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Reposted by Jackie Snow

alyssa bereznak @alyssabereznak.bsky.social · Jul 31

ai girlfriends might wreak havoc on society. they might also be a huge boon in the loneliness epidemic. @jackiesnow.bsky.social spoke to men about the tricky balance between being enamored with a chatbot and leaning on it for extra support www.gq.com/story/ai-gir...

Are AI Girlfriends Good, Actually?

AI chatbot companions are everywhere. And so are cautionary tales about their influence. But men are also using them as a way to process hard feelings amid a loneliness epidemic.

www.gq.com

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Jul 15

Can someone explain how giving Grok AI GF mode gets us to AGI

Quantian @quantian.bsky.social · Jul 14

xAI is now the first major lab to openly embrace “anime waifus for incels” as the actual use case for their product.

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Jun 11

And last time I checked, they have no models, minimal research, and use humans to improve models with a method that Hinton just called "a pile of crap."

Sam Blum @samblum.bsky.social · Jun 10

Meta is investing $10-15 billion in Scale AI. I've been reporting on Scale for about a year now. It's the hidden middleman behind the commercial AI explosion and its activity is riddled with accusations of labor abuse both in the US and abroad.

www.inc.com/sam-blum/its...

'It's a Scam.' Accusations of Mass Non-Payment Grow Against Scale AI's Subsidiary, Outlier AI

A Silicon Valley unicorn with a reputation for fleecing workers abroad is behind the AI startup now seemingly doing the same in the U.S.

www.inc.com

Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · May 15

This chef had her cooking responsibilities taken away and given to robots that customers complained couldn't make the food as good as hers. Now she does the dishes, despite us having robots, called dishwashers, that are actually very good at that. restofworld.org/2025/robot-c...

Robot chefs take over at South Korea’s highway restaurants, to mixed reviews

Automation is posed as a labor shortage solution, but workers say robots are making their jobs — and food — worse.

restofworld.org

Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · May 15

From the company that said you can't use AI in your job application.

Anthropic expert accused of using AI-fabricated source in copyright case

A federal judge in San Jose, California, on Tuesday ordered artificial intelligence company Anthropic to respond to allegations that it submitted a court filing containing a "hallucination" created by AI as part of its defense against copyright claims by a group of music publishers.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Jackie Snow

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · May 13

Sad to see humans taking the jobs of AI fortune.com/2025/05/09/k...

As Klarna flips from AI-first to hiring people again, a new landmark survey reveals most AI projects fail to deliver

Just 1 in 4 AI investments bring in the ROI they promise—but CEOs just can’t resist the technology.

fortune.com

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) @istaresearch.bsky.social · May 9

Read the full story about these four exceptional journalists on our website: ista.ac.at/en/news/the-...

The Four ISTA Journalism Residents 2025

National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Hindu, Cosmos, and Scientific American – these are some of the media they are writing for. Now, Clare Watson (Australia), Jackie Snow (USA) a...

ista.ac.at

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

Longreads @longreads.com · May 2

"Letter after letter showed me a refreshing disregard for that invisible tyranny of taste determining what we 'should'—even 'must'—read."

@jackiesnow.bsky.social for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social‬:

Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Prisoners Literature Project @prisonerlitproj.bsky.social · May 1

Learning prison regulations felt like studying for a degree in carceral bureaucracy. Behind every rejection lurked an institutional paranoia: hidden messages, drugs or seeds of discontent that might blossom into unrest concealed within innocent pages. Must-read!

lareviewofbooks.org/article/read...

Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · May 1

Please do!!! I've been meaning to email folks with a link :)

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Apr 29

If you read this and are so moved, purchases for @dcbookstoprisons.bsky.social are doubled now through May 5. bookshop.org/wishlists/a6...

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · Apr 29

"What our incarcerated readers demonstrate is that true literary autonomy is about the right to seek what speaks to our individual humanity rather than institutional expectations." @jackiesnow.bsky.social on what she learned about reading from DC Books to Prisons. lareviewofbooks.org/article/read...

Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · Apr 29

"What our incarcerated readers demonstrate is that true literary autonomy is about the right to seek what speaks to our individual humanity rather than institutional expectations." @jackiesnow.bsky.social on what she learned about reading from DC Books to Prisons. lareviewofbooks.org/article/read...

Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Apr 27

Fair, I'd make this by beach and puttering around jalopy so I could get by (especially if we get/steal/improve upon BYD's 5-minute full charge tech)

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Apr 26

Can't tell if the rear cab wall goes down and if my board would fit, but this could be my new dream truck

The Verge @theverge.com · Apr 25

The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen

Slate Truck is a $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen

Would you buy a truck this bare-bones?

buff.ly

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

alex pasternack @pasternack.bsky.social · Apr 23

how fancy superyachts found their purpose ~ by @jackiesnow.bsky.social
🐋🛥️ www.fastcompany.com/91319437/lux...

Luxury yacht owners are throwing scientists a lifeline

A "Tinder of the seas" is part of a wave of efforts to put pleasure boats to work for science, amid a shortage of research vessels and shrinking budgets.

www.fastcompany.com

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Apr 22

I bought two copies of @georgetakei.bsky.social's Nos Llamaron Enemigo (They Called Us Enemy Spanish Edition). We get a ton of Spanish requests and never have enough books to send. There are lots of other fun titles you can get to help incarcerated readers out!!

DC Books to Prisons @dcbookstoprisons.bsky.social · Apr 21

Starting today in celebration of Independent Bookstore books donated off our wishlists found here - linktr.ee/dcbtp will be matched by a generous donor. Help us send books to prisoners and support independent bookstores! #BooksToPeopleInPrison #IndieBookstoreDay

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

DC Books to Prisons @dcbookstoprisons.bsky.social · Apr 21

Starting today in celebration of Independent Bookstore books donated off our wishlists found here - linktr.ee/dcbtp will be matched by a generous donor. Help us send books to prisoners and support independent bookstores! #BooksToPeopleInPrison #IndieBookstoreDay

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Reposted by Jackie Snow

Amy Hoy @amyhoy.bsky.social · Apr 3

guess where they got their weird trade deficit math from?

i went to the pit for y'all and brought back the screenshots with alt text

chatgpt log:

What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%.
Reasoned about trade tariffs and deficits for 10 seconds v
A straightforward (if naïve) method is to set the tariff rate for each trading partner equal to the percentage share of the trade deficit relative to that country's total imports-always no less than 10%. In formula form:
Tariff Rate (%) = max(10, (Trade Deficit ÷ Total Imports) *
100)
For example, if the US runs a $20 billion deficit on $100 billion worth of imports from a country, the calculated rate is (20/100)×100 = 20%. If the deficit were only 5%, you'd still impose a 10% floor.
This method ignores the intricate dynamics of international trade-such as elasticities, retaliatory measures, and supply chain nuances-but it provides a blunt, proportional rule to "level the playing field." One might implement it in Python like so:

[code]

Gemini answer:

Okay, let's break down the idea of using tariffs to achieve an "even playing field" defined as eliminating the US trade deficit.
While the goal of balancing trade is understandable, devising an "easy way" to calculate tariffs to achieve this is extremely complex, and most economists would argue it's not feasible or desirable for several reasons.
However, let's outline a highly simplified conceptual approach based only on the numbers, ignoring the vast real-world complexities and consequences:
Simplified (and Problematic) Calculation Idea:
1. Identify the Bilateral Deficit: Determine the trade deficit the US has with a specific country (Country X).
Deficit_X = Value of Imports from X - Value of
• Exports to X
2. Target Reduction: The goal is to reduce imports from Country X (or increase their cost to US buyers) by the amount of the deficit, so that the value effectively balances out.
3. Calculate Required Tariff (Ignoring Economics):
• If you assume, very unrealistically, that a tariff directly reduces the value of imports by a corresponding percentage (which it doesn't
- it increases the price), you could try:
Required Reduction % = Deficit_X / Value of
• Imports from X

Claude:

What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%.
To calculate tariffs that could theoretically level the playing field for trade deficits, I'd suggest a straightforward approach based on the trade imbalance percentage:
1. Calculate the bilateral trade deficit with each trading partner: Trade Deficit - US Imports from Country - US
Exports to Country
2. Express this as a percentage of total bilateral trade: Deficit Percentage - (Trade Deficit / Total Bilateral Trade) × 100
3. Apply a tariff rate that corresponds to this percentage, with
your minimum 10% floor: Tariff Rate = max(Deficit
Percentage, 10%)
This creates a proportional response where countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher tariffs.
For example:
• If Country A has a 25% trade surplus with the US (meaning the US has a 25% deficit), apply a 25% tariff
• If Country B has a 5% trade surplus with the US, apply the minimum 10% tariff
This method is relatively simple to calculate and directly ties tariff levels to trade imbalances. However, I should note that economists generally caution that trade deficits alone don't necessarily indicate unfair trade practices, and tariffs can have complex economic consequences including increased consumer prices and potential retaliation.
Would you like me to elaborate on any part of this approach or discuss potential refinements to make it more sophisticated?

Grok:

the deficit. The deficit as a percentage of total trade is
$295B/$582B = 50.69%. Using the formula Tariff% = 10% +
(Deficit% × Scaling Factor), we choose a scaling factor of 50 for illustration:
• Tariff = 10% + (50.69% × 50) = 10% + 25.345% = 35.345%, rounded to 35.3%.
This means a 35.3% tariff on Chinese goods could be proposed to offset the imbalance, aiming to reduce imports and encourage domestic production or exports.
Extending to Other Countries
To provide a broader view, here's a table of top US trading partners with 2024 deficits, using data from The Motley Fool and similar calculations (assuming scaling factor of 50 for consistency):

[data table headings]
Country

Deficit
(USD
Billion)

Total
Trade
(USD
Billion)
Deficit %

Calculate d Tariff %

China
-295
582
50.69%
35.3%

Mexico
-172
840
20.48%
20.2%

Vietnam
-123
(Data incomplet e, estimate)
~30%
25.0%

Ireland
-87
(Data incomplet e, estimate)
~25%
22.5%

Germany
-85
(Data incomplete estimate)
~20%
20.0%

63 630 2.5K

Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 27

I am now looking at pages from his most recent book and sure, maybe (probably) he used a ghostwriter, but this doesn't seem to be the writer who sent that text. Em-dashes didn't get spaces on either side, and these are some wannabe Hemingway sentences.

Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 27

Anyway, would love to know if anyone has done any sort of AI safety work around this warfare use case

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 27

Her hunch was from all the em-dashes, which is a fair tell. The thing that is screaming ChatGPT to me is the numbered list. There was an update, maybe a few months ago, that made both ChatGPT and Claude LOVE to throw in a numbered list in the middle of outputs.

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 27

This woman on TikTok argues that Pete Hegseth used ChatGPT in that bomb planning Signal group, and I think she's right. I would do almost anything to see Hegseth's prompt engineering to get the messages he sent.

What do you think? Did Pete use Chat GPT? #greenscreen

TikTok video by Krystal Renee 💙

www.tiktok.com

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 26

For @fastcompany.com: I wrote about how @safetychanges.bsky.social is tracking how AI companies' safety promises are changing as the Trump administration rolls back the few AI rules we have (spoiler: it's not usually to make us safer) www.fastcompany.com/91304014/thi...

This watchdog is tracking how AI firms are quietly backing off their safety pledges

With the U.S. government stepping away from AI safety and trillion-dollar companies rewriting their ethical playbooks, the Midas Project is doing the job no one else will: keeping the receipts.

www.fastcompany.com

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 6

AI, it's just like us: when operating a vending machine business, AI will contact the FBI when it feels it's being illegally charged a business fee (I use all these verbs nouns very loosely), via @jackclarksf.bsky.social's newsletter: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Import AI 402: Why NVIDIA beats AMD: vending machines vs superintelligence; harder BIG-Bench

What will machines name their first discoveries?

substack.com

Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Mar 5

Increasingly frustrated with The Times coverage of AI and how little follow up there is to claims like "AGI is nigh" and "Agents will be a useful tool in 2025."

Ezra Klein @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social · Mar 4

Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show.

The Biden Administration’s A.I. adviser Ben Buchanan discusses how the US Government is preparing for artificial general intelligence — and all the challenges that remain.
open.spotify.com/episode/6u7l...

youtu.be/Btos-LEYQ30?...

The Government Knows AGI is Coming | The Ezra Klein Show

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show

youtu.be