Jacob Montgomery
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jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery
@jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
3.7K followers 1.2K following 930 posts

Political (Data) Scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. Data science, social media, American politics, and grumpy Bayesian. All opinions my own.

Videos
Political science 32%
Computer science 20%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

parkermolloy.com
Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 2h
Kirkification www.gq.com/story/charli...
The Shocking Online Afterlife of Charlie Kirk
A wave of AI-assisted “Kirkslop” has twisted the right-wing personality’s carefully molded legacy beyond recognition.
www.gq.com

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h
My preferred solution is an irt-like model that also accounts for class difficulty. I want the students demanding tough grading.

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 5h
The thing is, this shouldn't even be a discussion in a free country. If any member of the public says the government's orders are illegal and should be refused, that is clearly protected speech. The speech of members of congress is even more protected than that of the general public.

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 7h
My only platform will be to release Northern Exposure from IP jail for streaming.
benjaminkabak.com Ben K. @benjaminkabak.com · 9h
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 7h
The problem is that many of these systems generate speech. So it’s all going to run right into the first amendment.

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 7h
Our shard reality continues to fray at the edges ….

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

mkonnikova.bsky.social
Maria Konnikova @mkonnikova.bsky.social · 8h
When (and how) should AI be used in creative settings — and when is it a betrayal of your audience? My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
Is it ever ok to use AI in a creative setting?
A poker-world fiasco with real-world creative implications
open.substack.com

Reposted by Jamie Morgan, Jacob Montgomery, Daniel W. Drezner , and 5 more

benjaminkabak.com
Ben K. @benjaminkabak.com · 9h
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

davidingram.bsky.social
David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 10h
“Nobody knows who’s liable if things go wrong.” www.ft.com/content/abfe...
Story in the FT: Insurers increasingly view AI models’ outputs as too unpredictable and opaque to insure, said Dennis Bertram, head of cyber insurance for Europe at Mosaic. “It’s too much of a black box.” Even Mosaic, a speciality insurer at Lloyd’s of London marketplace which offers cover for some AI- enhanced software, has declined to underwrite risks from large language models such as ChatGPT. “Nobody knows who’s liable if things go wrong,” said Rajiv Dattani, co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company, an AI insurance and auditing start-up.

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d
The Great Depression
samulmschneider.bsky.social Sam Ulmschneider @samulmschneider.bsky.social · 1d
I figure Ken Burns has one, maybe two big documentary series in him before he fully retires. What do you think they should be? My votes include Football, Hip-Hop, World War 1, Reconstruction (though Skip Gates did this one well), Iraq/Afghanistan, 19th Century Expansionism.

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery, Alan Richardson, Brian Keegan , and 1 more

samulmschneider.bsky.social
Sam Ulmschneider @samulmschneider.bsky.social · 1d
I figure Ken Burns has one, maybe two big documentary series in him before he fully retires. What do you think they should be? My votes include Football, Hip-Hop, World War 1, Reconstruction (though Skip Gates did this one well), Iraq/Afghanistan, 19th Century Expansionism.

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d
I actually had a startup idea to bioengineer a star phage that would grow across the surface of the sun and reduce luminescence. Please send money!
politico.com Politico @politico.com · 4d
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.

The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.

Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d
Part of the process of slowly morphing into a hedge fund with a side hustle in government subcontracting and "educational sales" (a term one admin recently used in a meeting to my horror).

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery, Daniel W. Drezner, David R. Miller , and 1 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d
Ultimate Kinsley gaffe
ericcolumbus.bsky.social Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 2d
Trump didn’t read before posting:

“OUR AMERICAN CODE OF MILITARY OBEDIENCE REQUIRES THAT, SHOULD ORDERS AND THE LAW EVER CONFLICT, OUR OFFICERS MUST OBEY THE LAW.”
Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump + Plaque: LOYALTY TO THE CONSTITUTION THE UNITED STATES BOLDLY BROKE WITH THE ANCIENT MILITARY CUSTOM OF SWEARING LOYALTY TO A LEADER. ARTICLE VI REQUIRED THAT AMERICAN OFFICERS THEREAFTER SWEAR LOYALTY TO OUR BASIC LAW, THE CONSTITUTION. WHILE MANY OTHER NATIONS HAVE SUFFERED MILITARY COUPS, THE UNITED STATES NEVER HAS. OUR AMERICAN CODE OF MILITARY OBEDIENCE REQUIRES THAT, SHOULD ORDERS AND THE LAW EVER CONFLICT, OUR OFFICERS MUST OBEY THE LAW. MANY OTHER NATIONS HAVE ADOPTED OUR PRINCIPLE OF LOYALTY TO THE BASIC LAW. THIS NATION MUST HAVE MILITARY LEADERS OF PRINCIPLE AND INTEGRITY SO STRONG THAT THEIR OATHS TO SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION WILL UNFAILINGLY GOVERN THEIR ACTIONS. THE PURPOSE OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY IS TO PROVIDE SUCH LEADERS OF CHARACTER. 1.23k ReTruths 3.93k Likes 11/23/25, 7:41 PM

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Jacob Montgomery

lkfazio.bsky.social
Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 1d
"The more persuasive explanation... is that they are demobilized & demoralized. But it would be a mistake to blame them for this attitude. Older generations should instead recognize that the world we have created does not seem to offer a viable path to making change"

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o...

