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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 26, 2026

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Next-Token Predictor Is An AI's Job, Not Its Species

16 min • 2,403 words • 433 comments • 426 likes • podcast (17 min)

Scott argues that dismissing AI as 'just a next-token predictor' is like dismissing humans as 'just reproduction machines' - both confuse the optimization process that shaped an entity with how that entity actually thinks. Longer summary

Scott argues that dismissing AI as 'just a next-token predictor' confuses levels of optimization. He draws an analogy to humans: just as humans were shaped by evolution optimizing for reproduction but don't think about sex when doing math, AIs were shaped by next-token prediction but don't simply predict tokens when thinking. Scott explains that human brains use predictive coding (predicting next sense-data) to build world-models, while AIs use next-token prediction to build their own world-models. Both processes create complex internal representations - like helical manifolds in 6D space for AIs, or toroidal attractors in human hippocampi - that operate far above the level of simple prediction. The post concludes that both humans and AIs perform 'real thought' using structures created by their respective optimization processes. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: AI (110), neuroscience (69), evolutionary psychology (30), AI capabilities (21), Anthropic (12), predictive coding (11), AI consciousness (5), AI criticism (4), mechanistic interpretability (2), stochastic parrots (2), Kelsey Piper (2), next-token prediction (2)

Dec 10, 2025

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Links For December 2025

51 min • 7,776 words • 592 comments • 260 likes • podcast (52 min)

Scott's monthly roundup of interesting links covering AI policy developments, technology news, cultural observations, and scientific research from December 2025. Longer summary

This is Scott Alexander's monthly collection of links and commentary covering diverse topics. Major themes include AI policy battles (chip sales to China, regulation debates, political campaigns), startup news (Substrate fraud allegations, Tornyol mosquito drones), and scientific updates (COVID origins, Hitler's DNA, lactose intolerance). The post also covers cultural topics like the first millennial saint, Dimes Square commentary, and political polling about ideal Democratic candidates. Scott provides his characteristic mix of straightforward reporting, skeptical analysis, and occasional humor throughout the 53 linked items. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: politics (89), scientific research (64), links (62), links roundup (28), OpenAI (27), AI regulation (14), Donald Trump (14), basic income (12), AI policy (11), embryo selection (6), COVID-19 origins (6), startup funding (4), fraud (4), cultural commentary (3), technology news (3)

Oct 30, 2025

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Links For October 2025

42 min • 6,423 words • 803 comments • 211 likes • podcast (38 min)

Scott Alexander presents 51 links covering AI progress and safety, political developments, scientific research, cultural oddities, and ongoing philosophical debates about miracles and education reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander shares 51 links covering diverse topics including AI developments (agents, safety, consciousness research), political news (Ukraine policy, UK politics, Trump administration), science updates (climate predictions, genetics, bacteriophages), cultural curiosities (Shakespeare superfan plastic surgery, Soviet naming conventions, flag cones), health research (Alzheimer's prevention, shingles vaccine reducing dementia, kidney donation), and philosophical debates (Hume's argument against miracles, the Fatima miracle discussion). The post maintains Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and quirky observations, touching on everything from Bach's descendants in Oklahoma to the mystery of why AI still struggles with laundry folding despite mastering protein folding. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: book review (212), AI safety (69), links (62), genetics (58), climate change (33), Eliezer Yudkowsky (30), links roundup (28), OpenAI (27), AI progress (15), Anthropic (12), education reform (7), Freddie deBoer (5), Richard Hanania (5), kidney donation (3), cultural history (2), political news (2), NVIDIA (2), Kelsey Piper (2), David Hume (2), Curtis Yarvin (2), dementia prevention (2)

Sep 04, 2025

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Links For September 2025

54 min • 8,283 words • 918 comments • 233 likes • podcast (45 min)

Scott Alexander presents his monthly collection of interesting links and developments across technology, science, culture, and policy, with personal commentary on each item. Longer summary

Scott Alexander shares a collection of 61 interesting links, spanning topics from AI development and scientific studies to cultural observations and policy discussions. The post covers diverse subjects including GPT-5's reception, genetic research, religious demographics, urban development, mental health studies, and various scientific discoveries. Scott provides commentary and analysis on many of these items, often connecting them to broader themes or offering his perspective on controversial issues. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: study critique (268), AI (110), science (85), psychiatry (73), links (62), genetics (58), healthcare (56), religion (43), urban planning (23)

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