Why is my experience of AI so sharply divergent from many of my friends and professional peers? I have a theory. takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/how-ai-has...

I wrote a bit for McSweeney's about Isaac Chotiner interviewing Santa Claus. Just a little something for the holiday season. Enjoy!

I think it's worth noticing how completely major media institutions have just gone along with the project of sacrificing the national economy on the altar of "some people in marginal constituencies don't like hearing foreign accents when they go out"

If it were steel works we would have a government bailout plan, yet losing thousands of jobs at unis is met with a shrug. & unlike steelworks universities were profitable when they had foreign students. You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports… HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!

Well yes, but if you burnt your own house down and can't re-build an identical one that doesn't mean you should forever live in a tent.

For how much longer must we sacrifice the UK's security and prosperity on the altar of sovereignty?

Post your favourite "Lord of the Rings"character wrong answers only

We have got to make politics intellectual again. It is the only way that societies thrive is when politicians have the capability to actually think and reflect deeply:

This is why it is good that financial literacy is going to be taught in schools. On average, if you are 20, you should save in an index fund and not worry about it for decades, and he should know this!

Takes a few seconds and this is definitely needed so please do your bit. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

I think this may be one of the greatest albums of all time

Counterpoint: Automating lowly-paid gig economy work is good.

It's part of the electionification of everything, which is why we as a country are failing to have a proper conversation about our actual problems. It's bad for the left *and* the right.

This is incredibly grim

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

Brexit costing UK up to £90bn in lost tax revenue a year, new analysis shows

If you don't mind me asking, what's the reason you felt that in your own role you couldn't do more to give it extended coverage?

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 @gilesyb.bsky.social joins @nndroid.bsky.social & @jonnelledge.bsky.social to look at the real story of Britain’s finances; why Brexit is an even bigger drag anchor than the Treasury will admit & more. Listen now 👉 linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...

Very disappointing that this TechRadar article, from a widely followed, supposedly technical site, entirely ignores that one of the main uses of VPNs is giving companies secure remote access for employees to internal systems. (234 chars) www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-priv...

Inside a Cello Charles Brooks Photography

Ok so I've just spent a day using Gemini as a kind of pair for programming. And I'm calling it, LLM is a MASSIVE productivity boosting tool. Like a machine gun if you didn't know which way to point it you could do a lot of damage, but it saved me at least half a day today, maybe more. Game changing.

New post just out: "Never again?" On how the radical right are trying to change our collective memory about World War Two as part of their assault on the postwar order. And why that memory remains a critical defence against nationalism. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/n...

Surely it depends which side you are on?

Oh joy. "Some agreements have involved complex circular financing arrangements"

"We don't have any automated testing"

And yes, this is my point. Whenever I say “AI” I mean “AI in software engineering.” I do think it’s silly to completely ignore it. And I’m not saying it’s magical or always use it. But experiment with it if you’re a tech professional and decide when to use, when to ignore bsky.app/profile/lizt...

The UK is in collective denial about the damage a populist nationalist government could do given thd absence of checks and balances in our system. Not sure why, since we had a pretty close run a few years ago.

Is there a bluesky plugin that will automatically parse my post, fix any obvious typos and shorten to 300 chars? Asking for a fiend.

This, so much this.

Opinion | Starmer has not prioritised growth, not really. He has done what British governments have been doing for over a decade: prioritising anti-immigration policy and focusing on growth only where it does not interfere with it 🖋 @iandunt.bsky.social Read more: trib.al/HHn51XN

Does the 2024 Lib Dem formula still work? Here's what new polling tells us:

There is. Was talking to an investment guy who told me his clients have all been calling to make sure they’re fully able to leave the UK if Reform win.

Morning.

Everyone on Social Media should read this. @radiofreetom.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Age 13: Government "You must NEVER be on smartphones." Age 16: Government "You must ALWAYS be on smartphones."

Me in 2020: I'd love it if the Tory party collapsed. Me in 2025: no, not like that.

Adding this to my "we need to understand how to use LLMs and AI more generally effectively rather than dismiss it as useless or panic that it's going to take over" pile. It's a tool.

There is huge market share for the Lib Dem’s to run with the motto of “enough of this American nonsense let’s be sensible British people Again” and not sure anyone’s weird arguments that specific voters should be chased is needed at all.

When an entry-level Volvo can get to 60 mph quicker than a Porsche 911, and in the same time as a Ferrari, electric car makers need a reset. Read more: wrd.cm/3W2xAb1

To remove indefinite leave to remain from people who already have it they'd have to dismantle our entire system of rights legislation and probably end judicial independence. But they could do that with a majority. They've said they'd do that.

Our flag doesn't belong to the nationalists. It belongs to all of us. So let's reclaim it for those who want to reunite and rebuild, not those who want to divide and destroy.

UK and St George’s flags should never be used to ‘intimidate and terrify’, says senior Lib Dem

What movie do you consider "perfect"?

The media - no, we're not going to report on serious Lib Dem policies The media - yes, we will report on fun stunts The media, also - the Lib Dems need to show they've got serious policies

England, the pedants of the internet will tell you, not Westminster, is the mother of Parliaments. Is there not something a little grotesque in the Prime Minister, an Englishman, sucking up to a man who has no respect for the constitutional traditions of any of the English-speaking peoples? 🧵

It's time to tell the racists to fuck off (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/this-is-en...

Ginesis

Opinion: Racism in the UK remains the preserve of an extreme minority — but one that is emboldened and growing louder. What we are seeing is not about having a bad economy, writes FT columnist Stephen Bush. on.ft.com/4mej1f9

'There is nowhere in the Bible where we are taught to honour evil and how you die does not redeem how you lived. You don’t become a hero in death when you are a weapon of the enemy in life' – Rev. Howard John-Wesley on Charlie Kirk. Powerful and necessary.