Stephan Geering
@stephangeering.bsky.social
Deputy General Counsel & Compliance, Trustworthy AI and Global Privacy Officer at Anthology. Posts are my personal views. Dad, immigrant, tech geek. He/him/his. Substack: https://incbetter.substack.com/
Pinned
Incrementally Better #3
On our place in the universe and our inability to predict the AI future
incbetter.substack.com
Just published the latest edition of my Substack ‘Incrementally Better’: On our place in the universe and our inability to predict the AI future. Plus tons of reading and listening recommendations.
incbetter.substack.com/p/incrementa...
incbetter.substack.com/p/incrementa...
Reposted by Stephan Geering
muppetized book covers: thread
November 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
muppetized book covers: thread
Insightful @80000hours.bsky.social podcast episode with @hlntnr.bsky.social on the geopolitics of AGI, the risks of AI concentration and ‘steerability’ vs alignment.
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co09...
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co09...
The Geopolitics of AGI | Helen Toner (Director of CSET & past OpenAI board member)
YouTube video by 80,000 Hours
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Insightful @80000hours.bsky.social podcast episode with @hlntnr.bsky.social on the geopolitics of AGI, the risks of AI concentration and ‘steerability’ vs alignment.
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co09...
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co09...
Reposted by Stephan Geering
#3 is why we can’t have nice things
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
#3 is why we can’t have nice things
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Best quote I've seen all day so far, from an Ars piece by @dangoodin on skepticism around OpenAI's breathless claim that a Chinese hacking group used Claude code to automate 90 percent of their attack:
“I continue to refuse to believe that attackers are somehow able to get these models to jump […]
“I continue to refuse to believe that attackers are somehow able to get these models to jump […]
Original post on infosec.exchange
infosec.exchange
November 14, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Best quote I've seen all day so far, from an Ars piece by @dangoodin on skepticism around OpenAI's breathless claim that a Chinese hacking group used Claude code to automate 90 percent of their attack:
“I continue to refuse to believe that attackers are somehow able to get these models to jump […]
“I continue to refuse to believe that attackers are somehow able to get these models to jump […]
It is heart-breaking to witness how right-wing populist parties boldly bulldoze over every rule and convention while the traditional center and center-left parties timidly look over to the ref before every move.
November 14, 2025 at 1:28 PM
It is heart-breaking to witness how right-wing populist parties boldly bulldoze over every rule and convention while the traditional center and center-left parties timidly look over to the ref before every move.
Only a British gardener could describe the soaking weather conditions today (bless him!) as "nourishing". The comments of Swiss gardeners would not be printable here.
November 14, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Only a British gardener could describe the soaking weather conditions today (bless him!) as "nourishing". The comments of Swiss gardeners would not be printable here.
... He grumbled through gritted teeth
Rain is just water in the wrong place. That's what I told myself before my run. After the run I refined the theory. The wrong place is my shoes.
November 14, 2025 at 8:54 AM
... He grumbled through gritted teeth
💯
I give Catholic bishops a hard time often for all the obvious reasons, but this is beautiful and loving, and I'm deeply grateful to hear it. This can change hearts and save lives.
Good statement from the US conference of Catholic Bishops
November 14, 2025 at 7:18 AM
💯
Reposted by Stephan Geering
ChatGPT is rolling out group chats, letting you chat with people and @-mention ChatGPT in the same thread.
This is essentially the Slack/Discord bot model except the bot is ChatGPT. It's interesting they're pulling users into their app for this, not just shipping an official bot to other platforms
This is essentially the Slack/Discord bot model except the bot is ChatGPT. It's interesting they're pulling users into their app for this, not just shipping an official bot to other platforms
Piloting group chats in ChatGPT
Collaborate with others, and ChatGPT, in the same conversation.
openai.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 AM
ChatGPT is rolling out group chats, letting you chat with people and @-mention ChatGPT in the same thread.
This is essentially the Slack/Discord bot model except the bot is ChatGPT. It's interesting they're pulling users into their app for this, not just shipping an official bot to other platforms
This is essentially the Slack/Discord bot model except the bot is ChatGPT. It's interesting they're pulling users into their app for this, not just shipping an official bot to other platforms
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Quick! My book THE BIG PICTURE: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself has a limited-time Kindle deal going on. Get the Ebook for just $1.99 while it lasts. A rousing exploration of the science and philosophy of naturalism for just two bucks!
www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-...
www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-...
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself - Kindle edition by Carroll, Sean M. . Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself.
www.amazon.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Quick! My book THE BIG PICTURE: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself has a limited-time Kindle deal going on. Get the Ebook for just $1.99 while it lasts. A rousing exploration of the science and philosophy of naturalism for just two bucks!
www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-...
www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-...
Reposted by Stephan Geering
📣We're hiring! The Research Portfolio Lead will embed oversight and quality assurance into every stage of our work.
The role will ensure our research is conducted with integrity, and within a culture of care and support.
Deadline: 1st December 2025.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/job/research...
The role will ensure our research is conducted with integrity, and within a culture of care and support.
