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Margaret Mitchell

@mmitchell.bsky.social

22K followers 770 following 1.8K posts

Researcher trying to shape AI towards positive outcomes. ML & Ethics +birds. Generally trying to do the right thing. TIME 100 | TED speaker | Senate testimony provider | Navigating public life as a recluse. Former: Google, Microsoft; Current: Hugging Face .. more

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Margaret Mitchell is a computer scientist who works on algorithmic bias and fairness in machine learning. She is most well known for her work on automatically removing undesired biases concerning demographic groups from machine learning models, as well as more transparent reporting of their intended use. .. more

Computer science 94%

Psychology 5%

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

Aside: Did the CEO of Tylenol anger the administration? It's odd they're focusing on a specific brand, no? Not the active ingredient, acetaminophen (also called paracetamol)? Is buying Generic Acetaminophen fine, but not Tylenol? This seems to me like there's something else behind the scenes. /end

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

Here,
- Experimenter bias (and bad science) influences how the severity scale is constructed
- The misunderstanding of the difference between correlation and causation gives rise to a pretty incendiary conclusion
- Which will likely make tons of waves b/c public at large will miss this.
8/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

Now let's look at the other example Experimenter Bias Protocol.
- If a "severity" scale is used for this experiment where "severity" incorporates "tendency to self-harm", then people who rank "severe" will have more injuries.
- Increased injuries --> increased Tylenol use.
7/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

- Showing a "link" of any sort doesn't show *causation*. Related: Correlation is not causation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correla...
- If your experiment, by design, links 2 things, then a result showing that they're linked comes from *you linking them*. (That's classic experimenter bias fallacy.)
6/

Correlation does not imply causation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

The experimental design doesn't disprove the *opposite* idea, that Tylenol use is linked to *no* autism.
I.e., There is no piece of that design that accounts for the fact that the majority of people probably have taken acetaminophen. 5/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1h

In the first protocol, the issues are:
- It starts with ppl w/ autism, not the population at large. The majority of all people have probably taken acetaminophen, so, the majority of people with autism have prob taken acetaminophen. BUT, the majority of ppl *without* autism have prob taken it. 4/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

Experimenter bias protocol #2, more 🔥:
1. Take group of people with autism
2. Isolate those who've taken acetaminophen
3. Rank them along a scale of "autism severity"
4. Calculate *how much* each has taken
5. Possible Result: "Increased Severity of Autism Associated with Increased Use of Tylenol"
3/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

Experimenter bias protocol #1:
(1) Take a group of people with autism
(2) Calculate how many of them have taken paracetamol/acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol)
(3) Establish that the majority of them have
(4) Report: "Tylenol linked to almost ALL cases of Autism"
2/

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

Oh I hope so! It made me laugh out loud, it was such a perfect description of the intention of the play *EXCEPT FOR* the "emotional resonance" bit. That's the bit that made me think it was a legitimate review.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

"Experimenter bias" refers to a mistake in scientific studies where the experimenter wants to see something, and so unconsciously designs protocols to prove what they want to see. RFK here provides an example, Let me explain what we might see based on this. 🧵

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

🎭 Come for the Godot, stay for Alex Winter running with so much momentum he makes it to the ceiling.

Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

🎭 As a Samuel Beckett and Alex Winter fan, I highly, highly *highly* recommend going to see this version of Godot. Laugh-out-loud funny, masterfully handled some of the confusions from text. Use of funnel as stage was brilliant. Only props were hats and shoes. Beckett would be proud.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as Gogo and Didi, sitting in a funnel-shaped tan/white stage against a stark black background.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2h

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Reposted by Margaret Mitchell, Colin Murray, Martin Paul Eve , and 10 more Margaret Mitchell, Colin Murray, Martin Paul Eve, Robert Black, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller, Robert Wolfe, Adrian Vickers, Michael D. McDonald, Ben Rosamond, Tom Stoppard, Daxton R. Stewart, Evan Roberts

Lux Alptraum @luxalptraum.com · 23h

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 1d

Apparently this was Portland last night. Gosh I love my home away from home. ❤️

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2d

October 27th, SEA, NW Film Forum: grandillusioncinema.org/film/the-bir...
October 29th, PDX, Clinton St Theatre: cstpdx.com/event/the-bi...

THE BIRTH OF HORROR: A Scary Collection of Early Film Horror - The Grand Illusion Cinema

grandillusioncinema.org

Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2d

🎭 😱 📣 Portlanders and Seattlites!! Come see the "Birth of Horror" on film: Some the first visual recordings of the horror genre, ca ~1900, from around the world -- for the first time with *sound* (score + foley)! Showings on October 27th (SEA) / 29th (PDX)!! 🧵
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG9C...

Church of Film & Hexafoils: THE BIRTH OF HORROR Trailer

YouTube video by Muriel Lucas

www.youtube.com

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 2d

I feel seen.

drewtoothpaste @drewtoothpaste.bsky.social · 2d

ALL BOARD GAMES ARE COOPERATIVE!
you work together to get to the end so you can stop playing

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Reposted by Margaret Mitchell

Savannah Ostrowski @savannah.dev · 2d

The stable release of Python 3.14 is out now! Go, go, go update! 🙌

discuss.python.org/t/python-3-1...

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 3d

This. Also edits to “base” visuals and slides depending on the event.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 3d

This post about Waffles that’s going viral doesn’t credit (what I believe to be) the source, Bravo Coolee, on Twitter a few years ago. Just wanna shout out the original. Still viral thru another person’s rewrite today.

Twitter screenshot from @BravoCoolee

“Twitter is the only place where well articulated sentences still get misinterpreted.

You can say “I like pancakes” and somebody will say “So you hate waffles?’

No bitch. Dats a whole new sentence. Wtf is you talking about.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 4d

My #SixOnSaturday with Fringe Tree berries, pink Wax Begonia flowers, just-opened crimson Mums, Black-capped Chickadee eating a Dogwood berry, scarlet Nasturtium, red blueberry leaf fallen into native PNW Slough Sedge.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 4d

This article makes me really sad. CW pictures of the bloody 84 yo.
She explains, “I never thought federal officers could behave this way…I always thought people must be provoking them or something, that they would never do this unprovoked.” And “we are not Antifa…We’re just regular….”

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 4d

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

www.oregonlive.com

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Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Margaret Mitchell, Brendan Nyhan , and 5 more Anne Applebaum, Margaret Mitchell, Brendan Nyhan, Michael D. McDonald, Manisha Sinha, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Dan Immergluck

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 4d

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest

An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.

www.oregonlive.com

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Reposted by Margaret Mitchell

Dr. Émile P. Torres @xriskology.bsky.social · 5d

New article!! I have some incredibly exciting news to announce: I'll be writing a book next year for Verso about the TESCREAL ideologies, Silicon Valley pro-extinctionism, eugenics in the tech world, and the AGI race. More details are included here: www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/the-right-...

The Right Time for a Realtime Roundup!

Here are the fun topics we covered over the past two months!

www.realtimetechpocalypse.com

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 5d

Just adding myself into this thread, would love to see recs others have.

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 5d

This.

Ryan J. Gallagher @ryanjgallag.com · 6d

I think Bluesky is building dated approaches to moderation and resolution, compared to how modern the other aspects of the protocol feel

It feels like they pull in the latest tech innovations for the protocol, but none of the latest cutting edge ideas for moderation and trust & safety governance

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 5d

🎯