Ben de Bivort
@debivort.bsky.social
Drosophila neurobiologist. We study insect behavior and individuality using the tools of computational neuroethology.
Harvard Organismic and Evolutionary Biology & Center for Brain Science
https://debivortlab.org
fediverse: @[email protected]
Harvard Organismic and Evolutionary Biology & Center for Brain Science
https://debivortlab.org
fediverse: @[email protected]
Pinned
New paper: Reflecting on the multiple biases and predispositions observed in young animals with no previous experience, we modelled a new idea on the strategic role of biases to guide adaptive choice and reduce errors: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... In collab with @debivort.bsky.social
Please check out our proposed hypothesis about how naive animals might integrate multiple noisy signals to produce adaptive responses pre-learning.
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
My students brought me a baby goat to pet for Valentine's Day!! Best lab ever ❤️🩷🐐🩷❤️
February 14, 2026 at 12:51 PM
My students brought me a baby goat to pet for Valentine's Day!! Best lab ever ❤️🩷🐐🩷❤️
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
I keep saying that one of these years Massachusetts should try electing a Democrat as governor instead
At the same time that Healey is saying that we have enough money to give large corporations tax cuts for investments they make in Texas, she wants to bring back asset tests for welfare programs.
commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
commonwealthbeacon.org/government/s...
‘It just requires people to be destitute’: Healey draws criticism over push to tighten eligibility for safety-net program
Five years after lawmakers scrapped the asset limit attached to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program, Gov. Maura Healey wants to bring it back at a higher threshold — a mov...
commonwealthbeacon.org
February 13, 2026 at 4:32 PM
I keep saying that one of these years Massachusetts should try electing a Democrat as governor instead
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Happy Friday from Goosey and his fresh haircut! He’s a dapper lil gentleman now. Don’t let the grey hairs fool you. He is still a roly poly babydog.
February 13, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Happy Friday from Goosey and his fresh haircut! He’s a dapper lil gentleman now. Don’t let the grey hairs fool you. He is still a roly poly babydog.
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
LLMs can use similes and make allusions; they can be vivid and concrete, &c.
But they cannot spend 100 pages making you think Wickham is the charming love interest while inserting deniable clues that will—only in retrospect!—reveal you should have known he’s a cad.
They’re not trained to mislead.+
But they cannot spend 100 pages making you think Wickham is the charming love interest while inserting deniable clues that will—only in retrospect!—reveal you should have known he’s a cad.
They’re not trained to mislead.+
February 13, 2026 at 12:02 PM
LLMs can use similes and make allusions; they can be vivid and concrete, &c.
But they cannot spend 100 pages making you think Wickham is the charming love interest while inserting deniable clues that will—only in retrospect!—reveal you should have known he’s a cad.
They’re not trained to mislead.+
But they cannot spend 100 pages making you think Wickham is the charming love interest while inserting deniable clues that will—only in retrospect!—reveal you should have known he’s a cad.
They’re not trained to mislead.+
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
We all know about the Claude spiritual bliss attractor state. But what happens when you let Grok talk to itself for a long time? Answer:
February 13, 2026 at 4:14 AM
We all know about the Claude spiritual bliss attractor state. But what happens when you let Grok talk to itself for a long time? Answer:
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
⚠️ DEADLINE EXTENDED! ⚠️
Applications are still open for the CAJAL Course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and Virtual Reality (7 June – 26 June 2026)! 🧠
📅 Deadline to apply: March 3rd 2026 (NEW DATE)
📍 Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
🔗 Apply now: buff.ly/YG7FXZj
#cajal
Applications are still open for the CAJAL Course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and Virtual Reality (7 June – 26 June 2026)! 🧠
📅 Deadline to apply: March 3rd 2026 (NEW DATE)
📍 Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
🔗 Apply now: buff.ly/YG7FXZj
#cajal
February 13, 2026 at 12:30 PM
⚠️ DEADLINE EXTENDED! ⚠️
Applications are still open for the CAJAL Course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and Virtual Reality (7 June – 26 June 2026)! 🧠
📅 Deadline to apply: March 3rd 2026 (NEW DATE)
📍 Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
🔗 Apply now: buff.ly/YG7FXZj
#cajal
Applications are still open for the CAJAL Course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and Virtual Reality (7 June – 26 June 2026)! 🧠
📅 Deadline to apply: March 3rd 2026 (NEW DATE)
📍 Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
🔗 Apply now: buff.ly/YG7FXZj
#cajal
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Anthropic head of AI safety quits, warning of "world in peril" & announces plan to study creative writing, as my college charges ahead in deal with Anthropic, which trained its tech on at least 25 books taken without permission from our Creative Writing faculty. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Anthropic AI safety researcher quits with 'world in peril' warning
It comes in the same week an OpenAI researcher resigned amid concerns about its decision to start testing ChatGPT ads.
