Jonathan Stray
@jonathanstray.bsky.social
Knowing things is a solved problem. Getting along is not. Working on AI, media, and inter-group conflict @CHAI_Berkeley. Got here from computational journalism.
Pinned
Jonathan Stray
@jonathanstray.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Introducing GreenEarth
We're building advanced open source algorithms for social media
greenearthsocial.substack.com
GreenEarth is creating open source AI-driven recommender infrastructure for BlueSky. Type a prompt, see your feed change. We are here for the users, the builders, the dreamers. Join us.
greenearthsocial.substack.com/p/introducin...
greenearthsocial.substack.com/p/introducin...
Look, they're not called Tweets anymore. And they're not even called posts. From now on, they're SpaceXeets. Violators will be demonetized.
February 12, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Look, they're not called Tweets anymore. And they're not even called posts. From now on, they're SpaceXeets. Violators will be demonetized.
The arc of history bends towards justice, but only because millions of people are working the problem.
February 11, 2026 at 3:32 AM
The arc of history bends towards justice, but only because millions of people are working the problem.
Reposted by Jonathan Stray
Open Social Web Series 🌐
Building on the AT Protocol means we don't have to build alone 🙌🏽
Mentions: @jonathanstray.bsky.social @graze.social @stream.place @gandersocial.bsky.social @transrights.northsky.social @skylight.social
#OpenSocialWeb #SkylightSocial #BuildWithTori
Building on the AT Protocol means we don't have to build alone 🙌🏽
Mentions: @jonathanstray.bsky.social @graze.social @stream.place @gandersocial.bsky.social @transrights.northsky.social @skylight.social
#OpenSocialWeb #SkylightSocial #BuildWithTori
February 10, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Open Social Web Series 🌐
Building on the AT Protocol means we don't have to build alone 🙌🏽
Mentions: @jonathanstray.bsky.social @graze.social @stream.place @gandersocial.bsky.social @transrights.northsky.social @skylight.social
#OpenSocialWeb #SkylightSocial #BuildWithTori
Building on the AT Protocol means we don't have to build alone 🙌🏽
Mentions: @jonathanstray.bsky.social @graze.social @stream.place @gandersocial.bsky.social @transrights.northsky.social @skylight.social
#OpenSocialWeb #SkylightSocial #BuildWithTori
I just rejected a paper about AI slop because it was AI slop. I suppose one day AI will write good papers, but today is not that day.
February 11, 2026 at 2:05 AM
I just rejected a paper about AI slop because it was AI slop. I suppose one day AI will write good papers, but today is not that day.
Either ICE has started cruelly arresting beloved community members, or ICE is merely enforcing existing laws to remove murderers and rapists.
Both of these are only half-right. Whatever side you’re on, you probably have something to learn.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/annoying-f...
Both of these are only half-right. Whatever side you’re on, you probably have something to learn.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/annoying-f...
You're Probably Wrong About The Deportations
We've switched from mostly arresting criminals to mostly not. Obama was deporting just as many. But interior enforcement has exploded - BCB #181
www.betterconflictbulletin.org
February 8, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Either ICE has started cruelly arresting beloved community members, or ICE is merely enforcing existing laws to remove murderers and rapists.
Both of these are only half-right. Whatever side you’re on, you probably have something to learn.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/annoying-f...
Both of these are only half-right. Whatever side you’re on, you probably have something to learn.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/annoying-f...
Media is fiction when everything is recorded first, selected later.
Media literacy is understanding that the popular is extreme.
Trustworthy sources are better at modeling and communicating the true distribution of events.
Narratives define what counts as an event.
Media literacy is understanding that the popular is extreme.
Trustworthy sources are better at modeling and communicating the true distribution of events.
Narratives define what counts as an event.
February 7, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Media is fiction when everything is recorded first, selected later.
Media literacy is understanding that the popular is extreme.
Trustworthy sources are better at modeling and communicating the true distribution of events.
Narratives define what counts as an event.
Media literacy is understanding that the popular is extreme.
Trustworthy sources are better at modeling and communicating the true distribution of events.
Narratives define what counts as an event.
I'm reverse engineering the Twitter algorithm from the source code and experiments. On my own For You feed, only 16% (1 in 6) of posts are from people I follow. This used to be set at 50% in old Twitter. So that's one reason it feels like we've lost our communities there.
February 5, 2026 at 8:41 PM
I'm reverse engineering the Twitter algorithm from the source code and experiments. On my own For You feed, only 16% (1 in 6) of posts are from people I follow. This used to be set at 50% in old Twitter. So that's one reason it feels like we've lost our communities there.
Reposted by Jonathan Stray
I RTed this this morning before reading it (my partner hates that I bookmark that way!), because I hadn’t seen anyone else talking about solutions/ what’s next. I’ve read it now and think solution 2 is both a good and a plausible next step — states choose & perform their own migration strategy. 1/
What's the endgame for ICE protests? As far as I can tell, I'm the only one who has publicly proposed the use of targeted civil resistance to force negotiation of an immigration policy compromise that might appeal to all Americans. Here's my analysis... www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-would...
How Things Could End Well In Minneapolis
Gaming out the ways the ICE conflict can end without further violence - BCB #180
www.betterconflictbulletin.org
January 24, 2026 at 10:35 AM
I RTed this this morning before reading it (my partner hates that I bookmark that way!), because I hadn’t seen anyone else talking about solutions/ what’s next. I’ve read it now and think solution 2 is both a good and a plausible next step — states choose & perform their own migration strategy. 1/
What's the endgame for ICE protests? As far as I can tell, I'm the only one who has publicly proposed the use of targeted civil resistance to force negotiation of an immigration policy compromise that might appeal to all Americans. Here's my analysis... www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-would...
