iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

this is great. I get so frustrated with the anti-robotaxis stuff. They obviously work, they are obviously safer than human drivers, and if we're sensible about regulating them (which includes not strangling them with regulation) then they'll make cities better.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

A bunch of European AI policy and engineering guys asked me to help out on this project and it's been fascinating and chilling: what happens to the EU if it doesn't step up on AI (in short, economic collapse and vassalage to the US/China) europe2031.ai long but I hope worth it!

europe2031.ai

Europe 2031 — What getting AI wrong means for us

A five-year scenario about AI and Europe's impending slide into irrelevance, with a 2034 epilogue that describes how the collapse of the European model could have been prevented.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

God bless @jamesomalley.co.uk for being a voice on the centre-left who consistently acknowledges that economics is a real thing that exists (and coming up with potential solutions rather than just accusing businesses of greed) open.substack.com/pub/jamesomalley/p/has-liam-byrne-had-his-weetabix-452

open.substack.com

Has Liam Byrne had his Weetabix?

Open data is better for consumers than moralising.

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Brian Nosek @briannosek.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Nice episode of Science Fictions summarizing SCORE papers from @tomchivers.bsky.social and @stuartjritchie.bsky.social. Minor point about the conclusion. The LHC actually has replication built in with two teams (ATLAS & CMS) operating independently. sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/episode-10...

sciencefictionspod.substack.com

Episode 100: Replication, replication, replication

And reproducibility and robustness and stuff like that

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Fun Bentham's Bulldog review of the very silly-sounding book The AI Con benthams.substack.com/p/the-ai-con... it really amazes me there are still people saying "AI is just a stochastic parrot and also it's racist" in 2026, as though they can't just log on and use one themselves right now

benthams.substack.com

"The AI Con" Con

The shockingly terrible arguments of the AI naysayers

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

We really need to dial down the anti-free speech bullshit in this country. Police should almost never detain people over their choice of T-shirt! (And I would say the same if the political valence was reversed.) www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsan...

reddit.com

From the ThatsInsane community on Reddit: Scotland police detain a man wearing an anti-Al shirt because it sounds similar to "Palestine Action"

Explore this post and more from the ThatsInsane community

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Mike Bird @birdyword.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

BIG NEWS: My book, The Land Trap, is coming out on Nov 4! I've been fascinated by this topic for years. The book tells the story of why land still occupies such a huge role in finance, economics and politics globally, and why that's a source of huge risk. You can preorder NOW!

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

It's just the Claire's Accessories, the simple Claire's Accessories, where you could buy a bracelet for your wife Farewell then Claire's Accessories, your retail staff can rest at ease, as you collapse in economic strife www.ft.com/content/b32d...

ft.com

Jewellery chain Claire’s UK business appoints administrators

High-street brand’s move puts more than 2,000 jobs at risk and comes after parent group filed for bankruptcy protection

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Nelson Amaya Durán @nelsonamayad.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Just finished @tomchivers.bsky.social “Everything is predictable”. 5 stars because it manages history of science and intuition better than any other book on Bayesian analysis.

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Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

"A confident, precise prior that is contradicted by precise information from the world should result in a radically changed posterior probability" - @tomchivers.bsky.social, "Everything is Predictable" One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.

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Brian Clegg @brianclegg.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Absolutely fascinating Studies Show pod from @tomchivers.bsky.social & @stuartjritchie.bsky.social on psychological sex differences (biological, societal, both)- well worth paying for: www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe - I just wish Stuart's profile had no pic: I prefer to see him as David Tennant

thestudiesshowpod.com

Subscribe to The Studies Show Podcast

A weekly podcast about the latest scientific controversies, with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie. Click to read The Studies Show Podcast, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 07/04/2025

WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISOR HASSETT: TRUMP WANTS UK TO LIBERATE THE POSTCODE ADDRESS FILE - CNBC INTERVIEW.

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 07/02/2025

In 2004, it took the world a year to add a gigawatt of solar power — now it takes a day

A line graph depicting the average number of days it took to install a gigawatt of solar energy capacity worldwide from 2001 to 2023. The vertical axis represents the number of days on a logarithmic scale, spanning from 1 to 1000 days. The horizontal axis indicates the years from 2001 to 2023.

In 2004, the average time was about 1 year, which is marked on the graph. A downward trend shows significant decreases in installation time over the years. By 2010, it took under 30 days, and by 2015, just over 7 days. The most notable point is in 2023, where it dropped to about 1 day on average for installation.

