Evolutionary social scientist, co-creator of @cah, co-host of Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast), blogs about bullshit at everythingisbullshit.blog
Joined November 2012
- Tweets 2,303
- Following 535
- Followers 4,408
- Likes 2,157
22 Photos and videos
Jun 8
I think AI discourse would greatly benefit from avoiding the quagmire of folk concepts like "intelligence" and "consciousness" while focusing on specific abilities that AIs do or do not have. For example, they're good at writing essays. They probably don't have nociceptors. Etc.
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Jun 7
There is such a thing as being politically unbiased, and cool new work shows AIs are good at it.
Jun 6
What could it mean for an AI to be "politically neutral”? And can we measure it? New paper dataset.
We propose a defn that applies to any type of conflict: a neutral response should maximize approval on both sides of an issue, while keeping that approval balanced.
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Jun 5
Interesting new paper on the alliance politics of antisemitism. Conservatives are more likely to tolerate antisemitism with no justification, but liberals are more likely to tolerate antisemitism with an anti-Israel justification. eprints.soton.ac.uk/508855/1…
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"modern environmental features often appear unprecedented, yet they still map onto the same fundamental social challenges—cooperation, alliance formation, threat management, and status competition—that shaped human psychology over evolutionary time" cambridge.org/core/journals/…
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David Pinsof retweeted
May 8
Humans are not simply “good” or “evil.” Some of the worst atrocities in history are driven by moral conviction: empathy, solidarity, and a perceived duty to protect one’s own group. A fascinating new study on armed groups in Congo shows that many people who participate in genocidal violence are not psychopaths, but ordinary individuals motivated by loyalty, empathy, and the belief that they are doing good for their community.
Apr 20
Violent people, soldiers, who are responsible for hundreds or thousands of deaths, are not psychopaths. They are driven by empathy toward their own. To kill is a duty, justified by past actions. This paper is an extraordinary look into *why* genocide happens. 1/
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David Pinsof retweeted
May 5
Are the Brooms Multiplying Yet?
The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the Evolution of AI
Citing @lucsteels @WillRinehart @hendrycks @sebkrier @DavidPinsof @simonfriederich @Noahpinion @s_r_constantin
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David Pinsof retweeted
Does partisanship affect justifications of political violence?
Berntzen et al. find that both Democrats and Republicans are more likely to justify identical acts of political violence when the victims are from the opposing party.
Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfag010
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David Pinsof retweeted
Apr 24
Cards Against Humanity co-creator and evolutionary psychologist David Pinsof has some deep theories on status-seeking, humor, and more. I think you'll like this one.
Apr 21
Had a great time chatting with Zachary Elwood on People who Read People. Youtube: substack.com/@zacharyelwood/… Podcast:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
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Apr 21
Had a great time chatting with Zachary Elwood on People who Read People. Youtube: substack.com/@zacharyelwood/… Podcast:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
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Apr 21
I really don’t understand why cognition “built on embodied perception” and the brain simply being a computer are mutually exclusive.
Apr 19
A new paper challenges the traditional idea that the brain is simply a computer. Instead, it argues that human cognition and personality are built on embodied perception, relying on our ability to maintain a "grip" on reality. dlvr.it/TS6TL1
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"If you watch lots of great movies, your desire for great movies will not diminish. No, you will become a film snob and watch 7-hour black-and-white films about the collapse of a farming collective in post-communist Hungary." 😂😂😂
Apr 9
I wrote about enduring satisfaction, how it is impossible to obtain (sorry), how its impossibility was likely built into us by natural selection, and how self-help gurus can trick us into thinking they can provide it. (Link below).
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Apr 9
I wrote about enduring satisfaction, how it is impossible to obtain (sorry), how its impossibility was likely built into us by natural selection, and how self-help gurus can trick us into thinking they can provide it. (Link below).
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Apr 2
Is it just me or has AI doomerism gradually transitioned from "AI will literally kill us all" to "AI will cause bad things to happen / Humans will do stupid things with AI / AI will cause huge changes." If so, this is a very positive development.
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🔪"Yea, life is beautiful and every moment is precious or whatever, but there’s another side of the story you almost never hear: most of life is pretty stressful, mediocre, and unsatisfying, and then you die." everythingisbullshit.blog/p/…
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Mar 31
"All humans strive to be happy in some form." Citation needed.
The pursuit of happiness: pitfalls and promises
Review by Iris B. Mauss (@IrisMauss) & Brett Q. Ford (@BrettQFord)
Free access before May 15: tinyurl.com/33ur58bs
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Mar 31
A very positive development. Still, should be higher.
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Mar 25
Part of my goal with @DavePietrasz and our podcast is to kill the idea that this is what evolutionary psychology is.
Mar 23
say what you will about evolutionary psychology but I think no other social science would have predicted the median voter being this
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Mar 22
How much AI replaces artists and writers will be a good test of how important social signaling is to these fields. I think social signaling is hugely important, so I predict continued resistance to AI art and writing, and a strong preference for human creativity.
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