Cognitive (neuro)scientist studying language @ UCLA Psych (http://BlankLangLab.com). Views are my own. He/Him. RT ≠ endorsement. 🏳️‍🌈https://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3mgpkulygts2eEvidence against syntactic encapsulation in large language models https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cogs.7018710 Mar 2026 14:19 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgpkulygts2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3lnv5xwvmc22qExplaining “viewpoint diversity”, a senior faculty told me—a gay person—that if we don’t hire people who oppose living near gay people, we’ll never hire from countries where most people oppose gay rights, and that’s discrimination. How am I supposed to handle that?28 Apr 2025 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnv5xwvmc22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3lnqxgak5jk26Does training LLMs on word prediction result in human-like representation of thematic roles? Work by @josephdenning.bsky.social, Hannah Guo, and Bryor Snefjella who is no longer with us https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.1688427 Apr 2025 00:06 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnqxgak5jk26https://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kgyo2m4t3n27My first post-doc, Bryor Snefjella, unexpectedly passed away last year. Before leaving the lab, he drew some punny sketches on the whiteboard. To commemorate him, I asked undergrad Faustine Wang to turn them into a poster, which we hung in the lab today. Rest in peace, friend.20 Dec 2023 18:18 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kgyo2m4t3n27https://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kfvo4pxnlp2pMe applying for grants. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0dsh9fLMO5/06 Dec 2023 20:16 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kfvo4pxnlp2phttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kds2des46l23A video shows UCLA pro-Palestenian protestors hitting and punching a piñata of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. I despise that man, and yet... this is unacceptable.09 Nov 2023 22:53 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kds2des46l23https://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kdpb5vf6gp2xMac email search is the WORST system I've encountered. Can't even do simple string match.08 Nov 2023 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kdpb5vf6gp2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kclz2wjalh2gGraduate programs: when you send faculty a link to upload rec letters please state the deadline in the email. Why do I even have to say this.25 Oct 2023 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kclz2wjalh2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kax6uihfw32cExcited to share with you a conversation that I had with Justine Boone on his podcast #LivingUntitled, about the relationship between language and thinking in humans and AI. Available on Apple / Google Podcasts and Spotify! www.livinguntitled.com #UntitledFuture04 Oct 2023 19:42 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kax6uihfw32chttps://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kav7ft27hn26The pushback my colleagues and I get when proposing *any* small EDI-related action (not to mention big actions)... Why is everything a battle and why do we invoke fake "complexities" to challenge new ideas but never to question the status quo.04 Oct 2023 00:46 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kav7ft27hn26https://bsky.app/profile/ibandlank.bsky.social/post/3kafby24syj2xGoing up for tenure as Spare Human for the cat. Pray for me.27 Sep 2023 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:qvb2pnncyfbuj7yj4g3ttden/app.bsky.feed.post/3kafby24syj2x