Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 11h

“Build the kill switch.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/o...

Opinion | How Afraid of the A.I. Apocalypse Should We Be?

www.nytimes.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 13h

@paulbegood.bsky.social New Zealand

Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 21h

As the night sky becomes less visible (pollution, ppl head down in phones etc), will it get harder to interest ppl in astronomy, satellites & space science? I was talking to space industry types last night & they feel public apathy. But is that a surprise when ppl can’t/don’t see the sky?

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 3d

Take it outside.

Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 3d

Chatbots learn by example.

syntheticgeneticshakespeares.wordpress.com/2025/10/12/c...

Chatbot Malnutrition – Be Careful What You Feed Them

It turns out the proverb ‘you are what you eat’ applies to AI large language models (LLMs). Training LLM software with content exemplifying self-serving actions seems to have partially fostered und…

syntheticgeneticshakespeares.wordpress.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 4d

They wouldn’t listen to the FACT that I was a genius, the man said ‘we got all that we can use.’

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 4d

@jackbrewer.bsky.social The tune stays the same, only the crooner names change.

FRINGE QUEST @fringequest.bsky.social · 5d

*** THIS *** William G. Pullin : Ufological Pushback Against the Scientific Method ...

Ufological Pushback Against the Scientific Method and its Proponents? A Hypocritical Course of Action.

Greetings. Why is a data-driven, skeptical, dispassionate approach to the UFO problem viewed in such a negative light by some in the UFO sub...

ufoskeptic.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 5d

A decade of organizing secured Chuckwalla National Monument — but a federal review, DOJ memo, lawsuit, and bills in Congress now threaten not just Chuckwalla, but monuments across the West. These unprecedented threats make public voices and vigilance more crucial than ever.

buff.ly/6YWqXqQ

The case for national monuments - High Country News

National monuments across the West face unprecedented threats, making public voices and vigilance more crucial than ever.

www.hcn.org

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 5d

Should research into harmful AI-initiated operations be classified? Buried deep in this paper - some investigators of worrisome AI behaviors withhold details to prevent their use in AI training. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

AI models that lie, cheat and plot murder: how dangerous are LLMs really?

Tests of large language models reveal that they can behave in deceptive and potentially harmful ways. What does this mean for the future?

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Gizmodo @gizmodo.com · 7d

Do You Know Where Aquarium Fish Come From? The Answer Might Shock You https://gizmodo.com/where-aquarium-fish-come-from-answer-might-shock-you-2000669528

Do You Know Where Aquarium Fish Come From? The Answer Might Shock You

New research shows that dozens of threatened fish species caught in the wild are commonly sold by aquarium retailers in the U.S.

gizmodo.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 7d

All the rain around the Phoenix area has brought some interesting plants out of dormancy. The question now is do honeybees get buzzed when they visit loco weed?

A large, snow white flower blossom with a honeybee prospecting in it for nectar and pollen.

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Ray E. Boomhower @rboomhower.bsky.social · 9d

Looking for a banned book to read? Try this Hoosier veteran of World War II.
indianahistory.org/blog/kurt-vo...

Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Indianapolis, and Slaughterhouse-Five - Indiana Historical Society

On May 29, 1945, twenty-one days after German forces had surrendered to the victorious Allied armies, a father in Indianapolis received a letter from his son who had been listed as “missing in action”...

indianahistory.org

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

SciFanSat Magazine @scifansat.bsky.social · 8d

Writers, submit something that will send us into orbit! Nine days remain to get your manuscripts of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and More into #SciFanSat before submissions close on October 16th at scifansat.com/landing.html!

#SFF #AmWritingScifi #AmWritingFantasy #WritingPrompts

SciFanSat: The Monthly Magazine for Science Fiction, Fantasy and More! October’s theme is MOON. The deadline for submissions is October 16th, 2025.

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Michelle Francl @michellefrancl.bsky.social · 9d

Why should scientists write op-eds? It's tempting to say the facts ought to speak for themselves. But the facts are largely whispering among themselves in the scientific literature. They need us to give them a voice. How? Advice in my latest @natchem.nature.com Thesis rdcu.be/eJlGL #chemsky 1/3

Opinionated science

Nature Chemistry - When the facts can’t speak for themselves, scientists can give them a voice, argues Michelle Francl.

rdcu.be

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 8d

OK, Brewer, predict the future again. @jackbrewer.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/t...

Elon Musk Gambles on Sexy A.I. Companions

www.nytimes.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 9d

It is unfortunate so few have recognized that some truly brilliant persons cannot work safely without adult supervision.

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

David, Host of The Cold War @coldwarhost.bsky.social · 11d

OTD October 4 1957 The Soviet Union successfully launches the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik I.

A polished metal sphere, 58cm in diameter and weighing 83.6kg, Sputnik had four radio antennae from which it broadcast a regular radio pulse which was easily picked up by anyone

A polished metal sphere, 58cm in diameter and weighing 83.6kg, four radio antennae trail from the 'back'

A soviet rocket being launched; just after lift-off; fire trails from the bottom of the tocket

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 11d

It appears that my employer, Dartmouth, one of the Trump 9, has said no to the compact. All the better given that our president is cited within it. But she’s saying no. Count the small victories when they come.

Office of the President
Dear Dartmouth community,

As many of you know, Dartmouth was one of nine universities asked by the White House to give feedback by Oct. 20 on a draft of its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”

I am deeply committed to Dartmouth’s academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence.

You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.

Best,
Sian Leah Beilock
President

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 12d

By popular demand, here’s a video I made explaining the tools and techniques I use for shark tooth fossil hunting.

This is my first experiment with Meta video editor so please excuse rough edits.

🧪🦑🌎🦈

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 12d

And yet they built the thing and set it free.

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 12d

Some scary stuff in this one. Repeated, under-stated, theme - no controls.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/p...

Sora and the Infinite Slop Feeds + ChatGPT Goes to Therapy + Hot Mess Express

www.nytimes.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 12d

@jackbrewer.bsky.social @ericalukes.bsky.social OK, predict the future.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12d

Users of Sora, a new app from OpenAI, have deployed artificial intelligence to create strikingly realistic videos of events that never took place. The app, and other tools like it, could become increasingly fertile breeding grounds for disinformation and abuse, experts said.

OpenAI’s Sora Makes Disinformation Extremely Easy and Extremely Real

www.nytimes.com

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Ziggy Zyzygy @ziggyzyzygy.bsky.social · 12d

What risks are posed by AI? A red team of scientists quietly exposes some safety issues. www.science.org/content/arti...

Made to order bioweapon? AI-designed toxins slip through safety checks used by companies selling genes

Researchers expose flaws in safeguards intended to block rogue actors from making bioweapons

www.science.org

Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Matthew Kirk @microbialmatt.bsky.social · Sep 20

Microbes are collectively one of the biggest forces shaping Earth, and yet undergraduate #geology students typically receive little training in microbiology. My new open access textbook seeks to help. “Microbiology for Earth Scientists” is freely available here newprairiepress.org/ebooks/53/

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Reposted by Ziggy Zyzygy

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 14d

Welcome to Opt Out October, our collection of tips to slowly break free from online surveillance and throw sand in the gears of overreaching large tech companies. Today’s tip is about establishing good online security fundamentals. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Opt Out October: Daily Tips to Protect Your Privacy and Security

Trying to take control of your online privacy can feel like a full-time job. But if you break it up into small tasks and take on one project at a time it makes the process of protecting your privacy

www.eff.org

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