On “productive struggle” and the AI expertise paradox: “The tools that enable novices to perform more like experts simultaneously make them less likely to become experts.” Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...

Our January #FutureTenseFiction story is here! Read @andrewliptak.com’s “Deficiency Agent,” which follows a Marine whose role in an AI-led decision loop is to “root out any weirdness the AI might spit out” on the battlefield.

I'm very excited to share our new article "A Texas-Sized, Texas-Shaped Approach to Biomedical Research" in @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/texas-resear... @stpolicy.bsky.social @bakerinstitute.bsky.social

“Learning that Texas champions a progressive funding regime for biomedical research may come as a surprise,” @kennethmevans.bsky.social, Kirsten Matthews, & Heidi Russell write. But the state’s bipartisan funding model can help other state-led social contracts for science. issues.org/texas-resear...

A fascinating read that everyone should check out! “By looking more closely at the locust, the enterprise can begin to examine how power people, powerful interest, and ideologies affect the landscape of science” @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/locusts-fede...

Terrific article that offers a different and much needed perspective on the development of the US social contract for science, and also previews our upcoming article on Texas state biomedical research policy in @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/locusts-fede...

Simons Foundation president David Spergel recently spoke to @issuesinst.bsky.social about the future of science philanthropy: https://issues.org/american-science-simons-spergel-interview/ #science #math #philanthropy

A recent Issues in Science and Technology interview with J. B. Branch takes a look at AI chatbots, their impacts on users — including teens and the elderly — and how companies and policymakers can protect vulnerable populations. Read or listen: https://ow.ly/tihm50XOrvp

ISSUES is hiring! We’re looking for an Assistant Editor, based in Phoenix, to support editorial operations: producing and optimizing articles for web, copyediting, fact-checking, creating for social media, assisting with podcast and event production, and more. We all wear many hats! And so will you.

“How did the system come to use superglue to fix my brain? Who in the world would do such a thing?” Physician and science policy scholar Robert Cook-Deegan shares lessons he learned from “being the guy on the operating room table”: issues.org/subdural-hem...

and on THURSDAY all three editors will be in conversation with @issuesinst.bsky.social @edfinn.bsky.social @craigcalhoun.bsky.social in what promises to be a fascinating virtual event - join us! issues.org/event/what-i...

Wrote a short opinion piece for @issuesinst.bsky.social in response to a science fiction story by E.G. Condé about the inescapable heat death of all our data. Can biology help us slow this thermodynamic destiny? Thanks to @imaginationasu.bsky.social for the invitation: issues.org/futuretensef...

A recent Issues in Science and Technology piece explores how creating a National #Biosafety and #Biosecurity Agency that oversees the entire research life cycle can help manage risks and build public trust while allowing scientists to continue doing good work. Read: https://ow.ly/Tgpc50Xt8AG

In case you missed it, the 5th and final-for-this-season episode of NOT NOW BUT SOON, the podcast I host at @issuesinst.bsky.social, came out yesterday! Search "The Ongoing Transformation" to find the series wherever you get your podcasts or click below ⬇️

How does social media distort our understanding of what the public thinks? Join us on November 13 for the 2025 #DavidLecture with Jay Van Bavel, PhD about how technology and psychology interact to create a funhouse mirror version of public opinion: https://ow.ly/uaPk50XiyHF#DavidLecture

In 2005, the Panda Trial held that intelligent design cannot be taught in science classrooms. 20 years later, @monyab.bsky.social revisits the trial and the people involved, finding insights into conflicts around community, religion, science, and education. Read the story: issues.org/science-curr...

Our new #FutureTenseFiction story is here! “Coser y Cantar” by Gabriela Damián Miravete, translated by Will Vanderhyden, explores fast fashion, AI, and corporate accountability. Read it here: issues.org/futuretensef... #speculativefiction

“There is no question that oversight of high-consequence biological research is needed. But what kind, and how much?” David Gillum makes the case for a National Biosafety and Biosecurity Agency: issues.org/biosecurity-... #biosafety #biosecurity

My opinion on the decline of our national pandemic preparedness and risks to biosecurity in @issuesinst.bsky.social @nationalacademies.org issues.org/unprepared-p...

