Andrea Baronchelli
@baronca.bsky.social
Decentralised networks of humans and machines
https://www.andreabaronchelli.com/
https://www.andreabaronchelli.com/
Pinned
Andrea Baronchelli
@baronca.bsky.social
· May 15
New paper alert. "More is different" & the LLMs.
LLMs are usually studied in isolation. But what happens when they start interacting? We explored this by looking at their collective behaviour.
Work with @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social
1/
LLMs are usually studied in isolation. But what happens when they start interacting? We explored this by looking at their collective behaviour.
Work with @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social
1/
At Stanford Feb 4–6 (GSB talk on the 4th). Around to chat about AI swarms, norms, collective alignment, and governance risks in multi-agent systems incl social media and blockchain. Ping or DM me.
January 29, 2026 at 1:04 PM
At Stanford Feb 4–6 (GSB talk on the 4th). Around to chat about AI swarms, norms, collective alignment, and governance risks in multi-agent systems incl social media and blockchain. Ping or DM me.
Our new collective effort highlights what happens when AI acts in populations rather than as isolated tool. TL;DR: a lot.
We have a new paper in Science today on how malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy.
AI systems can already coordinate autonomously, infiltrate communities, and fabricate social consensus.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Led by @kunstjonas.bsky.social & @daniel-thilo.bsky.social!
AI systems can already coordinate autonomously, infiltrate communities, and fabricate social consensus.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Led by @kunstjonas.bsky.social & @daniel-thilo.bsky.social!
January 26, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Our new collective effort highlights what happens when AI acts in populations rather than as isolated tool. TL;DR: a lot.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Tremendously important work...👇
How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @daniel-thilo.bsky.social @kunstjonas.bsky.social et al.
AI swarms are can be used to engineering a "synthetic
consensus" that can manipulate public opinion and perceptions.
How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @daniel-thilo.bsky.social @kunstjonas.bsky.social et al.
AI swarms are can be used to engineering a "synthetic
consensus" that can manipulate public opinion and perceptions.
January 22, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Tremendously important work...👇
How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @daniel-thilo.bsky.social @kunstjonas.bsky.social et al.
AI swarms are can be used to engineering a "synthetic
consensus" that can manipulate public opinion and perceptions.
How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @daniel-thilo.bsky.social @kunstjonas.bsky.social et al.
AI swarms are can be used to engineering a "synthetic
consensus" that can manipulate public opinion and perceptions.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Long overdue refresh of the SocioPatterns website! ✨ sociopatterns.org New content & datasets, and a chance to celebrate 17+ years of collabs, ~100 publications, 2000+ studies using our data. Thanks – more ahead! @alainbarrat.bsky.social @wouter-vdb.bsky.social @foolsdelight.bsky.social @isi.it
January 14, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Long overdue refresh of the SocioPatterns website! ✨ sociopatterns.org New content & datasets, and a chance to celebrate 17+ years of collabs, ~100 publications, 2000+ studies using our data. Thanks – more ahead! @alainbarrat.bsky.social @wouter-vdb.bsky.social @foolsdelight.bsky.social @isi.it
👇
Machine+Behavior is back! Pls spread the word.
18-19 May
Submission 8 Feb
Speakers include: Tom Griffiths, Allan Dafoe, Thore Graepel, Laura Weidinger, Kinga Makovi, @baronca.bsky.social, @drkatedevlin.bsky.social, Emilio Calvano, Brian D. Earp, Christopher Summerfield
machinebehavior.science
18-19 May
Submission 8 Feb
Speakers include: Tom Griffiths, Allan Dafoe, Thore Graepel, Laura Weidinger, Kinga Makovi, @baronca.bsky.social, @drkatedevlin.bsky.social, Emilio Calvano, Brian D. Earp, Christopher Summerfield
machinebehavior.science
Machine+Behavior Conference
Welcome to the forefront of behavioral science in the digital age.