The data source is attributed to IRENA (2024), with calculation by Our World in Data, and the chart is identified as CC BY, indicating it is licensed for sharing and adaptation with appropriate credit.

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Graham Johnston @gjohnstontherapy.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

I appreciate I’m not the head of counterterrorism, but: no, it’s really not similar. @peteetchells.bsky.social @garwboy.bsky.social @tomchivers.bsky.social @stuartjritchie.bsky.social

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Dustin Moskovitz @moskov.goodventures.org · 06/02/2025

they not like us

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Thomas Tellner @ttellner.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

These two books, by @anilananth.bsky.social and @tomchivers.bsky.social, are the first two books in a very long time that I read in their entirety without significant pause or other diversion along the way. I cannot recommend them enough! #booksky #dataSkyence

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

This is not a good riposte! 1) Yes, being unable to say false things curtails free speech. You may say that's fine, but still, it's an imposition on free speech and it's silly to pretend otherwise. 2) Besides that, fact checkers get a lot wrong and censored a lot of true things, esp in the pandemic

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

all in favour of encouraging risky play, etc, but I do wish that pieces encouraging it would admit, nice and high up, that it would mean more children being injured and killed, and that this is a price they consider worthwhile. (I would probably agree!) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Why kids need to take more risks: science reveals the benefits of wild, free play

Studies reveal how risky play can benefit child development. But encouraging it can be a challenge for parents.

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Zeddy @zeddary.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Just incredible that 'the desirable result of the policy' is written up as 'we found a loophole.'

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Prashant Rao @prashantrao.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Monday = London Review of Substacks @semafor.com's @tomchivers.bsky.social reviews three smart essays by @deborahvass.bsky.social, @henrygjeffreys.bsky.social, and @scientificdiscovery.dev in our daily global newsletter www.semafor.com/newsletter/1...

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eatyourflag @eatyourflag.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

What a letter.

Short letter to Irish Times, detailing the grief felt by the letter writer at Christmas, after the loss of his wife.

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 15/12/2024

Almost every new car sold in Norway is electric

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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 12/12/2024

The Land Registry putting up fees for finding out the true owner of a property by 133% is a proper financial hit if you're running a small investigative news outlet! (Related: I've always thought if you wanted to start a revolution in the UK, make the Land Registry free and searchable on Google.)

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

As always, articles saying OH NO INJURIES FROM [NEW THING X] ARE UP [Y%] are completely pointless unless you tell us how much the USE of New Thing X is up! If the use of e-scooters and e-bikes have tripled, it's not surprising if injuries have too! www.scientificamerican.com/article/inju...

scientificamerican.com

Injuries from Electric Bikes and Scooters Have Tripled. Here’s What to Know

Following a startling spike in electric scooter and e-bike injuries, epidemiologists warn of inadequate infrastructure and safety rules

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Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore @sjblakemore.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I wrote an article about my dad's death, and how it affected my views on assisted dying Free version of the article in the next post Views are my own, not those of the institutions or academies I'm associated with www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

thetimes.com

What my dad’s death taught me about the assisted dying debate

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and her sisters knew their father, the neuroscientist Sir Colin Blakemore, had always planned to go to the Netherlands in the face of terminal motor neurone disease. But the real...

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

I'm a very pro-funding-science sort of guy, but AIUI Argentina was running an absolutely enormous deficit, its inflation was out of control, and it had a ton of debt. It had to cut loads of things! Science is important but so is the country not going bankrupt! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

‘There will be nothing left’: researchers fear collapse of science in Argentina

One year into President Javier Milei’s presidency, scientists are exiting the country in the face of big budget cuts.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

This week's The Studies Show is in your inbox! Actually it arrived yesterday but I'm very slow. For paid-only subscribers, it's about sex, gender, and sport, and it asks the daringly controversial question: is the average man taller than the average woman? www.thestudiesshowpod.com/p/paid-only-...

thestudiesshowpod.com

Paid-only Episode 15: Sex and sport

The battle of the sexes. Or is it "genders"?

