Schmidt Sciences

Supporting people, projects, and tools to accelerate positive global impact through science and technology.

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

"When a technology perfectly imitates humans, it's a substitute for humans, and that drives down wages."

Economist and AI2050 Fellow @erikbryn on "The Turing Trap," that we've built AI to copy us, when we should build it to make us more valuable. https://t.co/FfpD2RgOBx

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Today is the final day to submit an expression of interest!

Join the global astrophysics community in Florence, Italy, in November for the inaugural Schmidt Observatory System Symposium and explore the scientific opportunities made possible by the system: https://t.co/kcnPyiWzKK

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Help shape a new way to build and share an observatory.

This November, teams, FirstLight awardees and researchers will meet in Florence to explore open data, shared tools and future collaborations.

Express interest by Sept. 8: https://t.co/5fnI1yCesm

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

"Will AI create jobs or destroy them?"

Economist and AI2050 Senior Fellow @erikbryn: it does both, and which wins is genuinely hard to predict.

When ATMs automated bank tellers' work, branches got cheaper, and demand for tellers rose for ~20 years. https://t.co/FfpD2RgOBx

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Are you part of the global astrophysics community?

Join us in Florence, Italy this November for our inaugural symposium exploring the science made possible by the Schmidt Observatory System.

Submit your expression of interest by Sept 8!

Learn more: https://t.co/XaAjbRu7Sp

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

"When a technology perfectly imitates humans, it's a substitute for humans, and that drives down wages."

Economist and AI2050 Fellow @ErikBryn on "The Turing Trap," that we've built AI to copy us, when we should build it to make us more valuable. https://t.co/FfpD2RgOBx

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

"Will AI create jobs or destroy them?"
Economist and AI2050 Senior Fellow @erikbryn: it does both, and which wins is genuinely hard to predict.
When ATMs automated bank tellers' work, branches got cheaper, and demand for tellers rose for ~20 years. https://t.co/FfpD2RgOBx

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

"What's one job AI will never automate?"
Economist and AI2050 Senior Fellow @erikbryn's answer: simply being human.
As machine-made work gets cheap + plentiful, he argues, human connection becomes more valuable, not less. A hopeful take on the AI economy. https://t.co/FfpD2RgOBx

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Congratulations to @florian_tramer – a grantee of our Science of Trustworthy AI program – on receiving the 2026 USENIX Security Test of Time Award for his influential work on model stealing and the security of machine learning systems.

Read more: https://t.co/RbfxK0yztQ

[MIT Technology Review @techreview]

At a convening for the Schmidt Sciences AI2050 program, I saw how academic researchers are facing up to the challenges of the AI era. https://t.co/4vCf5fsc5S

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

@orvieto_antonio Read more about AI2050 Fellow Antonio Orvieto’s work building foundational models for genomic research: https://t.co/fNONxfOJue

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

In 2021 a paper finally worked out the dynamics of a single perceptron w/ bias. One artificial neuron. That question was open until 2021.

Large models now hold ~half a trillion of them. @orvieto_antonio thinks fully understanding them is almost impossible, and that's the appeal.

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

$26 million to 5 international teams working to turn abstract climate models into real-world action across grids, cities and farms. Meet the DEVI teams: https://t.co/MuzeZIRbdr

Round 2 of DEVI, on urban decarbonization, accepting EOIs through Oct 2: https://t.co/vW1xVSuxx8

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

As AI models grow, AI2050 Early Career Fellow @orvieto_antonio argues that understanding how they learn is increasingly important.

In our latest Community Perspective, he discusses developing better benchmarks for evaluating genomic foundation models. https://t.co/fNONxfOJue

[UCAR CPAESS @UCAR_CPAESS]

🎉APPLICATIONS are OPEN for the 36th cohort of the Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship — 2 years, a mentor of your choice, and research that shapes how we understand and respond to a changing climate. Open to many disciplines. Apply now: https://t.co/TiPBAbVbXA

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Join us for the inaugural science symposium for the Eric & Wendy Schmidt Observatory System and the first gathering of the teams, awardees, and researchers who'll help shape the tools and earliest science.

🗓 Nov 3–5, 2026
📍 Florence, IT
Interest form: https://t.co/XaAjbRu7Sp

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Since 2020, our Virtual Earth Systems Research Institute (VESRI) awardees have helped close key gaps in Earth systems modeling. Building on these results, we're opening a new Climate Modeling Challenge. Read More:https://t.co/tZxfXyPgyW

Apply by Sept 11: https://t.co/RFAAl6o7ru

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

Congratulations to @mioana on her promotion to full professor at @PennSP2 !

As a grantee of our AI at Work program, Ioana is advancing critical research on how AI is reshaping labor markets — including hiring, competition, wages, job quality, and the future of work.

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

New AGU Session 💧
The State of the Freshwater Cycle

For everyone studying water — from atmosphere to deep groundwater, all scales & latitudes.

Abstracts due Wed, Aug 5
Session 280587 · H131
Learn More: https://t.co/5cq1YlaQov

[Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences]

As America marks its 250th anniversary, Schmidt Sciences co-founder Wendy Schmidt reflects on how scientific discovery has always been central to the American story.

https://t.co/UvfTVQvDPq