machinebehavior.science
January 4, 2026 at 6:10 PM
👇
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Happy to be hosting @baronca.bsky.social and Johan Bollen here this week at the @exeter.ac.uk @exetercompsci.bsky.social. After a work day, we had a chance to go for a drink and dinner with them (w/ @diogofpacheco.bsky.social)
December 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Happy to be hosting @baronca.bsky.social and Johan Bollen here this week at the @exeter.ac.uk @exetercompsci.bsky.social. After a work day, we had a chance to go for a drink and dinner with them (w/ @diogofpacheco.bsky.social)
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Our review on multilayer network science is out on the arXiv. Thanks to all collaborators of the AccelNet MultiNet project, great working with you all 🙏 @alexvespi.bsky.social @ymoreno.bsky.social @lordgrilo.bsky.social @anduviera.bsky.social @baronca.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2511.23371
arxiv.org/abs/2511.23371
Multilayer network science: theory, methods, and applications
Multilayer network science has emerged as a central framework for analysing interconnected and interdependent complex systems. Its relevance has grown substantially with the increasing availability of...
arxiv.org
December 1, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Our review on multilayer network science is out on the arXiv. Thanks to all collaborators of the AccelNet MultiNet project, great working with you all 🙏 @alexvespi.bsky.social @ymoreno.bsky.social @lordgrilo.bsky.social @anduviera.bsky.social @baronca.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2511.23371
arxiv.org/abs/2511.23371
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
New preprint: More is different for AI multi-agent systems - but what does more mean?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
October 28, 2025 at 11:07 AM
New preprint: More is different for AI multi-agent systems - but what does more mean?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Nowadays, often the justification for choosing M$ is that it claims to be GDPR compliant, which just means that M$ can afford getting sued for any breach, which of course happens all the time. And universities don't care about potential breaches themselves, only about liability, which M$ absorbs.
We had this discussion 25 years ago.
A colleague calculated that they could hire a full-time administrator for Linux instead of paying the MS licences. Most thought of it as absurd idea ;-)
A colleague calculated that they could hire a full-time administrator for Linux instead of paying the MS licences. Most thought of it as absurd idea ;-)
November 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Nowadays, often the justification for choosing M$ is that it claims to be GDPR compliant, which just means that M$ can afford getting sued for any breach, which of course happens all the time. And universities don't care about potential breaches themselves, only about liability, which M$ absorbs.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Group size effects and collective misalignment in LLM multi-agent systems arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
Group size effects and collective misalignment in LLM multi-agent systems
Multi-agent systems of large language models (LLMs) are rapidly expanding across domains, introducing dynamics not captured by single-agent evaluations. Yet, existing work has mostly contrasted the be...
arxiv.org
October 29, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Group size effects and collective misalignment in LLM multi-agent systems arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
New preprint: More is different for AI multi-agent systems - but what does more mean?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
October 28, 2025 at 11:07 AM
New preprint: More is different for AI multi-agent systems - but what does more mean?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.22422
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social and Romualdo Pastor-Satorras.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Not being an AI-doomer, but having experienced in my own department over the past 7 years a steady erosion of faculty governance norms and diminished prioritization of research-oriented pedagogy, this tracks. Let faculty and faculty interests lead the way, rather than administrators/regents
"AI returns to the university as part of a broad effort to further corporatize universities, vocationalize higher-education instruction, and diminish both research and research-based pedagogy."
October 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Not being an AI-doomer, but having experienced in my own department over the past 7 years a steady erosion of faculty governance norms and diminished prioritization of research-oriented pedagogy, this tracks. Let faculty and faculty interests lead the way, rather than administrators/regents
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
“LLMs don’t understand.”
Of course. That was never the point.
The point is: we’re already using them as if they do —
to moderate, to classify, to prioritize, to decide.
That’s not a model problem.
It’s a systemic one.
The shift from verification to plausibility is real.
Welcome to Epistemia.
Of course. That was never the point.
The point is: we’re already using them as if they do —
to moderate, to classify, to prioritize, to decide.
