Dr. Tanya Samman
@t-s-sci.bsky.social
Scientist and communicator. Geoscientist/Palaeontologist. she/her. My views are my own.
Check out my latest blog post!
More to come in the next few days. Stay tuned!
eternalscientistmusings.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/d...
More to come in the next few days. Stay tuned!
eternalscientistmusings.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/d...
Dreaming the Impossible Dream
Beware Survivorship Bias – Redux By Tanya Samman Feature Image photo credit: Dr. Donna Yates. Used with permission. Dino Hunt Canada, a mini-series that followed 16 paleontologists in eight dinosau…
eternalscientistmusings.wordpress.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Check out my latest blog post!
More to come in the next few days. Stay tuned!
eternalscientistmusings.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/d...
More to come in the next few days. Stay tuned!
eternalscientistmusings.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/d...
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
Investors expect AI use to soar. That’s not happening
Recent surveys point to flatlining business adoption
econ.st
November 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Enshittification is depressing
Everything that was cool is struggling to survive or has become a deranged version of itself
And it’s everywhere. Ugh
Everything that was cool is struggling to survive or has become a deranged version of itself
And it’s everywhere. Ugh
November 30, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Enshittification is depressing
Everything that was cool is struggling to survive or has become a deranged version of itself
And it’s everywhere. Ugh
Everything that was cool is struggling to survive or has become a deranged version of itself
And it’s everywhere. Ugh
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Putting profits before wildlife which is one of the reasons people come to Banff means grizzlies and wolves will lose their lives. You cannot have it both ways. There are risks when you enter their habitat. 🪶😡 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Balancing conservation with millions of visitors: Banff National Park at 140 | CBC News
Four million people pour into Banff National Park each year — a level of visitation the park’s first wardens could never have imagined in 1885. As Banff turns 140, Parks Canada is rethinking what it m...
www.cbc.ca
November 30, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Putting profits before wildlife which is one of the reasons people come to Banff means grizzlies and wolves will lose their lives. You cannot have it both ways. There are risks when you enter their habitat. 🪶😡 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
I am so ready for Me Too, Chapter Two
When a cancelled performer reënters the culture, we expect them to offer us a great work, channelling their newfound clarity into the finest art they’ve ever made. With his new comedy show and début novel, has Louis C.K. met the bar?
www.newyorker.com/culture/crit...
www.newyorker.com/culture/crit...
Louis C.K.’s Next Chapter
In a new standup special, and a début novel, the comedian navigates murky, post-#MeToo terrain: not quite exiled, not quite welcomed back.
www.newyorker.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:07 PM
I am so ready for Me Too, Chapter Two
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Reminder to everyone that if you see a distressed service dog, please find someone that can help
Was just one wandering round the airport loos and the info booth people went to go have a look but I’m not sure anyone else had told them
Was just one wandering round the airport loos and the info booth people went to go have a look but I’m not sure anyone else had told them
November 30, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reminder to everyone that if you see a distressed service dog, please find someone that can help
Was just one wandering round the airport loos and the info booth people went to go have a look but I’m not sure anyone else had told them
Was just one wandering round the airport loos and the info booth people went to go have a look but I’m not sure anyone else had told them
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
“‘AI’ is being used as a magic word that is code for less worker power, hoarding of more resources, and making an uninformed gamble on high energy demand computer chips magically saving us from climate change."
More than 1,000 Amazon workers warn rapid AI rollout threatens jobs and climate
Workers say the firm’s ‘warp-speed’ approach fuels pressure, layoffs and rising emissions
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:24 AM
“‘AI’ is being used as a magic word that is code for less worker power, hoarding of more resources, and making an uninformed gamble on high energy demand computer chips magically saving us from climate change."
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
The term AI is so meaningless that I basically sound like a crank whenever anyone mentions “AI” in front of me. There are useful tools! But it’s not the society shifting revolution they keep marketing it as! At least not yet and there needs to be real education on what ML is and what it’s not.
November 29, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The term AI is so meaningless that I basically sound like a crank whenever anyone mentions “AI” in front of me. There are useful tools! But it’s not the society shifting revolution they keep marketing it as! At least not yet and there needs to be real education on what ML is and what it’s not.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
I've recently been re-reading a lot of Dave Raup's work. Not sure I endorse the idea of academic heroes but based on his constributions to science he was unambiguously God's gift to paleontology
November 29, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I've recently been re-reading a lot of Dave Raup's work. Not sure I endorse the idea of academic heroes but based on his constributions to science he was unambiguously God's gift to paleontology
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Today is the anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Not only did the law literally open doors to countless students with disabilities (myself included), it also had the unintended consequence of creating the moral panic around an autism "epidemic." 🧵 1/
November 30, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Today is the anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Not only did the law literally open doors to countless students with disabilities (myself included), it also had the unintended consequence of creating the moral panic around an autism "epidemic." 🧵 1/
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals—with limited oversight.
The Trump Administration’s Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals—with limited oversight.
wrd.cm
November 30, 2025 at 4:15 AM
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals—with limited oversight.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
I was told geology was an important field with demand for geologists outstripping production of geologists at all degree levels everywhere in the Anglophone world?!? 😮
(This has never really been true, but claimed by official-looking things at least back to 2000.)
(This has never really been true, but claimed by official-looking things at least back to 2000.)
I'm sorry to hear that.
It's like the previous generation talked about, I guess it was after the oil jobs collapse. Some years there were literally zero jobs in petrology, which made groups with 4-5 grad students pretty upset.
It's like the previous generation talked about, I guess it was after the oil jobs collapse. Some years there were literally zero jobs in petrology, which made groups with 4-5 grad students pretty upset.
