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MrBarrington

@mrbarrington.bsky.social
409 followers 823 following 1.3K posts

Stockholm-based, London-born book/language nerd 🤓

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Reposted by MrBarrington
Angus Main @angusmain.bsky.social · 50m
The maddening thing is that the BBC can, uniquely, offer the opposite of AI algorithmic recommendation. We can get that anywhere. It’s not what people want. What’s missing is expert, human, curation. Knowledgable people you trust *telling you* that something’s worth watching. That’s what the BBC has
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John Picacio @johnpicacio.bsky.social · 15h
🧵 Attention, Fellow SFF Artists and Authors -- here is my response to Must Read Magazines, after they presented an Asimov's art contract expecting me to waive all Moral Rights and Copyright to my art. And, I would strongly advise the following to my fellow pros…. 1/
John Picacio’s response to Must Read Magazine’s request for his waiver of all Moral Rights and Copyright of his commissioned art for an ASIMOV’S assignment. Short version — Picacio says a resounding NOPE.
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Rishi Dastidar @betarish.bsky.social · 21h
My latest for @theguardian.com, a longer review of Patricia Lockwood's return to poetry after a long time; tl;dr – it's good. But do read the piece! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Agate Head / Stone Soup by Patricia Lockwood review – a gem of a collection
Inspired by stones and metals, the memoirist and novelist’s first poetry collection for more than a decade is charming, whimsical and intimate
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 21h
Deloitte fined £6.05m for dud audits at Go-Ahead Group. Fines passed to clients in higher charges. Big firms routinely deliver dud audits. None shut down. Regulator so impressed, set to reduce audit quality inspections, will rely on self-reporting by firms.
frc.org.uk
Sanctions against Deloitte LLP
Executive Counsel of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a Final Settlement Decision Notice under the Audit Enforcement Procedure and imposed sanctions against Deloitte LLP (Deloitte) in ...
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Signe Johansen @signesjohansen.bsky.social · 21h
There’s a lot of this AI slop on Amazon. Another great reason to borrow real books from your local library and/or buy them from a bookshop 📚
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Alex Harvey @alexharvv.bsky.social · 23h
Oh this can just fuck off An AI-'written' complete copy of my own book is now on Amazon; same title, more-or-less the same blurb, and exactly the same impetus. Reviewers of Amazon, I urge you to absolutely dive-bomb this plagiaristic piece of shit: www.amazon.co.uk/FORGOTTEN-VI...
A hollow copy of my book with a shit AI-generated cover
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 07/10/2026
Canada is refusing to issue ISBNs to books primarily generated with AI. This illustrates both the urgency of the problem of the growing flood of slop books, and also the toothlessness of addressing it on the honor system without there also being consequences for lying
Use of artificial intelligence
By registering with ISBN Canada, you declare that your book was created by a human author. You may use AI tools only for limited support tasks, such as brainstorming ideas, checking grammar, or formatting your book. You must not use AI to generate the text, create the artwork, or translate the book. ISBN Canada does not issue ISBNs for works whose content is primarily generated by AI. LAC is currently reviewing its policy regarding the use of AI content creation and our guidance is subject to change.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The richest man owns X. The second richest man owns The Washington Post. The third and fifth richest men control Google. The sixth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. And the eighth richest man now owns both Paramount and Warner Bros. See the problem here?
bbc.com
Paramount takes over Warner Bros in $110bn Hollywood merger
The merger of two of Hollywood's biggest movie studios comes after months of legal disputes and concern over competition
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Monica Torres @monicatorrr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Why do AI agents restricted for adults look...like this? I talked to toy and AI experts about what these adorable agents are trying to make us feel: www.huffpost.com/entry/meta-o...
huffpost.com
AI Companies Are Making Their Agents Adorable — Experts Say The Reason Why Is Actually Scary
Don’t let the rosy cheeks, fuzzy coats and smiling faces trick you.
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American Century of BOO-miliation @johnperich.com · 07/10/2026
Deeply technical but satisfying thread on the specifics of computation and why an LLM that *frequently* arrives at the right number is not the same thing as a program that *calculates* the right number. Expect LLM boosters to pivot to "well, what even is 'addition' anyway?" shortly.
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John Sipher @johnsipher.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
One thing we know for certain. Russia is the best in the world at lying and hiding these things. saltypolitics.substack.com/p/breaking-w...
saltypolitics.substack.com
Breaking: What Russia May Be Hiding About the Plague
A likely case of pneumonial plague is prompting questions the Kremlin won’t answer
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☀️ Jon Schwarz ☀️ @schwarz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
One thing I've learned in life is that whenever someone says "What you have to understand about [some group] is that they're [some description]," the description always applies to all humans everywhere. This from the WSJ is a real classic of this genre: wsj.com/opinion/reve...
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Luke Turner @luketurner.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Dear writers, please do not use AI to write/help write your pitches, they arrive in my inbox absolutely honking of data centre, please please just have original ideas and work them up yourself else really, what is the fucking point of being a writer? Getting so many of these at the moment.
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MrBarrington @mrbarrington.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
We all up to date with our plague shots? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
US closely monitoring case of lab worker who ‘possibly’ died of plague in Siberia, says Rubio
Quarantine measures in place in several hospitals in eastern Russia amid uncertainty over death of Darya Shipilova
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Rick Burin @rickburin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I chatted to the incomparable Susanne Sundfør about faith, collaborating across centuries, and how her 14th century co-writer is ‘like the Beatles’. www.clashmusic.com/features/des...
clashmusic.com
Describing Love: Susanne Sundfør Interviewed | Features | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews
“I need that spiritual dimension to feel like I’m human, and to make sense of the world. That is like a red thread running throughout my life. This world