That’s not a model problem.
It’s a systemic one.
The shift from verification to plausibility is real.
Welcome to Epistemia.
October 20, 2025 at 5:31 PM
“LLMs don’t understand.”
Of course. That was never the point.
The point is: we’re already using them as if they do —
to moderate, to classify, to prioritize, to decide.
That’s not a model problem.
It’s a systemic one.
The shift from verification to plausibility is real.
Welcome to Epistemia.
Of course. That was never the point.
The point is: we’re already using them as if they do —
to moderate, to classify, to prioritize, to decide.
That’s not a model problem.
It’s a systemic one.
The shift from verification to plausibility is real.
Welcome to Epistemia.
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
'I once met a former bodyguard of one billionaire with his own "bunker", who told me his security team's first priority, if this really did happen, would be to eliminate said boss and get in the bunker themselves. And he didn't seem to be joking.'
Tech billionaires seem to be doom prepping. Should we be worried?
The debate is ramping up about what happens if - or when - computer intelligence overtakes humans
www.bbc.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:28 AM
'I once met a former bodyguard of one billionaire with his own "bunker", who told me his security team's first priority, if this really did happen, would be to eliminate said boss and get in the bunker themselves. And he didn't seem to be joking.'
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Researchers say Israeli government likely behind AI-generated disinfo campaign in Iran
cyberscoop.com/citizen-lab-...
cyberscoop.com/citizen-lab-...
Researchers say Israeli government likely behind AI-generated disinfo campaign in Iran
The group leveraged dozens of social media accounts and “routinely used” AI-generated imagery and video to stoke unrest among Iran’s population, according to Citizen Lab.
cyberscoop.com
October 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Researchers say Israeli government likely behind AI-generated disinfo campaign in Iran
cyberscoop.com/citizen-lab-...
cyberscoop.com/citizen-lab-...
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
It was a ton of fun to play a small role in this project lead by the brilliant Marta Ewa Lech & @jonassjuul.bsky.social. A lot of drama & change in the world of music reflected in the song-dynamics of the Billboard Hot 100!
New paper out in EPJ Data Science!
We analyze 65 years of Billboard Hot 100 data to ask:
🎵Are songs moving differently up and down the chart nowadays?
📉 Are hits shorter-lived?
📈 Or do superstars dominate more than ever?
Paper: epjdatascience.springeropen.com/articles/10....
🧵 1/7
We analyze 65 years of Billboard Hot 100 data to ask:
🎵Are songs moving differently up and down the chart nowadays?
📉 Are hits shorter-lived?
📈 Or do superstars dominate more than ever?
Paper: epjdatascience.springeropen.com/articles/10....
🧵 1/7
September 22, 2025 at 9:27 AM
It was a ton of fun to play a small role in this project lead by the brilliant Marta Ewa Lech & @jonassjuul.bsky.social. A lot of drama & change in the world of music reflected in the song-dynamics of the Billboard Hot 100!
There are two ways to deal with LLMs in our work
One is the path of abundance: automate everything and multiply publications at the expense of quality
The other is the path of focusing on the soul of the work, on the questions that still matter - to you - when everything else has been made trivial
One is the path of abundance: automate everything and multiply publications at the expense of quality
The other is the path of focusing on the soul of the work, on the questions that still matter - to you - when everything else has been made trivial
September 2, 2025 at 10:51 AM
There are two ways to deal with LLMs in our work
One is the path of abundance: automate everything and multiply publications at the expense of quality
The other is the path of focusing on the soul of the work, on the questions that still matter - to you - when everything else has been made trivial
One is the path of abundance: automate everything and multiply publications at the expense of quality
The other is the path of focusing on the soul of the work, on the questions that still matter - to you - when everything else has been made trivial
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Breaking: the court ruling in Wikipedia's legal challenge to the Online Safety Act categorisation regime has just been handed down. The court dismissed Wikipedia's challenge. This is bad. This is very bad. wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/08...
Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations – Wikimedia Foundation
UPDATE: On Monday, 11 August, the High Court of Justice dismissed the Wikimedia Foundation’s challenge to the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) Categorisation Regulations. While the decision does not provi...
wikimediafoundation.org
August 11, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Breaking: the court ruling in Wikipedia's legal challenge to the Online Safety Act categorisation regime has just been handed down. The court dismissed Wikipedia's challenge. This is bad. This is very bad. wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/08...
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Presented our work, “Cultural and Cognitive Insights from 2.6 Billion Drawings,” at @ic2s2.bsky.social this morning. Big thanks to Mauro Martino, Nima Dehmamy, @douglasguilbeault.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social, and @baronca.bsky.social for the collaboration ✨
Stay tuned for more results!
Stay tuned for more results!
July 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Presented our work, “Cultural and Cognitive Insights from 2.6 Billion Drawings,” at @ic2s2.bsky.social this morning. Big thanks to Mauro Martino, Nima Dehmamy, @douglasguilbeault.bsky.social, @lajello.bsky.social, and @baronca.bsky.social for the collaboration ✨
Stay tuned for more results!
Stay tuned for more results!
Looking forward to it!
We are more than happy to announce that @baronca.bsky.social (University of London), an absolute authority on the study of decentralized networks of humans and machines, will be present as a speaker at @lanetconference.bsky.social!
#ComplexSystems #LANET2025
Uruguay lanet2025.uy
#ComplexSystems #LANET2025
Uruguay lanet2025.uy
July 7, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Looking forward to it!
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
🚨Are moral judgements biased by the gender of the subject?
We find *no* direct effect when looking at Reddit!
Our causal study design is based on carefully matching similar situations that people with different genders experience (and share).
Study led by @loreb92.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eumlQ
We find *no* direct effect when looking at Reddit!
Our causal study design is based on carefully matching similar situations that people with different genders experience (and share).
Study led by @loreb92.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eumlQ
Moral judgments in online discourse are not biased by gender
Scientific Reports - Moral judgments in online discourse are not biased by gender
rdcu.be
July 2, 2025 at 7:59 AM
🚨Are moral judgements biased by the gender of the subject?
We find *no* direct effect when looking at Reddit!
Our causal study design is based on carefully matching similar situations that people with different genders experience (and share).
Study led by @loreb92.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eumlQ
We find *no* direct effect when looking at Reddit!
Our causal study design is based on carefully matching similar situations that people with different genders experience (and share).
Study led by @loreb92.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eumlQ
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
Our preprint “How Malicious AI Swarms Can Threaten Democracy” is now online.
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
OSF
osf.io
June 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Our preprint “How Malicious AI Swarms Can Threaten Democracy” is now online.
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
We show how coordinated multi-agent LLM swarms can infiltrate communities, craft synthetic grassroots “consensus,” and erode institutional trust—and what we can do now to stop it.
osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Andrea Baronchelli
New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
Computer-vision research powers surveillance technology - Nature
An analysis of research papers and citing patents indicates the extensive ties between computer-vision research and surveillance.
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance
1/
At #ICWSM? Here's a starter pack for you :)
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Check also "Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs" ojs.aaai.org/index.php/IC...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Check also "Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs" ojs.aaai.org/index.php/IC...
June 26, 2025 at 9:41 AM
At #ICWSM? Here's a starter pack for you :)
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Check also "Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs" ojs.aaai.org/index.php/IC...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Check also "Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs" ojs.aaai.org/index.php/IC...
A brief follow-up on the complex systems foundations of our LLM population study, sparked by ongoing debate. And why they matter for studying AI collectives more broadly.
arxiv.org/abs/2506.18600
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2506.18600
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social
June 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
A brief follow-up on the complex systems foundations of our LLM population study, sparked by ongoing debate. And why they matter for studying AI collectives more broadly.
arxiv.org/abs/2506.18600
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2506.18600
With @ariel-flint.bsky.social and @lajello.bsky.social