On Science, Research, and Responsible Conduct:
Mounting evidence suggests a lot of published research is false.
This video explains what a paradigm shift is by visualizing the process from Thomas Kuhn’s book “Structure of a Scientific Revolution.”
Dive into the heart of modern physics with our latest discussion, where we unpack the intense debate surrounding the future of scientific discovery and the very fabric of our universe. In an era marked by groundbreaking theories but limited by our current technological capabilities, we ask the bold question: Is it time to rethink the scientific method?
† Link to Science article.
If it† sounds too good to be true…
† Check out the allegedly fraudulent paper on arXiv — before Cornell University does MIT a favor by removing it!
AI slop has already become prevalent across the internet (and in the classroom). But according to multiple reports, artificial intelligence is posing an increasingly serious threat to scientific literature, too. Researchers have uncovered a concerning number of AI-generated papers published in reputable journals, even experts can no longer identify AI-generated “science” images, and the amount of AI slop submitted to publishers will only increase as the technology continues to improve. Let’s take a look at what this means for the future of science.
“Experts have spent a lot of time doing a thing until they became great at it. They get respect for that. And there is a certain group of people who are always pissed about that. Now those people can use a chat box, and they think it gives them the same skills, and now they are demanding the same respect. All they need to do is just have the right prompts. They don’t even have to learn calculus. They just have to ‘vibe’ physics and pull the LLM like a donkey to get to the edge of what’s known.”
On Social Responsibility:
The biggest chemical cover up in history†. PFAS has polluted the entire global water system. Now, potentially dangerous forever chemicals are being found in the entire US population.
† References can be found here: https://ve42.co/PFASReferences
Additional resources:
The AI revolution is already here, but not as you think. Companies all over the world are working very hard at “microtargeting” you with their ads and tracking your every online-move. Scammers are having a good time with deepfakes, and scientists help along by figuring out how to best use AI to engineer human behavior. Let’s take a look at a few examples, and how AI might be further weaponized in the future.
Fads: “yapping about the absolutely god awful MAHA report, and its impacts. tldr: american healthcare is more cooked than it already was”
On Science Communication:
- “Did physicists create a wormhole in a quantum computer?” — Davide Castelvecchi, Nature, 01 December 2022.
- “Quantum teleportation opens a ‘wormhole in space–time” — Martijn Boerkamp, Physics World, 30 November 2022.
- “NASA scientist explains why images from new telescope astounded him” — CNN.
- “Neutrino Faster Than Speed of Light” — Associated Press.
- “What’s the buzz about LK-99?” — Global News.
A group of philosophers and sociologists have come up with the idea to regularly poll scientists in order to establish and maintain a “scientific consensus.” While this might sound plausible, it’s a terrible idea. Here’s why.
On Pachamama:
On Ethics, Justice, and Culture in Science and Technology:
† Link to AI Ethics Bibliography.
What this3,4 means for the rest of us.
- “‘I Loved That AI:’ Judge Moved by AI-Generated Avatar of Man Killed in Road Rage Incident” — Matthew Gault and Jason Koebler, 404 Media, 7 May 2025.
- “Man ‘speaks to killer’ from beyond the grave in Arizona courtroom through AI video” — NHS England, 29 April 2025.
- “A.I. of Murdered Chris Pelkey Makes His Own Impact Statement at Sentencing (a court 1st), with Judge” — Stacey Wales’ YouTube channel, 5 May 2025.
- “Judge Todd Lang’s Reaction to Chris Pelkey’s A.I. Impact Statement During Sentencing, 5/1/2025” — Stacey Wales’ YouTube channel, 6 May 2025.
.
After the release of ChatGPT 4o, with expanded capabilities and newly perfected image generation tools, a viral phenomenon has occurred where the style of the iconic Studio Ghibli is being replicated and spread across the world through social media.
On the one hand, it’s understandable that people will enjoy eliminating barriers when it comes to generating creative material… but on the other, if the enormous portfolio of Studio Ghibli was used to make it possible that their work may be now cheapened and copied, there are larger moral and ethical questions in play.
