💡 The AI: the growing UK pushback report reveals 42% of individuals deliberately limit the amount of AI they use, largely due to privacy and security concerns, including some of those who are positive about AI. Discover the key findings ⬇️

The UK AI pushback: 42% of people are deliberately limiting their AI use and 70% of people think it would be difficult or impossible to avoid being exposed to AI even if they wanted to. New report from us at @kings-dfi.bsky.social : www.kcl.ac.uk/news/over-40...

Some slightly chaotic thoughts about art in the age of AI exploitation. A bit rambling as I'm still trying to close in on a thought here, but hopefully not entirely incoherent. sayyesdono.com/2026/07/09/c...

Same but Different: Burnham & AI sayyesdono.com/2026/07/03/s...

“None of the seven technology companies interviewed by the Guardian said they sought consent directly from workers, instead some stated that permissions were obtained through factory management.”

Wondered what Gemini's outputs for 'beautiful' and 'ugly' would be. Will leave the dissection to your judgement but results are telling.

Next year we need an even worse heat wave, localised entirely on Cannes. Perhaps the most depressing sounding event I've ever read about. www.404media.co/inside-canne...

NEW: Meta paid hundreds of contractors to pretend they were kids—and then prompt rival chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT to talk about subjects like suicide, sex, eating disorders, and self-harm. From @dmehro.bsky.social and @joelkhalili.bsky.social

This is a very small thing (literally and concept wise) but I've thrown together a mini zine with some little thoughts on resisting AI. Available online or you can print out your own and do a little folding to have your own copy... sayyesdono.com/2026/06/30/s...

The Haagen Dazs CEO who says ice cream is the future of breakfast.

Shifting language around 'AI' and especially LLMs is definitely a good step to take. Get the feeling that shift will be more organic than prescribed but it's always good to have a trigger to start exploring what words might work for you. buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...

From 'Catastrophic Computation. On the Impossibility of Sustainable Artificial Intelligence' by Rainer Rehak. A nicely framed explanation of data as valorised barrier to action.

This is by no means a comprehensive guide, more just the choices I've made (and continue to make) in switching away from the worst and most invasive of big tech platforms. sayyesdono.com/big-tech-alt...

Trump Tariffs in Defence of Big Tech: Whose battle is it? sayyesdono.com/2026/06/28/t...

Good moment to recommend 'The Circle' by Dave Eggers, a work of fiction which paints exactly the same picture only with better writing than a tech CEO could ever manage. And none of the creepy enthusiasm from the author. techcrunch.com/2026/06/26/x...

The Perils of Speaking Softly: Attacks on AI Resistance sayyesdono.com/2026/06/27/t...

The 'Internet of Things' consumer model didn't do all that well so if people are bored by a networked fridge I'm not sure they'll be keen on Meta watching them shit tbh.

Folks acting like America isn’t walking around with the heavyweight belt in this category should probably take a good look around.

If I had JD Vance lingering about the place I too would want a firearm handy.

My productivity is entirely tied to whether the cat sits in my chair. He has done, so that's me screwed for the day.

AOC just introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, which bans the construction of data centers until Congress addresses all impacts of AI on our society and planet.

AI Marketing: Snake Oil Don't Sell Like it Used To sayyesdono.com/2026/06/26/a...

What is it about big tech that drives people to talk so much bollocks?

Having done a fair bit of outdoor work, fortunately more standing than full on manual, my heart goes out to those still working now. I've seen people go down from just standing in far less heat than this so this must be wrecking people.

Whatever you do, don’t plant lots and lots and lots of bamboo 🎋🎍 very very very close to as many data centers as you can find. It will damage foundations, wrap around underground cooling pipes, and cause severe facility damage.

Context is King: Reflections on Resistance sayyesdono.com/2026/06/22/c...

Andy Burnham has, apparently, been calling for more regulation of tech. That's a pretty nebulous pitch in itself and I've not found any real detail beyond the headline though. And tbh I find it hard to imagine a man so immediately at peace with the party machine going hard against the tech companies

Starmer's AI legacy, much like the man himself, is pretty much hollow. A failed attempt at an absurd opt out system, a kneejerk social media ban which failed to engage with AI at all, bland rhetoric about 'AI sovereignty' which translated as pandering to US tech companies and buzzword futurism.

I joined Extinction Rebellion for a talk about resisting AI last week, you can check it out here... First half is mostly Sam, so worth checking out if you're interested in banking options, second half is anti-AI rambling. sayyesdono.com/2026/06/18/e...

Only words, not acts but this is pretty amazing - the US has lost completely. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The platform with irrelevant and outdated courses, paid options and an incoherent focus? Well I never... For £4m I could have wrangled half of the academics, activists and experts in the country into creating something. Sure, for a free sandwich each I could have put something better out.

Paywalling resistance content is definitely a thing you can do... I understand writing, researching, creating resources are all work but some things are just done because they serve a public good. You have to accept that sharing them is more important than profiting from them. Something I say as

There's a lot of ways in which the endless tech/self tracking stuff is ghoulish but the erosion of trust in your own judgement is probably the most offensive.When did we let technology degrade us to the point where it can tell us we haven't slept well enough before we even wake up? archive.ph/OamFv

Work in progress...

“We Shall Return” by Palestinian artist Imad Abu Shtayyah.

As my brain is friend some random reflections on why I resist AI... sayyesdono.com/2026/06/16/m...

A lot of voices will fall silent. Many of them abusive I'm sure but otherwise it'll break down into who has the privilege to speak freely and who doesn't. For most of us criticising employers, the state, the media etc is reliant on not becoming a target for them, no matter in how minor a way. For

“…mental health professionals are required to obtain patients’ consent before using the tool. However, as shared by multiple providers, that consent process does not include explanations about how the information is handled.”

I'm always a bit split on the 'dumbphone' thing. I get the appeal of de-teching but how much more than a gimmick can it ever be for most people? Huge amounts of modern life require the use of smart phones, especially work and government interactions. I know one argument is that those shouldn't

Labour lowering the barriers to social mobility there. Used to be that you needed to start drinking or taking drugs to realise how randomly some laws were applied and how strictly decorative others were. Now you just need to want to watch someone stream Fortnite (or whatever kids play these days).

A ban on social media for under 16s would likely require *everyone* to prove their age in order to use social media platforms, which means handing biometric data over to commercial tech companies. www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releas...

Very late notice, but I'll be doing an informal talk and discussion for SPINE (Speculative Inquiry into Ethics) tomorrow on 'AI, Decomputing and its Discontents'. Open registration events.teams.microsoft.com/event/efc27d...

The judge found that Meta’s attempt to blame the pirating of thousands of Vixen.com and Tushy.com porn videos on rogue employees “strains credulity.”

Meaningful efforts to regulate the tech sector absolutely falls into the category of “infantile, placard-waving student politics”, for the people in a position to do it. It’s not that they’re cowardly or incapable. They *do not want to do it* and they think trying would be silly.

There is one upside to the ban, kids are very quickly going to learn to circumvent it and view nonsense bans like this as purely decorative.

Some people presenting the harms of social media as a parental issue - we've allowed multi-billion pound tech companies to have basically free reign to do all the most nefarious shit they can think of for decades now. This is a social and cultural issue, not just one of 'good parents' refusing

We seem to have bought a zillion pounds in AI compute from the Americans as part of our plan to suck up to the mad emperor, so now we’re going to wedge AI sideways into absolutely everything, no matter how useless it is for the task. AI patient care, AI school dinners, AI bin collection.

Ban social media but don't touch LLMs. I'm sure the vacuum of engagement from those few kids who don't just circumvent the ban won't have any crossover with the always on attention extraction machine desperate for users to capture. Stupidest policy since the AI training opt out.