Matthew Sheffield
@matthew.flux.community
🟦 Writer, researcher, podcaster, developer
🟦 As seen in @flux.community, NYT, WaPo, NBC, Variety ...
🟦 Post about politics, cognitive science, gender, media
New book: What Republicans Know https://flux.community/book/what-republicans-know
🟦 As seen in @flux.community, NYT, WaPo, NBC, Variety ...
🟦 Post about politics, cognitive science, gender, media
New book: What Republicans Know https://flux.community/book/what-republicans-know
Pinned
It’s like this: Why perceptions are our realities
Minds do not create experience, experience creates minds
plus.flux.community
Critics of LLMs often argue that chatbots cannot be conscious because they lack "qualia," which they say are extra experiences created by the mind from sensations.
While they're right that ChatGPT isn't sentient, qualia are not extra add-ons, they are the basis of biological minds.
While they're right that ChatGPT isn't sentient, qualia are not extra add-ons, they are the basis of biological minds.
How LLMs can be used reliably is what matters more than what they are. Regulations and ownership are the most important questions at this moment.
Interesting piece examining how Chinese policymakers don't seem to care about AGI and think about the utility of AI differently than American counterparts desperate to win "the AGI race."
open.substack.com/pub/highcapa...
open.substack.com/pub/highcapa...
Does China care about AGI?
Chinese tech leaders and researchers talk openly about AGI. But Chinese policymakers don't seem focused on the "race to AGI" like in the US.
open.substack.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:01 PM
How LLMs can be used reliably is what matters more than what they are. Regulations and ownership are the most important questions at this moment.
Sorry, but the "MAHA Moms" who support Junior Kennedy are not doing it for the right reasons.
The left can and should campaign on and enact stronger food safety regulations, but it is conspiracism that drives the Kennedy cult, not well-founded concerns about health.
The left can and should campaign on and enact stronger food safety regulations, but it is conspiracism that drives the Kennedy cult, not well-founded concerns about health.
Food Used to Be Democrats’ Territory. What Happened?
Once a topic associated with Michelle Obama, food reform has now become the province of RFK Jr. But if Dems decide to reclaim it, they could peel MAHA votes away from the GOP.
newrepublic.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Sorry, but the "MAHA Moms" who support Junior Kennedy are not doing it for the right reasons.
The left can and should campaign on and enact stronger food safety regulations, but it is conspiracism that drives the Kennedy cult, not well-founded concerns about health.
The left can and should campaign on and enact stronger food safety regulations, but it is conspiracism that drives the Kennedy cult, not well-founded concerns about health.
The biggest problem with "popularism" is that its advocates don't fully internalize how much poll question framing can distort measurement.
They also don't get that if having unpopular views stopped you from winning, Republicans would never win elections. Many people do not vote based on policy.
They also don't get that if having unpopular views stopped you from winning, Republicans would never win elections. Many people do not vote based on policy.
Remarkable: Majority of working class voters oppose deportations of undocumented immigrants with jobs/no criminal records, per new Marquette data.
Remember how pundits said 2024 meant Dems must become restrictionist to win back working class? I challenge that here:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Remember how pundits said 2024 meant Dems must become restrictionist to win back working class? I challenge that here:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
February 15, 2026 at 6:49 PM
The biggest problem with "popularism" is that its advocates don't fully internalize how much poll question framing can distort measurement.
They also don't get that if having unpopular views stopped you from winning, Republicans would never win elections. Many people do not vote based on policy.
They also don't get that if having unpopular views stopped you from winning, Republicans would never win elections. Many people do not vote based on policy.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
All the king’s masked and anonymous henchmen:
In the Trump administration's elevation of lawless federal agents, we can see a parallel denigration of the meaning of American citizenship plus.flux.community/p/all-the-ki...
In the Trump administration's elevation of lawless federal agents, we can see a parallel denigration of the meaning of American citizenship plus.flux.community/p/all-the-ki...
