Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Spurrett

@doctorspurt.bsky.social

1.8K followers 1.3K following 600 posts

Philosopher, working on evolution of mechanisms of action selection, and their variously situated subversion. https://davidspurrett.com/

Videos

Philosophy 23%

Psychology 21%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · Oct 20

Hello new followers. I'm a philosopher of cognitive science working on a book called 'Engines of Hostility'. Recent papers that inform the book are:
(1) "Hostile Scaffolding" (Timms & Spurrett)
(2) "Fashioning Affordances" (Spurrett & Brancazio)
(3) "On Hostile and Oppressive Affective Technology."

6 13 89

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 3h

The idea is that the exercise does a few things. One is to incrementally (but inexorably, if you follow the rules) take things off the to do list. The other is to provide an unambiguous and unique answer to the question 'what should I fix next?'. Finally, it provides a simple progress metric.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 22h

I'm pleased to hear it, Chris!

Reposted by Juan Cole, Robert C. Richards, Aaron Sojourner , and 2 more Juan Cole, Robert C. Richards, Aaron Sojourner, Mark Rice, David Spurrett

◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · 22h

HUD laid off so many fair housing investigators on Friday that it shuttered the regional offices that oversee discrimination cases in 9 states: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts

Fair housing staffers who investigate claims of housing discrimination at field offices nationwide were among the hundreds of HUD staffers who received layoff notices.

www.bloomberg.com

7 170 260

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 23h

I've recently imposed it on myself for a book I've been revising and fiddling with in too many places at once. So I'm taking a big dose of my own medicine. It isn't always fun, but it does focus the mind. /fin

1 3

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 23h

The idea is that pages don't have to be perfect, but good enough to let go of them. (If you finish 'early' you can go back and polish.)

This seems to help in some cases, especially with those stuck in a 'choose your own adventure' exposition with undecided choice points in many places.

/4

1 2

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 23h

4. You can add pages, in order, to the bottom of the pile.

5. But once a page is in the pile you can't take it back.

So start at the beginning, and see how many pages you have. Then try to move forward through the text, keeping ahead of the reader, and never back-tracking.

/3

1 2

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 23h

2. They will start with the title page, and move to the first page of chapter 1. They will read each page once, and only move forward.

3. The dissertation/thesis doesn't have to be complete when the reader starts.

/2

1 2

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 23h

Big projects like dissertations invite having many incomplete/pending bits in many places. That can make it hard to organise finishing them. When I'm advising students, I sometimes suggest the following:

1. Imagine someone is going to start reading a paper copy.

/1.

2 5

Reposted by Henry Jones, David Spurrett

The Onion @theonion.com · 2d

Israel Agrees To Go Back To Killing Palestinians On Less Frequent Basis

CAIRO—As part of a historic ceasefire agreement with Hamas following two years of war, the Israeli government reportedly agreed Thursday to go back to killing Palestinians on a less frequent basis. “I...

theonion.com

66 1.5K 5.2K

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Rebecca Sear, Erol Akçay , and 2 more Lisa W. Fazio, Rebecca Sear, Erol Akçay, Larry W. Hunter, David Spurrett

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 5d

I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

1/14

jeremymberg.github.io

14 160 300

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Virginia Braun, John R. Hutchinson , and 6 more Brigitte Nerlich, Virginia Braun, John R. Hutchinson, Christine Kooi, Will Lowe, Michael H. Whitworth, Fiona Moore, Joanna Tai, David Spurrett

Esther Schindler @estherschindler.bsky.social · 5d

I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

26 2.4K 7K

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, David Spurrett

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 7d

Palantir has pulled out of involvement with the UK Digital ID card, according to an interview with their UK CEO on Times Radio. They’re concerned about the reputational damage of being involved with an unpopular Starmer policy.

160 220 830

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 8d

Reposting because I'm quite pleased with "Slopzilla" (for OpenAI).

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

Worth noting that they are in a 'strategic partnership' with Slopzilla: www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...

Guardian Media Group announces strategic partnership with OpenAI

Guardian Media Group today announced a strategic partnership with Open AI, a leader in artificial intelligence and deployment, that will bring the Guardian’s high quality journalism to ChatGPT’s globa...

www.theguardian.com

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 8d

I think Kevin's worry (or part of it) is that designers without addiction related intention might amplify/create addiction while trying to 'improve design'. I think that probably does happen sometimes. And design can generate non-addiction bad stuff (like junk and 'ultraprocessed' food).

1 3

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 8d

Also worth noting (social media feeds come up a lot among the replies) that (a) it is sometimes the same designers (gambling machine designers are UI designers for hire, and executives move between companies, or companies operate in both markets) and (b) the very same inventions/patents get adopted.

1 2

Reposted by Mirya R. Holman, Michael Jones‐Correa, David Murakami Wood , and 2 more Mirya R. Holman, Michael Jones‐Correa, David Murakami Wood, Lisa Diedrich, David Spurrett

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 9d

A lot of tech bros who were upset about pronouns want to confer them on their computers now that they’re dating

Cate Denial @cjdenial.bsky.social · 9d

Can we stop calling an artificial representation of a person by a human-coded name? "She" does not exist. "She" is a reflection of someone's ingenue dreams, but "she" is pixels and code.

Bloomberg Opinion @opinion.bloomberg.com · 9d

Tilly Norwood raises the question of who will be the first to win an Oscar for best AI in a leading role

39 470 2.3K

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 9d

Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment

Sky News @news.sky.com · 9d

Woman named as new Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first time a woman has been appointed to the role in the Church of England's history.

news.sky.com

410 2.6K 17K

Sky News @news.sky.com · 9d

Woman named as new Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first time a woman has been appointed to the role in the Church of England's history.

news.sky.com

180 59 240

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

I think casinos and gambling machine designers know very well that addicts are their most profitable users. (Like oil companies are aware of the consequences of their business model.) Not saying all addiction amplifiers are knowing, mind you.

1 4

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

Some 'design' is dumb luck. Flue-curing of bright leaf tobacco made lung inhalation possible. Possibly the biggest single factor in the addictiveness of cigarettes. But they were "trying" to reduce fire loss in curing. If "designed to" is about intention, not all addiction amplifiers are intended.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

I think there sometimes is, because some designers know that their product is addictive, and are trying to enhance that. The documents revealed in the course of litigation against cigarette companies showed that, as does Schüll's work on gambling ("Addicted by Design").

1 1

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

I don't think that we should allow that anything can be addictive. (Clean air? Safe drinking water? Cabbage? Public libraries? Toothbrushes? Pedestrian crossings?)

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

For more direct answers, I'd suggest @don-rosseconomist.bsky.social "Addiction is socially engineered exploitation of natural biological vulnerability" (2020) or the Glackin, Roberts, Krueger "Out of our heads: Addiction and psychiatric externalism" (2021) both in Behavioral Brain Research.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

Re 'scientific', it's sometimes tricky because at least two centres of gravity are in play, one being empirical coherence (in neuroscience, psychiatry, etc.) and another being more overtly normative (guiding public health, policy formation).

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

A clear contrast case is lowering price and/or improving functionality of beneficial infrastructure, like public transport, where resulting increased use (due to more & better routes, improved accessibility, lower prices) has no harms/downside, or withdrawal, or conflict over use.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

Not synonyms, I think, even if a difference of degree. Addictive consumption is associated with strong motivation despite harms, difficulty stopping even when motivated to, withdrawal symptoms on stopping, etc. Many design changes can lead to increased use without going there.

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Jane E. Fountain, Jonathan Hopkin , and 2 more Rosemary A. Joyce, Jane E. Fountain, Jonathan Hopkin, Anders Sundnes Løvlie, David Spurrett

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 9d

Matthew 15:29-31: And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them after verifying their citizenship status.

270 2.7K 14K

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9d

Worth noting that they are in a 'strategic partnership' with Slopzilla: www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...

Guardian Media Group announces strategic partnership with OpenAI

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Alan Richardson, David Spurrett

Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 10d

I am so dismayed a the statement today from the President of the @royalsociety.org that I want to publish here the letter I wrote to him yesterday urging him to address the clear concerns of the UK scientific community.

Screenshot of first part of letter (continues in next image). Text reads:

Dear Sir Adrian

I write to request that in its deliberations tomorrow the Council resolves to take a principled stand to defend the scientific values written into its code of conduct.

In its attempts to deal with the actions of Elon Musk FRS, the Royal Society has repeatedly failed to explain how his repudiation of those values is consistent with the code of conduct that all Fellows must adhere to as a condition of their fellowship. As is now well established, these actions include attacking Antony Fauci FRS without good cause; spreading scientific misinformation on X [through his own utterances and by relaxing controls on the platform]; recklessly and unlawfully degrading the research ecosystem of the US as part of DOGE; and bragging publicly about "feeding USAID into the wood chipper", which the Lancet estimates will cause the deaths of 14 million people, many of them children under the age of five, by 2030.

The Society’s inaction extends to the recent brief exchange of correspondence between Prof Sir Paul Nurse and Mr Musk. Although there was some initial contact, when Sir Paul laid out the Society’s specific concerns there was no reply or explanation from Musk. For reasons that I’m afraid I cannot fathom, you chose once again not to enforce your code of conduct.

Screenshot of letter. Text continues:

"You will be aware that the sense of bewildered dismay over this affair is shared by Royal Society Fellows, medallists and journals editors, and many thousands within the scientific community here and abroad. The Royal Society still claims to speak for scientists in the UK, but on this vital issue, its inaction represents an inexplicable rupture with values that our community holds very dear.

In all this my primary concern is has been for the good standing of the Royal Society as the UK’s national academy. As I am sure you understand all too well (given your recent remarks in the wake of Mr Musk’s ill-judged speech at the Tommy Robinson rally), the country, the world at large, and the very practice of science itself face severe challenges from technologies and populist politics that foment division and ignorance. In such troubled times, people look to our established institutions to have the courage to stand by long-held values of truth and decency.

It is my sincere hope the Royal Society will demonstrate tomorrow that it is just such an institution.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen"

2 39 87

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Alan Richardson, McKenzie Wark , and 4 more Anna O. Law, Alan Richardson, McKenzie Wark, Michael D. McDonald, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Spurrett

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 10d

ICE lied about the person it shot, claiming he was a "criminal," but NBC finds that he had no criminal history whatsoever. Not even traffic tickets in 12 years! It also lied about the extent of the injuries to its agents....

100 1.9K 4.6K