Great new article by David Gillum in @issuesinst.bsky.social Better Biosecurity for the Bioeconomy issues.org/biosecurity-...

NEW EPISODE DAY! In this edition of NOT NOW BUT SOON, I talk to my friend Nasir Andisha, ambassador and permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, where he represents the people—not the current government—of a country that has been navigating disaster for decades.

“Examples of chatbots promoting antisocial behavior, violence, and self-harm have multiplied across platforms since large language models came into wide usage,” @jbbranch.bsky.social writes. Read his piece on regulatory pathways for enforcing AI safety standards: issues.org/ai-companion...

A new article in Issues in Science and Technology explores a new directive to build a #nuclear reactor on the Moon, why past U.S. #SpaceNuclear programs have failed, and what is needed to ensure that this time is different. Read: https://ow.ly/PqjR50XhOTm

The much-discussed “social contract” between science and the federal government, once described by physicist Harvey Brooks as “free of strings,” is now “clearly defunct,” @lisamargonelli.bsky.social writes in her Editor’s Journal for the Fall ISSUES. issues.org/science-soci...

The story of how, in three months, 10 research organizations developed a new model for funding indirect costs—and of a $26 slice of carrot cake—as told by Kelvin Droegemeier, Barbara Snyder, @scipolguy.bsky.social, Nancy Andrews, Willie May, Kurt Marek, & Farin Kamangar: issues.org/indirect-cos...

What does it take to identify critical science & tech capability gaps—and then build organizations dedicated to addressing them? @adammarblestone.bsky.social, @anastasiag.bsky.social, Mary Wang, & @josephfridman.bsky.social on creating @convergentresearch.bsky.social: issues.org/focused-rese...

“History shows that when it comes to space nuclear power, the United States is far better at setting goals than seeing them through.” @b-lal.bsky.social and Roger Meyers on what it will actually take to get a high-powered nuclear reactor working on the Moon by 2030: issues.org/space-nuclea...

Also see Max's new #SciPol piece in @issuesinst.bsky.social on improving cannabis analytics, health, and safety in the United States: issues.org/coordinated-... 🧪

The disconnect between federal and state regulation of cannabis has far-reaching consequences, Symone T. Griffith, Marisa L. Kreider, & @leung-lab.bsky.social write—for the cannabis industry, product safety, scientific research, and the health and safety of patients. issues.org/coordinated-...

It was a pleasure working with Symone Griffith (ASU Presidential Scholar & Ph.D. student in @asuhealthsolutions.bsky.social) and Marisa Kreider, Ph.D. (Stantec) in an article, "A Coordinated Approach to Cannabis Policy and Product Safety" (doi.org/10.58875/NLN...) 🌿 🔬 🧑‍🔬 🎓 🧵 1/3

“Rather than saying, as we have traditionally, that engineering is only for people who are good at math and science... It should be more like: ‘Who’s interested in helping invent new things that will solve problems for people?’” —Tsu-Jae Liu, @nationalacademies.org issues.org/engineering-...

“The ability to produce is just as important as the ability to innovate.” In a new interview for Issues in Science and Technology, Tsu-Jae Liu discusses how engineers can help the U.S. translate new ideas into practical benefits for the nation. Read: https://ow.ly/HxQM50X6tK8

Listen to the latest episode of my new @issuesinst.bsky.social podcast, NOT NOW BUT SOON, in which I talk to @thinink.bsky.social about global food systems, the authoritarian takeover of Myanmar, and other disasters. Search "The Ongoing Transformation" wherever you get your podcasts!

Introducing our new podcast miniseries: “Not Now, But Soon”! In the first episode, @boriscrito.bsky.social talks with host @older.bsky.social about his academic life researching data centers, his #speculativefiction life, & how those worlds collide in his book SOLIDEZ. issues.org/hurricane-of...

