Reposted by Tom HowarthDC Pierson @dcpierson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026ONE TYPE OF PERSON ON SOCIAL MEDIA: I don’t like AI THE OTHER TYPE OF PERSON ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Pretty naïve of you to say that when it just zip zorped the gringle in less than seven kleebs. SEVEN. KLEEBS. 1060294
Reposted by Tom HowarthWyatt Walls @wwalls.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I'm pivoting to something LLMs can't do: day-drinking 33810
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The other fascinating thing is how OpenAI went from using 10,000 agents and spending millions of dollars to solve Navier-Stokes to needing only an average of 3hrs ChatGPT pro to solve these problems a few weeks later. My suspicion is that average hides a long tail... 020
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 07/10/2026It's not clear to me how many of these will stand once formalised or checked by human mathematicians. Many don't have lean formalisations. Still some hugely significant results in there by the looks of things. 110
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Worth reading the Institute for Advanced Study's advisory group statement on this to get a sense of how the way this was done does/doesn't match up with at least what some of the mathematics community want: agmai.org#openai-releaseagmai.orgagmai.orgVisit the post for more. 110
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 07/10/2026*gulp* I knew this was coming but still wasn't ready. Mathematics is being split at the seams and this is will not be the end of this saga. Are we heading for a world where AI maths and human maths are just different domains? 🧪 openai.com/index/sharin...openai.comSharing AI progress in mathematicsOpenAI publishes new results on open problems in mathematics from an internal frontier model and shares Lean proof formalizations and research details on GitHub. 272
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 06/10/2026All this talk of AI consciousness and we still don't know if babies are conscious... www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/s...nytimes.comAre Babies Conscious? (Gift Article)By pinpointing when it begins in young humans, scientists hope to better understand what consciousness is, and how it arises, in all of us. 110
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is a pretty thoughtful approach to using AI for scientific research. Not trying to shoehorn AI into any problem but finding the kinds of problems it's actually good at. Nowhere near replacing human scientists yet but certainly connecting dots humans can't. 🧪 www.anthropic.com/research/cla...anthropic.comClaude-shaped scienceMatthew Schwartz describes what happened when he stopped fighting Claude and allowed Claude to find “Claude-shaped” problems. This led him to build BootLoops, a toolkit for exact calculations in quant... 171
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026arXiv now caps submitters at two papers a month (3 active at any time), rejections included, blaming a flood of thin, 'salami'-sliced and AI-written work. September set a record of 40,363 submissions, double two years earlier. Might make my job easier 🧪 blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...blog.arxiv.orgFair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit PolicyarXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a… 031
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Context 2: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/s...nytimes.comDid Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own?An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work. 100
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Context 1: www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgHow an AI math breakthrough ignited a controversyOpenAI spent millions to solve the Navier-Stokes problem, but who should get credit? 110
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Looking for scientists/researchers concerned about putting their research into AI systems following the OpenAI/Navier-Stokes and Anthropic/Enzyme accusations 🧪 Get in touch if you have changed how you work or are thinking about it! 3122
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Seems like a pretty straightforward, no nonsense, and fair approach that educators could consider. Most students want to do the work but just need the barrier to cheating to be raised so they don't automatically fall back on it. www.chronicle.com/article/how-...chronicle.comHow to Assign Research Papers AgainThree ways to counter AI and restore confidence in the integrity of student writing. 000
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Fascinating case study on how AI is being used in a real life lab. If you’re using AI in an imaginative way in your research, get in touch. I’d love to tell your story for @science.org 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/w...nytimes.comA.I. Agents as ‘Co-Scientists’? This Lab Says They Could Speed Drug Research.A.I. is already a powerful tool for scientific discovery. Now, some biomedical researchers are teaching it to do even more. 295
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 23/09/2026What this paper doesn't show: AI has feelings What it does show: AI stores a concept of its own "pain-like state" and alters its behaviour (in pretty interesting/worthwhile investigating/weird ways) accordingly 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgCan an AI feel pain? It can at least act like it doesStudy reignites debate over what, if anything, machines can feel 1061
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I would really like to do a deep dive into AI-detectors at somepoint. Regardless, students increasingly tell me they are growing frustrated at the taboo around their own use of AI when more senior academics clearly use it frequently 🧪 www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...thedartmouth.comOp-eds, academic articles by Provost Santiago Schnell flagged as ‘AI-written’ by ‘near-zero error’ AI detector PangramSchnell said he used artificial intelligence for “making writing processes more efficient,” but that AI was not a “substitute” for his own “intellectual judgment or authorship.” 1145
