Michael Eddy

Saw this paper presented—another jaw-dropping proof of how AI is accelerating science.

Yet nearly all the energy is in bio & engineering.

What AI-driven breakthroughs are accelerating the pace of the social sciences?

Would love to hear!

UPDATE: Given passage of the new tax law (and implications for SNAP, Medicaid, and other benefits), under Cassandra Madison's leadership, we wanted to move quickly to get this call-for-proposals out the door.

Send us your ideas: www.publicbenefitinnovationfund.org/summer-2025-...

AI chatbots are 87% cheaper and 3,107x more data-efficient than web search, helping Sierra Leonean teachers access tailored, relevant info despite low connectivity

New 📄 by @dbjork.bsky.social , @paulfab.bsky.social et. al. nber.org/conferences/...

First Father’s Day as a new dad—and I’m still in awe. In the early 90s I doubted I’d ever see marriage, fatherhood, family. Yet here we are: two husbands, one *amazing* son, and a world that has made progress possible. So grateful! 🥰🥰

About – RegLab RegLab partners with government agencies to design and evaluate programs, policies, and technologies that modernize government. We are an interdisciplinary team of legal experts, data scientists,…

All of this wouldn't be possible without innovators in government, like David Chiu @ the SF City Attorney's office and the research team at RegLab @stanfordlaw.bsky.social. Kudos! reglab.stanford.edu/about/

At a moment in history when social science can do more for society than ever before, we believe in the importance of developing new models to address pervasi... What is Stanford Impact Labs?

That's why @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social supports RegLab and 10s of other investments in a repeatable R&D pipeline against big social problems. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrbX... impact.stanford.edu/investments

But here’s the key point:

This isn’t *just* a story about AI.

It's a story of the human & social systems that can hold back societal progress & how deliberate R&D can help accelerate us towards a society that works for everyone. impact.stanford.edu/article/stan...

RegLab developed a scalable solution to use AI-based research assistant ("STARA") to crawl 10's of millions of words in federal/local legal codes & identify reporting requirements. Many of these are outdated. The SF City attorney wants to cut 1/3rd of them dho.stanford.edu/wp-content/u...

This isn't just a problem in SF though. The @WashingtonPost.com described the explosion of mandated reports as a congressional “black hole” with reports that can consume months of staff time w/ only a subset informing policy, legislators or the public www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/...

As @ezraklein.bsky.social notes, “We’ve allowed an administrative state to accumulate like barnacles on a ship around the executive branch.” You might call this "policy sludge"

RegLab shows what this looks like in San Francisco. 😲

What does it look like to take government efficiency seriously?

New work between Stanford RegLab & San Francisco cuts through red tape to free up civil servants time to focus on what matters most. 🧵👇

www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

How can AI expand access to evidence—so governments can direct limited resources where they’ll do the most good?

The World Bank’s new ImpactAI aims to bring evidence to scale.
Months of lit review, in minutes.
impactai.worldbank.org #aiforgood #devecon

Learn more here bsky.app/profile/mich...

A study finds stacking bricks differently could help this country fight air pollution Bangladesh suffers from extreme air pollution, but a new study shows the brick industry can make small changes to have a big effect on the country's smog problem.

"A study finds stacking bricks differently could help this county fight air pollution" @npr.org

www.npr.org/sections/goa... @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social @stanfordwoods.bsky.social

Every year South Asia’s brick kilns spew as much CO₂ as the entire U.S. car fleet. Kilns poison the air that 2 billion people breathe—and kill over 50,000 annually

A new study in Science shows how simple fixes can clean air, cut emissions & improve public health🧵⬇️

Cleaner air. Lower emissions. Better bricks. This is what happens when science meets reality—and listens.

BRICK Lab - Stanford Impact Labs BRICK Lab is working with civic organizations and environmental advisory firms to generate scientific evidence on how to increase adoption and use of new technologies that can drive profits up and pol...

This research was supported by @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social, J-PAL, & Open Philanthropy.

It’s a model for public impact research: practical, scalable, and built to go beyond the paper. impact.stanford.edu/organization...

Five Lessons from a Scientist as Problem Solver: Stephen Luby & Cleaner Brick Manufacturing in Bangladesh - Stanford Impact Labs In 2021, Stanford's Stephen Luby and his project partners received a two-year $500,000 grant from Stanford Impact Labs to implement a randomized controlled trial aimed at generating evidence to motiva...

This breakthrough was only possible because of deep collaboration with #icddrb, the National Brick Manufacturing Assn, kiln owners—and researchers like Nina Brooks & @stanfordwoods.bsky.social Steve Luby who led with humility and curiosity.
impact.stanford.edu/article/five...

The improvements have already spread to 500+ kilns in Bangladesh

Now is the time to accelerate this work to tens of thousands of other kilns that could benefit across South Asia

It’s a rare best buy for climate & development. A win-win that works w/out out a government mandate

Society has a new “best buy” for development & climate. It beats most carbon abatement strategies—at a fraction of the cost.

I’ve worked in development for 15+ years and interventions w/ results like these are rare finds!

Moreover, the intervention is ridiculously cost-effective: for every $1 spent, society gained $65 in carbon benefits alone.

And that’s WILDLY conservative—it excludes health benefits, assumes only 1 year of adoption, and uses the low end of emissions reductions.

These results weren’t a fluke—kiln owners wanted to change.

Most adopted the new practices. Some even snuck into trainings they weren’t assigned to.

Most interventions fade. Not this one. Adoption rose the next season. Owners stuck with it. Stunning!

The results?
✔️ 23% less energy used
✔️ 20% fewer CO₂ emissions
✔️ 20% fewer PM2.5 emissions
✔️ Higher profits for owners

When I first read these results. My jaw *literally* dropped.

Their fix?

Low-cost tweaks to how bricks are stacked and coal is fed into kilns—no new equipment required. Just better training, and partnerships with kiln owners.

Regulation has failed. High-tech upgrades haven’t scaled.

But a unique partnership tried a new approach: understand kiln operators' real constraints—and align environmental progress with their incentives.

In Bangladesh, 7,000+ coal-fired brick kilns ring cities like Dhaka. They cause up to 40% of deadly air pollution. Air pollution harms health, productivity and shortens lives.

Residents live nearly 9 years shorter than they should.

Every year South Asia’s brick kilns spew as much CO₂ as the entire U.S. car fleet. Kilns poison the air that 2 billion people breathe—and kill over 50,000 annually

A new study in Science shows how simple fixes can clean air, cut emissions & improve public health🧵⬇️

Helping NGOs and Funders Make the ‘Big Shift’ to Working With Government (SSIR) The nonprofit sector and its philanthropic supporters still too often overlook the most effective pathway to exponential impact.

What makes an idea go from promising to adopted at scale?

Spoiler: It’s not just research evidence or funding.

This article breaks down why government capability and public partnership matter for real-world impact. ssir.org/articles/ent...

Public Solutions Jobs This website is a curated list of research, civic tech, data analytics, and policy positions at universities, nonprofits, and state and local governments.

Looking for a new role related to research, civic tech, data analytics, or policy?

Visit this curated list of open positions Tobin Center built along w/ @stanfordimpactlabs.bsky.social @j-palna.bsky.social & many others.

Browse jobs or submit a job listing here
www.publicsolutionsjobs.org

✴️ REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS! ✴️ @navigation.org is seeking bold projects at the intersection of AI and Open Science. We support innovative applications that make science more transparent, efficient, and trustworthy. Deadline: July 15, 2025. os.nav.fund/ai-for-os/ #openscience #AIforScience