If an AI was a good creative co-brain it would say; this bit’s shit; that’s weird; you wrote that metaphor already; who talks like that?; wow the snarky girl suddenly got polite; who cares what a tree looks like; bored now!; that rhymed, cut it; what does this add?; you spoilt the joke…

This is very lovely to hear, and I just want to 100% co-sign on ‘more sci fi comics for kids please’ 👍

Noice.

Some interesting online events about publishing, books and AI coming up in these seminars from the day job:

@labourlewis.bsky.social - Norwich has a long history of creativity which continues to this day. Plus don't let it be dismantled to help a bunch of US tech megacorps.

Worst timeline.

Just read issue 16. @kierongillen.bsky.social *bows respectfully*

Nobody here needs to be told that Reform's claims of cheating are utterly absurd but it's worth noting that the anti-Reform vote was so large that even if the Greens and Labour had split it 50/50 Reform would still have lost — in fact they would have come third. They only value democracy if they win

My guide for healthy usage of Bluesky: 1. Open Bluesky 2. Check to see if @jon.inkle.co has posted anything interesting 3. Carefully ignore everything else 4. Close Bluesky

Went to a dumpling restaurant in London, where the coasters all had a little cartoon dumpling picture. The walls of the place were covered in sketches people had done. I, of course, drew Dumplingus Prime.

Always start your week with our Political Monitor newsletter. open.substack.com/pub/creative...

I've been writing a weekly serial for 4 years, and finished it last week. September 2021 - January 2026 244 chapters 408,912 words (erk) In paperback, it would be ~1,169 pages — which is about the same as the entirety of The Lord of the Rings I'm tired. simonkjones.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...

There are two writers that I always listen to if they show up on podcasts. @jon.inkle.co is one of them. open.spotify.com/episode/58Z5...

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.

My main observation from this accidentally going low-key viral is that a surprising number of Bluesky users can't detect sarcasm and lack a functioning sense of humour.

‘Terrible things are happening outside… Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return… to find their families gone.’ Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Trump has said he won't use force, and the good thing about Trump is that he always keeps his word and tells the truth.

Art by Daniel Warren Johnson. From his Insta.

I think if you're a Transformers fan and you're angry at the DWJ sketch of Optimus defending innocent people from ICE then you're not actually a Transformers fan and you're a bootlicking dipshit.

call me crazy but it really feels like “World’s Richest Man Creates AI Chatbot That Generates Child Porn” would’ve been a huge international outrage requiring a governmental crackdown not even 24 months ago

To paraphrase @charalanahzard.bsky.social : the more you know about a topic, the more AI tends to get it wrong, so you should only ask it about things you know nothing about

I was annoyed by the Online Safety Act over the summer, primarily from the point of view of a reader/viewer/etc. A couple of weeks ago, I had to consider it from the point of view of a creator. That time my writing was censored by the British government: open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

New Triverse chapter is out. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

From the UK Skills Explorer to Creative SME Exporters ➡️ Our latest Political Monitor is now live, featuring a round-up of this week's key policy updates in the creative industries and key dates to watch out for. 📧 Read more and subscribe to receive next week's edition:

My son is that little bit too old for The Phoenix, and I'm struggling. He's fine, of course, because he's just growing up. @jamiesmart.bsky.social and @neillcameron.bsky.social - can we have BvM and MRB 'Next Generation' spin-off books aimed solely at sad parents suffering from withdrawal, please? x

The higher up a company hierarchy you go, the less those people understand how anything in their own company actually works. Anyone not already in management worked this out decades before AI was on the scene.

Time to get disappointed again when the chancellor doesn't drop the suitcase to the floor, kick it, and suit up as Iron Man.

I cleverly set up a subscription to DIE Loaded, and managed to miss off issue 1. Thoughts and prayers, please.

📬 Our latest Political Monitor has landed in inboxes! Read below for a round-up of key cultural policy updates and live consultations that present important opportunities for organisations and practitioners to have their say. Subscribe to stay up-to-date on the latest policy news:

Awooga

I listened to Off Panel's chat with Kieron Gillen, which inevitably made me question everything I've been doing for the last 4 years. This is the inherent danger of listening to a KG interview. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

In 2025 it seems to be OK to mount an insurrection, but it's not OK to accuse someone of mounting an insurrection. In 2025 it also seems to be OK to behave in a racist way, but it's not OK to accuse someone of behaving in a racist way. This seems the wrong way around to me.

Joe Marler to play Jackie in Cyberpunk 2077 movie. I mean, he's already played Zoltan Chivay in Witcher 3, so has history with CD Projekt Red.

Dispatch feels like something altogether new: a game and a TV show rolled into one, but not really either of those things, either. open.substack.com/pub/infinite...

World building doodle

It's yelling into the void but something tell me it just needs to kept being said: if you are still posting, RTing, or lurking on X, you are helping keep users there and you are helping this guy pull in advertising revenue. You are a volunteer worker for a slobbering, drug-addled white supremacist

People screenshotting X and then responding to the screenshot on Bluesky is one of the reasons I don't really enjoy Bluesky.

No gods in this one (yet), but there are definitely robots. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

We’re hiring a Policy Advisor (Local and Regional) to join Creative PEC’s Policy Unit! pec.ac.uk/job_entries/...

Some sketches for Monday morning.

I've been writing a weekly serial for the past four years and it's reaching its conclusion in the next couple of months. Seemed like a good moment to re-introduce it! Check it out if you're into crime fiction, science fiction and fantasy mash-ups. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

Sketchy sketch

In which I moan about relying on summaries rather than going to the text itself. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

Today I found a keyhole in a wall. Not in a door. In a brick wall. Not obviously connected to anything. This is, of course, very exciting.

Come work with me! I mean, if you want to.

I went to TFNation for the first time and it sent my brain down several rabbit holes. open.substack.com/pub/simonkjo...

TIL, courtesy of a @chrismcfeely.bsky.social video, that @kierongillen.bsky.social has written Death's Head comics, and the circle is now complete, yes?

Went to my first TFNation at the weekend. Enormous fun, but also wonderful to see such a wide ranging bunch of people all having a great time.

I'm not convinced that 'responsible AI' can ever truly exist, but this is a good stab at setting out some principles.

I was stuck for ages on doing my own comics because I wasn't as good (obviously) as Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. Then Kieron posted this and the dam broke. simonkjones.substack.com/p/developing...