What do 81k people want from AI? Fascinating new report from Anthropic captures their hopes, fears and concerns. Interesting to see such stark differences between how people responded in developing countries vs high-income countries. ⤵️ www.anthropic.com/fe...

Funders, public procurement, and journal editors all face similar challenges: how to allocate scarce resources most effectively Most applications are rejected. Decisions can take months. We've all been there. That delay is a huge invisible tax on science & impact Could AI reduce that tax?

"Science Funding Goes Beyond the Universities" by @calebwatney.bsky.social, IFP www.wsj.com/opinion/scie...

Opinion | Science Funding Goes Beyond the Universities

A new NSF initiative will support teams of researchers, a departure from the traditional practice of giving grants to individual professors.

wsj.com

What does it take to build a scientific field? New @RenPhilanthropy playbook out with lessons learned from successful cases below 👇 www.renaissancephila...

In the age of AI, sounding right is easier than being right. It’s never been simpler to spin ideas that 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 true—confident tone, polished narrative. AI can turn half-baked thoughts into viral TED-talk soundbites. But rhetorical sparkle isn’t substance. 1/3

Dunning-Kruger effect in practice: In 53k forecasts across 100 projects, people who are more confident are actually much less accurate. New 📄 by @evavivalt.bsky.social & @sdellavi.bsky.social

Check out the new Export Boom Atlas from @GrowthTeams–an interactive map of 80+ export booms from developing economies, showing how countries from Vietnam to Morocco to Costa Rica achieved rapid sector-level growth that created jobs and prosperity. 🌍 https://exportbooms.org”

Export Boom Atlas by Growth Teams

Explore the playbooks behind 82 export booms in emerging economies since 1995

exportbooms.org

I love it when papers have accompanying websites! also, neat when i found out @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social had a small role in supporting this work! 📄 & 💻by @marshallburke.bsky.social & a impressive team! adaptationatlas.org/... www.nber.org/papers/...

@ukri.org has announced a £11.5m investment in AI-driven evidence synthesis (METIUS). Backed by a $126m global alliance including @wellcometrust.bsky.social, the project aims to make research more accessible for policymakers on climate, education, justice and development.

New research by Pierre Azoulay, Danielle Li, Bhaven Sampat and me. Earlier this year, the President’s budget proposed a 40% cut to the budget of the NIH. This motivated us to ask: what if the NIH had been 40% smaller?

Ever applied for funding… and then had to wait months for a response? ⏳ What if funders could move faster and make better decisions—so applicants can secure funding & get straight to work? AI could help. But the current landscape is messy. 🧵

After a disastrous launch, the Dept. of Education's new team fixed the FAFSA system, helping 14M+ students. But the GAO criticized their modern methods with an outdated playbook. It's high time we focus on outcomes not broken processes, argues @pahlkadot

GAO gets schooled by the Department of Education

The FAFSA team snaps back, then punches back

eatingpolicy.com

I wonder why more academics don't publish their papers with companion websites? I find it so much more enjoyable reading an interactive site! "AI Agents for Economic Research" by @antonkorinek www.genaiforecon.org

I remember meeting Karthik & @singhabhi.bsky.social w/ the Mindspark/EI team when I was working at Global Innovation Fund back in 2017—and being blown away by how they were designing for impact @ scale from day 1. A stellar example of academics + do-ers partnering for scale 🚀📈👇

Abhijeet Singh@singhabhi.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Many interventions “work” in small trials but fail at scale Also, EdTech often promises much, but delivers little In a new paper (bit.ly/3JKLgVn) @karthik-econ.bsky.social & I show how personalized adaptive learning (PAL) software can sharply improve learning outcomes at scale🧵1/16

Impact-focused funders often ask: if it worked here, will it work there? This paper is a small, but impt step toward a generalized approach (grounded in theory + human data) to generalize research across settings—core to putting social science to use at scale.💪

Ethan Mollick@emollick.bsky.social · 11mo ago

This is a cool paper that suggests that AI agents can indeed be used for social science experiments, but that just using a chatbot isn't good enough, instead prompts developed based on social & game theory makes AI agent actions predictive of real human outcomes. benjaminmanning.io/files/optimi...

Science faces a replication crisis: billions wasted, progress slowed, policy misled A new idea from @i4replication.bsky.social Brodeur & Barbarioli in @ifp.bsky.social's #LaunchEngine imagines how to build automated replication infrastructure for *better* & *faster* science ifp.org/the-replicat...

