To top it all off, we also had the chance to present some of our recent work in collaboration with Google DeepMind. It was fantastic to see everyone who stopped by and shared in the excitement about the results.

Even better, I got to dive into a methods mash session that blew my mind, both in my own field and in areas I've rarely touched. It's good to witness the interdisciplinary communities that events like these help to foster.

Day two of the Metascience conference in London proved very insightful! If I had any lingering worries yesterday about us shying away from inconvenient truths, today completely dispelled them.

Eroding public trust in science, the hacking of global science funding, and our inability to counter these trends. Boosting our internal credibility is crucial, but can it revert these global anti-science shifts? Feels a bit like we're fine-tuning the orchestra on the Titanic as it begins to tilt!

Day one brought up fascinating discussions, but also some vital acknowledgements of the challenging world we're navigating. It strikes me that while we're rightfully focused on improving research internally, we might be overlooking the bigger picture. One everyone is aware of.

A nice start to the Metascience conference in London today! It's good to be among this niche but rapidly growing community focused on making research more impactful. Great to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new, brilliant minds.

Our policy lab (IGL @ @nestauk.bsky.social) is hiring for 3 roles! Join a cool team using evidence to drive real-world change in innovation and business growth spaces. Spain/UK (remote/hybrid).

www.innovationgrowthlab.org/careers

My colleagues at IGL are launching the IGL Masterclass Series on Designing Field Experiments, a fantastic opportunity for PhD students and early-career researchers to learn from experts. Expect practical insights, live Q&As, and behind-the-scenes lessons.
www.innovationgrowthlab.org/resources/de...

We're hiring! If you’re a data scientist who wants to put your quant skills to work for social good, come join us at the Innovation Growth Lab in London. You’ll have a chance to do research, develop open-source tools, and support public policy.

www.nesta.org.uk/jobs/data-sc...

AI for science could be more impactful than chatbots. It is already helping win Nobel prizes and accelerating drug development and materials discovery.
Today we published an essay about it: why it matters, how it’s happening and its implications. Here is a summary from an econ / social sci lens.

The food industry is figuring out ways to keep profits up in the face of GLP-1s. Based on recent developments in AI, it's not hard to imagine the role it will play in adjusting industrial foods and discovering new ones.

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/m...

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This study uses YouTube's change to reveal how gender-biased feedback suppressed women's productivity in online labor markets. The evidence is clear: removing dislikes significantly increased female creators' output and demand. Robust results, elegant methods—wish I’d thought of it!

Like many others, I initially disliked YouTube’s removal of dislike counts, seeing it as masking critically relevant info. I still hope for a better solution to signal low-quality content. But this fascinating research shows the other side: such signals were abused, punishing women & minorities.

My colleagues at IGL are looking to fund researchers to pilot experimental ideas in science, innovation, & productivity! Grants up to USD 8k, open globally, with priority for early-career researchers!
#innovation #science #productivity #IGL
www.innovationgrowthlab.org/seed-grants