Tim McPhillips
@tmcphillips.org
Research scientist, Illinois iSchool. Sharing durable notes and references.
On the apparent waste of holiday gift-giving. 'Costly signaling' here draws on at least three streams: evolutionary biology (honest signals require real costs), information economics (signaling what can't be observed), and social anthropology (gifts as social bonds).
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-pe...
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-pe...
Opinion | A Perfect Christmas Is Suboptimal
Gift giving is inefficient from an economic point of view. It’s an example of ‘expensive signaling.’
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:51 PM
On the apparent waste of holiday gift-giving. 'Costly signaling' here draws on at least three streams: evolutionary biology (honest signals require real costs), information economics (signaling what can't be observed), and social anthropology (gifts as social bonds).
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-pe...
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-pe...
The phrase "choice architect" from the book "Imperfect Oracle" makes the reviewer's blood run cold. If it means officials using AI to decide for us, then mine too. But AI decision support that helps individuals make their own informed choices could be totally different.
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘Imperfect Oracle’ Review: A Question of Autonomy
Humans tend to trust their intuitions over rational calculation. Can artificial intelligence help us overcome cognitive biases?
www.wsj.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:28 AM
The phrase "choice architect" from the book "Imperfect Oracle" makes the reviewer's blood run cold. If it means officials using AI to decide for us, then mine too. But AI decision support that helps individuals make their own informed choices could be totally different.
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
This WSJ article mentions the “AI Arbitrator,” a system for cases decided solely by documents that claims transparency, explainability, and “monitoring for deviations from what human experts might conclude.”
Not clear here how the latter works for new cases. #ai-in-law
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-d...
Not clear here how the latter works for new cases. #ai-in-law
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-d...
December 14, 2025 at 11:40 AM
This WSJ article mentions the “AI Arbitrator,” a system for cases decided solely by documents that claims transparency, explainability, and “monitoring for deviations from what human experts might conclude.”
Not clear here how the latter works for new cases. #ai-in-law
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-d...
Not clear here how the latter works for new cases. #ai-in-law
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-d...