Want to dive into Scott Alexander's work and his thousands of blog posts? This fan website lets you sort and do semantic search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

See also Top Posts and All Tags.

Minutes:
Pick a custom range (minutes). Leave a field empty for no limit.
–
Blog:
Year:
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
Tags:
Filter by tag...
Exclude tag...
5252 tags
Links:
Filter by linked site (twitter, substack…)
10 posts found
Compact Mode
Save Reads
Apr 23, 2026
acx
Read on

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
Mar 06, 2026
acx
Read on

SEIU Delenda Est

15 min • 2,251 words • 673 comments • 639 likes • podcast (14 min)
Scott argues that California's proposed billionaire tax is actually an extortion scheme by SEIU, which has a history of proposing destructive ballot initiatives and withdrawing them in exchange for concessions. Longer summary
Scott argues that California's 2026 Billionaire Tax Act is not a genuine progressive wealth tax proposal, but rather an extortion scheme by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). He explains the tax's various problems (including taxing unrealized gains and being retroactive), then reveals SEIU's history of proposing deliberately destructive ballot initiatives targeting healthcare industries, only to withdraw them in exchange for money and union expansion rights. The union has done this repeatedly with hospitals and dialysis clinics, spending millions on initiatives they never intended to pass. Scott suggests the billionaire tax follows the same pattern: SEIU is leveraging Governor Newsom's presidential ambitions and desire to keep tech billionaires happy, hoping he'll offer concessions to make the initiative disappear. Shorter summary
Feb 25, 2026
acx
Read on

The Pentagon Threatens Anthropic

19 min • 2,929 words • 720 comments • 567 likes • podcast (24 min)
Scott analyzes the Pentagon's threatening tactics against Anthropic for refusing to remove Usage Policy restrictions from their contract, arguing this represents unprecedented authoritarian overreach and supporting Anthropic's stance against mass surveillance. Longer summary
Scott discusses a contract dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon, where the Pentagon is attempting to renegotiate their original agreement to remove Anthropic's Usage Policy restrictions and gain access to AI for 'all lawful purposes.' Anthropic has resisted, requesting guarantees against mass surveillance of American citizens and autonomous killbots, which the Pentagon refused. The Pentagon has threatened various consequences including designating Anthropic a 'supply chain risk'—an unprecedented use of a designation previously only applied to foreign adversaries. Scott argues strongly in support of Anthropic's position, viewing the Pentagon's tactics as authoritarian overreach. He addresses numerous counterarguments in detail, explains why the Pentagon should simply switch to another AI vendor, and praises the widespread support Anthropic has received from across the political spectrum and the tech industry. Shorter summary
Oct 30, 2025
acx
Read on

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
Aug 26, 2025
acx
Read on

In Search Of AI Psychosis

27 min • 4,057 words • 491 comments • 519 likes • podcast (26 min)
Scott investigates AI psychosis through historical analogies and a reader survey, finding it affects roughly 1 in 10,000 to 100,000 people yearly, with most cases involving pre-existing risk factors. Longer summary
Scott examines the phenomenon of AI psychosis, where people allegedly go crazy after extensive chatbot interactions. He explores various analogies and precedents, including the 1990s Russian TV hoax about Lenin being a mushroom, social media-induced conspiracy theories like QAnon, and the concept of folie à deux. Through a survey of his blog readers, he estimates the yearly incidence of AI psychosis at 1/10,000 (loose definition) to 1/100,000 (strict definition). The analysis suggests that most cases involve people who were already psychotic or had risk factors, with only about 10% being cases of previously healthy people developing full psychosis. Shorter summary
May 02, 2025
acx
Read on

