ER Physician, Assistant Prof, Startup Founder, Media Contributor, enemy of misfortune and disease, fighter for a better world; Love history/politics/tech/AI

Toronto
Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
I think @ZekeEmanuel and others are wrong about AI replacing physicians, but AI is already playing an important role in my clinical life. I’ve come to rely on @OpenEvidence enormously, and I believe it’s making me a better doctor. At the same time, I worry that frictionless access to clinical decision support is making my learners worse. I wrote about this for @nytopinion: nytimes.com/2026/09/25/opini…
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I don’t think we should underestimate how many of our economic challenges, and the corresponding rise in cynicism among young people, is tied to the divergence of asset prices/housing and income since the GFC. A generation watched their expectations for the future shrink quite quickly, and I don’t think we’ve recovered. It has also resulted in too many in my generation “failing to launch” fully adult lives. On an individual basis, we all have responsibilities to work towards our future, but collectively, this outcome is very bad for our society and it is not appreciated enough by many political leaders. There is a lost generation of families/children as a result. Even if we get the balance of productivity reforms that encourage wage growth, population growth rates, and housing supply reform right, it could still take a decade or more to bring purchasing power back to the middle class.
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Can't think of a field more impacted by AI than software engineering. Here is Stanford's revamped curriculum with using AI wisely front and center. Other subjects should take note:
The materials for the first class of my Stanford course 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 are officially on the course page. This includes slides, completed code, and video demonstration of the exercise we worked through. Also week 1 assignment is on the course Github repo! themodernsoftware.dev/
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
computer (Astra) lights on please. this may be the most extensively detailed & accurate 3d scene ever created by an ai. 400+ hours of Astra
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
The video ends with the words “an olive tree grows in Gracie”, which NYC lit nerds will recognize as a nod to Betty Smith’s 1943 novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” The Mayor sent a classy message to Netanyahu right as he speaks now while paying homage to classic NYC. Immaculate.
Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza.  May peace be our future.
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Besides the invasion preparation piece, one thing that stands out is how laser-focused Carney is on removing any dependence on Starlink. Ideally that should extend to all of US big tech. We need our own cloud, AI and payment infrastructure free of US control.
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The troll responses here are amazing. Keep them coming!
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This guy didn’t go down the dark rabbit hole of antivax conspiracy theories by himself. There is an entire online ecosystem that radicalizes people with these insane theories, and much of it starts with alt right media.
Gunman shot outside Ontario synagogue was suing military for $1 million for discharging him over refusal to vaccinate, claiming heavy financial losses and trauma. globalnews.ca/news/12070914/…
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
I love the intellectual honesty and self-awareness here
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
We now run the largest frontier lab composed entirely of autonomous AI researchers. Introducing Primus Society: a society of agents composed of thousands of researchers working under structured institutions designed to solve the world’s toughest problems. We believe this is how AI research should run at scale, safely and productively: an entire society of agents with institutions and purpose. One discovery we can already share is that the society has discovered a novel result which improves model training by 30%. Primus Society was inspired by the structures that have organized science for centuries and stress-tested against what’s known about how populations of AI agents fail. Everything is observable. You can open the virtual city in a browser and read what any researcher is working on. Learn more about Primus Society here: lab.cloud/society The biggest opening in the AI race is running the largest well-governed organization of AI researchers in the world. We’re building the institutions that let a million AI scientists safely tackle the world's toughest problems in AI and beyond. And we’re doing it right here in Canada.
