Brandon Bishop
banner
brandontbishop.bsky.social
Brandon Bishop
@brandontbishop.bsky.social
Seismologist, investigates the Andes and subduction zones, currently complexly affiliated with St. Louis University and looking for new projects.

Replies to my geoscience posts that include ChatGPT content get hidden and get your account blocked.
Where does "highly entertained by the Poasters' War" fit into this?

Besides just generically "internet brain poisoned."
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Nothing may stop the most appealing explanation for the internet commentariat because it makes their poasting Important: everything is vibes.
November 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
And we enter Day 2 of the Poaster War Against the Economists....
November 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
So same over-emphasis on "AI" and ML, one total quack thing that some weirdo space physics researchers keep pushing, some actual general research things that people do do in the middle, and three things that don't really relate to prediction at all but are legit seismology.

It might be better.
November 25, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Judging by that "Google Scholar Labs" "tool" Silicon Valley types can't distinguish what's needed for an essay in sophomore-level gen ed class and what's needed for cutting-edge scientific research....
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I like the alliteration!
November 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
(Caveat: Yes, I know there are still legit (read: not yet proven statistical artifacts) in earthquake prediction, that is not what a question like what we asked should return to a user though.)
November 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Not going to bother trying to evaluate the two-bullet-point summaries.

The framing is already bad.

It's also "agreeable" in the sense it returns none of the papers that would indicate earthquake prediction is a failed topic.
November 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
What do we notice?

Out of the 10 results, 9 are reviews.

6 appear to have been picked because "AI" or "Machine Learning" was in the title (I guess that's synonymous with "promising"?), including one that has nothing to do with the question.

4 aren't seismology.

1 is a Master's thesis.

Not great
November 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The dice, they are loaded.
November 25, 2025 at 5:38 PM
So. Exciting. 😑
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
In the spirit of intellectual inquiry (or morbid fascination) let us ask a question similar to the examples that we all know the answer to ("There are none.") and see what comes out....
November 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
But what if they're both stupid *and* malicious?
November 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
"Ask detailed research questions to find relevant papers"

None of these are detailed. None of these are actual research questions.

We are no longer the target audience of Google Scholar.
November 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Brandon Bishop
“I wish someone at Google would remember scholar exists!”

…and the monkey paw curls.
November 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I would like an explainer in a national media outlet on why It's Always South Africans That Worked At Paypal.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The very same!
November 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
He is the genius behind such famous products as "Geni.com," "Yammer," "Zenefits," "Craft Ventures," "Callin," and "Glue."

His primary competence seems to be being bought out by other, more successful businesses.

And being a South African that worked at Paypal when it was bought up.
November 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Who is this waxen looking man? Who is this man who appears to have come from a Madame Tussauds' exhibit?

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, David O. Sacks.

As with so many of these guys, he's originallySouth African and got his start at Paypal, the single most destructive company of our time.
November 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 😮

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 🙄

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 🫤

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 😐

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 😑

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 😞

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 💀
November 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
"(c) The Secretary, in coordination with the APST and the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto,"

The Special Advisor for AI and Crypto. 💀
November 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Brandon Bishop
I haven’t read this but holy shit what a succinct way to put it. Mistaking the finger for the Moon, as they say in Buddhist thought
Sorry for the Apple News link, but a good article if you can access it.

“We use language to think, but that does not make language the same as thought.”

The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake - The Verge

stocks.apple.com/Ayz-oaNDNQky...
Large language mistake — The Verge
“Developing superintelligence is now in sight,” says Mark Zuckerberg, heralding the “creation and discovery of new things that aren’t imaginable today.
stocks.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I mean rationalizing in the sense of "surely they can't be *that* stupid." They can be.
November 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM
You are still assuming competence. They're focusing on the same Tech-brained stuff they were ordering NSF to focus on months ago.
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
True! But knowing what particular groups of people think it is is useful.
November 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM