Stephen Larin
@sjlarin.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Political Studies and Associate Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity (@queensucsdd.bsky.social) at Queen's University, Canada.
🌐 https://www.queensu.ca/politics/people/larin-stephen
🌐 https://www.queensu.ca/politics/people/larin-stephen
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Another heartbreaking story about a young person who confided in ChatGPT before committing suicide, sensitively reported by @kashhill.bsky.social. It has led to the first known case to be brought against OpenAI for wrongful death. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...
A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
www.nytimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Another heartbreaking story about a young person who confided in ChatGPT before committing suicide, sensitively reported by @kashhill.bsky.social. It has led to the first known case to be brought against OpenAI for wrongful death. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
“The study authors asked GPT 4o-mini to evaluate the quality of 217 papers. The tool didn’t mention in any of the reports that the papers being analyzed had been retracted or had validity issues.
In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”
In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”
ChatGPT tends to ignore retractions on scientific papers
Study finds the chatbot doesn’t acknowledge concerns with problematic studies
cen.acs.org
August 25, 2025 at 8:56 AM
“The study authors asked GPT 4o-mini to evaluate the quality of 217 papers. The tool didn’t mention in any of the reports that the papers being analyzed had been retracted or had validity issues.
In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”
In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”
Reposted by Stephen Larin
How do structural incentives, such as job scarcity and metric-based evaluation, shape the questions scholars ask, the methods they use to answer them, and the outlets they prioritize to publish their work?
We have an updated draft answering these questions: osf.io/preprints/os...
We have an updated draft answering these questions: osf.io/preprints/os...
June 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
How do structural incentives, such as job scarcity and metric-based evaluation, shape the questions scholars ask, the methods they use to answer them, and the outlets they prioritize to publish their work?
We have an updated draft answering these questions: osf.io/preprints/os...
We have an updated draft answering these questions: osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Fascinating development: Danish Minister of Digitalization promises to phase out Microsoft from her ministry. (Add other reports of Copenhagen and Aarhus doing same.) Part of a trend I write about in The National Security Internet. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
June 9, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Fascinating development: Danish Minister of Digitalization promises to phase out Microsoft from her ministry. (Add other reports of Copenhagen and Aarhus doing same.) Part of a trend I write about in The National Security Internet. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Stephen Larin
If we stop calling these “grants” and start calling them “contracts,” it’s clearer to people why this is such an abuse of power. This wasn’t a bunch of gifts. This was a bunch of binding contracts between researchers and the US govt for specific agreed upon projects.
Research into quantum mechanics, volcanic eruptions and all sorts of other studies already underway canceled for no reason - a waste of resources, loss of innovation and undercutting expertise across multiple fields.
NEW: The National Science Foundation last week terminated 196 grants to Harvard amid the university's feud with Trump.
“Pure retribution,” one NSF employee told me of the administration axing $46 million in unfinished research. www.huffpost.com/entry/nation...
“Pure retribution,” one NSF employee told me of the administration axing $46 million in unfinished research. www.huffpost.com/entry/nation...
May 20, 2025 at 11:37 PM
If we stop calling these “grants” and start calling them “contracts,” it’s clearer to people why this is such an abuse of power. This wasn’t a bunch of gifts. This was a bunch of binding contracts between researchers and the US govt for specific agreed upon projects.
Reposted by Stephen Larin
The Sun-Times' AI content also includes made up experts, quotes, and publications. It's the same story, over and over: a news outlet outsources work to freelancers or third-party firms that use AI, and that content is thrown in with actual human work w/o review.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
May 20, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The Sun-Times' AI content also includes made up experts, quotes, and publications. It's the same story, over and over: a news outlet outsources work to freelancers or third-party firms that use AI, and that content is thrown in with actual human work w/o review.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
@technologyreview.com published an ambitious package on AI & energy today that reveals new insights into how much electricity generative AI really uses — & what it all means for the climate.
Please be sure to check out the main piece by @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & @caseycrownhart.bsky.social
Please be sure to check out the main piece by @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & @caseycrownhart.bsky.social
We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard.
The emissions from individual AI text, image, and video queries seem small—until you add up what the industry isn’t tracking and consider where it’s heading next.
www.technologyreview.com
May 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
@technologyreview.com published an ambitious package on AI & energy today that reveals new insights into how much electricity generative AI really uses — & what it all means for the climate.
