I picked up a nostalgia-driven quarterly subscription to the digital edition a year ago & haven’t missed a prog since - it’s brightened up every Wednesday. Absolutely amazing to see it reappearing on newsstands in our biggest supermarkets! What a cultural institution 2000AD is! ❤️👽🤖

Reform’s loud opposition to net zero is driven by “the success of populist messages around Brexit plus significant financial backing from the fossil fuel industry and climate sceptics” Not science. Not national interest. Not public opinion. Just personal greed. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

100,000 trans people & allies fill central London for Trans Pride. Mainstream media: nothing Thousands of trans people & allies fill Wembley Arena for pro-trans gig with massive names like Sophie Ellis-Bextor & Sugarbabes. Mainstream media: nothing. This is what extreme media bias looks like.

The irony that Anthropic are desperately trying to allow the use of their technologies to protect democracy, only to find the biggest threat to democracy to be their own government is pretty chilling… youtu.be/MPTNHrq_4LU?...

Governments worldwide are moving to restrict youth access to social media — from Australia’s nationwide under-16 ban to fast-moving proposals in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Tech Policy Press is tracking these legislative efforts across continents and jurisdictions. 40 countries on the map:

Interesting set of practical applications of AI in public administration… “GovTech Lab Ukraine selects winning innovation startups - Smart Cities World”

It’s about to rain shit all over the internet…

Did the centre just hold by 5 to 4??!!!

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right. Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement. This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

I am very excited to introduce you to the Neurodivergent Music Network, a cross-disciplinary hub for neurodivergent researchers exploring the intersection between music and neurodivergence. Our mission is to collectively establish Neurodivergent Music Studies as a distinct academic field.

This is a great resource for city & neighbourhood leaders, and smart city practitioners: “This collection of articles explores the forefront of sustainable urbanism, where city districts generate more renewable energy than they consume…”

So many of these “AI opportunities” can already be done with good service & process design, and data sharing. Hard to see how AI is suddenly going to overcome the bureaucratic inertia that stands in the way… How cities are using AI in 2026

"Compliance is a behavioural goal, but many departments still rely on legacy KPIs built around enforcement activity rather than customer experience or voluntary adherence." How many other municipal services and metrics is this true of?!

I'm interested to discover what they determine "quantum-ready workforce" to actually mean. "Chattanooga secures grant for quantum workforce development - Smart Cities World"

This is just very cool to see... "Candela P-12 completes record-breaking voyage - Marine Business"

A UK city official I once interviewed on the meaning of 'smart cities' said to me "a smart city is a city that knows the value of things". It's a comment that has always stuck with me, and so it's always fascinating to see what cities measure in order to gauge their progress & success... #vancouver

“We’re more convinced than ever that AVs will unlock a multitrillion dollar opportunity for Uber". “This is not the kind of a technology that is going to replace [human drivers]; it’s going to augment [them]". Discuss... 😆

I'm looking forward to engaging with this new initiative from Smart Cities World - to access & hopefully contribute to the repository of AI best practice in cities.. "SmartCitiesWorld launches AI CityXchange to support cities at every stage of AI adoption"

🔴 Exclusive: Corporate donations British parties tripled over last three elections But here's key thing: almost none is from FTSE500/listed companies It's almost all companies controlled by super-wealthy individuals, or small, opaque firms New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-c...

Interesting looking event at Harvard & online next week... "Building Resilient Workforces Through Place-Based Economic Policy - Bloomberg Center for Cities"

Really interesting to see integrated packages of support and capacity building like this, conducted internationally and then handed over to local governance. I think it's a valuable and repeatable model that more smart cities and climate action practitioners should be involved with.

Nice to see citizen-centric service design like this.

"Pilot projects in the latest Leading Cities AcceliGOV programme enables cities to launch proven climate and infrastructure solutions in approximately 90 days."

“A country that publicly executes people cannot host a football World Cup!”

NEW: India is avoiding the fossil fuel detour 🪝 Where China built first on coal and gas, India is taking a shortcut >>> read in 5 graphics🧵

I know where he’s coming from. I’ve never asked NATO for anything either!!

Damien Walter reminding us that Pat Mills, John Wagner, et al, as well as the myriad Squaxx of @2000ad.bsky.social have been seeing this coming for a very long time….

"New York transit agencies open Transit Tech Lab competition" - Smart Cities World #smartcities #mobility #innovation

I’m super excited about the upcoming Terminator prequel!!

The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) urgent appealing to children’s authors, writers and publishers to donate stories to its new bedtime stories app. The charity relies on stories in the public domain but are running out of books. Anyone willing to donate should contact [email protected].

Question: Does “tech prosperity” really mean U.S. firms investing in British startups that are building surveillance technologies ostensibly to provide compliance with the online harms act..?

New from me at my favourite newsletter (again): the origins of the UK Online Safety Act were not grounded in child safety, but rather the authoritarian fantasies of the affluent white English right wing. So why aren't they over the moon about it? internet.exchangepoint.tech/the-dog-that...

Here you go, enjoy the back catalogue: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Nick Clegg's new book is absolutely atrocious and I cannot in good conscience recommend you read it. Instead, read my review for @newscientist.com about how bad it is www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

See also South Yorkshire…

Poli sci students: study this carefully. This is the game of politics in action. www.ft.com/content/3a3e...

Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last. If this exponential rate of growth can continue, we will soon live in a very different world, @billmckibben.bsky.social‬ writes.

This is the most cyberpunk thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life 😲

Just to be completely clear - this British Army Vet was NOT forced out of military housing to accommodate Afghans - who, by the way, put their own lives at risk to support and protect British soldiers. Just ever more rage-baiting by Matt! 🧵1/14

Please apply for this! While it's only advisory (and unpaid), it's a good opportunity to highlight what's working, and not working, in public sector AI adoption to ministers and senior civil servants. www.gov.uk/government/n...

I believe it is worth interrogating the fundamental forces re-shaping our information spheres away from liberal democracy towards myth, manipulation and magical thinking empowering autocracy and nihilism. Here’s how it all falls apart—a 🧵 in 6 figures ⬇️ www.protagonist-science.com/p/how-social...

@kevinmarks.com Great to see you’re in Sheffield & attending Front End North, Kevin! Are you here for the event or more permanently? If it’s the latter, it would be great to see you at GeekBrekky sometime - its every Friday morning from 9am at HowSt Cafe :)

It’s mind-boggling to me how much blame young people get for the failure of educators to excite, entertain, engage and motivate them. Of course they don’t have the resources of the digitised entertainment/advertising industrial complex, but so many educators do not even appear to trying!

Love this! A rant so good it creates an entire language of resistance 🙌

@suw.bsky.social Hey Suw, were you aware this happened at the Royal Albert Hall last night 🎉🎶 adalovelace.org.uk/news/2025-06...

Wrote a briefing for @NEF about how Europe needs an ambitious, coordinated, and long-termist macroeconomic approach in order to achieve its goals in this age of shocks and challenges. Whereas current policy is incremental, piecemeal, and short-termist... neweconomics.org/2025/06/a-co...

Someone out there's got £7 to just push us over that milestone, haven't they?

If this is true then all the Trump administration’s Tariffs should have been a quarter the size!!!! 😳 youtu.be/ML8_65_9tl4?...

How is *John Bolton* the voice of reason now? 😐