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jess m. ☕🍂 @jametc.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Something AI is responsible for that doesn't get enough talk: How, when it scrapes a website to illegally steal everything on it, it uses up a ton of its bandwidth allotment, crashing it or racking up massive fees for site owners.
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MrBarrington @mrbarrington.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Only another *year* till Stockholm stadsbiblioteket re-opens, get a move on folks #libraries
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026
I have absolutely wondered about this. Amazing.
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Luke O'Neil @lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The byline left up there like a head on a spike outside a castle
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind
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Deborah @deborahzafer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Another reminder about Dial-A-Poem Poems read by the original poets from all over the world. Tap on the phone and see what happens. You never know what you will get.... dial-a-poem.org
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Lance Parkin @lanceparkin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New word: CLICKWALL. (n) The opposite of clickbait. A headline so unappealing, promising so little reward even by the standards of these things, that it is physically impossible to tap the link to the article.
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Æðelwułf @iamdarkink.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What happens when you try to hack another country's computers? Well, they can file to have you extradited. Which is what would happen to any individual. But Open AI is allowed to repeatedly violate existing laws. Why? 1/8 youtu.be/MBGVNQjdYwQ?...
youtu.be
OpenAI Hacked Australian Government Website - OpenAI Should Be Dead
YouTube video by Eli the Computer Guy
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John Sipher @johnsipher.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is not hard. Dictators only care about starting in power. Where can you really hurt Putin ( it’s not kicking out diplomats)? Ukraine. Every “hybrid” attack should equal 100 ballistic or cruise missiles sent to Ukraine. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/w...
nytimes.com
Europe Warns of Russia’s Hybrid Attacks but Struggles to Counter Them
If President Vladimir V. Putin was hoping to get Europeans’ attention, he’s succeeded with a series of close-call incursions. The question now is what they will do about it.
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Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
If reporting is correct that Man City were not guilty on 1 out of the 115 charges, that's some great trolling there by the footballing gods. Still, makes it all the more incredible that Chelsea got away practically scot free.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Thank God Reform is standing up for masked, knife-wielding, ex-cons. Society's most marginalised group.
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A lot of the lobbying has talked about how important it is for Heathrow to be a hub aiport, and it has never been adequately explained to me why this should matter to anyone who does not own Heathrow
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Signe Johansen @signesjohansen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A good day to ask ourselves what would Dolly do? ✨
static.klipy.com
Dolly Parton's Iconic Smile
ALT: Dolly Parton's Iconic Smile
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Alas! It is the 428th anniversary of the demise of (admittedly quarrelsome) actor Gabriel Spenser at the hands of playwright Ben Jonson, armed “with a certain sword of iron and steel called a Rapiour of the price 3s.” in a duel. And Jonson got away with it because he knew some Latin...
Ben Jonson, a large man with big facial features, looking at camera with unkempt hair and an expression somewhere between hostile and mournful
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Remember this one? “Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom.” The most efficient travellers are us on bikes. Proven science via Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social #CityMakingMath
scientificamerican.com
The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike
A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom
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Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It's vastly more comforting to believe in an imminent robot apocalypse than the truth: the things that will destroy us are extensions of the unsexy but obvious problems all around us. We are not doomed in one grand way, but a thousand petty small ways.
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
if you are reviewing an unpublished manuscript and you have the sheer unmitigated audacity, cheek, gall and laziness to upload it into an LLM to generate a review, let me tell you, you should be shunned and tarred and feathered
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Molly Crane-Newman @mollycranenewman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“Millions of people … will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” in the “largest theft of labor in human history,” said a Microsoft exec in court docs unredacted in the SDNY today www.nydailynews.com/2026/09/17/n...
nydailynews.com
New docs in A.I. copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
A Microsoft executive’s startling admission appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle playing out between newspapers like the Daily News and The New Yor...
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Gregory A. Hargreaves 🎃 @bordergroves.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
If you ever wished things like air and gravity weren’t free, then you’re going to love Musk’s space colony!
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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I'll grant that Amodei is the Less-Bad AI Guy. I believe he has a conscience. Sam Altman and Elon clearly don't. But just as the Effective Altruists started from good intentions, and eventually decided buying themselves a castle was the most altruistic, Amodei's intentions are easily warped.
Passage where Dario lays claim to being The Good AI Guy.
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Party that wants to retrospectively change rules so as to remove migrants also says retrospective rules on party funding are "dictatorship tactics".
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MrBarrington @mrbarrington.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A few days from being final but positive indications that, all being well, there hopefully *won’t* be any far right xenophobes in the next Swedish government
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Magedah Shabo @magedah.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Philip Larkin for #SmallPoemSunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
POETRY FOUNDATION

