Jonathan Cheng
@jonathancheng.bsky.social
English PhD turned Machine Learning Researcher. I medicate my imposter syndrome with cold brews.
Current:
Foundation Models @ Apple
Prev:
LLMs/World Models @ Riot Games
RecSys @ Apple
Seattle 🏳️🌈
Current:
Foundation Models @ Apple
Prev:
LLMs/World Models @ Riot Games
RecSys @ Apple
Seattle 🏳️🌈
My sister has introduced her childhood favorite sailor moon to the nieces.
And all I can say is major solidarity with Sailor Pluto today.
And all I can say is major solidarity with Sailor Pluto today.
November 10, 2025 at 4:18 AM
My sister has introduced her childhood favorite sailor moon to the nieces.
And all I can say is major solidarity with Sailor Pluto today.
And all I can say is major solidarity with Sailor Pluto today.
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
illinois!durbin is 202-224-2152; "experiencing high call volumes" but keep trying and in the meantime send an email pronto
www.durbin.senate.gov
www.durbin.senate.gov
November 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
illinois!durbin is 202-224-2152; "experiencing high call volumes" but keep trying and in the meantime send an email pronto
www.durbin.senate.gov
www.durbin.senate.gov
My partner has started reading Wendell Berry.
And look, nothing against Wendell Berry, but is it also bringing back memories of insufferably preachy acolytes in grad school? Yes.
My Sunday morning is now spent reflecting on my visceral reactions to didactic agrarians.
And look, nothing against Wendell Berry, but is it also bringing back memories of insufferably preachy acolytes in grad school? Yes.
My Sunday morning is now spent reflecting on my visceral reactions to didactic agrarians.
November 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
My partner has started reading Wendell Berry.
And look, nothing against Wendell Berry, but is it also bringing back memories of insufferably preachy acolytes in grad school? Yes.
My Sunday morning is now spent reflecting on my visceral reactions to didactic agrarians.
And look, nothing against Wendell Berry, but is it also bringing back memories of insufferably preachy acolytes in grad school? Yes.
My Sunday morning is now spent reflecting on my visceral reactions to didactic agrarians.
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
Digital humanities researchers often care about fine-grained similarity based on narrative elements like plot or tone, which don’t necessarily correlate with surface-level textual features.
Can embedding models capture this? We study this in the context of fanfiction!
Can embedding models capture this? We study this in the context of fanfiction!
November 5, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Digital humanities researchers often care about fine-grained similarity based on narrative elements like plot or tone, which don’t necessarily correlate with surface-level textual features.
Can embedding models capture this? We study this in the context of fanfiction!
Can embedding models capture this? We study this in the context of fanfiction!
I’m a machine that transforms free Sunday afternoons into walks along the arboretum waterfront trail.
November 3, 2025 at 12:00 AM
I’m a machine that transforms free Sunday afternoons into walks along the arboretum waterfront trail.
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
you are not going to believe it, but pringles may not even be the best gem in this paper.
November 1, 2025 at 2:54 PM
you are not going to believe it, but pringles may not even be the best gem in this paper.
Absolute banger
November 1, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Absolute banger
I’ve been in a Halloween costume rut, but the gay Halloween meme format is truly inspirational.
October 31, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I’ve been in a Halloween costume rut, but the gay Halloween meme format is truly inspirational.
Kpop demon hunters and baseball are doing me a solid by reminding me how nice it is when the collective psyche is focused on fun things 😂
October 28, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Kpop demon hunters and baseball are doing me a solid by reminding me how nice it is when the collective psyche is focused on fun things 😂
This lil’ guy is living my dream of being hidden in a shrub, nibbling on flowers — not thinking about computer science/ world affairs 😂
On the flip side, I don’t live in mortal fear of the dogs at the dog park.
On the flip side, I don’t live in mortal fear of the dogs at the dog park.
October 26, 2025 at 10:15 PM
This lil’ guy is living my dream of being hidden in a shrub, nibbling on flowers — not thinking about computer science/ world affairs 😂
On the flip side, I don’t live in mortal fear of the dogs at the dog park.
On the flip side, I don’t live in mortal fear of the dogs at the dog park.
Visiting Chicago, god this place is gorgeous.
October 23, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Visiting Chicago, god this place is gorgeous.
The art institute has a pretty broad exhibit on Symbolism.
If it were me, I would’ve titled it “Brooding, but sometimes colorful.”
If it were me, I would’ve titled it “Brooding, but sometimes colorful.”
October 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The art institute has a pretty broad exhibit on Symbolism.
If it were me, I would’ve titled it “Brooding, but sometimes colorful.”
If it were me, I would’ve titled it “Brooding, but sometimes colorful.”
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
I am recruiting PhD students to start in 2026! If you are interested in robustness, training dynamics, interpretability for scientific understanding, or the science of LLM analysis you should apply. BU is building a huge LLM analysis/interp group and you’ll be joining at the ground floor.
Life update: I'm starting as faculty at Boston University
@bucds.bsky.social in 2026! BU has SCHEMES for LM interpretability & analysis, I couldn't be more pumped to join a burgeoning supergroup w/ @najoung.bsky.social @amuuueller.bsky.social. Looking for my first students, so apply and reach out!
@bucds.bsky.social in 2026! BU has SCHEMES for LM interpretability & analysis, I couldn't be more pumped to join a burgeoning supergroup w/ @najoung.bsky.social @amuuueller.bsky.social. Looking for my first students, so apply and reach out!
