New research out from our centre today on how novelists and industry practitioners are navigating AI, including headlines on just how many authors fear AI will completely replace them. Lots to dig into in this great report, check it out or skip to the chapters that matter to you👇

Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy@mctd.bsky.social · 9mo ago

NEW REPORT – The Impact of Generative AI and the Novel 📚 Today we've published new research by @clemicollett.bsky.social examining how industry practitioners, from novelists to publishers, are experiencing AI’s significant impacts. Read now: www.mctd.ac.uk/impact-of-ge...

There's still time to sign up to the online launch of our latest report: The High Stakes of Menstrual Tracking. Wed 11th, 4-5pm, Stefanie Felsberger is a great speaker - and there's an expert panel to boot. Don't miss out 👇

Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy@mctd.bsky.social · last yr.

UPCOMING🩸The High Stakes of Menstrual Tracking Join us at the launch of our report on femtech and improving access to menstrual knowledge and care. Hear from self-tracking and reproductive justice experts @flsbrgr.bsky.social, @wernimont.bsky.social, & Andrea Ford. ➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/events/repor...

🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings? It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉 New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...

Democracy for Sale 1, Dominic Cummings 0

We fought to expose the £800m research agency that Cummings built to escape scrutiny - and we won.

democracyforsale.substack.com

Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine

NEW 🚨 We have signed a joint letter urging PM Keir Starmer not to sacrifice online safety laws in US trade negotiations. If the most powerful tech firms can negotiate away regulator frameworks created by our sovereign parliament, then what is left of our democracy? ➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/dont-relax-t...

Don’t relax tech laws to appease Trump, campaigners tell PM – The Times

We have signed a joint letter from civil society and media urging PM Keir Starmer not to water down online safety laws and curbs on Big Tech.

mctd.ac.uk

Our brief on AI, Copyright, and the Creative Industries is out today. Unregulated GenAI will not lead to growth. The UK creative sector is one of our strongest - but proposals to allow AI companies to freely scrape creative work to train models puts it in harms way. www.mctd.ac.uk/policy-brief...

Policy Brief: AI, Copyright, and Productivity in the Creative Industries

In this report we examine the impacts Generative AI may have on the UK's creative sector’s workforce and productivity and provide policy recommendations for the Government.

mctd.ac.uk

Vital report from @raeng.org.uk today setting out recs including mandatory sustainability reporting for data centres. The world is on course to miss even our 2 degree climate target - there will be consequences w/out serious action. More of this sort of work is needed.

Royal Academy of Engineering@raeng.org.uk · last yr.

Great to see coverage of our new AI sustainability report in the Guardian today. We need to take measures to minimise risks to the environment, people and the economy by managing the resource demands of AI systems. Find out more:

CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE AI❓ New @sociologica.bsky.social: @ginasue.bsky.social examines AI and democratic governance. She argues AI’s tendencies toward centralisation, unchecked economic growth, and pursuit of efficiency pose significant challenges to democracy. ➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/can-democrac...

NEW! 📕 Antonio Casilli pulls back the curtain on automation, explaining why big tech's AI systems wouldn’t function without unpaid or underpaid human labour. He warns that the danger is not that robots will take our jobs, but that humans will have to do theirs... ➡️ www.casilli.fr/2025/01/08/m...

My New Book ‘Waiting for Robots’ Is Out Now from University of Chicago Press: How AI Companies Extract Value From Every Human on Earth | Antonio A. Casilli

I am excited to announce the publication of my new book Waiting for Robots: The Hidden Hands of Automation (University of Chicago Press, 2025) on January 8th. Read more about media coverage and praise...

casilli.fr

Who's ready to talk about responsible AI on the Six O'clock News? This Professor

I saved my spiel for LinkedIn but very grateful to my managers and colleagues for putting me forward for this award - and thrilled to have made the shortlist 🎆

CRASSH@crasshlive.bsky.social · 2y ago

🎉 🎉 🎉 Congratulations to @mctd.bsky.social's Policy and Impact Manager @tomlacy.bsky.social, who was recently nominated for the Jonathan Nicholls Rising Star Award! A very much deserved nomination, well done Tom!

AI Action Summit 2025 🇨🇵 We drew together insights from our research network in response to the summit’s call for ideas – highlighting the risks that emerge from the intersection of AI systems with social, cultural, and organisational structures. Read our submission ⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/written-evid...

Written Evidence: Priorities for the France AI Action Summit 2025

Our submission to the AI Action Summit 2025 call for ideas draws together insights from our research network on questions which intersect with our Centre’s three strategic research areas: Work, Trust,...

mctd.ac.uk

Workplace protections against AI and technology driven abuse must be more than an afterthought for Gov's employment rights programme. And civil society & unions have already done the legwork. My comments in a new blog here👇 www.mctd.ac.uk/ai-protectio...

AI protections must be more than a footnote in the UK Government's 'Plan to Make Work Pay'

Our Policy and Impact Manager Tom Lacy on the wide-ranging harms of new tech that should be in scope of the Government’s consultation on workplace protections This October saw the introduction of the ...

mctd.ac.uk

"Inside the belly of AI is a hidden workforce fuelling the 21st century’s largest case of human exploitation" If you're in/near Cambridge Tuesday next week (12th) drop by our free event for chat and a documentary preview on the invisible workforce behind AI ⬇️⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/events/anton...

In the Belly of AI / Feeding the Machine – Antonio Casilli in conversation with James Muldoon

A conversation with Antonio Casilli and James Muldoon on the hidden workforce that powers Big Tech's AI systems.

mctd.ac.uk

Digital ID in the UK: A rapid response study by me for @carefultrouble.bsky.social, published today, drawing on public polling by @survation.bsky.social and a landscape map of known govt plans. Do govt's plans for digital ID meet the public's needs? www.careful.industries/digital-iden...

If you'll be at Labour Conference on the Sunday, don't forget to join us and whole bunch of other progressive tech folks at the tech for everyone reception. 6-8pm👇👇 www.mctd.ac.uk/events/labou...

Labour Party Conference: 'Building Tech for Everyone' Reception

Come join us for networking, drinks and a special speaker outside Labour Party Conference 2024 in Liverpool.

mctd.ac.uk

MCTD will be hosting a free online reading & in-conversation with author Sasha Abramsky on 25 September, 6pm. We'll be discussing Sasha's upcoming book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America More info here 👇 www.mctd.ac.uk/events/chaos...

Chaos Comes Calling - Reading and Conversation with Sasha Abramsky

Celebrate the upcoming publication of Sasha Abramsky's new book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-right Takeover of Small Town America - out 26 September

mctd.ac.uk