Chris Chapman
@cchapman.bsky.social
UX researcher, psychologist. Author "Quantitative User Experience Research" (w/Rodden), "R | Python for Marketing Research and Analytics" (w/Feit & Schwarz). Previously 24 yrs @ Google, Amazon, Microsoft. Personal account.
Blog at https://quantuxblog.com
Blog at https://quantuxblog.com
Reposted by Chris Chapman
If they're going to award Nebulas for partial LLM-created works then I want a piece of those Nebulas since my work was stolen to create them.
I'm so disappointed in @sfwa.org for this. I understand that by requiring disclosure of partial LLM-created works, as their announcement states, means SFWA's letting "nominators and the voters" make the final decision. BUT YOU'RE STILL ALLOWING SUCH WORKS ON THE NEBULA AWARDS FINAL BALLOT! 1/
Another Nebula Awards nomination cycle is in full swing, and the addition of poetry and comics, along with the presence of LLMs in industry, required careful consideration.
Read on, and vote well!
We trust our voters & look forward to what they choose to celebrate.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/19/p...
Read on, and vote well!
We trust our voters & look forward to what they choose to celebrate.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/19/p...
December 19, 2025 at 8:27 PM
If they're going to award Nebulas for partial LLM-created works then I want a piece of those Nebulas since my work was stolen to create them.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
I'm so disappointed in @sfwa.org for this. I understand that by requiring disclosure of partial LLM-created works, as their announcement states, means SFWA's letting "nominators and the voters" make the final decision. BUT YOU'RE STILL ALLOWING SUCH WORKS ON THE NEBULA AWARDS FINAL BALLOT! 1/
Another Nebula Awards nomination cycle is in full swing, and the addition of poetry and comics, along with the presence of LLMs in industry, required careful consideration.
Read on, and vote well!
We trust our voters & look forward to what they choose to celebrate.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/19/p...
Read on, and vote well!
We trust our voters & look forward to what they choose to celebrate.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/19/p...
December 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I'm so disappointed in @sfwa.org for this. I understand that by requiring disclosure of partial LLM-created works, as their announcement states, means SFWA's letting "nominators and the voters" make the final decision. BUT YOU'RE STILL ALLOWING SUCH WORKS ON THE NEBULA AWARDS FINAL BALLOT! 1/
Reposted by Chris Chapman
We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier.
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Concept Artists Say Generative AI References Only Make Their Jobs Harder
“The ‘early ideation stages’, when worlds are being fleshed out by writers and artists, are literally crucial to the development of a game’s vision,” said one artist.
thisweekinvideogames.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:06 PM
We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier.
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
It’s easy to criticize car co’s for programming vehicles to break traffic and parking laws. But human drivers do it constantly.
Two big differences:
🔹 Humans make context-specific decisions (i.e., is it an emergency?). Software doesn’t.
🔹 Humans are liable for their actions. Car co's often aren’t.
Two big differences:
🔹 Humans make context-specific decisions (i.e., is it an emergency?). Software doesn’t.
🔹 Humans are liable for their actions. Car co's often aren’t.
Who Gets a Ticket When a Waymo Does Wrong and Nobody Is in the Robotaxi to Cite?
A Waymo robotaxi pulled an illegal maneuver in front of the police, but with no one inside, who gets the ticket?
www.motortrend.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM
It’s easy to criticize car co’s for programming vehicles to break traffic and parking laws. But human drivers do it constantly.
Two big differences:
🔹 Humans make context-specific decisions (i.e., is it an emergency?). Software doesn’t.
🔹 Humans are liable for their actions. Car co's often aren’t.
Two big differences:
🔹 Humans make context-specific decisions (i.e., is it an emergency?). Software doesn’t.
🔹 Humans are liable for their actions. Car co's often aren’t.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
What the hell, since things seem to suck a bit these days, why not hold a completely unplanned sale?
So, for the holidays, a €10 EUR discount on my books, and you can choose between reading about how "AI" doesn't work...
The Intelligence Illusion, for €25: payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/34qSg
So, for the holidays, a €10 EUR discount on my books, and you can choose between reading about how "AI" doesn't work...