November 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I was told geology was an important field with demand for geologists outstripping production of geologists at all degree levels everywhere in the Anglophone world?!? 😮
(This has never really been true, but claimed by official-looking things at least back to 2000.)
(This has never really been true, but claimed by official-looking things at least back to 2000.)
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
(Yeah, yeah, LLMs are a subset of ML, but it's obviously important to separate out these two things in people's minds so everything done with ML isn't associated with Microsoft forcing shit on its customers or the like.)
November 30, 2025 at 4:16 AM
(Yeah, yeah, LLMs are a subset of ML, but it's obviously important to separate out these two things in people's minds so everything done with ML isn't associated with Microsoft forcing shit on its customers or the like.)
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
It's intentional on their part, which is why it's really important for anyone involved in research to not just say AI....
(And add earthquake detection to useful ML techniques).
(And add earthquake detection to useful ML techniques).
part of the reason i am genuinely irritated with the gAI/AGI cult is because there is real societal benefits in using ML techniques in medical care + weather analysis, and instead people get annoyed with anything that gets lumped in with the plagiarism machine
November 30, 2025 at 4:07 AM
It's intentional on their part, which is why it's really important for anyone involved in research to not just say AI....
(And add earthquake detection to useful ML techniques).
(And add earthquake detection to useful ML techniques).
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Here it is. The genAI boosters are counting on the general public NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE between the plagiarism machine they’re trying to sell as literally God while the immensely useful ML technology that might actually save millions gets caught in the crossfire.
part of the reason i am genuinely irritated with the gAI/AGI cult is because there is real societal benefits in using ML techniques in medical care + weather analysis, and instead people get annoyed with anything that gets lumped in with the plagiarism machine
November 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Here it is. The genAI boosters are counting on the general public NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE between the plagiarism machine they’re trying to sell as literally God while the immensely useful ML technology that might actually save millions gets caught in the crossfire.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
i think we should separate the terms:
AI: science fiction stuff
Machine Learning: niche useful stuff done by scientists
LLM: obsequious chatbots built on mass scraping Reddit threads
AI: science fiction stuff
Machine Learning: niche useful stuff done by scientists
LLM: obsequious chatbots built on mass scraping Reddit threads
part of the reason i am genuinely irritated with the gAI/AGI cult is because there is real societal benefits in using ML techniques in medical care + weather analysis, and instead people get annoyed with anything that gets lumped in with the plagiarism machine
November 29, 2025 at 6:13 PM
i think we should separate the terms:
AI: science fiction stuff
Machine Learning: niche useful stuff done by scientists
LLM: obsequious chatbots built on mass scraping Reddit threads
AI: science fiction stuff
Machine Learning: niche useful stuff done by scientists
LLM: obsequious chatbots built on mass scraping Reddit threads
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
And ML was called principal components analysis and neural networks before that
November 30, 2025 at 4:59 AM
And ML was called principal components analysis and neural networks before that
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Remember when "Machine Learning" and "Data Science" were the buzzwords. Good times
part of the reason i am genuinely irritated with the gAI/AGI cult is because there is real societal benefits in using ML techniques in medical care + weather analysis, and instead people get annoyed with anything that gets lumped in with the plagiarism machine
November 29, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Remember when "Machine Learning" and "Data Science" were the buzzwords. Good times
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
"I keep thinking that evil would like nothing better than to have us feel awful about who we are."
November 29, 2025 at 7:32 PM
"I keep thinking that evil would like nothing better than to have us feel awful about who we are."
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
The Rio Grande's water is being drained faster than nature can replenish it | AP News apnews.com/article/rio-... || #NMwx #NMwater #NewMexico
A drying-up Rio Grande basin threatens water security on both sides of the border
Researchers have completed a full accounting of water uses and losses in the Rio Grande-Bravo basin as it faces severe shortages throughout its range in the United States and Mexico.
apnews.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:22 AM
The Rio Grande's water is being drained faster than nature can replenish it | AP News apnews.com/article/rio-... || #NMwx #NMwater #NewMexico
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
can someone please take james cameron's 3D rendering engine away from him
November 30, 2025 at 4:22 AM
can someone please take james cameron's 3D rendering engine away from him
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
CU Boulder team discovers why Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier lost half its mass in two months trib.al/1qFDyNQ
CU Boulder team discovers why Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier lost half its mass in two months
A team at the University of Colorado Boulder identified a process that caused a glacier in Antarctica to retreat faster than any other grounded glacier ever recorded, researchers said, losing about…
trib.al
November 30, 2025 at 4:20 AM
CU Boulder team discovers why Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier lost half its mass in two months trib.al/1qFDyNQ
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
i feel insane sometimes. i had friends who worked in "machine learning" & "big data" back ~2016 and they'd tell me stuff like "you can feed it a big data set and it can highlight patterns" and i thought "that sounds helpful" and now the president is using it to make videos where he poops on you.
November 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
i feel insane sometimes. i had friends who worked in "machine learning" & "big data" back ~2016 and they'd tell me stuff like "you can feed it a big data set and it can highlight patterns" and i thought "that sounds helpful" and now the president is using it to make videos where he poops on you.
Reposted by Dr. Tanya Samman
Coming from outside of the U.S., the higher ed culture here feels a bit too spoon-feeding for me tbh. I just cover what needs to be with students, and it’s their responsibility to keep up. I don’t even take attendance, as a lot of my colleagues do. Some students learn after the first midterm...
November 30, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Coming from outside of the U.S., the higher ed culture here feels a bit too spoon-feeding for me tbh. I just cover what needs to be with students, and it’s their responsibility to keep up. I don’t even take attendance, as a lot of my colleagues do. Some students learn after the first midterm...