Chris Williams
@chrisnjwilliams.bsky.social
LARP, literature, lightsabers, laughs and the law. Personal account. All views are my own. He/him/his.
Reposted by Chris Williams
Get past the bit about VPNs (consumer VPNs are mostly pointless), and focus on the bit about wider harms. That's the elephant in the room here - we *should* be handling bad stuff online for everyone (not necessarily banning it), and banning kids does nothing to fix that.
My column in today's paper: on banning the under-16s from social media, the trade-offs and assumptions that the ban makes:
Perhaps we should all be banned from social media
Focusing only on under-16s obscures the lack of internet safeguards for everyone else
www.ft.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Get past the bit about VPNs (consumer VPNs are mostly pointless), and focus on the bit about wider harms. That's the elephant in the room here - we *should* be handling bad stuff online for everyone (not necessarily banning it), and banning kids does nothing to fix that.
Reposted by Chris Williams
I need everyone to know that the forthcoming Glen Powell movie, How to Make a Killing, is a modern American remake of one of my all-time favourite films, the classic British black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), and I am *seething,* because there’s zero chance it does the original justice.
February 17, 2026 at 9:50 AM
I need everyone to know that the forthcoming Glen Powell movie, How to Make a Killing, is a modern American remake of one of my all-time favourite films, the classic British black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), and I am *seething,* because there’s zero chance it does the original justice.
Reposted by Chris Williams
New Health Drink just dropped
February 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
New Health Drink just dropped
Reposted by Chris Williams
Reposted by Chris Williams
Could the tech guys offer us an exciting chance to keep our loved ones alive by, say, not destroying the planet by heat, extraction and rage. You know, rather than by making robot versions of their Facebook accounts that chat after they die? Or is there no spec VC capital in actually helping out?
February 17, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Could the tech guys offer us an exciting chance to keep our loved ones alive by, say, not destroying the planet by heat, extraction and rage. You know, rather than by making robot versions of their Facebook accounts that chat after they die? Or is there no spec VC capital in actually helping out?
Reposted by Chris Williams
I'm now wondering how many unfunny tech billionaires have already handed over their social media accounts to AI versions of themselves with the instruction "post like me, but funny and loved".
Why bother living when ai can be a better you!
Why bother living when ai can be a better you!
All of these things, like the Grandma on your phone, are designed to blackmail you forever. Once you say yes to 'keeping a memory alive' there's no way you can stop unless you are ok with killing your loved one.
Meta has patented AI that can run a dead person's account, continuing to post and chat on their behalf
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
February 17, 2026 at 9:44 AM
I'm now wondering how many unfunny tech billionaires have already handed over their social media accounts to AI versions of themselves with the instruction "post like me, but funny and loved".
Why bother living when ai can be a better you!
Why bother living when ai can be a better you!
Reposted by Chris Williams
And of course the price will go up at least yearly.
February 17, 2026 at 9:19 AM
And of course the price will go up at least yearly.
Reposted by Chris Williams
All of these things, like the Grandma on your phone, are designed to blackmail you forever. Once you say yes to 'keeping a memory alive' there's no way you can stop unless you are ok with killing your loved one.
Meta has patented AI that can run a dead person's account, continuing to post and chat on their behalf
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
February 17, 2026 at 9:19 AM
All of these things, like the Grandma on your phone, are designed to blackmail you forever. Once you say yes to 'keeping a memory alive' there's no way you can stop unless you are ok with killing your loved one.
Reposted by Chris Williams
its amazing how chatgpt knows everything about subjects I know nothing about, but is wrong like 40% of the time in things im an expert on. not going to think about this any further
March 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
its amazing how chatgpt knows everything about subjects I know nothing about, but is wrong like 40% of the time in things im an expert on. not going to think about this any further
Reposted by Chris Williams
Oh look, they realized they could get away with it for trans people and now they've moved onto ADHD. If this gets transposed to Ireland I'm fucked.
Henry Shelford, chief executive of charity ADHD UK: it is "hateful and cruel how badly the overall NHS treats people with ADHD”.
ADHD patients stripped of NHS prescriptions under crackdown
GP practices are increasingly withdrawing from shared-care agreements with patients diagnosed by private clinics
giftarticle.ft.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Oh look, they realized they could get away with it for trans people and now they've moved onto ADHD. If this gets transposed to Ireland I'm fucked.
Reposted by Chris Williams
They are very weird people, and it will be their downfall.
Performative religious nationalism might work in America, but most British people - including most Christians - think it's weird.
Performative religious nationalism might work in America, but most British people - including most Christians - think it's weird.
