Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
@olivia.science
👁️ https://olivia.science
🍃 https://metatheory.space
associate professor of computational cognitive science · she/they · cypriot/kıbrıslı/κυπραία · σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρα κίνει
🍃 https://metatheory.space
associate professor of computational cognitive science · she/they · cypriot/kıbrıslı/κυπραία · σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρα κίνει
Pinned
I'm excited to share this preprint by my wonderful MSc student Yihsin who's thought deeply about how psychological & neurocognitive theories relate to different types of evidence.
Beyond Empirical Success: Evaluating Theoretical Virtue Across the Computational Modeling Chain
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Beyond Empirical Success: Evaluating Theoretical Virtue Across the Computational Modeling Chain
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
An IKEA instruction sheet titled “SLÖPPING, LLM chatbot”
The front page shows the finished data centre, as well as a list of pieces: 50000 × 💻, 10⁹ × 🌲, 1 × 🕯️, 1 × 🔧
The back page shows the instructions: plug the 💻, light the 🕯️, burn the 🌲 with the 🕯️ to power the 💻
The front page shows the finished data centre, as well as a list of pieces: 50000 × 💻, 10⁹ × 🌲, 1 × 🕯️, 1 × 🔧
The back page shows the instructions: plug the 💻, light the 🕯️, burn the 🌲 with the 🕯️ to power the 💻
Slöpping 🙃
September 20, 2026 at 6:23 PM
An IKEA instruction sheet titled “SLÖPPING, LLM chatbot”
The front page shows the finished data centre, as well as a list of pieces: 50000 × 💻, 10⁹ × 🌲, 1 × 🕯️, 1 × 🔧
The back page shows the instructions: plug the 💻, light the 🕯️, burn the 🌲 with the 🕯️ to power the 💻
The front page shows the finished data centre, as well as a list of pieces: 50000 × 💻, 10⁹ × 🌲, 1 × 🕯️, 1 × 🔧
The back page shows the instructions: plug the 💻, light the 🕯️, burn the 🌲 with the 🕯️ to power the 💻
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
About mechanistic thinking: « [I]n reducing humans to mere machines, the ["human brain as a computer"] metaphor laid the groundwork for eugenic thinking and eroded the capacity to judge clearly. »
doi.org/10.1215/2834...
doi.org/10.1215/2834...
September 20, 2026 at 6:27 PM
About mechanistic thinking: « [I]n reducing humans to mere machines, the ["human brain as a computer"] metaphor laid the groundwork for eugenic thinking and eroded the capacity to judge clearly. »
doi.org/10.1215/2834...
doi.org/10.1215/2834...
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Precisely this—the power attributed to technology makes it incredibly useful for laundering responsibility
The AI industry wants you to say "the AI just did that thing on its own!"
Like, United Health's AI that's denying a shitload of claims with a 90% error rate? They wanted you to think it's just the AI.
Like, United Health's AI that's denying a shitload of claims with a 90% error rate? They wanted you to think it's just the AI.
September 19, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Precisely this—the power attributed to technology makes it incredibly useful for laundering responsibility
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Also this nonsense Still Pencil said about privileging biological brains as "thinking", when the difference between biological cognition and electronic processing isn't just a difference of magnitude but a difference in kind.
September 20, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Also this nonsense Still Pencil said about privileging biological brains as "thinking", when the difference between biological cognition and electronic processing isn't just a difference of magnitude but a difference in kind.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
As our national myth goes, french peasants overthrew royalty because of corvée.
September 20, 2026 at 5:46 PM
As our national myth goes, french peasants overthrew royalty because of corvée.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Plus the first recorded public employee strike! ;-)
July 7, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Plus the first recorded public employee strike! ;-)
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
I adore you Leon, Egyptologist here, they were built by a largely volunteer force (corvée labor) of 25,000. The builders were very well fed, paid in bread and beer, and received excellent medical care. There was no slavery whatsoever, it is a common misconception.
um, so everyone cheering on egypt in the world cup realizes how the pyramids were built right? but i guess that's a conversation you're not ready to have
July 7, 2026 at 5:53 PM
I adore you Leon, Egyptologist here, they were built by a largely volunteer force (corvée labor) of 25,000. The builders were very well fed, paid in bread and beer, and received excellent medical care. There was no slavery whatsoever, it is a common misconception.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Of course it all matters because it undergirds the reasonableness of very unreasonable claims about the existential risk of ai; which distract from important economic and policy questions in the moment; like how wrecked pensions are gonna be when the bubble pops.
