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wheresrhys.bsky.social

@wheresrhys.bsky.social
85 followers 266 following 67 posts

Birds are a little too real

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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I just signed a @foxglovelegal.bsky.social petition: Health Secretary Yvette Cooper: Trigger the break clause and get Palantir out of the NHS. Sign here: www.foxglove.org.uk/campaigns/yv...
foxglove.org.uk
New health secretary Yvette Cooper: trigger the break clause and kick Palantir out of our NHS.
ADD YOUR NAME NOW!
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
A terrible thought just hit me. What with all the unpredictable political turmoil... could Alan Sugar be destined to be our next prime minister?
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 27/02/2026
Breaking: *Asif Aziz's mass evictions of Londoners appear to be BACK ON *Sadiq Khan personally demands immediate response from the landlord *Leading homelessness charity cuts ties with the Aziz family and refuses donation *Questions over legality of paperwork www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...
londoncentric.media
Can Sadiq Khan stop Asif Aziz's mass evictions?
We went to the billionaire's home to get answers, as a leading homelessness charity cut ties with the landlord and tenants begged the mayor to save their homes.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 27/02/2026
Jim & his team doing god's work here
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Your powers are weak, old man. #starwars
Two parking barriers looks like dark and light side lightsabers
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Chris Cook @chriscook.news · 15/01/2026
Robert Jenrick's speech, now entering its 53rd hour
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 27/12/2025
The surge of AI slop, deceptive synthetic videos & images flooding our feeds, is driven in large part by Agentic AI Accounts (AAAs). aiforensics.org/work/agentic... Key findings: -Over 43,000 mostly AI-made posts generated 4.5 billion views -More than 65% of accounts were created in early 2025 1/
aiforensics.org
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HappyToast @happytoast.co.uk · 08/12/2025
"A local car thief has seen profits sky rocket this year by simply taking other people's cars and selling them on without any paperwork or safety checks"
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Is Die Hard 2: Die Harder a christmas film?
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I've written about "disordered counterpublics" groups that reinforce shared delusions Here, the LLM becomes a 1 person counterpublic. It mirrors assumptions, absorbs contradictions, & provides the sense of a responsive, confirming audience. It is the architecture of disordered discourse, automated.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
AI peas 😂 www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Give peas a chance – even AI peas: the Stephen Collins cartoon
AI can transform all areas of our lives – even boiling a bag of frozen veg
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David Bradshaw @davidbradshaw52.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
The first Water Pipit since 2021 was October's bird highlight at London's Walthamstow Wetlands. Round-up of the 97 species seen now on walthamstowbirders.blogspot.com Thanks to @samodonnell25.bsky.social @chris-farthing.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social & MLP for pics. #londonbirding
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Sarah O'Connor @sarahoconnorft.ft.com · 30/10/2025
2nd edition of our The AI Shift newsletter is out. The question today: could AI be making us LESS productive? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com www.ft.com/content/2480... At the individual level, it's clear we're not reliable witnesses on this Q. At an organisational level, it gets even more interesting...
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
I dug into the civil service & Microsoft claims that copilot saves workers 2 weeks a year, and similarly it is based on self-reported estimates. www.wheresrhys.co.uk/2025/06/07/t...
wheresrhys.co.uk
Two weeks a year?
How believable is the government's pilot of using AI to increase civil service productivity?
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Will Hayward - Wales Journo @willhaycardiff.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
My latest newsletter with all the analysis from a historic Caerphilly byelection willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/plaid-smas...
willhaywardwales.substack.com
Plaid smash Reform to win in Caerphilly
These are the key takeaways from a massive night in Welsh politics
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Christ! I moved from Wales to London to get AWAY from the ravens and kites, not to find them both 5 minutes from my front door in zone 3!! #londonbirds
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
A nice surprise today with the first jack snipe I’ve ever seen at my local waterworks nature reserve, and putting on a very endearing show of bobbing #londonbirds
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HappyToast @happytoast.co.uk · 18/09/2025
Have Disney pulled the Indiana Jones movies for being mean to nazis yet?
