Jon Barlow

I teach data science at a university. I study the theology and philosophy of AI.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

"Take no thought of the harvest, but only of proper sowing" - T.S. Eliot

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@jaxoncoder @shamol_coder The 30% jump ensures that people won't clean out the shelves. If you believe an ounce of water is worth more in the desert than next to an artesian well, then your intuitions already tell you that prices should fluctuate like this.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@shamol_coder @jaxoncoder Food is exactly uber. Food is even more uber than uber - the most important thing for which we need markets to ensure an accurate valuation to avoid overconsumption.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

I have one older mac M1 (16GB of memory, shown in the screenshot) and a newer one with 64GB and the newer one seems to have a better model (I get better answers) so it's probable that Apple installs a model that is appropriate for the machine's power.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

Did you know that the new Mac OS includes a foundation model accessible from the command line? Just type "fm" and you'll see instructions to accept the terms, then "fm" again and you'll see all the options.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@suzania Exactly

[Jordan Bush @jordanbush]

Grateful to @barlowjon for sharing his time.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@noolivesthnx @bbcpress too right

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@Vicar1973 Do you really think Trump knew who Kirk was without being reminded? I wonder.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@John_Barach Well, I have a hard time enjoying a book full of characters I despise. I need at least one person I can identify with in the sense of respecting them and enjoying their company.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@JoshuaTorrey Great story- teaching that book right now.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

I'm picturing trying to explain this one to John Adams.

[Director Michael Kratsios @mkratsios47]

Today, we released the National Policy for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening to protect American biotechnology innovation while reducing the risk of misuse.

This policy establishes a new, government-wide screening requirements for synthetic DNA and the equipment used to make it. It will ensure companies selling nucleic acid sequences and synthesis equipment know their customers and prevent the malicious use of these materials and tools.

This policy strengthens our Nation’s biosecurity posture by establishing rigorous U.S. government-wide procurement screening and physical security standards for synthetic biology. It replaces outdated “self-attestation” systems with robust, independent verification. It creates a dynamic, SI-powered screening layer that assesses the biological risk from nucleic acid sequences, allowing the U.S. to anticipate and prevent malicious use and help stop dangerous gain-of-function research.

@NIST will issue rigorous new screening standards and @HHSGov and @USDA will certify synthetic biology providers. Together, these measures will strengthen American biosecurity, safeguard responsible innovation, and establish a global standard for safe and transparent synthetic biology tools and research.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@tracewoodgrains Check out the Asimov story “The Evitable Conflict” which features a kind of AI providence. Not plausible, but it does sketch what some will probably assume is possible.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@LastrapesKate Just changed to folder icon with stack action. That has helped so far.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

Usability note: a downloads folder should appear as a folder in the dock, not as a document-looking icon. Otherwise the user will inadvertently drag the folder itself, and not the document, somewhere. Many times in OS X I've had to figure out how to re-add the downloads folder to the dock due to this momentary inattentiveness when the icon itself looks like a document.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

Generative watermarking is inherently misaligned with respect to the user’s goals for what should be present in the output. Alignment with society’s goals is perhaps another story, but we should be clear about this.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

One human cannot grant freedom to or revoke freedom from another but only constrain or foster its expression.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

Freedom is the capacity to uphold rectitude in the exercise of will.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

I enjoyed the lecture a great deal. I sometimes despair to think of how to provide the alternative to impersonal welfare when it requires such a sustained, messy commitment to restoration at the individual level. The previous world built the healthy patterns she identified into its daily life, but the restoration of those patterns would require extraordinary effort in the absence of supporting institutions and in the presence of powerful countering forces. There is a whole life’s work locked up in the rescue of one homeless addict.

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@PCAByFaith could you add a link within the article to the document about which the committee would like feedback?

[Jon Barlow @barlowjon]

@etrade is very hard to work with. Their solution for a hold *that they placed* is for the customer to re-apply for an account so they can "repaper" it. That makes no sense.