Brian Maass
@maass.bsky.social
Librarian, maker, tech enthusiast, design thinker...I'm trying...
Proud to support research data efforts at a great academic medical center
Proud to support research data efforts at a great academic medical center
Reposted by Brian Maass
They asked a Google AI for Ed engineer “how he planned to enact his vision of the future, one where AI filled classrooms rather than emptied them. ‘The professors themselves,’ he said, would be responsible for figuring that out.”
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
This may be the best thing ive read yet on AI in higher ed, and its written by a Yale undergrad. Highly recommend.
Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI | The New Journal
Amid ChatGPT's rising popularity and a computer science cheating scandal, Yale students, professors, and administrators wrestle privately with the proper role of AI in education. What happens when eve...
thenewjournalatyale.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
They asked a Google AI for Ed engineer “how he planned to enact his vision of the future, one where AI filled classrooms rather than emptied them. ‘The professors themselves,’ he said, would be responsible for figuring that out.”
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
They promise utopian and make others responsible for delivering it.
Reposted by Brian Maass
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
November 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
Reposted by Brian Maass
Incredibly smart PR tactic from ICE to continue assaulting very handsome priests
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 15, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Incredibly smart PR tactic from ICE to continue assaulting very handsome priests
Reposted by Brian Maass
we should not be letting any company get away with blaming AI for their failures. I'm not even sure how we got to this point. people are like "it's just a tool" okay so is a forklift and we still hold somebody responsible when it goes wrong and hurts someone. this is YOUR AI!
November 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
we should not be letting any company get away with blaming AI for their failures. I'm not even sure how we got to this point. people are like "it's just a tool" okay so is a forklift and we still hold somebody responsible when it goes wrong and hurts someone. this is YOUR AI!
Reposted by Brian Maass
“‘The uncritical adoption of AI can lead to students not developing essential academic skills such as critical thinking and writing. If students are taught to learn through automation, without learning about how & why things work, they won’t be able to solve problems when something actually breaks’”
November 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
“‘The uncritical adoption of AI can lead to students not developing essential academic skills such as critical thinking and writing. If students are taught to learn through automation, without learning about how & why things work, they won’t be able to solve problems when something actually breaks’”
Reposted by Brian Maass
“Remember when we lived in a boxcar?” Violet asked.
“I sure do.” Henry replied, “Things were so much easier when we only had to rely on ourselves, and not get mixed up with the complicated transgressions of grown-ups.”
“Sometimes I think we ought to go back,” Jessie said.
buff.ly/idZYml4
“I sure do.” Henry replied, “Things were so much easier when we only had to rely on ourselves, and not get mixed up with the complicated transgressions of grown-ups.”
“Sometimes I think we ought to go back,” Jessie said.
buff.ly/idZYml4
The Boxcar Children and the Mystery of the Missing Norms
“The White House is demolishing the entirety of the East Wing to make way for President Trump’s $200 million ballroom, a construction project that ...
www.mcsweeneys.net
October 28, 2025 at 12:45 PM
“Remember when we lived in a boxcar?” Violet asked.
“I sure do.” Henry replied, “Things were so much easier when we only had to rely on ourselves, and not get mixed up with the complicated transgressions of grown-ups.”
“Sometimes I think we ought to go back,” Jessie said.
buff.ly/idZYml4
“I sure do.” Henry replied, “Things were so much easier when we only had to rely on ourselves, and not get mixed up with the complicated transgressions of grown-ups.”
“Sometimes I think we ought to go back,” Jessie said.
buff.ly/idZYml4
October 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I'm sure Mr Flood won't have to deal with it. Only the little people who he is confident will keep voting for him.
GOP Rep Says Rural Areas Will Just Have to Deal With Hospitals Closing
Nebraska voters need to read this!
Nebraska voters need to read this!
GOP Rep Says Rural Areas Will Just Have to Deal With Hospitals Closing
Representative Mike Flood isn’t worried about the fact that Donald Trump’s bill will force hospitals to close.
newrepublic.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:57 AM
I'm sure Mr Flood won't have to deal with it. Only the little people who he is confident will keep voting for him.
Reposted by Brian Maass
Right? And if they reissued the posters (and/or did a 2025 campaign), I'd buy some of those, too.
October 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Right? And if they reissued the posters (and/or did a 2025 campaign), I'd buy some of those, too.
Reposted by Brian Maass
@mit.edu has done an incredibly important service to the nation by being willing to be the first school to reject the administration's "compact."
President Kornbluth focuses—and she's right—on the principle that "scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
President Kornbluth focuses—and she's right—on the principle that "scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
October 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
@mit.edu has done an incredibly important service to the nation by being willing to be the first school to reject the administration's "compact."