Testing AI's GeoGuessr Genius

28 min • 4,281 words • 483 comments • 406 likes • podcast (37 min)
Scott tests OpenAI's o3 model's ability to identify locations from photos, finding it has remarkable success even with minimal visual information, raising questions about AI capabilities. Longer summary
Scott tests OpenAI's o3 model on increasingly difficult GeoGuessr-style location guessing challenges using his own photos. Starting with a Google Street View image of a featureless plain, progressing through personal photos of Nepal mountains, a dorm room, and extremely zoomed-in shots of grass and river water, Scott finds that o3 shows remarkable ability to identify locations from minimal visual cues. While it fails on some challenges like identifying a specific house address, its success rate and reasoning process on most images is impressive enough to make Scott question whether this represents a qualitatively different level of AI capability. Shorter summary
Feb 27, 2025
acx
Read on

Links For February 2025

45 min • 6,840 words • 933 comments • 212 likes • podcast (43 min)
Scott shares 50 diverse links covering topics from AI developments to policy changes, with commentary on current events, research findings, and societal trends. Longer summary
In this monthly links roundup, Scott Alexander covers a wide range of topics including AI developments, public policy changes, scientific research, and current events. The post follows a numbered format presenting each item with Scott's characteristic analysis and often humorous commentary. Notable topics include AI safety developments, changes in government policy, climate change updates, and various social and technological trends. The tone alternates between analytical and personal reflection, particularly when discussing potentially concerning political developments. Shorter summary
Dec 01, 2022
acx
Read on

Book Review: First Sixth Of Bobos In Paradise

23 min • 3,511 words • 701 comments • 173 likes • podcast (25 min)
Scott reviews David Brooks' thesis on how a 1950s change in Ivy League admissions policy reshaped American elite culture and society. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews the first sixth of David Brooks' book 'Bobos In Paradise', focusing on Brooks' thesis that a change in Harvard's admissions policy in the 1950s led to the replacement of the old WASP aristocracy with a new meritocratic elite. This shift had far-reaching consequences for American culture, values, and social trends. Scott explores how this theory might explain various phenomena, from changes in architecture to political polarization, and considers its implications for understanding modern elites and social dynamics. Shorter summary
Nov 23, 2021
acx
Read on

When Will The FDA Approve Paxlovid?

9 min • 1,382 words • 461 comments • 115 likes • podcast (11 min)
Scott Alexander critiques the FDA's slow approval process for Paxlovid, a promising COVID-19 treatment, despite its proven effectiveness. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the FDA's delay in approving Paxlovid, a highly effective COVID-19 treatment. He criticizes the FDA for taking an estimated six weeks to approve the drug despite stopping trials early due to its effectiveness. The post explores the inconsistency in the FDA's approach, questions potential reasons for the delay, and emphasizes the urgency of approval given the ongoing COVID-19 deaths. Scott also addresses potential criticisms by comparing the situation to ivermectin and acknowledging the risk of unforeseen issues with Paxlovid. Shorter summary
Mar 06, 2019
ssc
Read on

Links 3/19: Linkguini

16 min • 2,429 words • 558 comments
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links on topics including architecture, history, science, politics, and economics, offering brief commentaries and insights on each. Longer summary
This post is a collection of various links and brief commentaries on diverse topics. Scott Alexander covers subjects ranging from architecture and history to science, politics, and economics. He discusses the Obama Presidential Library, unusual historical facts, effective altruism, AI policy careers, Bitcoin mining, and scientific studies on parenting and voter ID laws. The post also touches on topics like gender discrimination in tech, nuclear energy startups, and dietary trends. Throughout, Scott provides his characteristic mix of curiosity, skepticism, and humor in discussing these wide-ranging subjects. Shorter summary
Per page:
Showing 1 to 10 of 10 results
Get these search results in an EPUB

Your filters match 10 posts.

Posts to include
–
Leave empty to keep the defaults. Range cannot exceed 500 posts.
Download now

Generates an EPUB right now and downloads it to your device.

Send to email

Generates an EPUB in the background and emails you a temporary download link.

Your email is not shared with anyone.

Email address

To send to your Kindle, just use this link.