Join us for a conversation about the historical background of the 2017 "Asilomar Conference on Beneficial AI". Dr David Cole explores the significance and legacy of the famed 1975 Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA and DNA cloning for contemporary efforts to shape the future of AI. #histstm

Asilomar Revisited: Beneficial AI and the History of Scientific Ethics

Join us for a conversation with Dr David Cole about the legacy of Asilomar 1975 for contemporary efforts to shape the future of AI

eventbrite.co.uk

Delighted with my Father’s Day gift from my wife and daughter. No doubt Lego has sold more Concordes than Britain and France ever did.

Delighted to receive my print copy of the latest Technology and Culture. My prize-winning essay on Concorde's critics appears in this volume, which tells a new story about the technological disillusionment of the late 1960s. You can also read it online: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... ✈️

📣 Read now on Firstview! 'The Limits of Economic Liberalism under Thatcher: The Cases of Aerospace and Defence Procurement', by Tom Kelsey | @tomkelsey.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

On the outside, Concorde was a symbol of national genius. On the inside, some government officials were privately calling it a “commercial disaster”. Here’s a thread about political economy, state propaganda, and supersonic transport. 🧵📚✈️

Margaret Thatcher is often remembered as a free-marketeer. But when it came to aerospace and defence procurement, she was more of a British Gaullist. 🧵

With the Treasury's opposition to increasing defence spending in the news, it feels like a timely moment to say that my article, 'The Limits of Economic Liberalism under Thatcher: the cases of defence procurement and aerospace' has been accepted for publication in @conteurohistory.bsky.social.

📢CfA: 2026 Joel A. Tarr #Envirotech Article Prize! The prize recognizes innovative publications that explore new ways of thinking about the interplay between technological systems and the natural environment. Early-career scholars especially encouraged! #histtech #envhist 🗓 Deadline: July 1, 2026

I am thrilled to publish my first journal article in the English Historical Review 🎉 It tells a new story of political change in post-war Britain: rather than a 'neo-liberalism' from without, I argue for an economic liberalism from within 👇 academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

The Retreat from ‘High Technology’ in Post-War Britain*

Abstract. This article argues that the 1970s saw an important change in the attitude of the British state to civil technological projects. It focuses on superso

academic.oup.com

Next in our seminar series: we will discuss @mrweatherburn.bsky.social’s paper which explores the concept of “Taylorism”, its multiple changes in meaning, and how this reflects generational conflict, particularly from the 1960s. 🗓️ Wed 11 March 15.30-17.00 📍 Strand Building, KCL #histstm

Studying for an MA and PhD at @kingschostm.bsky.social was an incredibly rewarding experience. I was privileged to have a Hans Rausing Scholarship. I recommend this route to anyone interested in studying the history of science, technology, and medicine.

King's CHoSTM@kingschostm.bsky.social · 5mo ago

📣Interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree in the history of STM? Wishing to apply to our Hans Rausing Scholarship? Then this webinar is for you! Pursuing a research degree in the history of STM Thursday 12 March 17.00-18.00 (GMT) Register via Eventbrite ⬇️ #histsci #histtech #histmed #histstm

CALL FOR PAPERS - Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'. A two-day workshop organised by @maxlong.bsky.social and myself at Lincoln College, Oxford, 16-17 September. Deadline for abstracts is 15 May. Details in poster below, please share.

Delighted to appear on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. I pointed out that Britain and France managed to do something the rest of the world could not do: put a supersonic airliner into regular service. It was also, however, a commercial disaster. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Britain tried to build the future once, though it did not exactly end well. It was great to be on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. It is fifty years since its first commercial… | Tom...

Britain tried to build the future once, though it did not exactly end well. It was great to be on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Concorde. It is fifty years since its first commercial flight...

linkedin.com

It is fifty years today since the first commercial Concorde flight. In light of this, I thought I'd re-up an old piece from me. Most insiders knew Concorde would damage British industry, but ministers pretended otherwise. www.theguardian.com/science/poli...

Concorde was the flying Brexit: a different era but the same mistakes

Nationalistic fantasies about future export strengths, an ill-informed public debate and political deceit all masked the economic disaster that was Concorde

theguardian.com

Good afternoon, #SHOT2025! I just had a chance to catch up w/@sigcisconf.bsky.social friends over lunch, and now I'm in Atelier 4.520 for a session on Critiques of Technology Since WWII. Our first speaker is Eric Schatzberg, who is presenting a typology of postwar critiques of technology.

'The Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy demonstrates why posing a dichotomy between free-markets and industrial strategy is a false one' Our latest #MondayInterview by Tom Kelsey and @adrianpabst.bsky.social is out now - Read it here🔓⬇️ @productivity.bsky.social niesr.ac.uk/blog/uk-indu...

The UK Industrial Strategy: A Contemporary Analysis - NIESR

Last week, the Government unveiled its Industrial Strategy White Paper. What are the implications of the industrial strategy for UK economic policy & growth

niesr.ac.uk

#Skystorians! Join me & the @historylabplus.bsky.social‬ team online on 19 June @12:30 to explore how historical researchers (across all periods) can make themselves more visible to UK policy makers. For details👉 www.history.ac.uk/events/historical-research-and-policy-making & 🧵

Historical Research and Policy Making

history.ac.uk

Big thank you to Dr @tomkelsey.bsky.social of @ox.ac.uk for expert teaching on how Concorde was green-lit by Macmillan - & escaped culling again and again by Wilson & Heath! Join us this Autumn for our ‘Prime Ministerial Decision-Making’ case study module: thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/module/makin...

Great line up of events this term at the Environmental Humanities Research Hub. Come join us!

We Brits understand our own history as badly as anyone. This looks like a great way to get a more solid handle on our arc since WWII.

Tom Kelsey@tomkelsey.bsky.social · 3y ago

I am thrilled to publish my first journal article in the English Historical Review 🎉 It tells a new story of political change in post-war Britain: rather than a 'neo-liberalism' from without, I argue for an economic liberalism from within 👇 academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

Join us in Senate House on 29 January for a special @ihr.bsky.social lecture 'Reflections of an Official Historian' by Sir Lawrence Freedman followed by a round table discussion with panellists including @historianhelen.bsky.social Register below: www.history.ac.uk/events/takin...

Taking Stock of Official History, past, present and future: Reflections of an Official Historian by Sir Lawrence Freedman, followed by a panel discussion

history.ac.uk

Have you heard about our Peer Mentoring Scheme in partnership with the UK Civil Service? We're welcoming applications from policy professionals & eligible @ox.ac.uk researchers to join our next cohort. Apply by 16 December! t.co/yMCYRqwmuY

Want to learn a bit more about the team behind @oxpolicyengaged.bsky.social? This is us! Find out about how we can help policy professionals and academic researchers connect and engage more effectively: t.co/IYP1DmIEs9

I am thrilled to publish my first journal article in the English Historical Review 🎉 It tells a new story of political change in post-war Britain: rather than a 'neo-liberalism' from without, I argue for an economic liberalism from within 👇 academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

The Retreat from ‘High Technology’ in Post-War Britain*

Abstract. This article argues that the 1970s saw an important change in the attitude of the British state to civil technological projects. It focuses on superso

academic.oup.com