M. S. AtKisson
@igrrrl.bsky.social
Grant writing and research leadership. Highly specialized wetware hacker. Mom of a trans son and a Marine. Mostly live on a 40ft Hallberg-Rassy. She/her/Dr.
Left “the house” on a dock in Savannah to go to DC for the holiday
November 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Left “the house” on a dock in Savannah to go to DC for the holiday
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Searching for patterns is not AI, it's machine learning. And no, they're not the same thing.
spectrum.ieee.org/stop-calling...
spectrum.ieee.org/stop-calling...
Stop Calling Everything AI, Machine-Learning Pioneer Says
Michael I. Jordan explains why today’s artificial-intelligence systems aren’t actually intelligent
spectrum.ieee.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Searching for patterns is not AI, it's machine learning. And no, they're not the same thing.
spectrum.ieee.org/stop-calling...
spectrum.ieee.org/stop-calling...
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
You know those labs that keep harming students, again and again? Some reflections on why it's so hard to stop this from happening and where our responsibilities lie.
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
Bad mentors hurt people
What to do about bad mentors?
scienceforeveryone.science
November 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
You know those labs that keep harming students, again and again? Some reflections on why it's so hard to stop this from happening and where our responsibilities lie.
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
some written or unwritten, universal, undisputed law
November 26, 2025 at 11:47 AM
some written or unwritten, universal, undisputed law
Anybody remember the Cell parody? Found this as I looked through stuff in storage.
November 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Anybody remember the Cell parody? Found this as I looked through stuff in storage.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Brenda Milner showed the world that memory isn’t one thing — the hippocampus supports our life stories, while other circuits let us keep learning skills.
Her research on patient H.M. built the foundation of cognitive neuroscience.
#WomenInScience #MemoryResearch #NeuroHistory
Her research on patient H.M. built the foundation of cognitive neuroscience.
#WomenInScience #MemoryResearch #NeuroHistory
November 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Brenda Milner showed the world that memory isn’t one thing — the hippocampus supports our life stories, while other circuits let us keep learning skills.
Her research on patient H.M. built the foundation of cognitive neuroscience.
#WomenInScience #MemoryResearch #NeuroHistory
Her research on patient H.M. built the foundation of cognitive neuroscience.
#WomenInScience #MemoryResearch #NeuroHistory
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
YESSS this is perfect!
3-sentence Project Narrative for NIH:
1. Completely lay sentence with no jargon describing what the research is about.
2. A sentence that begins, "This is relevant to public health because..."
3. A sentence that begins, "This work supports the [NIH or your IC] priority: [quote priority].
1. Completely lay sentence with no jargon describing what the research is about.
2. A sentence that begins, "This is relevant to public health because..."
3. A sentence that begins, "This work supports the [NIH or your IC] priority: [quote priority].
November 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
YESSS this is perfect!
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling
Policy drops “paylines” based on peer-review scores and requires geography and other factors to guide approvals
www.science.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM
NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
"The growth of AI has been called the “savior” of the gas industry. In Virginia alone, the data center capital of the world, a new state report found that AI demand could add a new 1.5 gigawatt gas plant every two years for 15 consecutive years"
@ariellesamuel.bsky.social ---->
@ariellesamuel.bsky.social ---->
AI is guzzling gas
Big Tech is paying for gas plants and pipelines to directly power data centers, threatening global climate goals.
heated.world
November 25, 2025 at 7:39 PM
"The growth of AI has been called the “savior” of the gas industry. In Virginia alone, the data center capital of the world, a new state report found that AI demand could add a new 1.5 gigawatt gas plant every two years for 15 consecutive years"
@ariellesamuel.bsky.social ---->
@ariellesamuel.bsky.social ---->
My guess is that the NIH Project Narrative, which is published as the Public Health Relevance Statement, will likely carry more weight than it has in the past.
We call the Project Narrative the "Uncle Bob on a Tractor" section, written like you'd describe it to your uncle at Thanksgiving.
Here's how we write it:
Here's how we write it:
November 25, 2025 at 8:13 PM
My guess is that the NIH Project Narrative, which is published as the Public Health Relevance Statement, will likely carry more weight than it has in the past.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
we (@marekmcgann.bsky.social and I) have also written about this
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Large models of what? Mistaking engineering achievements for human linguistic agency
In this paper we argue that key, often sensational and misleading, claims regarding linguistic capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) are based …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
we (@marekmcgann.bsky.social and I) have also written about this
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Large language mistake
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia... great read from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia... great read from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Large language mistake
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia... great read from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia... great read from @benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Things I currently think you should be considering in your proposals. Although this thread will be NIH-centric, my guess is that some of this applies to NSF, etc. Much is synthesized from public information. Much of this is what we've advised all along, just with, um, more emphasis.
Here we go:
Here we go:
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Things I currently think you should be considering in your proposals. Although this thread will be NIH-centric, my guess is that some of this applies to NSF, etc. Much is synthesized from public information. Much of this is what we've advised all along, just with, um, more emphasis.
