the credible work in tech policy is to make tech policy less important

Everyone on here be like “oh yes I am a games designer with very strong opinions”, meanwhile here’s Anna age 12 out-designing all of you with her amazing pavement games. G’aun yersel, Anna.

No UK govt dept or UK council should be using twitter (X).

Catalina Fernandes@catalinafernandes.bsky.social · 2w ago

🧵The official twitter account of the British Consulate in Jerusalem was suspended following a series of posts criticizing the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. On 19 July, the UKinJerusalem account shared a joint statement issued by diplomatic missions

It is exhausting tbh

Mark O’Neill 🐻@radiobeartime.com · 2w ago

I beg readers not to try and work out why parts of government are being moved between departments. THERE ARE NO LOGICAL REASONS! DECC was made part of BEIS simply because May forgot it existed.

Googled the book title 'So Many Ways To Belong' and Gemini comes back with "You're absolutely right—the human experience is beautifully varied, and finding where we fit in isn't a one-size-fits-all journey" 🙄🙄🙄 Take me back to when the internet worked

Being a woman rocks because if you use AI you’re stupid and if you don’t use AI you’re dumb

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · last mo.

Women’s use of AI is perceived as a sign of incompetence, while men’s use of AI is seen as an indication of initiative. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Do I know any (more likely parents) of current Cambridge students who would be willing to talk to me about starting Uni? Looking to do some last minute UR recruitment during the holidays, hence the unusual approach...

So it turns out the massive scandal here is that Bridget Phillipson's mum bought a council house for £9k in 1990 and then sold it *33 years* later for £99k. That's the entire story

Israel's military, targeting a terrified people sheltering in tents.

Al Jazeera English@aljazeera.com · last mo.

Israel kills three Palestinians in Gaza as attacks on tents continue https://aje.news/6opacn

no such thing as "Belgium"

James Ball@jamesrball.com · last mo.

I like this. Go on, let's get a few more: what's your low stakes conspiracy theory?

Well done Sally Nugent. He absolutely knows he's on the hook for this - rudeness and aggression (particularly against female interviewers) is his default response. And there'll be more too. Journalists have to keep pushing.

GylesNaMopaleen@gylesnamopaleen.bsky.social · last mo.

credit to Sally Nugent who just, in normal circumstances, brought Nigel Farage's political career to an end. If polls don't plummet after this, I will be truly astonished.

Few things more humbling than measuring out the *correct* porridge serving size

Spent a good chunk of my career arguing for more design at the highest levels of government... surprise! thedreydossier.substack.com/p/i-found-a-...

I found a second vote.gov — and it's registered to the White House

There is a moment in every investigation where the thing you have been looking for finds you instead.

thedreydossier.substack.com

1. Ban all current adults, eg anyone aged 21+ in the year 2026 gets blocked 2. Encourage the younger generation to have another crack at using internet/web to do useful and fun stuff without the current adults in the way Simples www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Labour set to announce crackdown on social media for children within weeks

Age limits and changes to allegedly addictive design features could be in place by the end of the year

theguardian.com

This has made my morning

derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2mo ago

well done william

Anyone here on x-gov slack and would be willing to invite my (new to govtech) partner please?

41 years of EastEnders and someone finally said it.

i'll always remember where i was when i heard that Wes Streeting had resigned as health secretary in order to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership: i was at home, checking the news to see if Wes Streeting had resigned as health secretary in order to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership

a handmade embroidery artwork titled "Manually embroidered cats" created by artist @ladyserebrennikova.

How on earth can any CEO proclaim that they don't want to talk about the past? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

McDonald's boss on abuse claims: 'I don't want to talk about the past'

A BBC investigation in 2023 heard from more than 100 McDonald's workers in the UK claiming they faced sexual assault, harassment, racism, and bullying

bbc.co.uk

Smart phones banned in schools, Cigarettes banned for everyone born after 2008. Remarkable breakthroughs, announced on the same day, barely breaking the news cycle.

I've just applied for a postal vote for the 7th May local elections. Cut off deadline is 5pm today! www.gov.uk/apply-postal...

Apply for a postal vote

Use this service to apply to vote by post so you can take part in elections in the UK. You must be registered to vote in the UK before you can apply.

gov.uk

www.wednesdaynightpizzaclub.com?

The Palintir mini manifesto at least makes it clear that if you buy their software you are buying it to a transnational political, military and economic project. The problem is public procurement officers are not exactly best placed to make that sort of decision. Software is politics!

Great story about the absolute grift of a Manchester-based AI mirage manchestermill.co.uk/is-chris-ken...

Is Chris Kenna Manchester’s first AI billionaire in the making — or a serial fantasist?

He’s been feted by the press as a tech pioneer. But we can’t find his data centres

manchestermill.co.uk

Armageddon is terrible, but our only other option was diversity trainings at work.

[circling our one and only moon] what a beautiful place for a data center

One child free wine spritzer in the sun yesterday = boundless optimism today #newparentmaths

Big purchase requires big Internet. This is simple math

JP@johnathanperk.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Somebody said millennials usually use their laptops (instead of smartphones) for major purchases, including booking flights. I can’t stop thinking about this.