@rafmbatista.bsky.social
Behavioral Scientist. Exploring how AI is shaping the way we experience the world. New DC resident + civically engaged, so occasionally I post about that too.
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialI hate to ask, but how’d that work out for you? 😄
@samwang.bsky.socialReposted by @rafmbatista.bsky.socialAnd finally, here might be the biggest dummymander of them all: Florida.
Based on map analysis from Vote Maximizer, voting history, and polling, it looks like Florida may have as many as 7 competitive districts.
Five of those races are underfunded: secure.actblue.com/donate/flori...
@jayvanbavel.bsky.socialReposted by @rafmbatista.bsky.socialPhones in school impair learning
A randomized controlled trial (N=16,683 students) across 10 schools found that phone bans improve students’ academic achievement, with pronounced benefits for low-performing students.
Students also became more supportive of such bans www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialHeard a comedian say conservatives are more fun. Liberals have their kayaks, conservatives have proper boats. You’ll never hear someone discussing NPR over beers on a boat. I thought it was hilarious. And the best comedy is funny because it’s partly true 😂
@rafmbatista.bsky.social@rafmbatista.bsky.socialNeat (and timely) piece by @pettertornberg.com & @uitermark.bsky.social on the role of generative #AI for social science.
How transformative will it be? Depends, 'is the purpose of science to simplify or to complexify?'
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialLike they're discovering things no human has ever thought of, yet on their product side both are innovating surprisingly little (certainly compared to one another). This is me responding to "Meet ChatGPT Work" 😄
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialOpenAI and Anthropic will by some accounts have access to superintelligence within a matter of years if not months. And yet the two continue to release virtually the same suite of features. Does that not seem odd?
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialYeah, we’re also psychologists so I think that aligns with our approach but do send feedback if you have any!
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialApple Passwords app or @proton.me ProtonPass
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialI’ve got a related working paper. I’d be curious to hear what you think. Still a work in progress so we could still edit the framing.
I can say one reason we invoke “delusion” is bc it’s the term used in the popular coverage. Eg www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialNot an endorsement but it’s a rendering from the 2008 movie Wall-E 😕
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialFiling a false report to the police is illegal in Pennsylvania. An AI system designed by Anthropic submitted a false report to Philly police in July. Curious to see how market & legal systems responds to models breaking laws...
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialDoes #AI leave consumers more informed? Has anyone seen good evidence of this? Even suggestive evidence? I can imagine consumer-side experiments. Or suggestive evidence being something like since ChatGPT release there's more competition in certain consumer products.
@nobelprize.orgReposted by @rafmbatista.bsky.socialBREAKING NEWS The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialI think more of the 'if you found that interesting, you might also find this interesting' kind (irrespective of field actually)
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialI don't even know what that is
@rafmbatista.bsky.social🤯
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialIt’s no longer a common device on its own and it’s not captured by other devices beside an A/C unit. Why is that?
@rafmbatista.bsky.socialMy grandfather used to have a thermometer in his house. I remember he gifted my parents a real old-school analog one that we hung on the wall. It’s surprising to me that in the highly digitized world we live in, local temp (like in the room we’re in) is not easily knowable. Why is that?