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Bennett

@bennettmcintosh.com

130 followers 310 following 52 posts

Science & Technology Studies | History of Sci & Tech || How do data & scientific communities make each other? Current projects on: social genomics; environmental regulation

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · May 26

I have a new preprint out w/ @nicolecnelson.bsky.social & Kelsey Ichikawa!

We focus on EPA regulatory transparency policies between '17 and '21 but wow is it relevant to current policies on #openscience, #opendata, including this weekend's "gold standard #science" EO

📄 osf.io/preprints/me...

🧵⤵️

MetaArXiv Preprint title: "Adversarial reanalysis and the challenge of open data in regulatory science" by Bennett McIntosh, Nicole Nelson, and Kelsey Ichikawa

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 3h

works better for me at least! Looking forward to reading

Reposted by Bennett

Taylor Griggs @taylorgriggs.bsky.social · 4d

This article has a lot more important problems so I feel stupid saying this…but umm…the Mercury wrote and published the first major article about the DSA councilors back in June. Of course it isn’t the local reporting linked or mentioned here.

What Happens When Socialists Are in Charge? Portland Offers a Glimpse.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Bennett

Isabel J. Kim @isabel.kim · 7d

ive been on-and-off trying to write a story about AI for a couple of years, and I think i finally cracked it with WIRE MOTHER, which is out in @clarkesworldmagazine.com (tw in the post below).

also hey, this issue is stacked??

clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_10_25/

Wire Mother by Isabel J. Kim

Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

clarkesworldmagazine.com

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 1d

re automation, I've TA'd for CS undergrads fascinated by parallels between the dream of automatic coding in compilers and vibe coding (and their labor history/present)

but also: speculative capitalism; the political history of startup-as-"small-business"; literary Faust/Frankenstein/Prometheus...

Reposted by Bennett

Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 1d

if you were to teach a class on the pre/history of AI in terms of key concepts ideas, what would they be? the mind/body problem? abstraction vs materialism? history of the database? automation?

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Reposted by Bennett

Janet D. Stemwedel @docfreeride.bsky.social · 1d

My department is hiring! Tenure-track assistant professor in philosophy (AOS: philosophy of technology) jobs.sjsu.edu/en-us/job/55...

San José State University - Details - Assistant Professor in Philosophy of Technology

jobs.sjsu.edu

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Reposted by Bennett

redrum scare(d) corncob (no one said it made sense) @inquiline.myatproto.social · 1d

"chill is an especially harmful but efficient form of speech control, as the Administration well knows. Direct censorship is laborious, ad hoc, and happens only after the fact. Chill, by contrast, is a form of prior restraint administered by the speaker themselves out of fear"

Evelyn Douek @evelyndouek.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about an under-appreciated aspect of AAUP v. Rubio. It is the first case of the Trump Era to explicitly identify and reject the primary and most pernicious form of speech suppression employed by this Administration: Chill.

balkin.blogspot.com/2025/10/aaup...

Balkinization: AAUP v. Rubio and the Big Chill

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Bennett

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 1d

I've written my analysis of today's grim Supreme Court oral argument in the conversion therapy case:

As far as the Court's concerned, imaginary medical uncertainty gives states the authority to hurt queer kids, and takes away states' authority to protect them

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/chile...

The Conservative Justices Don't Trust Any Science That Supports LGBTQ Kids

States that want to facilitate discrimination against LGBTQ people have the Court's blessing. States that want to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination do not.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 1d

they're not employing stupid methods towards laudable goals; rule-by-fiat is their goal and *pretending* they have laudable goals is the method by which they intend to achieve it!

These are laudable goals. This is what is good in the compact.

The bad in the compact is often in the methods proposed for achieving those goals: The idea that viewpoint diversity is best achieved through administrative bean-counting and, implicitly, viewpoint-based quotas. A range of threats to the First Amendment, including the erasure of a line between criticism of conservative views and incitement to violence. The unwillingness to rely on the illegality of incitement as sufficient protection against it. The micromanaging of admissions and tuition-setting that reflects an imperfect understanding of those processes, of the economic realities of colleges and universities as businesses, and of First Amendment standards protecting freedom of association.