How Things Could End Well In Minneapolis
Gaming out the ways the ICE conflict can end without further violence - BCB #180
www.betterconflictbulletin.org
January 24, 2026 at 2:05 AM
What's the endgame for ICE protests? As far as I can tell, I'm the only one who has publicly proposed the use of targeted civil resistance to force negotiation of an immigration policy compromise that might appeal to all Americans. Here's my analysis... www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-would...
I am thinking a lot today, like many days but more so, about what information an algorithm should show you during a crisis. What will inform, calm, show us all a way through regardless of where each of us stands?
January 18, 2026 at 5:57 PM
I am thinking a lot today, like many days but more so, about what information an algorithm should show you during a crisis. What will inform, calm, show us all a way through regardless of where each of us stands?
Math Sky, I just learned about Robinson's infinitesimals and I am shook, just shook to learn that you can do calculus entirely without taking limits. Newton and Leibniz were right, they just couldn't prove it.
January 2, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Math Sky, I just learned about Robinson's infinitesimals and I am shook, just shook to learn that you can do calculus entirely without taking limits. Newton and Leibniz were right, they just couldn't prove it.
Ah crap they asked me to area chair.
December 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Ah crap they asked me to area chair.
Reposted by Jonathan Stray
Become ungovernable
December 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Become ungovernable
Optimizing for engagement alone can lead to bad results for social media and LLMs. So what's the alternative? You can just ask your users what you actually want to know! Here's Pinterest explaining how they did just that...
medium.com/pinterest-en...
medium.com/pinterest-en...
Improving Quality of Recommended Content through Pinner Surveys
Rudraksh Kapil | Machine Learning Engineer I; Michal Giemza | Senior Machine Learning Engineer; Devan Srinivasan | Machine Learning…
medium.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Optimizing for engagement alone can lead to bad results for social media and LLMs. So what's the alternative? You can just ask your users what you actually want to know! Here's Pinterest explaining how they did just that...
medium.com/pinterest-en...
medium.com/pinterest-en...
Anyone got a take on this study suggesting COVID vaccines (both mRNA and other) increase the risk for some types on cancer? It seems well designed and plausible, but it does have an editor's note saying "concerns have been raised."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
1-year risks of cancers associated with COVID-19 vaccination: a large population-based cohort study in South Korea - Biomarker Research
The oncogenic potential of SARS-CoV-2 has been hypothetically proposed, but real-world data on COVID-19 infection and vaccination are insufficient. Therefore, this large-scale population-based retrosp...
link.springer.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Anyone got a take on this study suggesting COVID vaccines (both mRNA and other) increase the risk for some types on cancer? It seems well designed and plausible, but it does have an editor's note saying "concerns have been raised."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The Sagrada Familia is every bit as awe inspiring as you’ve heard.
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The Sagrada Familia is every bit as awe inspiring as you’ve heard.
I’ve just discovered King Tubby and my understanding of music history is changed forever. He invented dub and pioneered the producer-as-creator… in the 1970s
November 22, 2025 at 9:59 AM
I’ve just discovered King Tubby and my understanding of music history is changed forever. He invented dub and pioneered the producer-as-creator… in the 1970s
Ok. I love this conference but my first and probably biggest criticism of #buildpeace2025 is that, although “plurality” is a recurring theme, pretty much everyone here has strongly progressive politics. A lot of talking *about* the other, not *with* them.
November 21, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Ok. I love this conference but my first and probably biggest criticism of #buildpeace2025 is that, although “plurality” is a recurring theme, pretty much everyone here has strongly progressive politics. A lot of talking *about* the other, not *with* them.
November 21, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reviewing papers for IASEAI 26 is exciting! Lots of groundbreaking AI safety work! But I can’t help shake a certain imposter syndrome… I am now literally a gatekeeper in my field.
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Reviewing papers for IASEAI 26 is exciting! Lots of groundbreaking AI safety work! But I can’t help shake a certain imposter syndrome… I am now literally a gatekeeper in my field.
I saw Bugonia and wow.
Not for the faint of heart, but incredible.
Not for the faint of heart, but incredible.
November 15, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I saw Bugonia and wow.
Not for the faint of heart, but incredible.
Not for the faint of heart, but incredible.
So I met this guy who’s meditated 4000 conversations between Israelis and Palestinians since October 7th. And he’s building an AI powered platform for difficult conversations. Here’s what he’s learned. www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-you-c...
What You Can Learn from 4,000 Conversations Between Israelis and Palestinians
Adam Becker is building an AI-powered platform for difficult conversations - BCB #171
www.betterconflictbulletin.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:47 PM
So I met this guy who’s meditated 4000 conversations between Israelis and Palestinians since October 7th. And he’s building an AI powered platform for difficult conversations. Here’s what he’s learned. www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-you-c...
This date could have been a sext.
November 13, 2025 at 2:28 AM
This date could have been a sext.
ATProto is just a 21st century NNTP, amirite?
November 9, 2025 at 1:12 AM
ATProto is just a 21st century NNTP, amirite?
@lawfaremedia.org where are you on this? I need expert Sandwich Guy legal analysis. The fate of our nation depends upon it.
Agent Lairmore is done with his testimony. Prosecution asked further about the condiments and he said there was mustard on his uniform and an onion hanging on his radio antenna. Don’t think defense was going for a pun when she called him a “seasoned officer,” but you never know…
November 5, 2025 at 8:57 PM
@lawfaremedia.org where are you on this? I need expert Sandwich Guy legal analysis. The fate of our nation depends upon it.