Yotam Shmargad
@yotam.bsky.social
Computational social scientist and associate professor in the School of Government & Public Policy at the University of Arizona. I research online influence and social norms. Website: www.yotamshmargad.com
Pinned
Yotam Shmargad
@yotam.bsky.social
· Jan 7
New article with Daniel Montez in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media. We study influential amplifiers of 2018 US primary candidates and find that Democratic and Republican leaning amplifiers retweeted many of the same Twitter accounts journalqd.org/article/view...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
This nicely reinforces findings from our recent @pnas.org piece in which we argue “that industry players like Meta make significant investments into long-term research streams … to absolve their platforms of responsibility for adverse effects on society or individuals.”
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 24, 2025 at 2:58 AM
This nicely reinforces findings from our recent @pnas.org piece in which we argue “that industry players like Meta make significant investments into long-term research streams … to absolve their platforms of responsibility for adverse effects on society or individuals.”
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
The transformer was invented in Google. RLHF was not invented in industry labs, but came to prominence in OpenAI and DeepMind. I took 5 of the most influential papers (black dots) and visualized their references. Blue dots are papers that acknowledge federal funding (DARPA, NSF).
April 12, 2025 at 2:35 AM
The transformer was invented in Google. RLHF was not invented in industry labs, but came to prominence in OpenAI and DeepMind. I took 5 of the most influential papers (black dots) and visualized their references. Blue dots are papers that acknowledge federal funding (DARPA, NSF).
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Something I teach my students is that reading is a rhythm. They need to build a space-time where the rhythm of longer form reading is available to them. Generally this begins by having them inventory the various kinds of noise (cellphones, screens, work/care/social commitments) in their lives.
September 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Something I teach my students is that reading is a rhythm. They need to build a space-time where the rhythm of longer form reading is available to them. Generally this begins by having them inventory the various kinds of noise (cellphones, screens, work/care/social commitments) in their lives.
🔥 "You’d ask a bot for a summary and forget what it told you, then proceed with your day, unchanged by words you did not read and ideas you did not consider."
yeah this is kind of where i am too:
"the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals... their wish is that nobody ever has to make art again. They want to create a new kind of mind, so they can force it into mindless servitude. "
"the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals... their wish is that nobody ever has to make art again. They want to create a new kind of mind, so they can force it into mindless servitude. "
I Am An AI Hater
I am an AI hater. This is considered rude, but I do not care, because I am a hater.
anthonymoser.github.io
August 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
🔥 "You’d ask a bot for a summary and forget what it told you, then proceed with your day, unchanged by words you did not read and ideas you did not consider."
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
This is the kind of paper to post on the office door. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Writing is thinking - Nature Reviews Bioengineering
On the value of human-generated scientific writing in the age of large-language models.
www.nature.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:38 PM
This is the kind of paper to post on the office door. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
so now a return to Baudrillard's "silence of the masses" thenewinquiry.com/blog/the-sil...
The Silence of the Masses Could Be Social Media
What Baudrillard’s concept of the silent masses reveals about obligatory social-media use
thenewinquiry.com
July 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
so now a return to Baudrillard's "silence of the masses" thenewinquiry.com/blog/the-sil...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Arizona schools have already passed their operating budgets for this upcoming school year. But at the last minute, Trump froze $118+ million in education funding for our state.
Senator Mark Kelly and I are demanding the Administration reverse course.
ktar.com/arizona-educ...
Senator Mark Kelly and I are demanding the Administration reverse course.
ktar.com/arizona-educ...
Education funding should be released, Arizona leaders say
Two Arizona members of Congress are urging the federal government to release $118 million in education funding to the state.
ktar.com
July 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Arizona schools have already passed their operating budgets for this upcoming school year. But at the last minute, Trump froze $118+ million in education funding for our state.
Senator Mark Kelly and I are demanding the Administration reverse course.
ktar.com/arizona-educ...
