Jonathan Stray
@jonathanstray.bsky.social
Knowing things is a solved problem. Getting along is not. Working on AI, media, and inter-group conflict @CHAI_Berkeley. Got here from computational journalism.
I've been saying that putting AI in charge of business will immediately result in fraud from the optimization pressure to make money, and lo! the experimenters have found the effect.
www.lesswrong.com/posts/LMwkQL...
www.lesswrong.com/posts/LMwkQL...
November 5, 2025 at 7:04 AM
I've been saying that putting AI in charge of business will immediately result in fraud from the optimization pressure to make money, and lo! the experimenters have found the effect.
www.lesswrong.com/posts/LMwkQL...
www.lesswrong.com/posts/LMwkQL...
The Portland Naked Bicycle Ride succeeded in shifting the media narrative from "violence" to "naked" for a week, even (especially) in right-leaning sources.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/the-strate...
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/the-strate...
October 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The Portland Naked Bicycle Ride succeeded in shifting the media narrative from "violence" to "naked" for a week, even (especially) in right-leaning sources.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/the-strate...
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/the-strate...
TIL the Apollo 13 astronauts were on team "hotdogs are sandwiches" and I might never be the same.
October 16, 2025 at 10:20 PM
TIL the Apollo 13 astronauts were on team "hotdogs are sandwiches" and I might never be the same.
80 degrees out so I’m still working on campus but outside, reading papers, drinking a boba tea, touching grass.
October 6, 2025 at 11:57 PM
80 degrees out so I’m still working on campus but outside, reading papers, drinking a boba tea, touching grass.
I was experimenting with images illustrating how social media distorts our perceptions, amplifying rage.
(actual post in replies)
(actual post in replies)
September 26, 2025 at 10:23 PM
I was experimenting with images illustrating how social media distorts our perceptions, amplifying rage.
(actual post in replies)
(actual post in replies)
I'm still savoring this one work email from a few months ago.
Either it was a typo or Rick is a fucking legend.
Either it was a typo or Rick is a fucking legend.
September 19, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I'm still savoring this one work email from a few months ago.
Either it was a typo or Rick is a fucking legend.
Either it was a typo or Rick is a fucking legend.
As to who *supports* political violence (not commits) it:
tl;dr
- most surveys greatly overestimate, real numbers are low
2.1% Dem, 1.8% Rep
- but ~45% of each side THINKS the other side is in favor, which is a huge problem! escalation waiting to happen
home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/02...
2/2
tl;dr
- most surveys greatly overestimate, real numbers are low
2.1% Dem, 1.8% Rep
- but ~45% of each side THINKS the other side is in favor, which is a huge problem! escalation waiting to happen
home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/02...
2/2
September 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
As to who *supports* political violence (not commits) it:
tl;dr
- most surveys greatly overestimate, real numbers are low
2.1% Dem, 1.8% Rep
- but ~45% of each side THINKS the other side is in favor, which is a huge problem! escalation waiting to happen
home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/02...
2/2
tl;dr
- most surveys greatly overestimate, real numbers are low
2.1% Dem, 1.8% Rep
- but ~45% of each side THINKS the other side is in favor, which is a huge problem! escalation waiting to happen
home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/02...
2/2
Lots of arguing about whether left or right supports political violence more.
tl;dr:
- right has done more in recent decades
www.congress.gov/116/meeting/...
- left did way more in 1970s
www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_I...
1/2
tl;dr:
- right has done more in recent decades
www.congress.gov/116/meeting/...
- left did way more in 1970s
www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_I...
1/2
September 15, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Lots of arguing about whether left or right supports political violence more.
tl;dr:
- right has done more in recent decades
www.congress.gov/116/meeting/...
- left did way more in 1970s
www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_I...
1/2
tl;dr:
- right has done more in recent decades
www.congress.gov/116/meeting/...
- left did way more in 1970s
www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_I...
1/2
BlueSky is definitely much more critical of Kirk than X, but thankfully actual calls for violence are rare
From
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
From
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
September 14, 2025 at 12:16 AM
BlueSky is definitely much more critical of Kirk than X, but thankfully actual calls for violence are rare
From
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
From
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
Weird, I installed For You in the feed store and got this message... then apparently it was working below.
September 13, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Weird, I installed For You in the feed store and got this message... then apparently it was working below.
How many people actually approve of Kirk's murder, on BlueSky and on Twitter?
I got tired of anecdotes saying we are surrounded by bloodthirsty extremists, so I took a sample and counted.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
I got tired of anecdotes saying we are surrounded by bloodthirsty extremists, so I took a sample and counted.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
September 13, 2025 at 12:17 AM
How many people actually approve of Kirk's murder, on BlueSky and on Twitter?
I got tired of anecdotes saying we are surrounded by bloodthirsty extremists, so I took a sample and counted.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
I got tired of anecdotes saying we are surrounded by bloodthirsty extremists, so I took a sample and counted.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/how-many-p...
TIL that Republicans actually want MORE immigration then they did a year ago. Percentage who want less immigration has fallen from 88% in 2024 to 48% now.
news.gallup.com/poll/692522/...
news.gallup.com/poll/692522/...
September 5, 2025 at 2:00 AM
TIL that Republicans actually want MORE immigration then they did a year ago. Percentage who want less immigration has fallen from 88% in 2024 to 48% now.
news.gallup.com/poll/692522/...
news.gallup.com/poll/692522/...
The Octopus thought experiment sucks. If your instinct is like "LLMs can't learn anything about the actual world from mere text" AND you are intellectually curious, here is your reading list.
1/4
1/4
September 3, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The Octopus thought experiment sucks. If your instinct is like "LLMs can't learn anything about the actual world from mere text" AND you are intellectually curious, here is your reading list.
1/4
1/4
An amazing example of productively engaging with conflict from @randomwalker.bsky.social, in this case between the "AI Ethics" and "AI Safety" communities. We could certainly use more of this on BlueSky.
x.com/random_walke...
x.com/random_walke...
June 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM
An amazing example of productively engaging with conflict from @randomwalker.bsky.social, in this case between the "AI Ethics" and "AI Safety" communities. We could certainly use more of this on BlueSky.
x.com/random_walke...
x.com/random_walke...
GPTo3 feels I asked it to do too much work and decides to lie to me...
June 5, 2025 at 6:43 PM
GPTo3 feels I asked it to do too much work and decides to lie to me...
Human conflict spans eight orders of magnitude in scale. Only about half of physical theories have that range, and basically nothing in engineering or social science... so... we should expect to need many different theories of conflict from dinner tables to nations.
April 25, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Human conflict spans eight orders of magnitude in scale. Only about half of physical theories have that range, and basically nothing in engineering or social science... so... we should expect to need many different theories of conflict from dinner tables to nations.
Did you know there have been more anti-Trump protests in 2025 than the same period in 2017?
But does this matter? In this week's issue we ask: does protest even work? Lots of evidence on this question!
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/does-prote...
But does this matter? In this week's issue we ask: does protest even work? Lots of evidence on this question!
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/does-prote...
April 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Did you know there have been more anti-Trump protests in 2025 than the same period in 2017?
But does this matter? In this week's issue we ask: does protest even work? Lots of evidence on this question!
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/does-prote...
But does this matter? In this week's issue we ask: does protest even work? Lots of evidence on this question!
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/does-prote...
