Caltech LCSSP

Linde Center for Science, Society, & Policy at Caltech | Research & debate on topics at intersection of science, society, & policy | R.M. Alvarez & F. Eberhardt

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

Missed the election debriefs?🗳️

@CaltechLCSSP's @rmichaelalvarez discussed California’s election results, governor’s race, congressional districts, vote counting, & what outcomes could mean statewide and nationally.

🎧https://t.co/unPjetmDCR
📺 https://t.co/5LnkfUhSud

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🎉Big news for AI and society: @Cambridge_Uni's @CHIA_Cambridge & @Caltech's @CaltechLCSSP are expanding their collaboration to advance research in explainable AI, AI alignment, human-inspired AI, & opportunities for students and researchers.

Learn more: https://t.co/bmj69Q09Md

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

📣New research from @CaltechLCSSP's @RKocielnik & @rmichaelalvarez, @Caltech with coauthors @p_song1, @pengrui_han, Myrl G. Marmarelis, Ramit Debnath, & Dean Mobbs.🧠⚠️

🔗Website with paper link: https://t.co/SyXqC3S6m2

[Rafal Kocielnik @RKocielnik]

New paper: "Representational Control over Self-Report & Behavior Coherence in LLM Risk-Taking"

🎯 𝗗𝗼 𝗟𝗟𝗠𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸-𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

𝗧𝗟;���𝗥
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: LLMs often say one thing about themselves and do another. In risk-taking the gap is costly: a clinical assistant or a trading agent can call itself cautious and still make risky decisions.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄: No shared disposition: inside the model, stated risk-taking and risky choices are represented separately. Task-specific instructions seem to move both, but through misleading shortcuts like producing larger numbers.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Steering internal representations of stated and enacted risk together makes what a model says match what it does, without retraining.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿: The same mechanism can make a model say the opposite of what it does (report low risk while taking more, or the reverse), in every model we tested.

📄 Paper: https://t.co/w6zWlb8BvL
🌐 Website: https://t.co/Pu7leVGzTx

w/ @p_song1 @pengrui_han @MyrlGMarmarelis, Ramit Debnath, Dean Mobbs, @rmichaelalvarez, @CaltechLCSSP and @Cambridge_Uni's Centre for Human-Inspired AI (CHIA)

Technical details below 👇

#AgenticAI #AISafety #AIAlignment #Interpretability #ActivationSteering

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🗳️Today is Election Day!

Democracy isn't something we watch, it's something we participate in. Every eligible voter deserves the chance to cast a ballot in elections that are:
⚖️ Fair ✅ Secure 👥 Accessible

Whether voting in person or by mail, engagment matters.

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

At @VotebeatUS's Oct 27 virtual event, @CaltechLCSSP's @rmichaelalvarez joined Bob Page and @aztammyp to discuss potential concerns and what voters can expect on Election Day. Thanks to host @JessicaHuseman for moderating!

📺Watch the video: https://t.co/SMmgkHRlIL

[Votebeat @VotebeatUS]

LAST CHANCE! Sign up to attend a free event with @JessicaHuseman, @aztammyp, @rmichaelalvarez, and Bob Page, registrar of voters for Orange County, California.

link below ⬇️

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

✨A highlight of this week was @CaltechLCSSP Research Affiliate Ramit Debnath, @Cambridge_Uni & CHIA delivering the keynote at the #ClimateNLP workshop at #EMNLP2026 in Budapest.🌍

The presentation drew on a long-running collaboration between CHIA & @CaltechLCSSP.🤝📚

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🔊New research paper from @CaltechLCSSP's Co-Director @rmichaelalvarez, @Caltech & Research Affiliate @DannyCEbanks, @IQSS!

🗳️ A must read if you're interested in contemporary electoral dynamics!

https://t.co/pXK5l89yKl

#Elections #Midterms2026

[R. Michael Alvarez @rmichaelalvarez]

New Research Alert! @DannyCEbanks and I have been studying the dynamics of US elections for some time, here's our current perspective of persuadable voters as we head into the final two weeks of the US midterm elections!
https://t.co/s8MXjOqwAQ

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🗳️ Why can the election lead change?

☑️ Check out the interactive web simulation from @CaltechLCSSP's @rmichaelalvarez, @Caltech built with synthetic data and based on research.

📖 Read: https://t.co/u2YxBS7S1W
🖥️ Simulation: https://t.co/eAaZhgUX31

[R. Michael Alvarez @rmichaelalvarez]

Interested in learning more about why we see "blue shifts" and "red shifts" in post-election voting returns? Give our simulation a spin, it's based on published research with @yimenglipolisci and synthetic data.
https://t.co/xi1XAAbDlP

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🎉Congratulations to @CaltechLCSSP Board Member @HannahDruck & Prakash Mishra, @Caltech for launching the PERMIT Lab with a $7M gift from the WHH FOUNDATION to advance research at the intersection of environmental economics, AI, & sustainability. 🌎🧠🌱

Learn more below:

[Caltech @Caltech]

A new Caltech lab will soon inform environmental policy. The lab is being established through a $7 million infusion of funding from the WHH Foundation, a private family philanthropic organization.

