Sam Harsimony
@harsimony.bsky.social
I write about opportunities in science, space, and policy here: https://splittinginfinity.substack.com/
Pinned
Sam Harsimony
@harsimony.bsky.social
· Jan 26
Thread of my new posts in the replies (and some summaries of old ones).
What if Valve just stumbles in to building AI devices for people?
They already make user-friendly devices centered around a powerful and cost effective GPU
They already make user-friendly devices centered around a powerful and cost effective GPU
High-speed, high-cost is for working with humans in real time. Brett Victor showed us the magic you get from extremely responsive interfaces.
You'll have an AI collaborator running on your own GPU.
4/6
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv6...
You'll have an AI collaborator running on your own GPU.
4/6
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv6...
Bret Victor - Inventing on Principle
YouTube video by Rui Oliveira
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:58 PM
What if Valve just stumbles in to building AI devices for people?
They already make user-friendly devices centered around a powerful and cost effective GPU
They already make user-friendly devices centered around a powerful and cost effective GPU
It is fortunate that people with stupid views also tend to be ineffective at achieving their goals.
November 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
It is fortunate that people with stupid views also tend to be ineffective at achieving their goals.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Are you an intrepid researcher who wants to explore the Epstein emails, but don't have time to sort thru the unstructured ravings of a deranged lunatic?
Fear not patriots! My colleague @thatsjustlikeyouropinionman.com has used the power of AI for great justice.
epstein-doc-explorer-1.onrender.com
Fear not patriots! My colleague @thatsjustlikeyouropinionman.com has used the power of AI for great justice.
epstein-doc-explorer-1.onrender.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Are you an intrepid researcher who wants to explore the Epstein emails, but don't have time to sort thru the unstructured ravings of a deranged lunatic?
Fear not patriots! My colleague @thatsjustlikeyouropinionman.com has used the power of AI for great justice.
epstein-doc-explorer-1.onrender.com
Fear not patriots! My colleague @thatsjustlikeyouropinionman.com has used the power of AI for great justice.
epstein-doc-explorer-1.onrender.com
AI companies can straightforwardly avoid a bubble. Their current models are profitable!
The problem is R&D spend chasing scaling laws that continue to hold and continue to have extreme diminishing returns.
Though many have realized this (except xAI).
The problem is R&D spend chasing scaling laws that continue to hold and continue to have extreme diminishing returns.
Though many have realized this (except xAI).
November 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
AI companies can straightforwardly avoid a bubble. Their current models are profitable!
The problem is R&D spend chasing scaling laws that continue to hold and continue to have extreme diminishing returns.
Though many have realized this (except xAI).
The problem is R&D spend chasing scaling laws that continue to hold and continue to have extreme diminishing returns.
Though many have realized this (except xAI).
Anybody know what "wage" LLM's get in programming?
Like how much do people pay inference providers per successful PR? Per line of code?
Relevant to the question of how much profit AI companies will get from automating labor.
Like how much do people pay inference providers per successful PR? Per line of code?
Relevant to the question of how much profit AI companies will get from automating labor.
November 14, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Anybody know what "wage" LLM's get in programming?
Like how much do people pay inference providers per successful PR? Per line of code?
Relevant to the question of how much profit AI companies will get from automating labor.
Like how much do people pay inference providers per successful PR? Per line of code?
Relevant to the question of how much profit AI companies will get from automating labor.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
One of the things I care the most about is getting more housing built. So, in fun news, Percepta is partnering with the state of Maryland, Anthropic, and the Rockefeller Foundation to help accelerate permitting!
governor.maryland.gov/news/press/p...
governor.maryland.gov/news/press/p...
Maryland Governor Wes Moore Announces Landmark AI Partnership to Transform State Service Delivery - Press Releases - News - Office of Governor Wes Moore
governor.maryland.gov
November 13, 2025 at 9:27 PM
One of the things I care the most about is getting more housing built. So, in fun news, Percepta is partnering with the state of Maryland, Anthropic, and the Rockefeller Foundation to help accelerate permitting!
governor.maryland.gov/news/press/p...
governor.maryland.gov/news/press/p...
Blue Origin just launched a mission to Mars, booster successfully landed, second stage starting soon.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Fi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Fi...
Watch Blue Origin Launch New Glenn to Mars!
YouTube video by Everyday Astronaut
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Blue Origin just launched a mission to Mars, booster successfully landed, second stage starting soon.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Fi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Fi...
Good roundup on fertility job market papers by @revoluzia.bsky.social
One bit: if real U.S. house prices stayed at 90's level, we would've returned to replacement fertility.
More in the post!
illuminatingfertility.substack.com/p/20252026-f...
One bit: if real U.S. house prices stayed at 90's level, we would've returned to replacement fertility.
More in the post!
illuminatingfertility.substack.com/p/20252026-f...
2025/2026 Fertility job market papers
A summary of new research papers
illuminatingfertility.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Good roundup on fertility job market papers by @revoluzia.bsky.social
One bit: if real U.S. house prices stayed at 90's level, we would've returned to replacement fertility.
More in the post!
illuminatingfertility.substack.com/p/20252026-f...
