I just saw a post from some guy saying that traditional music is “over” because AI music will provide “infinite personalised songs”. I want music that reflects the misshapen thoughts of another human being, not the output of an algorithmic average.
What is this comment from the Labour MP? No, the issue here isn't that the attempted pogrom had the wrong targets!
Leftback@leftback.bsky.social · 3w agoWell at least we've heard the worst of this story oh wait the mob got into the hotel onto the floor the players were on and were knocking on bedroom doors. I think I'm moving to rage now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Vinted going all out with the “just let us do whatever really” wording in their new terms and conditions Probably going to see a lot of this kind of approach in future
These articles all seem to argue that “it’s going this way so we should accept it” Which ignores the fact that all of the things we value came from movements that forced concessions, from unions, to giving women the vote, and ending slavery We do not make society better by complying in advance
Russell Garner@rgarner.bsky.social · 4w agoWhat one has to remember, when reading an AI puff piece that has plausible-looking notes of caution in it, is that The Guardian is in partnership with OpenAI. I found myself looking for the "sponsored advertorial" badge that never came.
I can’t remember when I signed up for the economist’s newsletter. But I have an unhealthy amount of screengrabs in my iPhone photos, because I frequently send curated gems to @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social to ruin his day
The Economist@economist.com · 4w agoThere is a respectable argument for slowing down AI research, but it rests on the danger to all humanity of the technology being abused or going rogue—not the local harms of data centres
People wang on endlessly about teaching children to survive in the world they will grow up in I’d argue the most important thing UK kids need to learn is not so much “do more AI shite” and more “never go anywhere near an article in a newspaper without putting on a hazmat suit first”
Michael Hobbes@michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 4w agoHowever much you hate British media, it is not enough www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09...
Shout out to all the leaders around the world who did as little as possible about this for years and years, thinking they’d be long gone before they’d have to face up to the consequences.
Met Office - weather and climate@metoffice.gov.uk · 2mo agoUnprecedented heat has affected much of Europe this summer and this week will be no exception🌡️ Yet another spell of extremely hot weather is set to spread north across much of the UK with temperatures reaching the mid 30s Celsius in places📈🌍
Australia’s eSafety commissioner buried a report (released Friday afternoon) that shows the under 16 social media ban didn’t tangibly reduce teen social media use, and also resulted in parents tuning out of kids usage. We traded our privacy for no reason. theconversation.com/more-than-80...
More than 80% of kids still using social media despite ban, new eSafety report finds
The report provides more evidence Australia’s world-leading social media ban isn’t going to plan.
theconversation.com
166 MPs including 8 out of 11 members of the equality select committee
QueerAF@wearequeeraf.com · 2mo agoBridget Phillipson confirmed she will implement the Code despite 166 MPs signing an Early Day Motion opposing it.
Freedom is a complex concept and not even close when it comes to promises of emancipation through technology that billionaire techbros are trying to sell to us. Read my latest on freedom and the tech industry. If you like it, do share - it helps a ton! collectivefutures.blog/whose-freedo...
Whose freedom is it anyway?
Artificial Intelligence and the old promise of the emancipatory machine, from the washing machine, the personal computer, the internet, and social media.
collectivefutures.blog
It's called The Humanities and it's being systematically dismantled due to HE cuts. 😡
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2mo agoUniversities should arm students with AI ‘eval’ powers ft.trib.al/KP8p07e | opinion
Ironically, France's government did a study several years ago that found there was no safe or technically feasible way to mandate online age verification without massively expanding surveillance and eviscerating online privacy. They decided to do it anyway.
Fight for the Future@fightforthefuture.org · 2mo agoFrance just became the first nation in Europe to ban teens from social media and, you guessed it, they’re forcing everyone to upload their ID’s for social media access in order to enforce it. www.bbc.com/news/article...