September 20, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Of course it all matters because it undergirds the reasonableness of very unreasonable claims about the existential risk of ai; which distract from important economic and policy questions in the moment; like how wrecked pensions are gonna be when the bubble pops.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
I don’t mean this to be cruel, but there’s just too much air being taken up by people with media or tech backgrounds who think their hot take on consciousness with LLMs is new, and lord it has all been done before and we’re past that.
Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book.
Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book.
September 20, 2026 at 4:59 PM
I don’t mean this to be cruel, but there’s just too much air being taken up by people with media or tech backgrounds who think their hot take on consciousness with LLMs is new, and lord it has all been done before and we’re past that.
Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book.
Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book.
Plus LLMs contain human-in-the-loop so also does think because it's got thinking humans in real time or otherwise creating parts of or contributing to the so-called AI system
For whatever reason the fact that LLMs manifest their task completion with language has had folks wanting to jump the gun on a big thorny question of whether/when they “think” in the sense that we all have come to understand it. They may simply not need “think” to to complete complex tasks.
September 20, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Plus LLMs contain human-in-the-loop so also does think because it's got thinking humans in real time or otherwise creating parts of or contributing to the so-called AI system
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
But in none of these cases do we need to invoke the human, often (but weirdly not always) inner monologue of thought. The stream of consciousness inside our heads that has had philosophers arguing for millennia about what it is, whether it’s unique to us, etc….
September 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM
But in none of these cases do we need to invoke the human, often (but weirdly not always) inner monologue of thought. The stream of consciousness inside our heads that has had philosophers arguing for millennia about what it is, whether it’s unique to us, etc….
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
These problems can be remarkably complex relative to what we think of as human intelligence; classic example being slime molds and recreating efficient transit maps. Obviously this is before we get to eusocial insects and the complex clockwork of their societies. Simple rules, emergent function.
September 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM
These problems can be remarkably complex relative to what we think of as human intelligence; classic example being slime molds and recreating efficient transit maps. Obviously this is before we get to eusocial insects and the complex clockwork of their societies. Simple rules, emergent function.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
The same is true for c. elegans, bacterial clumps, dog vomit slime molds, dicty, etc… complex flexible problem solving is pretty ubiquitous in the natural world and we don’t ascribe anything like what people are trying to force onto chatbots merely by virtue of complex problem solving.
September 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM
The same is true for c. elegans, bacterial clumps, dog vomit slime molds, dicty, etc… complex flexible problem solving is pretty ubiquitous in the natural world and we don’t ascribe anything like what people are trying to force onto chatbots merely by virtue of complex problem solving.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
We can simulate fish schools or ants in ways that solve complex problems (gradient detection, bridge building, nest selection) but no one would create this weird soul/no-soul dichotomy to argue they these that multi-agent swarms of extremely simple rules are “thinking”.
Once you’ve conceded that there’s nothing magic about humans or “living beings” that makes them the only entities allowed to think, it’s really hard to figure out an intellectually honest dividing line where the entities that are exercising creativity and solving complex problems aren’t thinking
September 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM
We can simulate fish schools or ants in ways that solve complex problems (gradient detection, bridge building, nest selection) but no one would create this weird soul/no-soul dichotomy to argue they these that multi-agent swarms of extremely simple rules are “thinking”.
I'm going to prison
What do you call a silly man that is enjoying a swim?
Himbopotamus
Himbopotamus
September 20, 2026 at 5:05 PM
I'm going to prison
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Honoured to be mentioned by @felienne.bsky.social in her AI newsletter!