With such a widespread “meme” taking hold, I wanted to examine why the great “Ghiblification” is more than just a meme, its a lightning rod for questions about what should we really be doing with these tools, and how should we handle their development.
.
The correlations between humans and nature go far beyond just our biological makeup. Evolution has given us the tools to adapt and mold into our environments in very similar ways to animals in the wild. This science mystery investigation explores the complexities behind racial identification and explains how biomimicry could be the answer behind the recent slew of racial misrepresentation.
† Link to JCOM article.
Poet of Code shares ‘AI, Ain’t I A Woman’ — a spoken word piece that highlights the ways in which artificial intelligence can misinterpret the images of iconic black women.
Users’ minds take shortcuts to get through the day. Usually, they’re harmless. Even helpful. But what happens when they’re not? In this talk we’ll use real-world examples to identify some particularly harmful biases that frequently lead users to make bad decisions. We’ll then talk about some content strategy and design choices we can use in our apps, designs, and platforms to redirect or eliminate the impact of those biases…
On Complexity and Emergence:
Everyone loves to talk about complex problems and complex systems, but no one has any idea what it means. I think that understanding complexity is THE biggest gap in science today. What do we even mean by complexity? What do we know about it? And what’s the problem with trying to explain it? That’s what we’ll talk about in this video.
This is a video about the most famous problem in Game Theory, the Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Our world is filled with an abundance of data. Albert-László Barabási, a network scientist, believes that understanding the underlying structure and relationships of complex systems is crucial. Barabási’s research has challenged the notion of random connections and led to the discovery of a more accurate representation of how these systems are organized.
Not everything that is true can be proven. This discovery transformed infinity, changed the course of a world war and led to the modern computer.
On Choice Modeling and Behavior:
How to decide who wins a confusing vote, discussing the likes of Smith Sets and the Condorcet Paradox. Featuring Sophie Maclean
Democracy might be mathematically impossible – here’s why.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz’s estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.
The manipulative tactics that social media uses to keep you addicted.
On Automation and Computer-assisted Intelligence:
- “AI-first – We’re just 6 months away from AGI ;-)” — Matthias Döpmann, 31 May 2025.
- “The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models replicate the mechanisms of a psychic’s con” — Baldur Bjarnason, 4 July 2023.
- “Is GenAI Digital Cocaine?” — Sergio Visinoni, 19 February 2025.
- “try replacing “ai” with “cocaine” in all the posts you read about it. it’s pretty funny” — Natalie Ponte, 4 June 2025.
On Design Science:
Far from being some sort of luxury or add-on, good design is central to a good society. It changes how we feel and interact.
Discipline-free product development, also referred to as interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary product development, emphasizes collaboration and breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries to solve complex problems in product development. This approach prioritizes the problem itself, encouraging experts from various fields to work together, rather than focusing on individual disciplines. It aims to foster innovation and create more effective products by leveraging diverse perspectives and expertise.
While collaboration within engineering is beneficial, designing truly exceptional systems requires considering the broader societal contexts in which they operate. These non-engineering factors include cultural, economic, legal, and environmental considerations. Therefore, effective design must bridge the gap between the natural sciences and the social sciences to address these complex issues.
On Breakthroughs:
Grigori Perelman solved one of the world’s hardest math problems, then called it quits.
Mathematicians are obsessed with patterns. They’ve been obsessed for so long you’d think they’ve got it figured all out. But just recently they discovered a new type of pattern that is everywhere in nature†. Once you have seen it, you can’t help but notice that it’s really everywhere.
† Link to article PNAS Nexus article.
Mathematicians recently proved a central component of the Langlands program, an ambitious effort to develop a “grand unified theory” of mathematics. The monumental proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture totaled more than 800 pages and marked the culmination of 30 years of work by nine mathematicians. Lead author, Dennis Gaitsgory, is the recipient of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.
† Link to the proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture.