This week on The Generalist Podcast, I’m interviewing David Krakauer, President of the Santa Fe Institute. Maintaining Human Intelligence in the AI Era David Krakauer is a leading complex systems researcher and the president of the @sfiscience, a unique institution dedicated to studying complex systems across disciplines. In this episode, David challenges conventional wisdom about AI, arguing that large language models pose a more immediate threat to humanity than commonly discussed existential risks—not by destroying us directly, but by eroding our cognitive capabilities through addictive, low-quality information. Listen now: • YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=SSBLQyi1… • Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6Fz… • Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… A big thank you to the incredible sponsors that make the podcast possible: ✨ Brex – The banking solution for startups: brex.com/mario ✨ Enterpret – Transform feedback chaos into actionable customer intelligence: enterpret.com/mario ✨ Persona – Trusted identity verification for any use case: withpersona.com/generalist We explore: → Why David believes LLMs aren't intelligent at all and how the AI community misunderstands emergence → The three dimensions of intelligence: inference, representation, and strategy—and which one LLMs lack → How AI acts as a "competitive" rather than "complementary" cognitive technology, atrophying our thinking abilities → What makes great minds unique, from analogical reasoning to the cultivation of unconscious creativity → How Cormac McCarthy's approach to knowledge and creativity offers lessons for the AI age → Why David believes the greatest threat from AI isn't existential risk but cognitive atrophy—"like sugar cocaine" → How to protect your mind against AI's addictive pull and maintain cognitive autonomy

I'm not sure what a representation is anymore... or maybe I never knew. These fine folks have some thoughts...

The internet has been progressively diluted with AI-generated slop. Are medical records headed for the same fate? 🧵 I just published a perspective in @NEJM with @AdamRodmanMD and Arjun Manrai on why rushing AI into medical documentation could be a mistake.

So many people confuse LLMs (or genAI, in general) for models of human cognition, language, learning, etc., so I thought it may be useful to share once more my brief comment, titled "Psychological models and their distractors". (open access link: rdcu.be/cGQpY) 🧵

“The knowledge from this project could lead to new treatment approaches down the road for improving stroke recovery.” Neuroscience research led by @UNC_SOM faculty @AdamHantman and @ShihYYI, along with @blamlab John W. Krakauer at @HopkinsMedicine, has the potential to improve outcomes for people with brain damage thanks to a $1.3 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation: unc.live/4feOCuc

Lauren Ross @ProfLaurenRoss and @DaniSBassett outline the different ways neuroscientists use the term mechanism, and they gather insight from nine scientists on how this variety makes it difficult to clarify standards in the field. thetransmitter.org/the-big-p…