One bit: if real U.S. house prices stayed at 90's level, we would've returned to replacement fertility.
More in the post!
illuminatingfertility.substack.com/p/20252026-f...
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Red Queen Bio is "is trying to make sure the AI industry's defenses are growing at least as rapidly as those who seek to exploit models to harm humans".
www.reuters.com/technology/o...
I hope to see a lot more companies and non-profits started with this kind of mission. Also love the PBC trend.
www.reuters.com/technology/o...
I hope to see a lot more companies and non-profits started with this kind of mission. Also love the PBC trend.
www.reuters.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Red Queen Bio is "is trying to make sure the AI industry's defenses are growing at least as rapidly as those who seek to exploit models to harm humans".
www.reuters.com/technology/o...
I hope to see a lot more companies and non-profits started with this kind of mission. Also love the PBC trend.
www.reuters.com/technology/o...
I hope to see a lot more companies and non-profits started with this kind of mission. Also love the PBC trend.
Using electron microscopy (EM) and molecular simulation to figure out what's actually going on at the molecular level in photoresist.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cryo-electron tomography reconstructs polymer in liquid film for fab-compatible lithography - Nature Communications
Liquid films are essential in semiconductor lithography but microscopic behaviors of photoresist within these films remain unclear. This study uses cryo-electron tomography to reconstruct photoresist ...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Using electron microscopy (EM) and molecular simulation to figure out what's actually going on at the molecular level in photoresist.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I was just on a flight without wifi and couldn't ask claude sth. I remembered I'd downloaded llama 3.2 via ollama a while back and spent half an hour with it.
Was better in some ways than reading a wall of perfect text from claude. llama was fast and bad, more stimulating to talk to in some sense.
Was better in some ways than reading a wall of perfect text from claude. llama was fast and bad, more stimulating to talk to in some sense.
High-speed, high-cost is for working with humans in real time. Brett Victor showed us the magic you get from extremely responsive interfaces.
You'll have an AI collaborator running on your own GPU.
4/6
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv6...
You'll have an AI collaborator running on your own GPU.
4/6
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv6...
Bret Victor - Inventing on Principle
YouTube video by Rui Oliveira
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I was just on a flight without wifi and couldn't ask claude sth. I remembered I'd downloaded llama 3.2 via ollama a while back and spent half an hour with it.
Was better in some ways than reading a wall of perfect text from claude. llama was fast and bad, more stimulating to talk to in some sense.
Was better in some ways than reading a wall of perfect text from claude. llama was fast and bad, more stimulating to talk to in some sense.
I've been thinking about inference economics a lot recently.
I'm convinced that two types of inference will reign, and one of them doesn't look good for AI companies.
1/6
I'm convinced that two types of inference will reign, and one of them doesn't look good for AI companies.
1/6
I suspect headlines like these are the progression that'll deflate the capex bubble
Research shows local language models handle 88.7% of queries, cutting dependence on cloud infrastructure. With a 5.3x boost in energy efficiency since 2023, local AI transforms large-scale processing and conserves resources. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07885
November 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I've been thinking about inference economics a lot recently.
I'm convinced that two types of inference will reign, and one of them doesn't look good for AI companies.
1/6
I'm convinced that two types of inference will reign, and one of them doesn't look good for AI companies.
1/6
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
One of the most interesting recent privacy developments is the deployment of big two-hop IP blinding VPNs by companies like Apple and Google. These systems are designed to ensure that even those companies can’t link web requests to IP addresses.
November 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
One of the most interesting recent privacy developments is the deployment of big two-hop IP blinding VPNs by companies like Apple and Google. These systems are designed to ensure that even those companies can’t link web requests to IP addresses.
This snail lives by deep hydrothermal vents and makes its shell out of Iron Sulfide.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-f...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-f...
Scaly-foot gastropod - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 12, 2025 at 11:44 PM
This snail lives by deep hydrothermal vents and makes its shell out of Iron Sulfide.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-f...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-f...
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Good thread from Dave about the new IEA "Current Policies Scenario" making a lot of the headlines.
Here is a very quick mock-up I made of what this scenario assumes for solar PV additions through to 2035, with historical context.
I'll let you decide whether this seems likely.
Here is a very quick mock-up I made of what this scenario assumes for solar PV additions through to 2035, with historical context.
I'll let you decide whether this seems likely.
November 12, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Good thread from Dave about the new IEA "Current Policies Scenario" making a lot of the headlines.
Here is a very quick mock-up I made of what this scenario assumes for solar PV additions through to 2035, with historical context.
I'll let you decide whether this seems likely.
Here is a very quick mock-up I made of what this scenario assumes for solar PV additions through to 2035, with historical context.
I'll let you decide whether this seems likely.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Elon is a bullshit artist vaporware hawker and it’s totally correct to mock this specific stupid claim, but it is sort of depressing how him associating himself so strongly with techno-utopianism has negatively polarized so many against it.
in a long life filled with saying stupid shit this is may be the stupidest shit he's ever said
November 12, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Elon is a bullshit artist vaporware hawker and it’s totally correct to mock this specific stupid claim, but it is sort of depressing how him associating himself so strongly with techno-utopianism has negatively polarized so many against it.
