Benjamin Riley
@benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture dedicated to helping people understand human cognition and generative AI. Advocate for humans.
Newsletter: https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/
Newsletter: https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/
Pinned
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
“Many critics suggest that LLMs are useless. I disagree. It’s debatable if they are worth their costs—economically, environmentally, socially—but users of an LLM do something both powerful and concerning: they engage with an alienated abstraction of their own thoughts.”
- @eryk.bsky.social
- @eryk.bsky.social
The Illusion of AGI, or What Language Models Can Do Without Thought
It is not simple stubbornness that LLMs are not “intelligent,” much less a form of “general” intelligence, writes Eryk Salvaggio.
www.techpolicy.press
February 10, 2026 at 10:50 AM
“Many critics suggest that LLMs are useless. I disagree. It’s debatable if they are worth their costs—economically, environmentally, socially—but users of an LLM do something both powerful and concerning: they engage with an alienated abstraction of their own thoughts.”
- @eryk.bsky.social
- @eryk.bsky.social
She is a hero.
February 10, 2026 at 2:11 AM
She is a hero.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Remember last week how Dr. Oz called AI the best solution for rural healthcare shortages?
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Health Advice From A.I. Chatbots Is Frequently Wrong, Study Shows
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Remember last week how Dr. Oz called AI the best solution for rural healthcare shortages?
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
I always love reading @benjaminjriley.bsky.social for his thoughtful, research based work on technology and teaching/learning. This blog post is about very different topics, and I loved reading it.
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/together-w...
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/together-w...
Together, We are America
Bad Bunny and Richard Rorty and the champion Seattle Seahawks
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:23 PM
I always love reading @benjaminjriley.bsky.social for his thoughtful, research based work on technology and teaching/learning. This blog post is about very different topics, and I loved reading it.
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/together-w...
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/p/together-w...
How many of you can claim to own an @eryk.bsky.social Make Human Punk print created during his “Australian period,” hmm?
February 7, 2026 at 7:59 PM
How many of you can claim to own an @eryk.bsky.social Make Human Punk print created during his “Australian period,” hmm?
Judges do not like AI.
February 6, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Judges do not like AI.
In 2002, Senator Trent Lott was ousted from GOP leadership when he suggested segregationist Strom Thurmond should have been elected president.
In 2026, the racist President is sharing racist memes and it won’t even be a story by this evening.
The purest example I know of the End of Shame.
In 2026, the racist President is sharing racist memes and it won’t even be a story by this evening.
The purest example I know of the End of Shame.
Last night, Trump posted a video to his social media platform that contained a racist clip showing Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. It's still up:
February 6, 2026 at 12:41 PM
In 2002, Senator Trent Lott was ousted from GOP leadership when he suggested segregationist Strom Thurmond should have been elected president.
In 2026, the racist President is sharing racist memes and it won’t even be a story by this evening.
The purest example I know of the End of Shame.
In 2026, the racist President is sharing racist memes and it won’t even be a story by this evening.
The purest example I know of the End of Shame.
If you're trying to figure out what "Moltbook" is and why people are chattering about it, this NYT story by Cade Metz featuring @simonwillison.net is a helpful starting point. (Congrats, Simon!)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/t...
A Social Network for A.I. Bots Only. No Humans Allowed.
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:10 PM
If you're trying to figure out what "Moltbook" is and why people are chattering about it, this NYT story by Cade Metz featuring @simonwillison.net is a helpful starting point. (Congrats, Simon!)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/t...
My friend and longtime collaborator @dylanpkane.bsky.social, a teacher in Colorado, went tech-free in his classroom for January. No Chromebooks, no AI, just old fashioned teaching. He reports on the results here and BOY is it fascinating:
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/tech-free-...
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/tech-free-...
Tech-Free January
I cut technology out of my classroom for a month. Here's how it went.
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:21 PM
My friend and longtime collaborator @dylanpkane.bsky.social, a teacher in Colorado, went tech-free in his classroom for January. No Chromebooks, no AI, just old fashioned teaching. He reports on the results here and BOY is it fascinating:
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/tech-free-...
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/tech-free-...
Honestly I find this weirdly heartening. The seductive power of technology is that it’s useful in some way. If AI needs to be jammed down the throats of Meta employees by the HR department, as gross as that is it suggests the AI juice isn’t all that juicy.
Meta now forcing all employees to use AI tools and tying it to employee performance, according to @theinformation.com.
HR said "this is not an activity tracker—it’s an impact-evidence starter"
That's a fun way to rebrand workplace surveillance.
HR said "this is not an activity tracker—it’s an impact-evidence starter"
That's a fun way to rebrand workplace surveillance.
February 4, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Honestly I find this weirdly heartening. The seductive power of technology is that it’s useful in some way. If AI needs to be jammed down the throats of Meta employees by the HR department, as gross as that is it suggests the AI juice isn’t all that juicy.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
February 4, 2026 at 6:05 AM
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
“It was good to be a young conservative back in my day. It’s great to be one right now.”
— David Brooks
— David Brooks
"There is no labeling in the graphic, and there are no identifying features... this graphic does not glorify nor valorize any incident because it lacks any reasonable connection," the college Republicans who posted this graphic said in a statement. dailyillini.com/news-stories...
February 2, 2026 at 1:40 PM
“It was good to be a young conservative back in my day. It’s great to be one right now.”
— David Brooks
— David Brooks
I think often about the courage of these four young men. May we find a measure of it in the struggle ahead.
Feb. 1, 1960, 4 NC A&T students sat-in at the “whites only” counter at Woolworths in Greensboro. Their defiance ignited a movement led to the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
February 2, 2026 at 12:41 AM
I think often about the courage of these four young men. May we find a measure of it in the struggle ahead.
“I suspect that what we are witnessing now, both within and beyond Minnesota, is at least in part fueled by a similar transformation—an ever-deepening development of thicker and thicker empathy, supported by the experiences that community ties create.”
The beauty and power of human solidarity.
The beauty and power of human solidarity.
I wrote this last week but I’m just getting around to sharing it here.
Even as Minnesota teaches us how to grieve and resist the oppression of the present, I hope we can also take lessons about the future we might build—one rooted in care, where asking each other, “Are you okay?” is our guidepost.
Even as Minnesota teaches us how to grieve and resist the oppression of the present, I hope we can also take lessons about the future we might build—one rooted in care, where asking each other, “Are you okay?” is our guidepost.
“We’re not cold. We’re not afraid.”
Lessons in heartbreak and in holding each other up
www.notesonhope.net
February 1, 2026 at 7:51 PM
“I suspect that what we are witnessing now, both within and beyond Minnesota, is at least in part fueled by a similar transformation—an ever-deepening development of thicker and thicker empathy, supported by the experiences that community ties create.”
The beauty and power of human solidarity.
The beauty and power of human solidarity.
David Brooks fantasyland: "It’s great to be [a young conservative] right now."
@biblioracle.bsky.social realtalk: Witness the “groyperfication' of the Republican Party, where legions of young people--mostly men--are exposed to a steady diet of white nationalist, anti-feminist, authoritarian media."
@biblioracle.bsky.social realtalk: Witness the “groyperfication' of the Republican Party, where legions of young people--mostly men--are exposed to a steady diet of white nationalist, anti-feminist, authoritarian media."
I have some suggestions on who should replace David Brooks, but only after reminding everyone how terrible he is at his supposed job. biblioracle.substack.com/p/david-broo...
David Brooks Sucks. This is Who Should Replace Him
David Brooks is heading to a sinecure at Yale. Thank goodness.
biblioracle.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:56 PM
David Brooks fantasyland: "It’s great to be [a young conservative] right now."
@biblioracle.bsky.social realtalk: Witness the “groyperfication' of the Republican Party, where legions of young people--mostly men--are exposed to a steady diet of white nationalist, anti-feminist, authoritarian media."
@biblioracle.bsky.social realtalk: Witness the “groyperfication' of the Republican Party, where legions of young people--mostly men--are exposed to a steady diet of white nationalist, anti-feminist, authoritarian media."
Last year, Amodei suggested AI will double life spans to 150 years, and may lead to humanity achieving “escape velocity” from death itself.
He’s an idiot. Stop listening to his predictions about the future.
He’s an idiot. Stop listening to his predictions about the future.
This is quite a read. I know, obviously, there's a whole lot of boosterism, talking-one's-book involved, but I also think it's a mistake for the humanist/liberal/left to ignore the possibility that the AI maximalists are actually right about where this is going
www.darioamodei.com/essay/the-ad...
www.darioamodei.com/essay/the-ad...
Dario Amodei — The Adolescence of Technology
Confronting and Overcoming the Risks of Powerful AI
www.darioamodei.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Last year, Amodei suggested AI will double life spans to 150 years, and may lead to humanity achieving “escape velocity” from death itself.
He’s an idiot. Stop listening to his predictions about the future.
He’s an idiot. Stop listening to his predictions about the future.
Look at what’s happening. Watch the video. The courage of this woman in the moment of having three guns pointed at her.
