Jan Zilinsky
@janzilinsky.bsky.social
I study the role of technology and conspiracy theories in democratic politics. NYU PhD.
https://www.janzilinsky.com
https://www.janzilinsky.com
The video is from July, so "announces" isn't quite right.
Also, a response to that video at the time seems to contain a small hint of paranoia
Also, a response to that video at the time seems to contain a small hint of paranoia
October 23, 2025 at 7:37 PM
The video is from July, so "announces" isn't quite right.
Also, a response to that video at the time seems to contain a small hint of paranoia
Also, a response to that video at the time seems to contain a small hint of paranoia
Liked this passage in @smotus.bsky.social's book - though there are places were non-confusing design is the exception and a cryptic design is the default...
October 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Liked this passage in @smotus.bsky.social's book - though there are places were non-confusing design is the exception and a cryptic design is the default...
On morning Munich commutes, I see surprisingly little tech use. People read newspapers, nap, or chat. Occasionally someone knits, and I watch a bit wistfully.
Kids seem perfectly well-adjusted: those in groups chat and tease each other, those commuting alone do homework or use phones.
Kids seem perfectly well-adjusted: those in groups chat and tease each other, those commuting alone do homework or use phones.
October 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
On morning Munich commutes, I see surprisingly little tech use. People read newspapers, nap, or chat. Occasionally someone knits, and I watch a bit wistfully.
Kids seem perfectly well-adjusted: those in groups chat and tease each other, those commuting alone do homework or use phones.
Kids seem perfectly well-adjusted: those in groups chat and tease each other, those commuting alone do homework or use phones.
I thought GPT-5 was supposed to tone down the flattery 😂
September 21, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I thought GPT-5 was supposed to tone down the flattery 😂
If you've felt that broadcast news is less informative, you're probably right.
Information density of ABC, CBS, and NBC news segments has declined, according to LLM-based classifications: 5harad.com/papers/no-ne...
Information density of ABC, CBS, and NBC news segments has declined, according to LLM-based classifications: 5harad.com/papers/no-ne...
September 18, 2025 at 3:15 PM
If you've felt that broadcast news is less informative, you're probably right.
Information density of ABC, CBS, and NBC news segments has declined, according to LLM-based classifications: 5harad.com/papers/no-ne...
Information density of ABC, CBS, and NBC news segments has declined, according to LLM-based classifications: 5harad.com/papers/no-ne...
So why do most of us rarely switch on the airplane mode?
(Not dismissing what the respondents are saying, just wondering what exactly they are telling us about their unhappiness with the current tech)
(Not dismissing what the respondents are saying, just wondering what exactly they are telling us about their unhappiness with the current tech)
August 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
So why do most of us rarely switch on the airplane mode?
(Not dismissing what the respondents are saying, just wondering what exactly they are telling us about their unhappiness with the current tech)
(Not dismissing what the respondents are saying, just wondering what exactly they are telling us about their unhappiness with the current tech)
Also... close to nothing for a few of these:
August 24, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Also... close to nothing for a few of these:
I asked 4 AI models to rate the quality of different ideas (all about changing jobs, but for different reasons)
1) Models seems to take users' happiness seriously
2) Gemini flatters users the most, Grok is harsher as an evaluator
3) Overall, it doesn't seem like LLMs were excessively deferential
1) Models seems to take users' happiness seriously
2) Gemini flatters users the most, Grok is harsher as an evaluator
3) Overall, it doesn't seem like LLMs were excessively deferential
August 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
I asked 4 AI models to rate the quality of different ideas (all about changing jobs, but for different reasons)
1) Models seems to take users' happiness seriously
2) Gemini flatters users the most, Grok is harsher as an evaluator
3) Overall, it doesn't seem like LLMs were excessively deferential
1) Models seems to take users' happiness seriously
2) Gemini flatters users the most, Grok is harsher as an evaluator
3) Overall, it doesn't seem like LLMs were excessively deferential
Tried making an image of an economics seminar :)
August 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Tried making an image of an economics seminar :)
I agree, plus there are use cases when the output isn't "right" but it still makes you think, forces you justify or adjust what you think - all useful habits!
A "thought partner" example - which French historians glorify the revolution and who emphasizes that it was a civil war?
A "thought partner" example - which French historians glorify the revolution and who emphasizes that it was a civil war?
August 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
I agree, plus there are use cases when the output isn't "right" but it still makes you think, forces you justify or adjust what you think - all useful habits!
A "thought partner" example - which French historians glorify the revolution and who emphasizes that it was a civil war?
A "thought partner" example - which French historians glorify the revolution and who emphasizes that it was a civil war?
I go to read an academic paper on ScienceDirect, and before I can even see the abstract, there's this "offer" staring at me.
August 7, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I go to read an academic paper on ScienceDirect, and before I can even see the abstract, there's this "offer" staring at me.
Zooming in on the articles about the released video (with the "missing minute")
August 4, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Zooming in on the articles about the released video (with the "missing minute")
A key news driver seems to be the demand for release of new information. See terms like: files, list, records, documents, unseal, and release.
(A quick analysis of the recent coverage of the Epstein case in US & UK outlets)
(A quick analysis of the recent coverage of the Epstein case in US & UK outlets)
August 4, 2025 at 9:28 PM
A key news driver seems to be the demand for release of new information. See terms like: files, list, records, documents, unseal, and release.