The Intelligence Illusion, for €25: payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/34qSg
The Intelligence Illusion (Second Edition)
€35 EUR for PDF and EPUB.What are the major risks to avoid with generative AI? How do you avoid having it blow up in your face? Is that even possible?The Intelligence Illusion (Second Edition) is an e...
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:36 AM
What the hell, since things seem to suck a bit these days, why not hold a completely unplanned sale?
So, for the holidays, a €10 EUR discount on my books, and you can choose between reading about how "AI" doesn't work...
The Intelligence Illusion, for €25: payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/34qSg
So, for the holidays, a €10 EUR discount on my books, and you can choose between reading about how "AI" doesn't work...
The Intelligence Illusion, for €25: payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/34qSg
Reposted by Chris Chapman
are you disgruntled by the current safety evaluation landscape? curious about what conceptual clarity, methodological soundness and rigour in AI evaluation might look like? if so, consider coming to dublin and doing a phd with me
apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...
apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...
December 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM
are you disgruntled by the current safety evaluation landscape? curious about what conceptual clarity, methodological soundness and rigour in AI evaluation might look like? if so, consider coming to dublin and doing a phd with me
apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...
apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Happy birthday Jane Austen! You're looking pretty fresh for 250! p.s. @devoney.bsky.social 's Wild for Austen is highly recommended (including by me, as you can see).
December 16, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Happy birthday Jane Austen! You're looking pretty fresh for 250! p.s. @devoney.bsky.social 's Wild for Austen is highly recommended (including by me, as you can see).
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Every few years there's a bunch of "pivot to video" discourse about how creatives should all start making videos instead of doing text-based work. And every few years we discover again that the supposed "popularity" of video is based on fake audience numbers created by the video platforms.
December 16, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Every few years there's a bunch of "pivot to video" discourse about how creatives should all start making videos instead of doing text-based work. And every few years we discover again that the supposed "popularity" of video is based on fake audience numbers created by the video platforms.
Love this name for the rabbit hole!
From a theory-of-research perspective, I wrote about this kind of synthetic "data" here: quantuxblog.com/synthetic-su...
From a theory-of-research perspective, I wrote about this kind of synthetic "data" here: quantuxblog.com/synthetic-su...
December 16, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Love this name for the rabbit hole!
From a theory-of-research perspective, I wrote about this kind of synthetic "data" here: quantuxblog.com/synthetic-su...
From a theory-of-research perspective, I wrote about this kind of synthetic "data" here: quantuxblog.com/synthetic-su...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Holy hell. Go Now evacuation order issued for Tukwila after the Green River levee breaks. Seattle metro area itself was managing to avoid the worst of the flooding so far, but it looks like our luck is running out...
komonews.com/news/local/f...
komonews.com/news/local/f...
GO NOW: Flash flood evacuation issued for Tukwila area after Green River levee failure
The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a flash flood warning for west central King County, Washington, following the failure of the Green River Leve
komonews.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Holy hell. Go Now evacuation order issued for Tukwila after the Green River levee breaks. Seattle metro area itself was managing to avoid the worst of the flooding so far, but it looks like our luck is running out...
komonews.com/news/local/f...
komonews.com/news/local/f...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
For my causal inference intro course I'm looking for a paper with a simple survey experimental approach: treatment vs. control. Nothing else.
But on a timely topic. Any suggestions, ideas?
I find it hard to find "simple survey" experiments these days.
But on a timely topic. Any suggestions, ideas?
I find it hard to find "simple survey" experiments these days.
December 15, 2025 at 2:46 PM
For my causal inference intro course I'm looking for a paper with a simple survey experimental approach: treatment vs. control. Nothing else.
But on a timely topic. Any suggestions, ideas?
I find it hard to find "simple survey" experiments these days.
But on a timely topic. Any suggestions, ideas?
I find it hard to find "simple survey" experiments these days.
Related plea to the media (not a complaint about this post): please please please stop referring indiscriminately to all machine models as "AI".
An "AI" model such as, say, weather forecasting can be extremely valuable even when an unrelated technology / application such as LLM chat is awful.
An "AI" model such as, say, weather forecasting can be extremely valuable even when an unrelated technology / application such as LLM chat is awful.
