Owen Jackson

Ysabel Yates'... I mean Cookie Monster's superb takedown of why GenAI in the workplace sucks.

@aptshadow.bsky.social how does it feel to be the author of the Torment Nexus?

Anyone else found themselves inexplicably wistful about early 2000s message boards in the last 36 hours? 😢

Had this idea in lockdown, half-built it, forgot about it, remembered it again, though might as well finish it.

Olly to the Cabinet Office (probably):

"They can start cutting people's faces up. They can stab someone. They can shoot someone." EXCLUSIVE: Our hidden cameras capture the leader of Turning Point UK organising a fake rally for a foreign government and helping arrange a murder-for-hire with loyalist paramilitaries.

Fascinating story. For anyone who has worked in sensitive parts of govt, this is basically your "waking up in a cold sweat" nightmare. I'm so glad Richard is now in a good place www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

As always, these things come down to choices. Do Ministers want the UK to be prepared? If so, we need to increase the amount we spend on preparedness. It isn't a case of better coordination - you can't coordinate yourself out of a just-in-time economy which prioritises expediency over resilience.

@ciaranm.bsky.social you still a fan of a defence chart?

Very good by Sam. The Euro in/out dynamic will be interesting. If opting out of ERM is basically an open-ended veto, I can't see how the EU could make the Euro a condition of membership. Better to yield the point in negotiation than have the "states rights" point proved in the years after agreement

I need to write a thread about this. If you don't like it, feel free to block me. But I hope at least some of you will listen. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

"We're going to put those homes... under the hammer"

Oh god, it's "UK urban pedestrians vs UK urban cyclists" Day on Bluesky already! It comes around earlier every year.

Honestly, Science Ministers keep falling into this trap. While I think it is inexcusable and we're right to be annoyed that this keeps happening, we really ought to stop calling them "Science Minister" and, you know, actually give it a title which describes what it actually is supposed to be!

The removal of Olly Robbins was a travesty which deprived the FCDO of the kind of leader it needed during a period of upheval. Talk about silver linings, though - Lindy Cameron is part of the small cadre of genuinely top quality officials in Whitehall www.ft.com/content/360d...

Don't get a chance to do as many conferences as I'd like these days, but excited to be at @nestauk.bsky.social's #PolicyLive today. If you see me, say hi!

@lordbonkers.bsky.social would you put Corbyn in goal?

Just set up a new monthly donation to RNLI through Give-As-You-Earn. Top people.

I was dismissive of all the "Andy Burnham hates London" takes in the last week. Reading this, I may need to change my opinion. The Chandos?!

Next time I'm discussing criminal acts with you over a boozy lunch, you'd best believe I'm going to check you for a camera first!

I found my current trustee role at The 93% Club through Reach. Very sad to see it go.

I went back to China after a decade away—I'd previously lived there for 20 years. Some notes:

Wherever Dolly and Tim are, they're having one hell of a colourful party

Reform voters, and to a lesser extent Tories, are much likelier to think they hold the most common public view across several topics that our survey suggests is not the case, most notably: -2024 rioters -Trans ID -Bregret -Business reg -Lockdowns -Israel-Palestine -Trump yougov.com/en-gb/articl...

News on my street WhatsApp group last month included a break-in where the thief apparently just stole blackcurrant squash. I thought it might have been a bear with very little brain, but in hindsight, maybe it was an embodied AI

Great, thoughtful thread from @christophersmith.bsky.social on Jodrell Bank.

We believe those are within New Jorvik.

Spain continuing to win on all fronts right now www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

I'd put this into the "Spreadsheet Phil" category of DefSec appointments. Streeting has shown he is willing to take on a big, very expensive bureaucracy and - whether you agree with the decisions or not - make decisions on efficiencies. With Healey as CX this is clearly about defence procurement.

Forget about DSIT/DBIST/DCMS etc - this is the MoG change that will really matter, and will have massive ramifications whether done well or badly

Science and innovation were within BIS, formed in 2009 under Brown. I have to say I'm less worried about the DSIT change than most. I may well be proved wrong but research did pretty well in the 2010s overall. Tech policy may be a different kettle of fish though, I admit.

The problem isn't vegetative electron microscopy. It is vegetative electron microscopers using AI for their literature reviews.

Broke: we expect our Prime Ministers to have bigger achievements than bus reform Woke: the Bus Services Act 2017 is a dogs breakfast and in this thread I will... 1/

This is a huge shame.