Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · 8d

Come join me for the national Science Writers meeting in Chicago! Discounted registration ends tomorrow. #SciWri25

Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · 26d

Does using generative AI, like ChatGPT, affect our critical thinking? Check out my new piece, where I sift through initial research and figure out what we know and don’t know. undark.org/2025/09/12/c...

Are We Offloading Critical Thinking to Chatbots?

Research, much if it by companies with deep investment in AI, suggests that chatbot interactions alter how users think.

undark.org

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Reposted by Ramin Skibba

Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 29d

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Is Golden Dome, Trump’s missile shield plan, destined to be a pillar of U.S. defense or a trillion-dollar boondoggle? Even the experts don’t know—which probably isn’t a good thing. Important story by @raminskibba.bsky.social.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 20

IMO, too many people, who should've known better, were swayed by AI industry hype.

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 20

Finally looks like the AI bubble is reaching its limit. Most AI companies are not profitable, and according to a new MIT report, 95% of companies investing in generative AI are getting zero returns on all that money. www.ft.com/content/3391...

US tech stocks hit by concerns over future of AI boom

Warning from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and MIT paper puncture Wall Street’s enthusiasm

www.ft.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 14

The in-person meeting will be in Chicago two weeks later. Looking forward to seeing colleagues and friends there!

Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 14

Come join me, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social, @sabs.bsky.social, and @maddiebender.bsky.social on October 24, for a virtual session discussing “How Worker-Owned Media Outlets Can Work.” It’s one of a bunch of events kicking off the national Science Writers meeting! #SciWri25
sciencewriters2025.org

Schedule - ScienceWriters2025

sciencewriters2025.org

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 7

This is described as a "major shift" that's happening now, but Silicon Valley companies have been working with the military-industrial complex for a decade. It's not new!
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/t....

The Militarization of Silicon Valley

www.nytimes.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 6

Well this is troubling. Eighty years after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with a horrific civilian toll, it seems like we've learned nothing. www.wired.com/story/nuclea...

Nuclear Experts Say Mixing AI and Nuclear Weapons Is Inevitable

Human judgement remains central to the launch of nuclear weapons. But experts say it’s a matter of when, not if, artificial intelligence will get baked into the world’s most dangerous systems.

www.wired.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Aug 5

NASA's been talking about nuclear vs solar on the moon for years, and I guess they're now committed to launching and building a nuclear reactor. I don't know, maybe it'll work? Seems much more expensive than solar, though yes, it won't come with location limitations. www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

Duffy to announce nuclear reactor on the moon

This is the first major agency effort by the interim NASA administrator, who is also the Transportation secretary and a former Fox News host.

www.politico.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 31

No second "Harper's Letter" has emerged, and only a few writers, like Viet Thanh Nguyen & Kaveh Akbar, have dared voice uncomfortable truths. As Akbar put it (quoted by Mishra), we cannot afford "shitty cynicism or breezy despair."

Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 31

I liked this Harper's essay by Pankaj Mishra, excoriating American intellectuals, writers, and institutions, for failing to resist imperialism and authoritarianism at home — a failure that began before the Trump era.
harpers.org/archive/2025...

Speaking Reassurance to Power, by Pankaj Mishra

harpers.org

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 28

Yeah, I'm VERY skeptical about these numbers! I'm surprised the Washington Post published this, but I guess there's a reason it's in the opinion section.

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 28

I always loved “Poisoning Pigeons In The Park”! We need more musical satire today! www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...

Tom Lehrer, acclaimed musical satirist of cold war era, dies aged 97

A child prodigy in mathematics who graduated Harvard at just 19, his darkly prophetic and cynical show tunes won him a cult following in the 50s and 60s

www.theguardian.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 24

I wrote eight years ago about how Trump allies at the Heartland Institute would love to overturn the endangerment finding and undermine environmental protections at the EPA. It seemed unthinkable. But now they’re trying to make it happen. www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-...

These people think Trump is too liberal on climate

Climate change skeptics are pushing the administration to reopen a major scientific finding.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 23

"There’s no indication in Pew’s research that people understand how faulty the technology that powers Google’s AI Overview is, or how it is quietly devastating the entire human online information economy that they want and need." www.404media.co/googles-ai-i...

Google’s AI Is Destroying Search, the Internet, and Your Brain

Google’s AI Overview, which is easy to fool into stating nonsense as fact, is stopping people from finding and supporting small businesses and credible sources.

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Ramin Skibba

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · Jul 23

Why Fire Island Has Seen an Explosion of Feral Cats www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Why Fire Island Has Seen an Explosion of Feral Cats

In New York’s only federal wilderness area, the loss of a key predator has led to the rise of a new one—with dire consequences for the island’s native birds

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 23

Thanks, Chris! And that's cool. Sounds like a fun job!

Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 18

This is so upsetting. My family and I have always loved PBS programs and NPR stations in the states we’ve lived in. Many local news stations will be hit hard by this, and some in rural areas may close. Support your local news! They need it. www.npr.org/2025/07/18/n...

Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid

The House approved a Trump administration plan to rescind $9 billion in previously allocated funds, including $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

www.npr.org

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 17

I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’

Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world

Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’

Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’

pitchfork.com/news/kronos-...

Kronos Quartet Enlist Ringo Starr, Iggy Pop, Willie Nelson, and Many More for Star-Studded Bob Dylan Covers

Two new renditions of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” memorialize the 80th anniversary of the Trinity test

pitchfork.com

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Reposted by Ramin Skibba

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Jul 14

Media outlets can't pivot to AI to save themselves. It's not a business strategy and it's not going to work. The only path forward is for journalists to lean into their humanity, to do things AI can't, and to make clear they are writing for people, not algorithms:

www.404media.co/the-medias-p...

The Media's Pivot to AI Is Not Real and Not Going to Work

AI is not going to save media companies, and forcing journalists to use AI is not a business model.

www.404media.co

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 14

I’m a cat person, but I must reluctantly admit that invasive cats can be harmful—in this case to piping plover shorebirds on Fire Island. Check out my story for @biographic.bsky.social magazine! www.biographic.com/fire-island-...

Fire Island Has Gone to the Cats - bioGraphic

In New York’s only federal wilderness area, the loss of a key predator has led to the rise of a new one—with dire consequences for the island’s native birds.

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Ramin Skibba

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Jul 10

Fire Island Has Gone to the Cats

In New York’s only federal wilderness area, the loss of a key predator has led to the rise of a new one—with dire consequences for the island’s native birds.

by @raminskibba.bsky.social

www.biographic.com/fire-island-...

Fire Island Has Gone to the Cats - bioGraphic

In New York’s only federal wilderness area, the loss of a key predator has led to the rise of a new one—with dire consequences for the island’s native birds.

www.biographic.com

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 10

This seems like a bad idea to me. Yes, it's a huge problem that refugees have often been dehumanized for political gain, but AI avatars cannot rehumanize them.

404 Media @404media.co · Jul 10

The UN Made AI-Generated Refugees

🔗 www.404media.co/the-un-made-...

The UN Made AI-Generated Refugees

The AIs are designed to teach people about atrocities in Sudan.

www.404media.co

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Ramin Skibba @raminskibba.bsky.social · Jul 7

What's happening to global health now that Trump's withdrawing the US from...everything? The Gates Foundation—already a major player—is now filling that power vacuum, for better or worse. Check out my new piece for @undark.org! undark.org/2025/07/02/g...

The Gates Foundation’s Global Reach Expands, to Mixed Reviews

As the U.S. and other countries cut funding for global health initiatives, what role will philanthropy take?

undark.org

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