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...
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
This has been made available, so for purposes of commenting on Bari Weiss's decision to spike the story, here's a live-post of that segment.
It begins with a "you may recall" summary of the deportation to el Salvador. Describes the admin's claim that it could deport the men without due process
It begins with a "you may recall" summary of the deportation to el Salvador. Describes the admin's claim that it could deport the men without due process
December 22, 2025 at 10:16 PM
This has been made available, so for purposes of commenting on Bari Weiss's decision to spike the story, here's a live-post of that segment.
It begins with a "you may recall" summary of the deportation to el Salvador. Describes the admin's claim that it could deport the men without due process
It begins with a "you may recall" summary of the deportation to el Salvador. Describes the admin's claim that it could deport the men without due process
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Actively, in real time, trying to scrub this from the internet. The Youtube video here is set to private now. 60minutestonight.com/inside-cecot...
December 22, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Actively, in real time, trying to scrub this from the internet. The Youtube video here is set to private now. 60minutestonight.com/inside-cecot...
My father died yesterday. Earlier this year, he shared this: “I have nothing but gratitude for how my life has gone. To love and be loved, to fight the good fights, to live with the contradictions of sorrow and joy and never fail to appreciate a good joke is for the living alone.”
Oh Dad I miss you
Oh Dad I miss you
We are the song death takes it own time singing
In the sweetness, in the bitter
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
My father died yesterday. Earlier this year, he shared this: “I have nothing but gratitude for how my life has gone. To love and be loved, to fight the good fights, to live with the contradictions of sorrow and joy and never fail to appreciate a good joke is for the living alone.”
Oh Dad I miss you
Oh Dad I miss you
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
Anthropic’s CEO claims AI may double lifespans and help us escape death.
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI actual vending machine “approved the purchase of a PlayStation 5, a live betta fish and bottles of Manischewitz wine—all of which arrived and were promptly given away for free.”
(The fish lives.)
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI actual vending machine “approved the purchase of a PlayStation 5, a live betta fish and bottles of Manischewitz wine—all of which arrived and were promptly given away for free.”
(The fish lives.)
Gift link, probably the funniest thing the Wall Street Journal has done this year.
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Anthropic’s CEO claims AI may double lifespans and help us escape death.
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI actual vending machine “approved the purchase of a PlayStation 5, a live betta fish and bottles of Manischewitz wine—all of which arrived and were promptly given away for free.”
(The fish lives.)
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI actual vending machine “approved the purchase of a PlayStation 5, a live betta fish and bottles of Manischewitz wine—all of which arrived and were promptly given away for free.”
(The fish lives.)
It is of course ludicrous to replace the already-hazy idea of artificial general intelligence with the even hazier and far more incoherent idea of artificial *superintelligence*. It’s the ol’ “fuck everything, we’re doing five blades” headline from The Onion, only for fake brains.
December 18, 2025 at 1:27 PM
It is of course ludicrous to replace the already-hazy idea of artificial general intelligence with the even hazier and far more incoherent idea of artificial *superintelligence*. It’s the ol’ “fuck everything, we’re doing five blades” headline from The Onion, only for fake brains.
“This was not a holiday address from the leader of a great democracy to its citizens. This was a desperate tin-pot leader yelling into a microphone while cornered in his palace redoubt. The president has been unraveling for weeks, and his speech tonight…was unworthy of America and its people.”
“Americans saw a president drenched in panic as he tried to bully an entire nation into admitting he’s doing a great job.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
This Is What Presidential Panic Looks Like
Donald Trump delivered a fear-drenched rant live from the White House.
www.theatlantic.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:20 AM
“This was not a holiday address from the leader of a great democracy to its citizens. This was a desperate tin-pot leader yelling into a microphone while cornered in his palace redoubt. The president has been unraveling for weeks, and his speech tonight…was unworthy of America and its people.”
I will say it again: this Administration is committing national intellectual suicide. It’s akin to the Khmer Rouge, but it’s happening in America.
Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado
The Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I will say it again: this Administration is committing national intellectual suicide. It’s akin to the Khmer Rouge, but it’s happening in America.
