Daniel Van Zant
@danielvanzant.bsky.social
Building AI that amplifies human expertise instead of diminishing it.
Founder at https://www.sylvum.com
PhD Student at https://www.mpcrlab.com
Founder at https://www.sylvum.com
PhD Student at https://www.mpcrlab.com
When I find an interesting article/paper/etc I don't read it right away, I save it in a folder on my computer. Once I have enough, I run a small script to get it printed as a glossy magazine with an AI-designed cover (here's the latest) and read through everything at my leisure.
August 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM
When I find an interesting article/paper/etc I don't read it right away, I save it in a folder on my computer. Once I have enough, I run a small script to get it printed as a glossy magazine with an AI-designed cover (here's the latest) and read through everything at my leisure.
I am presenting online for the Wolfram Institute at 2pm ET today. Will be talking about an AI system that I am building and how it might be used to validate abstract theories with purely computational "Wolframian-style" experiments.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qz...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qz...
Presentation | Daniel Van Zant | How AI-assisted Organization can Accelerate Science Theory-Building
YouTube video by Wolfram Institute
m.youtube.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:39 PM
I am presenting online for the Wolfram Institute at 2pm ET today. Will be talking about an AI system that I am building and how it might be used to validate abstract theories with purely computational "Wolframian-style" experiments.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qz...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qz...
Got to have a great conversation with my advisor Dr. Elan Barenholtz on his theory of language!
youtu.be/P-yfQLDM5pA?...
youtu.be/P-yfQLDM5pA?...
Is Memory Real? UWaterloo Discussion w/ Prof. Elan Barenholtz & Dan Van Zant | Ekkolapto Salon
YouTube video by Elan Barenholtz, PhD
youtu.be
July 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Got to have a great conversation with my advisor Dr. Elan Barenholtz on his theory of language!
youtu.be/P-yfQLDM5pA?...
youtu.be/P-yfQLDM5pA?...
Setting up a weapons shop inside Rome's walls makes you a respected merchant. Outside the walls, you're seen as a barbarian threat, but you're free from Rome's taxes and politics. Research has the same geography. It's worth knowing which side of the wall serves your purposes.
July 9, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Setting up a weapons shop inside Rome's walls makes you a respected merchant. Outside the walls, you're seen as a barbarian threat, but you're free from Rome's taxes and politics. Research has the same geography. It's worth knowing which side of the wall serves your purposes.
One minute clip from a short talk with Dr. Elan Barenholtz about how he uses AI in his work. Check out the full video here: www.danielvanzant.com/p/an-extra-c... . Also worth checking out an interview he did with Curt Jaimungal of Theories of Everything: curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-theory...
June 11, 2025 at 10:32 PM
One minute clip from a short talk with Dr. Elan Barenholtz about how he uses AI in his work. Check out the full video here: www.danielvanzant.com/p/an-extra-c... . Also worth checking out an interview he did with Curt Jaimungal of Theories of Everything: curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-theory...
Reposted by Daniel Van Zant
For anyone interested in this question this guy: substack.com/@cyberneticist sent me this excellent resource: people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jrs/highd/ over on Substack.
Cyberneticist | Substack
Writing about the higher level theory of computation and cybernetics from a critical perspective
substack.com
June 8, 2025 at 3:25 AM
For anyone interested in this question this guy: substack.com/@cyberneticist sent me this excellent resource: people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jrs/highd/ over on Substack.
Being unbiased in science communication seems almost impossible. I admire scientists who, instead of pretending to be unbiased, work to be transparent about their biases. I.e. "I came up with this theory so I prefer it," "my field looks at this thing this particular way," etc.
June 7, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Being unbiased in science communication seems almost impossible. I admire scientists who, instead of pretending to be unbiased, work to be transparent about their biases. I.e. "I came up with this theory so I prefer it," "my field looks at this thing this particular way," etc.
Hyperdimensional spaces (like the ones that LLMs and other AI systems work in) have emergent properties that are more than just "scaling up 3 dimensions a lot". Is there a single resource that lists these unique properties. Or even better one that gives a good intuition of them? #MLSky
June 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Hyperdimensional spaces (like the ones that LLMs and other AI systems work in) have emergent properties that are more than just "scaling up 3 dimensions a lot". Is there a single resource that lists these unique properties. Or even better one that gives a good intuition of them? #MLSky
Reposted by Daniel Van Zant
5 years since our first pilot, and 25,000 participants later, I'm super happy this work with Makaela Nartker, @chazfirestone.bsky.social and Howard Egeth on inattentional blindness is now out in eLife! A little 🧵 of what we found... 1/12 elifesciences.org/articles/100...
Sensitivity to visual features in inattentional blindness
As a group, inattentionally blind participants can successfully report the location, color, and shape of stimuli they deny noticing, and exhibit a systematic bias to report not noticing.
elifesciences.org
May 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
5 years since our first pilot, and 25,000 participants later, I'm super happy this work with Makaela Nartker, @chazfirestone.bsky.social and Howard Egeth on inattentional blindness is now out in eLife! A little 🧵 of what we found... 1/12 elifesciences.org/articles/100...