Charlie Downes (Restore Britain, campaign director): "More than anything, it is Christian faith. Ancestry and it is Christian faith"
Alex Phillips: "So if you are not a Christian, you can't be British?"
CD: "Well. You are certainly less British if you are not a believer in Christian principles".
Alex Phillips: "So if you are not a Christian, you can't be British?"
CD: "Well. You are certainly less British if you are not a believer in Christian principles".
February 16, 2026 at 10:30 PM
They are very weird people, and it will be their downfall.
Performative religious nationalism might work in America, but most British people - including most Christians - think it's weird.
Performative religious nationalism might work in America, but most British people - including most Christians - think it's weird.
Reposted by Chris Williams
It was only when a mob of masked men arrived at her house that 'a line was crossed'.
Far-right racist horrors including violence, pogroms, intimidation and shows of strength involving thousands of paramilitaries on the street were allowed to happen under this minister's watch. [4/n]
Far-right racist horrors including violence, pogroms, intimidation and shows of strength involving thousands of paramilitaries on the street were allowed to happen under this minister's watch. [4/n]
Alliance leader Naomi Long warns ‘a line was crossed’ after ‘mob’ gathers outside her home
Justice Minister Naomi Long has hit out after a mob, some wearing masks, protested outside her home.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
February 17, 2026 at 8:09 AM
It was only when a mob of masked men arrived at her house that 'a line was crossed'.
Far-right racist horrors including violence, pogroms, intimidation and shows of strength involving thousands of paramilitaries on the street were allowed to happen under this minister's watch. [4/n]
Far-right racist horrors including violence, pogroms, intimidation and shows of strength involving thousands of paramilitaries on the street were allowed to happen under this minister's watch. [4/n]
Reposted by Chris Williams
For those outside the North, the way the ministerial seats are divided in N. Ireland is based on the d'Hondt system. That is except the Justice Ministry which is seen as too critical to be 'green' or 'orange'. Largely this role has gone to Alliance, a party who self-IDs itself as neither. [2/n]
NI: David Ford denies he was ‘beholden to DUP’ as Justice Minister
David Ford Northern Ireland's former Justice Minister David Ford has denied that political interference from the DUP prevented him easing the use of strip-searches in NI prisons.
www.irishlegal.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:57 AM
For those outside the North, the way the ministerial seats are divided in N. Ireland is based on the d'Hondt system. That is except the Justice Ministry which is seen as too critical to be 'green' or 'orange'. Largely this role has gone to Alliance, a party who self-IDs itself as neither. [2/n]
Reposted by Chris Williams
Pancake on the streets of London. Pancake on the streets of Birmingham.
March 4, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Pancake on the streets of London. Pancake on the streets of Birmingham.
Reposted by Chris Williams
*runs downstairs*
*looks under the pancake tree*
HE’S BEEN HE’S BEEN
*looks under the pancake tree*
HE’S BEEN HE’S BEEN
February 17, 2026 at 7:28 AM
*runs downstairs*
*looks under the pancake tree*
HE’S BEEN HE’S BEEN
*looks under the pancake tree*
HE’S BEEN HE’S BEEN
Reposted by Chris Williams
Well you know what day it is! m.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9J...
HD Pancake Day Song - Maid Marian and her Merry Men - with Pancake Recipe!
YouTube video by Prosser Family Adventures
m.youtube.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Well you know what day it is! m.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9J...
Reposted by Chris Williams
"the AI was wrong in unpredictable ways".
AI can help with "write a function that does X" where X is hard to write but immediately testable. Or "rephrase this sentence concisely".
Churning out reams of text, in which *every single detail could be completely made up & wrong* is not actually helpful
AI can help with "write a function that does X" where X is hard to write but immediately testable. Or "rephrase this sentence concisely".
Churning out reams of text, in which *every single detail could be completely made up & wrong* is not actually helpful
We did this experiment at my former job. The highest paid employees (editors) ended up putting hours into editing and fact checking stories because the AI was wrong in unpredictable ways. Between coming up with the story idea, prompting, and editing they were the most expensive stories we did.
“We plan to hire an AI rewrite specialist to ingest the reporting by Hannah and others and use AI to convert it into stories.”
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
February 16, 2026 at 10:45 PM
"the AI was wrong in unpredictable ways".
AI can help with "write a function that does X" where X is hard to write but immediately testable. Or "rephrase this sentence concisely".
Churning out reams of text, in which *every single detail could be completely made up & wrong* is not actually helpful
AI can help with "write a function that does X" where X is hard to write but immediately testable. Or "rephrase this sentence concisely".
