The diversity problem colleges and universities are not talking about :-( www.nber.org/papers/w31492

As the conference was approaching, Bob informed me, as well as a few other male researchers, that in his conference talk he did not intended to talk about his paper. cacm.acm.org/opinion/wher...

Can AI contribute to the common good? Undoubtedly, but only if we amend our current, faulty reward function, I believe. That is techno-realism. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

I applaud the authors for their efforts toward shaping AI for the common good, yet I still find the article deeply techno-optimistic. To understand my concern, I suggest going back to a 2016 essay “Faulty Reward Functions in the Wild”. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

I don't think people understand that if you shut down the government, ICE and CBP do NOT shut down. They're funded by supplemental money from the BBB. That's why dems are separating the DHS funding bill and asking for restrictions. I want them to demand a rescission of that funding or shut DHS down

For a tech-pessimist manifesto, see for example, the AI 2027 report, which lays out a scenario for how AI models could become all powerful by 2027. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

Marc Andreessen argued that “Technology is the glory of human ambition and achievement, the spearhead of progress, and the realization of our potential.” Well, I am not that kind of techno-optimist. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

weather.com/storms/winte... Oh fuck no...come on!

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sGm...

Institute for the Critical Study of Antizionism icsa.substack.com?r=4l1xen&utm...

Hopefully, it will allow us to refocus on what truly matters in science, on big problems, on intuition and insights, on theory building, and away from the brute mechanics of publishing and the bean counting that has put the breaks on true progress in science. hegemon.substack.com/p/the-age-of...

There's still time to RSVP for Moshe @Vardi 's #WorldLogicDay talk, Tues, Jan 20th! Join us in-person or online. He'll will discuss whether AI minds are genuine minds. Tues, Jan 20th @ 4pm CST (Reception following at 5pm) Rice Univ Duncan Hall RSVP: events.rice.edu/event/416255...

Happy New Year To Everyone, Including the UNHINGED LOSER "Tiny" Mike Johnson, who—despite his best but pitiful efforts—will fail miserably to stop us from extending ACA tax credits in January. Now's the time to get loud about it:

Not Somali.

Please consider signing this petition! www.ipetitions.com/petition/res...

What is the connection between the Bondi Beach massacre and Rice University, which is over 8500 miles away? medium.com/@vardi/from-...

Federal Funding of Academic Research cacm.acm.org/section/fede...

This is how a real President is supposed to act

505 days in hell: Why demonizing a Hamas survivor undermines Rice’s values www.ricethresher.org/article/505-...

The Constitution is not self-enforcing. The only thing holding our Republic together are our norms. And the only thing that enforces those norms is The People. No one is coming to save us. It's entirely up to us.

BREAKING: Letitia James has announced a Government portal for Videos and images of ICE Agents who may have committed crimes. Please Use it and SHARE! ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...

Computing has always been a seesawing discipline. We had the AI winters of the 1970s and the 1990s, and we had the dotcom crash and the ensuing “Image Crisis.” It seems another crisis is upon us. Will we ever learn? It is time for some serious thinking! cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

"Frivolity and absurdity are kryptonite to authoritarians..." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...

In fact, the phrase “irrational exuberance,” used by Alan Greenspan in a 1996 speech given during the dotcom bubble of the 1990s, seems an apt metaphor to describe today’s dot.AI frenzy. cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

Finally, two years after the horrible day of Oct. 7, 2023, after Moral Rot and after Lawlessness, Rice University has determined that an act of intimidation has taken place on campus. Who committed that act? Apparently, yours truly. medium.com/@vardi/from-...

Some Good News!! 🤩💖 Exciting results from blood test for more than 50 cancers could help speed up diagnosis… #CancerAwareness #Pinks 🌸 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Beyond the funding issue, there is the question of who will carry out the research in academia. Academic research in engineering and science is carried out by doctoral and postdoctoral students under the supervision of faculty members. cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

Mike Johnson has now had the House adjourned for 74 out of the last 86 days. They have worked 12 days in 3 months. Epstein Shutdown.

Another bit of good news -- clean energy stocks are significantly outperforming the S&P500, and outperforming oil stocks by even more

Many AI researchers are questioning the viability of the academic path. “AI researchers are negotiating $250 million pay packages,” reported The New York Times recently. cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

While Silicon Valley is investing tens of billions of dollars chasing the artificial general intelligence dream, academic computing research in the U.S. is facing a severe drought. . cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

Computing Is Indeed a Discipline in Crisis While Silicon Valley is investing tens of billions of dollars chasing the AGI dream, academic computing research in the U.S. is facing a severe drought. cacm.acm.org/opinion/comp...

The Yom Kippur War - A Personal Reflection www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Wh...

Vannevar Bush’s seminal 1945 report, Science—The Endless Frontier, laid the groundwork, arguing that investment in basic research would lead to new industries, new jobs, and lasting well-being for the American people. The payoff was immense. cacm.acm.org/opinion/keep...

Rice students defeat anti-Israel referendums jhvonline.com/rice-student...

I now think, however, I was wrong. I think I was right to advocate for laws and regulation to address the adverse impacts of computing, but I now believe we do have an ethics crisis in computing. cacm.acm.org/opinion/i-wa...

Niall Ferguson, a Hoover Institution historian, described cyberspace as “cyberia, a dark and lawless realm where malevolent actors range.” cacm.acm.org/opinion/i-wa...

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan described Silicon Valley executives as “moral Martians who operate on some weird new postmodern ethical wavelength” cacm.acm.org/opinion/i-wa...

End of year celebration with the great Moshe Vardi @myvardi.bsky.social is one of the perks of Rice. Hopefully he will be active on Bluesky soon.

We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters. www.dni.gov/index.php/ne...