The hottest Safety Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Ensuring pedestrian and cyclist safety

The Third Place • 79 implied HN points • 20 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Safety Education Design
  1. Pedestrian and cyclist safety is crucial at intersections and on roads, requiring better design and clear separation of paths for different users.
  2. Educating drivers on their responsibilities and encouraging alternative transportation can greatly improve road safety and inclusivity for all users.
  3. Implementing tactical urbanism concepts, such as redesigning street layouts and providing amenities, can transform public spaces to be more vibrant, safe, and accessible for everyone.

Inside an averted school shooting plot

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 39 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🚌 Education Safety Schools Security Students Incidents
  1. A 14-year-old student in Ohio was arrested for planning a school shooting, targeting specific students and involving anesthetic gases.
  2. The plot involved coordination with an adult in Colorado Springs, highlighting the complex nature of the planned attack.
  3. Despite the detailed planning of this attack, the student was reported, emphasizing the importance of alertness and communication in preventing such incidents.

Deliberate Dysentery

Asimov Press • 96 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Medical Research Ethics Safety Vaccines Infectious Diseases
  1. Human challenge trials have been used for centuries to deliberately infect individuals with pathogens for research purposes, such as testing vaccines and treatments.
  2. The rising popularity of challenge trials can be attributed to ethical reforms, development of solid challenge models, and the ability to safely and effectively test vaccines for various diseases.
  3. Challenge trials have drawbacks, including recruitment challenges, underpayment of participants, and difficulty in quantifying overall impact.

More than half of River Murray boaties break the rules, crackdown suggests

Murray Bridge News • 39 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
📰 News Safety Compliance Regulations Australia
  1. More than half of River Murray boat users broke rules during an Australia Day long weekend blitz by Marine Safety SA.
  2. Violations included speeding, not carrying safety gear, getting too close to swimmers, and boating without a license.
  3. Marine Safety SA stopped and warned/fined roughly 800 boats across River Murray during the weekend.
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Draft Release Pamphlet for Comments

Gordian Knot News • 95 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🏥 Health Politics Safety Medical care Regulation
  1. The Gordian Knot Group is seeking help from the community for feedback on a release package for radiation emergencies.
  2. The package includes safety items like dosimeters, N95 masks, and potassium-iodide pills, along with informational pamphlets.
  3. Feedback on the draft pamphlet and the need for an illustrator is requested, with incentive for compensation and recognition.

Training armed teachers for real-world school shooting scenarios

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 39 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🚌 Education Training Safety Prevention Ethics Psychology
  1. Teachers need formal training and practice to effectively handle real-world school shooting scenarios.
  2. Armed teachers must undergo specialized training in areas like firing at moving targets, room clearing, door breaching, counter sniper tactics, etc.
  3. Consequences of lacking proper training for armed teachers can result in deadly outcomes, such as shooting the wrong person or escalating hostage situations.

Undoing RLHF, prompt injection, and the brittle limits of moderating LLMs

Democratizing Automation • 126 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🕹 Technology AI Safety Moderation Fine-tuning Cybersecurity
  1. Recent papers challenge the need for safety filters on open LLM weights, suggesting regular releases of parameters.
  2. Fine-tuning LLM safety can be bypassed with minimal supervised examples, raising concerns about robustness.
  3. Moderation in LLMs relates to liability, with Meta emphasizing safety filters in their models, while OpenAI faces challenges due to fine-tuning access.

America's Downfall

Diane Francis • 479 implied HN points • 01 Jul 21
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Regulation Governance Safety Public Policy
  1. Many old buildings in Florida are in bad shape and might be abandoned. This is because owners often don’t spend money on repairs or safety measures.
  2. The lack of building regulations in Florida and across America can lead to dangerous situations. Regular inspections and maintenance are important to keep people safe.
  3. Deregulation in various industries has caused serious problems in America, like financial crises and safety issues. People need to understand that regulations can help protect them.

What the “Casual Cruelty” of Dr. Paul Offit Reveals

Injecting Freedom • 137 implied HN points • 03 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Vaccines Childhood Clinical Trials Safety Informed consent
  1. Dr. Paul Offit's article raises concerns about vaccine clinical trials and the lack of placebo controls.
  2. There is a debate about the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines and the importance of proper clinical trials.
  3. The ethical considerations of vaccine trials and the need for valid safety profiles are highlighted.

August 2023 safety news: Universal attacks, Influence functions, Problems with RLHF

AI safety takes • 58 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI Safety Research Scaling Ethics
  1. Understanding the origin of dangerous behavior in AI models can lead to training safer AI through the use of influence functions.
  2. Gradient-based attacks have become effective in breaking into language models and can even transfer between different models.
  3. Evaluating moral beliefs encoded in large language models can reveal inconsistencies and uncertainties, with safety-tuned models showing stronger preferences.

Train Derailment

The Polymerist • 249 implied HN points • 21 Feb 23
🔬 Science Chemicals Regulation Safety Environment Economy
  1. Train derailments involving hazardous chemicals occur frequently and pose significant risks to communities.
  2. Enforcement of regulations by agencies like the EPA and DOT is crucial for preventing future incidents.
  3. Long-term solutions to reduce these incidents may require shifting towards safer, more sustainable practices in the chemical industry.

The AI Safety Tug of War

The AI Interpreter • 1 HN point • 30 Aug 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Legislation Technology Regulation Safety AI Policy
  1. California's new AI safety bill focuses on preventing major disasters caused by powerful AIs. It highlights the balance between safety and technological progress.
  2. The bill requires developers of high-cost AIs to publish safety plans and undergo regular audits, ensuring they test their AIs for potential risks.
  3. Developers can face penalties if their AIs cause harm and they didn't follow safety protocols, but the bill aims to keep AI innovation alive without excessive restrictions.