The Replication Engine | IFP

How to build automated replication infrastructure for better, faster science

ifp.org

Few things I love more than when I see a paper report on how research was put to use at scale!!👇 New study on fixing college admissions. In Chile’s centralized system, personalized, in-platform info helped students avoid common app mistakes & improved outcomes🧵⬇️

Was stunned when I saw these results...👇 In rural Kenya a $1k transfer cut infant & child mortality in ~ *half* with largest drops around delivery & near physician-staffed facilities 😲 Kudos to @tedmiguel.bsky.social @nshankar.bsky.social @eggerdennis.bsky.social & others involved in the study!🧵

Great 🧵 about our recent @science.org policy essay arguing we need an evidence base for effective AI policy—plus support and protections for the researchers doing this important work. Thank you @michaeleddy.bsky.social!

Michael Eddy@michaeleddy.bsky.social · last yr.

New in @science.org : 20+ AI scholars—inc. @alondra.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @sanmikoyejo.bsky.social et al, lay out a playbook for evidence-based AI governance. Without solid data, we risk both hype and harm. Thread 👇

New in @science.org : 20+ AI scholars—inc. @alondra.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @sanmikoyejo.bsky.social et al, lay out a playbook for evidence-based AI governance. Without solid data, we risk both hype and harm. Thread 👇

Saw this paper presented—another jaw-dropping proof of how AI is accelerating science. Yet nearly all the energy is in bio & engineering. What AI-driven breakthroughs are accelerating the pace of the social sciences? Would love to hear!

Yuri Quintana@yuriquintana.com · 2y ago

Nature paper on a virtual laboratory that integrates LLMs termed ‘AI scientists’ each assigned specific scientific roles. virtual lab operates with minimal human intervention. highlights importance of human oversight to validate AI-generated hypotheses & ensure safety. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

UPDATE: Given passage of the new tax law (and implications for SNAP, Medicaid, and other benefits), under Cassandra Madison's leadership, we wanted to move quickly to get this call-for-proposals out the door. Send us your ideas: www.publicbenefitinnovationfund.org/summer-2025-...

AI chatbots are 87% cheaper and 3,107x more data-efficient than web search, helping Sierra Leonean teachers access tailored, relevant info despite low connectivity New 📄 by @dbjork.bsky.social , @paulfab.bsky.social et. al. nber.org/conferences/...

First Father’s Day as a new dad—and I’m still in awe. In the early 90s I doubted I’d ever see marriage, fatherhood, family. Yet here we are: two husbands, one *amazing* son, and a world that has made progress possible. So grateful! 🥰🥰

What does it look like to take government efficiency seriously? New work between Stanford RegLab & San Francisco cuts through red tape to free up civil servants time to focus on what matters most. 🧵👇 www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

How can AI expand access to evidence—so governments can direct limited resources where they’ll do the most good? The World Bank’s new ImpactAI aims to bring evidence to scale. Months of lit review, in minutes. impactai.worldbank.org #aiforgood #devecon

"A study finds stacking bricks differently could help this county fight air pollution" @npr.org www.npr.org/sections/goa... @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social @stanfordwoods.bsky.social

A study finds stacking bricks differently could help this country fight air pollution

Bangladesh suffers from extreme air pollution, but a new study shows the brick industry can make small changes to have a big effect on the country's smog problem.

npr.org

Every year South Asia’s brick kilns spew as much CO₂ as the entire U.S. car fleet. Kilns poison the air that 2 billion people breathe—and kill over 50,000 annually A new study in Science shows how simple fixes can clean air, cut emissions & improve public health🧵⬇️

Science Magazine@science.org · last yr.

Simple and inexpensive interventions aimed at making changes in how Bangladesh’s informal brink kilns operate could dramatically cut emissions and boost profits for producers, according to a new Science study. Learn more in this week's issue: scim.ag/3GIqSm6

Every year South Asia’s brick kilns spew as much CO₂ as the entire U.S. car fleet. Kilns poison the air that 2 billion people breathe—and kill over 50,000 annually A new study in Science shows how simple fixes can clean air, cut emissions & improve public health🧵⬇️

Science Magazine@science.org · last yr.

Simple and inexpensive interventions aimed at making changes in how Bangladesh’s informal brink kilns operate could dramatically cut emissions and boost profits for producers, according to a new Science study. Learn more in this week's issue: scim.ag/3GIqSm6

What makes an idea go from promising to adopted at scale? Spoiler: It’s not just research evidence or funding. This article breaks down why government capability and public partnership matter for real-world impact. ssir.org/articles/ent...

Helping NGOs and Funders Make the ‘Big Shift’ to Working With Government (SSIR)

The nonprofit sector and its philanthropic supporters still too often overlook the most effective pathway to exponential impact.

ssir.org