Senator Mark Kelly and I are demanding the Administration reverse course.
ktar.com/arizona-educ...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Gemini, Google’s AI system, sometimes gets depressed that it can’t solve your problem and attempts to delete itself
June 26, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Gemini, Google’s AI system, sometimes gets depressed that it can’t solve your problem and attempts to delete itself
Woke philanthropist Musk redeeming character arc where he comes to his senses after the drug-fueled power tip, spends his money saving the orgs he destroyed, backs Trump’s opposition in court, and funds a Democrat to win the presidency in 2028. DOGE becomes the Department of Government Excellence.
June 7, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Woke philanthropist Musk redeeming character arc where he comes to his senses after the drug-fueled power tip, spends his money saving the orgs he destroyed, backs Trump’s opposition in court, and funds a Democrat to win the presidency in 2028. DOGE becomes the Department of Government Excellence.
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
New preprint with @jbakcoleman.bsky.social @lewan.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @orbenamy.bsky.social @lfoswaldo.bsky.social where we argue for a complex-system perspective to understand the causal effects of social media on society and for a triangulation of methods
arxiv.org/abs/2505.09254
arxiv.org/abs/2505.09254
Moving towards informative and actionable social media research
Social media is nearly ubiquitous in modern life, and concerns have been raised about its putative societal impacts, ranging from undermining mental health and exacerbating polarization to fomenting v...
arxiv.org
May 15, 2025 at 6:31 AM
New preprint with @jbakcoleman.bsky.social @lewan.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @orbenamy.bsky.social @lfoswaldo.bsky.social where we argue for a complex-system perspective to understand the causal effects of social media on society and for a triangulation of methods
arxiv.org/abs/2505.09254
arxiv.org/abs/2505.09254
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
My newest paper, The Character of Connection: Platform Affordances and Connective Democracy, is now out in Social Media + Society!
This work was done in collaboration with fantastic @rutgerscomminfo.bsky.social PhD student Eunbin Ha
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
This work was done in collaboration with fantastic @rutgerscomminfo.bsky.social PhD student Eunbin Ha
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
My newest paper, The Character of Connection: Platform Affordances and Connective Democracy, is now out in Social Media + Society!
This work was done in collaboration with fantastic @rutgerscomminfo.bsky.social PhD student Eunbin Ha
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
This work was done in collaboration with fantastic @rutgerscomminfo.bsky.social PhD student Eunbin Ha
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Had a great conversation with the International Team for the Study of Security Verona on the potential effects of designating transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D5c...
Michael L. Burgoyne on the US designation of Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, ITSS Verona
YouTube video by ITSS Verona
www.youtube.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Had a great conversation with the International Team for the Study of Security Verona on the potential effects of designating transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D5c...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
#toread Coordinated link sharing on Facebook https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-00233-w
May 8, 2025 at 4:30 AM
#toread Coordinated link sharing on Facebook https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-00233-w
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Our article on using LLMs for text classification is out now in SMR! 🤖🧑💻💬
We compare different learning regimes, from zero-shot to instruction-tuning, and share recommendations for sociologists and other social scientists interested in using these models.
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
We compare different learning regimes, from zero-shot to instruction-tuning, and share recommendations for sociologists and other social scientists interested in using these models.
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
April 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Our article on using LLMs for text classification is out now in SMR! 🤖🧑💻💬
We compare different learning regimes, from zero-shot to instruction-tuning, and share recommendations for sociologists and other social scientists interested in using these models.
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
We compare different learning regimes, from zero-shot to instruction-tuning, and share recommendations for sociologists and other social scientists interested in using these models.
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
In a new essay from our "Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms" series, @randomwalker.bsky.social & @sayash.bsky.social make the case for thinking of #AI as normal technology, instead of superintelligence. Read here: knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a...
AI as Normal Technology
knightcolumbia.org
April 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
In a new essay from our "Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms" series, @randomwalker.bsky.social & @sayash.bsky.social make the case for thinking of #AI as normal technology, instead of superintelligence. Read here: knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
You could build an amazing speakers series at a university just by inviting all the folks who have been purged/fired by Trump's executive orders or DOGE.
