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Jul 30, 2026

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Links For July 2026 (Part 2)

39 min • 5,973 words • 305 comments • 150 likes

Scott's monthly links roundup covering AI progress, the coming flood of philanthropic funding to effective altruism from AI companies, new research on persuasion and forecasting, and various scientific and cultural topics ranging from dementia prevention to Romanian politicians' embarrassing quotes. Longer summary

This is the second part of Scott Alexander's monthly links roundup for July 2026, covering a wide range of topics including AI developments, effective altruism funding waves, healthcare research, and cultural curiosities. Major themes include Chinese AI models catching up to the US (though still 6-12 months behind), the coming "third wave" of American philanthropy from AI company equity donations potentially flooding effective altruism with $40 billion/year, AI systems now outperforming humans at persuasion in specific contexts, and various scientific findings from dementia prevention to infinite ethics. The post maintains Scott's characteristic style of jumping between serious technical analysis, historical oddities, and humorous observations, with extensive linking to sources and ongoing debates in the rationalist and effective altruist communities. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: effective altruism (97), forecasting (87), AI safety (69), links (62), Metaculus (34), utilitarianism (31), links roundup (28), OpenAI (27), AI capabilities (21), philanthropy (14), Anthropic (12), persuasion (6), Freddie deBoer (5), dementia prevention (2), PEPFAR (2)

Jul 22, 2026

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Links For July 2026 (Part 1)

25 min • 3,748 words • 418 comments • 198 likes

Scott shares his monthly collection of interesting links from around the internet, covering topics from Jeremy Bentham's linguistic legacy to AI developments, with characteristic commentary and fact-checking caveats. Longer summary

This is Scott's monthly 'Links' post, a curated collection of interesting articles, studies, and social media posts from around the internet. The links span a wide range of topics including historical curiosities (Jeremy Bentham's word inventions, beard-wearing persecution in 19th century America), scientific oddities (a mushroom that causes gnome hallucinations), AI developments (mathematical proofs, constrained writing, dating apps), current events (Berkeley's housing permits, GLP-1 weight retention), and cultural phenomena (the Monet/AI art prank). Scott includes his typical epistemic disclaimers about not having verified all links independently and provides commentary throughout. The post ends with a note that he accumulated too many links and will publish the second half next week. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: AI (110), links (62), internet culture (34), cognitive bias (33), consciousness (33), links roundup (28), Manifold Markets (12), predictive coding (11), AI art (6), mathematics (5), historical curiosities (5), dating apps (3), GLP-1 drugs (3), sperm count (2), trapped priors (2)

Jun 25, 2026

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The Metaculus Threat To Democracy Index

11 min • 1,649 words • 424 comments • 201 likes • podcast (11 min)

Scott examines the Metaculus Threat To Democracy Index, which uses crowdsourced forecasting to measure democratic health, discussing its advantages over traditional expert-based indices and its vulnerabilities to manipulation and selection bias. Longer summary

Scott discusses the Metaculus Threat To Democracy Index, a new approach to measuring American democratic health using crowdsourced forecasting rather than expert opinion. The index aggregates 153 questions about democratic threats (like election cancellations or ballot access) weighted by forecasters' historical accuracy. Scott analyzes its advantages—transparency, resistance to ideological bias, and ability to measure probabilities rather than binary outcomes—alongside its risks, including susceptibility to crowd attacks, bot manipulation, and question selection bias. He finds the recent data somewhat reassuring (showing no expected worsening during Trump's term) and suggests the index will become more valuable over time as question biases become less relevant. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: forecasting (87), prediction markets (85), Metaculus (34), democracy (21), superforecasting (8), political bias (7), Trump administration (6), corruption (5), American politics (4), crowd-sourcing (2)

Apr 23, 2026

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Links For April 2026

53 min • 8,070 words • 588 comments • 272 likes • podcast (47 min)

Scott Alexander's April 2026 links roundup covers diverse topics including Venn diagram complexity, flag desecration laws, AI developments, political analysis, scientific studies, and various cultural curiosities. Longer summary

This monthly links post compiles interesting articles, studies, and observations from across the internet in April 2026. Major themes include AI progress and policy (including discussions of AI alignment, capabilities, and regulation), political developments (Trump administration actions, election analysis), scientific findings (from evolutionary psychology to medical treatments), and various cultural oddities. Scott provides brief commentary on each link while noting that he hasn't independently verified all claims and that commenters typically find errors in a few links per post. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: prediction markets (85), media criticism (76), links (62), medical research (52), link roundup (35), internet culture (34), AI alignment (32), evolutionary psychology (30), AI progress (15), education policy (12), AI policy (11), political analysis (10), scientific studies (7), cultural commentary (3), religious phenomena (2)

Feb 05, 2026

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Links For February 2026

48 min • 7,419 words • 660 comments • 255 likes • podcast (49 min)

A monthly collection of diverse links covering AI developments and regulation, COVID origins debates, healthcare policy, cultural phenomena, scientific research, and internet curiosities, maintaining Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and entertaining observations. Longer summary

Scott Alexander's February 2026 links collection covers a wide range of topics including AI developments, politics, science, culture, and internet phenomena. Major themes include updates on AI capabilities and regulation (with discussions of OpenAI, Anthropic, and various political machinations around AI policy), the ongoing COVID lab leak debate and related prediction markets, healthcare and drug development issues, cultural observations from around the world, and various scientific and academic findings. The post maintains Scott's characteristic style of jumping between serious policy discussions, academic research, internet curiosities, and cultural commentary, with particular attention to AI safety concerns, rationalist community topics, and interesting historical or linguistic oddities. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: forecasting (87), prediction markets (85), scientific research (64), links (62), rationalist community (38), internet culture (34), AI alignment (32), links roundup (28), OpenAI (27), AI development (23), AI capabilities (21), healthcare policy (20), dating (18), drug development (18), AI regulation (14), crime statistics (13), Anthropic (12), AI policy (11), COVID-19 origins (6), lab leak theory (3), cultural observations (2), political influence (2)

Aug 13, 2024

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Why Does Ozempic Cure All Diseases?

29 min • 4,403 words • 567 comments • 1,016 likes • podcast (27 min)

Scott Alexander examines the surprisingly broad effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, exploring their mechanisms and speculating on why they seem to impact so many different conditions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the wide-ranging effects of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications like Ozempic, which are approved for diabetes and obesity but show promise for many other conditions. He delves into the mechanisms behind their effects on diabetes, weight loss, and addiction, speculating on why these drugs seem to have such broad impacts. The post discusses how GLP-1 drugs work in the brain to reduce hunger and dampen reward systems, potentially explaining their effects on addiction. Scott also touches on their anti-inflammatory properties and potential benefits for neurodegenerative diseases, while cautioning that some reported effects may not replicate. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: neuroscience (69), medical research (52), obesity (18), addiction (18), pharmacology (12), GLP-1 drugs (3), inflammation (2), diabetes (2), Ozempic (2)