All the king’s masked and anonymous henchmen
In the Trump administration's elevation of lawless federal agents, we can see a parallel denigration of the meaning of American citizenship
plus.flux.community
February 15, 2026 at 6:31 PM
All the king’s masked and anonymous henchmen:
In the Trump administration's elevation of lawless federal agents, we can see a parallel denigration of the meaning of American citizenship plus.flux.community/p/all-the-ki...
In the Trump administration's elevation of lawless federal agents, we can see a parallel denigration of the meaning of American citizenship plus.flux.community/p/all-the-ki...
Irony: Ars Technica's editor-in-chief announces retraction of article about AI agents that contained AI-fabricated quotes.
Editor’s Note: Retraction of article containing fabricated quotations
We are reinforcing our editorial standards following this incident.
arstechnica.com
February 15, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Irony: Ars Technica's editor-in-chief announces retraction of article about AI agents that contained AI-fabricated quotes.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
"Anthropic insists that two areas remain off limits: the mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weaponry."
archive.is/YonHM
archive.is/YonHM
EXCLUSIVE: The Pentagon is considering severing its relationship with Anthropic over the AI firm's insistence on maintaining some limitations on how the military uses its models.
Exclusive: Pentagon threatens to cut off Anthropic in AI safeguards dispute
Anthropic has not agreed to the Pentagon's terms and defense officials are getting fed up after months of difficult negotiations.
www.axios.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:08 AM
"Anthropic insists that two areas remain off limits: the mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weaponry."
archive.is/YonHM
archive.is/YonHM
Wheels within wheels on the alleged AI agent that attacked a software dev for rejecting a code merge request.
Did Ars Technica use an AI-fabricated quote to report on the story?
Did Ars Technica use an AI-fabricated quote to report on the story?
Yikes: guy who blogged about how an AI agent published a “hit piece” against him, says (human) reporters seem to have used an LLM to read (and misreport) his blog post
theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-...
theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-...
February 15, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Wheels within wheels on the alleged AI agent that attacked a software dev for rejecting a code merge request.
Did Ars Technica use an AI-fabricated quote to report on the story?
Did Ars Technica use an AI-fabricated quote to report on the story?
NASA announced a week ago that fatty acids found in Martian soil appear to have been formed by something other than known natural processes.
Investigation is still underway, but yes, this could mean evidence of past life on Mars. science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
Investigation is still underway, but yes, this could mean evidence of past life on Mars. science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics - NASA Science
In a new study, researchers say that non-biological sources they considered could not fully account for the abundance of organic compounds in a sample
science.nasa.gov
February 15, 2026 at 7:21 AM
NASA announced a week ago that fatty acids found in Martian soil appear to have been formed by something other than known natural processes.
Investigation is still underway, but yes, this could mean evidence of past life on Mars. science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
Investigation is still underway, but yes, this could mean evidence of past life on Mars. science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Meta is putting a "Name Tag" feature in Ray-Bans - facial recognition through the glasses' camera. You look at someone, AI tells you who they are.
In an internal document, the company wrote that the timing is good because civil society groups are busy with politics and won't cause problems.
In an internal document, the company wrote that the timing is good because civil society groups are busy with politics and won't cause problems.
February 14, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Meta is putting a "Name Tag" feature in Ray-Bans - facial recognition through the glasses' camera. You look at someone, AI tells you who they are.
In an internal document, the company wrote that the timing is good because civil society groups are busy with politics and won't cause problems.
In an internal document, the company wrote that the timing is good because civil society groups are busy with politics and won't cause problems.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
We need to shout about closing the camps. Because by the time most of our public figures out what’s going on, the number of humans "detained" will be approaching, or possibly even quickly dwarfing, America’s first experiment with concentration camps, Japanese-American internment during WWII.
