Arun Niranjan
@arun-niranjan.bsky.social
Software engineer and former neuroscientist
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Almost all musicals are significantly worse in the second half.
The only exception to this is Les Miserables, and that's because Fantine is out of the picture
The only exception to this is Les Miserables, and that's because Fantine is out of the picture
Loving the divided review on Wicked: For Good.
My theory on the reason for the rift is whether or not critics saw the musical. Those that did already *know* the second half is dogshit and are grading on a curve. Those that haven’t get to experience it for the first time.
My theory on the reason for the rift is whether or not critics saw the musical. Those that did already *know* the second half is dogshit and are grading on a curve. Those that haven’t get to experience it for the first time.
November 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Almost all musicals are significantly worse in the second half.
The only exception to this is Les Miserables, and that's because Fantine is out of the picture
The only exception to this is Les Miserables, and that's because Fantine is out of the picture
Of course I have beaten the jet lag, it's entirely coincidental that I took a 4 hour nap at 3pm 😐
November 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Of course I have beaten the jet lag, it's entirely coincidental that I took a 4 hour nap at 3pm 😐
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
"It is terrible that Shabana Mahmood faces overt racism for being a high profile Asian woman" = good argument
"The key to ending overt racism against Asians in Britain is that we must Stop the Boats" = a very bad argument indeed, on so many levels
"The key to ending overt racism against Asians in Britain is that we must Stop the Boats" = a very bad argument indeed, on so many levels
November 17, 2025 at 11:23 PM
"It is terrible that Shabana Mahmood faces overt racism for being a high profile Asian woman" = good argument
"The key to ending overt racism against Asians in Britain is that we must Stop the Boats" = a very bad argument indeed, on so many levels
"The key to ending overt racism against Asians in Britain is that we must Stop the Boats" = a very bad argument indeed, on so many levels
A great set of back of the envelope calculations - and adds to my deeply held belief that we should turn every single golf course into a wild meadow or public park
November 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM
A great set of back of the envelope calculations - and adds to my deeply held belief that we should turn every single golf course into a wild meadow or public park
Very interested to read this in detail next week, and see what lessons we can learn if any for designing discrete active inference agents for situations where handling continuous variables is either too hard or too expensive 🙌🏾
November 14, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Very interested to read this in detail next week, and see what lessons we can learn if any for designing discrete active inference agents for situations where handling continuous variables is either too hard or too expensive 🙌🏾
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
It's too cloudy where I am so I'm just watching the 'roras on a webcam instead
November 13, 2025 at 1:45 AM
It's too cloudy where I am so I'm just watching the 'roras on a webcam instead
Tonight I am staying at an abandoned high school converted into a cafe/hotel/cat sanctuary.
The question is, what should I write on the blackboard?
The question is, what should I write on the blackboard?
November 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Tonight I am staying at an abandoned high school converted into a cafe/hotel/cat sanctuary.
The question is, what should I write on the blackboard?
The question is, what should I write on the blackboard?
What an exciting opportunity for a crossover special!
I had a lovely catch up chat with @jamesheathers.bsky.social at the weekend. I am thoroughly inspired by the work he and team are doing at the Medical Evidence Project. They act on tip offs for fraudulent and/or inaccurate science used to shape medical practice. Know any? medicalevidenceproject.org
The Medical Evidence Project
We find bad research that affects health and life
medicalevidenceproject.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:05 AM
What an exciting opportunity for a crossover special!
Before AI my best explanation for bad writing was that people are terrible.
Now I can blame LLMs instead and be hopeful that people are not terrible after all
Now I can blame LLMs instead and be hopeful that people are not terrible after all
You guys have got to stop saying things are made with AI just because you think they’re bad
November 1, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Before AI my best explanation for bad writing was that people are terrible.
Now I can blame LLMs instead and be hopeful that people are not terrible after all
Now I can blame LLMs instead and be hopeful that people are not terrible after all
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
I will never understand why BBC Royal Correspondents write like this.
October 31, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I will never understand why BBC Royal Correspondents write like this.
I sorely regret not walking out of Deadpool 3.
At 34 I didn't have enough years left to waste on it
At 34 I didn't have enough years left to waste on it
The best walk out I have seen in a cinema is during my gardening leave when I would watch a lot of the 11am pensioner and new parent screenings, an old lady saying "I don't have enough years left to waste on this" and walking out of 'The Duke'.
I remember going to see The Gallows and a guy left shouting "fuck off!" and none of the few left in there disagreed really.
October 30, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I sorely regret not walking out of Deadpool 3.
At 34 I didn't have enough years left to waste on it
At 34 I didn't have enough years left to waste on it
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
This lack of reliability is I believe the real reason most companies haven't seen massive productivity gains with agents.
Just because a system *can* get it right, doesn't mean it *will*. And in LLM agent loops, errors earn compound interest.
Just because a system *can* get it right, doesn't mean it *will*. And in LLM agent loops, errors earn compound interest.
"Won't the AI just get smarter and figure it out?"
That's what a VC asked me when I explained why AI agents in healthcare are a safety disaster waiting to happen.
No. It won't.
