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Timothy Howlett

@timhowlett.bsky.social
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
UN votes 164-1 to adopt Equal Earth map projection, replacing centuries-old Mercator distortion
UN votes 164-1 to adopt Equal Earth map projection, replacing centuries-old Mercator distortion
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
Otherlandbookshop Berlin @otherlandberlin.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence―Before It's Too Late by Cory Doctorow Whether you want to criticize, kill, or use AI, you have to get through the hype and uncover the real story. @doctorow.pluralistic.net
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence―Before It's Too Late
by Cory Doctorow

Whether you want to criticize, kill, or use AI, you have to get through the hype and uncover the real story. Start with labor: in automation theory, a centaur is a person who chooses to use technology to help them do the things that matter to them. A reverse centaur is a person who has been conscripted to serve as a helper for a machine, at an inhuman, machine pace: a driver made to deliver all day long, nonstop; a warehouse worker made to work without food or bathroom breaks; a programmer made to crank out impossible amounts of code. As Doctorow says: it's not enough to ask what the technology does - we have to understand who it's doing it for and who it's doing it to.

The intended audience for AI hype isn't the people who are forced to use AI. The AI show is a performance staged for bosses and investors. . Investment bankers claim AI will to be worth more than $16 trillion: a number that only makes sense if AI replaces vast swathes of the wage-earning human workforce. To justify that level of "value," every story about AI must be presented as inevitable, world-changing disruption. Even the tales of the robot apocalypse are a calculated attempt to bolster the fearsome power of AI.

Anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. When the AI bubble bursts, what will we salvage? Is there something in the wreckage that everyday people will find useful? In The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI - as he so successfully did in Enshittification - Doctorow recounts both how we found ourselves in this dire situation and how we can get through it, to a life "after" AI in which the tools work for us, not the other way around.
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
The Economist @economist.com · 31/08/2026
Some believe that harnessing the public’s collective wisdom can lead to more efficient charity. But this seductive argument fails on three counts bit.ly/4gDfqqe Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
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Neowin @neowin.net · 27/07/2026
Microsoft is drawing fresh backlash after adding a persistent "Upgrade your plan" banner to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, even for paying Microsoft 365 subscribers. #MicrosoftOffice
neowin.net
Microsoft Office users are furious at persistent in-app ads asking them to pay more
Microsoft is drawing fresh backlash after adding a persistent "Upgrade your plan" banner to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, even for paying Microsoft 365 subscribers.
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
Andy Adams @flakphoto.news · 17/08/2025
Are there any Harari fans out there? Kristen and I have been reading his latest, "Nexus", and it is incredible. Highly recommended.
A picture of Yuval Noah Harari's latest book, "Nexus".
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Scribbler and Drawer @ellecapitan.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I loved the banter between Ann Droid and the newer model in the charity shop. Diane Morgan is brilliant in everything she does. 😍
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Jersey Met {bot} @jersey-met.xmirror.bot · 25/06/2026
With a temperature of 39.3°C recorded at the Maison St. Louis Observatory, Jersey has recorded it's hottest day since records began in 1894. The previous record was 37.9°C on 18th July 2022.
Image from Twitter
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
Pekka Lund @pekka.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
GPT-5.4 Pro's solution to Erdos problem 1196 has already led to proofs for several additional problems.
Update on Erdős Problem 1196:

In joint work, we refined and adapted the proof method from GPT-5.4 Pro to give proofs of several additional problems. This includes another 60 year old conjecture by Erdős, Sárközy, and Szemerédi.

A proof is valued not just by the problem it solves, but by what new avenues it opens up. This is perhaps one of the first examples of an AI-generated proof having downstream impacts, which we are still exploring.

