Eoin McLaughlin
@eoinaldo.bsky.social
Econ Prof at Heriot-Watt University, interested in #econhist, #landreform, #microfinance, #sustainabledevelopment, #health, #nufc & #Seinfeld (not necessarily in that order)
www.eoinmclaughlin.ie
www.eoinmclaughlin.ie
Pinned
Eoin McLaughlin
@eoinaldo.bsky.social
· Oct 1
Manuscript done ✅ Off to production at Bloomsbury!
The book revisits Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250, rethinking prosperity through inclusive wealth & sustainability
More soon… 📖✨
The book revisits Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250, rethinking prosperity through inclusive wealth & sustainability
More soon… 📖✨
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
For those familiar w/ "ARkStorm/ARk2.0" flood scenarios for California, a comparable event has been unfolding on the Iberian Peninsula. These ridiculous rainfall accumulations, caused by a long series of extremely moist atmospheric rivers, have brought widespread severe flooding to Spain & Portugal.
Grazalema, Spain, received over 2,000 mm (78 inches) of rain in just the last 20 days.
Over a year’s worth of rain — and it’s only early February. This is hydrologically absurd.
Over a year’s worth of rain — and it’s only early February. This is hydrologically absurd.
February 10, 2026 at 5:03 AM
For those familiar w/ "ARkStorm/ARk2.0" flood scenarios for California, a comparable event has been unfolding on the Iberian Peninsula. These ridiculous rainfall accumulations, caused by a long series of extremely moist atmospheric rivers, have brought widespread severe flooding to Spain & Portugal.
This is why I'm still doing in-person exams....:“In my whole degree, I never had an in-person exam. That’s why ChatGPT has gone rampant. It’s just so easy to cheat.”
www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...
www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...
February 8, 2026 at 7:31 AM
This is why I'm still doing in-person exams....:“In my whole degree, I never had an in-person exam. That’s why ChatGPT has gone rampant. It’s just so easy to cheat.”
www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...
www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...
I've written on existential risk too* onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Managing and mitigating future public health risks: Planetary boundaries, global catastrophic risk, and inclusive wealth
There are two separate conceptualizations for assessing existential risks: Planetary Boundaries (PBs) and global catastrophic risks (GCRs). While these concepts are similar in principle, their underp...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 8, 2026 at 7:15 AM
I've written on existential risk too* onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
I've read a lot of literature on existential risk but this is a unique (unhinged?) perspective www.politico.eu/article/trum...
Trump ally and tech billionaire Peter Thiel brings Antichrist warning to Paris
“I heard more about the Antichrist during those 45 minutes than during the rest of my life,” one attendee tells POLITICO.
www.politico.eu
February 8, 2026 at 7:15 AM
I've read a lot of literature on existential risk but this is a unique (unhinged?) perspective www.politico.eu/article/trum...
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
A recent fave for our mini reader subscribers was the very funny Once I Was A Tree by Eoin McLaughlin and Guilherme Karsten, we had so much fun creating an activity pack all about trees! 🌲 @nosycrow.bsky.social @eoinaldo.bsky.social #childrensbooks #BookSky
January 26, 2026 at 7:39 PM
A recent fave for our mini reader subscribers was the very funny Once I Was A Tree by Eoin McLaughlin and Guilherme Karsten, we had so much fun creating an activity pack all about trees! 🌲 @nosycrow.bsky.social @eoinaldo.bsky.social #childrensbooks #BookSky
Gordon Brown on Mandelson: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
February 7, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Gordon Brown on Mandelson: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
This week’s Gist is about how the U.K. Labour Party unknowingly has been blowing itself up by following Morgan McSweeney’s FG electoral instincts.
They don’t know the patterns, but we do.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-uk-...
They don’t know the patterns, but we do.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-uk-...
The Gist: UK Labour's FG mastermind
The UK Labour Party is being run into the ground, thanks to adopting FG's election tactics. This is the Gist.
www.thegist.ie
February 6, 2026 at 9:24 AM
This week’s Gist is about how the U.K. Labour Party unknowingly has been blowing itself up by following Morgan McSweeney’s FG electoral instincts.
They don’t know the patterns, but we do.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-uk-...
They don’t know the patterns, but we do.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-uk-...