"There's a value in what we produce because we feel – and an AI chatbot can't feel... But I don't find anything wrong with someone who finds genuine happiness with an AI companion" For my new 'Human Interview', I met AI & Society Prof at KCL @drkatedevlin.bsky.social to explore connection & tech 👇
‘There’s a Value in What We Produce Because We Feel – and an AI Chatbot Can’t Feel’
Byline Times' Editor in Chief meets Kate Devlin, Professor of AI and Society at King’s College London, to explore how relationships with AI companions aren’t particularly new, why she believes the und...
bylinetimes.com
It's so exciting being a freelancer in the arts & ents industry (one of the UK's biggest industries) bc about once a month the gvt have a new proposal to kick you in the head & you have to fill in a dry consultation form explaining why kicking you in the head would be bad for business, not good
Tits McGee@scientits.bsky.social · 3mo agoSelf-employed people! Sorry to put a downer on your Sunday, but in case you'd not seen, the Government wants us to pay our tax *monthly* like we're employees or something With the World Cup and all the politics, I'd missed the consultation they put out last month, which is here: 1/
Self-employed people! Sorry to put a downer on your Sunday, but in case you'd not seen, the Government wants us to pay our tax *monthly* like we're employees or something With the World Cup and all the politics, I'd missed the consultation they put out last month, which is here: 1/
Timely Payments in Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA)
gov.uk
This is so, so bad. She’s taken the very narrow point that domestic drilling may result in oil and gas with a slightly lower carbon footprint than some imports and extrapolated it out to make sweeping claims about UK emissions increasing that are entirely false. So deeply unserious.
Dan Grey@dangrey.bsky.social · 3mo agoBadenoch just said, on national TV, that UK's carbon emissions have gone up "in total" because of the 2008 Climate Change Act. They have, in fact, declined by more than half. Did #Kuenssberg break in to point this basic fact out? Of course not
New: the highly controversial AI music generator Suno was hacked. The hacker sent us Suno source code; it shows the company scraped YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius. In all, Suno scraped *decades* worth of music from the internet. Obviously didn't pay artists www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Le Guin on the idea that there is a secret to getting good at writing.
Great, I urge you to put “Fuck you, we’re slashing spending on the poorest so we can give all of that money to American weapons companies” to the public. Front and centre, tell everyone loud and clear with force and clarity. I want the public to hear it.
I disagree. As the President of the European Cannibalism Association, I think Europe needs to focus on cannibalism.
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 4mo agoEurope must prioritize AI over its immediate climate ambitions or risk surrendering its tech sovereignty to China, the president of the European Data Centre Association has said.
Actually, no, I'm not finished: in over a decade of research I have seen how online spaces are places where friendships form and lives are built and sometimes saved. Cutting it off on a whim removes a valuable resource for people who face awful things in real life.
I'm ill this evening so my tl;dr is I agree with Dan and, furthermore, kids could be better protected online by ending stuff like infinite scroll and video autoplay and tightening up tech companies' accountability, and a ban flies in the face of the evidence on this. And the NSPCC thinks so too.
Dan Sohege@danielsohege.bsky.social · 4mo agoThis is nuts. Yes we need better protections online, but this is a massive overreach by Starmer. For many young people, especially marginalised ones such as trans and neurodivergent, online spaces can be a safe place for them to develop a genuine support community www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
This is utterly disgusting. If this stands, people with profound cognitive disabilities will be left without protection. This is the kind of horror that will end up being the subject of a major inquiry 20 years from now when the damage has already been done. www.mind.org.uk/news-campaig...
Always bleakly amusing to hear people with a 30-year-old concept of UK news talk about the guardian as “England’s left-wing paper”, when its actual politics are probably best described as “that village from hot fuzz”
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4mo agoThe new EHRC ruling isn’t just about trans people’s access to toilets - it’s about protecting other vital single-sex spaces
Once again, the bathroom bills are not about biology or women's safety, but about the dumbest, meanest, most hobbyless creeps in society wanting the power to determine other peoples' gender, based on whatever grounds are convenient in the moment.
Michael Hobbes@michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 4mo agoOne of the most psychotic legal proposals I've ever seen
One of the most psychotic legal proposals I've ever seen
Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️@leftiestats.bsky.social · last yr.🚨 BREAKING | Labour is set to impose a sweeping ban on trans people using any "single-sex space". In EHRC guidance that Labour is set to approve, trans people will be barred from accessing toilets, gyms and changing rooms that match their gender. (Source: @TheTimes)
Now paywall free: Me on the way right-wing papers present Farage’s relationship with the public like Beatlemania with a ballot box thenewworld.substack.com/p/right-wing...
Right wing papers don’t scrutinise Farage – they suck up to him
The Sun, Telegraph, Mail and Times cover the Reform leader less like a politician and more like a star
thenewworld.substack.com