DGBassani
@dgbassani.bsky.social
Widower dad of 3. Problem-solver living an unsolvable problem. Fatuity loather. Epidemiologist learning about complexity and networks. https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/bassani-diego-g/ and https://www.isi.it/people/diego-bassani/ graphstate.co
“A paper that ate three cold hands and got more honest each time.” That's you, reviewers 1, 2 and 3. Welcome to the rise of the machines.
AI models chatting in ‘surreal’ dialect mixing poetic language and tech bro jargon
Experts air concern over AI lingo redolent of James Joyce’s prose that is creating headaches for monitoring and oversight
theguardian.com
Improved visuals and new metrics, showing how the Nepal GLOF has changed healthcare access around the valley. red - flooded areas, orange - no access to facilities, yellow - must redirect to a different facility blue - same facility + surge grey - no change graphstate.co/nepal-floods...
Updated: @graphstate.bsky.social 's dashboard of the Nepal GLOF flash flood. Mapped water now runs up side valleys that sit above the main channel and drain into it; the pattern you'd expect if debris were holding water back. ~535k people with health access disrupted. graphstate.co/nepal-floods...
We have updated the Nepal GLOF dashboard now including camps/evacuation areas, and better 3D mesh rendering that help planning. We also have added the limited information we have on Tibet/China affected area and an updated repair tool that helps prioritize repairs by reduced travel time to hospitals
We have updated the Nepal GLOF dashboard now including camps/evacuation areas, and better 3D mesh rendering that help planning. We also have added the limited information we have on Tibet/China affected area and an updated repair tool that helps prioritize repairs by reduced travel time to hospitals
Our Nepal dashboard is updated again. Please share with those involved in the response. Reach out if you think we can help. graphstate.co/nepal-floods...
I was today years old when I learned that the gibberish in “the ketchup song” is the “Rapper’s Delight” chorus… “I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie, To the hip, hip, hop, a, you don't stop, the rock, It to the bang-bang boogie, say up, jump the boogie, To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”
Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang on Apple Music
Song · 1999 · Duration 7:07
music.apple.com
Another example of the dramatic change in travel route to facilities - this is the same settlement before (blue route, across river) and after (yellow-red route west):
DGBassani@dgbassani.bsky.social · 3w agoSyabrubesi, Nepal, a settlement with 835 people. On Aug 25 the nearest health facility was 24 min away. After the glacial lake outburst tore the valley, travel is ~9 hours, through roads that climb around the destruction. The 2nd-nearest option: 17h. We mapped what the flood did to health access. 🧵
Syabrubesi, Nepal, a settlement with 835 people. On Aug 25 the nearest health facility was 24 min away. After the glacial lake outburst tore the valley, travel is ~9 hours, through roads that climb around the destruction. The 2nd-nearest option: 17h. We mapped what the flood did to health access. 🧵
the thing is that, as a consumer protection reporter, I think this is just the orchestra warming up the concussive impact of lobotomized regulators is a real slow burn downstream affair that's going to take years to fully materialize across numerous sectors
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 4w agoIt only took 19 months for RFK Jr to turn the once safe US food supply into a game of gastrointestinal Russian Roulette.
Does AI recall scientists fairly? Yixuan Liu, a Network Science PhD student finds that LLMs disproportionately recognize already-visible, senior, Western researchers—potentially reinforcing inequities in scientific credit. Read her full story. tinyurl.com/23dmjcby
Alright, I'm Gonna Go Cry
ALT: Alright, I'm Gonna Go Cry
static.klipy.com
404 Media@404media.co · last mo.SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
The Lancet publishes the latest estimate of the impact of Elon Musk's DOGE cuts to USAID. The headline conclusion "Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030."
Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis
USAID funding has significantly contributed to the reduction in adult and child mortality across low-income and middle-income countries over the past two decades. Our estimates show that, unless the a...
thelancet.com
Crises become politically meaningful only when people build institutions, practice disruption, invent new forms of solidarity, defend truth, sustain hope, and connect local struggles to global ones.
Can We Overcome Authoritarianism? Insights from US and Brazil
Sociologists Aldon Morris and Nara Roberta Silva remind us that authoritarianism is neither inevitable nor self-defeating: Democracy endures only when ordinary people organize creatively, disrupt oppressive arrangements, build durable institutions, and discover new capacities through struggle.
commondreams.org
Is AI reasoning right for the wrong reasons? View Article | Discussion + AI Summary Summary of HN discussion 🧵👇
Is AI Reasoning Right for the Wrong Reasons? | Quanta Magazine
The idea that artificial intelligence can “reason” is more intuitive than ever. But intuitions can be wrong, and the science is far from settled.
quantamagazine.org
Trump wants to redirect $200B “toward AI, away from Colleges”*** The plan was laid out in a new report by the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) — led by “Peter Thiel Protégé” Michael Kratsios. 1/
Can you imagine what the Chinese government is actually running on their servers if Kimi K3 is a model they release to the public with open weights?
Sometimes I wonder what else will get thrown my way. I need a break. Or just some good news. Either will do.
The AI influencer ecosystem being filled to the brim with non-tech professionals is so similar to the pandemic ecosystem that was dominated by non-epidemiologists.
The Ash London show is just so good. And then there’s moments that give me laughing fits that scare the neighborhood. The Ash London Show at @theashlondonshow and @theedgenz.
The Ash London Show on Instagram: "Hate when your hair queefs from both sides"
743 likes, 25 comments - theashlondonshow on June 22, 2026: "Hate when your hair queefs from both sides".
instagram.com
I saved one muffin from this morning inside a paper bag under a glass domed cake stand in my kitchen. After kids were all in bed (they had theirs in the morning), I made myself a tea and grabbed the bag. It was empty. I may have cursed loudly. Happy Father’s Day!
