Vincent Carchidi
@vcarchidi.bsky.social
Defense analyst. Tech policy. Have a double life in CogSci/Philosophy of Mind. (It's confusing. Just go with it.)
https://philpeople.org/profiles/vincent-carchidi
All opinions entirely my own.
https://philpeople.org/profiles/vincent-carchidi
All opinions entirely my own.
Pinned
Vincent Carchidi
@vcarchidi.bsky.social
· Apr 18
Vincent Carchidi, Computational Brain, Creative Mind: Intellectual Freedom as the Upper Limit on Artificial Intelligence - PhilPapers
Some generative linguists have long maintained that human beings exhibit a species-specific form of intellectual freedom expressible through natural language. With roots in Descartes’ effort to distin...
philpapers.org
Sharing a new preprint on AI and philosophy of mind/cogsci.
I make the case that human beings exhibit a species-specific form of intellectual freedom, expressible through natural language, and this is likely an unreachable threshold for computational systems.
philpapers.org/rec/CARCBC
I make the case that human beings exhibit a species-specific form of intellectual freedom, expressible through natural language, and this is likely an unreachable threshold for computational systems.
philpapers.org/rec/CARCBC
Why Populism Is Winning (w/ Francis Fukuyama)
YouTube video by The Bulwark
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Muted "Nuzzi." Still seeing Nuzzi content.
November 17, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Muted "Nuzzi." Still seeing Nuzzi content.
Insightful piece, echoes much of what I've come to in my own writing over the years.
I'd just suggest an additional problem for LLM writing beyond how they're trained: part of the oomph of writing, as Nathan discusses, is the person's voice. But that is a result of idiosyncratic motivations to use
I'd just suggest an additional problem for LLM writing beyond how they're trained: part of the oomph of writing, as Nathan discusses, is the person's voice. But that is a result of idiosyncratic motivations to use
Why AI writing is mid
How the current way of training language models destroys any voice (and hope of good writing).
www.interconnects.ai/p/why-ai-wri...
How the current way of training language models destroys any voice (and hope of good writing).
www.interconnects.ai/p/why-ai-wri...
Why AI writing is mid
How the current way of training language models destroys any voice (and hope of good writing).
www.interconnects.ai
November 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Insightful piece, echoes much of what I've come to in my own writing over the years.
I'd just suggest an additional problem for LLM writing beyond how they're trained: part of the oomph of writing, as Nathan discusses, is the person's voice. But that is a result of idiosyncratic motivations to use
I'd just suggest an additional problem for LLM writing beyond how they're trained: part of the oomph of writing, as Nathan discusses, is the person's voice. But that is a result of idiosyncratic motivations to use
You tell 'em Yann
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
You tell 'em Yann
Purely anecdotal, but I have been coming across more published articles that either don't pass the smell test or have hallucinated citations.
Came across a piece that cites a real article I co-authored, but lists my name as Victoria Carchidi, who is a real but completely unrelated researcher.
Came across a piece that cites a real article I co-authored, but lists my name as Victoria Carchidi, who is a real but completely unrelated researcher.
Hey folks. I have spent *days* reading and meticulously drafting comments on a very lengthy manuscript. Which I have just found includes an AI-faked quote. Attributed to ME.
Here is a thread of my feelings
Here is a thread of my feelings
a man in a blue shirt says " i am untethered and my rage knows no bounds ! "
ALT: a man in a blue shirt says " i am untethered and my rage knows no bounds ! "
media.tenor.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Purely anecdotal, but I have been coming across more published articles that either don't pass the smell test or have hallucinated citations.
Came across a piece that cites a real article I co-authored, but lists my name as Victoria Carchidi, who is a real but completely unrelated researcher.
Came across a piece that cites a real article I co-authored, but lists my name as Victoria Carchidi, who is a real but completely unrelated researcher.
What an absolute disgrace Chomsky made of his last years...
"He quickly became a highly valued friend and regular source of intellectual exchange and stimulation." Noam Chomsky on Jeffrey Epstein. New article catalogues everything we know about Chomsky's friendship with Epstein. Link 👇
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/noam-choms...
Noam Chomsky Is a Scumbag
From Jeffrey Epstein to Lawrence Krauss to Woody Allen, Chomsky has shown a clear pattern of poor judgment and low moral standards. Hard to express how disappointed I am in him. (2,800 words.)
www.realtimetechpocalypse.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:42 PM
What an absolute disgrace Chomsky made of his last years...
November 15, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Silver lining of a possible AI downturn: it would give me an excuse to learn more about tech (and tech policy) I've always been interested in but never had time to dive into. Renewables are probably top of the list.
November 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Silver lining of a possible AI downturn: it would give me an excuse to learn more about tech (and tech policy) I've always been interested in but never had time to dive into. Renewables are probably top of the list.
