’s offshore Mendocino Triple Junction. Read it here: doi.org/10.1785/0220250447
A comic illustrating how wave height measurements and fifteen years of seismic observations draw a connection between seismicity and ocean-waves. The comic features anthropomorphized borehole seismometers and a wave rider instrument collaborating to study the seasonal changes in seismicity.
1195
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 27/07/2026
Hello! It's true, I've made a huge mistake and started a newsletter. These things happen. www.sjon.earth
sjon.earth
on Earth
It's a pretty cool planet. We should keep it that way.
120
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 20/07/2026
RTFMoCC
000
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
New video about primary sedimentary structures exposed in an intensely glaciated landscape youtu.be/aTnj12CpXE4 ⚒️
youtu.be
Geology exposed along the spine of an arête, Glacier National Park, Montana
YouTube video by Callan Bentley
23211
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
fields. Instead, he apparently laced into the company. According to the Financial Times, Eggers told the staff:

“The effect of ChatGPT on educators’ lives is catastrophic. Whether you intended to do it or not, you’ve made every teacher’s life infinitely more difficult than it was two years ago. So, just let that settle in… If students are using it to compose, which is the biggest tragedy of all, they’ll never learn to write. And their voice is stolen from them. They’ll never have the ability to say their truth and tell their own story. And that’s silencing an entire generation or two.”
2861372184
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Dr. Eric J. Fielding, PhD @ericjfielding.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
NISAR surface displacement map of Venezuela is the NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day today. Map shows earthquake displacement on land is largest north of Caracas, so fault slip at depth on offshore fault greater. Fault went through Catia La Mar next to airport. science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...
Map of north central Venezuela with surface displacements due to large earthquake shown with color. Coast from Morón east past Caracas moved as much as 60 cm west (blue tones) due to slip on fault offshore. Red tones show eastward displacement north of the fault near Morón and in Catia La Mar of the La Guaira coastal state.
23824
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 09/07/2026
A three-year-old profile of the reported new director of the US Global Change Research Program
mediamatters.org
Spreading climate misinformation is fast becoming a shortcut to popularity across right-wing media. This man’s rise proves it.
13315
Scott K. Johnson @sjon.earth · 09/07/2026
Notable also that Meta did the disgusting thing where you can disable this, but on a toggle shared with a bunch of normal things you might not want to disable. (Despite Meta's meta of turning preferences into a disorienting labyrinth of dip switch banks that stretch to the horizon.)
010
Reposted by Scott K. Johnson
Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The White House has reconstituted the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which tracks climate change and produces the National Climate Assessment. The Trump version will focus on "positive" climate effects and be used to protect fossil fuel companies from lawsuits. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
politico.com
The administration has a new climate change office. It’s headed by a climate critic.
The office that produces the National Climate Assessment has been reconstituted, after the administration gutted it last year.
159876