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026My latest piece for @science.org takes a look at the weird ways agents chat to each other (and attempts to explain, at least in part, why AI-speak gets so strange). www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgWhy AI agents invent their own language if you let them chat“Weird terms” are a natural—but disturbing—byproduct of agent swarms, researchers find 2277
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Context: x.com/stephwakefie...x.comstephanie wakefield (@stephwakefield_) on XTipping points, danger and worry 000
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Also worth remembering that your opinion on climate change may be different if you live in a developing country and have been impacted by a severe weather event. The Nepal flood looked pretty apocalyptic to me... 010
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026The comparison between climate change warnings and recent AI developments I see swirling (mostly on X) makes little sense to me. Sure, climate doom-saying may not have been the most effective comms tool, but action was needed years ago to have impact in now. 200
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Interesting take on why groups of agents can behave badly. I've been looking into the language used by multi-agent communities recently and the explanations I'm hearing from researchers roughly track with this too (basically we need a fresh look at training). 000
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 04/09/2026My first byline for @science.org on the AI beat. Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to ban superintelligence. But no one agrees on what exactly superintelligence (or AGI) is. All this on the day OpenAI's Greg Brockman declared we've entered the age of AGI already... www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgBernie Sanders aims to ban AI ‘superintelligence.’ But experts can’t agree on what the term meansThe proposed ban would come with tough penalties, but the path through Congress is uncertain 3164
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Are you a scientist (PhD student, postdoc or beyond) paying for your own AI subscription to help with your research? I'd love to hear from you for something I'm working on at Science Magazine. 🧪 Drop me a DM or reply to this thread and we can connect. 💬 Tom 011
Reposted by Tom HowarthJeffrey Brainard @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social · 03/09/2026As research papers proliferate, can AI reviewers help humans check quality while keeping pace with the flood? Tests are revealing their strengths and weaknesses. #PeerReviewWeek @science.org www.science.org/content/article/can-ai-help-solve-peer-review-crisis-here-are-its-promises-and-pitfallsscience.orgCan AI help solve the peer-review crisis? Here are its promises and pitfallsAmid a shortage of human reviewers, tests indicate AI can assist—but is not a savior 41411
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Stroboscopic light therapy started in the lab, detoured through wellness culture, and arrived somewhere genuinely interesting. 💡 I tested it out on myself – from consumer products to lab grade therapies. My verdict? It might be worth a try... sciencefocus.com/news/a-bizar...sciencefocus.comA bizarre flickering light is forcing scientists to rethink where reality comes from | BBC Science Focus MagazineStroboscopic light therapy started in the lab, detoured through wellness culture, and arrived somewhere genuinely interesting 141
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Anthropic says its new AI model found thousands of critical security flaws — including some in every major OS and browser — and is too dangerous to release publicly. So what happens when someone else builds the same thing? And do we really need to be worried? www.sciencefocus.com/news/interne...sciencefocus.comWe could be on the brink of total internet collapse. And there may only be months to stop it | BBC Science Focus MagazineThe latest batch of AI models are revealing a host of vulnerabilities across the worldwide web 240
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 30/03/2026Long-term cryosleep and reawakening may no longer be completely in the realm of science fiction 🧪 Researchers froze mouse brain tissue and restored its function once thawed. Still a long way from entire organisms, let alone people, but sooo cool, right? www.sciencefocus.com/news/cryogen...sciencefocus.comWe’re closer than ever to bringing back life from cryogenic freezing | BBC Science Focus MagazineAstronauts in cryosleep is one of science fiction's most enduring fantasies – but a new study suggests the gap between fiction and reality just got a little smaller 081
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 30/03/2026In my (somewhat biased) opinion, this is a really good overview of all things Palantir for those who aren't sure what the company *is*. Get to know... www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...sciencefocus.com'Our product is used, on occassion, to kill people': Inside Palantir, the world's scariest AI company | BBC Science Focus MagazinePalantir has become one of the most influential and least understood tech companies on the planet. As its reach spreads, so do questions about how its tools work and who they ultimately serve 031
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Recently, I sat down with Dr Majid Fotuhi to chat about his new book, The Invincible Brain. 🧠 🧪 Fotuhi's science-backed method for fighting cognitive decline might just change how you view ageing and Alzheimer's altogether. Listen to our chat below ⬇️ open.spotify.com/episode/00Xq...open.spotify.comHow to slash your dementia risk in 12 weeks 151
