When I launched Transformer a year ago, it was with a simple mission: provide decision-makers with the information and analysis needed to anticipate and steer the impacts of transformative AI. Today, we're announcing an exciting new effort to achieve that: Transformer 2.0.

California SB 53, the watered-down successor of last year's fumbled AI safety bill, might actually stand a chance. It all comes down to whether Gov. Newsom values voters over tech billionaires. I covered SB 53's home stretch @transformernews.bsky.social: www.transformernews.ai/p/california...

Like the big tech of previous years, the AI industry has been lobbying hard against regulation. California's last attempt at passing legislation on AI failed, but its latest might just have a shot at becoming law. Read @celiaford.bsky.social dive: www.transformernews.ai/p/california...

How a securities fraud case broke animal welfare enforcement: a quick Q&A with @delcianna.bsky.social director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at @vtlaw.bsky.social By @celiaford.bsky.social thereplacement.substack.com/p/research-f...

Hello, reporters, writers and commentators covering AI. I'm commissioning pieces for Transformer and I would love to hear from you! Feel free to send (brief) pitches to [email protected]. And if you're covering the beat and want to chat through what we're interested in, drop me a line!

Pleasantly surprised by how not-horrible the YouTube comments have been so far, but this callout was brutal and accurate.

It was an absolute honor to chat about ChatGPT and critical thinking with Manuel Rapalo on @aljazeera.com's The Take! TLDR; use your brain first. 🧠 Watch the video: youtu.be/qz_ZYa3oRSE Or listen wherever you get your podcasts, if that's more the vibe! podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/i...

Meet The Replacement: a bi-weekly newsletter on the global transition away from animal testing. ✨ Coverage of animal testing & research policy often flies under the radar, but it's more urgent than ever. I'm here to round up the news for you. 🫡 Please share widely! thereplacement.substack.com

hahaha unfortunately i was behind the times with this and the rough drafts of history are already being written www.vox.com/future-perfe... by @celiaford.bsky.social

BREAKING: The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University has reneged on their commitment to host the @sciencewriters.org annual conference and withdrew their entire financial support. The National Association of Science Writers is now looking for a new venue, sponsors, and partners.

Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs. It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎

If ever there was a case for @whenwejustify.bsky.social, this is it. Thank you, @celiaford.bsky.social, for courageously sharing your story & compiling such a thorough narrative on the experiences of animal research professionals & the psychological impacts of this work. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

1/ Today, @Vox published a piece that's very close to my heart. Science depends on animal testing, but the work comes at a steep psychological cost—one that too many researchers have been told to endure in silence. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Being a Vox Future Perfect Fellow is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Now, it's time to pass the torch. If you're an early-career writer thinking about how to make the world a better place, this is for you! (one year, remote + well-paid!) job-boards.greenhouse.io/voxmedia/job...

Chilling read by @celiaford.bsky.social "As our mental security becomes less guaranteed, we’ll need to decide whether the convenience of controlling stuff with our minds is worth letting tech companies colonize our last truly private space." www.vox.com/future-perfe...

I do miss that beautiful time [two weeks ago] when we could post about science, instead of just sharing shit like "contact your district attorney asap if you want to retain your right to whisper 'the earth revolves around the sun' to yourself"

"A modern-day book burning," a "five-alarm fire": Groups decry the CDC taking data offline, and the CDC's advisory board demands answers, acknowledging it may be their last act. “We all discussed that,” said one board member. “We expect to be fired.” New from @statnews.com this evening:

BREAKING NEWS: CDC orders mass retraction and revision of submitted research across all science and medicine journals. Banned terms must be scrubbed. Goes beyond MMWR +other CDC pubs. Applies to research already submitted to top medical journals. Take a look. open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

BREAKING: Vital, nationally-representative data has been removed from the CDC website. "Everyone I know in public health and science more broadly is freaking out right now,” @albeccia.bsky.social told me. Read: www.statnews.com/2025/01/31/c...

“If the freeze is not stopped, I might lose my house." Some NSF-funded postdocs are having trouble paying rent and credit card bills because their salaries were paused this week, even though the federal funding freeze memo was rescinded. www.statnews.com/2025/01/30/t...

Huge thanks to @vox.com for writing on the crucial issue of funding and meeting cessation at NIH. Also, @celiaford.bsky.social wins for characterizing study sections as "jury duty for nerds". www.vox.com/future-perfe...

It's been a week, and the vibes are bleak. Or, in the words of one NIH senior scientist I heard from, "fucking scary." I walked through the whirlwind of NIH-related chaos for @vox.com: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

As science chaos gets more chaotic, I am begging us to remember that highlighting areas where science can improve — even criticizing long-standing institutions — is NOT inherently anti-science. Two things are true: 1. Science is an invaluable public good. 2. It should be so much better.

