The Aporia · Open Thread 455

This article presents an open thread for discussion on various topics related to the ACX community, which includes a subreddit, Discord server, bulletin board, and in-person meetups globally. It highlights three main updates: a rescheduled meetup at Stanford EA from October 13 to October 25, a donation match offer by Legal Impact For Chickens until October 31, and an AI alignment research seminar in Portugal with free attendance and travel coverage plus a $1000 stipend for participants.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Story summary

Astral Codex Ten published an open thread where readers can discuss various topics, including updates from different communities and organizations. The Stanford Effective Altruism group has rescheduled their meetup from October 13 to October 25. Additionally, Legal Impact For Chickens, an ACX grantee working on legal protections for chickens, is offering a 1:1 donation match for contributions above $25 until the end of October. Meanwhile, AI alignment research group AFFINE is inviting applications for their seminar and full-time residency program in Portugal from January 4 to January 29; participants will receive free accommodation, travel expenses covered, and a stipend of $1000. Participants are advised to understand the benefits and drawbacks of researching within the “agent foundations” paradigm before applying.

Written for “Open Thread Discussion” on 2026-10-13, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Open Thread Discussion

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Open Thread different event

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⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 no claims extracted 📰 publisher trust 66

“The articles are open threads from different dates and do not describe the same specific incident.”

Astral Codex Ten · 52 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected

No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Scott Alexander

45 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 [This is one of the finalists in the 2026 book review contest, written by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done.

2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Your Book Review: We Present Television

🔮 When I objected that maybe we should wait for you to accept before figuring out details, they all said great, that’s absolutely right, they would contact you right away.

2026-10-06 · assertive framing · An Open Letter To Steven Pinker On AI

🔮 I’m pretty busy and will try to make up for it after that changes.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Open Thread 454

🔮 My wife and I could make healthy embryos, but none of the transfers were sticking.

2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Our AI Midwife

🔮 The challenger in that race, Jamie Joyce, contacted me and asked me to change my mind (both candidates will be facing off again in the general election).

2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Open Thread 453

🔮 [This is one of the finalists in the 2026 book review contest, written by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Your Book Review: Lee Kuan Yew's Memoirs

🔮 In the public debates after the release of AI 2027, some people accused us of misleading readers by positing “neuralese recurrence”, a hypothetical technology that would allow AIs to think dangerous thoughts without getting detected.

2026-09-24 · assertive framing · The Specter Of Neuralese

🔮 If you trained an AI to give the 19th-century names for birds (eg identify the American Pipit by its 19th-century name “Brown Titlark”), then the AI would behave like a 19th-century person in general (for example, assert that a woman’s proper place is in the home).

2026-09-23 · assertive framing · Mysteries Of AI Generalization

🔮 1: Josh Morrison, who wrote the guest post about how AI Superforecasting Will Transform The FDA, will be doing a panel on the subject with former FDA employee Adam Kroetsch in SF on October 1.

2026-09-21 · assertive framing · Open Thread 452

🔮 [This is one of the finalists in the 2026 book review contest, written by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done.

2026-09-18 · assertive framing · Your Book Review: This Is Going To Hurt

Also by Scott Alexander

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2026-10-10 · Astral Codex Ten

An Open Letter To Steven Pinker On AI

2026-10-06 · Astral Codex Ten

Open Thread 454

2026-10-05 · Astral Codex Ten

Our AI Midwife

2026-10-02 · Astral Codex Ten

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 45 articles by Scott Alexander →

ACX AFFINE Discord Legal Impact For Chickens Stanford EA

ACX ORG · 2× AFFINE ORG · 2× Discord ORG · 1× Legal Impact For Chickens ORG · 1× Portugal GPE · 1× Stanford EA ORG · 1×

AFFINE works within the “agent foundations” paradigm; I recommend having a good understanding of the pros and cons of doing research within this school before applying.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13

2026-10-13 · Astral Codex Ten

Open Thread 455 · assertive framing

Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. asserted

you → post → questions

ACX has an unofficial subreddit, Discord, and bulletin board, and in-person meetups around the world. asserted

ACX → have → world

Most content is free, some is subscriber only; you can subscribe here. asserted

you → subscribe → ?

Stanford EA is changing from October 13 to October 25 asserted

EA → change → October

. 2: ACX grantee Legal Impact For Chickens announces that they have a 1:1 donation match available for donations above $25 until October 31. 3: asserted

they → announce → October

AI alignment research group AFFINE is holding another seminar/full-time residency January 4 - 29 in Portugal. asserted

AFFINE → hold → Portugal

Attendance is free, travel costs are covered, and there is a $1000 stipend. asserted

costs → cover → ?

AFFINE works within the “agent foundations” paradigm; I recommend having a good understanding of the pros and cons of doing research within this school before applying. asserted

I → work → school

Open Thread 455

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