Mark Riedl
@markriedl.bsky.social
AI for storytelling, games, explainability, safety, ethics. Professor at Georgia Tech. Associate Director of ML Center at GT. Time travel expert. Geek. Dad. he/him
Dang, Santa Claus is fast. We got off the ground late. No way we can catch up with him now.
December 25, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Dang, Santa Claus is fast. We got off the ground late. No way we can catch up with him now.
In Xanadu did Tiny Tim
Who DID NOT die, thus doth decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
Who DID NOT die, thus doth decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, where the shadows lie, One Tim to rule them all, One Tim to find them, One Tim to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them.
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, blew up the Death Star.
December 25, 2025 at 8:03 AM
In Xanadu did Tiny Tim
Who DID NOT die, thus doth decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
Who DID NOT die, thus doth decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
Reposted by Mark Riedl
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the temp’s not 60
& the air’s at least nippy
& it’s not absurd to sing of snow
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
With every Christmas meme I post
It doesn’t have to feel like the North Pole
But Christmas could be a little cold
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the temp’s not 60
& the air’s at least nippy
& it’s not absurd to sing of snow
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
With every Christmas meme I post
It doesn’t have to feel like the North Pole
But Christmas could be a little cold
December 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the temp’s not 60
& the air’s at least nippy
& it’s not absurd to sing of snow
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
With every Christmas meme I post
It doesn’t have to feel like the North Pole
But Christmas could be a little cold
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the temp’s not 60
& the air’s at least nippy
& it’s not absurd to sing of snow
I’m dreaming of a cold Christmas
With every Christmas meme I post
It doesn’t have to feel like the North Pole
But Christmas could be a little cold
Reposted by Mark Riedl
While America’s AI industry has barely any regulation, China ensures its AI models follow the Party line and censor forbidden material.
https://sherwood.news/tech/chinese-ai-chatbots-reportedly-must-answer-2-000-questions-prove-censorship/
https://sherwood.news/tech/chinese-ai-chatbots-reportedly-must-answer-2-000-questions-prove-censorship/
Chinese AI chatbots reportedly must answer 2,000 questions, prove censorship compliance
While America’s AI industry has barely any regulation, China ensures its AI models follow the Party line and censor forbidden material....
sherwood.news
December 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
While America’s AI industry has barely any regulation, China ensures its AI models follow the Party line and censor forbidden material.
https://sherwood.news/tech/chinese-ai-chatbots-reportedly-must-answer-2-000-questions-prove-censorship/
https://sherwood.news/tech/chinese-ai-chatbots-reportedly-must-answer-2-000-questions-prove-censorship/
Need to juice those grok data center numbers
Heads up to artists still using Twitter- Twitter is now adding an "Edit image" button under all images posted on the site that allows everyone to feed it into genAI and modify it as they wish with a prompt
December 24, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Need to juice those grok data center numbers
Verge did an in-depth piece on why chatbots have trouble with controlling smart home devices. Lots of quotes from me. www.theverge.com/tech/845958/...
How AI broke the smart home in 2025
Why AI hasn’t made the smart home smarter
www.theverge.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Verge did an in-depth piece on why chatbots have trouble with controlling smart home devices. Lots of quotes from me. www.theverge.com/tech/845958/...
When 60 Minutes aired the Google “emergent intelligence” piece I realized that if they could so shallow about my own field then I had no way of knowing if they were being shallow about anything else. The latest controversy is just a step function in the downward trajectory of CBS.
December 22, 2025 at 8:26 PM
When 60 Minutes aired the Google “emergent intelligence” piece I realized that if they could so shallow about my own field then I had no way of knowing if they were being shallow about anything else. The latest controversy is just a step function in the downward trajectory of CBS.
If you think that surveillance can eliminate crime then please read Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clark and Stephen Baxter www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
(sure the book is about wormholes, but also using wormholes to surveil everyone)
(sure the book is about wormholes, but also using wormholes to surveil everyone)
www.forbes.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:19 PM
If you think that surveillance can eliminate crime then please read Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clark and Stephen Baxter www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...
(sure the book is about wormholes, but also using wormholes to surveil everyone)
(sure the book is about wormholes, but also using wormholes to surveil everyone)
I’m not 12. You’re 12.
December 21, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I’m not 12. You’re 12.
That’s not good. Waymos don’t function during power outages, resulting in blocked roads, and blocking emergency vehicles
PG&E is having a massive outage in San Francisco. Waymo robots aren't handling the traffic light outages well. Cell service is also out is some places.
No surprise as Waymo robots & cell have repeatedly failed during power outages.
CPUC regulates both Waymo and PG&E (Profit Greed & Explosions).
No surprise as Waymo robots & cell have repeatedly failed during power outages.
CPUC regulates both Waymo and PG&E (Profit Greed & Explosions).
December 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM
That’s not good. Waymos don’t function during power outages, resulting in blocked roads, and blocking emergency vehicles
Reposted by Mark Riedl
GenAI and LLMs almost got a soft pass to enter the Nebula Awards, but the sci-fi/fantasy writing community shut that down.
New Nebula Awards Rules Forbid Nominees That Used GenAI
GenAI and LLMs almost got a soft pass to enter the Nebula Awards, but the sci-fi/fantasy writing community shut that down.
gizmodo.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:41 PM
GenAI and LLMs almost got a soft pass to enter the Nebula Awards, but the sci-fi/fantasy writing community shut that down.
My prediction for 2026. The year will be less odd.
Very divisible by 2 from everything I can tell so far.
Very divisible by 2 from everything I can tell so far.
December 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM
My prediction for 2026. The year will be less odd.
Very divisible by 2 from everything I can tell so far.
Very divisible by 2 from everything I can tell so far.