Here we go:
Here we go:
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
I was asked about this today, but I think it also matters to take into account the recent change to streamlining, discussing only the top 25-30% of applications.That means scientific review makes the first cut.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
November 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I was asked about this today, but I think it also matters to take into account the recent change to streamlining, discussing only the top 25-30% of applications.That means scientific review makes the first cut.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Together with Cybertruck and Florida's coastal mansions, AI has now joined the elite ranks of the uninsurable.
In the big debate over who is liable when the AI fucks up, the insurance companies boldly take the lead by shouting NOT US, and slamming the door.
In the big debate over who is liable when the AI fucks up, the insurance companies boldly take the lead by shouting NOT US, and slamming the door.
AI is too risky to insure, say people whose job is insuring risk | TechCrunch
Major insurers including AIG, Great American, and WR Berkley are asking U.S. regulators for permission to exclude AI-related liabilities from corporate policies. One underwriter describes the AI model...
techcrunch.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Together with Cybertruck and Florida's coastal mansions, AI has now joined the elite ranks of the uninsurable.
In the big debate over who is liable when the AI fucks up, the insurance companies boldly take the lead by shouting NOT US, and slamming the door.
In the big debate over who is liable when the AI fucks up, the insurance companies boldly take the lead by shouting NOT US, and slamming the door.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Cooperation can serve us really well in these moments.
We are also seeing how people respond to the world burning down: looking out for themselves or finding solidarity to maintain something that can work for a broader array of people. How science and scientists respond to disruption has always been a microcosm of our larger society’s response
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Cooperation can serve us really well in these moments.
I was asked about this today, but I think it also matters to take into account the recent change to streamlining, discussing only the top 25-30% of applications.That means scientific review makes the first cut.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
November 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I was asked about this today, but I think it also matters to take into account the recent change to streamlining, discussing only the top 25-30% of applications.That means scientific review makes the first cut.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Short thread of observation/opinion.
Cooperation can serve us really well in these moments.
We are also seeing how people respond to the world burning down: looking out for themselves or finding solidarity to maintain something that can work for a broader array of people. How science and scientists respond to disruption has always been a microcosm of our larger society’s response
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Cooperation can serve us really well in these moments.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Posting for no particular reason….
From the Archive: Comparing performance of within-payline and "select pay" pickup NIH grants at NIAID drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/c...
From the Archive: Comparing performance of within-payline and "select pay" pickup NIH grants at NIAID drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/c...
Comparing performance of within-payline and "select pay" pickup NIH grants at NIAID
Well, well, well. How timely. We were just discussing the situation in which some ICs of the NIH fund some subset of their grant applications out of the order of initial peer review. And what shoul…
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Posting for no particular reason….
From the Archive: Comparing performance of within-payline and "select pay" pickup NIH grants at NIAID drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/c...
From the Archive: Comparing performance of within-payline and "select pay" pickup NIH grants at NIAID drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/c...
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
This is concerning.
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
November 24, 2025 at 12:29 AM
This is concerning.
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
1/2
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
Thread:
I think I have less tolerance for the "piracy is okay if you're poor" thing because I am very poor, I've had a few rough years in a row atop a few rough decades (I am possibly only breathing because y'all did that big fundraiser for my birthday last year, which I'm still paying vet bills with).
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Thread:
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
A new post on Refusing GenAI in Writing Studies from @jsanofranchini.bsky.social, @rcmeg.bsky.social, and me: "A Year of Refusal"
refusinggenai.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/a...
refusinggenai.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/a...
A Year of Refusal
Maggie Fernandes, University of ArkansasMegan McIntyre, University of ArkansasJennifer Sano-Franchini, West Virginia University Photo by Francis Glenn Marciano on Pexels.com It’s been about a year …
refusinggenai.wordpress.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
A new post on Refusing GenAI in Writing Studies from @jsanofranchini.bsky.social, @rcmeg.bsky.social, and me: "A Year of Refusal"
refusinggenai.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/a...
refusinggenai.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/a...
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
DOGE was always a very thinly disguised con to dress up data theft and extraction class destruction of federal corporate oversight as innovative, and it's important to remember that part of the reason it worked so well is that the press helped legitimize it
hey don't be so hard on yourselves; it delivered oceans of sensitive government and citizen data to billionaires
Musk’s DOGE Quietly Killed Off After Delivering Almost Nothing
The agency disbanded eight months ahead of schedule.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:42 PM
DOGE was always a very thinly disguised con to dress up data theft and extraction class destruction of federal corporate oversight as innovative, and it's important to remember that part of the reason it worked so well is that the press helped legitimize it
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
All these tech companies like Meta knew this was a bubble and structured these SPVs to get the equity bump while keeping the risk off the balance sheets. When this scheme eventually implodes, people need to go to prison. We can't have this happen again without consequences.
November 24, 2025 at 2:30 PM
All these tech companies like Meta knew this was a bubble and structured these SPVs to get the equity bump while keeping the risk off the balance sheets. When this scheme eventually implodes, people need to go to prison. We can't have this happen again without consequences.
Reposted by M. S. AtKisson
BREAKING: Federal judge rejects DOJ's effort to subpoena the names and medical records of children who have received gender-affirming medical care from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
BREAKING: Federal judge rejects DOJ's effort to subpoena the names and medical records of children who have received gender-affirming medical care from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...