@older.bsky.social invited me on her podcast mini-series to talk about disaster. It's rare that I get a chance to bring my research on the environmental impact of computing, AI, data centers into conversation with my speculative fiction - especially when it comes to Puerto Rico. #datacenters 🌀🚀✍️

The 1st episode of the new pod-miniseries I'm hosting at @issuesinst.bsky.social is out now! I talk with spec-fic writer & anthropologist of tech @boriscrito.bsky.social about the slow disaster of data centers, the rapid disasters of hurricanes in the Caribbean & the ways we envision the future:

Not Now, But Soon — a new miniseries from @IssuesInST.bsky.social — will challenge the stories we often tell about #disasters and explore how we can use #SpeculativeFiction to create better futures and policies. Learn more and tune in for the September 16 premiere: buff.ly/SDqyE38

"In a #PublicHealth system that is outdated and reactive, Americans are left vulnerable to the next outbreak." Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent outbreaks can teach us how better prevent the next #pandemic. Learn more from @IssuesInST.bsky.social: buff.ly/BpB6bcm

In our Forum section, @stebbins.bsky.social responds to @stuartbuck.bsky.social & @csmarcum.sciences.social.ap.brid.gy’s piece on unfunded grant applications. Read the discussion: issues.org/learning-fro...

To understand modern risk, we have to grapple with emergent and novel aspects of hazard, vulnerability, exposure, and response that comprise risk. Find out more in a new article with @danielaldrich.bsky.social and Daniel Hoyer, just out in @issuesinst.bsky.social. issues.org/mental-model...

“Early detection, effective surveillance, and accurate reporting are essential for controlling [health] threats before they become full-blown public health emergencies,” @khahlil.bsky.social writes. “These are all areas of chronic underinvestment in the United States.” issues.org/public-healt...

The story of how the federal government became an innovation evangelist in the 1960s is an account of fits, starts, and ideological ambiguity. Read an adapted excerpt from "Every American an Innovator" by Matthew Wisnioski: issues.org/nation-of-in... @issuesinst.bsky.social

Side quest # TooMany of this PhD: I co-authored an article for @issuesinst.bsky.social on the need for better soil data to monitor topsoil loss, plus farmland price valuation that reflects the true quality of soil to incentivize topsoil preservation. Feedback most welcome! issues.org/better-soil-...

⚖️ This @issuesinst.bsky.social commentary reflects on the vital role of programs supporting state legislators as lawmakers navigate complex science and technology policy decisions. Read the full commentary ⤵️ #SciencePhilanthropy #SciPol #STEM

Amid the political upheaval of 1967, a group of bureaucratic innovators within the federal government released a manifesto. Their message: “Invention and innovation lie at the heart of the process by which America has grown and renewed itself.” Read the story: issues.org/nation-of-in...

As science rapidly advances, how should we prepare next generation scientists to navigate the intersection of science, ethics, and policy? A new @issuesinst.bsky.social article by @shobitap.org & Erin Burkett, share recommendations to equip scientists. bit.ly/4mUWTqZ

A national network of community bio labs—Callie Chappell, Ana Paulina Quiroz, David Sun Kong, and ‪@drewendy.bsky.social‬ call them “LABraries”—could help build a bioliterate workforce, support community participation in the bioeconomy, and serve as public infrastructure. issues.org/labraries-ch...

Did you know Bluesky's founder has an #STS degree? In a new article, Erin Burkett and I explain why, despite current threats to humanities and social science, "STEM-in-Society programs" like STS are more important than ever. And we guide funders and university leaders how to better support them.

Many farmers rely on outdated data on #SoilQuality, which disincentives the conservation of #topsoil. Learn how improving national #soil data and #conservation practices can encourage more #SustainableAgriculture in a new @IssuesInST.bsky.social article: buff.ly/PxphrMq

My 2019 short story 'The Song Between Worlds', about the paths of a 1 percenter space tourist & an indigenous worker crossing in a Martian city, is republished in @issuesinst.bsky.social for @imaginationasu.bsky.social's Future Tense series, w/ a brief new intro by me: