Alan Richardson

@alanrichardson.bsky.social

4K followers 1.4K following 12K posts

Professor of Philosophy, UBC
Faculty Member, Science and Technology Studies Graduate Program, UBC
Philosophy of Science
History of Philosophy of Science

Videos

Philosophy 46%

History 20%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 2h

Sim and ABC were disastrous choices for Vancouver

William Azaroff (he/him) @wazaroff.bsky.social · 2h

Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver just killed the Social Housing Initiative. A program that could have actually gotten people off the streets and into homes? Dead.

Reposted by Alan Richardson

William Azaroff (he/him) @wazaroff.bsky.social · 2h

Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver just killed the Social Housing Initiative. A program that could have actually gotten people off the streets and into homes? Dead.

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Alan Richardson

Nina Jankowicz @ninajankowicz.com · 4h

After MTG lied about me for weeks, she said that she felt bad for my unborn child because he'd have me as a mother. Her rhetoric led to threats against my family.

No one, even her, should receive threats like those, but I'd like to see her own up to the role she played in creating them for others.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10h

Marjorie Taylor Greene: "I sent those deaths threats directly to him in a text message & informed him of what his name calling & words were doing - it was a direct assassination threat on my son. And he was extremely - I won't repeat what he said - but it was extremely unkind. No sympathy. No care"

Reposted by Alan Richardson, Dana R. Fisher, Prakash Kashwan

Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 4h

That is patently false: not only do immigrants score better than native-born Americans in tests, the mere presence of immigrants improve test scores for all students, when factoring in white flight

sesp.northwestern.edu/news-events/...

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 5h

And do it in such a way that it wasn’t nominated for any awards.

Evan Killham @evankillham.bsky.social · 7h

Jimmy Fallon would host the Hunger Games.

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h

Ossoff: "She's gonna have to give up her insurance in the middle of chemotherapy while she's fighting breast cancer. What are people supposed to do when they lose health insurance in the middle of a cancer battle? ... this is life or death"

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 5h

Will there be a spate of performative pull-ups at the airport videos now?

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 5h

Only one recognizably humanities-centred research project worth mentioning too….

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Izabella Laba 🇨🇦 @ijlaba.bsky.social · 6h

Here's a list of 15 research highlights from UBC for the last year. All, apparently, more important that the proof of the 3D Kakeya conjecture by Hong Wang and Josh Zahl which did not make the list.

news.ubc.ca/2025/12/15-w...

15 ways UBC researchers broke new ground in 2025 - UBC News

Here are 15 highlights showing how UBC researchers and key partners advanced knowledge, technology and real-world solutions in 2025.

news.ubc.ca

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Stephen M. Walt, Marc Lynch , and 2 more Jonathan Portes, Stephen M. Walt, Marc Lynch, Alan Richardson, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 6h

Wow: Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (named for Holocaust survivor Raphael Lemkin, who coined term "genocide") calls Clinton's remarks "genocide denial."

"Young people in the US are not stupid or gullible. They simply reject genocide – something the Secretary might consider doing as well."

Statement on Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Genocide Denial at the Israel Hayom Summit

December 9, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security feels called to point out that former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s recent remarks at the Israel Hayom Summit on 2 December amount to outright genocide denial.

During her remarks, the Secretary correctly noted that the recent deterioration of Israel’s standing among U.S. voters is not a “Republican versus Democrat kind of divide” but rather a generational one. Nevertheless, she incorrectly diagnosed the reasons for the shift as a matter purely of optics, stating that “Israel [has] the worst PR of any group” and accusing social media, particularly TikTok, of presenting “pure propaganda” that American youth are uncritically ingesting.

Secretary Clinton’s framing is not at all an accurate reflection of why Americans are growing more critical of Israel. Young Americans of all political stripes have not fallen prey to propaganda, though that is always a legitimate concern. Rather, they have consumed two years of videos depicting Israel’s genocide against Palestinians that have been uploaded by Palestinian journalists, ordinary people trying to survive in Gaza, IDF soldiers, and ordinary Israelis themselves. There has been no convincing refutation of the sheer amount of raw evidence of genocide coming out of Palestine. Young people in the U.S. are not stupid or gullible. They simply reject genocide – something the Secretary might consider doing as well.

