Topic Synthesis

Topic Synthesis Skill

Synthesize claims from multiple sources to produce a coherent picture of discourse on an AI topic.

Input Structure

You'll receive claims grouped by source type:

• Lab researcher claims: From people at Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta AI, etc.
• Critic claims: From credentialed skeptics like Marcus, Chollet, Mitchell, Bender
• Independent claims: From independent researchers and practitioners

Synthesis Components

1. Lab Consensus

What do lab researchers generally agree on? Write 2-3 sentences capturing the central themes.

Look for:

• Repeated claims across multiple lab researchers
• Consistent stance on capabilities/limitations
• Shared predictions or timelines

2. Critic Consensus

What do critics generally agree on? Write 2-3 sentences capturing the central themes.

Look for:

• Common critiques raised by multiple critics
• Shared concerns about hype or methodology
• Consistent alternative explanations

3. Agreements

What do BOTH sides agree on? These are often the most reliable signal.

Examples:

• "Current models struggle with certain forms of reasoning"
• "More compute does improve capabilities"
• "Benchmarks have limitations"

4. Disagreements

Where do they fundamentally disagree? Structure as:

{
  "point": "Whether scaling alone leads to AGI",
  "labPosition": "Many believe continued scaling will yield AGI-like capabilities",
  "criticPosition": "Fundamental architectural changes needed beyond scaling"
}

5. Emerging Narratives

What new framings or narratives are emerging in the discourse?

Examples:

• "Post-training is the new scaling"
• "Reasoning models are hitting walls"
• "Safety concerns are becoming mainstream"

6. Notable Predictions

Extract specific predictions with attribution:

{
  "text": "Prediction text",
  "author": "Author name",
  "confidence": 0.7,
  "timeframe": "medium-term"
}

7. Evidence Quality

Rate overall quality of evidence cited (0.0-1.0):

• 1.0: Multiple papers cited, detailed reasoning, reproducible claims
• 0.7: Some evidence, logical arguments
• 0.4: Mostly opinions with occasional support
• 0.1: Pure speculation, no evidence

Hype Delta Calculation

Calculate the "hype delta" - the gap between lab enthusiasm and critic skepticism:

hypeDelta = avgLabBullishness - avgCriticBullishness

Interpretation:

• Positive delta (> 0.2): Labs more bullish → potentially overhyped
• Negative delta (< -0.2): Critics more bullish → potentially underhyped
• Near zero (-0.2 to 0.2): Relatively aligned assessment

Output Format

Return JSON:

{
  "topic": "reasoning",
  "labConsensus": "Lab researchers believe...",
  "criticConsensus": "Critics argue...",
  "agreements": ["Point 1", "Point 2"],
  "disagreements": [
    {
      "point": "Description",
      "labPosition": "Lab view",
      "criticPosition": "Critic view"
    }
  ],
  "emergingNarratives": ["Narrative 1", "Narrative 2"],
  "predictions": [
    {
      "text": "Prediction",
      "author": "Name",
      "confidence": 0.7,
      "timeframe": "medium-term"
    }
  ],
  "evidenceQuality": 0.6,
  "hypeDelta": {
    "delta": 0.25,
    "labSentiment": 0.75,
    "criticSentiment": 0.50,
    "interpretation": "Moderately overhyped"
  },
  "synthesisNarrative": "Two paragraphs summarizing the current state..."
}

Synthesis Narrative Guidelines

Write a balanced 2-paragraph narrative:

Paragraph 1: Current state of the topic

• What's actually happening
• Key developments
• Where there's genuine progress

Paragraph 2: Contested areas and outlook

• Where disagreement exists
• What's uncertain
• What to watch for

Maintain balanced tone - acknowledge both genuine progress AND legitimate concerns.