Deadline: 1st December 2025.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/job/research...
Research Portfolio Lead
The Ada Lovelace Institute is recruiting a Research Portfolio Lead to ensure that research is conducted with integrity and within a culture of care.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:24 PM
📣We're hiring! The Research Portfolio Lead will embed oversight and quality assurance into every stage of our work.
The role will ensure our research is conducted with integrity, and within a culture of care and support.
Deadline: 1st December 2025.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/job/research...
The role will ensure our research is conducted with integrity, and within a culture of care and support.
Deadline: 1st December 2025.
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/job/research...
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Spotted today in my office’s canteen.
A bit like with Mother’s Day, we shouldn’t really need it, as this should be practiced every day, but still welcomed.
A bit like with Mother’s Day, we shouldn’t really need it, as this should be practiced every day, but still welcomed.
November 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Spotted today in my office’s canteen.
A bit like with Mother’s Day, we shouldn’t really need it, as this should be practiced every day, but still welcomed.
A bit like with Mother’s Day, we shouldn’t really need it, as this should be practiced every day, but still welcomed.
Reposted by Stephan Geering
The European Commission is introducing the European Democracy Shield that hopefully treats disinformation and artificial intelligence as a real systemic risk, not just a curiosity deserving a back-the-envelop-approach. commission.europa.eu/document/dow...
commission.europa.eu
November 13, 2025 at 6:26 PM
The European Commission is introducing the European Democracy Shield that hopefully treats disinformation and artificial intelligence as a real systemic risk, not just a curiosity deserving a back-the-envelop-approach. commission.europa.eu/document/dow...
Always good to treat such company announcements with a a healthy dose of scepticism, but that's the direction we are heading.
November 13, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Always good to treat such company announcements with a a healthy dose of scepticism, but that's the direction we are heading.
Reposted by Stephan Geering
China Camp State Park, San Rafael, California, US
November 13, 2025 at 6:20 PM
China Camp State Park, San Rafael, California, US
Since I have a tendency to complain about the English rail system: I am currently sitting in a perfectly punctual and clean train.
November 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Since I have a tendency to complain about the English rail system: I am currently sitting in a perfectly punctual and clean train.
Old technology I miss: Blackberry keyboard.
My clumsy digits are not made for today's mobile phone keyboards.
My clumsy digits are not made for today's mobile phone keyboards.
November 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Old technology I miss: Blackberry keyboard.
My clumsy digits are not made for today's mobile phone keyboards.
My clumsy digits are not made for today's mobile phone keyboards.
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Me, wisely: "But *his* emails"
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Me, wisely: "But *his* emails"
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Some pretty eye-opening data on the effect of AI coding.
When Cursor added agentic coding in 2024, adopters produced 39% more code merges, with no sign of a decrease in quality (revert rates were the same, bugs dropped) and no sign that the scope of the work shrank. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
When Cursor added agentic coding in 2024, adopters produced 39% more code merges, with no sign of a decrease in quality (revert rates were the same, bugs dropped) and no sign that the scope of the work shrank. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
November 13, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Some pretty eye-opening data on the effect of AI coding.
When Cursor added agentic coding in 2024, adopters produced 39% more code merges, with no sign of a decrease in quality (revert rates were the same, bugs dropped) and no sign that the scope of the work shrank. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
When Cursor added agentic coding in 2024, adopters produced 39% more code merges, with no sign of a decrease in quality (revert rates were the same, bugs dropped) and no sign that the scope of the work shrank. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Many moments by the water.
Some monochromatic jetty action as the working week nears its end...
#photography #landscapephotography
Some monochromatic jetty action as the working week nears its end...
#photography #landscapephotography
November 12, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Many moments by the water.
Some monochromatic jetty action as the working week nears its end...
#photography #landscapephotography
Some monochromatic jetty action as the working week nears its end...
#photography #landscapephotography
Reposted by Stephan Geering
biblioklept | noun | one that steals books
November 12, 2025 at 8:19 PM
biblioklept | noun | one that steals books
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
Reposted by Stephan Geering
Okay, time for a much-requested thing: a THREAD OF THREADS. I've now written dozens of these sciencey threads now, and it's increasingly easy to lose them in the scrum of new stuff on here, so - here's a roundup.
First: the mystery of the BONG BONG BONG: bsky.app/profile/mike...
1/
First: the mystery of the BONG BONG BONG: bsky.app/profile/mike...
1/
OK, this is wild.
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
November 11, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Okay, time for a much-requested thing: a THREAD OF THREADS. I've now written dozens of these sciencey threads now, and it's increasingly easy to lose them in the scrum of new stuff on here, so - here's a roundup.
First: the mystery of the BONG BONG BONG: bsky.app/profile/mike...
1/
First: the mystery of the BONG BONG BONG: bsky.app/profile/mike...
1/
Reposted by Stephan Geering
1+-1+ - From Jacint Roger (landru79.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2iK1eV4
November 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
1+-1+ - From Jacint Roger (landru79.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2iK1eV4