Lionel Page
@lionelpage.bsky.social
Director of UQ Centre for Unified Behavioural and Economic Sciences. Editor of the Journal of the Economic Science Association. Book: ‘Optimally Irrational’, Substack: https://www.optimallyirrational.com/
AI could reshape democracy by making information processing cheaper. If AI agents serve citizens, they may strengthen democratic control. If they serve governments, they may enable Orwellian surveillance. This could justify limits on state use of AI. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/ai-and-dem...
AI and democracy: friend or foe?
How the AI revolution might impact political institutions
optimallyirrational.com
Will AI stop us being ripped off? By putting an expert price checker, negotiator and legal adviser in the palm of our hands, AI may tilt the balance of power back in favour of consumers. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/will-ai-st...
Will AI stop us getting ripped off?
How AI will revolutionise consumer markets
optimallyirrational.com
Will AI mark the end of low-quality arguments? Our arguments are often filled with sloppy statements and bad-faith takes. AI might improve the quality of our arguments by making it possible to quickly and rigorously assess the statements we make. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/will-ai-ma...
Will AI mark the end of low quality arguments?
How AI will likely transform our discussions
optimallyirrational.com
AI is set to change how research is peer reviewed. I discussed about this with Achim Czerny. youtu.be/BI1B-YO8U8A?...
AI vs. peer review — Lionel Page on what breaks and what improves
YouTube video by Achim I. Czerny | Aviation & Maritime Economics
youtu.be
Very much spot on my experience of interacting with sociology!
Optimally Irrational@lionelpage.skystack.xyz · 2mo agoWhy has sociology become so politicised? • On the underlying reasons behind the ideological drift of the field
As a researcher and editor, it seems clear to me that frontier models will radically change how research is peer-reviewed. And I think it will be for the better. In this post, I explain why. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/how-ai-wil...
How AI is going to revolutionise peer-reviewed research
Frontier models will change the way scientific papers are checked, selected and written
optimallyirrational.com
In episode 712, I talk with Dr. Lionel Page about his fascinating book, Optimally Irrational: The Good Reasons We Behave the Way We Do. #Economics #behavior #Science youtu.be/1HqSCYtlscE
#712 Lionel Page - Optimally Irrational: The Good Reasons We Behave the Way We Do
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
🔪"Whenever scientific inquiry is treated as part of a conflict waged against opposing political coalitions, truth is often the first victim."
Why has sociology become so politicised?
On the underlying reasons behind the ideological drift of the field
optimallyirrational.com
Why has sociology become so politicised? • On the underlying reasons behind the ideological drift of the field
Why has sociology become so politicised?
On the underlying reasons behind the ideological drift of the field
optimallyirrational.com
Many thanks to everyone who follows Optimally Irrational! I am very glad that this Substack devoted to presenting deep insights into human behaviour in an accessible form has found such a large audience. www.optimallyirrational.com
The potential of AIs becoming self-aware is not the most urgent issue, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social: “The key question about future AI risk is not whether AI agents will become self-aware; it is which goals they will have as they become more and more powerful.” buff.ly/4AfIPt6
In the final instalment of his splendid series of posts on morality, @lionelpage.bsky.social ties a nice bow around all the insights that answer the question, “So, what is morality?”, and addresses some outstanding challenges to the conclusions: buff.ly/aVrkIUp
It is. In case it's of interest, Ken Binmore has my favourite elaboration of social contract theory in the light of a century of game theory. It's explored informally in a nice sequence of substack posts by @lionelpage.bsky.social
Toddlers effortlessly recognize unfairness when they see it—yet agreeing with others what is, and isn’t, fair eludes even learned scholars. @lionelpage.bsky.social wisely avoids trying to definitively define fairness, but digs into how we seek agreement about it: buff.ly/W2SRDsR
How do we agree on what is “fair” without endless haggling? A post on the psychology and game theory of fairness, with a solution to the egalitarian vs utilitarian debate. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/how-we-dec...
How we decide what is fair in everyday life
Equality or overall satisfaction?
optimallyirrational.com
Fairness is not some mysterious moral force binding our actions. It is a social solution to a pervasive problem: once cooperation creates gains, who gets what? www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-is-fa...
Robert Trivers, a theoretical genius and likely the Einstein of evolutionary biology, passed away. His theories of reciprocal altruism, parental investment, and self deception are among the deepest and most encompassing in the social sciences. Great post on them by @lionelpage.bsky.social
“In several key contributions, Trivers helped lift the veil on the underlying logic of human behaviour.” @lionelpage.bsky.social reviews the work of the scientist deservedly characterized as Darwin’s heir, Robert Trivers, who died two weeks ago: buff.ly/YsCN41T
The game theory of cooperation • Explained simply
The game theory of cooperation
Explained simply
optimallyirrational.com
One of the most important insights of game theory is that cooperation is often rational. Indeed, it helps us understand why cooperation exists and how it works in practice. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-game-t...
The game theory of cooperation
Explained simply
optimallyirrational.com
If morality is fundamentally a human affair, then game theory provides a framework that explains morality, argues @lionelpage.bsky.social in the latest instalment of his series on human morality: buff.ly/X5QMJTi
Evolution is often framed as a cosmic struggle of all against all. Yet everything we observe about life is the product of cooperation. Understanding how cooperation is sustained is a key insight for thinking about how to organise society. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/cooperatio...
Cooperation is the scaffolding principle of life
From cells to humans, cooperation is a key principle of evolution
optimallyirrational.com
Kant is notoriously hard to read. Here I explain his moral philosophy simply, and I criticise it, drawing on the careful thinking about rationality forged in game theory. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/dekanting-...
Dekanting moral philosophy
Unconditional moral duties do not follow from pure rationality
optimallyirrational.com
The seizure makes no strategic sense for the US. It would be one of the biggest acts of geopolitical self-harm a US President has ever committed. www.optimallyirrational.com/p/what-if-th...
"161. Lionel Page: Gossip — how Psychopaths Attack your Reputation" Brad Carr Podcast @lionelpage.bsky.social 15 Jan 2026 [1:21:27] #Cult https://s.cultpodcasts.com/jvFO1WnJCEmzO2eax0JzTg
Gossip: How Psychopaths Attack Your Reputation | Lionel Page
Why are psychopaths so skilled at telling lies? Lionel Page explains gossip, lying, and the games of social life. 00:00 In This Episode 00:31 What Makes a Good Liar? 05:07 Why Psychopaths Lack Guilt 06:02 The Purpose of Communication 11:15 The Cost of Lying 14:40 The Key to Reputation 18:17 Guilt Is the Shadow of the Future 19:10 Gossip: How Psychopaths Attack Reputation 25:55 How to Detect Deception 31:05 Psychopaths Are Like Gamblers 36:42 How to Use a Gut Feeling 43:43 How to Deceive Yourself 46:32 Why Do We Watch Sports? 50:44 What Luxury Brands Say About Us 57:43 How to Deter Our Adversaries 1:05:16 Nuclear War and Deterrence 1:11:05 Seeing the Games In Social Life 1:15:50 Find Lionel Page Online 1:16:45 The Game of Interviewing Lionel Page's book: https://amzn.to/4bvCOVF Lionel Page on Substack: https://www.optimallyirrational.com/ Brad's microphone: https://amzn.to/4jVOjqq 🔔 SUBSCRIBE to help get more guests on the show: https://goo.gl/uEAeNp Gossip: The Psychopath's Superpower | Lionel Page Gossip: How Psychopaths Attack Your Reputation | Lionel Page How Psychopaths Use Gossip and Lies to Attack You | Lionel Page Psychopaths Are the Best Liars. This Is How They Do It. | Lionel Page The Real Reason You're Bad at Lying | Lionel Page
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Earlier, @lionelpage.bsky.social argued against absolute moral truths. Here he explains how morality can be relative—operationalized as contractarianism—without being moral relativism, subjectivism, and a range of other -isms. A veritable tour-de-force 👏: buff.ly/uqbgcZa
Is morality relative? • And if so to what extent
Is morality relative?
And if so to what extent
optimallyirrational.com
Is morality relative to each society? This view is common in the public but unpopular among philosophers. We can see morality as grounded in a society’s social contract--and thus relative--without the usual “anything goes” associated with "relativism". www.optimallyirrational.com/p/is-moralit...
Is morality relative?
And if so to what extent
optimallyirrational.com