Reposted by Daniel Van Zant
Wikipedia is also a good evaluator of how much I can trust the LLM. If the topic has multiple fleshed-out Wikipedia articles with lots of sources then the LLM is usually mostly right. If there's just one two-paragraph article that cites one paper then usually the LLM output has many hallucinations.
May 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Wikipedia is also a good evaluator of how much I can trust the LLM. If the topic has multiple fleshed-out Wikipedia articles with lots of sources then the LLM is usually mostly right. If there's just one two-paragraph article that cites one paper then usually the LLM output has many hallucinations.
Reposted by Daniel Van Zant
There's so much polarization around LLMs. They are way overhyped, I agree. But I also use them semi-regularly now.
Here's a thread of genuine use cases where I find them helpful. Please add your own!
Here's a thread of genuine use cases where I find them helpful. Please add your own!
May 20, 2025 at 7:51 PM
There's so much polarization around LLMs. They are way overhyped, I agree. But I also use them semi-regularly now.
Here's a thread of genuine use cases where I find them helpful. Please add your own!
Here's a thread of genuine use cases where I find them helpful. Please add your own!
Demo of an AI tool that displays relevant information live as you are having a technical conversation or presentation. The display is based on either a query you gave it beforehand where it can grab and process relevant documents from the internet.
www.danielvanzant.com/p/augmenting...
www.danielvanzant.com/p/augmenting...
Augmenting technical conversations with AI (demo)
A quick demo of a project I am working on for an AI tool that displays relevant information live as you are having a technical conversation or presentation.
www.danielvanzant.com
May 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Demo of an AI tool that displays relevant information live as you are having a technical conversation or presentation. The display is based on either a query you gave it beforehand where it can grab and process relevant documents from the internet.
www.danielvanzant.com/p/augmenting...
www.danielvanzant.com/p/augmenting...
asteriskmag.com/issues/09/gr...
Very cool article going into detail on what the best strategies might be for humans to take their first steps into becoming a multi-planet species. Always excited about anything on how we could get one step closer to Star Trek.
Very cool article going into detail on what the best strategies might be for humans to take their first steps into becoming a multi-planet species. Always excited about anything on how we could get one step closer to Star Trek.
Greening the Solar System—Asterisk
A future where life flourishes beyond Earth is closer than you think. How, precisely, will we get there?
asteriskmag.com
April 8, 2025 at 2:23 AM
asteriskmag.com/issues/09/gr...
Very cool article going into detail on what the best strategies might be for humans to take their first steps into becoming a multi-planet species. Always excited about anything on how we could get one step closer to Star Trek.
Very cool article going into detail on what the best strategies might be for humans to take their first steps into becoming a multi-planet species. Always excited about anything on how we could get one step closer to Star Trek.
I will be presenting my work building an artificial intelligence cognitive co-pilot to help neuroscientists create better theories next week, April 9th, 10am EST. Anyone is welcome to join the Zoom: fau-edu.zoom.us/j/3806783624... . The talk will also be recorded and posted on Youtube.
April 2, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I will be presenting my work building an artificial intelligence cognitive co-pilot to help neuroscientists create better theories next week, April 9th, 10am EST. Anyone is welcome to join the Zoom: fau-edu.zoom.us/j/3806783624... . The talk will also be recorded and posted on Youtube.
Most systems that exists do so because they are good at maintaining their current state in the face of entropy. If you want to change the state of a system on the long-term you have to do three things:
March 31, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Most systems that exists do so because they are good at maintaining their current state in the face of entropy. If you want to change the state of a system on the long-term you have to do three things:
www.newscientist.com/article/2472... UK tech secretary's official chatgpt records were requested and given under freedom of information(FOI) laws. Under most FOI laws, text conversations between two people on are exempt. Should conversations with a chatbot be treated the same?
Revealed: How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice
New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation
www.newscientist.com
March 27, 2025 at 2:35 AM
www.newscientist.com/article/2472... UK tech secretary's official chatgpt records were requested and given under freedom of information(FOI) laws. Under most FOI laws, text conversations between two people on are exempt. Should conversations with a chatbot be treated the same?
1/7 New on the my blog: Breakthrough Incentive Markets - a third path for science funding that combines democratic problem prioritization with market-driven resource allocation.
open.substack.com/pub/danielva...
open.substack.com/pub/danielva...
Breakthrough Incentive Markets
Aligning financial incentives with scientific progress to solve humanity's most urgent challenges
open.substack.com
March 25, 2025 at 6:01 AM
1/7 New on the my blog: Breakthrough Incentive Markets - a third path for science funding that combines democratic problem prioritization with market-driven resource allocation.
open.substack.com/pub/danielva...
open.substack.com/pub/danielva...
Have been enjoying participating in these
"salons" which are long-form semi-structured conversations with a neat group of scientists and thinkers. I have appeared in these two:
youtu.be/lzLg4lEnQuY?...
youtu.be/TN4aMXWpnoI?...
and there are others on that Youtube channel.