President Kornbluth focuses—and she's right—on the principle that "scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
President Kornbluth focuses—and she's right—on the principle that "scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
Reposted by Brian Maass
Glad Science collected this data (though the results are entirely unsurprising). GenAI cannot accurately summarize scientific papers, sacrificing accuracy for simplicity.
And shame on publishers who are pushing genAI summaries on readers. Great way to accelerate an epistemic apocalypse.
And shame on publishers who are pushing genAI summaries on readers. Great way to accelerate an epistemic apocalypse.
September 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Glad Science collected this data (though the results are entirely unsurprising). GenAI cannot accurately summarize scientific papers, sacrificing accuracy for simplicity.
And shame on publishers who are pushing genAI summaries on readers. Great way to accelerate an epistemic apocalypse.
And shame on publishers who are pushing genAI summaries on readers. Great way to accelerate an epistemic apocalypse.
Reposted by Brian Maass
Getting close to 50k views and I'm wondering is it just everybody is scared to say this and pleased I did? Because if there's so many of us who agree, trust me I'd know if 1k people disagreed with me let alone 50k, why are we letting AI ruin our universities?
Together we can turn back the tide.
Together we can turn back the tide.
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
September 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Getting close to 50k views and I'm wondering is it just everybody is scared to say this and pleased I did? Because if there's so many of us who agree, trust me I'd know if 1k people disagreed with me let alone 50k, why are we letting AI ruin our universities?
Together we can turn back the tide.
Together we can turn back the tide.
Reposted by Brian Maass
Reposted by Brian Maass
Also, this is what is wrong with the cable news formula. Even when they know nothing, they must fill the air and so they fill it with speculation. We don’t know why this terrible shooting happened. It’s dangerous to speculate motives or politics. Please stop.
September 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Also, this is what is wrong with the cable news formula. Even when they know nothing, they must fill the air and so they fill it with speculation. We don’t know why this terrible shooting happened. It’s dangerous to speculate motives or politics. Please stop.
Reposted by Brian Maass
1. Chatbots do not know a person's medical history
2. Hallucinations happen
3. Chatbots boost false confidence and atrophy critical thinking skills
4. Users risk exposing their personal health data on the internet
#medlibs
www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
2. Hallucinations happen
3. Chatbots boost false confidence and atrophy critical thinking skills
4. Users risk exposing their personal health data on the internet
#medlibs
www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
Using an AI chatbot for therapy or health advice? Experts want you to know these 4 things
The technology can be tempting, especially with barriers to accessing health care, including cost, wait times to talk to a provider and lack of insurance coverage. But experts told PBS News people nee...
www.pbs.org
September 10, 2025 at 6:49 PM
1. Chatbots do not know a person's medical history
2. Hallucinations happen
3. Chatbots boost false confidence and atrophy critical thinking skills
4. Users risk exposing their personal health data on the internet
#medlibs
www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
2. Hallucinations happen
3. Chatbots boost false confidence and atrophy critical thinking skills
4. Users risk exposing their personal health data on the internet
#medlibs
www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
Reposted by Brian Maass
"LLMs do not improve one’s writing ability much like taking a taxi does not improve one’s driving ability. ... What holds for writing is, of course, true for any cognitive skill to-be-learned in education, such as programming skills ... and these too suffer deskilling if not continuously practised"
September 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM
"LLMs do not improve one’s writing ability much like taking a taxi does not improve one’s driving ability. ... What holds for writing is, of course, true for any cognitive skill to-be-learned in education, such as programming skills ... and these too suffer deskilling if not continuously practised"
Reposted by Brian Maass
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
Reposted by Brian Maass
So new studies showcase that the more you know how GenAi works, the less likely you are to use it! 😌
This reminds me of ai advocates who claim that those who refuse to use GenAi do so because they dont know how it works, yet it’s the opposite!
The less you know the more you are likely to use GenAi
This reminds me of ai advocates who claim that those who refuse to use GenAi do so because they dont know how it works, yet it’s the opposite!
The less you know the more you are likely to use GenAi
The Less You Know About AI, the More You Are Likely to Use It
AI can seem magical to those with low AI literacy, a new study finds. That, in turn, might make them more willing to try it.
www.wsj.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:23 PM
So new studies showcase that the more you know how GenAi works, the less likely you are to use it! 😌
This reminds me of ai advocates who claim that those who refuse to use GenAi do so because they dont know how it works, yet it’s the opposite!
The less you know the more you are likely to use GenAi
This reminds me of ai advocates who claim that those who refuse to use GenAi do so because they dont know how it works, yet it’s the opposite!