This past few months is probably the most difficult period I've had staying focused on any one thing. Feels like everything is in a state of transition, and doesn't make much sense to think about much beyond the next year or two.
November 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
This past few months is probably the most difficult period I've had staying focused on any one thing. Feels like everything is in a state of transition, and doesn't make much sense to think about much beyond the next year or two.
Still thinking about this quote from Larry Summers, which is by no means a novel attitude, but it expresses an attitude that's usually kept a least somewhat covered so clearly.
And I keep thinking about how destructive an attitude this is for the elite of an advanced society to hold.
And I keep thinking about how destructive an attitude this is for the elite of an advanced society to hold.
November 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Still thinking about this quote from Larry Summers, which is by no means a novel attitude, but it expresses an attitude that's usually kept a least somewhat covered so clearly.
And I keep thinking about how destructive an attitude this is for the elite of an advanced society to hold.
And I keep thinking about how destructive an attitude this is for the elite of an advanced society to hold.
Good stuff here.
I saw something from Benedict Evans recently where he noticed that the term "AI slop" at some point shifted from its original meaning of "trash output" to "anything automated by an LLM."
It seems like having a barrage of even *better* outputs in areas like recruitment becomes slop
I saw something from Benedict Evans recently where he noticed that the term "AI slop" at some point shifted from its original meaning of "trash output" to "anything automated by an LLM."
It seems like having a barrage of even *better* outputs in areas like recruitment becomes slop
November 14, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Good stuff here.
I saw something from Benedict Evans recently where he noticed that the term "AI slop" at some point shifted from its original meaning of "trash output" to "anything automated by an LLM."
It seems like having a barrage of even *better* outputs in areas like recruitment becomes slop
I saw something from Benedict Evans recently where he noticed that the term "AI slop" at some point shifted from its original meaning of "trash output" to "anything automated by an LLM."
It seems like having a barrage of even *better* outputs in areas like recruitment becomes slop
Appreciate the general idea in this thread, but I think this answers the original question about why some people can't/don't use them appropriately: the thrust of the current agent craze is that the models are...agents. They shouldn't need handholding. Why learn when you can automate?
What's frustrating (and @golikehellmachine.com has ranted about this to me before) is that Anthropic etc. seem largely uninterested in teaching their users this stuff. The theory seems to be "we'll just make it smarter so you don't have to know how to do that".
It's uh. Not working so well!
It's uh. Not working so well!
November 13, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Appreciate the general idea in this thread, but I think this answers the original question about why some people can't/don't use them appropriately: the thrust of the current agent craze is that the models are...agents. They shouldn't need handholding. Why learn when you can automate?
I accepted some time ago that pretty much anyone I've been influenced by intellectually who was born before a certain year will have made...questionable decisions.
Jeffrey Epstein was developing a series, moderated by @lkrauss1.bsky.social, to bring scientists and celebrities together. The first season would include an episode where "Woody Allen talks about the human condition with Linguist Noam Chomsky."
drive.google.com/file/d/14Sla...
drive.google.com/file/d/14Sla...
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023123.txt
drive.google.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I accepted some time ago that pretty much anyone I've been influenced by intellectually who was born before a certain year will have made...questionable decisions.
There's also the intellectual autonomy issue here, which I repeatedly bring up because so long as LLMs' quality of output are dependent on the competencies of the person prompting them, it's difficult to say the LLM has mastered the skills necessary to produce the output in any sense relevant to us.
LLMs' essays are almost always impressive in the "it's amazing what they can produce" sense, rather than the "making conceptual progress" sense.
This can quickly turn into a can of worms that I don't want to open, because many would likely say they do this already (or that humans don't do this).
This can quickly turn into a can of worms that I don't want to open, because many would likely say they do this already (or that humans don't do this).
November 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
There's also the intellectual autonomy issue here, which I repeatedly bring up because so long as LLMs' quality of output are dependent on the competencies of the person prompting them, it's difficult to say the LLM has mastered the skills necessary to produce the output in any sense relevant to us.
I think it's true the paradox is less useful/clean cut than it used to be.
I've been thinking recently that it also started getting misapplied in the 2023-present period.
(gyges may not agree with this part, just my hot take)
I've been thinking recently that it also started getting misapplied in the 2023-present period.
(gyges may not agree with this part, just my hot take)
i honestly think moravec's paradox has broken. like the boundary between easy and hard is this fucked up fractal thing and we're sort of just sitting on it. we can do some things and not others and no simple heuristic tells you which ones
it would be cool to have humanoid robotics. we are still trying to deal with moravec's paradox in robotics
November 12, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I think it's true the paradox is less useful/clean cut than it used to be.
I've been thinking recently that it also started getting misapplied in the 2023-present period.
(gyges may not agree with this part, just my hot take)
I've been thinking recently that it also started getting misapplied in the 2023-present period.