"salons" which are long-form semi-structured conversations with a neat group of scientists and thinkers. I have appeared in these two:
youtu.be/lzLg4lEnQuY?...
youtu.be/TN4aMXWpnoI?...
and there are others on that Youtube channel.
youtu.be
March 19, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Have been enjoying participating in these
"salons" which are long-form semi-structured conversations with a neat group of scientists and thinkers. I have appeared in these two:
youtu.be/lzLg4lEnQuY?...
youtu.be/TN4aMXWpnoI?...
and there are others on that Youtube channel.
"salons" which are long-form semi-structured conversations with a neat group of scientists and thinkers. I have appeared in these two:
youtu.be/lzLg4lEnQuY?...
youtu.be/TN4aMXWpnoI?...
and there are others on that Youtube channel.
arxiv.org/abs/2502.203... Maybe LLM's are using symbolic mechanisms built through transformers? Raw transformers are only the "machine code" explanation for how LLM's incredible performance. I really enjoy papers like this that form theories about what the "software" might be.
Emergent Symbolic Mechanisms Support Abstract Reasoning in Large Language Models
Many recent studies have found evidence for emergent reasoning capabilities in large language models, but debate persists concerning the robustness of these capabilities, and the extent to which they ...
arxiv.org
March 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM
arxiv.org/abs/2502.203... Maybe LLM's are using symbolic mechanisms built through transformers? Raw transformers are only the "machine code" explanation for how LLM's incredible performance. I really enjoy papers like this that form theories about what the "software" might be.
open.substack.com/pub/elanbare...
Start of a series my advisor is writing on his theory of cognition. Even though I disagree with some parts of it, this theory is well-argued, well-evidenced, compelling and accessibly written. It deserves serious thought and consideration.
Start of a series my advisor is writing on his theory of cognition. Even though I disagree with some parts of it, this theory is well-argued, well-evidenced, compelling and accessibly written. It deserves serious thought and consideration.
Memory Isn't Real (Part 1)
The autoregressive theory of cognition changes everything we thought we knew about knowing
open.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 7:08 PM
open.substack.com/pub/elanbare...
Start of a series my advisor is writing on his theory of cognition. Even though I disagree with some parts of it, this theory is well-argued, well-evidenced, compelling and accessibly written. It deserves serious thought and consideration.
Start of a series my advisor is writing on his theory of cognition. Even though I disagree with some parts of it, this theory is well-argued, well-evidenced, compelling and accessibly written. It deserves serious thought and consideration.
Paper comprehensively benchmarking different models and methods for RAG use-cases. If you're wondering "what is the best reranker for X" or "what is the best architecture for Y type of questions" there is probably a table that answers that question. arxiv.org/pdf/2502.202...
arxiv.org
March 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Paper comprehensively benchmarking different models and methods for RAG use-cases. If you're wondering "what is the best reranker for X" or "what is the best architecture for Y type of questions" there is probably a table that answers that question. arxiv.org/pdf/2502.202...
Excellent interview from the leader of a research org that is managing to “think big” without becoming based purely around ideas and do applied work without becoming completely profit-focused. I love seeing stuff like this out there in the world.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
A Category Theory-Inspired BBN
How the Topos Institute tackles problems in complex systems
substack.com
March 9, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Excellent interview from the leader of a research org that is managing to “think big” without becoming based purely around ideas and do applied work without becoming completely profit-focused. I love seeing stuff like this out there in the world.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
youtu.be/miLqkSU_qG4?...
An awesome conversation I got to have with Dr. Elan Barenholtz on one of my favorite YouTube channel. We talked about what the structure, successes, and failings of large language models could mean for cognition more widely among other things.
An awesome conversation I got to have with Dr. Elan Barenholtz on one of my favorite YouTube channel. We talked about what the structure, successes, and failings of large language models could mean for cognition more widely among other things.
youtu.be
February 15, 2025 at 5:25 AM
youtu.be/miLqkSU_qG4?...
An awesome conversation I got to have with Dr. Elan Barenholtz on one of my favorite YouTube channel. We talked about what the structure, successes, and failings of large language models could mean for cognition more widely among other things.
An awesome conversation I got to have with Dr. Elan Barenholtz on one of my favorite YouTube channel. We talked about what the structure, successes, and failings of large language models could mean for cognition more widely among other things.
A short piece I just wrote on a really important trade-off in state of the art RAG: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Home | Substack
Discover and discuss great writing with the world’s smartest readers on Substack.
substack.com
January 29, 2025 at 3:09 AM
A short piece I just wrote on a really important trade-off in state of the art RAG: substack.com/home/post/p-...
1/7 Have been trying to understand self-organizing map U-matrices recently. (Example image below of a U-matrix based on hyperdimensional pain data). I am using them to visualize text embedding space.
January 8, 2025 at 2:27 AM
1/7 Have been trying to understand self-organizing map U-matrices recently. (Example image below of a U-matrix based on hyperdimensional pain data). I am using them to visualize text embedding space.