Sebastian Benthall
@sbenthall.bsky.social
scientist, dad. working on neurosymbolic AI systems for computational economics.
Research Scientist, International Computer Science Institute
Research Director, New York University School of Law
https://sbenthall.net/ - https://digifesto.com/
Research Scientist, International Computer Science Institute
Research Director, New York University School of Law
https://sbenthall.net/ - https://digifesto.com/
Europe once again realizes that it can get a lot of money out of US big tech companies by enforcing laws
We didn't plagiarize, you made us plagiarize by asking questions to which we stole the answers.
"Because its output is generated by users of the chatbot via their prompts, OpenAI said, they were the ones who should be held legally liable for it – an argument rejected by the court."
"Because its output is generated by users of the chatbot via their prompts, OpenAI said, they were the ones who should be held legally liable for it – an argument rejected by the court."
ChatGPT violated copyright law by ‘learning’ from song lyrics, German court rules
OpenAI ordered to pay undisclosed damages for training its language models on artists’ work without permission
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Europe once again realizes that it can get a lot of money out of US big tech companies by enforcing laws
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
Great piece by Fred Turner on the pivot from Californian ideology of connection (which built the web) to Texan ideology of extraction and theocracy thebaffler.com/salvos/the-t...
thebaffler.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Great piece by Fred Turner on the pivot from Californian ideology of connection (which built the web) to Texan ideology of extraction and theocracy thebaffler.com/salvos/the-t...
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
I was thinking today that we need something like Marr's levels, but for software system design. Level one is for functional specification. Level 2 technical design. Level 3 is implementation. Level 0 is incentives and politics of design. System errors can happen at all levels.
How can we organize current theoretical approaches for developmental biology - from information to dynamical systems & GRNs - into a common framework?
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
We propose to think along Marr's 3 levels: computational problem, algorithm, implementation
Check out our review:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.24536
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 AM
I was thinking today that we need something like Marr's levels, but for software system design. Level one is for functional specification. Level 2 technical design. Level 3 is implementation. Level 0 is incentives and politics of design. System errors can happen at all levels.
[2510.27628] Validity Is What You Need arxiv.org/abs/2510.27628
Validity Is What You Need
While AI agents have long been discussed and studied in computer science, today's Agentic AI systems are something new. We consider other definitions of Agentic AI and propose a new realist definition...
arxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
[2510.27628] Validity Is What You Need arxiv.org/abs/2510.27628
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
I successfully nerd-sniped myself into making a precinct-level dot-density map of the NYC mayoral election. kieranhealy.org/blog/archive...
Mamdani vs Sliwa and Cuomo
Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral election gave me the opportunity to draw a few maps, and also to learn a bit about incorporating additional spatial data into maps drawn in R. R is not a...
kieranhealy.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:07 PM
I successfully nerd-sniped myself into making a precinct-level dot-density map of the NYC mayoral election. kieranhealy.org/blog/archive...
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
RIP Alison Knowles. Damn. hyperallergic.com/1054017/alis...
Alison Knowles, the First Woman of Fluxus, Dies at 92
“People don’t touch art,” she once said. “That’s one of the problems.”
hyperallergic.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:17 AM
RIP Alison Knowles. Damn. hyperallergic.com/1054017/alis...
When will the Government shutdown end? share.google/2WvCZK7Lrzp0...
When will the Government shutdown end?
Polymarket | This market will resolve to the calendar date range (ET) of the first day after September 30, 2025 which the U.S. The Office of Personnel Manage...
share.google
October 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
When will the Government shutdown end? share.google/2WvCZK7Lrzp0...
Honestly relieved that my child fell asleep on the way to the Halloween parade and won't let himself be woken up so I too can nap in the car.
October 25, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Honestly relieved that my child fell asleep on the way to the Halloween parade and won't let himself be woken up so I too can nap in the car.
There are ever increasingly impressive demos of high-tech machines promising a transformed future. But somehow sustaining automation of even universal basics remains a challenge. Kitchen appliances break down. We haven't yet mastered the smoke alarm that doesn't go off when you fry stuff. Etc.
October 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
There are ever increasingly impressive demos of high-tech machines promising a transformed future. But somehow sustaining automation of even universal basics remains a challenge. Kitchen appliances break down. We haven't yet mastered the smoke alarm that doesn't go off when you fry stuff. Etc.
I'm glad the political symbolism of the frog changed. I was pretty sick of the ugly meme cartoon.
October 19, 2025 at 12:58 AM
I'm glad the political symbolism of the frog changed. I was pretty sick of the ugly meme cartoon.
Today I saw _Robots_ (2005) for the first time. Free with ads on YouTube. Quite underrated children's movie. Brilliant animation. Mel Brooks and Robin Williams voice acting. My son enjoyed it.
October 13, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Today I saw _Robots_ (2005) for the first time. Free with ads on YouTube. Quite underrated children's movie. Brilliant animation. Mel Brooks and Robin Williams voice acting. My son enjoyed it.
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
Looks like California has learned something from the EU Cookie Banner disaster
therecord.media/california-s...
therecord.media/california-s...