In their ongoing quest to shove AI down my throat, just got an email from Google informing me that Gemini being integrated into Google Home. It contains exactly one example of generative AI working its magic wonders as this woman asks for a gift suggestion for a friend.
Sure, thing.
Sure, thing.
December 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM
In their ongoing quest to shove AI down my throat, just got an email from Google informing me that Gemini being integrated into Google Home. It contains exactly one example of generative AI working its magic wonders as this woman asks for a gift suggestion for a friend.
Sure, thing.
Sure, thing.
I tried to leave Twitter-X for political reasons, but always gravitated back because of the community I’d cultivated there. But once I couldn’t easily share links to my own work or that of others, I broke away for good. So I’m grateful for the throttling, you might say.
Blaming people for not using a platform is weird, but we should be super clear that even if critical voices were on X en masse, the platform throttles links and deprioritizes content that doesn’t enrage users. Even if you wanted to be there to make a difference, *you could not*.
December 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I tried to leave Twitter-X for political reasons, but always gravitated back because of the community I’d cultivated there. But once I couldn’t easily share links to my own work or that of others, I broke away for good. So I’m grateful for the throttling, you might say.
I had the, uh, “privilege” of watching Sinema announce at the ASU+GSV conference last year her intention of doing some unclear thing that’d be AI-related. Grifters gotta grift, but it’s nice to see one fail miserably.
lolz
"Residents packed a city council meeting to watch the data center go down in flames in a 7-0 vote. [Lobbyist Kyrsten] Sinema was nowhere to be found."
"Residents packed a city council meeting to watch the data center go down in flames in a 7-0 vote. [Lobbyist Kyrsten] Sinema was nowhere to be found."
Thumbs down: Chandler kills Sinema-backed data center in 7-0 vote
Sinema lobbied hard for the data center, but her involvement created exactly the opposition she tried to sweeping away.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I had the, uh, “privilege” of watching Sinema announce at the ASU+GSV conference last year her intention of doing some unclear thing that’d be AI-related. Grifters gotta grift, but it’s nice to see one fail miserably.
Imagine that.
December 15, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Imagine that.
One of my very early essays explored a paper by @rajiinio.bsky.social & others that centers the story of Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum. It is striking to me that AI hyperscalers today really believe we can encapsulate all of human experience in data. I mean, good luck.
What Grover and Good Will Hunting can tell us about the limits of artificial intelligence
First, a quick thank you to all the new subscribers to the Cognitive Resonance Substack!
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:19 PM
One of my very early essays explored a paper by @rajiinio.bsky.social & others that centers the story of Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum. It is striking to me that AI hyperscalers today really believe we can encapsulate all of human experience in data. I mean, good luck.
"Encoding all of humanity’s skill and know-how into checklists is an enormous, possibly quixotic undertaking, but the frontier labs have billions to spend, and the sheer scale of their demand is reconfiguring the data industry." Really well-reported story here.
AI companies are spending billions hiring humans to produce training data. @haydenfield.bsky.social and I wrote about the explosion in new vendors and what it means for the future of AI development.
Who’s making the most money in AI? It’s not who you think
The fastest growing companies in the world aren’t AI companies, but the startups that supply them with warm bodies.
www.theverge.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"Encoding all of humanity’s skill and know-how into checklists is an enormous, possibly quixotic undertaking, but the frontier labs have billions to spend, and the sheer scale of their demand is reconfiguring the data industry." Really well-reported story here.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Ahmed al Ahmed, the man who tackled one of the Bondi killers, became an Australian citizen 3 years ago.
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
December 15, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Ahmed al Ahmed, the man who tackled one of the Bondi killers, became an Australian citizen 3 years ago.
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."
He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
"We face a social dilemma around the role of these empathy machines. Those who are most cognitively vulnerable may turn to these tools when what they most need is a flesh-and-blood human who will care for them, not sycophantically, but with thick empathy arising from the experience of being human."