The Mower
BY PHILIP LARKIN

The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.

I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:

Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful

Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I’m glad the British press are covering this, but all the articles make it sound like the right wing bloc aren’t the incumbent government, which they most definitely are. The scary thing is that the only party in Europe founded by card-carrying, goosestepping nazis may get 12 ministerial posts.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app explains how doomers and their "machine-god narrative" are feeding the hype machine and distracting us from the real harms of AI: www.wired.com/story/one-of...
wired.com
One of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’
Timnit Gebru argues that AI companies are stoking fears of extinction to avoid discussing actual harms, like autonomous weapons.
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Chris “OH NO! DISASTER! WHAT A BAD IDEA!” Dobbertean’s Monster @bracketdobber.net · 11/09/2026
Going forward, whenever you see a story like this, change the company's name to "ACME," then ask yourself if you would purchase the product. (Note: I have an older Apple Watch and will not be upgrading it in the future.)
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It is completely right to treat the far right mobs roaming our streets as a national security issue. Government has been far too complacent about this for over two years now. This is interlinked with failures to regulate social media platforms and the collapse of domestic policing and intelligence.
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Annalisa Nicholson @apuddleofmuddle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's just weird isn't it when the British Museum is running a sold-out exhibition, when The Odyssey reports $1billion at the box office, when the V&A has just opened the most innovative and accessible museum model in Europe....and this is what our minister for research comes out with.
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MrBarrington @mrbarrington.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Thoroughly sick of each election breaking new ground for the far right www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
How Sweden lost its soul – and stopped being Sweden | Martin Gelin
In 2022 my country entered a new era of cruelty. It will take more than one election to get the old, tolerant Sweden back, writes Swedish journalist Martin Gelin
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Dave Mason Writes @davemasonwrites.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Anthropic v Bartz has exposed the realities for authors, especially those who are 'traditionally published.' Basically, creators are just grunts slogging away in imagination mines, producing work they don't own. People who control the means of distribution are the real beneficiaries of that labor.
techcrunch.com
Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement | TechCrunch
Authors say publishers seem to be claiming more than their fair share of settlement payments.
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Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 10/09/2026
this is, I think, one of the inherent problems with LLMs using natural language interfaces: they are a statistical tool *that looks like* a logical tool statistical approaches can be a useful way to find related information! BUT for it to be useful you have to *know that's what it's doing*
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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 09/09/2026
We believe we are actively creating an extinction event for humanity. We will not be asking your county planning board for zoning variances because fuck you. Why are you being so hostile
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Mekka Okereke @mekka.mekka-tech.com · 09/09/2026
The same people that yell "It's the phones!🤡" are shoving snake-oil plagiarism detectors into public school education, that disproportionately impact poor Black and Brown students. 👴🏻"That Indian or Nigerian kid with perfect grammar, used an em-dash and said delve! Academic dishonesty! Fail them!"
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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Have seen this Nature piece about the effects of X's algorithm mentioned again and it bears repeating; exposure to a right wing algorithm makes you - measurably and predictably - more right wing, even after you stop using it. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - Nature
Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared...
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