Jo Wolff
@jowolff.bsky.social
Jonathan Wolff, Political Philosopher. Fellow British Academy Emeritus Professor Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford Wolfson College President The Royal Institute of Philosophy THFC supporter in 'what's football again?' mode. #academic
The crusade to eradicate everything good about the USA.
CNN@cnn.com · 51m agoA federal judge on Wednesday officially allowed the Trump administration to end temporary deportation protection for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, marking the final step, for now, in a months-long case that made its way to the Supreme Court. https://cnn.it/4hRYTRr
How to Extend The Life You Hate. All airport books, rolled into one.
Everyone wants to give us the big picture but, as I’ve noted before, we all live in small pictures.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 5h agoBreaking news: Hassabis told staff he was stepping back to focus on the 'big picture' in a major shake-up at the top of the AI lab that he founded. ft.trib.al/jjefakU
An interview of me by Maria Barghamian in Armenia, on Ethics and Public Policy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcU...
AUA Focus Series S2 E16: Focus on Ethics and Public Policy
YouTube video by AUA Media Lab
youtube.com
Really disappointing that they are squabbling over building more prison places, rather than laying out a strategy to reduce the number of prisoners commensurate with the falling crime rate.
Full Fact@fullfact.org · 9h agoAndy Burnham has claimed only 500 prison places were added between 2010 and 2024, but Kemi Badenoch says the Conservatives created 14,000 new places. Can these two claims add up? We’ve had a look at the figures 👇 fullfact.org/crime/how-ma...
Well … this appears to be what happens when you try to compost tomatoes. 🍅
Hold on. My Mum needs to use the phone, I’ll call you back later if I can. How long will you still be at home for?
Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 20h agoFood, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.
🎶 Flew in from Miami Beach, BOAC Didn't get to bed last night On the way, the paper bag was on my knee Man, I had a dreadful flight 🎶 Ok, a bit earlier than 1986. But non-alcohol induced air sickness is a bit of a rarity these days.
Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 20h agoFood, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.
It’s hard to know what’s going on. SpaceX went up almost 10% yesterday then fell back overnight. I wonder how much of the rise was short sellers locking in their profits ahead of the earnings report and the fall, new short sellers taking a position. But I barely know what I’m talking about here.
CNBC@cnbc.com · 14h agoSpaceX dives over 8% after AI spending surge rattles investors
“Let’s aim for the moon!” “Like this?” “Er … it will do for now.”
Sky News@news.sky.com · 18h agoSpaceX latest: Abandoned rocket about to slam into moon at high speed
Philosophers used to moan about the assumption that things are only real if you could measure them. But honestly that’s a lot better than the assumption now that things are only real if you can monetise them.
Campaigning for truth in advertising. I want to see ‘original but still the worst!’.
What comes around goes around. Musk’s space junk now appears to be a significant risk to his own operations. “Regulatory and Operational Risks: SpaceX faces operational challenges related to its large fleet of Starlink satellites, including rising debris risks and regulatory scrutiny.”
How long before we start using the concept of ‘artisanal writing’? (Previously known as ‘writing’ before AI.)
How long before we start using the concept of ‘artisanal writing’? (Previously known as ‘writing’ before AI.)
Jersey Evening Post, July 21st 1944. Still under German occupation. So strange to see a news story in English favourable to Hitler.
Trying to work out whether Trump’s supporters hate his personal morality but put it to one side because they love his policies more, or whether they actually admire his personal morality. Presumably a mix: but what proportion?
Philosophers used to moan about the assumption that things are only real if you could measure them. But honestly that’s a lot better than the assumption now that things are only real if you can monetise them.
Attitudes to health in different countries: A German said to me that if a German goes to a doctor with a headache they’ll be sent off for a brain scan. If a British person does the same he’ll be given some pink pills and told to come back in two weeks if it’s still bad.
We’re not doing Bluesky bubble again are we? Just not true. Someone slightly disagreed with something I posted only a couple of weeks ago.
BREAKING: The newly elected Prime Minister of Hungary announced that Netanyahu will be arrested if he enters Hungary.
What should we do about prison over-crowding? At a conference a few years ago I was told that in Norway once convicted you don’t necessarily go to prison right away: you often have to wait for a place to come up, like you wait for an operation in the NHS. It’s a fascinatingly different perspective.
Oops. We developed new technologies as if we were communists believe that they would reduce human toil, and create conditions for flourishing lives. But actually they dominate us, alienate us from each other, reduce us to servants to machines, and diminish our creativity, just as Marx noted in 1844.
Jersey Evening Post, July 21st 1944. Still under German occupation. So strange to see a news story in English favourable to Hitler.
We’re not doing Bluesky bubble again are we? Just not true. Someone slightly disagreed with something I posted only a couple of weeks ago.
Attitudes to health in different countries: A German said to me that if a German goes to a doctor with a headache they’ll be sent off for a brain scan. If a British person does the same he’ll be given some pink pills and told to come back in two weeks if it’s still bad.
"The government’s case fell apart because Pirro had to code-switch. The case was brought under the rules of television, but had to be prosecuted under the rule of law. That’s the solution. We should replace the rules of television with the rule of law."
Behold the TRUMP Act: I Know How to Fix American Politics
How to save the republic with one weird trick.
lnk.thebulwark.com
Oops. We developed new technologies as if we were communists believe that they would reduce human toil, and create conditions for flourishing lives. But actually they dominate us, alienate us from each other, reduce us to servants to machines, and diminish our creativity, just as Marx noted in 1844.
AI is definitely causing growth in some areas of the economy. Primarily those that are having to take extra steps (like universities and publishers) to ensure that their activities are not being ruined by AI. Rather like the way computer viruses stimulated the growth of anti-virus software.
