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Benjamin Riley

@benjaminjriley.bsky.social

Founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture dedicated to helping people understand human cognition and generative AI. Advocate for humans. Newsletter: https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/

7,219 Followers  |  1,009 Following  |  4,981 Posts  |  Joined: 23.09.2023
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Posts by Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley.bsky.social)

So you *had* something good to celebrate, but you were asking for *more*.

04.03.2026 22:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
MUTINY AFTER MIDNIGHT
YouTube video by Johnny Blue Skies MUTINY AFTER MIDNIGHT

Dope new protest album by Sturgill Simpson & friends just dropped!

youtu.be/QKHGmFvzjJ4?...

04.03.2026 22:27 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Exactly right. Assuming for sake of argument it can be a form of β€œco-intelligence,” it can also be a form of β€œco-delusions.” Ethan Mollick blocked me long ago on here but I wonder if he’s ever grappled with that consequence of his own argument.

04.03.2026 16:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I will DM you. I am glad you’ve alerted me to your work β€” vitally needed.

04.03.2026 16:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, both issues of product safety. But only AI is a threat to mental safety.

04.03.2026 14:30 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Perhaps bring one of these articles with you. There are many. So many.

04.03.2026 14:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

@annamillsoer.bsky.social this is one reason I think you are on a doomed quest to see these companies care about education. They do not care about *life*. They have shipped a product that kills people, quite literally. I hope this calls to your conscience.

04.03.2026 14:24 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

My experience of AI is seeing stories such as this one and crying out, quite literally, "oh no god no," and then sobbing. What are we doing? Why is this not stirring moral outrage? These tools fuel delusions and suicidal ideation and we are just going to...watch it keep happening?

04.03.2026 14:20 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 2

Interesting if harrowing read about the divergent military tactics unfolding in this war. Trying to think of a historical example of one side succeeding through air power alone. Serbia in early 1990s perhaps, but that was a small state with no economic power. Not so Iran. Horrific that we’re here.

04.03.2026 10:19 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

*By β€œporosity” I meant β€œproposition” goodness

04.03.2026 01:41 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I agree for sure on ELLs β€” the whole gen AI technology was borne of language translation β€” and am curious to know more about SPED, lots of variance there.

But not only do teachers have too much on their plate…no one needs to be taught about how to use LLMs! That’s their value porosity, type and go

04.03.2026 00:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Your early posts on AI spurred my direction with Cognitive Resonance, Larry! You broke it you bought it. (Kidding, as the latter)

03.03.2026 23:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@johndownesangus.bsky.social

03.03.2026 13:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"'If you teach that n--- (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.' These words stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom."

-- Frederick Douglass

03.03.2026 13:13 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Radical clerics in charge of the Revolutionary Guard declare jihad upon the enemies of the Supreme Orange Leader.

03.03.2026 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, I think *you* should do that and report back to us.

03.03.2026 08:40 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Indeed I did! Thanks for the pointer

02.03.2026 19:10 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

There's a lot to hate about Having a Dragon In Your House. But what if there was a way to Have a Dragon In Your House? Our new free course Dragons Can Be Couches will show you practical ways to work with dragons -- without being eaten, losing your family and home, or perishing in a huge fire.

02.03.2026 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

I am re-reading Hellen Keller's autobiography and, once again, I am struck by the how the entirety of the human conscious experience, the independence of language from thought yet also the vital symbiotic relationship between them, is summed in her story. It moves me so deeply I can barely breathe.

02.03.2026 16:55 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Tuttle Twins Learn Incredibly Wrong History Lessons The libertarian propaganda series is back and worse than ever.

Last week, I shared my daughter (age 9) casually dropped a Thomas Sowell reference in conversation. As I suspected, it’s because she’s watching Tuttle Twins, libertarian cartoons funded by (yep) the Koch network.

Dad is now teaching her about β€œpropaganda.”

www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-tut...

02.03.2026 14:47 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I guess I’d be more confident in the pedagogy of this β€œnewsletter course” on β€œmindfully” using AI if, within the first five minutes of reading, it did not quote Ethan Mollick saying exactly the same thing twice.

@theguardian.com, I’m available for β€œmindful editing”! But I am a human, sorry.

02.03.2026 14:15 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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In pursuit of Cognitive Solidarity Guest post by Pip Sanderson, National Institute of Teaching (England)

"What durable knowledge and habits can teachers draw on as technologies change faster than curricula ever can?

And how do we replace what can feel like cognitive anarchy with something closer to cognitive solidarity?"
- @pipsanderson.bsky.social

02.03.2026 12:36 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Indeed, oops. Deleted so that other Eliot doesn’t get confused hahaha.

02.03.2026 10:21 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Isn’t it though? Eloquent, yet grounded in the practical challenge we face. Thanks for reading and pointing @naomialderman.bsky.social here.

02.03.2026 08:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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In pursuit of Cognitive Solidarity Guest post by Pip Sanderson, National Institute of Teaching (England)

"This is a crisis of epistemic infrastructure. If schools are to build positive cultures in this digital world, we have to start with how information actually functions in social groups: how identity, relationships, and status shape what young people trust and share."
- @pipsanderson.bsky.social

02.03.2026 07:39 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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How Talks Between Anthropic and the Defense Dept. Fell Apart

It's hard not to read this story and conclude that every single person and entity involved is moronic. The US government is in the hands of facist morons, and the Big Tech companies producing AI tools are led by delusional or self-serving morons.

We are in a very dangerous place.

02.03.2026 01:24 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

It’s madness to me. Check Dylan’s posts, written before 404 blew open the bullshit. Even if we take their results at face value β€” which we should not β€” it ain’t the tech that’s responsible.

01.03.2026 20:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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More Everything Forever, MORE MORE MORE! My interview with scientist-turned-author Adam Becker

If you haven’t had your fill of @adambecker.bsky.social β€” and how could you, really β€” he swung by my Substack for an interview last year:

open.substack.com/pub/buildcog...

01.03.2026 20:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Have you seen the 404 story and/or @dylanpkane.bsky.social recent posts?

01.03.2026 20:52 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I asked AI to shorten you

01.03.2026 18:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0