We are announcing the result today at the Future of Mathematics Symposium (see links below)
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arifsky @gumantia.researchers.blue · 28/11/2025
Ultimately, humanity faces a grave danger: the loss of existence and extinction. Everything will be replaced by machines operating with algorithms that rely on quantitative data, devoid of human cognition. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari #BookSky #Future
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NPR @npr.org · 02/05/2026
Timmy captured the hearts of whale lovers across the globe who rooted for a happy ending for the humpback. n.pr/4w5VaV3
n.pr
Timmy the stranded whale rescued after weekslong effort
Timmy captured the hearts of whale lovers across the globe who rooted for a happy ending for the humpback.
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
The Kenya Times @thekenyatimes.com · 26/04/2026
History made at the London Marathon as Sebastian Sawe won the race in an impressive performance with a time of 1:59:30, breaking the world record, becoming the first man to run under two hours.
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j9collier @j9collier.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Project Hail Mary
media.tenor.com
a man is looking through a broken glass window with the words project hailmary behind him
ALT: a man is looking through a broken glass window with the words project hailmary behind him
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James Bruton @xrobots.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
It's the new ONE-BALL Bike! Video comes up on YouTube Tuesday this week - link in bio. #balls #one-ball #weird #bike #innovation
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Nine Dragons @ninedragons.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
3. China vs hidden car door handles In a sensible move, China is banning non-mechanical release door handles, after various incidents of people becoming trapped in handle-less cars (pioneered by Tesla, copied by many) after accidents & people being unable to free them. techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/c...
techcrunch.com
China is leading the fight against hidden car door handles | TechCrunch
Under new safety rules published Monday by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cars sold in the country must have mechanical releases on their door handles. The new rules, which g...
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Peter Timson @peterjohn.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Naomi Klein sums up the Puerto Rico situation pretty well... and the aims of people like Mr. T. The Battle for Paradise.
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Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Danes are sending their final Christmas cards — the last ever to be delivered by the national postal service. From the year-end, PostNord — which traces its history in Denmark back to 1624 — will cease carrying letters and handle only packages. www.ft.com/content/fecad9e1-5...
ft.com
The twilight of the physical letter
End of deliveries by Denmark’s mail service bodes ill for the epistolary form
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Campaign for Better Transport @bettertransport.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
The Chancellor has announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen next year. A huge win for passengers and the economy, and one of our Budget asks!
Quote from Ben Plowden, CEO of Campaign for Better Transport: “We know that cost is the number one concern for people wanting to travel by train, so it is very welcome that fares will be frozen next year as we have been calling for. As well as helping households with the cost of living, this will enable more people to choose rail, reducing traffic on our roads, benefitting the economy, helping the environment, and connecting communities across the country. One of the Government's six objectives for the reformed railways is that they should be affordable. As plans for Great British Railways gather pace, this is a positive sign that affordability for passengers is being given the high priority it deserves.”
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ici @ici.fr · 06/10/2025
"Je travaille sept jours sur sept et tout part en frais d’avocats" : Lise Sobéron, WonderMum, poursuivie par DC Comics ➡️ l.ici.fr/07t
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RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 07/10/2025
The world may be reaching a "crucial turning point" in the shift towards clean power, a think tank said as its analysis showed renewable generation overtook coal globally for the first time on record
rte.ie
Renewables overtake coal for first time - analysis
The world may be reaching a "crucial turning point" in the shift towards clean power, a think tank said as its analysis showed renewable generation overtook coal globally for the first time on record.
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Reposted by Timothy Howlett
The Lancet @thelancet.com · 03/10/2025
Drawing on the latest research, the “Planetary Health Diet”—emphasising minimally processed, plant-rich foods with moderate animal products—can have multiple health benefits. For example, this approach could prevent approx. 15 million premature deaths per year.
A representation of the Planetary Health Diet.
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WIRED @wired.com · 01/05/2025
