Reposted by Paul NightingaleRick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Small business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Big companies are the engines of economic growth. The more an economy is dominated by small businesses, the more likely it is to be a weak one. 52310
Reposted by Paul NightingalePolitical Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Calls to break up the Treasury are often tied to arguments about British greatness. But the question is not whether the Treasury should win, but whether the state has the capacity to know when it should. By @tomkelsey.bsky.social politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/history... 033
Reposted by Paul NightingaleBellingcat @bellingcat.com · 02/10/2026Want to support our future work? Become a Bellingcat Member. www.bellingcat.com/donate/bellingcat.comThe truth belongs to everyone. Help us find it. - Donate to bellingcatEvery membership directly supports our investigations and global community work. 14517
Reposted by Paul NightingaleNina Jankowicz @ninajankowicz.com · 01/10/2026My thoughts about the UK's new National Centre for Information Defence. I think it can survive the 'censorship' backlash; UK discourse isn't as infected by conspiratorial brain rot (yet). But it's incumbent on the Burnham gov to fill the info void. www.thewayfinder.net/p/the-uk-get...thewayfinder.netThe UK Gets Serious About Countering DisinformationCan the new National Centre for Information Defence survive the ‘censorship’ backlash? 47320
Reposted by Paul NightingaleBrilliant Maps @brilliantmaps.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This bit of London with 21,725 people squeezed into 1 sq km has the highest population density of anywhere in the UK. Yet it's less than half as dense as the densest European city: brilliantmaps.com/densest-n... credit: Alasdair Rae 185
Reposted by Paul NightingaleDr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026On point B, the NASA Exoplanet Archive typically serves ~10-20TB of data per month. In July it jumped to 70TB. In August it jumped to 600TB. So either our user base organically grew *30x* in two months (... unlikely), OR the bots have taken over already. 311447
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This is worse. For many it wasn't unknowingly. They knew full well what they were going because they were told but did it anyway. Sooner or later this is going to lead to a UK academic going to prison. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/mi5-iss...timeshighereducation.comMI5 issues China espionage warning to UK universitiesUniversities have urgently been told to review their ties with Chinese research institute after spy warning 021
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This is very clunky and unlikely to go down well. Wanting Big Science funding with preWar Small Science oversight is not going to convince anyone and I'm surprised the argument is so weak. We aren't going back to 1980s style neoliberal science-policy and that is a very good thing. 021
Reposted by Paul NightingaleStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 28/09/2026It will never not be wild to me that the Russians attacked Keir Starmer's home, successfully spread falsehoods about Starmer's love life, and this didn't changed British politics and British political elite behaviour *at all*. 471185354
Reposted by Paul NightingaleGesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 29/09/2026This is really important because these first European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs) open the door for more. And it basically gives the EU the possibility to fund these endeavours much more extensively than before. Good news. 0155
Reposted by Paul NightingaleArnout van de Rijt @arnoutvanderijt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026"Although young women still lag behind young men, particularly mothers, our findings show steady convergence and challenge the narrative of stalled progress." Just out in our journal, @sociologicalsci.bsky.social 064
Reposted by Paul NightingaleHetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Those who think AI is going to largely automate white collar jobs in the next couple of years don’t understand the nature of work - @sarahoconnorft.ft.com nails it www.ft.com/content/4aad... 716448
Reposted by Paul NightingaleEd Conway @edconway.bsky.social · 27/09/2026This @lrb.co.uk piece from Arthur Downing is just a fantastic tour d'horizon of Britain's energy system. A must-read for anyone hoping to navigate the coming decade. Remember: energy is more or less EVERYTHING! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...lrb.co.ukArthur Downing · Asset Sweating: Britain’s Energy CrisisBritain has private ownership while making the state responsible for planning via subsidies. The result is a zombie... 25219
Reposted by Paul NightingaleMagdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 28/09/2026We’ve written about predatory publishers, fake papers, fake peer review and imposter researchers…. Now suspect ‘learned societies’ 🧪 #academicSky Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comExclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchersA Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices. 03721
Reposted by Paul NightingaleTom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Fundamentally, the median voter has had a tax cut since 2010 and the result is that nothing works. 1145395
Reposted by Paul NightingaleJacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Interesting on the business of quantum computers www.ft.com/content/ae9e... 151