Churning out reams of text, in which *every single detail could be completely made up & wrong* is not actually helpful
Reposted by Chris Williams
Blimey. Looks like Matt Goodwin, who seems to think the Handmaid's Tale is an instruction manual, is in the pay of an Orban think tank, funded by Russian oil money.
Orbán’s pay cheques: Reform candidate fuelled by profits from Russian oil
The Reform candidate at this month’s byelection claims he wants to put Britain first, but is he still on the payroll of Viktor Orbán’s far-right propaganda unit?
goodlaw.social
February 16, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Blimey. Looks like Matt Goodwin, who seems to think the Handmaid's Tale is an instruction manual, is in the pay of an Orban think tank, funded by Russian oil money.
Reposted by Chris Williams
😬Not the best look for Reform’s Gorton & Denton candidate Matt Goodwin
White supremacist far right activist says
“you've appeared on our podcasts, had dinner with us, had us write for your Substack, and sought our advice on how to write your social media posts”
Tad awkward😬
White supremacist far right activist says
“you've appeared on our podcasts, had dinner with us, had us write for your Substack, and sought our advice on how to write your social media posts”
Tad awkward😬
February 16, 2026 at 9:55 PM
😬Not the best look for Reform’s Gorton & Denton candidate Matt Goodwin
White supremacist far right activist says
“you've appeared on our podcasts, had dinner with us, had us write for your Substack, and sought our advice on how to write your social media posts”
Tad awkward😬
White supremacist far right activist says
“you've appeared on our podcasts, had dinner with us, had us write for your Substack, and sought our advice on how to write your social media posts”
Tad awkward😬
Reposted by Chris Williams
“Earth is a pleasure cruise for 1000 people and we're all just the staff.”
I literally saw a post two weeks back in which a guy with two jobs was flagellating himself because he was short on rent, lamenting that had he donated plasma more, maybe his rent would be on time. This system is deeply fucked. Earth is a pleasure cruise for 1000 people and we're all just the staff.
February 16, 2026 at 8:48 PM
“Earth is a pleasure cruise for 1000 people and we're all just the staff.”
Reposted by Chris Williams
If you don't know Conan (known in English as Case Closed), you should - it's one of the anime in Japan with almost universal name recognition. Check out our review of the cultural phenomenon here:
buff.ly/qumw0QJ
buff.ly/qumw0QJ
Detective Conan: What Makes Japan's Popular Anime Fun - and Patently Ridiculous - Unseen Japan
Here's what's made the Detective Conan series so popular - and the silly things you should ignore to enjoy it.
unseen-japan.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
If you don't know Conan (known in English as Case Closed), you should - it's one of the anime in Japan with almost universal name recognition. Check out our review of the cultural phenomenon here:
buff.ly/qumw0QJ
buff.ly/qumw0QJ
Reposted by Chris Williams
Federal court orders Trump administration to restore historical panel exhibits at President’s House in Philadelphia.
Happy Presidents Day.
Happy Presidents Day.
February 16, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Federal court orders Trump administration to restore historical panel exhibits at President’s House in Philadelphia.
Happy Presidents Day.
Happy Presidents Day.
Reposted by Chris Williams
Something's going on here
gardencourtchambers.co.uk/extinction-r...
gardencourtchambers.co.uk/extinction-r...
Extinction Rebellion medics unanimously acquitted despite defences being withdrawn | Garden Court Chambers
Tom Wainwright, of the Garden Court Protest Team, acted for the first and second defendants, instructed by Ella Jefferson and Hester Cavaciuti of Bindmans Solicitors.
gardencourtchambers.co.uk
February 16, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Something's going on here
gardencourtchambers.co.uk/extinction-r...
gardencourtchambers.co.uk/extinction-r...
Reposted by Chris Williams
Please, I beg you, for the love of G-d, if Google AI or ChatGPT says you don't need a lawyer to do something, TALK TO A LAWYER ANYWAY.
PLEASE.
PLEASE.
February 16, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Please, I beg you, for the love of G-d, if Google AI or ChatGPT says you don't need a lawyer to do something, TALK TO A LAWYER ANYWAY.
PLEASE.
PLEASE.
Reposted by Chris Williams
I literally saw a post two weeks back in which a guy with two jobs was flagellating himself because he was short on rent, lamenting that had he donated plasma more, maybe his rent would be on time. This system is deeply fucked. Earth is a pleasure cruise for 1000 people and we're all just the staff.
February 16, 2026 at 8:41 PM
I literally saw a post two weeks back in which a guy with two jobs was flagellating himself because he was short on rent, lamenting that had he donated plasma more, maybe his rent would be on time. This system is deeply fucked. Earth is a pleasure cruise for 1000 people and we're all just the staff.