Please be sure to check out the main piece by @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & @caseycrownhart.bsky.social
Please be sure to check out the main piece by @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social & @caseycrownhart.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephen Larin
I am speechless...
>> First fault movement ever filmed. M7.9 surface rupture filmed near Thazi, Myanmar
m.youtube.com/watch?v=77ub...
>> First fault movement ever filmed. M7.9 surface rupture filmed near Thazi, Myanmar
m.youtube.com/watch?v=77ub...
First fault movement ever filmed. M7.9 surface rupture filmed near Thazi, Myanmar
YouTube video by 2025 Sagaing Earthquake Archive
m.youtube.com
May 12, 2025 at 1:17 AM
I am speechless...
>> First fault movement ever filmed. M7.9 surface rupture filmed near Thazi, Myanmar
m.youtube.com/watch?v=77ub...
>> First fault movement ever filmed. M7.9 surface rupture filmed near Thazi, Myanmar
m.youtube.com/watch?v=77ub...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Think for one second about no longer being able to have any normal conversation with a friend in a restaurant, bitching about your jobs or family drama or whatever without the stranger sitting next to you being able to instantly rat you out for fun.
Really need to re-institute social consequences for public behavior like this.
Meta is reportedly working on facial recognition for its AI glasses
Make Americans Glassholes Again.
www.engadget.com
May 7, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Think for one second about no longer being able to have any normal conversation with a friend in a restaurant, bitching about your jobs or family drama or whatever without the stranger sitting next to you being able to instantly rat you out for fun.
Reposted by Stephen Larin
This is a fantastic oral history of the last 10 years of NLP and AI. www.quantamagazine.org/when-chatgpt...
When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field: An Oral History | Quanta Magazine
Researchers in “natural language processing” tried to tame human language. Then came the transformer.
www.quantamagazine.org
May 1, 2025 at 11:55 AM
This is a fantastic oral history of the last 10 years of NLP and AI. www.quantamagazine.org/when-chatgpt...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Notre livre Generations and Nationalism sera publié en septembre prochain/Our book Generations and Nationalism will be available in September. @alainggagnon.bsky.social
Generations and Nationalism: Comparing Catalonia, Quebec, and Scotland
Generations and Nationalism breaks new ground by placing the impact of generation and generational changes at the forefront of an investigation on the transformation of nationalist movements and the e...
www.routledge.com
April 28, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Notre livre Generations and Nationalism sera publié en septembre prochain/Our book Generations and Nationalism will be available in September. @alainggagnon.bsky.social
Reposted by Stephen Larin
icymi, i confirmed DOGE is partnering with Palantir, cofounded by Peter Thiel, to build a unified API layer across IRS systems
www.wired.com/story/palant...
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir Is Helping DOGE With a Massive IRS Data Project
For the past three days, DOGE and a handful of Palantir representatives, along with dozens of career IRS engineers, have been collaborating to build a “mega API,” WIRED has learned.
www.wired.com
April 14, 2025 at 5:08 PM
icymi, i confirmed DOGE is partnering with Palantir, cofounded by Peter Thiel, to build a unified API layer across IRS systems
www.wired.com/story/palant...
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Harvard will not comply.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
— Harvard President Alan M. Garber
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
— Harvard President Alan M. Garber
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Will Fight Trump’s Demands | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard will not comply with the Trump administration’s demands to dismantle its diversity programming and limit student protests in exchange for its federal funding, University President Alan M. Garb...
www.thecrimson.com
April 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Harvard will not comply.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
— Harvard President Alan M. Garber
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
— Harvard President Alan M. Garber
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
1. LLM-generated code tries to run code from online software packages. Which is normal but
2. The packages don’t exist. Which would normally cause an error but
3. Nefarious people have made malware under the package names that LLMs make up most often. So
4. Now the LLM code points to malware.
2. The packages don’t exist. Which would normally cause an error but
3. Nefarious people have made malware under the package names that LLMs make up most often. So
4. Now the LLM code points to malware.
LLMs hallucinating nonexistent software packages with plausible names leads to a new malware vulnerability: "slopsquatting."