(gyges may not agree with this part, just my hot take)
Reminded of some commentary from the pre-ChatGPT era because of the LeCun news.
AI Winters are seen as being in the rearview mirror, deep learning might be capturing general principles of intelligence, but it's useful enough either way to put those concerns aside.
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
AI Winters are seen as being in the rearview mirror, deep learning might be capturing general principles of intelligence, but it's useful enough either way to put those concerns aside.
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
The Third AI Summer: AAAI Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Lecture
| AI Magazine
ojs.aaai.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reminded of some commentary from the pre-ChatGPT era because of the LeCun news.
AI Winters are seen as being in the rearview mirror, deep learning might be capturing general principles of intelligence, but it's useful enough either way to put those concerns aside.
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
AI Winters are seen as being in the rearview mirror, deep learning might be capturing general principles of intelligence, but it's useful enough either way to put those concerns aside.
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
Only just got around to this, which turned out to be interesting in a different way than I expected. It's not a defense of a specific AI nativist research program so much as a defense that there *should be* an AI nativist program comparable to ML empiricism.
philarchive.org/rec/KARAET-4
philarchive.org/rec/KARAET-4
Brett Karlan, AI empiricism: the only game in town? - PhilArchive
I offer an epistemic argument against the dominance of empiricism and empiricist-inspired methods in contemporary machine learning (ML) research. I first establish, as many ML researchers and philosop...
philarchive.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Only just got around to this, which turned out to be interesting in a different way than I expected. It's not a defense of a specific AI nativist research program so much as a defense that there *should be* an AI nativist program comparable to ML empiricism.
philarchive.org/rec/KARAET-4
philarchive.org/rec/KARAET-4
This is an interesting read, and seems like a well-motivated project.
"Small open high quality sources are increasingly more valuable than large data collections of questionable provenance."
"Small open high quality sources are increasingly more valuable than large data collections of questionable provenance."
Breaking: we release a fully synthetic generalist dataset for pretraining, SYNTH and two new SOTA reasoning models exclusively trained on it. Despite having seen only 200 billion tokens, Baguettotron is currently best-in-class in its size range. pleias.fr/blog/blogsyn...
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 PM
This is an interesting read, and seems like a well-motivated project.
"Small open high quality sources are increasingly more valuable than large data collections of questionable provenance."
"Small open high quality sources are increasingly more valuable than large data collections of questionable provenance."
Solid example of infrastructure that would be useful even in the event of a broader downturn
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Exclusive: Google to build new AI data centre on tiny Australian Indian Ocean outpost
Google plans to build a large artificial intelligence data centre on Australia's remote Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island after signing a cloud deal with the Department of Defence earlier this year, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with officials.
www.reuters.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Solid example of infrastructure that would be useful even in the event of a broader downturn
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
One of the points that's been running through everything I've written on tech policy over the past few years is: if you want to take full advantage of LLMs, the best thing to do is calm down about them. Focus on what needs to be possible relative to what is possible. Allocate resources to that end.
I think you're exactly right that much of this is fear-based, which leads to all sorts of ridiculous denials/covers.
That said, I really wouldn't discount the general feeling of "why the hell do I have to pretend like LLMs are everything?"
That said, I really wouldn't discount the general feeling of "why the hell do I have to pretend like LLMs are everything?"
November 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
One of the points that's been running through everything I've written on tech policy over the past few years is: if you want to take full advantage of LLMs, the best thing to do is calm down about them. Focus on what needs to be possible relative to what is possible. Allocate resources to that end.
Reposted by Vincent Carchidi
A good government builds and funds great infrastructure to allow private businesses to thrive. This was the entire point of Obama’s “you didn’t build that” speech. The private sector forgets and/or denies this at their peril.
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A good government builds and funds great infrastructure to allow private businesses to thrive. This was the entire point of Obama’s “you didn’t build that” speech. The private sector forgets and/or denies this at their peril.
It should be clear that I find transformers incredible, and I'm interested in the tech for all sorts of reasons, and think finding productive uses is valuable.
But I worry about the amount of people who swear by their reliance on it for self-enhancement, apparently unaware of its impacts on them.
But I worry about the amount of people who swear by their reliance on it for self-enhancement, apparently unaware of its impacts on them.
Recently met someone who was very surprised to hear I didn’t use ChatGPT or any LLM.
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
November 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
It should be clear that I find transformers incredible, and I'm interested in the tech for all sorts of reasons, and think finding productive uses is valuable.
But I worry about the amount of people who swear by their reliance on it for self-enhancement, apparently unaware of its impacts on them.
But I worry about the amount of people who swear by their reliance on it for self-enhancement, apparently unaware of its impacts on them.
Reposted by Vincent Carchidi
Words to live by tbh
November 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Words to live by tbh