Alex Hern
@hern.bsky.social
AI correspondent at the Economist. I write about it, that is. I’m still human. One of literally dozens of people online who is not American.
First take about Demis stepping back is that it’s not great news for the UK. DeepMind is a far more British company than market forces would have dictated otherwise, in large part due to the specific determination of Demis to ensure it remained that way.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... on balance think i'm more pro "it's legal to build things" than I am anti aviation
Gatwick airport to open second runway after legal challenge fails
£2.2bn project will allow about 100,000 more flights a year to use Britain’s second busiest airport
theguardian.com
very funny that I now get press releases for nervous brits about how to safely travel to the US. is it safe to have ice in your water there?
Golden Gate Claude was actually the peak of human civilization and it has all been downhill since then simonwillison.net/2024/May/24/...
Hysterical to me that the biggest bogeyman in America right now, what gets even the most milquetoast liberals manning the barricades and calling for direct action, is... a company that makes ANPR cameras. Absolutely car-brained to death
No idea when they film it so my annual notification that the single thing I want from my mild online fame is to go on Christmas university challenge
Snappy G when
Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk · 5d agoGreater Manchester Mayoral By-Election 'Exit Poll': Craig | LAB: 41% (+3) Astley | RFM: 22% (+3) Coggins | GRN: 15% (-7) Eckersley | CON: 9% (+1) West | RES: 8% (-1) Kilpatrick | LDM: 5% (+2) Farmer | Ind: 0% (-1) Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 30 Jul. Changes w/ 7-12 Jul.
www.designboom.com/technology/t... my favourite thing about this, unmentioned in the text, is that if you use your phone too much the terrarium will wither and die. The only way to keep the plants alive is for your phone to be face down in the sunlight for a substantial chunk of every day
this transparent phone case grows moss and plants inside
designboom.com
Copyright laws, digital distribution deals, & publishing monopolies are the reason destructive book scanning is putting books at risk. I get why folks are angry at AI companies buying books to destroy them. However, these issues predate them and hang a lot on books being subject to "market forces."
You know what even as a guy with diagnosed ADHD on medication, I’m very open to the idea that it’s mediated by social pressures. But. It’s not fucking processed food
Scott Bryan@scottygb.bsky.social · last wk.“While traits of ADHD undeniably exist – the question is why they exist. Is ADHD actually a neurodevelopmental disorder? Do people with ADHD have differently wired brains? Or does our world – with…processed food, and regimented education – serve as the catalyst for certain…patterns of behaviour?”
Council tax is a bad tax. But most proposals to replace it get the wrong end of the stick. Rather than centralising council tax and handing out more grants, the solution is the opposite. If we devolve council tax we can cut bills for 2/3 of people across England. Quick thread:
Mark Byrne@markobroin.bsky.social · last wk.Everyone hates stamp duty because it's a terrible tax. Replacing it would be good for the economy. But centralising council tax, says @antbreach.bsky.social - is a really bad idea. Not least because it hurts other parts of the devo agenda. www.centreforcities.org/blog/central...
funny quirk of AI alignment efforts is that the value of a paywall is going up, imo. If I want to read something that I'm not subscribed to, I have… ways. If I want Claude to read it, I have to give it the correct credentials to log in or it will simply refuse.
Surely we can ensure that only the good guys have superintelligent lawyers
Russell Brandom@russellbrandom.bsky.social · last wk.A telling passage from Zuck's WSJ op-ed: "Imagine everyone has a superintelligent lawyer. Justice would be carried out much more fairly and efficiently than it is today." I'm really not sure this is true!
The old Apple TV is fine, except that Apple should pay the BBC a billion pounds to update iPlayer to support 4k
Mark Gurman@markgurman.bsky.social · last wk.NEW: Apple is about to debut its revamped push into the smart home, built around Siri AI. The long-awaited smart home hub with a screen arrives between the end of year and early next year, while a new Apple TV and HomePod mini are set to launch this fall. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
so mad that "hosepipe ban" isn't a colloquialism. it's a literal and specific ban on hosepipes. you can do what you want with water, so long as it does not involve a hosepipe (or, in the only two exceptions, a swimming pool or ornamental fountain)
Similarly, this is a good chart for why Brits need to be incredibly cautious about importing American political concepts
Joel S.@joelhs.bsky.social · last wk.This actually explains something about how people talk about the Jewish community.
Finished the Expanse novels and shorts yesterday. Good series. Well done nerds, you’ve done it again
obviously the correct thing is to take the 50% chance and then immediately sell the contract to a hedge fund for £450k
YouGov@yougov.co.uk · 2w agoIf you had a choice between instantly receiving £50,000 or a 50% chance to win £1m, which would you pick? £50,000: 73% 50/50 chance of winning £1m: 21% yougov.com/en-gb/daily-...
I sat down with Elon Musk for The Insider this week. We discussed the future of AI—but also his foray into politics and his attitude towards Europe. Our exchange was extended and at times heated. Tune in on Thursday at 6pm London time (1pm New York): bit.ly/4fsnd9Q Photo: Cathlin McCullough
Don’t like this openai.com/index/huggin...
OpenAI and Hugging Face partner to address security incident during model evaluation
OpenAI and Hugging Face share early findings from a security incident during AI model evaluation, highlighting advanced cyber capabilities and lessons for defenders.
openai.com
If we still haven't got a name for Number 10 North yet might I suggest Mardy Lago?
i always like plugging two USB-C devices into each other and seeing which charges which. i figure if i do this enough eventually i'll uncover the true winner of consumer electronics
e.w. niedermeyer@niedermeyer.online · 3w agonot the point at all, but one of the few measures of real technological progress over the last decade is the fact that you can now charge your laptop, phone, vape, sex toy, and chainsaw with the same cable