Abolish ICE.
Abolish ICE.
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident
The police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into custody. It is believed to the first time local police in...
www.mprnews.org
January 31, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Look at what’s happening. Watch the video. The courage of this woman in the moment of having three guns pointed at her.
Abolish ICE.
Abolish ICE.
This hits hard. No child should have to endure this, whether the 3,000 imprisoned by ICE or their classmates wondering why their friends have been disappeared.
January 31, 2026 at 2:44 PM
This hits hard. No child should have to endure this, whether the 3,000 imprisoned by ICE or their classmates wondering why their friends have been disappeared.
I will keep saying it: It turns out that inventing a tool that counterfeits the experience of being human can have, or rather is having, adverse consequences. Shirky concludes with the same point I’ve been making, that we cannot wait decades to get ahead of this. We are warping a generation.
January 31, 2026 at 12:23 PM
I will keep saying it: It turns out that inventing a tool that counterfeits the experience of being human can have, or rather is having, adverse consequences. Shirky concludes with the same point I’ve been making, that we cannot wait decades to get ahead of this. We are warping a generation.
If anybody was going to find a way to make generative AI useful for teachers, @ddmeyer.bsky.social was/is the person to do it. This is super interesting and please please PLEASE note how the tech is being used “in the background” to foster good pedagogy.
open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
“Discussion Moments” Is Our AI Battery for the Social Classroom
This is one of the best things I have ever worked on.
open.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM
If anybody was going to find a way to make generative AI useful for teachers, @ddmeyer.bsky.social was/is the person to do it. This is super interesting and please please PLEASE note how the tech is being used “in the background” to foster good pedagogy.
open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
I’m laughing to the point of tears. Not sure I should be, but I am. (The link just below this post is even better, if you want the uncensored version.)
Alison Luchs, who has worked at the National Gallery of Art for 47 years, agreed to learn Gen Z slang and make videos because she wanted to raise interest in the museum’s art.
She never expected to slay. https://wapo.st/45BXc3S
She never expected to slay. https://wapo.st/45BXc3S
January 30, 2026 at 12:43 PM
I’m laughing to the point of tears. Not sure I should be, but I am. (The link just below this post is even better, if you want the uncensored version.)
Impressive work on the part of the Dartmouth admin comms team to manifest in human form the very same ethical and philosophically issues that plague generative AI.
January 29, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Impressive work on the part of the Dartmouth admin comms team to manifest in human form the very same ethical and philosophically issues that plague generative AI.
I was just invited to appear on a forthcoming podcast, based in Canada, about the impact of AI on society. The name of the podcast, you ask?
"Eh, I."
As they say, perfect. No notes.
"Eh, I."
As they say, perfect. No notes.
January 29, 2026 at 9:04 PM
I was just invited to appear on a forthcoming podcast, based in Canada, about the impact of AI on society. The name of the podcast, you ask?
"Eh, I."
As they say, perfect. No notes.
"Eh, I."
As they say, perfect. No notes.
Here @colin-fraser.net lays out an argument I’ve been meaning to write up for months…”stochastic parrot” remains a brilliant metaphor for how LLMs do what they do, and I’m ready to defend its continued usage! But in the meantime read Colin’s thread here.
I still don’t get why everyone acts like “stochastic parrot” is self-evidently a pejorative term
Spending more time with Claude Code tonight and I do think one basic reality is that AI skeptics need to update their priors: Plenty of cause for concern, plenty of room to hit these companies for unethical behavior, resource demands, etc, but we are so, so far past the era of "stochastic parrots"
January 29, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Here @colin-fraser.net lays out an argument I’ve been meaning to write up for months…”stochastic parrot” remains a brilliant metaphor for how LLMs do what they do, and I’m ready to defend its continued usage! But in the meantime read Colin’s thread here.
Big Tech is “no longer strategizing for voluntary adoption [of AI]…They are planning to cross the chasm by forced adoption. People will use it because they are told they ‘have to’ by their employer, by their school, by their president, or by the police state.”
- @mattseybold.bsky.social
- @mattseybold.bsky.social
"You have to use it. You have to trust it.": Forced Adoption of AI is The Subtext of Davos
Authoritarianism is the AI Bailout; But If AI Doesn't Need a Bailout, Does it Need Authoritarianism?
theamericanvandal.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Big Tech is “no longer strategizing for voluntary adoption [of AI]…They are planning to cross the chasm by forced adoption. People will use it because they are told they ‘have to’ by their employer, by their school, by their president, or by the police state.”
- @mattseybold.bsky.social
- @mattseybold.bsky.social