October 16, 2025 at 3:45 PM
I am recruiting PhD students to start in 2026! If you are interested in robustness, training dynamics, interpretability for scientific understanding, or the science of LLM analysis you should apply. BU is building a huge LLM analysis/interp group and you’ll be joining at the ground floor.
I’ve seen this movie before! That fog grows, creeps closer, before revealing what it contains.
October 14, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I’ve seen this movie before! That fog grows, creeps closer, before revealing what it contains.
Work has gotten so busy that I’ve resorted to inventing fake Guru Laghima quotes to describe my life, Zaheer-style.
“Let go your earthly tether to interpretability. Achieve 0.001% improvement. Become wind.” – Guru Laghima
“Let go your earthly tether to interpretability. Achieve 0.001% improvement. Become wind.” – Guru Laghima
October 11, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Work has gotten so busy that I’ve resorted to inventing fake Guru Laghima quotes to describe my life, Zaheer-style.
“Let go your earthly tether to interpretability. Achieve 0.001% improvement. Become wind.” – Guru Laghima
“Let go your earthly tether to interpretability. Achieve 0.001% improvement. Become wind.” – Guru Laghima
I’m sitting at a cafe where it’s all tech workers with paper notepads next to their laptops.
And I can’t help but feel like working from a cafe would attract the kind of tech worker who would enjoy writing things on nice stationary. 🤣
And I can’t help but feel like working from a cafe would attract the kind of tech worker who would enjoy writing things on nice stationary. 🤣
October 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I’m sitting at a cafe where it’s all tech workers with paper notepads next to their laptops.
And I can’t help but feel like working from a cafe would attract the kind of tech worker who would enjoy writing things on nice stationary. 🤣
And I can’t help but feel like working from a cafe would attract the kind of tech worker who would enjoy writing things on nice stationary. 🤣
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
A ton of attention over the years goes to plots comparing open to closed models.
The real trend that matters for AI impacts on society is the gap between closed frontier models and local consumer models.
Local models passing major milestones will have major repercussions.
buff.ly/ccMJydQ
The real trend that matters for AI impacts on society is the gap between closed frontier models and local consumer models.
Local models passing major milestones will have major repercussions.
buff.ly/ccMJydQ
October 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
A ton of attention over the years goes to plots comparing open to closed models.
The real trend that matters for AI impacts on society is the gap between closed frontier models and local consumer models.
Local models passing major milestones will have major repercussions.
buff.ly/ccMJydQ
The real trend that matters for AI impacts on society is the gap between closed frontier models and local consumer models.
Local models passing major milestones will have major repercussions.
buff.ly/ccMJydQ
Someone get ucla law on the line, cause this data viz’s color choice is hot garbo.
October 3, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Someone get ucla law on the line, cause this data viz’s color choice is hot garbo.
If it provides any comfort/ assuages imposter syndrome, I just learned about a very smart person who wrote pedabytes of NaNs, bc of a bug in their pipeline.
September 25, 2025 at 4:14 AM
If it provides any comfort/ assuages imposter syndrome, I just learned about a very smart person who wrote pedabytes of NaNs, bc of a bug in their pipeline.
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
The UC Berkeley School of Information is hiring an assistant professor in the broad field of Information--including areas of info seeking/retrieval, digital humanities, cultural analytics, info viz, & philosophy of information (among others). Deadline Nov 1! aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05014
Assistant Professor - Information - School of Information
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
September 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
The UC Berkeley School of Information is hiring an assistant professor in the broad field of Information--including areas of info seeking/retrieval, digital humanities, cultural analytics, info viz, & philosophy of information (among others). Deadline Nov 1! aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05014
They were selling these in the gift shop in the Seattle art museum.
And, my god, the restraint I showed? Applaudable. *waits for applause*
But also, these are absolutely stunning.
And, my god, the restraint I showed? Applaudable. *waits for applause*
But also, these are absolutely stunning.
September 22, 2025 at 10:08 PM
They were selling these in the gift shop in the Seattle art museum.
And, my god, the restraint I showed? Applaudable. *waits for applause*
But also, these are absolutely stunning.
And, my god, the restraint I showed? Applaudable. *waits for applause*
But also, these are absolutely stunning.
“You get 100 flops per minute!”
“Floating point operations?”
“What? Pfft. No. Fish- lopped per minute!”
“Floating point operations?”
“What? Pfft. No. Fish- lopped per minute!”
You might think tpus/GPUs are complicated, but have you tried operating a 1910 “fish processing machine”?
September 20, 2025 at 10:56 PM
“You get 100 flops per minute!”
“Floating point operations?”
“What? Pfft. No. Fish- lopped per minute!”
“Floating point operations?”
“What? Pfft. No. Fish- lopped per minute!”
You might think tpus/GPUs are complicated, but have you tried operating a 1910 “fish processing machine”?
September 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
You might think tpus/GPUs are complicated, but have you tried operating a 1910 “fish processing machine”?
Somewhere, my Korean and Chinese ancestors are like “oh yeah? You like ordering Japanese things? GET TARRIFFED, SON!”
September 17, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Somewhere, my Korean and Chinese ancestors are like “oh yeah? You like ordering Japanese things? GET TARRIFFED, SON!”
Reposted by Jonathan Cheng
Comparing AI Labs in the United States and China, by Jingyuan Liu
September 14, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Comparing AI Labs in the United States and China, by Jingyuan Liu