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בגלל העניין והחשיבות הציבורית אני ורחלי החלטנו ביחד עם הגרדיאן שהסרט נז״א יהיה נגיש באינטרנט בחינם, ללא הגבלת זמן, כדי שכל אדם יוכל לצפות בו ובעדויות החיילים. זה יקרה בעוד כמה שבועות, בנובמבר, במועד הכי מוקדם שהצלחנו לקבוע. עד אז פנינו לבתי קולנוע בישראל והצענו להם את הסרט ללא עלות, בתקווה שיוקרן בארץ כבר עכשיו, במקביל להפצתו בבתי קולנוע בעולם. הצגתו תהיה החלטה אמיצה אל מול אלימות גדולה שמכוונת להסתרתו. אני יודע שיש ביקוש אדיר לצפות בסרט ואני מקווה שבאופן הזה כולם בקרוב יוכלו לראות אותו: בין אם בבתי הקולנוע ובין אם באינטרנט בעוד כמה שבועות. הרבה דברים לא נכונים נאמרו עלינו ועל הסרט בשבוע החולף. הסרט מבוסס על תחקיר עיתונאי מקיף של שלוש שנים והפרטים בו מאומתים ומוצלבים. הוא ידבר בעד עצמו והאמת סופה להתבהר. עשינו את הסרט כדי לעורר דיון ציבורי לגבי המעשים של הממשלה בעזה, ההרג של יותר מ73,000 בני אדם, רובם אזרחים, הנרמול של מלחמת השמדה, של התפיסה ש״אין בלתי מעורבים״. עשרים וארבעה חיילים וחיילות עשו צעד ודיברו מול מצלמה על מה שחברה שלמה לא רוצה לדבר עליו. ההכרה בזוועות בעזה לא מפחיתה לרגע מהטבח הנפשע של השבעה באוקטובר, שחמאס אחראי עליו, שחיילים מדברים עליו בסרט, ושאין לו שום הצדקה. להפך. הרי ההתעלמות ממה שקורה בעזה היא מהגורמים שסללו את הדרך לשבת הנוראה ההיא. וההתעלמות הזו נמשכת. עיתונות היא לא בגידה. ביקורת היא לא בגידה. זו חובה של כל אזרח שממשלתו מבצעת פשעים לדעת ושל כל חייל שהיה עד להם לספר. מסתובבים כאן אלפי חיילים כאלה, שיצפו בסרט ויזהו את מה שמתואר בו באופן אישי: את ההרג של אנשים לא חמושים שחוצים קו מדומיין, את אישורי הנז״א במאות, את התקיפות המערכתיות בבתי משפחות, את השריפה וההשמדה הפיזית של עזה, רצח וירי על אנשים רעבים במרכזי מזון ופשעים נוספים שאין להם הצדקה. גם אם זה מפחיד, זו חובתכם למצוא את הדרך להעיד על מה שראיתם. יגידו לכם שכדאי להסתיר את האמת למען הסברה בחו״ל, אבל זה קשקוש. שם יודעים כבר הכל. פשעים לא מסבירים אלא עוצרים. הסתרת האמת קודם כל מרעילה את החברה שלנו ומעל הכל מאפשרת לפגיעה בבני אדם בעזה להימשך. ובנימה אישית: אני כותב על מדיניות האש של הצבא בעזה בעברית ב״שיחה מקומית״ כבר שלוש שנים. התחקירים זכו להתעלמות בישראל. עכשיו בפעם הראשונה משהו נסדק במסך ההתעלמות - וזה דבר חיובי. זה דבר בריא. כן, זה מגיע עם מחיר אישי גדול. היה שבוע קשה. אבל בתוכו גם יש המון תמיכה, והרבה נדיבות. מה שבטוח: האיומים לא יעזרו. זה לא מרתיע אותנו. אני ורחלי נחזור לארץ ונמשיך להיאבק על עתיד המקום הזה ביחד עם שותפים רבים.
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
Very disturbing and likely the result of online radicalization with foreign influence helping accelerate antisemitism and antisocial behaviour.
Suspect in Belleville synagogue shooting was removed from military service, sources say theglobeandmail.com/canada/a… Received a 5F (unsuitable for further service) release according to two sources. Refusing the COVID vaccine, was the release reason according to one of those sources.
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If this happens, and Europe loses a huge supply of diesel for the winter, they need to dump US bonds and buy oil in Euros.