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 25/09/2026This is pretty niche: The foundations of American science policy went from Edwin Mansfield to Harvey Mansfield rather faster than i expected. I don't think many people in Europe appreciate the implications of that or that the same intellectual currents are also in Europe. People in China do. 110
Reposted by Paul NightingaleAlexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 23/09/2026We are hiring at LMU Munich: two PhD positions and one postdoc on democracy, political psychology and computational social science. Start: January 2027 or as soon as possible. We review applications on a rolling basis until October 20. Details below. Reposts very welcome! 1/7 25981
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 23/09/2026www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...thecrimson.comHarvard Kennedy School Hired EY-Parthenon to Study Demand for Tech Policy Degree | The Harvard CrimsonHarvard Kennedy School hired the consulting firm EY-Parthenon to gauge demand for a possible new degree in technology and public policy, a school spokesperson confirmed, as Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein wo... 000
Reposted by Paul NightingaleHenry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 22/09/2026yup. things are getting crazy. 0163
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Ten years ago I was involved in a very strange twitter interaction about tides. Experts are wrong about the moon causing ocean tides, Ukip MP Douglas Carswell insists | The Independent share.google/csLmwNFhhFxN...share.googleExperts are wrong about the moon causing ocean tides, Ukip MP Douglas Carswell insistsThe MP says the sun, not the moon, primarily causes ocean tides 030
Reposted by Paul NightingaleHorizons Magazine @horizons-en.bsky.social · 10/09/2026👩🔬👉🔬🧪🔭 Helga Nowotny co-founded the European Research Council @erc.europa.eu. In our interview, she explains how it came about, what role basic research should play and what worries her.👇 @scientoskop.bsky.social www.horizons-mag.ch/2026/09/03/re… 033
Reposted by Paul NightingaleJesus Castagnetto 🇵🇪 (@jmcastagnetto@mastodon.social) @jmcastagnetto.bsky.social · 18/09/2026The National Academies of #Science, Engineering, and Medicine (#NASEM, #USA) has published the latest version of "On Being a #Scientist - A Guide to the #Responsible and #Ethical Conduct of #Research" (Fourth Edition) nap.nationalacademies.org/pubs/29488/ #Science #ethicsnap.nationalacademies.orgOn Being a Scientist: A Guide to the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research: Fourth EditionExplore the fourth edition of On Being a Scientist, a guide to responsible and ethical conduct across the research enterprise. 055
Reposted by Paul NightingaleRobin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 21/09/2026This is precisely the kind of data that allows Google to shape the advertising market in its favour. In turn, this creates arbitrary costs for businesses — *billions* that end up being borne by consumers — and unfairly outcompetes publishers in ads. The mechanics are in: hbr.org/2021/12/does...hbr.orgDoes Personalized Advertising Work as Well as Tech Companies Claim?Many Big Tech companies have created platforms that offer businesses tips and tools and services to better target their customers online. These can be helpful — but anybody relying on them needs to be... 281
Reposted by Paul NightingaleMatthew L. Jones @nescioquid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Amazing postdoc opportunity in history of modern mathematics at IAS surrounded by excellent mathematicians, historians of science, and STS scholars. www.math.ias.edu/~akshay/hist...math.ias.eduPostdoctoral Scholar, History of Modern Mathematics | Institute for Advanced Study 0610
Reposted by Paul NightingaleJoe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I don’t mean this to be cruel, but there’s just too much air being taken up by people with media or tech backgrounds who think their hot take on consciousness with LLMs is new, and lord it has all been done before and we’re past that. Christ, half the news cycle is yud refusing to read a book. 738364
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 20/09/2026This is very good. And very funny about the nonsense being spouted about AI this week. 000
Reposted by Paul NightingaleMona Smitte @monalisazelf.bsky.social · 20/09/2026static.klipy.comStan Marsh & Gary Harrison: Yeah, But How?ALT: Stan Marsh & Gary Harrison: Yeah, But How? 041
Reposted by Paul NightingaleJared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 19/09/2026It’s very simple. AI isn’t independent or autonomous. It’s a tool being specifically programmed to commit crimes against humans and against rival businesses. But the fantasy of autonomy is an incredible facade that means total deniability and our political and media classes have already bought in. 216543
Reposted by Paul NightingaleGreg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026NEJM: The End of the War on Biomedical Science? by David Blumenthal and James A. Morone @davidblumenthal.bsky.social @nejm.org depending on continued activism, perhaps room for optumism bit.ly/4yNxiWZ 💥 075
Reposted by Paul NightingaleFinancial Times @financialtimes.com · 19/09/2026The British tech leader on coding as the modern form of literacy, his scepticism of AI evangelists — and the origin of his interest in geekery: ft.trib.al/D9bgu0J 05111
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Politics about the politics of science www.aip.org/fyi/research...aip.orgResearchers Skeptical of NSF Metascience PlanThe agency issued a memo last week laying out several grantmaking changes, including a new office for metascience. 000
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Just had lunch with a friend of mine who is also an editor of an academic journal. They are drowning in AI slop and they are going to quit and hand the problem onto the next generation. 131