Secretary Clinton appears not to be bothered by the reality of genocidal violence – in fact, she did not mention anything about it. Her concern is, rather, in her words, “the narrative” – the fact that these crimes are no longer hidden and are now being live-streamed and documented in real time, making it harder for her and others to control it. TikTok cannot be blamed for the fact that many members of Gen Z understand that Israel is …

It is in fact highly ironic to blame TikTok for the dissemination of content laying bare the realities of Israel’s genocide in Palestine. Like many other social media conglomerates, TikTok has been accused of systematic censorship of pro-Palestinian content. In July of this year, TikTok appointed an ex-IDF instructor as its new manager of hate speech. This person can hardly be accused of pro-Palestinian views given her background and stated opinions. It appears that what Secretary Clinton really means to say is that TikTok is not being effective enough at censoring the truth.

What truly seems to unsettle Secretary Clinton is not “misinformation,” but rather the fact that younger generations are no longer consuming a single, state-controlled narrative. They are accessing unfiltered images and testimonies that challenge decades of political messaging. This helps explain why TikTok has become a target, not because it is misleading students, but precisely because the content uploaded by its users allow them to see beyond official propaganda.

When former Secretary Clinton calls this “a serious problem for democracy,” it sounds less like a defense of democratic values and more like concern for the weakening of a long-standing political and ideological agenda, one that, it must be stated, is highly undemocratic.

Secretary Clinton did get one thing right, although quite inadvertently: When you do not have the truth on your side, all you left with is indeed optics and “the narrative.” But she is wrong to think that any amount of PR – even really great and expensive PR – is going to hide this genocide. Israel would be better served by advice to end the genocide, engage in a transformational process that brings the perpetrators to justice, and build a future with Palestinians. That is the only way to change its image.

America’s young people are no longer fooled by genocide denial – whether it is being presented by Israel, the United States, Sudan, Myanmar, Russia, or Secre…

Reposted by Smith, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson

Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 6h

Acting CDER Director Tracy Beth Høeg is not wasting any time ensuring that babies are as vulnerable as possible to preventable diseases that kill them.

Now she's going after preventive RSV meds based on unverified claims from an anti-vax blogger.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Exclusive: US FDA launches fresh safety scrutiny of approved RSV therapies for infants

U.S. health regulators informed senior executives at Merck, Sanofi and AstraZeneca last week that their approved protective RSV treatments for infants would face fresh safety scrutiny following concer...

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Evan Killham @evankillham.bsky.social · 7h

Jimmy Fallon would host the Hunger Games.

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 7h

Now think about a country with 350 million citizens…..

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h

Rand Paul on his healthcare plan: "What if you could join Costco? Costco has 44m members and if one person negotiated for all 44 and they bought a group plan like Toyota or General Motors does, they would be the largest collective entity in the country. They would drive prices down by sheer might."

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 8h

So far the biggest impact in my work life of AI is now Outlook suggests I respond “Thanks for your email”
Or “Sounds good” whenever I get an email.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Rebecca Williams, Alan Richardson , and 1 more Anna O. Law, Rebecca Williams, Alan Richardson, Kathleen Kennedy

Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 8h

IT NEVER WORKS. NEVER. EVER. NEVER WORKS. IT HAS NEVER WORKED. AUSTERITY LEADS TO ENROLLMENT COLLAPSE LEAVES TO UNIVERSITY CLOSURE. EVERY TIME. ALWAYS.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Alan Richardson, Aurélien Mondon

Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 8h

You know why these glowing stories about innovative austerity by university administration pisses off all the faculty? All of them? It's not because it's about firing faculty--you've clearly never been to a faculty meeting if you think there's solidarity internally! It's actually much simpler!

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Joel Wood 🇨🇦 @joelwwood.bsky.social · 9h

I am extremely worried that our economics majors (we have a few) won’t survive the next round of program rationalizations at my university. They are lowish enrolment and admin could argue students could major in Finance instead and get similar jobs

Nic Duquette @nicduquette.bsky.social · 9h

Hate on economics if you want, but it is a major that leads to business and finance jobs. “We’re getting rid of majors that don’t lead to jobs, such as economics“ is just an absurd thing to say and do.

Megan Greenwell @greenwell.bsky.social · 11h

For a couple of years now, I've been fascinated with what's happening at small liberal arts colleges, which are running out of money for reasons unrelated to Trump funding cuts. Businessweek let me go deep on the problems, and one college that's trying to blaze a new trail.