Riffing off of her vitamin-C phrasing, I may start to refer to this type of work as vitamin-CC, or vitamin-C^2
Riffing off of her vitamin-C phrasing, I may start to refer to this type of work as vitamin-CC, or vitamin-C^2
"Using some of my own work, I set out to clear up a few relevant concepts from theoretical computer science and computational cognitive science that can help to build conceptual hygiene and immunity against hyped claims about “AI” capabilities."
irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2026/09/12/c...
irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2026/09/12/c...
Computational complexity for hype immunity
Using some of my own work, I set out to clear up a few relevant concepts from theoretical computer science and computational cognitive science that can help to build conceptual hygiene and immunity…
irisvanrooijcogsci.com
September 20, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Honoured to be mentioned by @felienne.bsky.social in her AI newsletter!
Riffing off of her vitamin-C phrasing, I may start to refer to this type of work as vitamin-CC, or vitamin-C^2
Riffing off of her vitamin-C phrasing, I may start to refer to this type of work as vitamin-CC, or vitamin-C^2
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Indeed and leads to silly superficiality like credentialism as well as the boomerang destruction of expertise:
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
Why does cheating matter?
A personal anecdote and an appeal to junior colleagues.
olivia.science
September 20, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Indeed and leads to silly superficiality like credentialism as well as the boomerang destruction of expertise:
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
> If degrees are meaningless because they do not reflect skills anymore, then academia is also damaged beyond repair; as well as society in general in our ability to have experts.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
You Can Always Just Say No
> Something seems to be lost on my peers today: it’s still easy to not use AI. [...] Eschewing AI is one thing that we can actually do to live out ethics that affirm values of human and environmental rights. It’s almost a gift! Just use a computer the same way you did three years ago!
“Potentially Useful | Hating AI in 2026”
https://www.eamoncaddigan.net/posts/ai-in-2026/
> We can point out all of the harms being done by the technology right now, and we can speak to the additional harms that will be done if things continue like this, but our concerns are spurned or ignored.
https://www.eamoncaddigan.net/posts/ai-in-2026/
> We can point out all of the harms being done by the technology right now, and we can speak to the additional harms that will be done if things continue like this, but our concerns are spurned or ignored.
September 20, 2026 at 4:18 PM
You Can Always Just Say No
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
I also like cogitating. Not as widely applicable as cognizing, but suits my research nicely cos it puts cognitive deliberation into one handy word.
September 20, 2026 at 10:59 AM
I also like cogitating. Not as widely applicable as cognizing, but suits my research nicely cos it puts cognitive deliberation into one handy word.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
Ohhh, they have Rules. They have Rituals. Priests in all but name.
Donald Mackay, prof where I did my PhD, took me to a Baptist communion once. I smiled when the guy gave me the cup and it was like a shock wave with the sense that we were going to have to start again because this person misbehaved.
Donald Mackay, prof where I did my PhD, took me to a Baptist communion once. I smiled when the guy gave me the cup and it was like a shock wave with the sense that we were going to have to start again because this person misbehaved.
September 20, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Ohhh, they have Rules. They have Rituals. Priests in all but name.
Donald Mackay, prof where I did my PhD, took me to a Baptist communion once. I smiled when the guy gave me the cup and it was like a shock wave with the sense that we were going to have to start again because this person misbehaved.
Donald Mackay, prof where I did my PhD, took me to a Baptist communion once. I smiled when the guy gave me the cup and it was like a shock wave with the sense that we were going to have to start again because this person misbehaved.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
I would hope that's obvious, but yeah, good to underline, and indeed:
> The claim that PISA measures knowledge and skills essential for the modern society or the future world is not based on any empirical evidence.
> The claim that PISA measures knowledge and skills essential for the modern society or the future world is not based on any empirical evidence.
September 20, 2026 at 11:13 AM
I would hope that's obvious, but yeah, good to underline, and indeed:
> The claim that PISA measures knowledge and skills essential for the modern society or the future world is not based on any empirical evidence.
> The claim that PISA measures knowledge and skills essential for the modern society or the future world is not based on any empirical evidence.
Reposted by Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ
New preprint! @marentierra.bsky.social @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I have been working on what CAIL means to showcase & propagate the idea of thinking very differently to tech industry norms on "artificial intelligence"
Towards Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacies doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
1/
Towards Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacies doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
1/
September 20, 2026 at 11:34 AM