Cole Donovan
@colesci.bsky.social
S&T Ecosystem Development at the Federation of American Scientists. Former White House OSTP, NOAA Office of Space Commerce, National Academies, State Department. Views are my own.
Costa I did a Buffalo Old Bay Turkey one year and it was divine
November 27, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Costa I did a Buffalo Old Bay Turkey one year and it was divine
Literally what the fuck State Department
The State Department has warned employees not to use government funds to mark Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels.” nyti.ms/3KhPDrA
Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day
The State Department warned employees not to use government funds for the occasion and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels.”
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Literally what the fuck State Department
Doing a renovation right now and all the image search results for specific styles are literally just AI generated slop.
November 26, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Doing a renovation right now and all the image search results for specific styles are literally just AI generated slop.
Reposted by Cole Donovan
In the future, AI chatbots may weave ads invisibly into “helpful” advice, steering conversations without you even knowing, argues Daniel Barcay, executive director of the Center for Humane Technology. When the AI we rely on starts steering us for revenue, not our goals, human autonomy is at risk.
Advertising is Coming to AI. It’s Going to Be a Disaster. | TechPolicy.Press
Daniel Barcay sounds the alarm on AI chatbots hiding advertising in conversations—and why this threatens autonomy and demands new rules.
www.techpolicy.press
November 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
In the future, AI chatbots may weave ads invisibly into “helpful” advice, steering conversations without you even knowing, argues Daniel Barcay, executive director of the Center for Humane Technology. When the AI we rely on starts steering us for revenue, not our goals, human autonomy is at risk.
The Department of Energy is one of the most significant global supporters of physical science research.
I joined my colleagues at the @scientistsorg.bsky.social Addy Smith, Alice Wu, Zoë Brouns, and Arjun Krishnaswami to offer our perspective and warnings on DOE’s reorganization.
I joined my colleagues at the @scientistsorg.bsky.social Addy Smith, Alice Wu, Zoë Brouns, and Arjun Krishnaswami to offer our perspective and warnings on DOE’s reorganization.
New DOE Re-Organization Raises Uncertainty for American Science, Energy Innovation, and Affordability
Eight offices with mission-critical responsibilities have been dismantled as part of the restructuring, implementing much of the proposal outlined in Project 2025 and fundamentally reshaping the agenc...
fas.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The Department of Energy is one of the most significant global supporters of physical science research.
I joined my colleagues at the @scientistsorg.bsky.social Addy Smith, Alice Wu, Zoë Brouns, and Arjun Krishnaswami to offer our perspective and warnings on DOE’s reorganization.
I joined my colleagues at the @scientistsorg.bsky.social Addy Smith, Alice Wu, Zoë Brouns, and Arjun Krishnaswami to offer our perspective and warnings on DOE’s reorganization.
In space, insurance markets are collapsing because only people flying expensive geo birds are buying.
With AI, insurers see they accidentally sold a new and riskier product to everyone. If not separated out, AI risk gets priced into everything, putting inflationary pressure on the whole economy.
With AI, insurers see they accidentally sold a new and riskier product to everyone. If not separated out, AI risk gets priced into everything, putting inflationary pressure on the whole economy.
Insurers are now seeking to exclude AI from corporate policies because the risks are too unpredictable and liability is unclear. This is a signal: we cannot rely on insurance markets or tort law to protect against AI harms. We need actual governance and policy.
Insurers AIG, Great American, and WR Berkley seek permission to limit liability from AI agents and chatbots and to retreat from coverage of AI risk as multibillion-dollar claims mount
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
www.ft.com/content/abfe...
November 24, 2025 at 2:31 PM
In space, insurance markets are collapsing because only people flying expensive geo birds are buying.
With AI, insurers see they accidentally sold a new and riskier product to everyone. If not separated out, AI risk gets priced into everything, putting inflationary pressure on the whole economy.
With AI, insurers see they accidentally sold a new and riskier product to everyone. If not separated out, AI risk gets priced into everything, putting inflationary pressure on the whole economy.
Removing gross cabinets from the new house as part of the renovation. 50 years old leaves plenty of fun sanitary surprises
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Removing gross cabinets from the new house as part of the renovation. 50 years old leaves plenty of fun sanitary surprises
What a year tonight has been
November 22, 2025 at 2:04 AM
What a year tonight has been
Reposted by Cole Donovan
I get the "wtf just happened" reax but I think this is mostly a case of game recognize game. Trump also likes novelty, celebrity, winners, and “strong.” And we *know* he is detached from ideological commitments. Same quality that leads him to talk openly with Putin and Kim Jong Un. Not that deep.
November 21, 2025 at 11:23 PM
I get the "wtf just happened" reax but I think this is mostly a case of game recognize game. Trump also likes novelty, celebrity, winners, and “strong.” And we *know* he is detached from ideological commitments. Same quality that leads him to talk openly with Putin and Kim Jong Un. Not that deep.
🧑🍳 😘
Feat. Sir Tony Blair
lol
lol
Larry Summers’s co-teacher at Harvard:
“We will miss his insights and his wisdom”
Student:
“NO WE WON’T”
dude pretends he doesn’t hear, then intros Tony Blair lmao
“We will miss his insights and his wisdom”
Student:
“NO WE WON’T”
dude pretends he doesn’t hear, then intros Tony Blair lmao
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 AM
🧑🍳 😘
This is good news. CERN is an organization that can be counted on to manage megaprojects responsibly. China unfortunately has a history of locking down parts of projects that might be considered sensitive, usually for arbitrary reasons. The United States hasn’t been able to deliver, historically.