Read more: https://t.co/JkZgpHY24M

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

There is still time to register for the Caltech Election Night Watch Party!

📅 November 3, 2026
🕖 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
📍 Avery Courtyard, Caltech

Join fellow @Caltech community members and follow federal, state, & local election results together.

🔗https://t.co/7nTvcLRu70

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

📣 Registration is Open!

Join the @Caltech Election Night Watch Party!

🗳️ Follow federal, state, & local election results:
📅 Nov. 3, 2026 ⏰ 7–10 PM 📍 Avery Courtyard
🍕 Free food • 🎮 Games
✅ Register now: https://t.co/7nTvcLRu70.
🔴 Nonpartisan

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🎉 New publication in Environmental Research Letters!

Analyzing 232 Chinese cities with explainable ML, @CaltechLCSSP's Ramit Debnath, @CHIA_Cambridge & coauthors identify pathways for cities to go from high- to low-carbon growth in 10 years.🏭 🌱

🔗 https://t.co/rxxSEZywPr

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🚨New research from @CaltechLCSSP's Co-Director @rmichaelalvarez & Research Affiliate @BeaMagistro, and @analysisgroup's @Jacob_Morrier.

A compelling look at the psychology behind democratic backsliding!

[R. Michael Alvarez @rmichaelalvarez]

1/4 Recently @BeaMagistro, @Jacob_Morrier , and I published an interesting study, "The Convergence of Zero-Sum Thinking and Illiberalism in the United States." It's open-access at SSQ! https://t.co/dC1GOMJIoy

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

📢New research from @CaltechLCSSP Board Member @chr_fronge, @Caltech - "Ground-Based GNSS Transmissometry Reveals Contrasting Leaf and Stem Water Dynamics in a Central Amazon Rainforest.🌴🌿🌧️

Read the accepted manuscript in @IOPenvironment here: https://t.co/dtdMy5FAAO

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🎉Congratulations to @CaltechLCSSP Research Affiliate @AdamWierman, @Caltech (with Steven Low) on advancing innovative solutions to make the electrical grid more efficient, sustainable, & resilient. 🏢⚡

Learn more about the gift that supports this: https://t.co/iteLOjr6yP

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🔍 AI Is Changing Political Campaigns, Even at the Local Level

@CaltechLCSSP's @rmichaelalvarez, @Caltech says AI is on the rise in local races, even school board elections.

Why? ✅ Affordable ✅ Accessible ✅ Convincing

🔗Learn more: https://t.co/PNQNaMGH4c

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

Proud moment for the Alvarez Lab! 🎉

Danielle Yang & Shyna Kashi presented their exceptional @Caltech SURF research.👏

🌟Many thanks to the @Caltech Student-Faculty Programs team, @rmichaelalvarez & @RaqCenteno for mentoring Shyna, & @CaltechLCSSP for providing support!

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🚨New preprint from @CaltechLCSSP's @RaqCenteno & @rmichaelalvarez!

Findings suggest confidence in elections is not distributed equally across the electorate and uncover persistent racial gaps in voter confidence.

📖 Read more: https://t.co/Lrlqfg4PGn

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

A genuinely impressive achievement by @CaltechLCSSP Research Affiliates, @DannyCEbanks, @IQSS & @Jonathan_N_Katz, @Caltech. A powerful resource for exploring 2026 midterm forecasts and historical election results, now accessible to all.👏

https://t.co/ETeLXUzs3F

[Danny Ebanks @DannyCEbanks]

A few notes, we give you the chance to build your own forecast going back to 1946. If you think there is another polling error like in 2016, or want to see what the model would say in 1956, try all these possibilities, make your own modeling decisions, and see the numbers change!

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

🎓🤝🗳️ When academia & government work together, innovation follows!

Learn about @CaltechLCSSP's @rmichaelalvarez, @Caltech & Bob Page’s team at the @OCRegistrar data-driven election administration research that delivers real-world impact.✨

https://t.co/vmnnFO2PN7

[Caltech LCSSP @CaltechLCSSP]

📣 Registration is Open!

Join the @Caltech Election Night Watch Party!

🗳️ Follow federal, state, & local election results:
📅 Nov. 3, 2026 ⏰ 7–10 PM 📍 Avery Courtyard
🍕 Free food • 🎮 Games
✅ Register now: https://t.co/7nTvcLRu70.
🔴 Nonpartisan