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Looks like California has learned something from the EU Cookie Banner disaster
therecord.media/california-s...
therecord.media/california-s...
AT Protocol hosts splitting away from Bluesky over content moderation politics is actually what the AT Protocol needs to achieve its objective of decentralization. Feature not bug.
October 8, 2025 at 1:55 AM
AT Protocol hosts splitting away from Bluesky over content moderation politics is actually what the AT Protocol needs to achieve its objective of decentralization. Feature not bug.
Sociology is a Martial Art 2 new
YouTube video by Claes pålsson
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Speaking of primatology, my main opinion about jobs and automation is that a large share of "economic activity" is elaborate social grooming to establish hierarchy, and that the share of human labor devoted to this will increase with automation, because it cannot be automated.
October 7, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Speaking of primatology, my main opinion about jobs and automation is that a large share of "economic activity" is elaborate social grooming to establish hierarchy, and that the share of human labor devoted to this will increase with automation, because it cannot be automated.
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
Groundbreaking! The UK Armed Forces has sworn in its first-ever humanist pastoral carer – Dr Neil Weddell. This means thousands of non-religious service personnel will have access to like-minded pastoral support that genuinely reflects their values and worldview. 🧵
October 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Groundbreaking! The UK Armed Forces has sworn in its first-ever humanist pastoral carer – Dr Neil Weddell. This means thousands of non-religious service personnel will have access to like-minded pastoral support that genuinely reflects their values and worldview. 🧵
Baumol's cost disease, but one job. Everything that can be automated and streamlined about your work takes less and less time. The more efficient they get, the stagnant parts of one's work takes up relatively more time. Progress is blocked by the most tedious blockers. Is there a name for this?
October 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Baumol's cost disease, but one job. Everything that can be automated and streamlined about your work takes less and less time. The more efficient they get, the stagnant parts of one's work takes up relatively more time. Progress is blocked by the most tedious blockers. Is there a name for this?
Claim: true ethical statements refer to facts about which behaviors and institutions produce adaptively stable social systems, under varying environmental and technical regimes. These are sometimes unknown but largely discoverable facts.
September 25, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Claim: true ethical statements refer to facts about which behaviors and institutions produce adaptively stable social systems, under varying environmental and technical regimes. These are sometimes unknown but largely discoverable facts.
Reposted by Sebastian Benthall
"Low effort, unhelpful AI generated work is having a significant impact on collaboration at work. Approximately half of the people we surveyed viewed colleagues who sent workslop as less creative, capable, and reliable than they did before ...AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity
September 23, 2025 at 8:00 AM
"Low effort, unhelpful AI generated work is having a significant impact on collaboration at work. Approximately half of the people we surveyed viewed colleagues who sent workslop as less creative, capable, and reliable than they did before ...AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity
So are CA, IL, and NY going to lead a shadow cabinet with all the fired federal experts developing state policy based on expertise? Then raise state taxes to match what was cut from federal?
August 31, 2025 at 8:36 PM
So are CA, IL, and NY going to lead a shadow cabinet with all the fired federal experts developing state policy based on expertise? Then raise state taxes to match what was cut from federal?
Sovereign Wealth Funds can hold domestic equities. Ideological inconsistencies aside, the Intel thing seems like a fine or at least justifiable move. Cf. "Sovereign Wealth Funds as domestic investors of last resort during crises" | Cairn.info share.google/3JfOQmVu97BQ...
Cairn.info
Plateforme de référence pour les publications de sciences humaines et sociales
Cairn.info
August 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Sovereign Wealth Funds can hold domestic equities. Ideological inconsistencies aside, the Intel thing seems like a fine or at least justifiable move. Cf. "Sovereign Wealth Funds as domestic investors of last resort during crises" | Cairn.info share.google/3JfOQmVu97BQ...
Does anybody have an leads or ideas about policies for open source software communities about the use of GenAI in contributions or participation?
August 22, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Does anybody have an leads or ideas about policies for open source software communities about the use of GenAI in contributions or participation?
Sure wish people would listen to the experts saying how important it is to trust the institutions with the experts in them. Timely PSA.
How will the deterioration of political institutions influence American prosperity? Initiative Co-Director @dacemoglumit.bsky.social discussed the importance of institutions in supporting economic growth and the need to rebuild trust in experts with WBUR's Scott Tong
www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...
www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...
Economist Daron Acemoglu on why strong, trusted institutions bring economic and political stability
Daron Acemoglu has researched how successful nations rely on strong, reliable institutions.
www.wbur.org
August 18, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Sure wish people would listen to the experts saying how important it is to trust the institutions with the experts in them. Timely PSA.
In neoclassical economic modeling, the assumption of rational decision-making, and the aggregation of multiple actors into a representative agent, are not orthogonal. By taking both steps, the model sheds its ability to represent the sections of society that are less rational and thereby diminished.
August 17, 2025 at 1:33 AM
In neoclassical economic modeling, the assumption of rational decision-making, and the aggregation of multiple actors into a representative agent, are not orthogonal. By taking both steps, the model sheds its ability to represent the sections of society that are less rational and thereby diminished.