This has been one of the most read articles on the RTE site in the past 24 hours
February 6, 2026 at 2:45 PM
This has been one of the most read articles on the RTE site in the past 24 hours
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
'We're seeing eviction rates not seen in Ireland since the 1850s'. The growth in eviction notices is quite revealing viewed against Ireland's historical record, write @eoinaldo.bsky.social @heriotwattuni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie & Richard McMahon MIC Limerick www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
'We're seeing eviction rates not seen in Ireland since the 1850s'
The issuing of 5,000 eviction notices in three months last year is quite revealing when viewed against Ireland's historical record
www.rte.ie
February 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
'We're seeing eviction rates not seen in Ireland since the 1850s'. The growth in eviction notices is quite revealing viewed against Ireland's historical record, write @eoinaldo.bsky.social @heriotwattuni.bsky.social @researchireland.ie & Richard McMahon MIC Limerick www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
We wrote an article on the high rate of evictions seen in Ireland last year and putting them in historical perspective www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
February 5, 2026 at 5:13 PM
We wrote an article on the high rate of evictions seen in Ireland last year and putting them in historical perspective www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
The global economic landscape has ruptured, how should the UK respond?: The dilemmas for the UK created by a rupturing world - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
The dilemmas for the UK created by a rupturing world
New priorities are needed to succeed amid unreliable and competing great powers
giftarticle.ft.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM
The global economic landscape has ruptured, how should the UK respond?: The dilemmas for the UK created by a rupturing world - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
And another www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
From Target to Disney, 2025 proved boycotts work. Here’s how to build on them | Michael Shank
The US was founded on boycotts of British imports. As we mark the country’s 250th anniversary, that spirit is alive and well
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:19 AM
And another www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As the etymology of Boycott comes from the Land War in Ireland (Captain Charles Boycott was a land agent socially ostracised) I love seeing his name being put to use for honourable causes:
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a... (Archive link archive.is/L7FKw)
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a... (Archive link archive.is/L7FKw)
archive.is
January 29, 2026 at 10:19 AM
As the etymology of Boycott comes from the Land War in Ireland (Captain Charles Boycott was a land agent socially ostracised) I love seeing his name being put to use for honourable causes:
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a... (Archive link archive.is/L7FKw)
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a... (Archive link archive.is/L7FKw)
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
The Doomsday Clock timeline explores every shift of the Clock—forward and backward— over the past 79 years.
Visit the timeline: buff.ly/UfYaZRZ
Visit the timeline: buff.ly/UfYaZRZ
January 27, 2026 at 4:56 PM
The Doomsday Clock timeline explores every shift of the Clock—forward and backward— over the past 79 years.
Visit the timeline: buff.ly/UfYaZRZ
Visit the timeline: buff.ly/UfYaZRZ
The rise of the answer machines - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
The rise of the answer machines
Universities trained students to produce polished responses on demand. Then AI learnt the same trick. What now?
giftarticle.ft.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:39 AM
The rise of the answer machines - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
AI is supercharging information warfare. Influence operations are being automated. A single setup can generate content, schedule posts, reply at scale, and run engagement loops. When this is self-hosted, it does not rely on a platform vendor and it is harder to detect, take down or attribute. (1/5)
January 24, 2026 at 10:53 AM
AI is supercharging information warfare. Influence operations are being automated. A single setup can generate content, schedule posts, reply at scale, and run engagement loops. When this is self-hosted, it does not rely on a platform vendor and it is harder to detect, take down or attribute. (1/5)
The relatively high error rate & hallucination of AI would make any prudent company think twice before adopting current AI en masse (legal cost of repairing/compensating AI errors could be quite high!)
January 24, 2026 at 7:12 AM
The relatively high error rate & hallucination of AI would make any prudent company think twice before adopting current AI en masse (legal cost of repairing/compensating AI errors could be quite high!)
FWIW, I've been keeping tabs on unemployment for macro class. There's been no discernable difference in trend between unemployment for entry level and rest of labour market in UK but both rising suggesting it's macro conditions post Covid (rising interest rates, increased taxes, uncertainty etc).
January 24, 2026 at 7:12 AM
FWIW, I've been keeping tabs on unemployment for macro class. There's been no discernable difference in trend between unemployment for entry level and rest of labour market in UK but both rising suggesting it's macro conditions post Covid (rising interest rates, increased taxes, uncertainty etc).
In a week the FT have gone from reporting AI took all entry level jobs to, actually looks like it's macro economic conditions www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
The AI Shift: What millions of job ads reveal about AI displacement
A close inspection suggests all is not what it seems
www.ft.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:12 AM
In a week the FT have gone from reporting AI took all entry level jobs to, actually looks like it's macro economic conditions www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
#BrainRot is what my kids call this: theconversation.com/ai-induced-c...
AI-induced cultural stagnation is no longer speculation − it’s already happening
AI-mediated culture is already being filtered in ways that favor the familiar, the describable and the conventional.
theconversation.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:16 AM
#BrainRot is what my kids call this: theconversation.com/ai-induced-c...
Now available to pre-order www.waterstones.com/book/the-inc...
January 22, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Now available to pre-order www.waterstones.com/book/the-inc...
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
The great graduate job drought - www.ft.com/content/c894... brilliant piece, somewhat terrifying for this father of three
The great graduate job drought
Economic uncertainty and the arrival of AI have brought a reduction in entry-level roles, with potentially disastrous consequences for young people
www.ft.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:04 AM
The great graduate job drought - www.ft.com/content/c894... brilliant piece, somewhat terrifying for this father of three
Offshoring universities seems a bit short sighted. Like when industry was off shored, what could possibly go wrong?UK drops target for international student recruitment - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
UK drops target for international student recruitment
Government to encourage education providers to open campuses overseas as it focuses on reducing migration
giftarticle.ft.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Offshoring universities seems a bit short sighted. Like when industry was off shored, what could possibly go wrong?UK drops target for international student recruitment - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
Designed by Grok
Ukip have submitted a new logo and slogan to the Electoral Commission, swapping the £ pound sterling symbol for a cross, that looks very much like it is modelled on the Iron Cross used by Prussia & Germany 1871-1918 and Hitler's Nazi regime from 1933-45
January 13, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Designed by Grok
Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...