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
@gruffrhys.bsky.social wnes i ddod ar draws rhai o’ch lyrics yn Ellis Brigham. Mymryn yn wahanol i sut o’n i’n ei cofio nhw.
A label on an item of clothing beginning with the manufacturer’s slogan ‘the mountain people’
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Nick Cohen @nickcohen.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
The radical right is winning because Labour, the Tories, most of the press and the BBC will not speak for the majority that sees Farage and the extremists beyond him as a menace Piece from me on the failure to rally resistance open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...
open.substack.com
When will our spineless leaders speak for liberal Britain?
Cowardice enables the radical right
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Letter to my assembly member about the policing today #london #standuptoracism
Letter to a london assembly member complaining about policing of the Unite the Kingdom protest
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Me too. Today I brought 1 friend, but next time I will bring 20 There are more of us, and they won’t win
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Louis Barclay @louisbarclay.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Q. Who aligns the aligners? A. alignmentalignment.ai Today I’m humbled to announce an epoch-defining event: the launch of the 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
alignmentalignment.ai
Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers
We align the aligners
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
While, rightly, there's a lot of concern about when AI _is_ used without consent, transparency etc, rushing towards the benefits while ignoring the harms... I wonder what these cynical claims of AI-ness might do to people's ability to recognise, believe and embrace benefits when they are real
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
But I think it's interesting that this AI branding creates associations in people's minds between "cutting edge AI" and "rubbish service delivery", which, whatever you think of AI, is grounded in presence of the "AI" marketing buzzword, rather than presence of the actual technology.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
implying that, despite the hype, cutting edge technology is not in fact being used to power them. "No shit, Sherlock," I hear you say, "Didn't you know it's all hype??!"...
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
There appears to be a very consistent trend in "AI" help chatbots (I'm looking at you HSBC, Halifax, Ovo...) . 1) They are rubbish, not really conversational, based on preset answers... basically using tech from 10 years ago. 2) If you ask the same questions to ChatGPT you get far better answers...
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rich harris @rich-harris.dev · 22/08/2025
If I pick this as my security question will I remember that the answer I submitted was "every year, dumbass"
An option for a security question that reads 'what year is your anniversary?', presumably written by someone unfamiliar with the concept of an anniversary
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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Decomputing as a response to AI and to the underlying conditions that make AI seem inevitable.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
I’m taking part in a new scheme to reintroduce native species to the highlands
A caramel bar with epic cliffs, screw slopes and lakes in the cairngorms as a backdrop
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Stumbled across this almost nostrodaman premonition of Amazon by @aiannucci.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfSi...
youtube.com
Tesco vs Denmark
YouTube video by stevethedalek
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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Very interesting, if a little alarming and depressing, thoughts from James K on how AI may impact on politics
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BirdGuides @birdguides.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
A new study has revealed that birds can form long-lasting bonds that closely resemble human friendships:
bit.ly
Starlings form long-term 'friendships', study finds
A 20-year study of Superb Starlings has found that these birds form long-term social bonds resembling human friendships. While they often help relatives, individuals also consistently assist specific non-relatives, suggesting reciprocal relationships built over time. The research reveals complex social behaviour among starlings, challenging the belief that such co-operation is limited to kin and offering new insights into animal societies.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Hats off to the image + headline juxtaposition editor at @data.ft.com
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
My thoughts on the government’s recent study on AI efficiency improvements in the civil service www.wheresrhys.co.uk/2025/06/07/t... #AI #aiopportunities
wheresrhys.co.uk
Now, on to review the actual research. The objectives are defined as follows:
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Great article on AI, copyright and licencing www.techpolicy.press/ai-training-... I'm running some focus groups to discuss this issue in the UK. Sign up here forms.gle/m65AKVoHMg9m... #makeitfair #dothewritething #aipolicy
techpolicy.press
AI Training, the Licensing Mirage, and Effective Alternatives to Support Creative Workers | TechPolicy.Press
Requiring licenses for training data won’t impede automation or provide meaningful support to creators, argues Derek Slater.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I'm recruiting participants for a focus group to research public attitudes to the government's policy on AI and copyright. Please share, and fill out this form if you'd like to take part forms.gle/5KMp66VVH43y... #AI #copyright #makeitfair #DoTheWriteThing @societyofauthors.bsky.social
forms.gle
AI and copyright focus group participant sign up
Many artificial Intelligence (AI) tools rely on training on datasets that contain large amounts of copyrighted material. The UK government is proposing to change copyright law so that AI companies can...