The less you know the more you are likely to use GenAi
Reposted by Brian Maass
The maddening thing is that we know EXACTLY how to prevent this. Yes, kids should get vaccinated, test, stay home when sick, mask as much as possible.
But even without any of that: Better ventilation and filtration in schools can MASSIVELY reduce viral spread, for all sorts of respiratory diseases.
But even without any of that: Better ventilation and filtration in schools can MASSIVELY reduce viral spread, for all sorts of respiratory diseases.
Kansas City: COVID-19 outbreak forces metro school to close until next week fox4kc.com/news/covid-1...
fox4kc.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The maddening thing is that we know EXACTLY how to prevent this. Yes, kids should get vaccinated, test, stay home when sick, mask as much as possible.
But even without any of that: Better ventilation and filtration in schools can MASSIVELY reduce viral spread, for all sorts of respiratory diseases.
But even without any of that: Better ventilation and filtration in schools can MASSIVELY reduce viral spread, for all sorts of respiratory diseases.
Reposted by Brian Maass
TFW the NYT reviews your book but critcizes you for not being impressed with technology because it leads to people's deaths. WTH.
w/@alexhanna.bsky.social
w/@alexhanna.bsky.social
August 27, 2025 at 10:22 AM
TFW the NYT reviews your book but critcizes you for not being impressed with technology because it leads to people's deaths. WTH.
w/@alexhanna.bsky.social
w/@alexhanna.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Maass
This is your regular reminder that Jay Bhattacharya is a health economist whose research focused on the cost-effectiveness of health interventions. He's never seen patients, never developed treatments, never had an NIH grant.
NIH Director Battacharya on mRNA technology: "We should not be using as a platform for mass vaccination"
August 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
This is your regular reminder that Jay Bhattacharya is a health economist whose research focused on the cost-effectiveness of health interventions. He's never seen patients, never developed treatments, never had an NIH grant.
Reposted by Brian Maass
As a physicist I can easily calculate time dilation from relativistic motion (time slows when you're moving fast) or proximity to a massive object (time slows in gravity) but I have yet to find a solution for emotional time dilation (the task takes five minutes to complete but six weeks to start) 🫠
August 6, 2025 at 7:03 PM
As a physicist I can easily calculate time dilation from relativistic motion (time slows when you're moving fast) or proximity to a massive object (time slows in gravity) but I have yet to find a solution for emotional time dilation (the task takes five minutes to complete but six weeks to start) 🫠
I haven't seriously considered tattoos for myself, but this might be the coolest thing ever (not conventionally "cool"- cool in my worldview). The right mix of personal, unique, smart, fun, and honoring others. www.unmc.edu/newsroom/202... Is there a #chemsky ? 🧪 👨🔬 ⚗️ 🥼 🥽 🔬
Putting structure to his students' chemical compounds
UNMC's Corey Hopkins, PhD, is mapping the achievements onto his arm – with tattoos of the compounds' makeup.
www.unmc.edu
July 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I haven't seriously considered tattoos for myself, but this might be the coolest thing ever (not conventionally "cool"- cool in my worldview). The right mix of personal, unique, smart, fun, and honoring others. www.unmc.edu/newsroom/202... Is there a #chemsky ? 🧪 👨🔬 ⚗️ 🥼 🥽 🔬
Reposted by Brian Maass
"The slashing of SNAP-Ed funding is imminent, putting health-focused programs in the state and the equivalent of about 40 jobs under the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension at risk."
From Josh Reyes at OWH:
omaha.com/news/state-r...
From Josh Reyes at OWH:
omaha.com/news/state-r...
Trump megabill slashes funding for Nebraska programs that help kids, families make healthy choices
SNAP education programs across the country had their funding cut under the One Big Beautiful Bill. In Nebraska, numerous nutrition programs and university jobs are at risk.
omaha.com
July 18, 2025 at 12:27 PM
"The slashing of SNAP-Ed funding is imminent, putting health-focused programs in the state and the equivalent of about 40 jobs under the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension at risk."
From Josh Reyes at OWH:
omaha.com/news/state-r...
From Josh Reyes at OWH:
omaha.com/news/state-r...
Reposted by Brian Maass
In response to White House staffer Stephen Miller’s comments, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said: “If we wanted a white supremacist’s opinion, we’d ask. But we don’t. So we won’t. Also, Minneapolis is great.”
Watch: Senior Trump adviser dumps on Minneapolis, prompting retort from Mary Moriarty
Stephen Miller’s comments are the latest in a recent string from Trump loyalists targeting Minneapolis.
bit.ly
July 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM
In response to White House staffer Stephen Miller’s comments, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said: “If we wanted a white supremacist’s opinion, we’d ask. But we don’t. So we won’t. Also, Minneapolis is great.”