iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Not the first time I'll get to see a rubbish bin talking at the Sheldonian, but surely this will be the most enjoyable: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sheldonian...

eventbrite.co.uk

Sheldonian Series: Personal Identity

A discussion on personal identity in a digital age, with Emma Dabiri, Jon Harvey, Catrin Nye and Professor Lady Sue Black.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

"There is not as much humanity in the world as some of us would like to believe, but there is a lot more than one would think." James Baldwin, 1970

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

"Somebody do something," is just not good enough. If a bomb is dropped, that will be the Great Experiment's time of death -- not Iran's.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I regret to inform you that this post by Hamish does *not*, in fact, reveal how to save the media from Substack. 😔 (To be fair, I haven't read the book - the answer might be in there.)

Email notification says "How to save the media" (line breaks) "From Substack"

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Three people. She held up a piece of paper with THREE people. They have arrested THREE violent criminals and murdered three people in the process. This certainly tracks with Trump's past record of return on investment.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Exhibit A for my moral injury statement. Other exhibits available.

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Reposted by Caithlin Mercer

Reuters Institute @reutersinstitute.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Tonight we hosted the #MT25 Fellowship Winter Showcase, where three fellows from the United States, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom presented their work, introduced by our own @caithlinm.bsky.social 🧵 Key points from their presentations in thread

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

How neat is this concept? Four people with learning disabilities hosting a podcast about issues that matter to them. In this episode, they interview one of our fellows about his project: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

podcasts.apple.com

The People First Podcast

Society & Culture Podcast · Monthly · People First Keighley & Craven is a self-advocacy group run by, and for, people with learning disabilities, and the People First Podcast is our platform to raise ...

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

My mom asked for help to build a Quality of Life and Appointment tracker for her GPA. I used data from Eosinophilic & Rare Disease Cooperative to build this template. Please feel free to copy, adapt, and share with anyone who might benefit. #raredisease docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

docs.google.com

Chronic Illness QoL Tracker Template

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

We're breaking for lunch, and my phone is breaking for life. So that's all from me. But loads more people on here covering #TC2025, including @reutersinstitute.bsky.social

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

There are just over 100 items in the vault: software from GitHub, Microsoft, Vatican library, Brazil Football Museum, McDonald's recipes. Fintan mentions €9k charge for 150gb of storage, but it's unclear if that's one-off, annual or monthly.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Q&A time with Albert Han and Fintan McDonnell: How Albert got the story? Hard place to get to, but people are very happy to talk. He was out for a drink at the only bar in town. He met a tour guide who invited him to see the vault.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Story in a nutshell: What is the best way to store data for the long long term? On Svalbard Island, a decommissioned coal mine is used to "pickle" data for >1k yrs by turning data into film with QR codes. Will it survive climate change? Unclear.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Segment 4: Yasir Khan, EiC at Context, is going to give us a deep-dive on their story on the Arctic World Archive which aims to preserve data for posterity. www.context.news/big-tech/vid...

context.news

Inside the Arctic vault where data lasts ‘forever’ | Context by TRF

We visited an Arctic coal mine, where one company claims it can store your digital files for thousands of years. So what’s in here?

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

"It's not being clocked that MAD people are taking over," says Wylie, "MAD people: crazy-crazy." If a tech bro says something, understand that this is a super political thing: start questioning the insanity. Take it seriously. That's a wrap on panel 3. ⭐⭐⭐

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

How do we get out of the mess, asks Coda's editor. "Society must often be pushed to the breaking point before they react," says Wylie, and a lot will depend on where the Trump administration goes with tech next. Revolution is not what he hopes for, it is simply inevitable, says Wylie.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The U.S. VP used to work with Thiel, Wylie points out, and that is scary. Even scarier: this is not being loudly debated and shouted about in the media. Tech is deliberately putting money into journalism and academia to entrench their power, he says.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Bullshit, Wylie calls on the argument that regulators don't know how to regulate AI. This is a SV narrative. Imagine if they had said that about aeroplanes, he said. We can create regulators who are technically competent, he says. We need an FAA for AI.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I am holding myself back from inserting my own opinions. 🤐 He now compares tech coverage to climate journalism, which learnt that siloed expertise was stifling the conversation. Take AI out of the conversation about AI, Antelava asks? Yup, says Wylie. Apologies, I do not know what this means.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

"What would a feminist algorithm look like," is Wylie's suggestion for change. There is an underlying philosophy of control in current tech, and journalists are failing to question those structural flaws. Technology should not be a beat, he argues, it is the medium of our society.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The Italian fascists were obsessed with cars, rocket ships, and Eugenics. It's the same now, argues Christopher. Except we now call it "longevity". It's scary, he says. So what do we do, asks Antelava?