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 9h

It is all misinformation and motivated reasoning from these assholes. They are going to kill a lot of children

Keith Wischmann Wilson 💭 @keithwilson.eu · 9h

This is what happens when you put scientifically illiterate vaccine sceptics in charge of health policy: they make basic, avoidable errors. #Trumpland #VaccinesWork #MAGADeathCult

Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 10h

CDC Panel Targets Size of Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Safety of Aluminum Adjuvants — "What you have said is a terrible, terrible distortion of all the facts," one panel member said. www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/v...

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 9h

Artificial intelligence seems to be only for natural idiots

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 10h

Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"

Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 9h

“Faculty grew too powerful” does not describe anything that has happened at universities. One thing that happened is that the vast majority of admins started thinking that students are customers and also at the same moment stopped knowing how to make a case for what we actually do at universities.

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 10h

Yes we all agree that this is the reason colleges are in trouble

She knows that many people disagree, that they see the value of liberal arts as less about job preparation and more about teaching students how to think. It's a nice sentiment on some level, she says, but it's also hopelessly naive. More to the point, she argues, it's exactly the reason many colleges are in trouble: Faculty grew too powerful and too romantic about their role in society. Students are her customers, she says, and at colleges like Albright they no longer major in Latin American studies or even economics. If they want an Al major, her responsibility is to give them one.

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Keith Wischmann Wilson 💭 @keithwilson.eu · 9h

This is what happens when you put scientifically illiterate vaccine sceptics in charge of health policy: they make basic, avoidable errors. #Trumpland #VaccinesWork #MAGADeathCult

Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 10h

CDC Panel Targets Size of Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Safety of Aluminum Adjuvants

'What you have said is a terrible, terrible distortion of all the facts,' one panel member said

www.medpagetoday.com

Alan Richardson @alanrichardson.bsky.social · 9h

The buck stops anywhere else

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

POLITICO: Do you believe the second strike was necessary?

TRUMP: Uhhhh. Well it looked like they were trying to turn back over the boat. But I don't get involved in that. That's up to them.

Reposted by Bruce D. Baker, Alan Richardson, Trevor A. Branch

Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 9h

this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"

when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter

it's diagnostic

Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 11h

So similarly, when we see people who prefer ChatGPT or a similar synthetic text extruding machine as a source of medical information, that means those are people who are under-served in the current system.

Reposted by Michael D. Robinson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson , and 4 more Michael D. Robinson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson, Jacob T. Levy, Mark Rice, Daniel Kuehn, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 10h

Yes we all agree that this is the reason colleges are in trouble

Reposted by Steve Peers, Alan Richardson, Manisha Sinha , and 1 more Steve Peers, Alan Richardson, Manisha Sinha, Karin Wulf

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 10h

I mean, in what sense will you be able to say the college “survived”?

soon, Albright will be the exemplar for other colleges seeking to reinvent themselves. The plan includes knocking down many of the fundamental pillars of a liberal arts education: replacing philosophy with cybersecurity and tenured faculty with "instructors." It's an audacious blueprint, one that could make Albright something of a unicorn in an age of closures and consolidations. Or it could fail, leaving one more casualty of the decline of higher education.

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 10h

Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"

Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."

Reposted by Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Caroline T. Schroeder , and 3 more Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Caroline T. Schroeder, Michael D. McDonald, Kate Jackson, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

POLITICO: Do you believe the second strike was necessary?

TRUMP: Uhhhh. Well it looked like they were trying to turn back over the boat. But I don't get involved in that. That's up to them.

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 11h

Talking to somebody yesterday about a Cdn oral history archive that disappeared - turns out LLMs were scraping it so much it crashed their servers so it’s offline. Vile vulture technology.

Reposted by John Horgan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson , and 1 more John Horgan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson, Michael Jones‐Correa

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 12h

"Obsequiousness and collaboration spread like viruses to weaken our republic, but the choice to support one another and defend our institutions strengthens it." From @msroth.bsky.social, the President of Wesleyan and a fine historian. He is NOT collaborating.

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Contributor: Americans still have a choice whether to let the nation turn authoritarian

Obsequiousness and collaboration spread like viruses to weaken our republic, but the choice to support one another and defend our institutions strengthens it.

www.latimes.com

Reposted by Alan Richardson

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 12h

Young Republicans are looking for Trump to “be their Franco” but don’t you dare call them fascists.

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