On telly there's an advert for a car where a small child is trying to use a chatbot-like experience to control their school and while I suspect advertisers think it's cute I'd quite like ppl to understand most of the actual world ain't controllable by individuals www.instagram.com/reels/DRCWdW...

When your MP3 player from 2001-ish emerges from a box

It really is as simple as this

Me listening to R4 Today and hearing influential ppl from frontier AI labs talk about applying the precautionary principle before releasing new tech products and wondering when they're going to start doing that

A picture has emerged of mum and dad in their Lancastrian biker days

Just before Xmas the last bit of the club the Oystons were clinging onto - a penthouse suite at the ground - was won back in a final, surely!, court battle So, at half time the announcer played Bye Bad Badman by The Stone Roses to loud cheers

Blue plaque for the Tangerines

"What if there’s no ethical way to have unlimited access to every book, film, and record ever created? And moreover, what if that’s not something we should want?"

Us: checking in to hotel on Xmas eve for two nights near Lancashire bits of family Receptionist: so, got any special plans while you're in town?

We are getting to the season of end-of-year reflections, so it’s time to post my annual reminder. If you helped someone this year or let someone else help you, then you’ve had a good year. That’s enough.

This needs more widespread coverage: The US has sanctioned five individuals, including the founder and Director of @hateaid.org - a German NGO that supports victims of online hate and harassment and image-based sexual abuse

We are sorry to report that the bits of the television that were not televised, but instead turned into small local shops, are now closing down due to the tough economic conditions

Pleased to see this piece. Personally, I find these uses of synthetic data v concerning and I find the traction and endorsements that this work has to be quite baffling, esp given the well-storied role of algorithmic targeting in undermining democracy

Yes, and accurate measures of sex and gender are more complicated (and socially constructed) than those Prof Sullivan advocates for. @kevinguyan.bsky.social's work eg kevinguyan.com/2025/04/16/t... is really helpful at unpicking this.

If you ever get the chance to design, or redesign a public service/platform, please *start* with delegated authority user needs. It's *the* hard problem you can't afford to leave until later.

A spokesperson confirmed Waymo has suspended service.

*So, climate crisis winds taking out the planetary superclock, too bad they didn't time that for New Years'

The "emotional dependence" bit in UK AISI Frontier Trends report is crying out for some qual research to start to unpick what ppl were thinking of when answering survey, what behaviour changes have occurred, & what risks/implications might be for individuals/society www.aisi.gov.uk/research/ais...

Wait there's more #openaddresses: Southwark Council in London has released its Council Tax address list as open data owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad... Many thanks to @lb-southwark.bsky.social! I've geocoded the address locations for maps 'n stuff #FOI #localgov #UKhousing #proptech #opendata

OMG. Service Design Lead role at Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park We have a service taxonomy and not afraid to work on it. Apply! Dream role. linkedin.com/jobs/view/4344988962?skipRedirect=true&refId=u1PW7LOjTWiuo3IHvhJqQw%3D%3D&trackingId=u1PW7LOjTWiuo3IHvhJqQw%3D%3D

Me, upon hearing this news:

Steve Bruce is available instead? www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

The Fuel Finder fiasco is as disappointing as it was foreseeable forecourttrader.co.uk/comment-the-... Scheme delayed until January forecourttrader.co.uk/news/fuel-fi... Trade press, so very much an industry perspective, but still #govtech #publicprocurement #fuelprices #opendata (supposedly)

I'm just as interested in the impact on public services as the loss of [unspecified] data www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Okay, I've read the AISI paper now and it's interesting www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-... but I do think it could have been much more interesting if they had applied some sociotechnical thinking (and recruited a sociologist to do the social analysis)

My [IMHO] series of posts is complete - for now. digitalbydefault.com/category/imho/ [01] Effective Agile [02] Roles, responsibilities and relationships [03] Agile planning [04] Okay OKRs

I know I harp on about this, but it is important than in a year we've gone from condemnation of racist rioters to: The Government arguing you have to cut immigration to prevent racist violence. The opposition pushing mass deportation to stop violence against women. Reform committing to end ILR.

Leeds about to get its tram

_opens up a thing_ _sees the phrase "single [XX] portal"_ _starts screaming_

The rule is you have to stop and watch it. youtu.be/3KvWwJ6sh5s?...

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! Yes! YES! YES!!!!!

www.theregister.com/2025/12/18/d... It's not just bridges collapsing

LinkedIn has got a wrapped feature? And it's only available on the mobile app? Oh, the humanity...

The OBR has warned of the downside risk to the UK economy of an 'AI bubble' bursting I asked the Minister whether he agreed, and what steps his department and UKRI are taking to protect investments in innovative companies that would undoubtedly be affected by a market correction

A predictably disappointing response from the Department of Business and Trade. Obviously I will appeal. This nonsense that closing source code improves security has been repeatedly proven false and whatever tyranny is being wrought using this idea must end. www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sour...

TTC Time to Clippy Usage: "These design sessions on AI agents have a TTC of 10 seconds"

Actually it's about automated decision making and humans in the loop and - just like VAR in the football - it's things like this that are helping lots of the UK public understand those things www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

"GOV.UK has entered the Chat: our vision for GOV.UK Chat" (including experiments with agentic AI) insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2025/12/16/g...

Sorry to all non-UK people but, unfortunately, due to the long-running effects of austerity the UK lacks the institutional capacity to make any good jokes about this www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"When users confronted Clinton with their concerns, he brushed them off, said he would not submit to mob rule, and explained that AIs have emotions and that tech firms were working to create a new form of sentience" www.404media.co/anthropic-ex...

Another first with the Meta sponsor just added to the Turning Point USA mega conference

*hears mysterious beep in house every minute* *finds beeping smoke alarm and removes until battery gets changed* *hears another mysterious beep in house every minute* *looks for fire that is being set alight on a 60-second cycle*

The review of the BBC Charter has just been announced. In anticipation of this we have published a review of how 10 countries around the world organise their public service media, and what lessons can be drawn for the renewal of the BBC Charter www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...

"Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of [job that didn't exist until ~10 years ago, when online advertising made it viable, and that was always heavily shaped by google search hence things like rambling life stories before the actual recipes]" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

TechForceTrump techforce.gov

Even Merriam-Webster are using AI to generate words nowadays...

I'm seeing lots of people commenting on Keir Starmer saying he doesn't use chatGPT, while my eye is caught by this description of an AI model for planning which is +far+ broader than capabilities of Extract tool that Starmer has previously talked about (& that MHCLG and i.ai are working on)

‘Rather than aspire to neutrality, objectivity and sharp distinctions, map‑makers should embrace uncertainty, subjectivity and multiplicity.’ @laurainparis.bsky.social on the latest thinking in cartography www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

Just Harry Cole interviewing the guy who called for ethnicity checks on MPs, by the way

I know us Northerners can sound like we've got several bags of chips on our shoulders but when the Manchester version of Race Around The World needs people to go to central London then.... raceacrosstheworldexperience.com/manchester/g...