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Multiple tech founders have predicted "god will emerge from their servers". Is that not worth picking at a little bit, Wylie asks? When you talk to people in the valley about AGI, Wylie says, it sounds cultish. Why aren't you questioning them, he adds.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

One of the problems, Wylie says, is that so many people in the media literally do not listen. He points to Peter Thiel who has called for an end to democracy for a decade, but the pearl clutching only began in 2025.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Government and journalism were not and are not really prepared for [data oversight and threats], says Wylie. By comparison, a lot of people in Silicon Valley ARE thinking about the future, he says. But blind faith in them to define the narrative of the future is problematic.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

What have you been up to since Cambridge Analytica? "I am not a full-time whistleblower," he jokes, "there's not much money in that." What did 2018 achieve? "I was incredibly naive to become a whistleblower," he says. He thought the experts would come in and fix things. They did not.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Coda teamed up with Christopher to write about Silicon Valley culture. We're listening to a voice note he sent from the toilet of a tech party: "they're prepping for when society revolts". It's a strange juxtaposition with those talking about how to save democracy, he says.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Time for Panel 3, Natalia Antelava of Coda Story interviews whistleblower Christopher Wylie. Before he joins stage, Antelava is explaining that Coda is experimenting with collaborating with non-journalist contributors. #InfluencerStrategy will be the number one news talking point of 2026 (says me).

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

That's a wrap on panel 2. Networking break time. ✌️To be continued with Christopher Wylie and more to come.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

How to stand up to authoritarianism when life is at risk? All panellists seem to agree: risk your life. 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏾‍♂️ But Sara adds: going after the money funneled into other countries can be a way for international community to help.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

.. coverage locally, but international coverage helps. Op Eds can be used to push and counter misinformation.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The role of media in your countries? 🇧🇩 Previously astute journalists became supporters of the regime. Now? No clarity on how to address complicity but arbitrary detention is not OK, Sara warns. Truth and reconciliation required. 🇹🇷 Fragmented media means we live in parallel realms. 🇺🇬 Zero positive...

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

... They knew not to make martyrs. They waited, they watched, then went house to house and arrested all the journalists quietly. 🇺🇬 Our priority is survival. We use litigation to challenge laws. We use social media to protest and expose corruption. "Hang them" was tagline of newspaper outing LGBTQ.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Vivian asks all about demonstrations by the young: 🇧🇩 People were tired of politicians but when kids (students) were killed that was the trigger, says Sara. Parents came out, proctors came out. 🇹🇷 We can't get anywhere with protests because the Authoritarianism is institutionalised. ...

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

It is not an easy transition from authoritarianism to non-authoritarianism, Sara warns. A huge implosion of trust in institutions required to make a society work. Patterns of harassment are still happening, just used by new parties. Piecemeal change makes rebuilding possible.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Sara from Bangladesh: You should be hearing us, she warns the mostly Western audience, because you are going to be living what we have lived for decades. A heady cocktail of repression is coming: disappearances, stifled media, massive detentions, control of online speech ...

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Nevsin on Turkey: It's been 25 years under one administration. "CHECK THE LOOPHOLES," she warns: authoritarians will find them and exploit them. Disinformation law does the opposite of what it's intended for, she says. Every week I am at court defending against a new accusation, she says.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Frank Mugisha: Elections take place next January. Facebook has been banned. Young people are fighting back.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

We are starting with SMUG's Frank (Sexual Minorities Uganda): We are known for gorillas and killing gay people, Frank jokes. He details laws used to suppress their work: laws around assembly, digital, and a death penalty for promoting homosexuality.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Panel 2: hosted by Vivian Schiller, this panel features Sara Hossain (🇧🇩 Supreme Court), Nevsin Mengü (🇹🇷 journalist) and Frank Mugisha (🇺🇬 SMUG NGO) on defending civic spaces.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Where do you see successes is the question. Answers: more innovation in dark times (Cobb), brave Wikipedians who document truth (Jimmy), young people are open to new ideas (David), golden age of innovation (Syed). And that's a wrap on panel one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Syed on AI legislation: "We've been attention hacked. [...] You can regulate design choices for transparency."

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

More citizen involvement is Runciman's answer to the rise in authoritarianism.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

"No war is won with one tactic," says Syed. Are we at war, Atkins asks? "Yes," says Syed. "We can play ostrich, but yes. Advocating for one homogenous way [to respond] isn't [helpful]."

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Runciman and Wales both argue that one of the biggest mistakes people in news media can make in this moment is to become more partisan and activist in response to authoritarianism. "People don't trust that," says Wales.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Does there need to be better cooperation to respond to this moment, Atkins asks Cobb? "No newsroom should have gone to briefings until AP's White House access was restored," says Cobb (referring to removal of their credentials over Gulf of Mexico stance).

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Ros Atkins says: it no longer works to say "trust us because we are from X big news brand", you have to immediately show why your work is trustworthy.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

How is this moment affecting your work in Cambridge and in podcasts, Ros asks David? There is a real appetite for big ideas, new ideas, he says. "As soon as we dropped 'from Cambridge', the show took off. [...] People don't want credentialing signals anymore." Cobb jokes he will remove CJS labels.

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia: "Over 95% of our funding is from small donors," he says. In terms of pressure from funders, we are not worried - our editors are independent and uncontrollable. "Have you ever had cats? These are really smart cats and they do what they please."

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Caithlin Mercer @caithlinm.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

"More speech can hide the signal in the noise," says Nabiha Syed of Mozilla. We need to fund alternative platforms and systems that optimise for relational connection, she says.

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