Reposted by Norbert Schwarz, Philip N. Cohen, Jacob Montgomery , and 7 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d
My @nytimes.com op-ed: The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o... (gift link)

The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jacob Montgomery

mayasen.bsky.social
Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 1d
A big trend in higher ed and I absolutely hate it
larryglickman.bsky.social Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 1d
Handing the keys of governance to unqualified billionaires and allowing them to far exceed the proper role of the Executive Branch in dictating to other agencies (i.e. Musk/DOGE) or institutions of civil society (as with Rowan/ Compact) sure does not seem "populist."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Wealthy People Have Always Shaped Universities. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

nameshiv.bsky.social
Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 2d
decades of writing near future dystopias and yet so few "some rich dipshits will be stupid enough to read our near future dystopias and try to make them happen" stories

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

jnovkov.bsky.social
Julie Novkov @jnovkov.bsky.social · 2d
This says a lot to me about the people programming it.

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Simon L. Lewis, David Dunning , and 8 more

okwonga.bsky.social
Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 2d
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Dispensing false information in a confident tone, rather than offering no answer when none is readily available, is a major flaw of generative AI, experts say. An audit of the top 10 generative AI models including ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta’s AI by the media literacy non-profit NewsGuard revealed that the non-response rates of chatbots went down from 31% in August 2024 to 0% in August 2025. At the same time, the chatbots’ likelihood of repeating false information almost doubled from 18% to 35%, NewsGuard found. None of the companies responded to NewsGuard’s request for a comment at the time.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers , and 22 more

dieworkwear.bsky.social
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.

My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
A Twitter account called Ivanka News tweets an AI image of a young woman wearing Muslim garb. The woman is holding a sign that says "I came here illegally. Should I be deported?" Ivanka News writes: What is your response to this person ?? In the "About this account" tab, it appears the account is based in Nigeria An account called MAGA scope writes: Who, in your view is the great enemy of the United States? Communism, Islam, Democratic Party, or Satan? The account is based in Nigeria. An account called MAGA Nadine writes: You go to work and find this. What would you do? The attached pic is an AI image that shows a microwave. The microwave has a sign that says "For religious reasons, this microwave is now making halal food only." The account is based in Morocco. An account called America First posts an AI image of Tulsi Gabbard. They wrote: How would you rate your trust in Tulsi Gabbard on a scale of 1-10?

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

faineg.bsky.social
Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 2d
and I really am old enough to remember those far-off days before 2011 or so when most people *didn’t* assume that big tech was the Face of Creeping Evil - tech fucked up bad! by means of actually being evil all the time!

Reposted by David R. Miller

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 3d
Weird how making deals with autocrats doesn’t seem to help….

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 3d
Disturbing and disgusting.

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia cites neo-Nazi website 42 times: study
An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

davidingram.bsky.social
David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 3d
Here's another Musk post worth examining.

OP is talking about an Iowa superintendent detained by ICE.

"The Kitty Man" replies and not only compares the superintendent to a Somali pirate but also bashes the 14th-19th Amendments to the Constitution.

Musk replies with the "tears of joy" emoji.
Musk replies with the "tears of joy" emoji when another poster says the 14th through 19th Amendments to the US Constitution "destroyed our country"

jacobmontgomery.bsky.social
Jacob Montgomery @jacobmontgomery.bsky.social · 3d
Even a version excising Shelby Foote would be amazing. The lost cause propaganda makes it pretty nauseating in parts.
jonmladd.bsky.social Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 3d
What I really want is for Ken Burns to remake a new Civil War documentary, incorporating changes in the academic consensus, his own evolution as a filmmaker, and criticisms of the original he seems to have taken to heart at least partially.

I bet no foundations would fund it, though.

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

jonmladd.bsky.social
Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 3d
What I really want is for Ken Burns to remake a new Civil War documentary, incorporating changes in the academic consensus, his own evolution as a filmmaker, and criticisms of the original he seems to have taken to heart at least partially.

I bet no foundations would fund it, though.

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Jacob Montgomery

davidingram.bsky.social
David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 3d
NEW: I did a very deep dive into one month's worth of Elon Musk's posts on X so I could understand the breadth and depth of what he is posting about these days. In a word: fringe. www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu... 🧵
A month of Elon Musk on X: Conspiracy theories, fringe politics and self-promotion
An NBC News analysis of one month of Musk’s social media posts shows what’s been on his mind, including a broad cross-section of fringe political topics.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Jan W. Mueller, David M. Farrell , and 12 more

casmudde.bsky.social
Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 3d
After more than 10 years of “the Danish Model”, nativism is hegemonic in the country, the far right polls near level highs again, and the Social Democrats lost Copenhagen and poll at historic low.

European Social Democrats should look at the facts, not the myths!

Me in @theguardian.com
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
This week’s local elections are the latest reminder that when social democrats move rightwards, they’re making a mistake, says academic and author Cas Mudde
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Jacob Montgomery

politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 4d
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.

The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.

Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc