Happy new year! Here's a thing about some less serious AI experiments I did over the Xmas break: www.timpaul.co.uk/posts/xmas-2...

Xmas break silliness - I thought I'd combine multiple NY resolutions and learn Spanish whilst running and listening to home made verb-conjugation-techno (built with 11 Labs and Strudel) soundcloud.com/timpaul-1/se...

My 2025 #yearnote as—sorry!—a listicle. mechanicalsurvival.com/blog/2025/

wrote down some stuff about closing FF Studio, what I was proud of and what I'd do differently if I did it again notes.annagoss.co/closing-ff/

Clichés take hold in political language, a vicious cycle that runs through campaign speeches, through citizens’ expectations, and down into the software we build or procure by cliché, whose accordingly poor performance invites further calls for simplification. mechanicalsurvival.com/blog/design-...

Had a very enjoyable top deck, front seat bus ride to work, chatting on Signal to @duncanjbrown.com about this absolute banger of a talk he gave

I worked with Amy and she is the best - HIRE HER!

🦊 I wrote about the administration’s “national design studio,” and how its shoddy construction isn’t a mistake. It’s a clear signal of priorities, and ones we need to actively, urgently rebuke. ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/a-noti...

Just received news that 27 people have been arrested in Parliament Square under the Terrorism Act 2000 for holding signs saying "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action". This is real police state behaviour.

Back at #CampDigital and so far it’s as inspiring and interesting as ever 😃

The flipping legend @herahussain.bsky.social kicks off #campDigital with her 3 month old in a pram by her side 🌟💪🏽

Two great courses here from the brilliant @claragt.bsky.social

This is very cool - an AI-powered prototyping tool that’s simple enough to run locally!

PS, if you are an amazing, experienced app designer or know someone who is – drop me a message please – we might need a bit of help soon 👋

Last year I wrote about a thing I made that uses AI to turn PDF forms into nice, accessible GOV.UK-styled versions. Here's an update where I consider what it would be like to use it on ALL the PDF forms on GOV.UK

grim, beautiful essay that puts it all together in a way that resonates, at least for me - check it out!

Join us for Money talks: Estimating the cost and value of service design 1 day (5 hour) course. Early bird tickets are available now for £275.00 This was a popular session at SDinGov 2024, and @ignaciaorellana.bsky.social and I have run for the OU and MoJ www.tickettailor.com/events/ignac...

In two weeks I'm running Brighton Marathon for Pancreatic Cancer UK. My mum got diagnosed 5 years ago just as first lockdown was happening. There's real progress being made on testing and mRNA. I've donated the first £200, any donations help: 2025brightonmarathonweekend.enthuse.com/pf/richard-p...

Blog post from @timpaul.co.uk and Helena Trippe at GDS, exploring what the ideas in the 'Blueprint for modern digital government' might look and behave like "when they inevitably bump up against the rough edges of the real world"... gds.blog.gov.uk/2025/03/07/v...

18F was dissolved because it saved money. We pushed back against contractors who tried to screw American taxpayers. We showed how cheap and good government software can be. Musk hates that. writing by Dan Tangherlini via @donmoyn.bsky.social

The administration got rid of 18F under the cover of night. People who own skyscrapers are afraid of 100 people who make websites. Not because of the latest tech fad, but because we proved the government can be fixed, the government can be made better and the government can work for the people.

For anyone trying the new Flashes app I’m over there as @timpaulphotos.bsky.social

18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people: 18f.org

I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F. 18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it. We made this website to tell our story: 18f.org

The "Getting started" guide for the NHS prototype kit is one of the finest getting started guides I have ever clicked through, a masterpiece of clarity prototype-kit.service-manual.nhs.uk

I continue to be so, so, so grateful for all of my int’l #GovDesign colleagues working in the open. I am delighted to have just read an 18F blog post about a task we will have in the next few weeks and months. #WorkingInTheOpen means people saving time, avoiding mistakes, and leapfrogging a bit.

I hope one thing digital government practitioners are taking away from attempting to divine what is happening in the US: it should be a mater of public record how digital public services and infrastructure work, when they change and what data they use. No more excuses.

📼 Why Is Everything Binary? My latest on briefs.video. briefs.video/videos/why-i...