Concentration Camps, Amazon Prime-Style | LOLGOP Studios
Get more from LOLGOP Studios on Patreon
www.patreon.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:00 AM
We need to shout about closing the camps. Because by the time most of our public figures out what’s going on, the number of humans "detained" will be approaching, or possibly even quickly dwarfing, America’s first experiment with concentration camps, Japanese-American internment during WWII.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
“We have known for years Epstein liked to surround himself with a certain type of male scientific “intellectual”: arrogant, entitled, “anti-woke” and often misogynist, typically late middle-aged and Ivy League and on the lookout for young women to impress and sleep with…”
whole thing worth reading
whole thing worth reading
Just added this to my WordPress site, so it's free to read.
homunculusmusic.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/e...
homunculusmusic.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/e...
Epstein’s ugly world of science
As with Peter Mandelson, so in the science world: the Epstein files are not telling us anything that most ordinary punters didn’t already know, but are revealing the full, rotten, appalling extent …
homunculusmusic.wordpress.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:53 PM
“We have known for years Epstein liked to surround himself with a certain type of male scientific “intellectual”: arrogant, entitled, “anti-woke” and often misogynist, typically late middle-aged and Ivy League and on the lookout for young women to impress and sleep with…”
whole thing worth reading
whole thing worth reading
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Robert Kennedy’s MAHA cult is making America sicker: A new scientific establishment is attacking evidence-based medicine plus.flux.community/p/robert-ken...
Robert Kennedy’s MAHA cult is making America sicker
Psychologist Jonathan Howard on the enormous damage the new anti-science establishment is doing to public health
plus.flux.community
February 15, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Robert Kennedy’s MAHA cult is making America sicker: A new scientific establishment is attacking evidence-based medicine plus.flux.community/p/robert-ken...
An uncomfortable reality of the human condition is that many people are cognitively inclined toward hierarchical political viewpoints. This presents a fundamental problem for democracies.
Ultimately, democracy depends in large measure upon conservatives learning that they must not enable fascism.
Ultimately, democracy depends in large measure upon conservatives learning that they must not enable fascism.
February 14, 2026 at 5:49 PM
An uncomfortable reality of the human condition is that many people are cognitively inclined toward hierarchical political viewpoints. This presents a fundamental problem for democracies.
Ultimately, democracy depends in large measure upon conservatives learning that they must not enable fascism.
Ultimately, democracy depends in large measure upon conservatives learning that they must not enable fascism.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Russell Vought and the White House breaking more laws. Congress appropriated these funds for USAID. It’s galling to see them used to protect the man who architected its destruction.
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show
The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief and an archit...
www.reuters.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Russell Vought and the White House breaking more laws. Congress appropriated these funds for USAID. It’s galling to see them used to protect the man who architected its destruction.
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
The conservative case for aligning with fascism is always "the left is worse."
Chatterton is a conservative. Reactionary centrism is accepting his false denial of his conservatism.
Chatterton is a conservative. Reactionary centrism is accepting his false denial of his conservatism.
Physically incapable of analyzing politics outside of this insipid frame.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
February 14, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The conservative case for aligning with fascism is always "the left is worse."
Chatterton is a conservative. Reactionary centrism is accepting his false denial of his conservatism.
Chatterton is a conservative. Reactionary centrism is accepting his false denial of his conservatism.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
The government has struggled to keep up with the pace at which it's being sued, and the pace at which it's losing.
Reuters found more than 700 Justice Department lawyers now assigned to immigration detention cases.
And we found five DOJ attorneys who each appeared in more than 1,000 cases.
Reuters found more than 700 Justice Department lawyers now assigned to immigration detention cases.
And we found five DOJ attorneys who each appeared in more than 1,000 cases.
February 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM
The government has struggled to keep up with the pace at which it's being sued, and the pace at which it's losing.
Reuters found more than 700 Justice Department lawyers now assigned to immigration detention cases.
And we found five DOJ attorneys who each appeared in more than 1,000 cases.
Reuters found more than 700 Justice Department lawyers now assigned to immigration detention cases.
And we found five DOJ attorneys who each appeared in more than 1,000 cases.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
RFK Jr/MAHA world say they're not reducing access to vaccines for anyone who wants them, only giving people "choice" to opt out.
But by refusing to even review new vaccines, yes, they are absolutely blocking those who want a new immunization from ever having access to it.
But by refusing to even review new vaccines, yes, they are absolutely blocking those who want a new immunization from ever having access to it.
Top FDA official Vinay Prasad overruled the agency’s reviewers--career scientists--when he refused to accept Moderna’s application for a new influenza vaccine www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...
Prasad overruled FDA staff to reject Moderna's flu vaccine application
The rejection is the latest instance of Vinay Prasad overruling career FDA scientists to place vaccines under harsher scrutiny.
www.statnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:54 PM
RFK Jr/MAHA world say they're not reducing access to vaccines for anyone who wants them, only giving people "choice" to opt out.
But by refusing to even review new vaccines, yes, they are absolutely blocking those who want a new immunization from ever having access to it.
But by refusing to even review new vaccines, yes, they are absolutely blocking those who want a new immunization from ever having access to it.
Expect a lot more of this without extensive regulations.
OpenAI removed GPT-4o from its app today despite opposition from the version's most loyal fans. Many of them see their 4o chatbot as romantic companions, and they are grieving the loss and publicly revolting against the company. I talked to a group in China on how they are faring and fighting.
OpenAI Is Nuking Its 4o Model. China’s ChatGPT Fans Aren’t OK
As OpenAI removed access to GPT-4o in its app on Friday, people who have come to rely on the chatbot for companionship are mourning the loss all over the world.
www.wired.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Expect a lot more of this without extensive regulations.
Thanks so much!
I'm not sure what you mean by a reading list though.
I'm not sure what you mean by a reading list though.
Can I recommend this podcast to everyone? Much more than a dirge for the Democratic party, although that's in there. My big problem w/ @matthew.flux.community is there's no recommended reading note LOL, so I need to go back and make a freaking LIST. Already followed like 3 new names on Bluesky.
My latest set of podcast lamentations, expertly curated by @matthew.flux.community, below:
February 14, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Thanks so much!
I'm not sure what you mean by a reading list though.
I'm not sure what you mean by a reading list though.
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
do you think Sam Altman increased his own personal security for the big 4o cancellation
February 13, 2026 at 11:08 PM
do you think Sam Altman increased his own personal security for the big 4o cancellation
The amount of damage that RFK Junior and his cronies are doing to public health is unprecedented. Infuriatingly enough, there are some accredited medical professionals helping him attack science-based medicine.
@joho.bsky.social tells us who they are and what they're doing:
@joho.bsky.social tells us who they are and what they're doing:
Robert Kennedy’s MAHA cult is making America sicker
Psychologist Jonathan Howard on the enormous damage the new anti-science establishment is doing to public health
plus.flux.community
February 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
The amount of damage that RFK Junior and his cronies are doing to public health is unprecedented. Infuriatingly enough, there are some accredited medical professionals helping him attack science-based medicine.
@joho.bsky.social tells us who they are and what they're doing:
@joho.bsky.social tells us who they are and what they're doing:
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
Sending this tweet in a time machine back to 2010 knowing full well my head will explode
February 13, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Sending this tweet in a time machine back to 2010 knowing full well my head will explode
Reposted by Matthew Sheffield
I feel like it's a good time to restate that my rapist was never prosecuted by the Republican DA at the time for Tarrant County in Texas, who served for 3 decades. In fact he had some of the lowest prosecution rates for SA and rape cases. Republicans have always defended rapists and predators.
The complete refusal from the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate the allegations in the Epstein Files and made by Epstein survivors is also proof of what victims everywhere go through every day when authority figures refuse to do anything about what happened to them
February 13, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I feel like it's a good time to restate that my rapist was never prosecuted by the Republican DA at the time for Tarrant County in Texas, who served for 3 decades. In fact he had some of the lowest prosecution rates for SA and rape cases. Republicans have always defended rapists and predators.