iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

HUGE thanks to the amazing team behind this report, incl. Jo Puddick, @dralanwager.bsky.social, Naman Goel, Rhydderch, Daniel Cameron, @Benjamin Roff, and @helenmargetts.bsky.social! 6/6

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

This matters. Without public support, the government will struggle to deliver on the AI action plan and its wider growth agenda To build trust in AI, the government must ensure that AI systems are beneficial and safe, as well as center its messaging around AI on how it improves social outcomes 5/6

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

🛟 38% of UK adults cite lack of trust in AI content as the main barrier to adoption 4/6

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

📉 More UK adults view AI as a risk for the economy (39%) than an opportunity (20%) 3/6

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

New polling by TBI and @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social show that: 👫 While 25% of UK adults use generative AI weekly, nearly half have never used it 2/6

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

AI sits at the heart of Labour’s growth agenda. Yet UK adults view AI more as a risk than an opportunity. How can we build public trust to accelerate AI adoption? New research from TBI & Ipsos👉 bit.ly/4ndnu3d Data and key findings in 🧵 1/6

bit.ly

What the UK Thinks About AI: Building Public Trust to Accelerate Adoption

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I'm #hiring! The Tony Blair Institute is looking for a Senior Advisor to lead our work on AI Policy and governance Read & apply: linkedin.com/jobs/view/4292… For the right candidate, this is a great opportunity to help political leaders in 40+ countries navigate the AI revolution responsibly

linkedin.com

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Policymakers should build on existing AI policies and plug gaps related to: ● Mandatory safety certification pre-deployment ● Clear liability frameworks for autonomous systems ● Investment in EAI safety research ● Economic and social transition policies Pre-print: all feedback is welcome! 4/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

With these 4 embodied AI risk categories in mind, we analyzed existing policies (in US, EU, and UK) and found critical gaps While a good starting point, current frameworks for industrial robots and autonomous vehicles are insufficient to address the full range of risks EAI systems pose 3/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

The core problem: Alongside excitement and opportunity, Embodied AI pose severe risks EAI inherits traditional AI risks (privacy, bias, security etc) - and pose new ones, e.g. related to physical harm, mass surveillance and displacement of manual labor We identify 4 key EAI risk categories 2/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨: Embodied AI (incl. AI-powered drones, self-driving cars and robots) is here, but policies are lagging. We analyzed the EAI risks and found significant gaps in governance arxiv.org/pdf/2509.00117 Co-authors Jared Perlo @fbarez.bsky.social Alex Robey & @floridi.bsky.social 1\4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Succeeding in this quest for sovereignty, security & scale requires urgent policy action: 1) Create a clean, robust energy system for the AI era 2) Reform planning systems to make it easier to build 3) Use AI growth zones to overcome market failures 4) Align incentives between UK gov departments

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Talk about sovereign AI is often unclear what it means for data, models and compute The UK doesn’t need to build everything, but it must build enough infrastructure to deploy AI where it matters, to ensure resilience, and to anchor a domestic ecosystem that delivers for the public and the economy

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

What should the UK's AI infrastructure strategy be? A new report by the Tony Blair Institute argues that the UK needs to quickly build diverse and resilient AI infrastructure for safe and competitive deployment across the economy bit.ly/3Uypoi0 Key findings 🧵

bit.ly

Sovereignty, Security, Scale: A UK Strategy for AI Infrastructure

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

We live in the climate paradox. Awareness of the crisis has never been higher but meaningful action is in decline institute.global/insights/cli...

institute.global

The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Great conversation on #AI and #sustainability at @politico.eu tech summit earlier this week Key takes: ✅ Let’s shift from apathy to action ✅ Tech is part of green solutions ✅ European leadership is needed Read more about Tony Blair Institute’s work on climate & energy led by Lindy Fursman in 🧵

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

We live in a climate paradox: awareness of the climate crisis has never been higher, yet political will and action is in decline. How do we solve this? The Tony Blair Institute outlines a bold yet pragmatic approach - based on innovation, adaptation and international collaboration bit.ly/4jhJZBY

bit.ly

The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change

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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 10/04/2025

Panel 4: Using AI to Enhance Democracy is our last panel of the day and will start at 3:40pm ET. Don't miss it. Panelists: @hahrie.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, Spencer Overton, and MH Tessler. Moderator: @jakobmokander.bsky.social. #AIDemocraticFreedoms

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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 07/04/2025

This Thursday 4/10 & Friday 4/11, we're hosting our symposium "AI and Democratic Freedoms." Thrilled to have @hahrie.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, Spencer Overton, MH Tessler & moderator @jakobmokander.bsky.social on our fourth panel. #AIDemocraticFreedoms RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/artificial...

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

How can the UK accelerate AI adoption to boost growth and competitiveness? Gov is preparing recs. as part of the Technology Adoption Review Delighted to co-host this dynamic roundtable with business leaders & academic experts, chaired by Angela McLean, UK’s National Chief Scientific Advisor

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Second, at the heart of science is a quest to find patterns in nature and use those to improve the human condition. AI-driven science is science supercharging itself. This means that the normal limitations of – reproducibility, validity, ethics – will not be ‘solved’ by AI 10/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Two final reflections: First, ‘AI’ should be understood broadly. Focusing narrowly on LLM-adoption would be shortsighted. Key to success is equipping scientists with the skills and resources to continuously adapt their research methods amid rapid technological change 9/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

5) Remake the institutions of UK science AI-driven research must be well-funded and well-integrated. Achieving this requires reforming UKRI’s AI strategy and coordinating funding efforts across the R&D ecosystem 8/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