LLMs can't stop making up software dependencies and sabotaging everything
: Hallucinated package names fuel 'slopsquatting'
www.theregister.com
April 12, 2025 at 11:43 PM
1. LLM-generated code tries to run code from online software packages. Which is normal but
2. The packages don’t exist. Which would normally cause an error but
3. Nefarious people have made malware under the package names that LLMs make up most often. So
4. Now the LLM code points to malware.
2. The packages don’t exist. Which would normally cause an error but
3. Nefarious people have made malware under the package names that LLMs make up most often. So
4. Now the LLM code points to malware.
Reposted by Stephen Larin
AGI is a story, not a technology nymag.com/intelligence...
April 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
AGI is a story, not a technology nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
“I think this is the first time a politician in Canada has crossed that line to officially say they want to interfere to control research topics,” says Madeleine Pastinelli, president of the university professors’ union in the province of Quebec. “It could be a very terrible time for us.”
April 10, 2025 at 2:56 AM
“I think this is the first time a politician in Canada has crossed that line to officially say they want to interfere to control research topics,” says Madeleine Pastinelli, president of the university professors’ union in the province of Quebec. “It could be a very terrible time for us.”
Reposted by Stephen Larin
"You boy! What tariff is it today?"
April 9, 2025 at 7:56 PM
"You boy! What tariff is it today?"
Reposted by Stephen Larin
“On today’s X, #AcademicTwitter is dead. And most scholars in the world do not want to be active on what the platform has become.”
I spoke to @timeshighered.bsky.social about Bluesky becoming a new hub for research
@academic-chatter.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/xs-domi...
I spoke to @timeshighered.bsky.social about Bluesky becoming a new hub for research
@academic-chatter.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/xs-domi...
X’s dominance ‘over’ as Bluesky becomes new hub for research
Data indicates more scholars turning to alternative social media site to post about their work after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover
www.timeshighereducation.com
April 9, 2025 at 1:27 PM
“On today’s X, #AcademicTwitter is dead. And most scholars in the world do not want to be active on what the platform has become.”
I spoke to @timeshighered.bsky.social about Bluesky becoming a new hub for research
@academic-chatter.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/xs-domi...
I spoke to @timeshighered.bsky.social about Bluesky becoming a new hub for research
@academic-chatter.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/xs-domi...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Statement on the Academic Freedom and Independence of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been…
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been…
Statement on the Academic Freedom and Independence of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been instances of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grants and contracts for colleges and universities being cancelled or suspended, paired with promises of reinstating funding in return for compliance with a list of demands for institutional overhaul.
politicalsciencenow.com
April 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Statement on the Academic Freedom and Independence of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been…
The American Political Science Association (APSA) is deeply concerned by recent attacks on the independence of colleges and universities in the United States. Over the past few weeks, there have been…
Reposted by Stephen Larin
NEW: Spoke to 25 small publishers about the kind of impact Google's AI changes to search has had on their businesses.
Things don't look good—not for the publishers, and not for the quality of information out on the open web, which ironically Google itself relies on.
Gift link: bloom.bg/43Jmzk3
Things don't look good—not for the publishers, and not for the quality of information out on the open web, which ironically Google itself relies on.
Gift link: bloom.bg/43Jmzk3
April 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
NEW: Spoke to 25 small publishers about the kind of impact Google's AI changes to search has had on their businesses.
Things don't look good—not for the publishers, and not for the quality of information out on the open web, which ironically Google itself relies on.
Gift link: bloom.bg/43Jmzk3
Things don't look good—not for the publishers, and not for the quality of information out on the open web, which ironically Google itself relies on.
Gift link: bloom.bg/43Jmzk3
Reposted by Stephen Larin
Petabytes of critical government research that is marked for possible deletion cannot be archived because of technical and legal restrictions, meaning it is very likely to be lost forever:
www.404media.co/nih-archives...
www.404media.co/nih-archives...
Massive, Unarchivable Datasets of Cancer, Covid, and Alzheimer's Research Could Be Lost Forever
Days before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that 10,000 HHS staffers would lose their jobs, a message appeared on NIH research repository sites saying they were "under review."
www.404media.co
April 4, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Petabytes of critical government research that is marked for possible deletion cannot be archived because of technical and legal restrictions, meaning it is very likely to be lost forever:
www.404media.co/nih-archives...
www.404media.co/nih-archives...
Reposted by Stephen Larin
2) Trump has had the same impact on economic uncertainty as a global pandemic.
April 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
2) Trump has had the same impact on economic uncertainty as a global pandemic.