It's a great piece. More information is definitely not always a blessing – but even knowing the ability to find out is there can be enough to drive you mad if you end up fixated on that.

Brilliant. An expat im Dubai has a startling revelation, by @stephencollins.bsky.social

This is not just sad or embarrassing or unfair. This is a crime in itself (certainly under the EU AI Act which of course doesn't apply in the UK, but I should think many countries have laws about deception over telecoms) but also a vector by which serious fraud is conducted. 1/2

There’s going to be Covid style shortages of cars, TVs and even washing machines and fridges, then job losses because assembly lines can’t source solid state memory, just so the stupidest person you know can state with 100% confidence a chatbot confirmed dinosaurs coexisted with humans.

Significant job this one. A chance to shape tech to work for the public interest. Director General for Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. (£174k) www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

New daily obsession #tetrachromat Dialed Daily — Feb 20 45.45/50 🟧🟩🟩🟧🟧 dialed.gg/?daily

So WeTransfer, which has been my go-to large file sharing service for over a decade, has decided they now own what you upload & can use it to train AI. Anyone know of any good alternatives?

Over on LinkedIn, a platform that is being rapidly destroyed by AI slop, I've been ruminating on the coming AI Slopocalypse and how to survive it: www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-su...

I find this so fucking sad actually it's from a great article by @bildoperationen.bsky.social journals.openedition.org/transbordeur...

ALSO - if you missed out on your childhood measles vaccine and haven't had measles, you can get *free* MMR vaccination from your GP! (whether as an older child, teenager or adult). I got my MMR about 10 years ago! www.nhs.uk/vaccinations...

Files this next to my favourite Battles soundtrack. Also reminds me of the time I wore my best spotty clothes to a Yayoi Kusama exhibition 😁 ⚫⚪⚫⚪

Looking forward to seeing if @aiannucci.bsky.social 's theory on AI plays out www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_s...

Today's minor frustration: women often lament over the variations in sizes between brands, so when looking for second-hand or new online purchases, I tend to stick to known brands. In this case, I attempted to buy a different colour pair of the same type of Boden cord trousers...

A scammer just tried exactly this on me via WhatsApp. Glad I saw a post here recently outlining the scam - it would be very easy to fall for. The “hotel” account had an unconvincing name, but they had my name, number & reservation dates. lifehacker.com/money/hotel-...

HMRC won't admit how much tax is lost offshore. Major corporations dodge taxes by shifting profits to low/no tax jurisdictions. Wealthy use offshore havens. Opacity means HMRC, Govt and tax abuse industry can't be held to account. Normal people pay more in tax.

Hey everyone, this recall has been expanded. If you formula feed, please check your supply. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)

It's here! All power assets are now live on my GB Renewables Map ⚡ That's right, it's not just wind farms any more. Now you can see live and historic data for gas power plants, nuclear, grid batteries, biomass, pumped hydro and even a bit of solar.

This should be standard for every transit system. And they should have to do it twice a year, in July & January because the January trip will show the flaws in stark detail.

'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once

Well... RIP Catherine O'Hara 😭

On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers. But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.

Do read this thread. It covers the classic problems of govt IT ventures: capture by the providers, poor information management and huge security holes, improbably complex signup process, and low quality outcomes. Surely it might have been better to partner with a university than this corporate slop?

People who never paid attention to climate before are now suddenly telling us "no place is safe" from climate chaos. What they really mean is "don't compare the risks facing different places — because our brittle investments will lose value if you do." alexsteffen.substack.com/p/why-do-som...

Do you use the UKRI website? Help shape how thousands of researchers and innovators access funding, news and resources. Take our 3-minute survey: engagementhub.ukri.org/ukri-communi... ⏰Closes 27 February

Has anyone come up with a way to save scientific publishing from AI yet?...

OpenAI just released Prism, a LaTeX editor with embedded ChatGPT for free. Writing a paper has never been easier. Clogging the scientific publishing pipeline has never been easier. It took me 54 seconds to write up an experiment I did not actually conduct. prism.openai.com

When it rains, it now rains more. For those experiencing the flooding in south-west England, it is worth remembering that rainfall in winter has increased by about 25% overall. And, the rainfall has also become more intense: when it rains, it now rains more, increasing the risk of flooding.

This is spectacular! Sales of fully battery powered trucks have shot past diesel trucks in China. Forget about hybrid and hydrogen trucks. We can now stop calling heavy trucking a "hard to abate" sector.

Scotland's largest Passivhaus school slashes energy bills by £430k. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2579882...

I know we're all seeing 87 unhinged things per day, but "guys if our multi billion dollar product doesn't start being useful for something, literally anything, the people might not appreciate us wrecking the planet over it anymore" is a truly bananapants thing to say out loud

Relevant for far too many things...

Even the good type of ice is having a bad year... again 🙄

I don’t think I’ve read anything quite so sobering and quietly terrifying about Trump’s America.

The heat energy we added to the ocean LAST YEAR is the equivalent of: - Detonating ten hydrogen bombs every minute - operating over a hundred large power plants continuously for all of written human history - Five times all the electricity human beings have ever used

Spiralling global temperatures (1850-2025) The last 3 years really jump out, rather like 2015-6 did when we first produced this graphic back then. Now, 2015-6 looks rather cool... More on the spiral: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...

Yes. One of my favourite energy efficiency stats is that 25% of UK economic growth between 1971-2013 was due to energy efficiency: ukerc.ac.uk/news/energy-... @jrbarrett.bsky.social

Free Parliament visits for young people — bookings open tomorrow! From 14 Jan, home-education groups, SEND groups and youth organisations can apply for free tailored visits. Explore Westminster, join interactive sessions and be inspired by how democracy works.

🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero 1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system 2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free 3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us" 4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous 5) That's it! 1/10

I'm a big fan of weather forecasts being available like this, as it's useful to see how different model outputs could have quite big differences in impact, rather than just saying the forecast was right or wrong.

Did you have snow overnight/today? #UKSnow I’m researching public attitudes towards clearing Snow and Ice in the UK. Are you over the age of 18 and live in the UK? If so, you can take part in my research by clicking this link (details inside) app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/liverpool/...

Important thread

It's all about the oil. But the world doesn't need Venezuelan oil right now.

Origin story books you say?... Going to have to say this one for me 🦖🗑️ #SustainabilityStarterBook #BitTooCloseToReality

I’m looking for a reader - a 7 to 10 year old who is interested in Greek mythology or history (and that child’s grown up). Any takers? #ClassicsBluesky

Such a beautiful story of an enduring friendship. Do read.

I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%). Lay article attached:

A late addition to my year highlights, but straight in near the top has to be our trip to see this @operanorth.co.uk production of David Shrigley's Pass The Spoon. Who knew that our lives needed a chorus for choosing a soup flavour and making gravy... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ www.theguardian.com/music/2025/d...

Absolutely nobody asked for this BUT English Anglican cathedrals that have burned down, fallen over, and sank into the swamp: a thread.