Bread and circuses while elsewhere Rome is burning

This week the most advanced AI model on the planet got switched off by a foreign government. British researchers were studying it. British companies were testing it. British hospitals were piloting it. Not any more. This isn't an AI story. It's the story of every industry we used to lead. Britain has some of the best AI talent in the world. DeepMind was built here. Our AI Safety Institute writes the rules other countries follow. We have the researchers, the universities, the standards. What we don't have is the power stations to run the data centres, the planning system to build them, or the industrial base to make the chips. So the work happens here and the value lands somewhere else. We invent. Others build. Others decide. Then we read about it on Saturday morning. Same story as the kit our soldiers don't have. Same story as the factories we used to. I spent nine months in government making this argument inside the room. I'll make it louder from outside.

Instead of discussing how Elon Musk is now the world's first trillionaire, we should talk about how he killed hundreds of thousands of people through his dismantling of food and medical aid to poor countries currentaffairs.org/news/how-…

We're seeing a clear pattern from Reform now. We saw it in Southampton. We've seen it in Belfast. They're all over social media and the airwaves with inflammatory and provocative language. Then when violence occurs, they go to ground.

One of the most beautiful moments before Spain vs Peru pre-World Cup did not come from a goal, a tackle or a piece of skill. 🇪🇸 v 🇵🇪 💘 It came from kindness. As the players walked onto the pitch, Peruvian defender Fabio Gruber noticed that the young boy with Down syndrome accompanying him was feeling cold in the stadium. Without hesitation, he removed his own jacket and gently placed it over the boy’s shoulders. In that simple act, football showed its heart. Moments like this are why the world loves football. As we head towards the 2026 World Cup, may we see more of this spirit on and off the pitch. #FIFAWorldCup #fwc2026 ⚽❤️

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's reputation in his lifetime, and to the present day, was based not just upon his work as an architect, but also as a designer and painter. In 1923, with his wife Margaret, he settled in Port Vendres in the Mediterranean. 'The Little Bay,' is from 1927.

one of the most annoying features of the current moment is surely the never-ending set of insane ways people define 'AGI'... here, Tim Crane and I discuss our responses to this insanity, during the latest ep of my philosophy podcast [link below]

full episode and transcript: endsdontjustifythemeans.com/…

A disgrace to the memory of the men and women who gave their lives to win World War II.

If leading AI companies are indeed approaching the point of recursive self-improvement, a coordinated, verifiable, and universally applied pause is probably the only responsible solution to mitigate several major AI risks; at least until safety guarantees are developed and demonstrated. Ensuring that such a moratorium is respected would require sincere collaboration between various countries and companies, but I definitely believe it is achievable if others follow in @AnthropicAI's footsteps.

Including this one?

Nigel Farage is a demagogue who has little regard for facts or the truth. Journalists covering him have no such excuse independent.co.uk/voices/nig…

Our highest and most urgent national priority should be AI safeguards. The risks of AI weapons, pathogens, mass unemployment, surveillance, and even extinction must not continue to be largely ignored.

It's not just the exploitation of a tragedy. JD Vance's picture of Britain - where migrants have led to a crime surge - is the opposite of the truth. comment.press/vance1234

So Farage ran away from parliament after he was shamed by the PM. Where did he run away to? To Oswald's in Mayfair, a private members club. When will people wake up. He doesn’t represent you. He doesn’t understand you. He’s not like you. He’s using you. mirror.co.uk/news/politics/h…

Yes, I almost teared up over Arsenal

“Why argue with an Arsenal fan when you can just wait?” We waited. We won. We are champions of England - and we are just one game away from being crowned champions of Europe. Read my piece on what Arsenal means to me here: nytimes.com/athletic/7315454…

Tony Blair and the politics of self-delusion observer.co.uk/news/politics…

Chimneys, turrets and crow-stepped gables on George Gilbert's Scott's 1860s main buildings of Glasgow University. #glasgow #architecture #architecturephotography #glasgowuniversity