iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ben Collier

Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My thoughts on how frontier AI’s claims and warnings seem prone to colliding with reality, whether that’s in economics, medicine or cyber security ciaranmartin.substack.com/p/on-ai-clai...

ciaranmartin.substack.com

Frontier AI’s real world problems

Many of the claims and warnings about the impact of frontier AI seem to collide awkwardly with the realities of the specific subject in question

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Gina Gwenffrewi @ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The University of Edinburgh's management is launching a massive job-cutting programme while sitting on a surplus. In the face of this vandalism against one of the city's main sources of employment, 700 students & staff came together yesterday to inspire protest and signal another way is possible.

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UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Amazing turn out from students and staff at the University of Edinburgh, in protest at senior management's greed and manufactured cuts. This is what solidarity looks like - as our campaign of industrial action begins this coming week in protest at the cuts. www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/student...

ucuedinburgh.org.uk

900+ at inaugural Student & Staff Assembly! — UCU Edinburgh

More than 900 students and staff gathered for the inaugural Student-Staff Assembly on Thursday 24 September.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Genuinely inspiring to see two full large lecture theatres full of staff and students turn out against the ongoing cuts and redundancies at University of Edinburgh tonight - standing room only, must have been 800 people there. @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 18/09/2026

The University of Edinburgh is a world-class institution and our members are determined to protect it. With an estimated 1,800 jobs at risk, staff are ready to strike for 25 days to defend jobs and the future of the university. Management can end this dispute: rule out compulsory redundancies.

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Karen Gregory @karengregory.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Protect African Studies @ Edinburgh docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

Protect African Studies @ Edinburgh

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UCU Scotland @ucuscotland.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

5 week strike at Edinburgh University at start of new academic term. Incl UCU branch co-president quote: “...UCU members are prepared to take action for our colleagues and our students – want to safeguard students’ education not just for five weeks in autumn but for the future." #StopTheCuts #SaveHE

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

'The University and College Union (UCU)’s Edinburgh branch said staff had been called into “informal meetings at less than 24 hours' notice” and told not to bring union representatives.'

heraldscotland.com

Fear and anger as university set to announce 'massive course and programme closures'

Asked to respond, a university spokesperson said that staff and students were recently informed of changes to “our future academic offering across…

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Three courses in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, are among the 90 programmes to be axed as Edinburgh University seeks to save £140m at the cost of as many as 1800 jobs. Edinburgh UCU has announced a five week programme of strike action in protest. #BonfireOfTheHumanities

scotsman.com

Edinburgh University to mothball 90 courses as five weeks of strikes to start

The university said mothballing 90 courses will not detract from the institutions standing on the world stage

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Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco @joshpizpom.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

EXC: 90 programmes in Edinburgh University's College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are to be closed. The casualties, which include 48 language and literature programmes, will be 'taught out', w/ no admissions after 2027. @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2655839...

heraldscotland.com

Ninety programmes to close at leading university as savings plan takes shape

According to the document, a total of 90 programmes will be “taught out” over the next several years, including 48 in the School of Language.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Also lovely to see a lot of Cambridge Cybercrime Centre pals’ research linked in the piece :) @message4bob.bsky.social

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—>realhackhistory.org @bsky.realhackhistory.org · 14/09/2026

The main technical innovation you will see in these crews are around finding victims and gaining initial access, most of the rest hinges on extortion tactic concerns around whether encryption is needed or simply data exfil.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

—>realhackhistory.org @bsky.realhackhistory.org · 14/09/2026

This is a good read on ransomware & technical innovation. “cybercriminal behaviour has been driven more by innovation in business models than technical capabilities” www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

rusi.org

Beyond the Hype: AI, Ransomware and Business Models

AI is not (yet) fundamentally reinventing cybercrime. For bold predictions on how it will change, look to history to understand what drives criminal behaviour online.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

computerweekly.bsky.social @computerweekly.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Computer Weekly reveals for the first time how French cyber spies hacked EncroChat phones used by organised crime groups... 👉 [read]

Revealed: Cyber spies used malware from GitHub to hack EncroChat cryptophone network

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

A big one - as ever fantastic from Duncan C, collaborators, and Bill - exploit now confirmed (not what was prev assumed!) for the French Encrochat hack. A great STS-style biography of the secure phones and the law enforcement operation to compromise them www.computerweekly.com/news/3666493...

computerweekly.com

Revealed: Cyber spies used malware from GitHub to hack EncroChat cryptophone network | Computer Weekly

Computer Weekly reveals for the first time how French cyber spies hacked EncroChat phones used by organised crime groups.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