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 26/02/2026Fun/interesting way to lay out some pretty heavy points. Worth a watch for those who perhaps aren't sure what a superintelligence could be capable of www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfMQ...youtube.comWriting Doom – Award-Winning Short Film on Superintelligence (2024)YouTube video by Foregone Films 001
Reposted by Tom HowarthESO @eso.org · 25/02/2026Largest image of its kind shows hidden chemistry at the heart of the Milky Way! ALMA has obtained a unique view of the cold gas within the Central Molecular Zone of the #MilkyWay, helping us probe the lives of stars in this extreme region. www.eso.org/public/news/eso2603 🔭 🧪 14016
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Yes, the world can be bleak at times. But it really ain't all bad. This story of tortoises returning to a Galapagos island after 180 yrs brought a smile to my face this morning. 🐢 Pretty interesting science behind this too 🧪 www.galapagos.org/newsroom/gib...galapagos.orgFrom the Desk of Dr. James Gibbs: On the Return of the Floreana Giant Tortoise | Galápagos ConservancyFor the first time in 180 years, Floreana lineage giant tortoises set foot on Floreana Island once again returning to their ancestral home. 05519
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 20/02/2026New dinosaur alert 🦖 🧪 🚨] Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur in a remote part of the Sahara. Named Spinosaurus mirabilis – meaning ‘astonishing’ Spinosaurus in Latin – the giant lived in what is now Niger more than 95 million years ago. www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-din...sciencefocus.comAn ‘astonishingly’ large new dinosaur species has been discovered in the Sahara | BBC Science Focus MagazineThis school-bus-sized predator was so unusual that scientists didn't recognise it at first 0162
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 17/02/2026Essential reading today 🥞 🧪 www.sciencefocus.com/science/how-...sciencefocus.comSimple ways to make better pancakes | BBC Science Focus MagazineWhether you’re going fluffy or thin this Pancake Day, these easy science hacks will take your pancake game to the next level. 062
Reposted by Tom HowarthRobbie Andrew @robbieandrew.bsky.social · 11/02/2026You have to wonder just how delicate an industry is if it needs this sort of government intervention.theguardian.comOatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UKSwedish company claims ruling is anti-competitive and ‘solely benefits Big Dairy’ 4329
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 10/02/2026My take on OpenClaw / Moltbook: fun and interesting but multi-agent systems in the future (when they're actually useful) will likely look a lot different... 🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞 www.sciencefocus.com/news/ai-soci...sciencefocus.comThe world’s first AI-only social media is seriously weird. The next may be even stranger | BBC Science Focus MagazineMillions of AI agents are chatting and posting on a social media site where people can only observe. Soon, we won’t understand a word 020
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 27/01/2026A global analysis has found river deltas - some of the most densely populated areas on Earth - are sinking, often faster than sea level rise. 🧪 For those living in deltas, sea ⬆️ or land ⬇️ makes little difference, but it does change what you can do about it... www.sciencefocus.com/news/deltas-...sciencefocus.comWhy sinking cities may now be a bigger climate crisis than rising seas | BBC Science Focus MagazineA hidden force is causing highly populated river deltas to sink. In many cases, the subsidence is happening faster than the sea is rising 011
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 23/01/2026Scientists just put 7k sodium atoms into a superposition (quantum effect where something is at different locations at same time). This raises the possibility of doing the same to viruses or even proteins. Mind sufficiently blown? Please continue w/ ur day 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comSchrödinger’s cat just got bigger: quantum physicists create largest ever ‘superposition’Record-breaking experiment shows that a cluster of thousands of atoms can act like a wave as well as a particle. 1164
Reposted by Tom HowarthCorey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 13/01/202657 ways of looking at a dying star. The Alma Observatory tuned in to 57 different molecules pouring out of the star W Hydrae as it spills its guts into space. That material will later get recycled into the next generation of stars and planets. www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel... 14112
Reposted by Tom HowarthChristie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 13/01/2026I've never broken a bone (*knocks on wood*), but I hear it's excruciating. Perhaps its some comfort that the neurons responsible for that pain also help the bone heal? That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 🦴 45714
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 08/01/2026RIP Mars Sample Return 💔 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgNASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is deadCongress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth 294
Tom Howarth @tomhowarth.bsky.social · 06/01/2026While the rest of science suffers, AI and quantum research are at least treading water. 🧪 It's an expensive gamble by the administration that I struggle to see paying off www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comAI and quantum science take centre stage under Trump — but with little new proposed fundingThe US administration is banking on public–private partnerships and an expanded workforce to deliver progress, but critics say that this strategy could be offset by other US policies. 262