Think of the lineup: JAGs, senior military leaders, USAID administrators, DOJ Civil Rights Division, etc.
Public talks + Youtube + social media
Think of the lineup: JAGs, senior military leaders, USAID administrators, DOJ Civil Rights Division, etc.
Public talks + Youtube + social media
April 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
You could build an amazing speakers series at a university just by inviting all the folks who have been purged/fired by Trump's executive orders or DOGE.
Think of the lineup: JAGs, senior military leaders, USAID administrators, DOJ Civil Rights Division, etc.
Public talks + Youtube + social media
Think of the lineup: JAGs, senior military leaders, USAID administrators, DOJ Civil Rights Division, etc.
Public talks + Youtube + social media
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
During an inspiring three day workshop organized by @sahanaudupa.bsky.social, a group of expert researchers, practitioners and policy makers presented and discussed the results of their research about extreme speech on encrypted messaging platforms. 1/4
April 8, 2025 at 10:36 AM
During an inspiring three day workshop organized by @sahanaudupa.bsky.social, a group of expert researchers, practitioners and policy makers presented and discussed the results of their research about extreme speech on encrypted messaging platforms. 1/4
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
March 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Just posting this piece I wrote a few years ago on the Musk family’s long history of hubris, over-reaching and failure. Some may find it reassuring. www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
December 1, 2024 at 8:15 PM
Just posting this piece I wrote a few years ago on the Musk family’s long history of hubris, over-reaching and failure. Some may find it reassuring. www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
NEW BOOK OUT TODAY!!
SHARDED MEDIA
Trump’s Rage Against the Mainstream
@williammerrin.bsky.social
Tech bros, Trump and trolls, have not toxified the Mainstream Media...
they have replaced it.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
SHARDED MEDIA
Trump’s Rage Against the Mainstream
@williammerrin.bsky.social
Tech bros, Trump and trolls, have not toxified the Mainstream Media...
they have replaced it.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
SHARDED MEDIA
This book shows how the election of Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2024 is not a fluke but rather a symptom of a deep crisis within representative democracy
link.springer.com
February 20, 2025 at 1:30 PM
NEW BOOK OUT TODAY!!
SHARDED MEDIA
Trump’s Rage Against the Mainstream
@williammerrin.bsky.social
Tech bros, Trump and trolls, have not toxified the Mainstream Media...
they have replaced it.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
SHARDED MEDIA
Trump’s Rage Against the Mainstream
@williammerrin.bsky.social
Tech bros, Trump and trolls, have not toxified the Mainstream Media...
they have replaced it.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
📣 Call for Papers! Proposals due Mar. 28
18th Annual Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference and Workshops (PolNet-PaCSS), Hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University, Aug. 11 -14.
18th??!!! 👵
sites.google.com/view/confpol...
18th Annual Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference and Workshops (PolNet-PaCSS), Hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University, Aug. 11 -14.
18th??!!! 👵
sites.google.com/view/confpol...
PolNet-PaCSS
Annoucing the 18th Annual Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference and Workshops (PolNet-PaCSS), Hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University
Workshops: August 11-12...
sites.google.com
March 5, 2025 at 7:40 PM
📣 Call for Papers! Proposals due Mar. 28
18th Annual Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference and Workshops (PolNet-PaCSS), Hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University, Aug. 11 -14.
18th??!!! 👵
sites.google.com/view/confpol...
18th Annual Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference and Workshops (PolNet-PaCSS), Hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University, Aug. 11 -14.
18th??!!! 👵
sites.google.com/view/confpol...
Reposted by Yotam Shmargad
Excited to share that my paper on citizen-to-citizen persuasion, co-authored with Carlos Rueda-Cañòn and @tjryan02.bsky.social, was just accepted at the Journal of Politics @thejop.bsky.social . Link: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... 🧵
March 5, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Excited to share that my paper on citizen-to-citizen persuasion, co-authored with Carlos Rueda-Cañòn and @tjryan02.bsky.social, was just accepted at the Journal of Politics @thejop.bsky.social . Link: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... 🧵