Reposted by Paul NightingaleCharlotte Cavaille @ccavaille.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Small-N assessment: AI makes everyone more productive output-wise, but I, as a senior person with prior knowledge benefit the most, while my ("junior") students struggle with actual learning. This paper proves this with a larg(er)-N causal design: www.nber.org/papers/w35720nber.orgDoes AI Assistance Enhance or Erode Expertise? Evidence from a Three-Month Field Experiment in Patent DraftingFounded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an... 13314
Reposted by Paul NightingaleBrooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 18/09/2026When I tell you this is one of the most riveting, concise and accurate depictions of the catastrophically defective thought processes behind Effective Altruism and the larger Broligarch Epistemic Universe... Run, don't walk, to read the whole thing (link below), which concludes thus: 7353120
Reposted by Paul NightingaleGiles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Relax, everybody cepr.org/voxeu/column...cepr.orgNew jobs in 140 years of data: Why the AI displacement fear is overstated — and what to worry about insteadForecasts of AI-driven job destruction rest on counting automatable tasks. But labour markets hire, pay, and fire whole occupations, not tasks – and occupations have proved far more durable than task ... 496
Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Nice MIT report on AI in higer ed aiandeducation.mit.edu/report/aiandeducation.mit.eduReport – AI and Education 000
Reposted by Paul NightingaleRobin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 18/09/2026‘Greek finance minister encourages Germany to implement reforms’ www.ft.com/content/7a28...static.klipy.comAntonio Banderas' Satisfied ReactionALT: Antonio Banderas' Satisfied Reaction 1355298
Reposted by Paul NightingaleKyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Squirrels on suicide missions have knocked out power to Castle Rock, Colorado twice this week. Our investigation has revealed a century of squirrel attacks covered up by the pro-squirrel media. 1412425544
Reposted by Paul NightingaleRobin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 18/09/2026Damn. @tobyn.bsky.social has produced the most detailed map of Big AI’s incestuous relationships I’ve seen so far. And it’s interactive! www.ft.com/content/8475... 818588
Reposted by Paul NightingaleEliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 17/09/2026I remember the absolute garbage people who fell hook, line and sinker for Assadists propaganda on this, and attacked those of us who called that out - Assad regime planned US journalist's kidnap for weeks, BBC finds www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukAustin Tice: Assad regime planned US journalist's kidnap for weeks, BBC findsAustin Tice’s abduction was approved by Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, a source claims. 3340105
Reposted by Paul NightingaleChris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 17/09/2026Join me, James Benford (ONS), Richard Hughes (formerly OBR) and Terra Allas (Alliance Manchester Business School) for a webinar tomorrow on this niesr.ac.uk/event/uks-pr... As the title suggests, it will be forward lookingniesr.ac.ukIs the UK's Productivity Revival Real, or a Measurement Illusion? - NIESROn 17 September, the ONS will publish its new component-based approach to measuring hours worked. This webinar discusses the implications of the new methodology and what it means for policymakers. 183
Reposted by Paul NightingaleReuters @reuters.com · 17/09/2026German court rules Meta liable for fake ads on Instagram, Facebook reut.rs/4AhCcNvreut.rsGerman court rules Meta liable for fake ads on Instagram, FacebookA German court has ruled that Meta is liable for fake advertisements posted by third parties on its Instagram and Facebook platforms, and ordered the U.S. tech giant to remove such content and pay damages, the court said on Thursday. 19546
Reposted by Paul NightingaleHeather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 17/09/2026V interesting ONS paper out this morning suggesting productivity hasn't been *quite* as weak as feared - which as @willellisecon.bsky.social says downthread here, raises qus about the OBR's Big Productivity Downgrade last year - which had significant knock on effects for Rachel Reeves... 268
Reposted by Paul NightingaleCenter for European Policy Analysis @cepa.org · 16/09/2026An indictment unsealed in New York charges five men with running a Russian network that killed Kremlin critics and attacked European infrastructure. All five remain at large in Russia. @andreisoldatov.bsky.social and Irina Borogan warn that sanctions will never reach them. cepa.orgNo Magic Bullet to End Russian SabotageWestern countries still hope for a simple response to the Russia's rising wave of destruction. The answer is in the lessons of the Cold War. 0810
Reposted by Paul NightingalePaul Goldsmith-Pinkham @paulgp.com · 15/09/2026New post reviewing Zidar and Zwick's new book, which I loved. paulgp.substack.com/p/who-is-ric...paulgp.substack.comWho is rich in America, and why?A review of “The Everywhere Millionaire” by Zidar and Zwick 59117
Reposted by Paul NightingaleUpjohn Institute @upjohninstitute.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Business incentives go a lot further when paired with workforce training. A new Upjohn Institute report finds targeted training could generate $5.24 in benefits for every $1 invested. Helping local workers land the jobs being created pays off. Read more: bit.ly/4h5hbN9bit.lyPairing incentives with job training could deliver major gains 102