Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Adam Austin

@ataustin.bsky.social

210 followers 140 following 390 posts

Director of data science, fanboy of #rstats Make interoperability, not war. Also at @[email protected]

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 2d

I was master of ceremonies today at my company's annual analytics day celebration. So I came dressed as Data. Obviously.
#dataBS

I'm in a Star Trek Data costume in front of the welcome slide for the event

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 3d

I meant to rage-post about this experience and what it means about human-centered design, but I took a nap instead. was probably the better choice

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 3d

Once-a-year traveler here who just flew yesterday and couldn't find the right security line, AMA

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 3d

Once-a-year traveler here who just flew yesterday and couldn't find the right security line, AMA

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 3d

you know the masses demand a blog post to explain how you wrangled it

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 7d

I chickened out! 🐓

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 7d

Oof size: large

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 7d

Wow. Internet users are not prepared for the future of online threats, and AI companies do not have our backs

hrbrmstr 🇺🇦 🇬🇱 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈 @hrbrmstr.dev · 7d

Don't use the Comet browser #86pplx

betanews.com/2025/10/03/p...

Perplexity releases AI web browser, Comet, for free; security warnings follow

Perplexity is the latest company to release an AI-powered web browser. Comet is available free of charge for Windows and macOS, and it is looking to compete

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 7d

For once, I can get behind the idea of a monarchy

Chelsea Parlett @chelseaparlett.bsky.social · 8d

Be glad I’m not queen of the world because if I was it would be illegal to report point estimates without uncertainty🤺🤺🤺

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 8d

I first heard the idea that "companies ship their org charts" from @jdlong.cerebralmastication.com and boy howdy, it's never been truer than the past couple years in tech

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 8d

Anyone using these tools in Microsoft Office 365 over the past year has felt this pain. The UI was so wildly different between apps, or so hastily executed, that I mostly trained myself to ignore the copilot button(s) in any given software.

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 8d

The proliferation of half-baked, disjointed AI tools jammed into every app in a company's ecosystem underscores the desperation to deliver in the wake of CharGPT. In the long run, this terrible UX has probably made consumers more wary of AI and less certain how to engage with it

Business Insider headline with summary:
Too many Copilots in the cockpit: Internal Microsoft audio shows it's trying to address confusion about its Al apps

Microsoft plans to address confusion over its multiple Copilot products, internal audio shows.

The confusion comes from its multiple apps with the same Copilot name.

Microsoft is trying to fix this by making experience coherent across apps, executives said.

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 9d

wish I could! as fate would have it, I'm running the show at a very big work event next week and need every last second to prepare. wishing you an amazing release!

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 9d

it made me literally lol in the middle of a quiet train car, thank you

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 9d

Who's making the bumper stickers with "this awful gen AI web workflow could have been a REST API" because I'm buying all of them

Emily Riederer @emilyriederer.bsky.social · 10d

Tomorrow I have to take 25 blurbs of text, copy paste them one by one into a UI, get an ID and link, and then go paste those into some docs

I’m reminded how much more I value of a good REST API or RPA/headless browser (Playwright!) over AI for the kind of work I want to delegate to a robot

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 9d

I've been in so many meetings lately where someone says "why is this an AI agent and not a script?"

The corporate mandate to genAI everything is breaking sensible design patterns everywhere

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 9d

It's interesting, lots of people in Jay's comments are stuck thinking about algorithmic feeds and not thinking about monetization

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 10d

this is easily my favorite analysis of the whole situation so far

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 10d

"Teun van den Brand and the ggplot2 extenders" is absolutely a band I would listen to

Posit @posit.co · 10d

The new ggplot2 4.0.0 is here! 🎉

This major update includes a foundational rewrite of S7 and user benefits such as smarter labeling and a revamped theming system.

Check the details: www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/09...

BONUS: Join the release party on Oct 3, 3pm ET. bit.ly/join-gg-extenders

#RStats

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 11d

of all JD posts, this is one of the most JD

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 12d

oh man I haven't made ice cream in like a decade 😭 you've inspired me for when the cherry tree fruits next year

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 12d

omg you're cooking at my house tomorrow right

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 12d

fig pizza??

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 13d

The definitive guide to the spice cupboard:
youtu.be/OnQTDO8lL8I?...

My Name Is Five Spice! | Michael McIntyre

YouTube video by Michael McIntyre

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 13d

I keep forgetting about the #dataBS tag, so this one is for y'all

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 15d

Hey data nerds! I've made a lateral move and my old role is open for applications. It's a data science leader role in home insurance (industry experience strongly preferred). Hybrid in the listed locations. Take a look!
#RStats #python #dataScience
thehartford.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Career...

Director, Data Science; Personal Insurance- Homeowners

Dir Data Science - GD06AE We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to ac...

thehartford.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

Adam Austin @ataustin.bsky.social · 14d

I think you meant to say "the _best_ viridis color palette"