Linch (@LinchZhang) / X

Linch

20.5K posts

Linch

@LinchZhang

Researcher and writer on impact of AI @ Forethought. Past: grantmaking, data science, programming. Also on substack: linch.substack.com

Joined May 2020

Pinned
Linch
@LinchZhang
May 26
In my new post, I argue that the first papal encyclical *on* AI is also the first papal encyclical substantially *by* AI. (1/x)
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Linch
@LinchZhang
May 17, 2024
I don't understand why when Hollywood movies try to portray geniuses, they make them say gobbledygook that any smart person can tell is very fake. Their budgets are in the hundreds of millions, surely they can just hire a specialist consultant to not sound dumb?
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Apr 23, 2025
Replying to @thechosenberg
I think the trick is to offer one small piece of "constructive criticism" each meal until eventually the lasagna improves to a manageable extent
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Apr 11, 2025
Replying to @JustinWhang
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Linch
@LinchZhang
May 17, 2024
Replying to @LinchZhang
(I don't think the bar is exceptionally high, I think most good science writers can meet the bar of being able to translate between specialists and Hollywood)
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Apr 12, 2025
Replying to @JeremiahDJohns
When I was a newbie on the internet, I apprenticed under a digital Machiavelli, a masterful troll of the highest order. The Master once told me: "Anything is possible when you lie." And in that moment, I was enlightened.
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Linch
@LinchZhang
May 17, 2024
Replying to @FloodingLong
Yeah it makes no sense. All neural networks are non-sequential unless I'm missing something. They're networks! If every neuron was sequential it'd look like a line. (in CS jargon, a linked list)
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Linch
@LinchZhang
May 17, 2024
Replying to @OrionJohnston
Yeah if I was the consultant they hired I'd frame it as Wakandan industry having better ability to do atomically precise manufacturing than Stark & Banner, or something like that. Less about specific ideas, more about their entire technological capacity.
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Apr 26, 2025
Replying to @playboicurrryy and @chumblings
Karl Marx but it was a while ago
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Jul 5, 2024
Gender issues aside, it's utterly bizarre to me that plagiarism is considered vastly worse among academics than faking data. It's indicative pretty straightforwardly of rot imo, since it means the field as a whole cares more about credit attribution than about truth.
Lior Pachter
@lpachter
Jul 2, 2024
Replying to @lpachter
That's why we titled our blog post "The Journal of Scientific Integrity". Where is this journal? Why is it so taboo to face misconduct by a scientist? People are eager to pounce on women (e.g. Claudine Gay). But I don't expect Srinivasan to be featured in the @nytimes. 21/
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Apr 1, 2024
I’m proud to announce the April 1 launch of my new startup, Open Asteroid Impact! We redirect asteroids towards Earth for the benefit of humanity. Our mission is to have as high an impact as possible. 🚀☄️🌎💸💸💸 More details in🧵:
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Mar 16, 2025
I thought Adobe Acrobat is local software
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Jul 10, 2025
Replying to @StatisticUrban
I often wonder if there's a connection between that and why people very rarely see phones in dreams
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Linch
@LinchZhang
Jul 31, 2025
Replying to @inerati
It wasn't just like his influence was minor, or he was "just following orders" He was literally defying orders from Rubio just to deny payments to AIDS clinics. No Hell hot enough.
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