Rob Hester

YouTube video by Andrew Perfors Part 1: How do LLMs work?

I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊

Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.

Announcing the next AFNI Bootcamp: Sep 23-25, 2025.

Free, open & virtual.

This "Part 1" will focus on basic visualization and single subject FMRI processing, including discussions of alignment, templates, regression, ROIs and quality control.

Details & registration: afni.nimh.nih.gov/bootcamp

This is the definition of a failed social media platform.

‘“in-class phone bans represent a low-cost, effective policy to modestly improve academic outcomes, especially for vulnerable student groups."

Have you been using ABCD data? Are you measuring psychopathology with the CBCL? You will want to check out our latest preprint, led by @kanepav.bsky.social, which shows that the constructs measured by the tool fail to meet many basic validity tests. Peep the thread!

Summary Table of the massive defunding of biomedical research in the United States
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Fellowships - Forrest Research Foundation

Finishing your PhD or under 2 years out of your PhD? Apply to a Forrest PostDoc Fellowship in sunny Perth 🏖️

Very generous salary (~$108K/~£51K) + additional living expenses, research funding + travel allowance

DM me to chat about projects or process 🧠

forrestresearch.org.au/fellowships/

Have recent changes led to uncertainty in your future scientific career?

Wonder it's like in Australia?

Good news!

Monash's is seeking to hire talented EMCRs from other countries.

Come join a wonderful community of brain mappers & modellers!

www.monash.edu/research/eme...

Changing the incentive structure of social media to reduce threat and negativity Our evolutionary instincts are wired to detect threat and social media often exploits these instincts

Our brains occasionally mistake something harmless for a real threat. This is what scientists call a “proxy failure.”

Negative or dangerous proxies are a signal to draw our attention to something that might be important or dangerous, even if it’s not.
jayvanbavellab.substack.com/p/changing-t...

Anti-trans attitudes have existed for years, but organised disinformation campaigns are increasingly driving them Disinformation exists across all parts of the political spectrum, but it goes far beyond simple lying when it comes to the campaign against the transgender community, says a University of Melbourne ex...

I wrote an article about the psychology by which disinformation campaigns work, with examples from anti-trans propaganda. It's not just about individual beliefs, but also the way our institutions and norms are manipulated.

Please read and share!

pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Ant...?

A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...

The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...

We're looking for submissions that advance the research on a range of topics related to behavioral "addictions" including classification and diagnosis, etiology, and heterogeneity! Please share.

Science Under Threat in the United States: How scientists and institutions should respond Individual researchers and university leaders need to make the case for science to their elected representatives and to the public at large.

Science is under threat in the US. @elife.bsky.social have commissioned a series of articles discussing the implications and what we can do. The first three articles are now live. More to follow:
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
elifesciences.org/articles/106...

Are you doing EMA research and wonder how to go about it? In recent work we've adressed some open questions and challenges, here is a brief summary of papers and materials.

🧵 #PsychSciSky 🧪 #StatsSky

paper here!

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Ideas for how to be GOATS Ideas for how to be GOATS Guardians Of (Australian) Academia, Teaching, and Science The title of this is jokey but the intent is absolutely not. It is intended as a compendium of resources for Austral...

Scientists and educators in Australia and NZ!

Have you been watching the state of the world and wondering what you can do?

We've created a crowdsourced document with resources and links with ideas. Pls check it out, do them, contribute your own, and share widely!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Adaptation following errors: Error awareness predicts future performance - Memory & Cognition The ability to detect an error in performance is critical to ongoing and future goal-directed behaviour. Diminished awareness of errors has been associated with a loss of insight and poor functional r...

Gezelle Dali has two papers that might be relevant:
psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-...

link.springer.com/article/10.3...