CEPC matures, but approval is on hold – CERN Courier
The Circular Electron–Positron Collider (CEPC), a 100-km electron–positron “Higgs factory” proposed in China, has reached the technical-design stage but will not be included for approval or constructi...
cerncourier.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:25 AM
This is good news. CERN is an organization that can be counted on to manage megaprojects responsibly. China unfortunately has a history of locking down parts of projects that might be considered sensitive, usually for arbitrary reasons. The United States hasn’t been able to deliver, historically.
Yes when I was unconscious and bleeding from the head on the side of a mountain I absolutely had a choice to go to a less expensive hospital and decline the ambulance.
Cassidy: "If she goes and gets 2 types of shampoo & one is a dollar cheaper, she'll get the cheaper one & the other lowers their price. Once you give her the power of making the decision, she's gonna shop -- that begins to save her money and squeezes waste out of the healthcare system."
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Yes when I was unconscious and bleeding from the head on the side of a mountain I absolutely had a choice to go to a less expensive hospital and decline the ambulance.
This academic summit is LIT
November 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM
This academic summit is LIT
FWIW the Monroe Doctrine was actually British policy intended to contain the imperialist aspirations of other European powers. The United States lacked the military capacity to enforce it, but it did enable us to fulfill our own expansionist goals.
November 19, 2025 at 12:32 PM
FWIW the Monroe Doctrine was actually British policy intended to contain the imperialist aspirations of other European powers. The United States lacked the military capacity to enforce it, but it did enable us to fulfill our own expansionist goals.
Traffic and metro delays=two hour commute. Government must be open again or something.
November 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Traffic and metro delays=two hour commute. Government must be open again or something.
I promise you that the DoJ is not going to approach FARA this way with the Latin and Asian American communities.
This whole NYT account about the weaponization of DOJ is beyond disturbing. Kinda feels like the US government fell in January.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I promise you that the DoJ is not going to approach FARA this way with the Latin and Asian American communities.
Gross
It’s sort of clarifying to see him describe this dynamic so directly www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Gross
So yes. I am ace.
And yes, I’m into dragons what about it
And yes, I’m into dragons what about it
November 17, 2025 at 12:30 AM
So yes. I am ace.
And yes, I’m into dragons what about it
And yes, I’m into dragons what about it
MTG giving a mea culpa on live tv is a surprise to be sure but a welcome one
People taking ownership and saving face is the most important part of getting out of this.
People taking ownership and saving face is the most important part of getting out of this.
November 17, 2025 at 12:24 AM
MTG giving a mea culpa on live tv is a surprise to be sure but a welcome one
People taking ownership and saving face is the most important part of getting out of this.
People taking ownership and saving face is the most important part of getting out of this.
Reposted by Cole Donovan
Get in loser … we’re reinventing the rule of law from first principles
November 15, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Get in loser … we’re reinventing the rule of law from first principles
Because this worked so well for them the first time.
Look, if you’re going to allege espionage, there needs to be a national security information nexus. The whole false pretense of the False Claims Act isn’t having the results that these folks want at trial. Definition of insanity.
Look, if you’re going to allege espionage, there needs to be a national security information nexus. The whole false pretense of the False Claims Act isn’t having the results that these folks want at trial. Definition of insanity.
DOJ Revives China Initiative Tactics: Investigating Academic Researchers by Targeting Universities Under the False Claims Act | JD Supra
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking a renewed and aggressive enforcement approach to educational institutions and researchers with affiliations...
www.jdsupra.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Because this worked so well for them the first time.
Look, if you’re going to allege espionage, there needs to be a national security information nexus. The whole false pretense of the False Claims Act isn’t having the results that these folks want at trial. Definition of insanity.
Look, if you’re going to allege espionage, there needs to be a national security information nexus. The whole false pretense of the False Claims Act isn’t having the results that these folks want at trial. Definition of insanity.
Again, the amazing thing about this is that it doesn’t deter the behavior they’re trying to deter. If you’re in the five year window, why not keep working with the folks you were working with and seek other funding sources?
It treats the federal money as the thing to be protected.
It treats the federal money as the thing to be protected.
Yikes. Banning people for activities such as co-authorship and advising a graduate student is completely unreasonable in a modern research environment. And a retroactive 5 year ban is wildly unfair.
November 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Again, the amazing thing about this is that it doesn’t deter the behavior they’re trying to deter. If you’re in the five year window, why not keep working with the folks you were working with and seek other funding sources?
It treats the federal money as the thing to be protected.
It treats the federal money as the thing to be protected.
We have always been at war with Venezuela, apparently
The memo purportedly justifying these murders also contains a lengthy section that lays out arguments defending the actions of those carrying out the strikes. In short, it *preemptively* defends them from potential prosecution later.
Experts say this is unusual. 2/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
Experts say this is unusual. 2/
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
November 15, 2025 at 12:59 PM
We have always been at war with Venezuela, apparently
Folks from the Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden be like “what”
Burns: The Old Testament says there’s nothing new under the sun. On July 4th, 1776, there was. Everybody up to that point had been under authoritarian rule. It was in the interests of their rulers that they be uneducated, that they be superstitious, that they be distracted by conspiracies…
November 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Folks from the Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden be like “what”
“We bend international law all the time to serve our interests and desires” isn’t exactly a defense of the rules-based order or an answer to the question “who are we killing, here, and based on what evidence?”
When the law bends: What the narcotics boat debate misses
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/11/venezeula-strikes-legal-southcom-when-the-law-bends-what-the-narcotics-boat-debate-misses/
When the law bends: What the narcotics boat debate misses
Maj. Trent Kubasiak, an Army judge advocate, explains the historical pathway that led to the current justifications for attacks on boats in South America.
breakingdefense.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
“We bend international law all the time to serve our interests and desires” isn’t exactly a defense of the rules-based order or an answer to the question “who are we killing, here, and based on what evidence?”