Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · 22d

Our new paper "High-capacity associative memory in a quantum-optical spin glass." Achieves 7-fold increased capacity thru a quantum optical analog of short term plasticity from neuroscience. Atoms (neurons) couple to motion and photons (synapses)!
arxiv.org/abs/2509.12202

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Reposted by Surya Ganguli

Stanford HAI @stanfordhai.bsky.social · Sep 8

In this Stanford news article, @stanfordhai.bsky.social Senior Fellow @suryaganguli.bsky.social argues that universities are essential for understanding how AI works. Here, he outlines three reasons why: news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

Three reasons why universities are crucial for understanding AI

There is a “fierce urgency” to understand how artificial intelligence works, says Stanford physicist Surya Ganguli, who is leading a project to bring the inner workings of AI to light through transpar...

news.stanford.edu

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Simons Foundation @simonsfoundation.org · Sep 6

Led by @stanford.edu's @suryaganguli.bsky.social, our Simons Collaboration on the Physics of Learning & Neural Computation will study AI's fundamental scientific principles: www.simonsfoundation.org/simons-foundation-launches-collaboration-on-the-physics-of-learning-and-neural-computation/ #science

Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on the Physics of Learning and Neural Computation

Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on the Physics of Learning and Neural Computation on Simons Foundation

www.simonsfoundation.org

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Sep 1

A nice starter pack of researchers in the @simonsfoundation.org Collaboration on the Global Brain
go.bsky.app/66dLpPs

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Sarafan ChEM-H @stanford-chemh.bsky.social · Aug 26

Open faculty position!
We're seeking applicants for a tenure-track faculty position at the junior level (Assistant or untenured Associate Professor) with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation. Apply here: stanford.io/45MF3Qa

Open Faculty Position: Assistant or Associate (Untenured) Professor

Application deadline: 11:55 PM on Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Sarafan ChEM-H is seeking candidates with research programs that exist at the interface between molecular science and computation.

Click the link above to learn more & apply!

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Aug 18

Very excited to lead this new @simonsfoundation.org collaboration on the physics of learning and neural computation to develop powerful tools from physics, math, CS, stats, neuro and more to elucidate the scientific principles underlying AI. See our website for more: www.physicsoflearning.org

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Aug 2

One delay is that they are fed lies that tariffs are paid for by other countries. But hopefully they will figure it out…

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jul 9

Under Trump, NOAA ran the most recent competition for their highly prestigious postdoc program in climate and global change — but funded no one, wasting huge amounts of applicant and reviewer time.

It gets a lot worse. Now current postdocs in the program are going unpaid.

Recipients of a U.S. Climate Science Fellowship Are Put on Unpaid Leave

www.nytimes.com

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jul 7

Isn’t it just deep learning with a single layer, single output, and squared loss? 😉

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jul 3

Now you know how I feel about those brain is a computer discussions :)

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jul 3

I’m with @timothyoleary.bsky.social on this one :) and I’ll double down: every biologically plausible deterministic neuron model is a mean field dynamical system that averages out unobserved degrees of freedom 😉

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 30

A great @quantamagazine.bsky.social article on our theory of creativity in convolutional diffusion models lead by @masonkamb.bsky.social See also our paper with new results in version 2: arxiv.org/abs/2412.20292 to be presented as an oral at @icmlconf.bsky.social #icml25

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Mason Kamb @masonkamb.bsky.social · Jun 30

Honored to have had my recent work with
@suryaganguli.bsky.social on the mechanisms behind creativity in diffusion models featured in this lovely article by
Webb Wright for Quanta magazine!

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jun 30

A new paper shows that the “creativity” of certain AI may actually be a direct, inevitable consequence of how they are built. Webb Wright reports:
www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-...

Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity | Quanta Magazine

Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity come from? A recent study suggests that it’s an inevitable by-product of their architecture.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 23

Wow - Bengali political ad in the US! I believe this is a first. খুব ভালো

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · Jun 22

আর অবশ্যই — আমাদের প্রিয় সিটি কাউন্সিল সদস্য, জেলা ৩৯-এর শাহানা হানিফ-কে আবারও নির্বাচিত করুন।
And of course — re-elect our beloved City Council Member from District 39, Shahana Hanif.

চলুন একসাথে ভোট দিই — এক হাসি-খুশি নিউ ইয়র্ক-এর জন্য।
Let’s vote together — for a hashi khushi New York. 🇧🇩🗽

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 20

So sorry! Hope everything will okay!

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 19

Love Cargese!

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 17

The best part of this job is seeing students graduate and launch their careers! Congrats to Feng Chen, Atsushi Yamamura, Tamra Nebabu, Linnie Wharton and Daniel Kunin. They are all going on to top positions across artificial intelligence, medicine, and physics. Proud of you!

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Surya Ganguli @suryaganguli.bsky.social · Jun 9

Had fun presenting at @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social on Theories of rapid learning, creativity, and reasoning: of mice and machines.
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLmK...
Papers:
Learning: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Creativity: arxiv.org/abs/2412.20292
Math Reasoning: arxiv.org/abs/2502.07154

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Reposted by Surya Ganguli

Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · Jun 7

Next was an fascinating talk by @suryaganguli.bsky.social on theories of learning, with some incredible experiments with mice at the @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLmK... (5/18)

Theories of Learning, Imagination and Reasoning: of Mice and Machines with Surya Ganguli

YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Surya Ganguli

Kempner Institute at Harvard University @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social · Jun 5

Surya Ganguli of @stanford.edu‬ offers computational insights into the working of grid cells in entorhinal cortex.

@suryaganguli.bsky.social‬

#NeuroAI2025 #neuroscience

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Reposted by Surya Ganguli

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jun 2

"Senior officials at the US Department of Veterans Affairs have ordered that VA physicians and scientists not publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned."

Exclusive: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance

Move that seeks political control of doctors’ and scientists’ published research fits a pattern of censorship by the Trump administration, veterans advocates say

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Surya Ganguli

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · May 21

OPT is the program that allows foreign students graduating with STEM degrees stay and work for up to three years. Because of the oversubscribed H-1B lottery, OPT is one of the main ways that foreign students manage to transition to jobs in the US.

Ending it would destroy a major STEM pipeline.

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · May 21

They're terminating OPT.

Today the nominee to head USCIS stated directly: he will end Optional Practical Training, the single largest channel for high-skill immigrants to work in the US.

6 weeks ago I warned about this & summarized the research on impacts of this drastic action—> @piie.com