Every shooting at a school in February 2024

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 19 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
📰 News Violence Safety Education
  1. The number of school shooting incidents in February 2024 highlight the importance of addressing threats seriously and implementing effective prevention measures.
  2. Shootings in schools during February 2024 occurred at various locations, emphasizing the need for safety plans throughout the entire day, not just during classroom hours.
  3. The decreasing trend in swatting incidents in February 2024, compared to previous years, showcases the potential impact of arrests on reducing such dangerous behaviors.

Kids and AI

Technically Optimistic • 39 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Privacy Regulation Education Safety
  1. Protecting children from online risks should be approached both from a risk-based and a rights-based perspective.
  2. Involving children in conversations about digital spaces, educating them about AI, and designing products with child safety in mind are key steps to safeguarding their well-being in the digital world.
  3. Children's rights in the digital age, including non-discrimination, best interests, survival and development, and respect for their views, need to be prioritized in the design and regulation of technology.

To Pause or Not to Pause, that is the Question.

The Cognitive Revolution • 39 implied HN points • 05 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Innovation Safety Development
  1. The Open Letter from The Future of Life Institute urges AI labs to pause for at least six months in training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 to develop safety standards.
  2. Different experts have varying perspectives on the necessity and benefits of pausing AI development, with concerns about potential risks of superhuman intelligence.
  3. There is caution and optimism regarding the deployment and potential dangers of scaling GPT-4, emphasizing the need for extreme caution and consideration of risks and benefits.

Europe India Trip: Day 17 - Fjellstova to GierangerFjord & back [Apr 29, 2023]

Pocha Life's Learnings • 39 implied HN points • 03 May 23
🏝 Travel Adventure Exploration Tourism Photography Safety
  1. The trip included a ride from Fjellstova to Gierangerfjord and back, meeting bikers and experiencing snow.
  2. The Fjellstova bathrooms were a notable attraction due to cleanliness and music-playing mirrors.
  3. Encountered challenging weather conditions like rain and snow, facing issues with visibility and warm tunnels.

A Radical Approach to Handle Your Mistakes

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
💼 Business Management Innovation Safety Aerospace Organizational Behavior
  1. Volunteering mistakes can lead to safety improvements. In aviation, encouraging staff to report errors has made flying much safer over the years.
  2. Boeing's decline from an innovator to a company facing serious issues shows the consequences of neglecting quality and safety.
  3. The airline industry adopted new practices that prioritized transparency, leading to a safer environment for both passengers and employees.

Gnashing My Teeth and Chewing on Painkillers

The Radar • 39 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Safety Workplace Leadership Physical health
  1. Reflect on past mistakes to learn and improve from them. A moment of stupidity can lead to a lifetime of reflection.
  2. Promote safety consciousness and effective leadership to prevent incidents. Creating a safe environment is crucial for successful leadership.
  3. Design work areas to prioritize safety, minimize risks, and support employees. Safety requires constant evaluation and improvement in work conditions.

Manufacturing Jobs Might Come Back: Safer and Fair? Not Clear

Gad’s Newsletter • 38 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
💼 Business Manufacturing Jobs Wages Productivity Safety
  1. Manufacturing jobs in the US are seeing an increase in employment due to domestic production efforts and legislation like the Chips Act.
  2. Wage fairness and safety remain concerns in the manufacturing industry, despite some improvements over time.
  3. Enhancing productivity and improving worker conditions must go hand in hand for sustainable progress in the manufacturing sector.

Which mRNA vaccine is safer?

Steve Kirsch's newsletter • 5 implied HN points • 10 Jan 25
🏥 Health Politics Vaccines Public Health Safety Data Analysis Policy
  1. The Moderna vaccine might be riskier than the Pfizer vaccine based on some studies, suggesting it has a higher chance of serious side effects.
  2. Recent information indicates that the safety comparison between the two vaccines might not be as clear as previously thought.
  3. Being updated with new data is important for anyone who may help others decide which vaccine to take.

Why do confounders always work to make the COVID vaccines look unsafe? I asked an expert!

Steve Kirsch's newsletter • 11 implied HN points • 15 Oct 24
🏥 Health Politics Vaccines Safety Data Analysis Public Health Research
  1. Confounders are factors that can distort data, making vaccines seem unsafe, but they should affect results randomly. It raises questions about why they only appear to show a negative impact on vaccines.
  2. There is a significant difference in mortality rates between different vaccine brands, suggesting there may be deeper issues like manufacturing defects or distribution biases impacting safety results.
  3. Despite individual observations of negative vaccine effects, people are often told to trust aggregated data from authorities, which can lead to doubts about the reliability of personal experiences and observations.

Brand Safe AI

Addition • 19 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Design Risk mitigation Safety AI Applications
  1. Brand safety in AI is not a one-size-fits-all concept; it varies based on the specific use case and how AI is implemented.
  2. Design decisions play a crucial role in aligning the level of risk in an AI system with what the organization is willing to accept.
  3. Addressing brand safety creatively involves different approaches like incorporating safety checks, narrow use cases, and extensive testing to mitigate risks.

COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness and safety exaggerated in clinical trials & observational studies, academics find

Who is Robert Malone • 15 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Vaccines Clinical Trials Safety Effectiveness
  1. Claims about COVID-19 vaccines' effectiveness and safety were exaggerated in clinical trials and observational studies, impacting risk-benefit analyses.
  2. Observational studies exhibited biases like case-counting window bias, affecting estimates of vaccine effectiveness.
  3. Studies showed issues with safety estimates, short counting windows, and potential negative effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.