Here's what they don't understand:
That's what a VC asked me when I explained why AI agents in healthcare are a safety disaster waiting to happen.
No. It won't.
Here's what they don't understand:
October 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
This lack of reliability is I believe the real reason most companies haven't seen massive productivity gains with agents.
Just because a system *can* get it right, doesn't mean it *will*. And in LLM agent loops, errors earn compound interest.
Just because a system *can* get it right, doesn't mean it *will*. And in LLM agent loops, errors earn compound interest.
"if you have no policy, the only thing you can successfully communicate is that you are out of your depth."
👏🏾 This doesn't just apply to politics, you see it in businesses *everywhere*
👏🏾 This doesn't just apply to politics, you see it in businesses *everywhere*
As it is, essentially everyone who cares about this story is annoyed with the government for one reason or another, because if you have no policy, the only thing you can successfully communicate is that you are out of your depth.
Football’s latest row reveals Labour’s lost grip on policing
If Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa match is too hard to oversee, Britain has a bigger problem
www.ft.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:55 PM
"if you have no policy, the only thing you can successfully communicate is that you are out of your depth."
👏🏾 This doesn't just apply to politics, you see it in businesses *everywhere*
👏🏾 This doesn't just apply to politics, you see it in businesses *everywhere*
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
It would have been so easy to write that Labour statement in a way that reflected their policy but attacked Lam/Reform
"We believe that the right to stay here permanently should be based on contribution but suggesting deporting people who've earned that right is appalling."
"We believe that the right to stay here permanently should be based on contribution but suggesting deporting people who've earned that right is appalling."
October 21, 2025 at 10:34 AM
It would have been so easy to write that Labour statement in a way that reflected their policy but attacked Lam/Reform
"We believe that the right to stay here permanently should be based on contribution but suggesting deporting people who've earned that right is appalling."
"We believe that the right to stay here permanently should be based on contribution but suggesting deporting people who've earned that right is appalling."
This was a fantastic talk, and I have stolen a dozen ideas for improving the talks that I give in the future.
Worth checking the recording even if you don't know anything about casual inference or psychology in general.
Worth checking the recording even if you don't know anything about casual inference or psychology in general.
Happy to announce that I'll give a talk on how we can make rigorous causal inference more mainstream 📈
You can sign up for the Zoom link here: tinyurl.com/CIIG-JuliaRo...
You can sign up for the Zoom link here: tinyurl.com/CIIG-JuliaRo...
October 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This was a fantastic talk, and I have stolen a dozen ideas for improving the talks that I give in the future.
Worth checking the recording even if you don't know anything about casual inference or psychology in general.
Worth checking the recording even if you don't know anything about casual inference or psychology in general.
An incredible sentence I will be stealing for the future.
That press release reads like half of its paragraphs have never been introduced to the other half.
October 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
An incredible sentence I will be stealing for the future.
Being an IC software engineer probably has the best ratio of "do interesting work"/"admin of interesting work".
But it still requires constant effort and focus, and ruthless prioritisation. Can't imagine how the academics cope
But it still requires constant effort and focus, and ruthless prioritisation. Can't imagine how the academics cope
I think that if most young people really knew how much non-science work a scientific career requires, most would not persue it. And I say that as someone with zero teaching and only grant and paper related admin.
October 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Being an IC software engineer probably has the best ratio of "do interesting work"/"admin of interesting work".
But it still requires constant effort and focus, and ruthless prioritisation. Can't imagine how the academics cope
But it still requires constant effort and focus, and ruthless prioritisation. Can't imagine how the academics cope
Well worth making the distinction between audio books and radio play adaptations.
Don't do a half-assed effort at both, pick one form and do it *well*
Don't do a half-assed effort at both, pick one form and do it *well*
“May your favourite authors get big enough that their audiobooks get a cast of more than one actor.” - ancient Cockney curse.
October 13, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Well worth making the distinction between audio books and radio play adaptations.
Don't do a half-assed effort at both, pick one form and do it *well*
Don't do a half-assed effort at both, pick one form and do it *well*
Very excited to be going to IWAI next week, and after that I am on sabbatical until January 🎉
iwaiworkshop.github.io
iwaiworkshop.github.io
6th International Workshop on Active Inference
iwaiworkshop.github.io
October 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Very excited to be going to IWAI next week, and after that I am on sabbatical until January 🎉
iwaiworkshop.github.io
iwaiworkshop.github.io
Finally got round to listening to @roelkonijn.bsky.social on "this guy sucked" talking about Alcibiades - great fun even if you don't know much about ancient greek history like me!
pca.st/vtgmuqi7
pca.st/vtgmuqi7
Alcibiades with Roel Konijnendijk
pca.st
October 9, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Finally got round to listening to @roelkonijn.bsky.social on "this guy sucked" talking about Alcibiades - great fun even if you don't know much about ancient greek history like me!
pca.st/vtgmuqi7
pca.st/vtgmuqi7
At some point I will get off my arse and create a blue sky feed that is exactly the same as the standard feed but hides all the chain quote posts
October 5, 2025 at 10:32 AM
At some point I will get off my arse and create a blue sky feed that is exactly the same as the standard feed but hides all the chain quote posts
Reposted by Arun Niranjan
