#CommonplaceBook reading, abundance, maybe some hopeful green shoots (and I didn't even mention @hopeful.technology !). Read to the end for a picture of me weeding out the less good green shoots. lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/08/comm...

#CommonplaceBook reading, abundance, maybe some hopeful green shoots (and I didn't even mention @hopeful.technology !). Read to the end for a picture of me weeding out the less good green shoots. lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/08/comm...

brief notes on #EMFCamp lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/07/elec... huge thanks to everyone who made it happen, especially orga

#emfcamp was excellent. Didn't go to any talks or workshops, just chats, meetups, dancing, puzzles, volunteering, and wandering admiring the art. Huge thanks to everyone who made it happen ❤️ Maybe see some of you in 6 weeks for #OSHCamp? https:// oshug.org/event/oshcamp2026 #OpenSourceHardware

Looking forward to seeing many wonderful folks at #EMFCamp ☀️ I'm hosting: 🌎️ ClimateAction.tech meetup 4pm Fri 🛠️ Chat about maintaining things 11.15am Sat & I'll be at the 💻️ Society for Hopeful Technologists meetup. 🌳 I'm prioritising chats, so message me if you don't spot me, and let's meet up!

Home - ClimateAction.Tech

The climate crisis is happening all around us. As tech workers, we can use our skills to take and accelerate climate action.

climateaction.tech

So what did colleges actually do with faculty tenure & promotion during COVID, and what were the effects? Much ink was spilled on this topic during the pandemic, but I haven't seen any retrospective on how it went.

#CommonplaceBook far too much AI stuff but also maybe a bit of hope. https:// lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/07/commonplace-book-far-too-much-ai-but.html Thanks @miaout.bsky.social @lu.is @ntnsndr.in @jjn1.bsky.social et al for sharing interesting links over recent months

Is there a UK-wide map — or booking system — of community-owned meeting rooms / hireable spaces / coworking? (Like Hubble is a map of privately owned ones) hubblehq.com

I see a lot of AI evaluation stuff that feels like it risks over-indexing on the models, when how the various humans around a [process/product/service/pickyourterm] interact with the model outputs is also a key element As those interactions affect whether outcomes and/or process work 'well'

Pastures new: this spring, we moved to Greater Liverpool. lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/06/past... If you are in the area, say hi 👋🏻 and please share your favourite places and activities

Pastures new

This spring, we moved to Greater Liverpool.  Cambridge has been a fine place for many years, but it was time for a change - more scenery, mo...

lbj20.blogspot.com

Pastures new: this spring, we moved to Greater Liverpool. lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/06/past... If you are in the area, say hi 👋🏻 and please share your favourite places and activities

Pastures new

This spring, we moved to Greater Liverpool.  Cambridge has been a fine place for many years, but it was time for a change - more scenery, mo...

lbj20.blogspot.com

Can I plug a thing today? Where I work, we believe the internet should serve everyone: openly, fairly, and without wrecking the planet in the process. The first of what will become an annual State of the Fossil Free Internet report went live today. What's in? fossilfree.greenweb.org/2026/ /1

State of the Fossil-Free Internet Report

In this first annual briefing by Green Web Foundation, we examine the biggest obstacles to a fossil-free internet. This year’s focus: the rise of too many dirty data centres.

fossilfree.greenweb.org

#CommonplaceNotes AI fables, knowledge, etc. Well matured, some of these, due to relocating to Greater Liverpool along the way lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/04/commonplace-book-ai-fables-knowledge.html

🌳✨ Urban Tree Festival 9–17 May 2026 OPEN CALL FOR EVENTS IS LIVE ✨🌳 Thread 👇

Ireland has dismantled its first commercial wind farm to make way for a step-change in scale. Each new turbine generates more power than the entire 1992 Bellacorick site, illustrating how 3 decades of innovation have compressed land use while multiplying output. buff.ly/goiabIO #ShareGoodNewsToo

Last turbine on first commercial wind farm dismantled

The last wind turbine of what was Ireland's first commercial wind farm at Bellacorick in Co Mayo has been dismantled.

buff.ly

It’s inherently right wing because you can’t buy public services & infrastructure with an individual UBI.

Emma Jacobs@emmavj.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Increasingly think UBI is what tech bros say because they can’t face saying tax and welfare/benefits as.ft.com/r/da40da05-4... Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister

We're looking at setting up the Society for Hopeful Technologists as a co-operative society and I'd love to speak with folks or find examples of folks who have experience of running membership orgs that are also coops societyforhopefultechnologists.org

Society for Hopeful Technologists

For everyone who wants technologies to work for people and planet.

societyforhopefultechnologists.org

The Society for Hopeful Technologists listened to our community. We know many folks feel tech has gone in the wrong direction and don't know what to do about it. We're going to start by building a solidarity network that makes it easier for Hopeful Technologists to act hopeful.technology

Now I've cleared my notes file, it's time for the Well State of the World 2026. These discussions are always intriguing... people.well.com/conf/inkwell...

#CommonplaceNotes: mental models, autonomy, a poem. lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/01/comm... HT @dougbelshaw.com @carefultrouble.bsky.social et al for interesting things

I know it's Twixmas but I'm frustrated to see this case study from 2023 being regurgitated without any evidence of actual impact. We should expect better. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

AI being used to help cut A&E waiting times in England this winter

Forecasting tool predicts when demand will be highest, allowing NHS trusts to better plan staffing and bed space

theguardian.com

#CommonplaceNotes lbj20.blogspot.com/2025/12/comm... supply chains, hope, cool

So, to those who say "masks don't work", cite the flawed Cochrane report, insist upon an unfeasible RCT, accuse folks of panic, and undermine public health on social and mainstream media during a flu/RSV epidemic... 1. Seasonal viruses may be "normal", but they do immense harm.

2. COVID now adds to disease burden in an unpredictable, perennial way. 3. We maddeningly restrict access to vaccines without considering the wider and long-term costs of disease. 4. Nothing has been done nationally to improve indoor air quality. 5. Vaccines and NPIs synergise.

Okay, hive mind! I'm doing a foresight review on the safe adoption of AI in engineering - am planning a research trip to the Bay Area in Feb, and am looking to speak to folk working on - transparent approaches to the full AI supply chain, inc data, labour practices, environmental footprint (1/2)

This blog post by Helen Toner (well-known by some for a stint on the OpenAI board) is *really really* interesting because it is the first thing I've read by someone in Frontier AI that starts to get to grips with sociotechnical concerns open.substack.com/pub/helenton...

Taking Jaggedness Seriously

Why we should expect AI capabilities to keep being extremely uneven, and why that matters

open.substack.com

We’re often asked whether we’re optimistic or pessimistic about technologies. That’s the wrong question. If any of this matters, we need to stop seeing technology like the weather, to be merely forecasted, and instead see it like politics, to be collectively shaped.

New thing! The @carefultrouble.bsky.social Careful Consequence Check is now live and free to use. Based on research with the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, this practical tool will help you answer the question "is my AI product creepy and weird" www.careful.industries/consequences

#CommonplaceBook notes - not entirely about AI, and there's some novelty in the AI bits too. Thanks to all those who wrote things and linked to things recently! lbj20.blogspot.com/2025/10/comm... Share and Enjoy.

#CommonplaceBook notes - not entirely about AI, and there's some novelty in the AI bits too. Thanks to all those who wrote things and linked to things recently! lbj20.blogspot.com/2025/10/comm... Share and Enjoy.