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Dr Duncan Robertson

@duncanrobertson.bsky.social
16K followers 2.1K following 7.4K posts

Policy & Strategy Analytics academic at Loughborough University; Member, Independent SAGE; Fellow, St Catherine's College, Oxford.

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Reposted by Dr Duncan Robertson
Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 13h
Mind-boggling - just mind-boggling Now expected to peak at an extraordinary 4.2C in December
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Matthew Sparkes @sparkes.bsky.social · 20h
Formalisation has been key to the explosion of AI mathematics - it allows companies to "prove" their results are correct. But AI has already learned to hack its way to fake success. Tricking humans is sometimes easier than doing real mathematics... www.newscientist.com/article/2591...
newscientist.com
Mathematicians and AI in behind-the-scenes battle over what's true | New Scientist
AI models are solving mathematics problems with increasing pace, and a technique called formalisation is key to demonstrating that their claimed solutions are indeed correct. But can we trust the form...
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
if true this is bonkers for a party supposedly committed to defending free speech
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Is the fuel trusted or is the supply trusted, I wonder.
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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 01/10/2026
I keep seeing this Semafor graph that seems to show the Trump administration’s effect on international visits is comparable to the pandemic. My first thought was “that can’t be true” and indeed it is not. This is monthly data. We only have to Jun/Aug 2026. The lines are over-fitted to the months.
Semafor graph with catastrophic drops.
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Mel Bartley @zetkin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Nightmare vision of AI-generated epidemiology research. As if the literature wasn't already reinventing wheels hand over fist.
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Emily @emilydawn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
@hockeyviz.com I found some beautiful data viz for you
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Spooky Back From The Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is getting the kid glove treatment a little bit because it's an entertainment venue, but if the president can unilaterally shutter government entities we're an authoritarian state. Full stop.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Cultural vandalism. slippedisc.com/2026/10/they...
slippedisc.com
They're removing the pianos from the Kennedy Center - Slippedisc
Someone has given the order to evacuate the...
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've gone on Traitors by mistake #celebritytraitors
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Toby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
just incredible telly #CelebrityTraitors
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Who amongst us hasn't been tempted...
Accountant calls police after being asked to attend meeting
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Quite pleased with this actually.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is a thing of beauty www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
bbc.co.uk
Two-legged Evri delivery robot crashes during UK-first trial
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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 01/10/2026
Huh. Today in "always look up the etymology because sometimes you're just repeating a myth but sometimes it's weirder and more incredible than you could have possibly imagined" www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/c...
Screenshot of Merriam Webster etymology note for cockamamie: 
By the look and sound of it, cockamamie (also spelled "cockamamy") could have something to do with a rooster and the outrageous sound it makes. But in fact, cockamamie is believed to be an altered form of the term decalcomania, which refers to the process, invented in the mid-19th century, of transferring pictures and designs from specially prepared paper to surfaces such as glass or porcelain. (The word referring to the picture or design itself, decal, is a shortening of decalcomania.) The word decalcomania comes from French, with décalcomanie combining the verb décalquer, meaning "to trace" or "to transfer by tracing," and -manie, meaning "-mania." Starting in the 1930s, painted strips of paper with images capable of being transferred to the skin were called decals or—in children's slang—cockamamies. Those familiar with today's temporary tattoos will understand quickly that these were regarded by many as silly novelties, lending the word cockamamie the necessary leeway for application to anything ridiculous.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I like to think this is as (An) Economist As A Service.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Odd that Mr Thiel's viewing wasn't cancelled instead.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Double decimation.
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Esther Rantzen hosts Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds of children from the Holocaust youtu.be/OqqbM1B-mPY?...
youtu.be
Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton (That's Life - 1988)
YouTube video by Tops of the top
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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Well, we're still at just over 20 months of Trump's second term, and the www.trumpactiontracker.info has reached over 4,000 documented actions :-/
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Nicely worded, that.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is what happens when you govern by not only looking at what "people" are saying on X/Twitter.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This deserves an honourary knighthood
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
What exactly are military academic norms.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Nick Robinson talking continuously about Andy Burnham's dad. I don't think that's entirely appropriate. Yes, Burnham does want to mention it. But on his terms. And not in response to continuous questioning. He may be a politician, but he's also grieving.
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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Ada, Countess of Lovelace, 1815-1852, daughter of Lord Byron, mathematician & a pioneer of computing. Painted by Margaret Sarah Carpenter 1836. UK Government Art Collection
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 29/09/2026
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Burnham: "We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system, so that everyone's vote counts. And everyone's voice is heard."
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Some of the universities I visit have the aura of a slightly worse for wear country club that have seen better days.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Special relationship.
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Velour Shirt @object.works · 29/09/2026
This is a metaphor for so many things these days that I couldn't choose
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Levayer Lab @levayerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Here it is...by delegating decision to non transparent AI models we generate an incentive for grant applicants to use AI writing to tweak system and the vicious/absurd feedback loop is set (which all started by an overload of grant application driven by AI writing). www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
U.K. funder uses ‘AI triage’ to reject grant proposals—leaving researchers dismayed
The AI-based assessment, which wasn’t explicitly described in the funding call, has raised privacy and fairness concerns
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Blame Canada.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Diesel at record high prices and why no trucker convoy in DC?
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A catalogue not only of transport, but of graphic design.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Really quite beautiful.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Doing everything to ensure a fair trial 🤨
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia — the oldest natural history museum in the U.S. — has closed its doors after nearly 200 years 6abc.com/post/philade...
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Speed running to the plot of War Games.
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Ryan @ryanwright.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is how I remember the order of Henry VIII’s wives.
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 27/09/2026
What an odd moment in United States history. A U.S. president is running an overtly political camaign advertisement, right before midterm elections, paid for by the U.S. government. Trump appears to believe he is immune from any kind of legal limit. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
A Trump 2024 Campaign Ad Returns, Now Brought to You by the Government (Gift Article)
The ad, which ethics experts said could violate federal law, shows Mr. Trump vowing to “expel the warmongers” from the government and fight the “deep state,” even as he wages a war with Iran.
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Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Traffic filters will go live in Oxford tomorrow (Monday). Want to know how to get around the city? We share our best hacks on on how you can avoid the traffic filters entirely, and still visit all your favourite places in the city centre. oxfordclarion.uk/twelve-easy-...
oxfordclarion.uk
Twelve easy hacks to beat Oxford’s Traffic Filters
Want to travel in Oxford, but worried about the traffic filters from Monday, 28 September 2026? We got you. Here's the tea on how you can avoid the traffic filters entirely, and still visit all your f...
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Glennyrodge @glennyrodge.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Niche Enid Blyton
Guardian headline:
Five arrested for alleged terrorism offences after major incident near RAF Fairford.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Take away message.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As did DOGE. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
OpenAI bots meddled with US government agencies, including SEC and Census
OpenAI said its bots accessed public data from a range of institutions during test exercises.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Maybe Trump invited him there for tea.
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This sounds like a great and very important job that someone excellent should be doing.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Woooah.
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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Listening to the discussion of AI agents not having intent and therefore not being unlawful. But isn't that the MO of most crime or indeed corporate crime. It's very unusual that the (mob) boss writes down an explicit command to break the law. Unless they're silly of course. Or lazy.
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