To accept and use this AI tech is to say I myself am so deeply incompetent and mediocre that a useless machine which cannot actually do the required work is still better than any effort I can make.
Seriously. Just stop.
Seriously. Just stop.
December 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Related plea to the media (not a complaint about this post): please please please stop referring indiscriminately to all machine models as "AI".
An "AI" model such as, say, weather forecasting can be extremely valuable even when an unrelated technology / application such as LLM chat is awful.
An "AI" model such as, say, weather forecasting can be extremely valuable even when an unrelated technology / application such as LLM chat is awful.
100 this. If you ask any good writer, "how do you come up with all of those ideas?"
The answer is, "Oh, I have no lack of ideas!"
Instead, "I lack ... time / money / freedom / support / healthcare ... "
The answer is, "Oh, I have no lack of ideas!"
Instead, "I lack ... time / money / freedom / support / healthcare ... "
I realized a few years ago that I will never run out of ideas; I will simply run out of time and die. What I don't have is money. I'm disabled, queer, lower income single parent with dozens of unpublished manuscripts, songs, musicals, paintings, hundreds of draft ideas. FUND PEOPLE.
This column on Vox is the biggest pile of steaming AI crap I've seen this year. Human's aren't running out of ideas. Instead, those with power and money don't want to listen to ideas that threaten their power and money.
Ideas are plentiful. Putting those ideas into action is the hard part.
Ideas are plentiful. Putting those ideas into action is the hard part.
December 13, 2025 at 7:04 PM
100 this. If you ask any good writer, "how do you come up with all of those ideas?"
The answer is, "Oh, I have no lack of ideas!"
Instead, "I lack ... time / money / freedom / support / healthcare ... "
The answer is, "Oh, I have no lack of ideas!"
Instead, "I lack ... time / money / freedom / support / healthcare ... "
"Proclaiming someone’s or something’s defeat contributes to it. It’s a form of sabotage."
(And a way of giving oppressive powers exactly what they want.)
(And a way of giving oppressive powers exactly what they want.)
There's a pretense that despair/defeatism/doomerism is some kind of solidarity, when it's actually quitting while others face the horrors and resist succumbing to them. Wrote about that here.
Why climate despair is a luxury
Those facing flood and fire can’t afford to lose hope. Neither should we.
www.newstatesman.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
"Proclaiming someone’s or something’s defeat contributes to it. It’s a form of sabotage."
(And a way of giving oppressive powers exactly what they want.)
(And a way of giving oppressive powers exactly what they want.)
Reposted by Chris Chapman
When mailing package from Canada to US bc Trump's tariff scheme, you're obliged to download a sketchy app to pay tariffs in advance. Clerk told me if under $100, there's generally no tariff, but still obliged to register on app. Data *may* be stored in the US.
Spoiler: did not send package. 1/6
Spoiler: did not send package. 1/6
December 13, 2025 at 6:31 PM
When mailing package from Canada to US bc Trump's tariff scheme, you're obliged to download a sketchy app to pay tariffs in advance. Clerk told me if under $100, there's generally no tariff, but still obliged to register on app. Data *may* be stored in the US.
Spoiler: did not send package. 1/6
Spoiler: did not send package. 1/6
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Microsoft: 30% of our code is now written by AI
Also Microsoft:
Also Microsoft:
Microsoft finally admits almost all major Windows 11 core features are broken | Microsoft Community Hub
A major new Windows 11 update has introduced widespread stability issues affecting core system functionality. Many users, including myself, are now...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Microsoft: 30% of our code is now written by AI
Also Microsoft:
Also Microsoft:
Reposted by Chris Chapman
In Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore… masking is boring. Etiquette. Courtesy.
A cough? Pollution day? Crowded underground? Mask goes on. End of story.
No identity crisis. No tribal signalling. Just collective care. /2
(Family photo from SE Asia - man in mask=NBD)
A cough? Pollution day? Crowded underground? Mask goes on. End of story.
No identity crisis. No tribal signalling. Just collective care. /2
(Family photo from SE Asia - man in mask=NBD)
December 11, 2025 at 9:56 AM
In Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore… masking is boring. Etiquette. Courtesy.
A cough? Pollution day? Crowded underground? Mask goes on. End of story.
