iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alexander Iosad

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 09/02/2026

New YIMBY Pod! 🥴 @mjrobbins.com asks: Does AI make you stupid? 📗 Does the new Green Book make trains value for money now? 🤖 And we speak to @iosad.fyi and @eleniarzoglou.bsky.social on how to rebuild government for the AI era. Listen/subscribe! www.abundancepod.com/p/does-ai-ma...

abundancepod.com

Does AI make you stupid?

Plus why northern trains might be considered value for money now

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 11/05/2025

As far as I can tell, the only announcement on student visas from the HO so far has been on tightening controls on overstayers. Which could be sensible! (eg we don’t even know how many there are) – if done well; or could just end up an extra admin burden on HEIs not equipped to deal with it.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 25/02/2025

And to accompany the publication of our NDL paper, something of a bucket list item for me with a guest post for @jamesomalley.co.uk. You also have the opportunity to ask burning questions/hurl questionable fruit at me tonight at our long-planned in-conversation about AI in govt – info in the post.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 25/02/2025

Joining forces today with @anastasiabekt.bsky.social at The Entrepreneurs Network and TBI colleagues to map out the road to the National Data Library. Instead of pointing to a gap in policy and saying “do this”, we share our take on how to help an exciting govt initiative succeed: bit.ly/3XgHjLQ 1/

bit.ly

Governing in the Age of AI: Building Britain’s National Data Library

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 13/01/2025

Gave it a shot. Think we might need to have that conversation with @jamesomalley.co.uk after all. And you’re all invited to join in!

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 02/01/2025

An excellent piece if you’ve not read it yet. It’s a British dysfunction, but I’m sure arguments from optics alone are increasingly common elsewhere, too; & it’s not a left-right issue either. It’s also bad politics; voters care about substance more than looks, except when there’s no substance.

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Reposted by Alexander Iosad

Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Wrote about “not a good look”, the worst phrase in British politics www.economist.com/britain/2025...

economist.com

The four worst words in British politics

Saying “not a good look” is not a good look

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 26/12/2024

One time in Moscow, heading home at 9am on Jan 1 after celebrating NY at a friend’s, I spent 20 minutes inside a locked trolleybus – the badly hungover driver nipped out to the corner shop for a hair of the dog & didn’t realise I was still on board. (But no transport on Christmas Day is still odd).

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Reposted by Alexander Iosad

Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Not going to call out names of people on this app, but I see what @deanwb.bsky.social is seeing a lot in policy circles.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 15/12/2024

Eminently sensible @financialtimes.com leader today: “A British e-ID could supercharge public service reform.” Yes, it could! Is this, too, banging on about ID cards?..

A UK e-ID would require debate and consultation. It would not be easy. But if Britain truly wants a modern state, it is an idea whose moment has come.

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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Eg on both mainline trains and on London Underground there are more and more signs that say you must have a charged phone for your ticket to be valid. Something has gone a bit wrong here in the digital delivery of tickets and payments: a digital transaction should have a mark on a ledger somewhere

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Ian @ianpatterson.com · 11/12/2024

Syrian events just amaze. FT journalists in Damascus say it took just 15 mins to be accredited by the new govt. one of the HTS leaders in Damascus from Idlib points out they introduced an ID card system there that takes just 5 mins for a digital Id. Coming soon to Damascus. on.ft.com/3OPwSKI

on.ft.com

The department of flags: Syrian rebels lay bare Assad’s corrupt state

Transitional authorities grapple with bureaucracy filled with phantom jobs, pervasive graft and culture of obedience

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 09/12/2024

Read the McFadden speech: www.gov.uk/government/s... Underrated by (excellent) commentary so far: Cab Office is *exactly* the right place for this agenda, because fundamentally it’s about how government works, not just what it does. And it needs to work differently because the world is different 1/

gov.uk

Reform of the state has to deliver for people

Speech on reforming the public sector delivered by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden at University College London, Stratford.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 09/12/2024

Every tool of this kind is a failure of good government.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 09/12/2024

This is directionally absolutely right, and really quite exciting: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… To get out of the current doom loop, we need a different operating model of government. Luckily, the tools to make it work are here. How government organises itself to use them matters!

bbc.co.uk

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 27/11/2024

Two reports out on AI & public services today (this + @smfthinktank.bsky.social, read both) More thoughts to come, but what I genuinely love is the expanded scope for different models of public service reform that AI makes feasible. No magic dust – just a very different set of constraints.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 25/11/2024

It’s not that Malthus was wrong, it’s just that his analysis couldn’t foresee the long-run impact of the Industrial Revolution on food production – which outpaced population growth as a result. It’s not that Baumol was wrong about the cost of services, it’s just that his analysis…

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 25/11/2024

Absolutely *brutal* shade thrown by the legend to this chart in Ben Evans’ 2025 presentation.

"A line graph titled 'Software eats cars?' showing monthly 'robotaxi' trips in California from August 2023 to August 2024. While the legend includes three companies - Tesla, Cruise, and Waymo - the data tells a striking story: Waymo (in red) shows dramatic growth from about 20,000 to over 300,000 trips, Cruise (light pink) shows minimal activity in early months before disappearing, and Tesla (dark gray), despite being in the legend, shows zero activity throughout the entire period. This absence of Tesla data, juxtaposed with its inclusion in the legend, makes a pointed statement about the gap between promises and reality in autonomous driving. The subtitle reads 'After a decade of promises and tens of billions of dollars, autonomy might be starting to work.' Source: California Public Utilities Commission." [Alt-text by Claude]

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Reposted by Alexander Iosad

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 23/11/2024

This is a very striking juxtaposition in Eric Berger’s latest newsletter. America is building something and Europe is… doing a study.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 23/11/2024

One chart (from @policyinpractice.bsky.social) to summarise a big problem with our current public service delivery model.

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 22/11/2024

As a bafflingly devoted if not always attentive New Zealand cricket fan, sad to find out Tim Southee is about to retire after a career spanning 17 years. Somewhat more complex feelings about the fact I actually remember his debut Test all those years ago…

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Alexander Iosad @iosad.fyi · 03/09/2024

The qt thread from @jwestjourno.bsky.social covers an important problem with Ofsted; my other response to @stephenkb.bsky.social (who also mentions TBI proposals in the column) is that in the abstract, parents think Ofsted reports are useful – but they don’t actually use them all that much!

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