4) Invest in AI research infrastructure AI-driven research relies on data centres and other physical assets. The government should provide researcher with access to compute capacity and automated laboratories in AI growth zones 7/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

6) Secure UK’s AI talent pipeline People are at the heart of thriving research ecosystems. The government should reduce visa barriers for AI researchers, build non-academic research entities, and improve cross sector mobility 6/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

2) Develop software tools for AI Software tools are vital for operationalizing AI within research workflows. The government should incentivise tool building, create career pathways for tool builders, and link funding to tool sharing 5/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

1) Build AI-ready scientific data AI-driven discovery depends on the accessibility of high-quality scientific data. The government should create training data sets and digitise uncollected scientific data 4/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

The UK has shown clear political commitment to this vision The AI Opportunities Action Plan (led by Matt Clifford) makes direct references to AI for science To implement this agenda, the government need bold policy interventions across data, tools, talent, infrastructure and funding: 3/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

AI promises to revolutionize how we uncover and use new knowledge Taking advantage of AI’s potential will be essential, not just for achieving scientific leadership but also economic growth and national security 2/11

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

How can the UK become a leader in AI-driven scientific research? New report by the Tony Blair Institute outlines policy recommendations across 5 key areas institute.global/insights/tec... W/ co-authors @lyan82.bsky.social @guywj.bsky.social @ersatzben.bsky.social @gregdetre.bsky.social 🧵/11

institute.global

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

2) Framing innovation and regulation as opposed forces presents a false dichotomy. The absence of robust AI governance will leave a vacuum, inevitably to be filled by a patchwork of reactive local measures and create just the innovation-stifling environment light touch regulation seeks to avoid 4/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Capturing AI’s benefits will require two concessions: 1) Regulatory fragmentation is bad not only for security but also for business, trade and prosperity. While calls for multilateral cooperation are well-founded, they must be underpinned by concrete reciprocal commitments, incl. transparency 3/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

The question political leaders face is not how to ”regulate AI” but how to “govern well in the age of AI” This requires bold visions, infrastructure investments & good governance to enable AI uptake Panel w/ HE Josephine Teo, HE Paula Inngabire, Matt Clifford and Teresa Carlson 2/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Cross-sectoral dialogue on AI is rare Last week in Paris, the Tony Blair Institute convened 200 global leaders to explore how AI can be harnessed for economic growth & social progress Thanks @yoshuabengio.bsky.social, @alondra.bsky.social & Fu Ying for insights + lively debate on AI safety 🧵 1/4

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Helen Margetts @helenmargetts.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

A free and frank discussion of open source models in an excellent panel Advancing the Science of AI Safety at the Tony Blair Institute event in Paris w/ @alondra.bsky.social @yoshuabengio.bsky.social @jakobmokander.bsky.social and Prof Fu Ying

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Credit to the TBI author team lead by Bridget Boakye and collaborators Rachel Adams, Filipe Medon and Ray Eitel-Porter Also, huge thanks to all who have provided input and feedback throughout the process – from academic experts to industry practitioners and policymakers! 4/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Beyond policy recommendations, the paper provides a benchmarking of existing efforts to regulate AI While useful, this is a simplification. Most AI regulations combine technology & sector-specific elements; centralized & decentralized controls; and procedural & substantive requirements 3/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Unlocking AI’s social benefits means accelerating adoption while mitigating risks. But the policy challenges different countries face vary greatly As political leaders gather in Paris for the AI Action Summit, the AI policy debate must look beyond its current focus on China and the west 2/4

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

We live in times of rapid change and increasing political tensions, making AI governance both harder and more important than ever A new paper by TBI provides guidance to political leaders on how to harness the benefits of AI to improve social outcomes institute.global/insights/tec... 1/4

institute.global

How Leaders in the Global South Can Devise AI Regulation That Enables Innovation

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Thinking about science, tech and social change is hard - and we need a plurality of perspectives and approaches Many thanks to @randomwalker.bsky.social, @hannahrosekirk.bsky.social, @agstrait.bsky.social, Ralph Schroeder and Magnus Boman for helpful comments on drafts of this article (10/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

🧩 Methodological pluralism. Improving social outcomes requires technical innovation, robust governance and structural reform. Sociotechnical pragmatists combine quantitative and qualitative approaches to amass evidence of what works in different contexts (9/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

🛠️ The logic of design. The impact of both technologies and policies is a matter of design. The question policymakers face is not whether to regulate AI but how to do so well, i.e. in ways that unlock economic growth, ensure national security and promote pro-social outcomes (8/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

📊 The comparative baseline. AI systems, human decision-makers and bureaucracies have different strengths and weaknesses. A normative evaluation of AI’s merits and limitations must not be conducted in isolation but in relation to the available alternatives (7/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

🎯 Conceptual precision. “AI” is not a specific technology. It’s an umbrella term covering a diverse set of techniques to represent and solve problems computationally. For practical purposes, it is less important to define AI and more important to classify different systems (6/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

🕸️ Sociotechnical approach. AI forms part of sociotechnical systems that involve other artifacts, people and organizations operating in dynamic environments. To ensure good governance, technical fixes must be complemented by legal and social interventions (5/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

⚖️ A focus on trade-offs. Different values conflict and require trade-offs. The purpose of AI evaluations is not to guarantee ethical outcomes but to make visible tensions, give voice to stakeholders, and arrive at resolutions that (even when imperfect) are publicly defensible (4/10)

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Jakob Mökander @jakobmokander.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

🙋 Human agency. The future depends on our actions, the choices we make as individuals and the norms we enact as collectives. Sociotechnical pragmatism rejects any form of technological determinism, whether utopian or dystopian (3/10)

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