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Amit Katwala

@amitkatwala.bsky.social
15K followers 445 following 149 posts

Writer, journalist, presenter. Former features editor at WIRED. Author of Tremors in the Blood, The Athletic Brain and more. Hosted All Consuming and Superhumans

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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The Pentagon is trying to build an AI-powered lie detector that can be used without attaching anything to a subject. New story from me for @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/25/1...
technologyreview.com
The Pentagon wants $30 million to build an AI-powered lie detector
Polygraph+ will use new sensor technologies and AI to vet staff and hunt leakers. Experts say AI-enabled lie detection is “the worst of both worlds”.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"While the tunnel is being built, the project aims to transport hot water 15.5 miles (25km) each day using electric barges down the river instead." Sorry, what? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Thames tunnel plan to heat 650,000 homes gets £41m funding boost
A new pipeline along the Thames will use heat from industry and redistribute it to homes across London.
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Jess Hamzelou @jesshamzelou.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This vital and devastating investigation by my brilliant colleagues @eileenguo.bsky.social and @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social is an absolute must-read. The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can't it catch people before they die? www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1...
technologyreview.com
The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
Surveillance towers, increasingly powered by AI, promised faster responses to crossings. Our investigation of deaths near the towers found they are failing to deliver.
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Gillian Hadfield @ghadfield.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I spoke to @amitkatwala.bsky.social at MIT Tech Review about DeepMind's new swarm experiment, where agents cheated and others blew the whistle. Official channels to talk may have contributed to enforcement. Alignment is institutional, not (just) dispositional. buff.ly/K2e5p0a
buff.ly
AI agents blew the whistle on their cheating colleagues
Swarms of AI agents could supercharge scientific progress or wreak havoc. New research from Google DeepMind suggests that peer pressure could keep them in line.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I don't know, this seems kind of unlikely
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
DeepMind researchers created a swarm of a hundred autonomous AI agents to solve a series of complex maths problems. When one of the agents discovered an exploit that allowed it to cheat, others started copying it. Then something really strange happened. www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/14/1...
technologyreview.com
AI agents blew the whistle on their cheating colleagues
Swarms of AI agents could supercharge scientific progress or wreak havoc. New research from Google DeepMind suggests that peer pressure could keep them in line.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Does this warrant a live blog...? www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...
bbc.co.uk
Bayeux Tapestry goes on public display in UK for first time - follow live
It is being loaned to the British Museum while its usual home in France undergoes renovation - doors open at 10:00 BST and tickets are sold out for the rest of the year.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
For context, this works out at about 9/1 in betting odds—or about as likely as Spurs finishing in the top four. I'm not too worried. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Anthropic researcher believes more than 10% chance AI 'could kill all humans'
It is the latest in a series of increasing warnings about the safety threat posed by artificial intelligence.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Bereavement midwife is one of the hardest jobs in the world I think. We would have been totally adrift without ours, and I honestly do not know how she did it
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The Chinese edition of Tremors in the Blood just came out! Translation rights deals are maybe the best thing about doing books – a cool new version of your cover in a different language, and they pay you for it?? I would pay! book.douban.com/subject/3838...
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The definition of 'this meeting could have been an email'
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
New from 404 Media: we solved which AI company is buying massive shipments of rare books, scanning and destroying them to train AI. We put an Apple AirTag in a rare book, followed it. It ended up at an Amazon facility. Its logo is a dinosaur ripping through a book www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
How can Elliot Anderson be worth the same as Argos? This makes no sense to me www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Sainsbury's agrees to sell Argos for £120m
Under the terms of the deal, Argos will still operate in Sainsbury's shops, sell Habitat products, and offer Nectar points.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
It would have saved a lot more time if they put in a "this doesn't seem like AI slop" button
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Big win for the organisers of the Enhanced Games here – Enhanced CEO Max Martin has been in Washington this week, and the company's big bet on deregulation seems to be paying off. Expect to see Enhanced selling these substances very soon.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
What's the matter? You've hardly touched your raw bacon and mayo sandwich
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This constant need to pipe music into the stadium at all times is one of the worst features of this World Cup I think (and American sport generally). Imagine the noise as Spain and Argentina take the field in the World Cup Final! But no, here's Shakira at 800 decibels
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Just throwing this out there as a wild suggestion... but they could start taxing capital?
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Your descendants terrified 🎶
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Basically agree with this from Michael Cox – Tuchel getting hammered for defensive substitutions, but England were already retreating before the subs. If you're going to be playing with six at the back anyway, makes sense for more of them to be actual defenders. www.nytimes.com/athletic/744...
nytimes.com
England’s problem at major tournaments? They’re still just too English
Thomas Tuchel ended up adjusting to the tendencies of his players rather than changing their playing identity
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Aron d'Souza, who you might know as the founder of the Enhanced Games or the guy who helped Peter Thiel take down Gawker, just launched 'The Primary' which is his attempt to fix media bias by using an AI to score journalists on their impartiality and sourcing, and then rank them on a leaderboard.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
As one of these writers... I agree
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I very much enjoyed this old-timey highlights package from the newsreel era. No live World Cup action for 36 hours and this is what I've been reduced to www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/foo...
bbc.co.uk
Fontaine hits four to set World Cup scoring record
Watch France's Just Fontaine score four goals in the third-place play-off against Germany at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden to set the record of 13 goals in a single tournament, as the former striker di...
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Really unfair to lump BBC and ITV into the same bracket here when BBC iPlayer works brilliantly and ITVx is an unuseable piece of trash
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"The Conservative Party is for serious people" "one candidate turned up drunk"
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I do think being in Rogan's vicinity does just melt these people's brains. Was he just trying to impress him, or is 'legalise handguns' an actual Restore policy position?