Hi, Vox reporter here: If you've had a study section, NIH travel, or other NIH-related meeting cancelled (or not), raise your hand! Reply or DM me, and repost for visibility if you're able. #academicsky @drugmonkey.bsky.social

I forgot how much physical stress this news cycle creates. If you're here, relax your jaw. Drop your shoulders. Remember that you're just a soft animal with a mind that wasn't built to know this much.

i just hope carrie underwood knows how many times i've sung 'before he cheats' at gay bars

I got a PR email this morning saying that, in a hypothetical reality where companies can program your dreams to feature ads, 31% of young adults would pay $167/year for an "ad-free sleep experience." I-- ????

For @vox.com's Future Perfect newsletter, I wrote about what Trump 2.0's mission to defund and deregulate science means for animal research. It's...complicated. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Devastated to be back again with a statement on today's layoffs at Vox.com. Please stay tuned for more details on how you can support our colleagues who lost their jobs today.

current mood

Keren is a brilliant writer, and anyone would be lucky to have her! So discouraging to see people this talented go.

If you are disabled and affected by the California fires, I would love to speak to you for an article. I'm a disabled journalist committed to shouting about shortcomings in our nation's emergency response systems — help me do it! My email is in my bio. RTs appreciated.

Are you a scientist or science policy expert who's feeling a little nervous about federal research funding, as the next administration prepared to take over? I want to hear from you. [reposting would be greatly appreciated!] #neuroskyence #medsky #academicsky

2025 prediction: we fully devulgarize 'rawdogging,' as in 'completing a task unassisted.' I'd like to see it used in an academic publication.

Are year-end wrap-ups basic? Absolutely. But sometimes, things are basic because they're universally satisfying. Some fun numbers I found in 2024: - Vox stories: 19 - longest project: 84 pages - unique pole students: 275 - seasons of reality TV watched: 10 open.substack.com/pub/notdead/...

editor, tired of my shit, ~5500 words into a draft:

Maybe eliminating tuition costs will boost low-income enrollment (I hope so!)... or maybe outcompeting applicants who spent childhood preparing for college apps still requires so much generational wealth that even $0 tuition won't fix the intellectual caste system universities accidentally created.

There's a 🆕 journal on the scene 🚨 The #NAMJournal welcomes manuscripts on all aspects of the non-animal research method lifecycle, including in biomedical research. Congrats to editors Mathieu Vinken, Michelle Embry, & Fenna Sillé. #NAMs www.sciencedirect.com/journal/nam-...

I wrote about what Laura Helmuth accomplished at Scientific American, and what her resignation means for science journalism, and for me personally defector.com/do-not-accep...

Stoked to be apart of @vox.com 2024 #FuturePerfect50 & even more stoked to talk about defining concepts for yourself, the myth of objectivity, a Sza tweet I live by and how annoying I find resiliency Big thanks to Celia Ford for one of my fav interviews ever 🖤

Interviewing @kssphd.bsky.social for FP50 was an absolute delight! Kaela's whimsy, forethought, and kindness are battle-tested and so deeply needed, especially now. People need to believe in the empathy and warmth of scientists, and she's bringing it in spades. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

We’re thrilled to introduce the FUTURE PERFECT 50 class of 2024. 💥 This year's list arrives at a pivotal moment — and it's clear that we need clear-eyed optimists in these times.

Giving season is upon us, and the Future Perfect team is back with old and new guidance for how to think about charity. Check out Sigal Samuel answering the age-old question: Is it okay if I don't give to charity? www.vox.com/future-perfe...

still thinking about this @annanorth.bsky.social piece. I ran interviews for Brown applicants a few years ago - it scared the shit out of me. At 17, they were working harder than I ever have, & worried they weren't doing enough. The future feels impossibly competitive. www.vox.com/life/378065/...

HELLO BLUE SKY I realize it is rude for my first interaction here to be a request but: Anyone know anyone in public health in Missouri who might want to talk to me off the record? DM or reach me at my Vox email, please and thank you ([email protected])

Americans' trust in science tanked during the pandemic. Really, *Republicans* lost confidence in scientists, for kinda understandable reasons. That faith may be starting to recover, but it's still not where it used to be. I spoke with AAAS and @pewresearch.org about it: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Okay, I DID miss having an app where i could write off distracted scrolling as "for work."

So many new followers, hello!! A lil intro: I'm Celia, a Future Perfect fellow at @vox.com , where I write about metascience, the mind, and (once) pole dancing. Misc. other descriptors: - ex-neuroscientist - overcommitted space cadet - scorpio - cat lady - bassist - unapologetic reality TV lover

Thank you @celiaford.bsky.social for writing an excellent neuroscience-based explanation of dopamine's role in "reward prediction error", countering the blather of marketing #neuroskyence cc @beebrookshire.bsky.social www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Grants are too small, too short, and too restrictive. Excellent summary by @celiaford.bsky.social on @vox.com about the grant treadmill, the damage its current form does to young scientists and to scientific progress in general. 🧪 #AcademicSky www.vox.com/future-perfe...