Daniel Bachler
@danielbachler.de
Head of Engineering at @ourworldindata.org; likes nuanced discourse, weird creatures and programming languages with ADTs
Great overview of current best practices for agentic coding tools. Recommended reading if you write code. steipete.me/posts/just-t...
Just Talk To It - the no-bs Way of Agentic Engineering | Peter Steinberger
A practical guide to working with AI coding agents without the hype.
steipete.me
October 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Great overview of current best practices for agentic coding tools. Recommended reading if you write code. steipete.me/posts/just-t...
Things I find surprising about AI in Sept 2025:
- lots of progress on coding agents, little on game-playing
- really great writing is still beyond LLMs, no real progress since 4o
- AI generated videos are really convincing now, but fake AI content is not flooding my timeline yet
- lots of progress on coding agents, little on game-playing
- really great writing is still beyond LLMs, no real progress since 4o
- AI generated videos are really convincing now, but fake AI content is not flooding my timeline yet
September 20, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Things I find surprising about AI in Sept 2025:
- lots of progress on coding agents, little on game-playing
- really great writing is still beyond LLMs, no real progress since 4o
- AI generated videos are really convincing now, but fake AI content is not flooding my timeline yet
- lots of progress on coding agents, little on game-playing
- really great writing is still beyond LLMs, no real progress since 4o
- AI generated videos are really convincing now, but fake AI content is not flooding my timeline yet
Excellent thread on AI by my colleague Esteban - recommended!
1/ I recently listened to David Autor on @reidhoffman.bsky.social's podcast and really enjoyed it. It got me thinking about how we've adapted to past technological shifts and why we need to think differently about adaptation with AI. A few thoughts in this thread🧵
July 22, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Excellent thread on AI by my colleague Esteban - recommended!
Forecasts suggest current steep funding cuts to USAID funding could lead to over 14 million extra deaths (range: 8.5–20 million) by 2030 - including 4.5 million children under 5 (3.1–5.9 million).
From a new paper by Daniella Medeiros Cavalcanti et al: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
From a new paper by Daniella Medeiros Cavalcanti et al: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis
USAID funding has significantly contributed to the reduction in adult and child mortality
across low-income and middle-income countries over the past two decades. Our estimates
show that, unless the a...
www.thelancet.com
July 2, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Forecasts suggest current steep funding cuts to USAID funding could lead to over 14 million extra deaths (range: 8.5–20 million) by 2030 - including 4.5 million children under 5 (3.1–5.9 million).
From a new paper by Daniella Medeiros Cavalcanti et al: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
From a new paper by Daniella Medeiros Cavalcanti et al: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
Childhood leukemia used to be a death sentence for the vast majority of patients. Now, most children in rich countries are cured.
Cool article from @scientificdiscovery.dev for @ourworldindata.org on crucial progress I was completely unaware of: ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
Cool article from @scientificdiscovery.dev for @ourworldindata.org on crucial progress I was completely unaware of: ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
June 11, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Childhood leukemia used to be a death sentence for the vast majority of patients. Now, most children in rich countries are cured.
Cool article from @scientificdiscovery.dev for @ourworldindata.org on crucial progress I was completely unaware of: ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
Cool article from @scientificdiscovery.dev for @ourworldindata.org on crucial progress I was completely unaware of: ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
So far we’ve been lucky that LLM economics results in almost perfectly egalitarian access to capabilities. It could’ve gone differently - where the richest enjoy far better systems or one lab holds a monopoly. Here’s hoping this stays true.
June 9, 2025 at 9:03 PM
So far we’ve been lucky that LLM economics results in almost perfectly egalitarian access to capabilities. It could’ve gone differently - where the richest enjoy far better systems or one lab holds a monopoly. Here’s hoping this stays true.
Really nice to see these features in prod! Kudos to my colleague @sophiamersmann.bsky.social for building all of this! 🔥
💡 Very excited to announce new features: better interactive maps! 🗺️
– Enhanced country/region selection with several sorting options and a bar chart preview
– Selecting a country highlights it and shows its value on the map
– Zooming to your selection brings up a 3D globe view 🌍
– Enhanced country/region selection with several sorting options and a bar chart preview
– Selecting a country highlights it and shows its value on the map
– Zooming to your selection brings up a 3D globe view 🌍
June 5, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Really nice to see these features in prod! Kudos to my colleague @sophiamersmann.bsky.social for building all of this! 🔥
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
According to SimilarWeb, chatgpt.com had 5.1 billion visits last April (13% increase relative to March), and about 55% of the visitors were younger than 35.
For comparison: Wikipedia.org had 3.7 billion visits (down 6%), with ~45% under 35
For comparison: Wikipedia.org had 3.7 billion visits (down 6%), with ~45% under 35
May 16, 2025 at 11:31 PM
According to SimilarWeb, chatgpt.com had 5.1 billion visits last April (13% increase relative to March), and about 55% of the visitors were younger than 35.
For comparison: Wikipedia.org had 3.7 billion visits (down 6%), with ~45% under 35
For comparison: Wikipedia.org had 3.7 billion visits (down 6%), with ~45% under 35
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
“…today’s antivirals are so effective that if taken during pregnancy, the risk of passing HIV to the infant is minimal. Without these drugs, around a quarter of babies born to HIV-positive mothers would also contract the virus – and half of them would die before the age of two.”
I signed the 10% Giving Pledge this year, and this week, I decided to donate 19% of my annual income to global health charities.
It's not going to be anywhere near "enough", but I'm happy to do it --
It's not going to be anywhere near "enough", but I'm happy to do it --
We don't have to sit back and just watch the horror unfold
This month, I signed a pledge to donate at least 10% of my lifetime income to effective charities.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev
April 11, 2025 at 2:49 PM
“…today’s antivirals are so effective that if taken during pregnancy, the risk of passing HIV to the infant is minimal. Without these drugs, around a quarter of babies born to HIV-positive mothers would also contract the virus – and half of them would die before the age of two.”
Leopold Aschenbrenner and Daniel Kokotajlo have both argued that China must not reach AGI first. Have either of them given any update on how they think about US labs reaching AGI while Trump is in the White House?
April 10, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Leopold Aschenbrenner and Daniel Kokotajlo have both argued that China must not reach AGI first. Have either of them given any update on how they think about US labs reaching AGI while Trump is in the White House?
Something pretty strange about where we are with LLMs is how bad the spam in my email inbox still is. I would have guessed we would routinely see super convincing, personalized spam by now.
April 5, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Something pretty strange about where we are with LLMs is how bad the spam in my email inbox still is. I would have guessed we would routinely see super convincing, personalized spam by now.
The way the other nations exports are calculated in Trumps "tariff" chart is so incredibly dumb
April 3, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The way the other nations exports are calculated in Trumps "tariff" chart is so incredibly dumb
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
Tell me your team is entirely comprised of over-confident twenty-somethings without telling me your team is entirely comprised of over-confident twenty-somethings
NEW: DOGE is planning to migrate the Social Security Administration codebase to a new programming language.
This would normally take years. DOGE wants it done in months. That could put benefits for millions of Americans at risk.
Scoop from @makenakelly.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/doge-r...
This would normally take years. DOGE wants it done in months. That could put benefits for millions of Americans at risk.
Scoop from @makenakelly.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/doge-r...
DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase In Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse
Social Security systems contain tens of millions of lines of code written in COBOL, an archaic programming language. Safely rewriting that code would take years—DOGE wants it done in months.
www.wired.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Tell me your team is entirely comprised of over-confident twenty-somethings without telling me your team is entirely comprised of over-confident twenty-somethings
I find many non-fiction books are more verbose than I would like. I'd often prefer a distilled version with a page count of roughly a quarter. I'd be willing to pay more for the distilled version than the verbose one. Could this be a new revenue stream for writers in the age of AI?
March 23, 2025 at 12:12 PM
I find many non-fiction books are more verbose than I would like. I'd often prefer a distilled version with a page count of roughly a quarter. I'd be willing to pay more for the distilled version than the verbose one. Could this be a new revenue stream for writers in the age of AI?
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
"Any grants, contracts, or collaborations involving mRNA vaccines be reported up the chain to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office and the White House" - Lysenkoism at work in the new NIH.
March 17, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"Any grants, contracts, or collaborations involving mRNA vaccines be reported up the chain to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office and the White House" - Lysenkoism at work in the new NIH.
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
Our latest issue of Works in Progress dropped today!
- The steam networks of NYC
- Prehistoric violence
- Urbanism with Chinese characteristics
- Extending the fertility window
- The Hanseatic League's rise and fall
- The pineapple: the king of fruits
- The land value tax
worksinprogress.co
- The steam networks of NYC
- Prehistoric violence
- Urbanism with Chinese characteristics
- Extending the fertility window
- The Hanseatic League's rise and fall
- The pineapple: the king of fruits
- The land value tax
worksinprogress.co
March 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Our latest issue of Works in Progress dropped today!
- The steam networks of NYC
- Prehistoric violence
- Urbanism with Chinese characteristics
- Extending the fertility window
- The Hanseatic League's rise and fall
- The pineapple: the king of fruits
- The land value tax
worksinprogress.co
- The steam networks of NYC
- Prehistoric violence
- Urbanism with Chinese characteristics
- Extending the fertility window
- The Hanseatic League's rise and fall
- The pineapple: the king of fruits
- The land value tax
worksinprogress.co
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
Most OECD countries fail to allocate even 0.15% of their national income to aid the world’s poorest countries, despite a commitment to do so. That's just $1 out of every $700.
Only Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway meet this minimal UN target. New cuts will deepen this shortfall.
Only Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway meet this minimal UN target. New cuts will deepen this shortfall.
March 12, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Most OECD countries fail to allocate even 0.15% of their national income to aid the world’s poorest countries, despite a commitment to do so. That's just $1 out of every $700.
Only Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway meet this minimal UN target. New cuts will deepen this shortfall.
Only Luxembourg, Sweden, and Norway meet this minimal UN target. New cuts will deepen this shortfall.
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
My latest article on Our World in Data, looking at foreign aid and the difference we can make with personal donations:
ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-...
ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-...
For many of us, it doesn’t cost much to improve someone’s life, and we can do much more of it
Most countries spend less than 1% of their national income on foreign aid; even small increases could make a big difference.
ourworldindata.org
March 11, 2025 at 9:38 AM
My latest article on Our World in Data, looking at foreign aid and the difference we can make with personal donations:
ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-...
ourworldindata.org/foreign-aid-...
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
South Korea’s under-15 population has halved in two generations. I knew the population was aging quickly, and it’s no surprise that means fewer children—but the absolute numbers are striking.
It's easy to look at fertility rates and forget about absolute numbers. That's a lot fewer kids around.
It's easy to look at fertility rates and forget about absolute numbers. That's a lot fewer kids around.
The number of children in South Korea has fallen by 60% since its peak
South Korea is undergoing one of the world’s most rapid demographic transitions. Fertility rates — the number of children a woman has over her lifetime — have fallen rapidly over the last 50 years, an...
ourworldindata.org
March 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
South Korea’s under-15 population has halved in two generations. I knew the population was aging quickly, and it’s no surprise that means fewer children—but the absolute numbers are striking.
It's easy to look at fertility rates and forget about absolute numbers. That's a lot fewer kids around.
It's easy to look at fertility rates and forget about absolute numbers. That's a lot fewer kids around.
I think this is right. There is another interesting dynamic that for AI labs it would be very useful if academic research were freely available and so you have a powerful new force against established, paywalled scientific publishing.
I think AI tools like DeepResearch will break the market of peer-reviewed, paywalled journals sooner than most people realize. Evaluation is harder than production of papers, and that gap is growing quickly
March 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
I think this is right. There is another interesting dynamic that for AI labs it would be very useful if academic research were freely available and so you have a powerful new force against established, paywalled scientific publishing.
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
THIS IS HUGE! A cancer vaccine developed by Yale University and DFCI shows MAJOR promise. Results of an early-phase trial reveal ALL patients with ADVANCED stage kidney cancer had successful anti-cancer immune responses AND have remained CANCER-FREE approximately THREE years after treatment. 🧪🧵⬇️
February 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
THIS IS HUGE! A cancer vaccine developed by Yale University and DFCI shows MAJOR promise. Results of an early-phase trial reveal ALL patients with ADVANCED stage kidney cancer had successful anti-cancer immune responses AND have remained CANCER-FREE approximately THREE years after treatment. 🧪🧵⬇️
OpenAI plus users now have access to the "Deep Research" feature. I just tried it for the first time and asked it for a report on a niche programming topic (comparing computation expressions in F# vs Algebraic Effects in OCaml) and the result was better than any blog post I know of on the topic.
February 26, 2025 at 9:50 PM
OpenAI plus users now have access to the "Deep Research" feature. I just tried it for the first time and asked it for a report on a niche programming topic (comparing computation expressions in F# vs Algebraic Effects in OCaml) and the result was better than any blog post I know of on the topic.
This is quite surprising!
This is a crazy paper. Fine-tuning a big GPT-4o on a small amount of insecure code or even "bad numbers" (like 666) makes them misaligned in almost everything else. They are more likely to start offering misinformation, spouting anti-human values, and talk about admiring dictators. Why is unclear.
February 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
This is quite surprising!
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
How could @ourworldindata.org maps be better?
Do you experience any annoyances or pain points when you interact with our maps?
Is there something you wish you could do that you currently can’t?
What’s the next cool thing we could build on top of our maps?
Any notes welcome! Thank you 🙏
Do you experience any annoyances or pain points when you interact with our maps?
Is there something you wish you could do that you currently can’t?
What’s the next cool thing we could build on top of our maps?
Any notes welcome! Thank you 🙏
GDP per capita
This data is adjusted for inflation and for differences in living costs between countries.
ourworldindata.org
February 21, 2025 at 9:35 AM
How could @ourworldindata.org maps be better?
Do you experience any annoyances or pain points when you interact with our maps?
Is there something you wish you could do that you currently can’t?
What’s the next cool thing we could build on top of our maps?
Any notes welcome! Thank you 🙏
Do you experience any annoyances or pain points when you interact with our maps?
Is there something you wish you could do that you currently can’t?
What’s the next cool thing we could build on top of our maps?
Any notes welcome! Thank you 🙏
Reposted by Daniel Bachler
StopTB has a new report estimating the impact of the foreign aid freeze.
It's useful to understand the huge impact that global health efforts have everyday, and worrying. Some highlights... 🧵
It's useful to understand the huge impact that global health efforts have everyday, and worrying. Some highlights... 🧵
www.stoptb.org
February 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
StopTB has a new report estimating the impact of the foreign aid freeze.
It's useful to understand the huge impact that global health efforts have everyday, and worrying. Some highlights... 🧵
It's useful to understand the huge impact that global health efforts have everyday, and worrying. Some highlights... 🧵