Alexander Wuttke
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kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke
@kunkakom.bsky.social
4K followers 2.2K following 420 posts

Digitalization & Pol Behavior LMU_Muenchen | Democracy and Populist Attitudes | Open Science | 🚵‍♂️🐶

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Political science 63%
Communication & Media Studies 7%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

markrubin.bsky.social
Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 15h
“Follow the Science”? Only when there’s good gatekeeping!

Open Access: doi.org/10.1007/s112...
There is often an expectation that the public should exhibit strong, if not unconditional, deference to science, as exemplified by campaigns urging people to “follow the science”. This paper argues for a more nuanced stance toward such deference. It contends that non-scientists may, at times, have good reasons to withhold or qualify the extent of their deference to science, particularly when there is evidence of inadequate gatekeeping within scientific communities. Gatekeeping can fail in different ways: it can be excessively restrictive, excluding theories, methods, or other elements that deserve consideration; or unduly permissive, allowing elements into scientific discourse that do not merit serious attention. In both cases, these failures undermine the pluralistic exchange of ideas that is essential to scientific inquiry and progress, and can give rise to four degenerative patterns of consensus formation or revision: premature consensus, belated consensus, premature consensus revision, and belated consensus revision. When non-scientists have sufficient reason to believe that such dysfunctions are present, it may be rational for them to adjust their level of deference accordingly.

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

paulgp.com
Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham @paulgp.com · 23h
If you’re not using the For you feed you’re missing out
danabra.mov dan @danabra.mov · 1d
i wonder how much of this is people using the For You feed which does a much better job at finding “your” cluster
finfet.sh Finfet @finfet.sh · 1d
The discussions about LLMs today have been fascinating. Genuinely healthy conversations (imo). I have no idea how public perception within the dev community here changed so much over the last 30 days.

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

colbyvorland.bsky.social
Colby Vorland @colbyvorland.bsky.social · 1d
I launched version 3.0 of my browser extension "Lazy Scholar", a free in-browser research assistant. It opens automatically when you load an academic article.

See: lazyscholar.org/2026/01/10/l...

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Dagmar Hoffmann, Patrick Präg

marvinstein.bsky.social
Marvin Stein @marvinstein.bsky.social · 3d
The datasets from our @protestinstitut.bsky.social project ‘20 years of protest survey data’ are finally online for scientific re-use. We processed 30+ datasets, covering protests on peace, climate, trade, migration, equality & more. Now available @gesis.org 👇

search.gesis.org?source=%7B%2...
GESIS-Suche
search.gesis.org

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 3d
Interesting.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Ruth Dassonneville, Carl Henrik Knutsen , and 7 more

peterla.bsky.social
Peter Egge Langsæther @peterla.bsky.social · 3d
Very happy to see this out in CPS! We study class identities and their social and political relevance over several decades in Britain, Denmark, Norway, and the US. A small thread:

journals.sagepub.com/eprint/SIRW4...

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Alexander Wuttke, Rebecca Sear , and 3 more

statsepi.bsky.social
Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 4d
A hope for 2026 is that this perspective piece with @wiringthebrain.bsky.social & @deevybee.bsky.social will serve as a template for others who are similarly frustrated with with exaggerated claims and double speak around so much of research. It's ok to point out that the emperor has no clothes!
cellpress.bsky.social Cell Press @cellpress.bsky.social · Nov 13
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.

Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA

@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
First page of Opinion piece: "Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism"

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Alexander Wuttke

tonirodon.bsky.social
Toni Rodon @tonirodon.bsky.social · 4d
Populists and socialists are more likely than other politicians to come from lower-class families, and social democrats to have less educated parents. Yet both groups are just as likely to have highly educated and higher class friends and partners journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Are socialists and populists better connected to the working class? Comparing politicians’ intimate social ties in 13 countries - Nino Junius, Stefaan Walgrave, 2025
Populist and social democrat parties often claim to better represent lower socio-economic status (SES) citizens, yet existing research shows their elected polit...
journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

polanalysis.bsky.social
Political Analysis @polanalysis.bsky.social · 5d
Currently in FirstView: In “Political DEBATE: Efficient Zero-Shot and Few-Shot Classifiers for Political Text,” Michael Burnham, Kayla Kahn, Ryan Yang Wang, and Rachel Peng introduce DEBATE, a new open source foundation model for classifying political documents.