(A quick analysis of the recent coverage of the Epstein case in US & UK outlets)
(A quick analysis of the recent coverage of the Epstein case in US & UK outlets)
The NY Post and Fox News are ignoring this poll, at least for now.
But Newsmax and Brietbart are reporting the unflattering news:
But Newsmax and Brietbart are reporting the unflattering news:
August 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The NY Post and Fox News are ignoring this poll, at least for now.
But Newsmax and Brietbart are reporting the unflattering news:
But Newsmax and Brietbart are reporting the unflattering news:
Very cool that people can be open-minded
August 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Very cool that people can be open-minded
The 4% didn’t pass an attention check…
July 29, 2025 at 8:33 PM
The 4% didn’t pass an attention check…
Full paper here:
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
July 28, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Full paper here:
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Young people are experiencing significant emotional distress regarding climate change.
For many, though, disagreeing with an item like "people have failed to take care of the planet" could feel equivalent to dismissing environmental problems entirely, creating social pressure to affirm it.
For many, though, disagreeing with an item like "people have failed to take care of the planet" could feel equivalent to dismissing environmental problems entirely, creating social pressure to affirm it.
July 26, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Young people are experiencing significant emotional distress regarding climate change.
For many, though, disagreeing with an item like "people have failed to take care of the planet" could feel equivalent to dismissing environmental problems entirely, creating social pressure to affirm it.
For many, though, disagreeing with an item like "people have failed to take care of the planet" could feel equivalent to dismissing environmental problems entirely, creating social pressure to affirm it.
Discussions of misinformation naturally group around three main themes: health misinfo, social media platform responses, and political lies and contested claims.
Terms like "vaccine" bridge health and political discussions.
Terms like "vaccine" bridge health and political discussions.
July 25, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Discussions of misinformation naturally group around three main themes: health misinfo, social media platform responses, and political lies and contested claims.
Terms like "vaccine" bridge health and political discussions.
Terms like "vaccine" bridge health and political discussions.
Misinformation discourse:
The term itself connects multiple thematic clusters.
- We see platform governance, political misinfo, and vaccine-related clusters.
- "Facebook" and "Covid" are major structural hubs, bridging different conversation domains.
The term itself connects multiple thematic clusters.
- We see platform governance, political misinfo, and vaccine-related clusters.
- "Facebook" and "Covid" are major structural hubs, bridging different conversation domains.
July 24, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Misinformation discourse:
The term itself connects multiple thematic clusters.
- We see platform governance, political misinfo, and vaccine-related clusters.
- "Facebook" and "Covid" are major structural hubs, bridging different conversation domains.
The term itself connects multiple thematic clusters.
- We see platform governance, political misinfo, and vaccine-related clusters.
- "Facebook" and "Covid" are major structural hubs, bridging different conversation domains.
Lies spread faster than the truth. Right?
Well, OK, it depends on what stories you select.
(It helps to exclude a ton of true stories about the weather, traffic, or sports results)
Incidentally, how did 2.5K rumors in the dataset become 126,000 rumors in the abstract?
Well, OK, it depends on what stories you select.
(It helps to exclude a ton of true stories about the weather, traffic, or sports results)
Incidentally, how did 2.5K rumors in the dataset become 126,000 rumors in the abstract?
July 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Lies spread faster than the truth. Right?
Well, OK, it depends on what stories you select.
(It helps to exclude a ton of true stories about the weather, traffic, or sports results)
Incidentally, how did 2.5K rumors in the dataset become 126,000 rumors in the abstract?
Well, OK, it depends on what stories you select.
(It helps to exclude a ton of true stories about the weather, traffic, or sports results)
Incidentally, how did 2.5K rumors in the dataset become 126,000 rumors in the abstract?
New paper with @yannistheocharis.bsky.social
When it comes to health choices that seem to run counter to people's own self-interest, politics is overwhelmingly more important than individuals' cognitive styles or media diet:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
When it comes to health choices that seem to run counter to people's own self-interest, politics is overwhelmingly more important than individuals' cognitive styles or media diet:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
July 21, 2025 at 5:37 PM
New paper with @yannistheocharis.bsky.social
When it comes to health choices that seem to run counter to people's own self-interest, politics is overwhelmingly more important than individuals' cognitive styles or media diet:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
When it comes to health choices that seem to run counter to people's own self-interest, politics is overwhelmingly more important than individuals' cognitive styles or media diet:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A distinctly 2020s form of masochism:
July 21, 2025 at 9:35 AM
A distinctly 2020s form of masochism:
Those who build power on cynicism eventually become victims of it
July 16, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Those who build power on cynicism eventually become victims of it
The July 2025 DOJ/FBI memo presents itself as a model of institutional integrity: victim-sensitive & dismissive of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein
Now DT asks his followers to... trust institutions!
After how many years of equating law enforcement with a "deep state"?
Now DT asks his followers to... trust institutions!
After how many years of equating law enforcement with a "deep state"?
July 16, 2025 at 10:38 AM
The July 2025 DOJ/FBI memo presents itself as a model of institutional integrity: victim-sensitive & dismissive of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein
Now DT asks his followers to... trust institutions!
After how many years of equating law enforcement with a "deep state"?
Now DT asks his followers to... trust institutions!
After how many years of equating law enforcement with a "deep state"?