From his résumé, Thomas from Tennessee looked perfect. A programmer for eight years—and he’d breezed through a coding test. In reality, Thomas is a North Korean IT worker, one of many deployed to work remotely for US companies in a global cybercrime op to bankroll the North Korean government.
wired.com
Your Favorite New Coworker Is an AI-Enhanced Operative From North Korea
For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever.
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Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
The UK has experienced a “solar surge” this year as a run of sunny days and new panels on rooftops generated record amounts of electricity. Solar power output has broken records for the last five months in a row, @ember-energy.org found.
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Snezana Lawrence @snezanalawrence.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
The cover of my new book has been revealed! And of course you can pre-order it. The book will be in the shops 8th April. yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
yalebooks.co.uk
A Little History of Mathematics - Yale University Press London
A lively, accessible history of mathematics throughout the ages and across the globe   Mathematics is fundamental to our daily lives. Science, computing...
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Yvette Cendes @whereisyvette.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
"Wait, black holes can burp?!" I hear you ask? Yes! Go read this article I just wrote for Scientific American if you wanna learn more! www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
scientificamerican.com
Cosmic Indigestion Is Causing Black Holes to Spit Up Stars
After black holes devour stars, sometimes the feast comes back up
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 06/07/2025
The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, has turned 90.
bit.ly
Dalai Lama, a global symbol of Tibetan culture and resistance, turns 90
The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, has turned 90. He celebrated his birthday on Sunday, capping a week of festivities during which he spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.
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idealist at heart @idealistatheart.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
most of us get the most basic facts about the world wrong. that’s why global #health researcher hans rosling wrote #factfulness. to give people the tools to get it right! this #book is perfect for #nonfiction beginners. full review: idealistatheart.com/factfulness-... #booksky #evidencebased #facts
cover of the nonfiction book factfulness by hans rosling
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Michaela Klinkert 💚 @klinkmi.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Mehr Eindrücke von #Sitges
Casa de Folch i TorresMonument für den berühmten Bürgermeister der Stadt Doctor RobertArxiu Històric MunicipalCasa de la Vila - Rathaus
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Derbyshire @derbyshireuk.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Derby Market Hall reopening - what you need to know #Derbyshire 🔗: www.bbc.com/news/arti...
bbc.com
Derby Market Hall reopening - what you need to know
The city centre venue is about to welcome back shoppers following a £35m restoration.
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Andrea Wulf @andreawulf.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Today, 166 years ago Alexander von Humboldt died (he was 89 years). He changed the way we think about nature (describing it as a web of life) & predicted climate change. Can't believe it's been 10 years since I published 'Invention of Nature'. It's change my life. In so many ways.
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Christina Martin @christinamartin.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Greggs and existentialism
A Beginner's Guide to Dying next to a coffee and donut
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Patrick Morgan @itspatmorgan.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark (Ch 1-3) www.goodreads.com/book/show/34...
goodreads.com
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intellig…
How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, jus…
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Nigel Howle @howler123.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
I'm off to have a look around Mornflake in Crewe. It's their 350th anniversary year. They began milling oats at nearby Swettenham. Don't think many companies can beat 350 years in business!
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Spencer Kelly @spenley.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Big day today. I'm filming my last piece for BBC Click. It'll feature drones, robots, treadmills and AI. Yeah, basically a Greatest Hits tour. But an emotional one all the same.
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Population Matters @popnmatters.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
🚀 Introducing our brand-new strategy: All Populations Matter 🌍 We believe a just, sustainable world is possible - but only if we address the challenges of population, resource use and equity together. 📖 Take a first look here 👉 bit.ly/3QpufQt #AllPopulationsMatter
Five year strategic plan
All Populations Matter
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Denmarkification @denmarkification.com · 11/02/2025