www.bbc.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Anthropic head of AI safety quits, warning of "world in peril" & announces plan to study creative writing, as my college charges ahead in deal with Anthropic, which trained its tech on at least 25 books taken without permission from our Creative Writing faculty. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
#Teleomorph on the other hand is described as the sexual reproductive stage. Both stages can have their own deceptively complex life cycles. Often involving secret hidden lives under ground, while their surface lovers hijack mobile animals to spread their babies across the land :)
February 12, 2026 at 10:56 PM
#Teleomorph on the other hand is described as the sexual reproductive stage. Both stages can have their own deceptively complex life cycles. Often involving secret hidden lives under ground, while their surface lovers hijack mobile animals to spread their babies across the land :)
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
We know a lot more about #Fungi now that the science of genetics has advanced so much. Often it was discovered that 2 or more different fungi, were infact one species. With the 1 fungi 1 name push, we needed ways to divide. So #Anamorph is generally described as the asexual reproductive stage
February 12, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Behavioral biases drift in individuals.
• Drift happens on many timescales
• Drift rate depends on genetics and neuromodulators
• It might be adaptive for rapidly changing environments
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
• Drift happens on many timescales
• Drift rate depends on genetics and neuromodulators
• It might be adaptive for rapidly changing environments
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
Drift in Individual Behavioral Phenotype as a Strategy for Unpredictable Worlds
elifesciences.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Behavioral biases drift in individuals.
• Drift happens on many timescales
• Drift rate depends on genetics and neuromodulators
• It might be adaptive for rapidly changing environments
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
• Drift happens on many timescales
• Drift rate depends on genetics and neuromodulators
• It might be adaptive for rapidly changing environments
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
The University of Essex Language & Linguistics dept was critical to my journey - part of the reason that I am in the field I am in and have the career I have now.
If you can’t help be on the picket line, you can help by donating to the hardship fund (see links in Nina’s post below)
If you can’t help be on the picket line, you can help by donating to the hardship fund (see links in Nina’s post below)
good morning, #linguistics 🐦🐦 pals
the University of Essex wants to cut 50% of our Language & Linguistics department, close our foundation programme & our Southend campus, + cut 400 jobs academic departments and professional services jobs across all depts
join us in the fight against these cuts!
the University of Essex wants to cut 50% of our Language & Linguistics department, close our foundation programme & our Southend campus, + cut 400 jobs academic departments and professional services jobs across all depts
join us in the fight against these cuts!
February 12, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The University of Essex Language & Linguistics dept was critical to my journey - part of the reason that I am in the field I am in and have the career I have now.
If you can’t help be on the picket line, you can help by donating to the hardship fund (see links in Nina’s post below)
If you can’t help be on the picket line, you can help by donating to the hardship fund (see links in Nina’s post below)
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
“…universities are becoming more reliant on wealthy benefactors. But the networks that fund research and programs can also entangle top universities with morally compromised figures… complicity and compromised institutional integrity.”
www.chronicle.com/article/a-mo...
www.chronicle.com/article/a-mo...
‘A Moment of Reckoning’: After Epstein, Higher Ed Faces Hard Questions About Its Proximity to Power
Weeks after the release of a new cache of files about Jeffrey Epstein, the fallout on campuses nationwide is coming into focus.
www.chronicle.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:43 PM
“…universities are becoming more reliant on wealthy benefactors. But the networks that fund research and programs can also entangle top universities with morally compromised figures… complicity and compromised institutional integrity.”
www.chronicle.com/article/a-mo...
www.chronicle.com/article/a-mo...
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
I’m unconvinced (and @ccallahan45.bsky.social’s has analysis that supports this) this can’t be explained by the rate of greenhouse gas emissions. But anyways, striking article in the same issue in which the editorial board supports EPA’s repeal of the funding that GHGs endanger health and welfare
Scientists say the world has been warming at a steady rate. Then recently it spiked: “We’re not continuing on the same path we had before...Something has changed.” wapo.st/4abXa5w @JohnMuyskens @shannonosaka @washingtonpost
Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened.
The fastest warming period since 1880 occurred in the past 30 years, according to a Washington Post analysis of NASA data.
wapo.st
February 11, 2026 at 9:27 PM
I’m unconvinced (and @ccallahan45.bsky.social’s has analysis that supports this) this can’t be explained by the rate of greenhouse gas emissions. But anyways, striking article in the same issue in which the editorial board supports EPA’s repeal of the funding that GHGs endanger health and welfare
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
The experience of work emails coming in faster than I can read them, let alone process/respond, is new and terrifying.
February 11, 2026 at 5:17 PM
The experience of work emails coming in faster than I can read them, let alone process/respond, is new and terrifying.
Please check out our proposed hypothesis about how naive animals might integrate multiple noisy signals to produce adaptive responses pre-learning.
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
New paper: Reflecting on the multiple biases and predispositions observed in young animals with no previous experience, we modelled a new idea on the strategic role of biases to guide adaptive choice and reduce errors: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... In collab with @debivort.bsky.social
February 11, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Please check out our proposed hypothesis about how naive animals might integrate multiple noisy signals to produce adaptive responses pre-learning.