Work that must be done intellectually - for instance, achieving a culture of debate on campus — is here treated as work that can be accomplished by fiat.

Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 6d

"Goodall’s recognition of animals’ capacities was not just an abstract academic finding but a practical ethic and moral imperative that led her to advocate for veganism, meat reduction, and animal rights."

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Jane Goodall’s most radical message was not about saving the planet

The conservationist used her stature to advocate for one of the most important, yet most unpopular, causes in the world.

www.vox.com

Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 6d

"In the 1960s, when nerds like me were asking whether or not we were alone in the universe, Jane Goodall started asking people to consider whether or not we were alone on this planet"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Fz...

Dr. Jane Goodall

YouTube video by vlogbrothers

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Bennett

Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science @mcps-philsci.bsky.social · 6d

Two-year postdoc w/ Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science! Scholars in all areas of #philsci, inclusive of philosophical approaches to logic&math, are eligible. This is understood broadly to include issues in the history&practice of particular sciences.Deadline 5 Dec 2025.
buff.ly/MhR4PcK

Two-Year Post-Doctoral Associate, Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota - PhilJobs:JFP

An international database of jobs for philosophers

philjobs.org

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Reposted by Bennett

Marina Bolotnikova @mbolotnikova.bsky.social · 6d

Goodall was such an icon because she did & said things that were heresy in the scientific community. Her work on animals' capacities represented not just an abstract finding but a practical ethic that led her to advocate for veganism &vocally oppose animal experimentation
www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Jane Goodall’s most radical message was not about saving the planet

The conservationist used her stature to advocate for one of the most important, yet most unpopular, causes in the world.

www.vox.com

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Reposted by Bennett

Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 8d

#HPS

Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 8d

After a long hiatus, AIP's postdoc position for historians of the physical sciences is back!

3 years, $77,500 per year + benefits. Work in the Washington, DC area, close to Univ of Maryland. Open to US citizens/permanent residents. Apply by Nov. 15! #histsci

workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...

A green space with bushes and trees and a helix sculpture next to a beige building.

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 17d

friends, this (top-level post; not Gallifreyan) is bait. Profile seems AI generated, posts are repost-bot-level coherent, no journalist by this name exists outside the website linked on "her" profile. Block, report, and move on

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 17d

It's awkward phrasing, but I don't read this as barring anything that *isn't* education/advocacy/support, so much as saying that those explicitly *will* be allowed, even in forms that might otherwise violate other rules. But possible that I (& bsky!) have not thought through how this could go wrong!

E. Mental Health & Wellbeing: We support a healthier community by prohibiting content that could harm people's mental or physical health.

Do not share content, methods, instructions, or promotion of self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, and extreme dieting practices.
Do not share methods, instructions, depictions, or promotion of dangerous stunts or abuse of dangerous or controlled substances.

5. Protected Expression

These guidelines protect legitimate expression that serves the public interest and supports community wellbeing. The following content is welcome on Bluesky when appropriately labeled and contextually framed:

Journalism, Analysis, Education, and Advocacy:
Factual reporting, academic research, or educational content about matters of public interest, safety, or legal significance.
Anti-violence advocacy, safety campaigns, and prevention resources that raise awareness without providing harmful methods or glorifying harm.
Content warnings about dangerous viral challenges or emerging safety threats.
Support, Recovery, and Mental Health:
Personal recovery experiences or survivor stories shared to promote healing and community support rather than encouraging harmful behavior.
Sharing verified mental health resources, crisis prevention information, and support group discussions.
Transparency and Public Information: Publicly available information from official sources such as court records, business filings, property records, or related to government transparency and public officials.

Reposted by Bennett

Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) @clpskuleuven.bsky.social · 20d

Hello, #AcademicSky! We are the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) at KU Leuven. Our senior and junior researchers focus on #logic, #epistemology & #philsci. We’re here to share our work and connect with logicians and philosophers of science worldwide—help us spread the word! #philsky

Cobblestone pathway leading to the red-brick Institute of Philosophy building at KU Leuven in Belgium (home of the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science), framed by ivy-covered walls, arched windows, and lush greenery with purple wisteria flowers in the foreground.