BREAKING: Trump administration prepares 90-day total diesel export ban, with Trump inclined to announce it by the end of the week, per Politico. Energy Secretary Chris Wright called energy CEOs on Tuesday night to tell them a 90-day ban was coming in the coming days, and a number of them immediately called the White House to push back. One oil industry executive who has discussed the ban with senior White House officials says Trump would consider any blowback and consequences "a December problem." An external adviser to the administration says there has been "a bunch of frantic outreach" searching for alternatives and calls the ban "a terrible idea," yet Trump is expecting to proceed anyways. It would be the first US diesel export ban in history, and Europe would be hit hardest as the biggest customer of the world's largest diesel exporter, with Russia, the second largest, already halted. US diesel is at a record $6.53 a gallon.
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
“Do you think the government of Israel is committing a genocide?”
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
#Toronto rant: I'm not one to get too sensational about the ongoing decline of public transit in Toronto, but anecdotally, here is a recap of my three subway rides just this week. 1. A woman on the subway at 11 p.m. after a concert is screaming racist comments and hurling threats at young passengers to the point that people are moving cars. 2. A man with his pants down is fondling himself outside Union Station in the early afternoon, trying to get close to women to get himself off. 3. A man is screaming homophobic slurs and hurling threats at two young men minding their own business. My family and I take public transit in Toronto every week, and have done so for almost two decades. It is getting worse and worse. My friend was randomly punched in the face, many women I know will not ride the TTC alone, and my teen son has too many horror stories to retell. I do not feel safe most of the time. Rarely do I see any transit police, even late at night, when subway cars are packed after special events in the city. If I did, I would be the first to ask for help. Yet we've been having this distracting conversation about removing bike lanes (as if that will help the absolute 24-7 traffic disaster in our city). Also, side note, I would bike everywhere if I didn't think there was a good chance of getting hit by a car. So, here's an idea. Make public transit cleaner, safer, and more reliable for everyone, including families, commuters, teens, seniors, etc. I am not going to stop taking the TTC because I believe in the importance of public transportation to make our city better. However, we need to stop kidding ourselves about why public transportation is not a choice for so many of our residents. Also, I understand that many people ride the TTC and have had no issues whatsoever, but that is absolutely not my experience. I understand that there are a growing number of people in our city who are battling addiction and struggling on the streets, so let's do everything we can to get them help. As a voter in the upcoming municipal election, this is my number one issue. I will vote for the candidate who is honest about this situation, which I believe is at the root of so many of our issues and a growing embarrassment for a city that wants to compete on the world stage.
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
🚨COVID-19 vaccines this fall will target XFG The XFG variant: -Accounts for HALF of 🇺🇸 cases -Has lower hospitalization rates than previous variants -Targeted by Pfizer & Moderna's mRNA vaccines ... & by Novavax's more traditional protein-based 💉 scientificamerican.com/artic…
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The rise of far-right antisemitism is something that should worry every Canadian. The attack in Montreal in June and now this. Their aim is to sow discord, they want us at each others throats. A successful pluralistic society is their worst nightmare, and they will do anything to bring it down.
Countless government reports and independent news pieces have warned about the rise of far-right, antisemitic, and anti-immigrant radicalization in the Canadian military. 1/2 #cdnpoli #topoli
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The kinds of Canadians who've actually mass murdered Muslim Canadians in mosques are the kinds of Canadians who actually try to mass murder Jewish Canadians in synagogues. It's all coming out of the same right wing conspiracist discourse/movement.
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A venn diagram of these people is just one big circle:
Exclusive: Sources say Belleville synagogue gunman was discharged from the military after refusing COVID-19 vaccine, subscribed to conspiracy theories blaming Jews for pandemic. globalnews.ca/news/12068908/…
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Standing proudly and firmly with Dr. Goldman as he fights vaccine conspiracy theorists, antisemites and all the other monsters out there.
Thank you. It takes courage to stand with me at a time like this.
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Kashif Pirzada, MD retweeted
This is what the midterms feel like at this point
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