My Traitors behavioural prediction would be that people who confidently say “I’m really good at reading people” would be very bad at the game and the people who politely nod and say “yeah, no, I bet” would be better at it.

Kate’s back from a trip so we’re catching up on #Traitors. She‘s interpreted Claudia’s instructions to camera as ‘we’ (the audience) somehow being the secret traitor and is now perplexed. “How’s this going to work then?“ I think her love of Claudia has dented her common sense (she picked me?!)

Birthday present from Kate! Always themed so we can do the “you sure have a lot of books about being a lesbian” lines from Friends (You have to take a course. Otherwise they won’t let you do it.)

One of the more upsetting things I saw on LinkedIn this year - which we know is a crowded field - was folks who should know better talking about how they‘re practicing their teaching skills when they use it, because it’s about provoking thinking. Just… complete disinterest in how it actually works?

merry Christmas from this slightly grumpy very furry present under the tree

It’s the time of year to remember that not only did George Micheal have an amazing voice; he was an exceptional songwriter. We were so robbed.

A sad but necessary reminder this season 😔Despite our efforts to force a change in the law, this injustice continues. Be vigilant. Look out for friends and family: Sometimes, that delicious looking roast potato is actually a parsnip.

A Christmas gem that should get more love. I remember the days of insisting to tired parents “I WILL sleep tonight!” on Christmas Eve. Also why I claim About A Boy is a Christmas film www.youtube.com/watch?v=EerN...

We’re talking about banning social media for teens while we’re pushing AI in schools I see. One has no clear evidence of benefit, one has little direct evidence of harm. But who trusts ‘evidence’ these days?

Reliable, weekly help for the survival needs of six families & a camp: after seven months, we're now at risk of not being able to send funds every week, rendering this project obsolete... Join in. Pledge a coffee & click "weekly" for medicine, food, more: chuffed.org/project/hope...

For those who live or work in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham or City of London. See replies for more detail

A pox on EV drivers who use available charging spots as parking spaces

Kate and I just completed two whole (quick) crosswords with no reveals. We feel like gods.

oof - latest Full Fact newsletter written by someone having to leave because of Google pulling funding.

I’ve done two pieces of work on public attitudes toward health data use, and know of many more. The rationale often “the tech bit here is different now”. But public attitudes pretty consistent! I worry that “oh this needs another consultation” is distraction from acting upon what we already know.

Gave a talk this morning about how AI FOMO isn't a strategy and several Qs afterwards were asking if may be FOMO *should* be the driving force. But if 89% of the public think proven safety should come first, then it feels like a good idea to respect that

This is *exactly* the same phrasing as the management used @qmul.bsky.social. This is work that has been withdrawn as part of legal industrial action. Management is demanding staff undoes their own industrial action and performs the work they have not been paid for, on top of their existing work.

An amazing opportunity to subscribe to the Mill, a local Manchester newspaper that does the proper reporting and investigating, for basically ‘give what you can’ prices! manchestermill.co.uk/r/3359d2b6?m...

Having to clear some stuff at my old family home and found the most nineties mum stash ever, of “newspapers from the day after Diana died”

I am at a supper club and its all very cool and I think I’m the oldest person here which is the first time that has happened to me and also the menu text is too small and the light is too low

*grumbles in electric car owner*

For the Disability community, losing Alice Wong is like losing Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler. She was a powerhouse, a pioneer, and a mentor to many. She taught me so much. And always reminded me what we were fighting towards, as well as against. I miss her clarity, bravery, and joy.

15 years ago @jevinwest.bsky.social and I talked about how we needed a data scientists’ code of ethics like the Hippocratic oath. We still do.

Looking for examples of 'service veneers' where a solution has been plastered over a complex series of services with the promise of a streamlined better experience but hasn't done hard work to improve whole system. Think like 'life stage' digitised journeys or outcomes still being hard to meet

😭It’s happened to me twice in the last couple of weeks that I’ve been scammed* out of extra money for payments because a third party website somehow swoops in and I pay them an extra fee to get something I thought I was buying direct. *probably not legally a scam but come the fuck on

What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma. It's *scientific publishing*. We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing. Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_... Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇

It’s really noticeable that when I’ve seen men take issue with this, they go in on “the power of my imagination” or claims to universal experience, rather than the much better “you can actually find things out from other people you know”

They are doing some construction work upstairs at the dentist, and let’s just say the vigorous hammering and drilling is not a good background for a nervous patient.

Latest “if your app was actually necessary you wouldn’t need to force me to use it” is only getting nectar discounts if you ‘unlock’ them weekly in the app?

I want Nick and Cat to win. I am pretending that can happen. #celebritytraitors

BREAKING: BBC announces CELEBRITY PUPPET TRAITORS for 2026. Claudia Winkleman will host but never acknowledge that everyone else is a puppet. #celebritytraitors

Overheard a doctor telling their student “I just tell patients to ask the AI. It’s the cheapest and most reliable thing we can do.”

This is definitely the sense I am getting from my students. There’s a craving for analog experiences, for presence, for humanity, for a recognition that they have unique value to our future that is irreplaceable by automation. There’s a hunger for time off-screen and uninterrupted by tech.

“Behind the station, as you probably know, is the haunted Kwik-Fit.” See these are the moments I’m actually proud to be British

On a ghostly walking tour around Macclesfield and a teenager dressed as some kind of bloody red riding hood yelled “How EMBARRASSING just go to a PARTY” 👻

For the first time in our marriage, Kate and I are using the same gym, and I’ve discovered she’s a complete anarchist about the “swim in a clockwise direction” pool rule. Not sure where to go from here tbh.

Nick is so sweet and also so clever and also quite flexible and also his jacket is lovely #CelebrityTraitors

Celia looking so sad has actually broken me. *whispers mournfully “she did the fart.”* #CelebrityTraitors

My Halloween costume this year is Ugly Bag Of Mostly Water. The scary bit is my dramatic gasping at people who don’t get the reference.

communities, and identity. We need historians to remind us that every technological revolution before this one brought unintended consequences. And we need artists to keep the human experience at the centre. AI doesn’t diminish the value of the humanities; it amplifies their urgency.

After three days spent with AI researchers from around the world, one thing is very clear to me: we need the humanities and social sciences more than ever. We need philosophers to ask about ethics and responsibility. We need sociologists to understand how technology reshapes relationships, 1/

those of you who are afraid of aging, please understand that one of the huge blessings of middle age is arriving at this exact station

Joe on the bridge #celebritytraitors

“It’s good with your legs apart” Celia is just infinitely quotable #celebritytraitors

Cat summing up the general mood of the nation these days as she repeats “it’s literally fine!” in complete terror on a wonky bridge. #CelebrityTraitors

Saw Qobuz recommended as a Spotify alternative and super impressed so far. Lovely clean interface, and the Soundizz playlist transfer worked perfectly.

Staying alarmed that we took in the current state of mis and disinformation about politics, health, immigration, climate change, etc and went “what would be good is if search engines didn’t show any sources and instead had a Robot Servant overlay that insists it and you are always right”

Icebreaker today was sharing embarrassing moments with research participants. I went with being introduced to a teenager who snarled “Are you the dickhead who was meant to pick me up this morning?” and I rabbit-in-headlights replied “No, I’m a different dickhead!”

This is one of our biggest arguments: that OpenAI is vampirizing universities for the cachet and legitimacy that affiliation with higher education affords

“We have no idea who a traitor is!” Stephen complains as literally everyone reports they suspect Jonathan again, Cat visibly panics about being tired and Alan casually forgets he has a shield. #CelebrityTraitors