Empty empathy machines
AI chatbots lack something fundamental to human empathy
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"We face a social dilemma around the role of these empathy machines. Those who are most cognitively vulnerable may turn to these tools when what they most need is a flesh-and-blood human who will care for them, not sycophantically, but with thick empathy arising from the experience of being human."
The premise is simply not true, language does not make us human any more than hammers make us human. Language *is* a powerful tool for communicating our thoughts. (The story and underlying research is far more nuanced than this misleading headline.)
If language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained “metalinguistic” abilities? www.wired.com/story/in-a-f...
For the First Time, AI Analyzes Language as Well as a Human Expert
If language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained “metalinguistic” abilities?
www.wired.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The premise is simply not true, language does not make us human any more than hammers make us human. Language *is* a powerful tool for communicating our thoughts. (The story and underlying research is far more nuanced than this misleading headline.)
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Incredible footage out of Australia, confirmed by NEWS AU, of a brave bystander neutralizing one of the terrorists in the Bondi Beach attack which took place during a Hanukkah gathering.
Australian authorities say multiple people have been killed.
At least two suspects are in custody.
Australian authorities say multiple people have been killed.
At least two suspects are in custody.
December 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Incredible footage out of Australia, confirmed by NEWS AU, of a brave bystander neutralizing one of the terrorists in the Bondi Beach attack which took place during a Hanukkah gathering.
Australian authorities say multiple people have been killed.
At least two suspects are in custody.
Australian authorities say multiple people have been killed.
At least two suspects are in custody.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Just saw a Parkland survivor post about being on lock down at Brown University.
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
December 13, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Just saw a Parkland survivor post about being on lock down at Brown University.
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
Another essay from @aliciastoller.bsky.social that eloquently touches on our essential humanity. "Life is full of fragility, that the most precious parts of life are usually precious precisely because they are not guaranteed indefinitely."
I wrote about the ad for this AI app in this week's note.
Something important that I think is missing from a lot of coverage of this ad is the way the marketing story leverages a child. It's not just about AI short circuiting adult grief. It is also about creating a fictitious reality for a child.
Something important that I think is missing from a lot of coverage of this ad is the way the marketing story leverages a child. It's not just about AI short circuiting adult grief. It is also about creating a fictitious reality for a child.
December 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Another essay from @aliciastoller.bsky.social that eloquently touches on our essential humanity. "Life is full of fragility, that the most precious parts of life are usually precious precisely because they are not guaranteed indefinitely."
The courage of the Black students who led school integration in America remains unfathomable to me. What honor Jo Ann Allen Boyce brought upon us, and what a remarkable life she led.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
Jo Ann Allen Boyce Dies at 84; Braved Mobs in Integrating a School
www.nytimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
The courage of the Black students who led school integration in America remains unfathomable to me. What honor Jo Ann Allen Boyce brought upon us, and what a remarkable life she led.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/u...
Both the essay and accompanying thread here from @sashagusevposts.bsky.social demand attention and action -- more than that, they demand moral outrage. This disgusting company and its founder should be shamed until their efforts collapse.
I wrote about the bizarre case of Herasight, the embryo selection company going all in on eugenics.
Embryo selection company Herasight goes all in on eugenics
...
open.substack.com
December 13, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Both the essay and accompanying thread here from @sashagusevposts.bsky.social demand attention and action -- more than that, they demand moral outrage. This disgusting company and its founder should be shamed until their efforts collapse.
Can't wait for the entire story to run, but even in this brief clip, we learn how @heymrsbond.com 's students have deep misgivings about the negative impact of AI on their education. It's almost like they have a wonderfully dedicated teacher who explained why she was banning it in her classroom.
I had a cool day hanging out with @leevgaines.bsky.social , a freelance reporter for @npr.org! She shadowed me and spoke to many of my students about AI. The full story will come out in January, but please go watch Lee’s TikTok here! www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8yJ1WUu/
December 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Can't wait for the entire story to run, but even in this brief clip, we learn how @heymrsbond.com 's students have deep misgivings about the negative impact of AI on their education. It's almost like they have a wonderfully dedicated teacher who explained why she was banning it in her classroom.