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Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 09/12/2024

Look here for the good news! Major advances in HIV prevention, food allergy medication, schizophrenia treatment, weight loss, and life extension for people with certain types of lung cancers. Following @scientificdiscovery.dev's writing has made a major difference for how I feel about the future ⤴️

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Prashant Rao @prashantrao.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

🟡 UK JOURNALISM JOB ALERT 🟡 @semafor.com is hiring an early-career journalist in its London newsroom. Details here: boards.greenhouse.io/semafor/jobs... Reach out if you've got questions!

boards.greenhouse.io

Newsroom Fellow (6-12 month Contract)

London

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Alan White @aljwhite.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Re Gregg Wallace, I’m a huge fan of @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s aphorism that British scandals aren’t discovered, simply noticed. Popbitch has told everyone what he’s been doing for years

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

My prediction: there will be no unambiguously detectable influence of this ban on obesity rates, but it's all so noisy that there'll be years of argument about whether it worked anyway www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (I don't think advertising is a key driver so I'll be on the "it didn't" side)

bbc.co.uk

Junk food ban: What is included under new advert rules for online?

Online restrictions will start in October 2025, with junk food adverts on TV banned before 21:00.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

The latest The Studies Show! This time, on psychopathy, a subject very close to @stuartjritchie.bsky.social's heart, and indeed to his personality type www.thestudiesshowpod.com/p/episode-58...

thestudiesshowpod.com

Episode 58: Psychopathy

Listen now | Let's see Tom Chivers's card

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

I vote we keep the Parthenon Marbles, but continue to have the debate about whether we should return them for all perpetuity to keep us all on our toes and give columnists with classics backgrounds something to write about

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

The arguments over the assisted dying vote reminded me of this classic Scott Alexander piece on "fake consensualism", the idea that we shouldn't allow people to consent to certain things because *other* people might be forced into it without *really* consenting slatestarcodex.com/2013/08/25/f...

slatestarcodex.com

Fake Consensualism

[A previous version of this essay was posted incomplete. This is the full version] I. Dear friend, have you considered banning health care? Several studies agree that sick people are often treated …

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Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 27/11/2024

Nice episode on collider bias, which contains no evidence whatsoever that I’m low IQ.

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Dr Lucy Foulkes @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Another day, another very cool study from Nick Haslam's group (1st author Brodie Dakin): Experimental study showing that when harm-related concepts like 'trauma' and 'bullying' expand to cover more mild phenomena, people take those issues less seriously journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... (cont)

Broadened Concepts of Harm Appear Less Serious
Brodie C. Dakin, Melanie J. McGrath, Joshua J. Rhee, and Nick Haslam
Abstract
Harm-related concepts have progressively broadened their meanings to include less severe phenomena, but the implications of this expansion are unclear. Across five studies involving 1,819 American participants recruited on MTurk or Prolific, we manipulated whether participants learned about marginal, prototypical (severe), or mixed examples of workplace bullying (Studies 1 and 3a), trauma (Studies 2 and 3b), or sexual harassment (Study 4). We hypothesized that exposure to marginal examples of a concept would lead participants to view the harm associated with it as less serious than those exposed to prototypical examples (trivialization hypothesis). We also predicted that mixing marginal examples with prototypical examples would disproportionately reduce perceived seriousness (threshold shift hypothesis). All studies supported the trivialization hypothesis, but threshold shift was not consistently supported. Our findings suggest that broadened concepts of harm may dilute the perceived severity and urgency of the harms they identify.

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 28/11/2024

In these nine African countries, average incomes have more than doubled since 1990

A series of line charts showing that in 9 African countries, incomes have doubled since 1990 (as measured by GDP per capita). The countries are: Mauritius, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique.

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Stuart Ritchie @stuartjritchie.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Some said it couldn’t be done. That it was impossible; ridiculous; absurd. But @tomchivers.bsky.social and I have done it: recorded a whole podcast episode about collider bias. www.thestudiesshowpod.com/p/episode-57...

thestudiesshowpod.com

Episode 57: Collider bias

Listen now | Does smoking prevent COVID? Is being obese actually healthy? Or is something funny going on?

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 25/11/2024

The world population grew fast over the last 60 years, but farmers grew fruits and vegetables even faster

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

The latest The Studies Show is in your inboxes! On a strange statistical anomaly that can make it seem like smoking protects you from COVID and obesity is good for your heart www.thestudiesshowpod.com/p/episode-57...

thestudiesshowpod.com

Episode 57: Collider bias

Listen now | Does smoking prevent COVID? Is being obese actually healthy? Or is something funny going on?

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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 22/11/2024

There's a big thread here - complete with lots of video of me chasing illegal gamblers on Westminster Bridge - on today's investigation. Please do have a look and read the investigation.

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Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

A list of bands in order of efficacy: 3. Placebo 2. The Cure 1. Prevention

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Andrew Przybylski @shuhbillskee.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Maybe, and just hear me out for a moment... National health / human rights / technology legislation shouldn't be based on a poorly researched pop psych book?

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