🌞 BREAKING NEWS: Denmark to purchase California from Trump 🚀 Get ready for New Denmark, where the palm trees provide shade for the bike lanes, Disneyland becomes Hans Christian Andersenland, and universal healthcare is mandatory! 👉 Support the campaign at denmarkification.com. #Denmarkification
denmarkification.com
Help Denmark Buy California – Because Why Not?
Buy it from Trump, the bigliest crowdsourcing ever
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Greenpeace UK @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
🚨BREAKING: A big win for the bees and it’s sweet as honey🍯! The government has denied the emergency authorisation of neonicotinoids, a pesticide that has decimated bee populations in recent years.
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Gill @gill99.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Very sad to see Click go. A poor decision by the BBC.
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/.... BBC’s Dan Whitworth: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Balls. Of. Steel. @bbcstever.bsky.social has balls of steel. Wonder how many other ‘journalists’ in that room spoke the truth to power.” Putting #Putin on the spot. Only Steve Rosenberg.
bbc.co.uk
Watch BBC's Steve Rosenberg challenge Putin on his 25 years in power in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin was speaking at an annual end-of-year press conference.
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The Rivers Trust @theriverstrust.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
💩🚨Near real-time #sewage alerts. Today Water UK launches The National Storm Overflows Hub – an interactive map showing in near real-time when storm overflows release raw, untreated sewage (known as a discharge) across England. We've included the data in our sewage map, too. Here's what's happened:
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Sally Chisholm @sjchis.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
It was the Conwy Half Marathon today. We ran up and along the Great Orme. The famous goats were watching can you spot them? Hanner Marathon Conwy oedd hi heddiw. Rydym yn rhedeg i fyny y Great Orme. Roedd y geifr yn gwylio. Ydych Chi'n eu gweld?
Picture of people running uphill along a road. There are high cliffs on the left with a few white goats watching from half way upPicture shows a green and brown mountain side with a road in the distance that people are running along. There is a pale stone wall on the left hand side.
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Ukraine Advocate 🇺🇦 @eugenemcparland.eurosky.social · 14/11/2024
A russian TV chef who ran a restaurant in central London has been found dead in Serbia. Alexei Zimin, 52, was an outspoken critic of putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014. He had spent his final years exiled in the UK. Authorities say "no suspicious circumstances" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Alexei Zimin: London Russian TV chef found dead in Belgrade hotel
Alexei Zimin was an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014.
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Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 27/09/2024
By the end of this month, the UK will bring its 142-year coal-powered era to an end with the closure of its last remaining plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Carbon Brief looks at how the UK became the first G7 country to completely phase out coal power.
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Steven J. Gibbons @stevenjgibbons.bsky.social · 12/09/2024
It has been a tremendous privilege to be part of this project. A massive rockslide into a Greenland fjord generated a tsunami with 200 meter run-up that coalesced into a long duration seiche. Our findings are published in the journal Science this evening. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
A tsunami in a remote fjord rang Earth like a bell for 9 days
Scientists trace strange seismic signal to landslide that triggered sloshing, 200-meter-tall waves in Greenland
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 21/08/2024
Still not aliens: Astronomers think they’ve found a plausible explanation of the Wow! signal. Magnetars could zap clouds of atomic hydrogen, producing focused microwave beams. arstechnica.com/science/2024...
arstechnica.com
Was the Wow! signal actually a space maser?
Magnetars could zap clouds of atomic hydrogen, producing focused microwave beams.
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Jwst Feed @jwstfeed.bsky.social · 24/08/2024
Small portion of the deep universe. Almost every spec of light here is a distant galaxy, containing countless of stars. Processed JWST/NIRCam data by @thocarp.bsky.social p www.flickr.com/photos/19746... 🔭 🧪
A deep-field image of a massive galaxy cluster, SPT-CLJ0151-5954, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). The image shows a vast number of galaxies, both young and old, in a wide range of colors and shapes. The cluster is so massive that it acts as a gravitational lens, warping the light of galaxies behind it and magnifying them. This allows us to see galaxies that are too faint to be detected with other telescopes.

The image is filled with details, including bright, active galaxies, distant, faint galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. The colors in the image represent different wavelengths of light, with blue and green representing shorter wavelengths and red representing longer wavelengths. The overall effect is a stunning and awe-inspiring view of the universe on a massive scale.
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