So far we are seeing an intensification of the dynamics of cybercrime-as-a-service, not a rupture - but the internal contradictions of the model are definitely making themselves apparent now.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Earlier this year, we brought out our research on the adoption of #genAI tools by the #cybercrime underground. The main comment we got was - great, but what's happened since Claude code took off? Our updated working paper we've uploaded today has the developments of the last 6 months.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I like all the graphs in our paper, but this is my favourite (thanks Jack Hughes!) - you can see real changes in adoption of different tools in the cybercrime underground. Having worked with these big, rich, but v unstructured forum datasets a lot, I find it's rare to get this clear an effect.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Reposting recent paper - soon to release new version updating for period between Jan - but again, majority of cybercrime underground are gaining next to no technical capacity/sophistication uplift from GenAI, mostly logistics automation and productivity tool for the experts arxiv.org/pdf/2603.29545

arxiv.org

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

arxiv.org

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

As Burnham sets out principles for development of a National Care Service today, worth revisiting what happened to Scotland’s attempt to do this - viz this great recent paper by Buchan and Weaver: mmuperu.co.uk/bjcj/wp-cont...

mmuperu.co.uk

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@nasarmeer.bsky.social @nasarmeer.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Having spent the day, much like every other day at present, listening to journalists and broadcasters restate unsubstantiated claims, and elide the fact of difference with a trigger for racist violence, here are simple rules even Chris Mason might grasp. ⬇️

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Disability Rights UK @disrightsuk.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

🚨DR UK's Statement on the EHRC's New Code of Practice "We are appalled at implications that an adequate workaround is trans people using Disabled toilets instead. We will not be used as a loophole in the wider erosion of trans rights." Full statement👇 www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/disabil...

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Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

🚨 Parliament is back today. Join us in asking your MP to reject the EHRC’s harmful Code of Practice: equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode

Reject the code

Our communities deserve better than this

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Karen Gregory @karengregory.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

So, the reality of this is finally settling in: The @workersobservatory.org has been funded for ten years (!) by the Regenerative Futures Fund. This is a game-changer for us and for the city.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Karen Gregory @karengregory.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

We used to talk about the University as an "anxiety machine", producing intolerable working conditions (slowness, for example, was a response), but it's really become a "grief machine" and I'm not sure we know what to do with the pain and loss yet.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Just to really hammer this home - many proposed AV designs would result in minoritised groups having in practice a higher age limit to use social media than the rest of the population. And these groups that are the most likely to lack other accepted methods of proof of age.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

So if you're a government bringing in an online age ban, how can you actually implement Age Verification in practice, and what do the different options mean?

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Strong AV will have massive issues of digital exclusion and will cause particular harms to vulnerable kids and adults. Find our response, which includes an easy explainer of the technical issues with AV implementation, at www.fipr.org

fipr.org

FIPR - Welcome

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

As the Starmer government announces a ‘crackdown’ on teenagers accessing social media, FIPR are publishing our response to express deep concern with the proposals to implement strong Age Verification by default for online services. These will not only affect children, but all adults in the UK.

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Wild as an STS person to see none other than Steve Woolgar getting a mention in the new ZA/UM game.

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

This is not equality. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Like many transgender individuals the Guardian has interviewed in recent years, Alice is making plans to move out of the UK. “It’s been made abundantly clear that I’m not welcome. I love my job and my family have a happy life here, but I will not be a second-class citizen in my own country.”

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Love reading research papers but wish they involved more shiny hair and wild gesticulating? You can see a video of me presenting our latest work - on generative AI in the cybercrime ecosystem - at the CETaS annual showcase here! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap_A...

youtube.com

The Evolving AI Crime Landscape – CETaS Annual Showcase 2026

YouTube video by The Alan Turing Institute

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Reposted by Ben Collier

Jennifer Cobbe @jennifercobbe.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Nothing that Starmer, Philipson, Labour, or the EHRC can do will ever wipe clean the stain of this. Everyone involved will forever be marked with this disgrace. No coming back now

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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Crucial points here from @doublepulsar.com & @zackwhittaker.com @malwaretech.com has brought home to us the attacker economics of all this. Subverting an existing LLM to get it to hack is hard work. Building your own is really expensive. Phishing & password spraying etc is cheap, & still works

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

cetas.turing.ac.uk/publications... Blog post with CETaS on vibercrime - the (sort of) adoption of GenAI by hackers(ish)

cetas.turing.ac.uk

From Cybercrime to Vibercrime? Assessing Generative AI Adoption in the Criminal Underground

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Ben Collier @susansegfault.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

cetas.turing.ac.uk/publications... New blog out with CETaS today on our research - how the cybercrime underground is (and isn't) adopting Generative AI

cetas.turing.ac.uk

From Cybercrime to Vibercrime? Assessing Generative AI Adoption in the Criminal Underground

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