You usually shouldn't exchange shares of a ~monopoly for shares of a company that buys from that monopoly and has lots of competitors.
I think they will regret this, but perhaps I'm missing something.
I think they will regret this, but perhaps I'm missing something.
OH MY GOD THEY SOLD IT TO BUY EQUITY IN OPENAI AHAHAHAH BLUESKYISM
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
November 11, 2025 at 9:54 PM
You usually shouldn't exchange shares of a ~monopoly for shares of a company that buys from that monopoly and has lots of competitors.
I think they will regret this, but perhaps I'm missing something.
I think they will regret this, but perhaps I'm missing something.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
NEW RESEARCH: Our study shows high-temperature heat pumps are the most cost-effective path to decarbonising industrial heat at low to medium temperatures.
We find industrial heat pumps can cut heating costs by up to 75% vs h2 & and beat natural gas.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
We find industrial heat pumps can cut heating costs by up to 75% vs h2 & and beat natural gas.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Techno-economic analysis of technologies for decarbonizing low- and medium-temperature industrial heat
Techno-economic analysis shows that high-temperature heat pumps achieve the lowest
cost of heat when considering options for industrial decarbonization in Europe, especially
when combined with thermal...
www.cell.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:00 PM
NEW RESEARCH: Our study shows high-temperature heat pumps are the most cost-effective path to decarbonising industrial heat at low to medium temperatures.
We find industrial heat pumps can cut heating costs by up to 75% vs h2 & and beat natural gas.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
We find industrial heat pumps can cut heating costs by up to 75% vs h2 & and beat natural gas.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Given the challenges of serving large models, open sourcing small models (and data/training) is crucial for accessible LLMs.
Breaking: we release a fully synthetic generalist dataset for pretraining, SYNTH and two new SOTA reasoning models exclusively trained on it. Despite having seen only 200 billion tokens, Baguettotron is currently best-in-class in its size range. pleias.fr/blog/blogsyn...
November 11, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Given the challenges of serving large models, open sourcing small models (and data/training) is crucial for accessible LLMs.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Shader systems are ridiculously powerful if you’re clever enough.
Most people use them to create visual effects. You know what’s cooler?
Running Linux.
Inside an emulated RISC-V CPU. Inside a pixel shader. Inside of VRChat...
Most people use them to create visual effects. You know what’s cooler?
Running Linux.
Inside an emulated RISC-V CPU. Inside a pixel shader. Inside of VRChat...
November 10, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Shader systems are ridiculously powerful if you’re clever enough.
Most people use them to create visual effects. You know what’s cooler?
Running Linux.
Inside an emulated RISC-V CPU. Inside a pixel shader. Inside of VRChat...
Most people use them to create visual effects. You know what’s cooler?
Running Linux.
Inside an emulated RISC-V CPU. Inside a pixel shader. Inside of VRChat...
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
You might think that while Marc Andreessen is a jerk, at least he's been far ahead of the curve on AI. If you think that, though, you'd be wrong – Andreessen was pretty slow to realize what was happening with AI, and many of his predictions on the topic since have been way off
November 10, 2025 at 11:39 AM
You might think that while Marc Andreessen is a jerk, at least he's been far ahead of the curve on AI. If you think that, though, you'd be wrong – Andreessen was pretty slow to realize what was happening with AI, and many of his predictions on the topic since have been way off
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Today in @aeon.co Andreas Mogensen and I discuss animal welfare, AI welfare, and probabilistic ethics. We make the case for addressing the moral status of animals and AI systems as we address health, climate, and other big issues: with probabilistic reasoning and proportional responses.
An ant is drowning: here’s how to decide if you should save it | Aeon Essays
Should we simply assume that all animals can feel pain and are of moral concern? Or is that taking things too far?
aeon.co
November 10, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Today in @aeon.co Andreas Mogensen and I discuss animal welfare, AI welfare, and probabilistic ethics. We make the case for addressing the moral status of animals and AI systems as we address health, climate, and other big issues: with probabilistic reasoning and proportional responses.
Reposted by Sam Harsimony
Tensordyne released a new token economics calculator!
Input a model, hardware, number of users, etc. and get cost per token, energy costs, and more.
Calculator:
www.tensordyne.ai/token-econom...
Video interview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIZ...
Input a model, hardware, number of users, etc. and get cost per token, energy costs, and more.
Calculator:
www.tensordyne.ai/token-econom...
Video interview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIZ...
Token Economics Calculator
Tensordyne’s Token Economics Calculator was developed to evaluate a broad range of AI inference systems across key metrics based on publicly available data.
www.tensordyne.ai
November 7, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Tensordyne released a new token economics calculator!
Input a model, hardware, number of users, etc. and get cost per token, energy costs, and more.
Calculator:
www.tensordyne.ai/token-econom...
Video interview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIZ...
Input a model, hardware, number of users, etc. and get cost per token, energy costs, and more.
Calculator:
www.tensordyne.ai/token-econom...
Video interview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIZ...
The Pope is cool honestly
November 7, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The Pope is cool honestly