No identity crisis. No tribal signalling. Just collective care. /2
(Family photo from SE Asia - man in mask=NBD)
A cough? Pollution day? Crowded underground? Mask goes on. End of story.
No identity crisis. No tribal signalling. Just collective care. /2
(Family photo from SE Asia - man in mask=NBD)
I am asked roughly weekly, "I'm new to R, can I use an LLM to speed up learning?"
I always say "no" ... and here, Andrew says that better!
(Also applies to learning statistics, writing, design, music performance ...)
I always say "no" ... and here, Andrew says that better!
(Also applies to learning statistics, writing, design, music performance ...)
Some closing thoughts for my students this semester on LLMs and learning #rstats datavizf25.classes.andrewheiss.com/news/2025-12...
December 11, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I am asked roughly weekly, "I'm new to R, can I use an LLM to speed up learning?"
I always say "no" ... and here, Andrew says that better!
(Also applies to learning statistics, writing, design, music performance ...)
I always say "no" ... and here, Andrew says that better!
(Also applies to learning statistics, writing, design, music performance ...)
Reposted by Chris Chapman
This may sound strange, but many students either consciously or subconsciously do not see school (including college) as an opportunity to "learn." The transactional nature of the system is totalizing. Even students who don't want to outsource their learning to LLMs feel like maybe they should...
December 11, 2025 at 1:51 PM
This may sound strange, but many students either consciously or subconsciously do not see school (including college) as an opportunity to "learn." The transactional nature of the system is totalizing. Even students who don't want to outsource their learning to LLMs feel like maybe they should...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
And so: "Our support for innovation and America’s leadership in AI does not extend to using our residents, especially children, as guinea pigs while AI companies experiment with new applications. Nor is our support for innovation an excuse for noncompliance with our laws." Boom.
December 11, 2025 at 1:09 PM
And so: "Our support for innovation and America’s leadership in AI does not extend to using our residents, especially children, as guinea pigs while AI companies experiment with new applications. Nor is our support for innovation an excuse for noncompliance with our laws." Boom.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
It is intensely funny to me that tech bro CEOs on an annual salary of 15 petabillion dollars think data centres can go in space because it's very cold but actually they would get obscenely hot because heat won't radiate into the vacuum of space
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
December 10, 2025 at 9:49 PM
It is intensely funny to me that tech bro CEOs on an annual salary of 15 petabillion dollars think data centres can go in space because it's very cold but actually they would get obscenely hot because heat won't radiate into the vacuum of space
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
ok wow I'd never seen this one before. this is the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, designed by Frank Gehry. imagine you have problems with your brain and this is the building you're walking into for treatment
December 8, 2025 at 12:16 AM
ok wow I'd never seen this one before. this is the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, designed by Frank Gehry. imagine you have problems with your brain and this is the building you're walking into for treatment
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Reminds me of that time I needed emergency appendectomy & I was on morphine & the hospital billing guy came to my room to ask me to pay the copay upfront
I was like dude I’m going next door to check the other hospital‘s price also what’s my name again
Ps I’m an economist, ok w/markets generally
I was like dude I’m going next door to check the other hospital‘s price also what’s my name again
Ps I’m an economist, ok w/markets generally
Roger Marshall: "We want patients to become consumers again. We want patients to see what the actual prices are. We believe that if we would add the price tags to this bill, that it would save the country a trillion dollars a year."
December 11, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Reminds me of that time I needed emergency appendectomy & I was on morphine & the hospital billing guy came to my room to ask me to pay the copay upfront
I was like dude I’m going next door to check the other hospital‘s price also what’s my name again
Ps I’m an economist, ok w/markets generally
I was like dude I’m going next door to check the other hospital‘s price also what’s my name again
Ps I’m an economist, ok w/markets generally
Reposted by Chris Chapman
JANM is honored to announce that it has received a second transformative gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The gift of $20 million is the largest single gift in JANM’s history.
Our statement: www.janm.org/press/releas...
Our statement: www.janm.org/press/releas...
December 10, 2025 at 11:58 PM
JANM is honored to announce that it has received a second transformative gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The gift of $20 million is the largest single gift in JANM’s history.
Our statement: www.janm.org/press/releas...
Our statement: www.janm.org/press/releas...