Reposted by Mark Riedl
~*~it's the great AGI rebrand~*~
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
AI companies are sick of their favorite buzzword — so they’re inventing new ones
AI companies are sick of their favorite buzzword.
www.theverge.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
~*~it's the great AGI rebrand~*~
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Mark Riedl
Update: the ACM DL is being updated so that author-provided abstracts are the default view again, and AI summaries are more explicitly labeled with "AI-Summary". These changes should be visible worldwide by sometime tomorrow.
December 18, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Update: the ACM DL is being updated so that author-provided abstracts are the default view again, and AI summaries are more explicitly labeled with "AI-Summary". These changes should be visible worldwide by sometime tomorrow.
Reposted by Mark Riedl
That ain't right. www.mysanantonio.com/news/austin/...
Waymo vehicle caught driving wrong way on I-35 frontage road
"I guess robots malfunction during the holiday season the same way human brains do," one resident commented.
www.mysanantonio.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM
That ain't right. www.mysanantonio.com/news/austin/...
Reposted by Mark Riedl
NEW: A hacker gained control of 1,100 mobile phones powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok. Then, he shared details of the operation with 404 Media.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
www.404media.co
December 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
NEW: A hacker gained control of 1,100 mobile phones powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok. Then, he shared details of the operation with 404 Media.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
I had a rough day. But I get to end it in the most enjoyable way: writing letters of recommendation for my awesome students.
December 17, 2025 at 2:15 AM
I had a rough day. But I get to end it in the most enjoyable way: writing letters of recommendation for my awesome students.
Reposted by Mark Riedl
Hiring a postdoc for the Normativity Lab at Johns Hopkins (2026 start). Looking for multiagent systems expertise (RL/generative agents) + interdisciplinary background in AI and cognitive science/econ/cultural evolution.
apply.interfolio.com/177701
apply.interfolio.com/177701
Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Hiring a postdoc for the Normativity Lab at Johns Hopkins (2026 start). Looking for multiagent systems expertise (RL/generative agents) + interdisciplinary background in AI and cognitive science/econ/cultural evolution.
apply.interfolio.com/177701
apply.interfolio.com/177701
Do I know anyone associated with DragonCon at the executive/organizational level?
December 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Do I know anyone associated with DragonCon at the executive/organizational level?
Why read a 300-word "abstract" summary of a paper written by the actual authors when one can read a 300-word summary produced by an AI prone to hallucinations?
What the absolute shit is this? ACM using AI summaries instead of abstracts in search results?! So, if I understand correctly, instead of the author's own summary of the work (i.e. an abstract) we are better off with some regurgitated slop version of that summary instead? @chi.acm.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Why read a 300-word "abstract" summary of a paper written by the actual authors when one can read a 300-word summary produced by an AI prone to hallucinations?
Reposted by Mark Riedl
New from @Reuters: executives *really* want AI to work but getting there is much harder than expected.
Many find the tech v difficult to harness or too unreliable for core functions. Others find their customers actually like humans.
www.reuters.com/business/bus...
Many find the tech v difficult to harness or too unreliable for core functions. Others find their customers actually like humans.
www.reuters.com/business/bus...
AI promised a revolution. Companies are still waiting.
Last spring, CellarTracker, a wine-collection app, built an AI-powered sommelier to make unvarnished wine recommendations based on a person’s palate. The problem was the chatbot was too nice.
www.reuters.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:57 PM
New from @Reuters: executives *really* want AI to work but getting there is much harder than expected.
Many find the tech v difficult to harness or too unreliable for core functions. Others find their customers actually like humans.
www.reuters.com/business/bus...
Many find the tech v difficult to harness or too unreliable for core functions. Others find their customers actually like humans.
www.reuters.com/business/bus...
My county
December 16, 2025 at 5:03 PM
My county
I am an AI researcher. I love AI. It’s so cool.
I do not love companies that force AI upon me so that they can post impressive sounding data center stats.
All I want is an easy way to opt out. I’ll let you know when I want to use AI. I promise.
I do not love companies that force AI upon me so that they can post impressive sounding data center stats.
All I want is an easy way to opt out. I’ll let you know when I want to use AI. I promise.
December 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I am an AI researcher. I love AI. It’s so cool.
I do not love companies that force AI upon me so that they can post impressive sounding data center stats.
All I want is an easy way to opt out. I’ll let you know when I want to use AI. I promise.
I do not love companies that force AI upon me so that they can post impressive sounding data center stats.
All I want is an easy way to opt out. I’ll let you know when I want to use AI. I promise.
Is there anything more annoying in this universe that an AI assistant on the phone?
If I am picking up the phone to call a company its because I have tried every other alternative through websites, apps, etc. It isn't going to be cleared up by an AI assistant. Get me to a real person.
If I am picking up the phone to call a company its because I have tried every other alternative through websites, apps, etc. It isn't going to be cleared up by an AI assistant. Get me to a real person.
December 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Is there anything more annoying in this universe that an AI assistant on the phone?
If I am picking up the phone to call a company its because I have tried every other alternative through websites, apps, etc. It isn't going to be cleared up by an AI assistant. Get me to a real person.
If I am picking up the phone to call a company its because I have tried every other alternative through websites, apps, etc. It isn't going to be cleared up by an AI assistant. Get me to a real person.
So PayPal just permanently locked my account and manned me from their services. I had been targeted by scams several times, and when I reported those scams like a good citizen they temporarily locked my account. When I tried to get it unlocked, they permanently banned me.
December 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM
So PayPal just permanently locked my account and manned me from their services. I had been targeted by scams several times, and when I reported those scams like a good citizen they temporarily locked my account. When I tried to get it unlocked, they permanently banned me.