As someone who has reported on AI for 7 years and covered China tech as well, I think the biggest lesson to be drawn from DeepSeek is the huge cracks it illustrates with the current dominant paradigm of AI development. A long thread. 1/

The first #DesignSystemChat of 2025, hosted by the GOV.UK Design System team is on 29 January 2025, 11am-12pm. Featuring: • Annual UX/FrontEnd survey • WCAG 2.2 video • Connecting DS hackathon • JavaScript API • 💬 What are you leaving behind in 2024? 🎟️ Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/d…

Lots going on at GDS this week, including the news that it's merging with CDDO, The Geospatial Commission and the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI). Especially exciting for me because in a few weeks I'll be joining i.AI, as their new Head of Creative and Design 😀

Well my first #ukgc25 has already exceeded all expectations ☺️

The Prime Minister has set out plans to "turbocharge AI" in the UK. But are we ready for an AI revolution? New tech + Old State = same disappointment A post about getting the most out of new technology public.digital/pd-insights/...

So long @vickytnz.bsky.social, you absolute legend. We’ll all miss you terribly

Hello 🙂 I'm looking for my next public sector role and would appreciate your support. Let me know if you hear of anything or wanna catch up. #OpenToWork 💼 Preferably agile delivery manager. 📜 Open to contract, permanent or temporary roles. 🌎 Remote or based in Manchester, London or Sheffield.

Money talks: estimating the cost and value of service design. @ClaraGreo and I wrote an article about this for The Service Gazette. Let us know what you think :) medium.com/the-service-...

Being part of this journey from 0–50 services has been a deeply rewarding learning experience —working with truly kind, intelligent, and passionate people has been a privilege! “GOV.UK One Login is providing a secure front door to all government services.. ” gds.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/12/g...

I recently listened to AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference. This isn't a comprehensive review, but I made lots of notes and thought they might be useful to others - so shared as a post on my blog #AI #GenAI benholliday.com/2024/11/11/a...

And I'm working on a few ideas about relational technology - www.abdconsultancy.co.uk/blog/relatio... - how can tech support relationships with the state based on trust, agency and transparency rather than surveillance and attempts to coerce people?

📣 GOV.UK Forms is in Public Beta!! This one is really close to my heart; a no-code, accessible, government form builder is a major step towards bringing digital service transformation within the reach of all service teams, not just the big players :-) gds.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/04/g...

Let's prioritise AI that removes crap from the world, rather than AI that lets you deal with more crap

Absolutely LOVE this write-up of GOV.UK Design System Day 2024 by @imhuyorks.bsky.social - the team's Community Designer. gds.blog.gov.uk/2024/10/31/h...

As a CS I get overly worried about sharing personal opinions anywhere but, spurred on by @jenitennison.com's ask (and others responses), here is what @kazhufton.bsky.social and I reckon. Nothing novel, but maybe that's the point. Feeling bold might delete later idk sites.google.com/view/cthimon...

Lots of discussion about digital health records in the NHS today. Modernisation, and privacy. But here’s the thing — we DON’T need a massive new database. Here’s how we do it. 1/

Hello folks! I just realised I was added to a design system starter pack so I thought I’d share the work I did on the GOV.UK Design System (2017-2018). As a service designer, my focus was on the service aspects: contribution, assurance, support and community. ignaciaorellana.com/casestudies/...

Hi, the next #DesignSystemChat is on 📆 Tuesday 29 October 2pm-3pm. It's a WCAG 2.2 special: ▶ How we’re helping users meet WCAG 2.2 ▶ How service teams are complying with WCAG 2.2 guidelines ▶ Discussion: How are you making progress towards WCAG 2.2? 🎟 Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-sys...

This is just fabulous - thanks @jamestplunkett.bsky.social for taking the time, and for sharing

This is really nice! 😊

This great summary shows there's an important piece missing in what we are asking from digital government: 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. It's so great to see that there's a section on Digital inclusion and accessibility. But folks, we must go beyond inclusion and access to 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀.

Trying to pull all/most of the responses to this together, I've put together some of my own reflections on the big questions around the "digital centre" here: connectedbydata.org/blog/2024/10...