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

Kasirzadeh also has a really insightful, heartbreaking thread about what "normal" hides here: bsky.app/profile/atoo...

Atoosa Kasirzadeh @atoosakz.bsky.social · Jun 15

Normal isn't a fact; it's a perception built from repetition & power. My brother can call a night of missile fire normal simply because he's used to it.To an outsider, the scene is clearly abnormal. Judgements of normality rest on thin, shifting ground. History shows how quickly baselines move. 5/n

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

Anyway, big fan of the 3rd option Sigal presents, @atoosakz.bsky.social 's warning of "gradual accumulation of smaller, seemingly non-existential, AI risks" until catastrophe.

A warning that suggests AI safetyists should take AI ethics & sociology much more seriously! arxiv.org/pdf/2401.07836

arxiv.org

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

[Ah, shoot, didn't make that first link a gift link – here it is] 🎁

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The AI doomers are not making an argument. They’re selling a worldview.

How rational is Eliezer Yudkowsky’s prophecy?

www.vox.com

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

imo there's a worldview that's too-prevalent on bluesky too, that generative AI is stupid and doomed to fail and has no use cases. I'm not the first to say this, but that seems way over-indexed on NFTs (and even NFTs have use in, e.g., money laundering)

Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

Doomers, who treat super-intelligent AI as likely and threatening, treat intelligent as almost a magic power, but it's much more heterogeneous, spiky (and, I would add relational) than that; But the AI-as-Normal-Tech argument seems naive about the incentives to use risky AI in, e.g., Mil Tech

Second, what exactly does this argument take “intelligence” to mean? It seems to be treating it as a unitary property (Yudkowsky told me that there’s “a compact, regular story” underlying all intelligence). ==But intelligence is not one thing, and it’s not measurable on a single continuum. It’s almost certainly more like a variety of heterogenous things== — attention, imagination, curiosity, common sense — and it may well be intertwined with our social cooperativeness, our sensations, and our emotions. Will AI have all of these? Some of these? We aren’t sure of the kind of intelligence AI will attain. Besides, just because an intelligent being has a lot of capability, that doesn’t mean it has a lot of power — the ability to modify the environment — and power is what’s really at stake here.

One of the most glaring flaws of the normalist view is that it doesn’t even try to talk about the military.
Yet military applications — from autonomous weapons to lightning-fast decision-making about whom to target — are among the most critical for advanced AI. ==They’re the use cases most likely to make governments feel that all countries absolutely are in an AI arms race, so they must plow ahead, risks be damned.== That weakens the normalist camp’s view that we won’t necessarily deploy AI at scale if it seems risky.

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · 21d

If you read one review of If Anyone Builds It Everyone Dies make it @sigalsamuel.bsky.social 's about competing #AI worldviews

"It was hard to seriously entertain both [doomer and AI-as-normal tech] views at the same time."

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The AI doomers are not making an argument. They’re selling a worldview.

How rational is Eliezer Yudkowsky’s prophecy?

www.vox.com

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Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · Sep 6

Who called it a topologically improbable political compass and not an Ezra Klein Bottle

this is like a really crowded meme, but the left side is a political compass, twisted around so that the lib-right and auth-left segments connect (as do the lib-left and auth-right) and the right side is text about how your political compass results are "Abundance Tankie" who is somehow a fan of both Kleinism-Thompsonism and Marxism-Leninism who will turn the DSA into a corporatist engine of state capacity or something

Bennett @bennettmcintosh.com · Aug 20

I still think about this (from 2018!) regularly. So many people reaching seeking solace from the "privilege of an apocalypse"

proteanmag.com/2018/12/11/n...

Two paragraphs from the linked essay. The passage begins by pointing out that climate change brings the timescales of geology and human life into "nightmarish combination" and then continues: "The paralyzing effect of discussing this leads some to conceive of climate change as Armageddon, the end of the world as we know it. But this too is inaccurate. In the near future, we will be denied the privilege of an apocalypse. There will be no point at which external forces will summarily and magnificently end human enterprise, because there will be no recognizable end. Like an engine starting to wheeze, sputter, and break down, the expanding growth of our economy will begin to be undercut by the intractable difficulties of adapting to these new conditions."

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