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 5d
📨 Apply with CV, writing sample & cover letter to [email protected]

⏰ Deadline: apply as early as possible, rolling review, latest: Jan 31, 2026
job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/7...
PhD Student:in (m/w/d)
job-portal.lmu.de

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 5d
Who should apply?
MA/MSc in political science, communication, psychology, or related fields.
Strong quantitative skills & interest in experiments, political psychlogy and democracy research

Ideally, command of German and English

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 5d
What we offer
• Work on a high-profile consortium project
• Clear path to international publications
• Strong interdisciplinary collaboration (LMU + TUM)
• Supportive, collegial research culture
• Competitive salary TV-L E13 (75%)
• Based at LMU Munich, excellent research conditions &quality of life

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 5d
You’ll work on a large-scale randomized field experiment (panel study, ~800 participants) evaluating how AI-supported political conversations affect empathy, reactance & openness over time.

Focus on:
• experimental design
• political psychology
• R (Python a plus)

Reposted by David Lazer, Ruth Dassonneville, Nils B. Weidmann , and 3 more

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 5d
🧵 PhD position (75%) in Political Behavior / Political Communication / CSS
📍 LMU Munich | ⏳ 3 years | 🗓 start March–May 2026

We’re hiring for DemocraGPT, a @bidt.bsky.social-funded project developing an AI-based training for difficult conversations in times of growing polarization

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 6d
Herzlichen Glückwunsch und viel Erfolg

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Andreas Jungherr

bidt.bsky.social
Bayerisches Forschungsinstitut für Digitale Transformation @bidt.bsky.social · 6d
Nicht Algorithmen oder Plattformen allein sind schuld an der zunehmenden Polarisierung – es ist komplexer. @ajungherr.bsky.social erforscht, u. a. am bidt, wie digitale Medien politische Kommunikation verändern.

Mehr zu seiner Person & Forschung im Porträt: www.bidt.digital/im-portraet-...

Reposted by Jim Kelly, Alexander Wuttke, John L. Cotter , and 1 more

tommasopavone.bsky.social
Tommaso Pavone @tommasopavone.bsky.social · 9d
Can reflecting on past democratic backsliding episodes “inoculate” citizens into vigilant liberal democrats? Drawing on the Slovak case, @movadek.bsky.social & I will find out: our registered report is in-principle accepted @thejop.bsky.social & survey results forthcoming! See tinyurl.com/uv5wybhs

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Serge Guimond, Alexander Wuttke

psrm.bsky.social
Political Science Research and Methods @psrm.bsky.social · 11d
🧑‍🎓Can democracy promotion strengthen support for democracy in terrorism-affected regions?

➡️ Using a randomized experiment in Burkina Faso, S Yameogo @anjaneundorf.bsky.social & @aykutozturk.bsky.social find that democracy promotion videos boost democratic support www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Sandra Dullau

misik.bsky.social
Robert Misik @misik.bsky.social · 13d
Sie haben auch schon ein paar Pläne für die Zeit nach „der Machtübernahme“, nämlich: „Volksfeindliche Medien verbieten.“ Denn: „Die Zeit, in der das deutsche Volk sich erhebt wird kommen. Es ist unsere Zeit!!!“

steady.page/de/vernunft-...
„…dann stellen wir sie an die Wand.“
Ein Dokument wie ein Fiebertraum: Die „Akte AfD“ führt uns vor Augen, woran wir uns schon gewöhnt haben.
steady.page

Reposted by Linda J. Skitka, Olivier Corneille, Alexander Wuttke , and 4 more

pgmj.bsky.social
Magnus Johansson @pgmj.bsky.social · 14d
"40 percent of MRI signals do not correspond to actual brain activity"; "Since tens of thousands of fMRI studies worldwide are based on this assumption, our results could lead to opposite interpretations in many of them.”
www.tum.de/en/news-and-...
40 percent of MRI signals misinterpreted
Interpretation of numerous MRI data may be incorrect: blood flow is not a reliable indicator of brain activity.
www.tum.de

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Peter Stegmaier, Cyrus Samimi

bijanmoini.de
Bijan Moini @bijanmoini.de · 15d
Jede demokratische Partei müsse sich fragen, ob sie mit einer Partei kooperieren will, die die Demokratie abschaffen will - ob sie "mit dem Teufel ins Bett geht", sagt Voßkuhle. Die AfD wolle den "Parlamentarismus westlicher Prägung abschaffen" (…).

Erstaunlich deutliche Worte vom Ex- BVerfG-Präsi.
Ex-Verfassungsrichter Voßkuhle sieht deutsche Demokratie in Gefahr
Der frühere Präsident des Bundesverfassungsgerichts, Voßkuhle, sieht die deutsche Demokratie bedroht. Überall auf der Welt kämen totalitäre Systeme auf, sagte er dem Tagesspiegel. Deutschland sei da k...
www.tagesschau.de

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 15d
Thank you!

