“Protopian.” A new word created to describe “an achievable, optimistic future characterized by continuous, incremental progress rather than revolutionary leaps or a static, perfect state.” There’s a new fiction prize to inspire protopian futures, and I am delighted to help judge.

When was the last time you saw this kind of agreement across Ds and Rs? (1) It’s Trump who wants to gut science, not his voters. (2) Come the next chapter, the American people can build robust, vigorous, world-leading science and technology to heal and move forward together again. Pew link below.

Creating change is hard work, but it’s possible to get it done.

@maurareynolds.bsky.social and @politico.com are keeping an eye out for black swans - even beyond what is happening today. I appreciated the opportunity to add one to the list: the humanoid robots are coming. What could possibly go wrong?

@asad09.bsky.social and I call for better AI ambitions, beyond just business productivity. That will take forward government action and investment, not destruction. A future with new medicines for intractable diseases, better K-12 education, and improved weather forecasts is at stake.

This is smart — clean data, research money and safety www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Good chat with @aarontmak.bsky.social about our POLITICO Magazine oped on the Trump AI doctrine. Helping big tech companies build chatbots while destroying government capacity isn’t how we win. Congress has a role to play to restore datasets and R&D and to make AI safe and effective for people.

Trump’s latest order on AI—which he says is “inspired by the legacy of the Apollo Program” is a meh step forward — following three giant leaps backwards. @asad09.bsky.social and I wrote about how far off it is from what it takes for America to win.

The Trump Administration is on the wrong track for AI — not managing AI risks and not pursuing aspirational AI applications. I spoke with Fast Company about where we are.

This cuts through the noise (so much noise) to highlight what’s at stake as science and technology, the rule of law, and immigration are damaged and undermined by this administration.

I never imagined I’d need to turn to our judicial system to explain the importance of America’s scientific research, but here we are. Thanks to @BrennanCenter.org for highlighting my amicus brief 1/2

How to do industrial policy that actually works

I have an essay in MIT @techreview today showing how “Trump’s AI Action Plan is a Distraction”—his administration is gutting the very policies that built US AI leadership. www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/24/1...

Bird flu. Overdose. Fewer vaccines. Polluted air and water. Contaminated food. A suicide crisis made worse. Cancer research shut down. Trump has damaged the health of Americans in so many ways that it’s hard to get your head around it all. Thank you ‪@shwoolf.bsky.social‬ for making it clear.

“All the chaos hasn’t changed the fact that America’s aspirations are as great as they’ve ever been.” I spoke to the @berkeleyischool.bsky.social about U.S. science and technology leadership, and how the Trump destruction of our S&T ecosystem isn’t just a science thing. It’s about our future.

I can’t stop thinking about the courage it took for NIH employees to sign this strong, clear letter dissenting from the disastrous actions of this administration. If they can stand up, so can the rest of us.

@peoplescabinet.bsky.social is great place to tell it like it is.

“The damage being done is generational in nature.” Former White House Chief Science & Tech Advisor Dr. Arati Prabhakar warns: Trump is “gutting this capacity we’ve built over 80 years” to support U.S. innovation. 🎧 Full episode: linktr.ee/peoplescabinet

“We don’t get to live in precedented times.” I spoke to the graduates of the Berkeley School of Information this week about rising to meet the extraordinary challenges and opportunities ahead. @berkeleyischool.bsky.social Watch here:

On Monday, we welcomed 372 of 659 total graduating students to the historic Greek Theatre for Commencement. During the event, we had student speakers and our keynote speaker Arati Prabhakar speak about collective action for a brighter future. Recap: www.ischool.berkeley.edu/news/2024/20...

All of our voices are needed now. I joined Senators @cantwell.senate.gov and @vanhollen.senate.gov, France Córdova, Dean Chang, @marvimatos.bsky.social, and Ananth Kalyanaraman for a press conference calling out what the draconian Trump budget and current DOGE destruction mean. #AcademicSky

Job one in turning the tide on the destruction of the science and technology that generations of Americans before us have built: explaining it! @rhersher.bsky.social does a great job. #AcademicSky

The Trump EPA has been dilly-dallying around on a rule to protect 100M Americans from PFAS in drinking water to save >100K lives. And, they pulled a pending rule to limit PFAS discharge by manufacturers. Now comes a Trump executive order that highlights the dangers of PFAS—in paper straws.

I like the optimism of “Abundance,” but it’s not a big enough vision quite yet. True abundance would mean building without having to sacrifice environmental goals or equity or other things that matter deeply in people’s lives.

Another tragic irony of the destruction of our premier measuring and modeling weather and climate apparatus is that we’ll have only junk old-school data training our premier AI. Without solid data and expert people, no tech is jazzy enough to save us when the storms hit. 🧪