Putin, Xi and the obsession with radical life extension. Fascinating chat with @prof-tregoning.bsky.social and @pjotrsauer.bsky.social 🧪 With @elliebury.bsky.social And Tom Glasser www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

I have stacks of questions about how the model’s working: how is the grammar intact, why are certain words repeated, are any lowest probability? But I like it. AI threatens to reduce human experience by steering our choices to popular ones. This is feeble, silly pushback. Or token subversion? 🤖🧠🧪

Using least probable tokens, the answer was a hoot: “A great city emerges through kaleidoscope sandwiches of perpetual thunder. It integrates gelatinous traffic systems of whispering algorithms. It preserves holographic fountains of magnetic jam and encourages staircases of wandering moons.” 🤖🧠🧪

The question I posed was: What features make a great city? The normal (most probable, single token) response highlighted the richness of a city’s culture, the diversity of its people and the strength of its public spaces. Fair enough. But a bit dull.

I asked ChatGPT to emulate Least Probable Token Selection across single, double and triplet tokens. Instead of building sentences from the most probable next token(s), it chooses them from the long tail of lowest probabilities. The results are fun. 🤖🧠🧪

Accordion staircases of wandering moons AI chatbots churn out answers by repeatedly predicting the next token, be that a word, subword or character. Building sentences from highly probable next tokens isn’t a bad way to extract consensus from language. But it's boring. So I had a word. 🤖🧠🧪

In case you missed it at the time - this is dark stuff.

Dostoevsky, bliss and the absence of prediction error between expectation and experience. Fascinating stuff from @jomarchant.bsky.social and Fabienne Picard at University Hospital Geneva 🧪 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

The Prof Angus Dalgleish mentioned in this story being the one who stood for Parliament in 2015 as a member of UKIP. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

We spoke to Dr Mandy Cohen, a former director of the CDC, and journalist @melodyschreiber.com about the absolute disaster unfolding at the CDC 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

The Guardian has today printed the names, and where possible, images, of all the media workers killed in Gaza, as part of an international day of action involving more than 150 media organisations. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Huge congrats to @jomarchant.bsky.social on her new science podcast! 🧪 In the first three eps, the NYT bestselling author delves into plant cognition and potential hints of life elsewhere, and hears that there may be no laws of physics🤘 jomarchant.com/wildthoughts youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Such a ludicrously enjoyable piece from @barneyronay.bsky.social on yesterday at The Oval: www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/a...

“The world is sitting back and watching a genocide being carried out.” podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

This made us laugh… and cry. If you felt it too, here’s one way to help two agencies in the bunker 👇

This is brilliant from @lukeharding1968.bsky.social and @helenpidd.bsky.social on Ukraine under intensifying drone attacks and autocracy vs democracy: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

We’re hiring for a major role in the US, an investigative journalist to cover what’s happening with science in the US and beyond. This is extremely important territory for us. 🧪 workforus.theguardian.com/jobs/795 The Guardian :: Senior Science Investigative Reporter

A few letters came in on my piece about the state of scientific publishing. One line that leaps out: “The academic publishing market systematically diverts public research funds into shareholder profits.” 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

I don’t know where to look. From @jessicaglenza.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“Today, the Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan.” www.ucs.org/about/news/a...

“It emerged that he had returned to the scene of his first rescue to retrieve his phone.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Love this letter from Richard Dawkins almost as much as I loved the headline on my article about scientists seeing a new colour. Seriously, top marks to the headline writer ❤️ www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Trump officials cut billions in Harvard funds after university defies demands

Love this chat between @madifinlay.bsky.social and @patrickbarkham.bsky.social on the Guardian’s (who else?) Invertebrate of the Year comp. There are some bonkers creatures out there. I want a bee-riding beetle. I don’t want a tongue-biting louse. They’re mean. 🧪 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Protest at Meta in Granary Sq in London today: “A book can take a year or longer to write. Meta has stolen books so that their AI can reproduce creative content, potentially putting these same authors out of business.” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Scientists have the strongest evidence yet that shingles vaccination reduces the risk of dementia. Would love to hear thoughts from researchers on why this might work. Is it all about reducing inflammation? 🧪 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Another fun April Fool paper on Arxiv: arxiv.org/abs/2504.00506

“While we recognize the importance of outreach and communication with younger generations, our results demonstrate that most children find it “cringe” when adults or authority figures attempt to extend their vocabulary into the domain of modern slang.” arxiv.org/abs/2504.00073

If the head of Doge becomes embroiled in a protracted scandal will the press call it Elongate? Sorry.

Sad www.ft.com/content/0ebc...

Love this. And that bottom left data point made me laugh out loud.

Really worrying data from USGS on Myanmar earthquake. Estimated fatalities and economic losses both classed as red. earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

The rise and fall of 23andMe - great discussion on Science Weekly with @jmbooyah.bsky.social and @caulfieldtim.bsky.social @madifinlay.bsky.social 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

European universities offer ‘scientific asylum’ to US researchers fleeing Trump’s cuts

“The best chance we have seen for identifying the remains of life on Mars” Tantalising organics found in Sheepbed mudstone on Mars 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Why don’t we remember being a baby? Fascinating chat with Nick Turk-Browne @Yale about his work with @tristansyates.bsky.social @columbiauniversity.bsky.social 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi... @madifinlay.bsky.social @elliebury.bsky.social

And here’s a great piece on the dark energy 🧪 work by @hannahdevlin.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/2025... @desisurvey.bsky.social

Interested in the new result on dark energy from @desisurvey.bsky.social? We spoke to Saul Perlmutter, who shared the Nobel prize for his work on the expansion of the universe, for Science Weekly 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi... @madifinlay.bsky.social @elliebury.bsky.social

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally heading back to Earth. The return trip from the ISS is awesome, as recounted in an old Science Weekly I recorded with Piers Sellers and Sam “Scooter” Altman of Top Gun fame. 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Is cognitive decline inevitable with age? Perhaps not… We talk to Prof Ludger Woesmann, an economist, about his recent Science Advances study 🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/audi... @madifinlay.bsky.social @woessmann.bsky.social

What’s with all the moon missions? Do men with decent sperm live longer? And should the Royal Society kick Musk out? Great 🧪 chat with @madifinlay.bsky.social and @nicolaksdavis.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Prof Harold Varmus, a Nobel laureate and former director of the NIH, talks to Science Weekly about US science under Trump 2.0 🧪 With @madifinlay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Should we ban cats? A fine example of Betteridge’s law, but the toll they take on other animals is eye-watering. Thanks to the cat-loving @madifinlay.bsky.social and Prof Robbie McDonald at UExeter. @elliebury.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

My final catch-up on recent podcasts: here’s the fascinating (and hilarious) Dan Milmo, our global tech editor, on DeepSeek and the Paris AI summit. We must have him back on for a debriefing. @madifinlay.bsky.social @elliebury.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/p/xxfpym?CMP...

Mirror life is SO fascinating…but we probably don’t want to create it. Great chat with Prof Kate Adamala at UMinn🧪 @elliebury.bsky.social @madifinlay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

Is an asteroid about to thump into Earth? We asked MIT’s Prof Richard Binzel, inventor of the Torino hazard scale, to explain all. There is a silver lining… @madifinlay.bsky.social @elliebury.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

What RFK Jr means for the health of America. Great discussion with The Guardian’s Jessica Glenza. @madifinlay.bsky.social @elliebury.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/audi...

And here’s my former colleague Steve Bates with a lovely obit for Tim. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...