Ari B Friedman
@abfriedman.com
This is my personal account. Faculty at UPenn. Emergency doc, health economist, geriatrics and privacy researcher. Views are my own. RT does not imply endorsement.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
I didn't understand an econ paper unless I'd gone to the trouble of taking it to pieces and putting it back together, better still programmed the thing in a computer and solved it myself.
November 7, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I didn't understand an econ paper unless I'd gone to the trouble of taking it to pieces and putting it back together, better still programmed the thing in a computer and solved it myself.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
One of the things I discovered about my own learning was that unless I went to the trouble of trying to reconstruct whatever model, argument, proof, reasoning myself, step by step, from scratch, I did not really see or understand its whole in my mind.
November 7, 2025 at 9:20 AM
One of the things I discovered about my own learning was that unless I went to the trouble of trying to reconstruct whatever model, argument, proof, reasoning myself, step by step, from scratch, I did not really see or understand its whole in my mind.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Immigration raids during Trump II have increased daily student absences by 22 percent in the California Central Valley, with largest increases among the youngest students.
November 7, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Immigration raids during Trump II have increased daily student absences by 22 percent in the California Central Valley, with largest increases among the youngest students.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Getting nervous for the talk I'm about to give at a workshop about "using AI to drive impact" which features slides such as these.
November 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Getting nervous for the talk I'm about to give at a workshop about "using AI to drive impact" which features slides such as these.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
'You’re probably thinking, screw you, my doctor would tell me if something was really wrong, or else they wouldn’t have sent these. But do you know that for sure? Because there sure are a lot of numbers here and a lot of arrows up and down."
I’m Your Uploaded Bloodwork Results, and No, I Will Not Explain Myself to You
I’ve finally arrived. That’s right, it’s me, your bloodwork results, in your inbox three days after that chatty nurse couldn’t find your vein and l...
buff.ly
November 2, 2025 at 3:30 PM
'You’re probably thinking, screw you, my doctor would tell me if something was really wrong, or else they wouldn’t have sent these. But do you know that for sure? Because there sure are a lot of numbers here and a lot of arrows up and down."
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
SNAP surveys SNAP users. Already half of them are saying they are skipping meals.
November 6, 2025 at 9:21 PM
SNAP surveys SNAP users. Already half of them are saying they are skipping meals.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
“Socialism-any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”
Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/s...
Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/s...
Trump to the Novo Nordisk CEO: "Maybe you should give us a piece of the company like I've been asking for."
November 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
“Socialism-any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”
Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/s...
Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/s...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
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November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
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Any pro-democracy, pro-market lessons for the world as formerly robust democracies slip rapidly towards autocracy?
I read this whole thing & learned what anyone who understands how absolute, arbitrary power works would expect:
The prince asked for the impossible, was told by toadies it was in fact possible if expensive, then wasted billions as no one could tell him it wouldn't work (while many cashed checks)
The prince asked for the impossible, was told by toadies it was in fact possible if expensive, then wasted billions as no one could tell him it wouldn't work (while many cashed checks)
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
November 6, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Any pro-democracy, pro-market lessons for the world as formerly robust democracies slip rapidly towards autocracy?
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Earlier this week I came across a book with this dedication page (from 1938).
November 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Earlier this week I came across a book with this dedication page (from 1938).
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Part of the story of the Trump administration is the effort to demolish state capacities. Some will be very hard to rebuild and that is the point (thread)
BREAKING: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is illegally closing 13 campus buildings (including ~100 laboratories).
Report coming from GESTA, the Goddard employee union
Report coming from GESTA, the Goddard employee union
November 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Part of the story of the Trump administration is the effort to demolish state capacities. Some will be very hard to rebuild and that is the point (thread)
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
(Reuters) - Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
$META @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
$META @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
(Reuters) - Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
$META @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
$META @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
We have reached the point where the *American Bar Association* cannot find attorneys willing to represent them in litigation against the Trump administration.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
October 26, 2025 at 8:16 PM
We have reached the point where the *American Bar Association* cannot find attorneys willing to represent them in litigation against the Trump administration.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
This is a fantastic, well-supported 3-year post-doc in our Division of Medical Ethics at Penn. Please share (and apply if interested!)
1/ Thrilled to announce that @pennmehp.bsky.social is recruiting for our NHGRI-funded postdoctoral fellowship in the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genomics. Please share widely.
Details at medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu/elsipostdoc
Details at medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu/elsipostdoc
Penn Medical Ethics and Health Policy | ELSI Genomics Postdoctoral Training Program
About the Fellowship
The mission of the 3-year Penn Postdoctoral Training Program in the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genetics and Genomics, supported by a training grant from...
medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu
October 23, 2025 at 9:45 AM
This is a fantastic, well-supported 3-year post-doc in our Division of Medical Ethics at Penn. Please share (and apply if interested!)
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Total federal spending is up +7% in 2025 over 2024 year-to-date to Oct 20.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
October 23, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Total federal spending is up +7% in 2025 over 2024 year-to-date to Oct 20.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
The story that the fed govt is tightening its belt is contradicted by its own real-time expenditure data. Admin spectacularly hammering some things but raising spending elsewhere.
Was -7% just after Inauguration Day.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
LLMs can be useful for some things, but simulating human research participant responses isn’t one of them
![However, recent work demonstrates that demographically prompted LLMs cannot accurately simulate diverse identities. Prompted LLMs are more likely to represent majority groups' stereotypes about minority groups than minority groups' own standpoints [12,13]. For instance, one study [13] prompted LLMs with the identity of Black woman. GPT-4 started generations with phrases such as 'Hey girl' and
'Oh, honey'; Llama-2 started nearly every response with 'Oh, girl', and used phrases including I'm like, YAASSSSS' and 'That's cray, hunty!' In addition, demographic prompting flattens diverse identities into narrow categories, limiting researchers' ability to observe and understand diversity within those categories [13,55]. Demographic prompting misrepresents people who are chronically under-represented in cognitive science research, a form of representational harm [56].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ho22o3jwfn4k7diklsrfnazt/bafkreifiqpzt5r2qjkewoxwxyutln7i4rg3x65pzbxbbgo7zp2by4wdqs4@jpeg)
October 22, 2025 at 6:30 AM
LLMs can be useful for some things, but simulating human research participant responses isn’t one of them
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...
www.thecrimson.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
The obvious incentives being created here is that on aggregate, most faculty will avoid Texas if they have a choice, or administrative positions if they can. For a while, this discouraged red state leaders from draconian attacks on faculty. But no more. They value subservience over excellence.
October 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The obvious incentives being created here is that on aggregate, most faculty will avoid Texas if they have a choice, or administrative positions if they can. For a while, this discouraged red state leaders from draconian attacks on faculty. But no more. They value subservience over excellence.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Dr. Amy Finkelstein from MIT will join us virtually on October 29 at noon ET to discuss “Facts and Fallacies: Rethinking US Healthcare.” Thanks to @bcfginitiative.bsky.social for co-hosting this event with us. Register here! chibe.upenn.edu/event/amy-fi...
Amy Finkelstein, PhD, MPhil│BCFG/CHIBE Keynote Event - Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE)
Dr. Amy Finkelstein will speak to the BCFG/CHIBE community virtually from noon to 1:00 PM on October 29th, 2025 via Zoom.
chibe.upenn.edu
October 20, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Dr. Amy Finkelstein from MIT will join us virtually on October 29 at noon ET to discuss “Facts and Fallacies: Rethinking US Healthcare.” Thanks to @bcfginitiative.bsky.social for co-hosting this event with us. Register here! chibe.upenn.edu/event/amy-fi...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
NHANES runs mobile clinics that travel the country measuring height, weight, & blood pressure while collecting blood and urine samples. These samples are our only national source for tracking everything from blood sugar to hormones, heavy metals, and more.
The entire operation has been eliminated.
The entire operation has been eliminated.
Everyone across biomedicine should be very loud about this so this team's RIF status gets reversed. Nhanes has been key for tracking obesity & diabetes rates, identifying high blood lead levels in kids in the 70s, tracking progress on cholesterol lowering, guiding nutrient fortification programs etc
October 14, 2025 at 9:20 PM
NHANES runs mobile clinics that travel the country measuring height, weight, & blood pressure while collecting blood and urine samples. These samples are our only national source for tracking everything from blood sugar to hormones, heavy metals, and more.
The entire operation has been eliminated.
The entire operation has been eliminated.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Wow. NHANES js incredibly for population health surveillance, and is nationally representative as well. What a loss.
Ugh... This study has existed for decades, providing valuable health data for all sorts of topics and publications. This is just more awful news. 🛟😷 Sociology medsky
CDC team running top survey on health and nutrition is laid off
NHANES has collected data on eating patterns, diabetes, and other common diseases for decades. The CDC team that runs it has been fired.
www.statnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Wow. NHANES js incredibly for population health surveillance, and is nationally representative as well. What a loss.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.
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October 10, 2025 at 9:01 AM
I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.
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