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
This juvenile coal tit - only the second we’ve ever ringed at the site - was my highlight from Walthamstow wetlands CES this morning, alongside 6 juvenile reed warblers - some very early breeding this year. Ringed under licence by @btobirds.bsky.social #londonbirds
A juvenile coal tit held in the hand. Very young - still has yellow cheeks
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Marina Purkiss @marina-purkiss.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Wake-up call… Lincolnshire has suffered some of the worst flooding in its history in recent years Lincolnshire’s newly elected Reform council has abolished the flooding committee This is who they are Please wake up to this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Reform UK-run Lincolnshire County Council scraps flood committee - BBC News
The work will be incorporated into another committee despite all other parties opposing the change.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
From the government's own consultation document: "greater transparency from AI developers is a prerequisite - transparency about the material they use to train models, how they acquire it, and about the content generated by their models. " But today this 🫠 Peter Kyle is such a big tech fluffer
theguardian.com
UK ministers to block amendment requiring AI firms to declare use of copyrighted content
Government plans to use arcane procedure to strip amendment passed by House of Lords from its data bill
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John Harris @johnharris1969.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
And so ghouls rush in to the space Starmer has cleared for them, sounding like the BNP. "Aggressive levels of mass migration" is the latest grim phrase. PS as @sundersays.bsky.social points out, one place with a very high level of ppl born overseas is Kensington & Chelsea, but that's evidently fine
Asked what he made of Starmer’s characterisation, Jenrick said: “I think it’s true. In fact, I think in some places we already are. Aggressive levels of mass migration have made us more divided.

“If you look at communities in our country, for example central Bradford, 50 per cent of people were born outside of the United Kingdom; in central Luton, 46 per cent of residents arrived in the past decade.
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Nice article. I’m also bemused by the common comparison of a single ChatGPT message with a single google query, when in reality one ChatGPT call can avoid me having to run my laptop for hours, making dozens of google queries and loading dozens of web pages, so _could_ be a net reduction in resources
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
@stellacreasy.bsky.social I’m glad you’re personally challenging some of the government’s policy, but starmer’s rhetoric today on immigration is beyond the pale. I won’t be knocking on any more doors for @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 25/04/2025
really interesting insight into Meta's failures policing content www.ft.com/content/80d9...
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
I'm finding ecosia as good as google for most stuff, and on the rare occasions it isn't I do a google search. They also plough profits into environmental projects. As far as I can tell there's no GenAI content returned
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Excellent from Janan Ganesh www.ft.com/content/0f3e...
ft.com
The hopeless search for Trump’s cunning plan
Attempts to read grand strategy into the US president’s doings have run their course
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
What if Trump is just about to unveil the greatest RickRoll in history?
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Tom Vamos @tom.loopy.co.uk · 30/03/2025
@aiannucci.bsky.social You've seen this right? Real life Partridge. youtu.be/uLsDpkQY3xo
youtu.be
Peter Rosenfeld rides Zip World Fforest Coaster, Wales
YouTube video by Gizago
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
"I have a colleague...his fingers were crushed... They showed him a picture of his wife & said 'we're going to gang rape her in front of you if you don't admit you're Hamas.'" Dr Mark Perlmutter, in Gaza, on what Israel is doing to Palestinian doctors. My full interview: zeteo.com/p/us-embassy...
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wheresrhys.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
The comic timing of Bluesky is off the charts this morning
A post simply saying ‘diarrhoea’ followed by another unrelated post quoting bohemian rhapsody’s lyrics “‘thunderbolts and lightning very very frightening” and another decribing various kinds of violent precipitation in a matter of fact tone
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