Sign in

Will Douglas Heaven

@willdouglasheaven.bsky.social
2.6K followers 99 following 56 posts

Senior AI Editor at MIT Technology Review / Signal: strawbilly.69

PostsRepliesMedia
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Book that I read this year of the year #3
040
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Book that I read this year of the year #2
120
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Book that I read this year of the year #1
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Song of the year #2 open.spotify.com/track/6VzVGL...
open.spotify.com
commie bf
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Song of the year #1 open.spotify.com/track/0gwNMB...
open.spotify.com
Janus Modal
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Game of the year! In Öoo you play a cute little caterpillar trying to escape the labrynthine intestines of a monstrous bird using only the bombs in your butt. Trust me, play it. The design of this four-hour puzzle game is just flawless youtu.be/tSJyHEjyGuA?...
youtu.be
Öoo | Official Trailer
YouTube video by Games Must Play
241
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Ste Jormur @stejormur.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Leaving aside all the ethics of AI fashion models... did no-one look at this before printing??? Just try to work out where her knees are and how they're connected to her feet and hips. Bizarre to choose a zigzag dress that's just going to emphasise any weird contours too
24410
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
word of the year pls
061
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I had some fun speaking at #sxswlondon this week. Video for FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AI should be coming soon!
041
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
"We will look back at this period in history and realise that letting a billionaire’s ego drive innovation — rather than as part of a collective effort, as seen with Apollo and the Saturn V — was a grave mistake." www.planetearthandbeyond.co/p/starship-d...
planetearthandbeyond.co
Starship: Dead End?
What happened on Test Flight 9?
191
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I think I forgot to post this in the travel chaos, but I spoke to @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social for MIT Tech Review about AI, creativity and more, as part of a big feature on how AI is affecting our creativity. I think we have no idea, basically. www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/10/1...
technologyreview.com
How AI can help supercharge creativity
Forget one-click creativity. These artists and musicians are finding new ways to make art using AI, by injecting friction, challenge, and serendipity into the process.
1132
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
you need to watch these clips
33115
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Niall Firth @niallfirth.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
one of the highlights in the issue is this from @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social on how AI can be co-opted to help supercharge creativity in unusual ways. I want to go to an algorave! www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/10/1...
technologyreview.com
How AI can help supercharge creativity
Forget one-click creativity. These artists and musicians are finding new ways to make art using AI, by injecting friction, challenge, and serendipity into the process.
073
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Good breakdown on tariffs
000
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Rumman Chowdhury @ruchowdh.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
My *third* time on @scifri.bsky.social but first time recording in the NYC studio! Hear me and @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social bring AGI conversations to reality and talk about the issues that really matter, like who controls the power behind AI.
1265
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I think Kevin Roose needs to talk to more people outside San Francisco www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/t...
0101
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Possibly the first case of chatbot logs being released under freedom of information laws www.newscientist.com/article/2472...
newscientist.com
Revealed: How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice
New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation
040
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Yes yes yes! This is hands down one of the best things I've read about AGI, the techno-fetish that's once again grabbing mainstream attention
040
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Mat Honan ✅ @mathonan.com · 05/03/2025
AGI is whatever we made it to be
2112
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
It's good to have Mike Watt back in my life
010
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Israel is training a spy chatbot on vast numbers of surveilled Arabic calls www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
theguardian.com
Revealed: Israeli military creating ChatGPT-like tool using vast collection of Palestinian surveillance data
The powerful new AI model is designed to analyze intercepted communications – but experts say such systems can exacerbate biases and are prone to making mistakes
110
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
The Revolution will be AI-icized
32708375714783
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
More: we picked generative virtual worlds as a hot trend to watch this year www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/08/1...
technologyreview.com
What’s next for AI in 2025
You already know that agents and small language models are the next big things. Here are five other hot trends you should watch out for this year.
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
If you're curious about Muse, Microsoft's new generative gameplay model that produces fuzzy footage of video games that don't (yet) exist, this from @mtrc.bsky.social is easily the best explainer: www.possibilityspace.org/blog-before-...
possibilityspace.org
110
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
More: we picked generative virtual worlds as a hot trend to watch this year www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/08/1...
technologyreview.com
What’s next for AI in 2025
You already know that agents and small language models are the next big things. Here are five other hot trends you should watch out for this year.
000
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
The act of coding, like sketching or rubber ducking, is also an act of thinking through something. Prompting an LLM might also be a thinking process, but we have to reflect on what each approach helps us with. I think differently while taking notes than just turning it over in my head.
1131
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Keith Stuart @keefstuart.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Hi, I spoke to actor Sarah Elmaleh about Harrison Ford’s recent comments on AI and how they’ve brought attention to the current SAG-AFTRA strike www.theguardian.com/games/2025/f...
theguardian.com
How Harrison Ford brought a strike over video game AI to the world’s attention
Voice actors demanding compensation when AI generates performances from their work have taken industrial action since July
2269
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Blech
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
OpenAI talks about users + chatbots seeking the truth together. But one upshot is that you can now tell ChatGPT to stop giving you balanced perspectives if you don't like it disagreeing with you: "I don't want to hear both sides!"
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Context matters, sure. But "explicitly embracing intellectual freedom" sounds a lot like Meta's "time to get back to our roots around free expression." Same vibe shift
101
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
There's a lot of interesting examples of allowed and disallowed behavior in that doc. But the only absolute prohibition is sexual content involving minors. Pretty much everything else is down to context.
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
OpenAI has put out new guidelines for its models. The updated spec now "explicitly embraces intellectual freedom no matter how challenging or controversial a topic may be." model-spec.openai.com/2025-02-12.h...
model-spec.openai.com
OpenAI Model Spec
The Model Spec specifies desired behavior for the models underlying OpenAI's products (including our APIs).
102
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
“Waste is anything that the person who’s speaking thinks is not a good use of government money.” Really good explainer: @jamesodonnell.bsky.social talks to the people who wrote the spending guide that Musk is now misinterpreting. www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/07/1...
technologyreview.com
These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda
Past government reports on improper spending are having a moment with Musk’s followers. What do they show?
0112
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
The Chinese AI company DeepSeek surprised observers with its efficient and low-cost model, DeepSeek-R1. @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social, editor for AI @technologyreview.com‬, joins us to discuss the new DeepSeek systems and what might lie ahead for AI.
buff.ly
How DeepSeek’s AI Compares To Established Models
The Chinese AI company startled industry observers with an efficient new system. But how does it compare with the leading tech?
2468
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Yes! slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
For the Love of God, Stop Profiling This Couple!
The couple wants the world to have more babies. This prompts the question: Who the hell cares?
030
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Anyone out there with knowledge about how software gets installed across US govt agencies (process, authorization etc) free to answer a couple of questions? DM or signal: strawbilly.69
000
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A teen DOGE staffer recently given access to government systems worked at a startup known for hiring convicted hackers. Someone using a Telegram handle associated with him also solicited a cyberattack-for-hire service in 2022. All raising questions about his vetting. www.wired.com/story/edward...
wired.com
DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers
Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.
1210192488292
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I get to work with @jesshamzelou.bsky.social every day www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/06/1...
technologyreview.com
Humanlike “teeth” have been grown in mini pigs
The toothlike structures represent a step toward bioengineered replacements for dental implants, say researchers behind the work.
020
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
"What began as a sprint has become a high-stakes marathon—China’s AI ambitions have never been higher." More good stuff from @caiwei.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/04/1...
technologyreview.com
Four Chinese AI startups to watch beyond DeepSeek
These companies are all in a position to compete both within China and beyond.
072
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I'm guessing it's a coincidence and this agency is being gutted just after a preplanned Gemini rollout across Google Workspace, which USAID uses. But not a good look for Google either way to have Gemini's first big exposure make it out to be a piece of spyware
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Several accounts from USAID workers have now mentioned Gemini being used to surveil them. Here's NY Magazine nymag.com/intelligence...
100
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
B. F. Galligan @bfgalligan.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
USAID uses Google, and has for years, so this Gemini install might be coincidental. Lots of silly updates that get pushed through go unnoticed. Not sure one way or the other, but definitely not concrete evidence of anything.
062
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Niall Firth @niallfirth.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Terrific step-by-step piece on *how* we know that vaccines don’t cause autism www.statnews.com/2025/02/03/v...
statnews.com
Here is how we know that vaccines do not cause autism
Vaccines do not cause autism. You’ve almost certainly read that before — but often without a full explanation of how we know it to be true. Here's how we know.
25921
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Yeah, this is good: "Trump knows the power of marketing. If you make people believe something is true, you make it likelier that it becomes true. Trump has never wanted to be president. He has always wanted to be a king. His plan this time is to first play king on TV. Don't believe him."
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Meta's AI team has an open-source vibe that Meta embraced. But it was a trade off. As Joelle Pineau (VP AI Research) told me in 2023: “We’ve always had strong support from company leadership all the way to Mark for this approach, but it doesn’t come easily." www.technologyreview.com/2023/05/12/1...
technologyreview.com
The open-source AI boom is built on Big Tech’s handouts. How long will it last?
Greater access to the code behind generative models is fueling innovation. But if top companies get spooked, they could close up shop.
000
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
I agree about the science of evaluation. But this is also Meta walking back from its recent open-source 4eva branding. If Meta creates a model that is too risky - according to Meta - then it now has an excuse not to release it.
100
Will Douglas Heaven @willdouglasheaven.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
techcrunch.com/2025/02/03/m...
techcrunch.com
Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky | TechCrunch
Meta has released a policy document outlining scenarios in which the company may not release certain categories of 'risky' AI systems.
102
Reposted by Will Douglas Heaven
Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
NEW: Yes, everyone knows DeepSeek is heavily censored. But we investigated how the censorship actually works on the application level & the post-training level. Understanding that can lead us to ways of "uncensoring" Chinese open-source AIs and making them more useful. www.wired.com/story/deepse...
wired.com
Here’s How DeepSeek Censorship Actually Works—and How to Get Around It
A WIRED investigation shows that the popular Chinese AI model is censored on both the application and training level.
26014