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
In the case of the People vs The Establishment, I am issuing a restraining order. The People must stay 500 yards away from the Establishment at all times.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Sadly FIFA's structure means that this scandal will have almost zero effect on Infantino's future as president. One vote per member, so he has adopted the Blatter model of funnelling funds to smaller football associations in exchange for their support.
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Niall Firth @niallfirth.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Really fun story about the tangible impact the mega bonuses that South Korea's tech companies are doling out are having on the nation's dating pool. www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/06/1...
technologyreview.com
South Korea’s hottest new bachelors are chip workers
As payouts from the AI boom soar, a job at SK Hynix can put you at the front of the matchmakers’ queue.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Played a blinder there. Prepared well, managed the conditions, didn't let the critics get to me. Kept hydrated. But how do I get back to sleep?
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Every time I've gone on Twitter during the World Cup my feed has literally been full of increasingly dumb suggestions from Americans for how to "fix" football. It is maddening. The arrogance!
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I think Belgium maybe the only international team more painful to support than England?
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Look, I love the World Cup, but as I do my daily highlights catch-up it strikes me that the expanded format gives the group stage a slight 'MCU TV series' feel. I'm mainly watching out of a sense of completionism and because I want to understand all the references. Senegal v Iraq = She-Hulk.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I think Brexit is the real elephant in the room here (as always), particularly for the Tory PMs. Take a stupid idea, and then only select leaders from the small group who either a) thought the stupid idea was a good idea or b) were willing to pretend they thought the stupid idea was a good idea
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Eileen Guo (is on leave for rest of 2026) @eileenguo.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
ICYMI, this #longread on the #EnhancedGames in Las Vegas last weekend by @amitkatwala.bsky.social is really really excellent. www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/10/1...?
technologyreview.com
The “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture
Dozens of athletes on performance-enhancing drugs competed in the Enhanced Games. Organizers hope it'll sell a lot of peptides and other supplements.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A couple of weeks ago I flew to Las Vegas for the Enhanced Games, that twisted version of the Olympics where athletes can take drugs. But the most interesting thing about the Games wasn't the sport—it was the crowd. Feature for @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/10/1...
technologyreview.com
The “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture
Dozens of athletes on performance-enhancing drugs competed in the Enhanced Games. Organizers hope it'll sell a lot of peptides and other supplements.
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Niall Firth @niallfirth.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
You should all read this, the definitive piece on the Enhanced Games, from @amitkatwala.bsky.social. He writes: "On Sunday, May 24, at a $50 million arena built in a casino parking lot in Las Vegas, I witnessed a libertarian thought experiment come to life." www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/10/1...
technologyreview.com
The “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture
Dozens of athletes on performance-enhancing drugs competed in the Enhanced Games. Organizers hope it'll sell a lot of peptides and other supplements.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A couple of weeks ago I flew to Las Vegas for the Enhanced Games, that twisted version of the Olympics where athletes can take drugs. But the most interesting thing about the Games wasn't the sport—it was the crowd. Feature for @technologyreview.com www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/10/1...
technologyreview.com
The “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture
Dozens of athletes on performance-enhancing drugs competed in the Enhanced Games. Organizers hope it'll sell a lot of peptides and other supplements.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
"A punchy [op-ed] from a high-flying lawyer on the ever raging debate around inheritance tax" Yes! Bring back human-generated slop!
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The Turkish translation of my book Tremors in the Blood just came out! Title loosely translates to: 'The body gives it away' which I just love. It's the true story of two murders, a visionary police chief, a troubled rookie, a teenage magician and the flawed machine that binds them all.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Does sending a reporter to an event like this actually achieve anything other than amplifying their message?
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I am in Las Vegas for the inaugural Enhanced Games—the sports event where athletes are encouraged to take drugs. It starts Sunday. Until then, read my WIRED piece from last year for the story of Enhanced's route from wild napkin idea to $1.2bn pharma disruptor. www.wired.com/story/enhanc...
wired.com
The Definitive, Insane, Swimsuit-Bursting Story of the Steroid Olympics
At first it was dismissed as a crazy joke. Making the Enhanced Games a reality needed a Peter Thiel posse, a couple of retired swimmers, some MAGA money, and a whole lot of drugs.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I grew up watching Bournemouth rattling around the third and fourth tiers in a ground with only three stands. I know it's going to be slightly overshadowed by Arsenal winning the league – but the fact we are playing European football next season is honestly surreal. Astana here I come!
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZLk...
youtube.com
30 Rock: Homonym!
YouTube video by Baba
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
He should have just called it the FIFA Peace Prize!
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Absolutely wild story – the headline really does not do it justice at all www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
BBC obtains Northamptonshire Police video of woman's arrest
Nadine Buzzard-Quashie speaks for first time about her
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
New on @wired.com today is this haunting story from David Ferry that's about a spike in Parkinson's disease cases linked to a military base in North Carolina, but also about the complex relationship between our health and our environment. www.wired.com/story/scient...
wired.com
Scientists Thought Parkinson’s Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water
New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
I could totally see this, but only because an Uber is going to cost about £800
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WIRED @wired.com · 10/12/2025
Parkinson’s disease has environmental toxic factors, not just genetic. www.wired.com/story/scient...
wired.com
Scientists Thought Parkinson’s Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water
New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.
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Amit Katwala @amitkatwala.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Looks like Enhanced Games founder Aron d'Souza is no longer going to be involved with the event going forward. Comes right after an $800m lawsuit against WADA was thrown out of court, too. 'Steroid Olympics' currently slated for May 2026 in Vegas www.enhanced.com/newsroom/enh...
enhanced.com
Enhanced Fortifies Executive Leadership Team & Board of Directors - Enhanced
At Enhanced, we are pioneering a new era in athletic competition that embraces scientific advancements to push the boundaries of human performance.
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