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
This was the result of a very enjoyable intellectual collaboration led by @elisabettaversace.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
New paper: Reflecting on the multiple biases and predispositions observed in young animals with no previous experience, we modelled a new idea on the strategic role of biases to guide adaptive choice and reduce errors: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... In collab with @debivort.bsky.social
February 11, 2026 at 2:24 PM
New paper: Reflecting on the multiple biases and predispositions observed in young animals with no previous experience, we modelled a new idea on the strategic role of biases to guide adaptive choice and reduce errors: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... In collab with @debivort.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Big @bostonglobe.com / MassINC Polling survey out this morning. "They came to Massachusetts to cure disease. Now they’re packing up their labs." We surveyed NIH funded scientists in Massachusetts about federal funding cuts & policies. Here's what they told us. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/09/m...
They came to Massachusetts to cure disease. Now they’re packing up their labs. - The Boston Globe
In a first-of-its-kind survey, the Globe asked hundreds of scientists about the impact of federal funding cuts.
www.bostonglobe.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Big @bostonglobe.com / MassINC Polling survey out this morning. "They came to Massachusetts to cure disease. Now they’re packing up their labs." We surveyed NIH funded scientists in Massachusetts about federal funding cuts & policies. Here's what they told us. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/09/m...
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Our paper is out in @natneuro.nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
February 10, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Our paper is out in @natneuro.nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Their goal is explicitly to destroy science in the United States
The high proportion of US scientists among those recruited by France shows that “enthusiasm and morale for doing science is low” in the US, says Sharon Milgram, who led early-career researcher programs at NIH for nearly 20 years, until she retired in December.
By @lizziegibney.bsky.social and me
By @lizziegibney.bsky.social and me
February 10, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Their goal is explicitly to destroy science in the United States
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
NEW: Of all the states that voted for Harris over Trump in 2024, there's only one where a Dem governor is overseeing an ICE's 287(g) program:
Massachusetts.
Other blue states have quit, or even outright banned it. My colleague on what's happening: boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Massachusetts.
Other blue states have quit, or even outright banned it. My colleague on what's happening: boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Inside ICE’s Only Contract with a Blue State - Bolts
As part of a 287(g) contract between state officials and ICE, Massachusetts continues to release prisoners into deportation—even as state lawmakers look to ban other forms of ICE collaboration.
boltsmag.org
February 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
NEW: Of all the states that voted for Harris over Trump in 2024, there's only one where a Dem governor is overseeing an ICE's 287(g) program:
Massachusetts.
Other blue states have quit, or even outright banned it. My colleague on what's happening: boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Massachusetts.
Other blue states have quit, or even outright banned it. My colleague on what's happening: boltsmag.org/massachusett...
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
Same task, different strategy ↔️
Why do identical neural network models develop separate internal approaches to solve the same problem?
@annhuang42.bsky.social explores the factors driving variability in task-trained networks in our latest @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social Deeper Learning blog.
Why do identical neural network models develop separate internal approaches to solve the same problem?
@annhuang42.bsky.social explores the factors driving variability in task-trained networks in our latest @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social Deeper Learning blog.
🤖📊 NEW in the Deeper Learning blog: @annhuang42.bsky.social & @kanakarajanphd.bsky.social break down their recent work examining how #RNNs solve the same task in different ways, and why that matters. Joint work with @satpreetsingh.bsky.social & @flavioh.bsky.social bit.ly/4kj4fVd #NeuroAI
Measuring and Controlling Solution Degeneracy Across Task-Trained Recurrent Neural Networks - Kempner Institute
Despite reaching equal performance success when trained on the same task, artificial neural networks can develop dramatically different internal solutions, much like different students solving the sam...
bit.ly
February 9, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Same task, different strategy ↔️
Why do identical neural network models develop separate internal approaches to solve the same problem?
@annhuang42.bsky.social explores the factors driving variability in task-trained networks in our latest @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social Deeper Learning blog.
Why do identical neural network models develop separate internal approaches to solve the same problem?
@annhuang42.bsky.social explores the factors driving variability in task-trained networks in our latest @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social Deeper Learning blog.
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
this is a subject that's near and dear to my heart
1. no you didn't, you retconning fucks
2. your decades of anti-governance "free market" "government never functions" propaganda paved the way for the complete authoritarian decimation of labor, consumer, environmental protections
1. no you didn't, you retconning fucks
2. your decades of anti-governance "free market" "government never functions" propaganda paved the way for the complete authoritarian decimation of labor, consumer, environmental protections
February 9, 2026 at 6:06 PM
this is a subject that's near and dear to my heart
1. no you didn't, you retconning fucks
2. your decades of anti-governance "free market" "government never functions" propaganda paved the way for the complete authoritarian decimation of labor, consumer, environmental protections
1. no you didn't, you retconning fucks
2. your decades of anti-governance "free market" "government never functions" propaganda paved the way for the complete authoritarian decimation of labor, consumer, environmental protections
Reposted by Ben de Bivort
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
February 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.