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 15d
This one?
Like an app not for research narrowly understood but for learning?
notewave.app
Feynman AI
Feynman AI creates notes, mind maps, quizzes, and flashcards from audio, PDFs, and more. Master any topic with Feynman AI using the Feynman technique for deeper learning. Learn smarter, not harder, le...
notewave.app

Reposted by Ingo Rohlfing, Sebastian Karcher

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 15d
The sale pitch for this AI Scientist "Kosmos" as presented in this Podcast just seems like a big HARKing exercise. Yes, just look at the data long enough and you'll find "something".

Has anybody made any experiences with AI scientists models? Recommendations?
pca.st/episode/58aa...
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
pca.st

Reposted by Tim Bale, Alexander Wuttke, Paolo Crosetto , and 4 more

poqjournal.bsky.social
Public Opinion Quarterly - POQ @poqjournal.bsky.social · 24d
Survey experiments have become a popular methodology among social scientists. Has it been effective?

In POQ, Rauf et al. study the efficacy of 100 survey experiments. Their results show that a majority of hypotheses were not supported.

Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 24d
Congratulations!

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

ianhussey.mmmdata.io
Ian Hussey @ianhussey.mmmdata.io · 24d
I’m vocally skeptical of silicon samples, yet vocally impressed by SurveyBot3000.

The difference: this does not rely on magic beans or assumed omniscience, it is trained and validated against a large corpus of highly relevant data and makes specific predictions with known accuracy and precision.
ruben.the100.ci Ruben C. Arslan @ruben.the100.ci · 24d
Finally, @bjoernhommel.bsky.social's and my paper introducing the SurveyBot3000 is officially out in AMPPS. It's a fine-tuned language model that guesstimates correlations between survey items from text alone. Not perfectly, but useful for search, for example.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Fig. 3. Scatter plots of the synthetic and empirical estimates, validation study (Stage 2). Showing N = 30,135 item-pair correlations, N = 257 scale reliabilities, and N = 1,568 scale-pair correlations for (top) the pretrained SBERT model and (bottom) the fine-tuned SurveyBot3000 model. SBERT = all-mpnet-base-v2 model. Fig. 4. Prediction error of the synthetic estimates, validation study (Stage 2). Our prediction model allowed the error term to vary freely according to the predictor, the synthetic estimate. The thin-plate splines show that some synthetic estimates were predictably more accurate. Fig. 5. Accuracy by domain. Accuracy differed across domains. SurveyBot3000 accuracy (colored) was always higher than SBERT accuracy (gray). Results were largely consistent whether accuracy of items was tested (left, circle) within domains or (right, cross) across domains. Fig. 1. Multistep training procedure for the SurveyBot3000, which produces synthetic estimates of interitem correlations. (a) Pretraining base model (SBERT). (b) Fine-tuning SurveyBot3000. (c) Validation. SBERT = all-mpnet-base-v2 model.

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke

ruben.the100.ci
Ruben C. Arslan @ruben.the100.ci · 24d
We took pains to avoid overfitting. In addition to the standard training/test/holdout divide, we also ran a registered report follow up and locked down the predictions before we collected data. Accuracy was indeed a tad attenuated r=.71 -> .59.

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Cameron Brick, Ian Hussey , and 3 more

ruben.the100.ci
Ruben C. Arslan @ruben.the100.ci · 24d
Finally, @bjoernhommel.bsky.social's and my paper introducing the SurveyBot3000 is officially out in AMPPS. It's a fine-tuned language model that guesstimates correlations between survey items from text alone. Not perfectly, but useful for search, for example.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Fig. 3. Scatter plots of the synthetic and empirical estimates, validation study (Stage 2). Showing N = 30,135 item-pair correlations, N = 257 scale reliabilities, and N = 1,568 scale-pair correlations for (top) the pretrained SBERT model and (bottom) the fine-tuned SurveyBot3000 model. SBERT = all-mpnet-base-v2 model. Fig. 4. Prediction error of the synthetic estimates, validation study (Stage 2). Our prediction model allowed the error term to vary freely according to the predictor, the synthetic estimate. The thin-plate splines show that some synthetic estimates were predictably more accurate. Fig. 5. Accuracy by domain. Accuracy differed across domains. SurveyBot3000 accuracy (colored) was always higher than SBERT accuracy (gray). Results were largely consistent whether accuracy of items was tested (left, circle) within domains or (right, cross) across domains. Fig. 1. Multistep training procedure for the SurveyBot3000, which produces synthetic estimates of interitem correlations. (a) Pretraining base model (SBERT). (b) Fine-tuning SurveyBot3000. (c) Validation. SBERT = all-mpnet-base-v2 model.

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 25d
Same.
And users start to recognize when others change their profile pictures...