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halcyene.bsky.social
Matt Davies
@halcyene.bsky.social
4K followers 760 following 92 posts
Data/AI policy @adalovelaceinst.bsky.social

(Political) philosophy of tech @lsegovernment.bsky.social @lsepoltheory.bsky.social

Views my own 🔮✨

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halcyene.bsky.social
Matt Davies @halcyene.bsky.social · Sep 18
The headlines — £31bn in investment, new jobs, faster medical treatments — sound almost too good to be true. What are we giving up in return?

Me in @theguardian.com on today's US-UK Tech Deal:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK’s £31bn tech deal with the US might sound great – but the government has to answer these questions | Matt Davies
The big firms making these pledges are not charities. We know there will be a quid pro quo; we just don’t know what it is yet, says Matt Davies of the Ada Lovelace Institute
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Matt Davies
cmmonwealth.bsky.social
In our latest Centre for Democratising Work interview, Amelia Horgan spoke to @brunoleipold.com about his book, CITIZEN MARX, and Marx and republicanism.

Read here: www.common-wealth.org/centre-for-d...
December 18, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
jessothomson.co.uk
Levy review 👇
goodlawproject.bsky.social Good Law Project @goodlawproject.bsky.social · 11d
Today the findings of the Levy Review into adult trans healthcare have been published.

We’re still digesting the report in full, and will be discussing its findings with trans-led organisations.
December 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
martinoneill.bsky.social
Any MP who was laughing about prisoners who are on hunger strike should use the Christmas break to consider whether this is who they want to be and how they want to spend their time on the Earth.
December 17, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Matt Davies
katjabego.bsky.social
Only took three months for the US to weaponize the US-UK Tech deal: "British officials on Monday confirmed the US suspended the deal last week, with one saying the Trump administration was pushing for UK concessions in areas of trade outside the tech partnership."
www.ft.com/content/afd4...
US suspends technology deal with the UK
Washington pushes for concessions from London on the broader trade relationship
www.ft.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
ketanjoshi.co
This is a since-deleted LinkedIn post from the marketing agency that created the since-deleted AI-generated McDonalds Christmas ad, and all I can think of is how the energy consumption must've been about on par with a small suburb or heavy industrial load to produce 30 seconds of slop everyone hated
Gardening.club 556 followers 1w Our team at The Gardening.Club have been pouring in the hours to achieve something that we finally feel ready to put our name to, and while Al film might be dividing opinions, we want to open the process up and reveal just how much human expertise and craft went into this campaign. There's this idea floating around that Al will do all the work for us. Let's set the record straight: the man-hours poured into this film were more than a traditional Production. Yes, this ad is 100% Al. But it was built with the same care that we bring to any live-action film. The brief was tightly prescribed, with a clear mandate for every single scene, so complete control of each shot was essential and pulled off by our team using proprietary workflows, and pulled off spectacularly well, this was not a prompt-and-pray process. Just like a traditional shoot, the film needed a director, real storytelling instincts, and intentional casting, we selected and shaped each Al performer, their look, energy, and emotional presence, to meet the brief just as we would in live action film. It required virtual location scouting, solid references, screen tests, and a countless amount of takes to maintain true cinematic continuity. Our in-house Gardening.club Al and Post team, spent seven intense weeks refining every single frame. They rebuilt shots, debated composition, shaped shadows, and tuned emotional microbeats with precision all overseen by Sweetshop director duo MΑΜΑ. Many scenes had ten or more specialists, with each shot running through a tightly engineered pipeline, Google Earth base plates, style-transfer passes, pixel-level refinements, custom LoRAs, control nets, and bespoke ComfyUl workflows. We composited, fixed physics, balanced lighting, and cleaned artifacts in Flame. New tools, same goal: a film that feels real. Of course, we came across roadblocks. There were many times we were challenged, but the team was able to problem-solve on the spot. This project demanded a team willing to push further than the tech was ready to go. But that's exactly why it works. So no Al didn't make this film. We did.
December 11, 2025 at 5:27 PM
halcyene.bsky.social
Super cool (and important) work from Eleanor Shearer @cmmonwealth.bsky.social

visualising-extractive-capitalism.common-wealth.org
Visualising Extractive Capitalism
From the formation of the plantation slave economy to the modern-day climate crisis, we map how empire and extractive capitalism shaped Barbados, Britain and the wider world.
visualising-extractive-capitalism.common-wealth.org
December 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
netpol.org
Stuck on remand for over a year, political prisoners' demands for bail and a fair trial are concessions the government could make today. Yet it's entirely possible this callous government will risk the lives of those who are not convicted of a crime and who – unlike Elbit – pose no threat to anyone
scotnational.bsky.social The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 18d
Tomorrow's front page 📰

'The UK is letting these people die'
December 11, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
adriennebuller.bsky.social
Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature, is among the most clarifying books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Really enjoyed my conversation with @alybatt.bsky.social — we cover nature, value, feminist economics, existentialism, freedom and more

live now!
the-breakdown.bsky.social The BREAK—DOWN @the-breakdown.bsky.social · 21d
NEW EPISODE: Markets, Freedom and the Politics of Nature with Alyssa Battistoni

@adriennebuller.bsky.social speaks to @alybatt.bsky.social about value, the politics of nature, and how we might live freely in a finite world.

Listen now 👇

www.break-down.org/politics-of-...
December 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
halcyene.bsky.social
"Google partnering with the government to explore how to refine its own Gemini model may or may not benefit teachers and pupils, but it will undoubtedly benefit Google.”

🔥 from @imogen-parker.bsky.social on UK government's new Google DeepMind tie-up

www.ft.com/content/b20f...
Google DeepMind to build materials science lab after signing deal with UK
Big tech group will work with Keir Starmer’s government to enhance AI use across public sector
www.ft.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Matt Davies
rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social
Gave a talk this morning about how AI FOMO isn't a strategy and several Qs afterwards were asking if may be FOMO *should* be the driving force. But if 89% of the public think proven safety should come first, then it feels like a good idea to respect that
December 4, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
laragroves.bsky.social
not to be a massive bore but in these times of A) received inter-gender polarisation and b) AI sloppified media/textual offerings it does feel insane to keep chiding men for... reading books
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
The Curious Notoriety of “Performative Reading”
Is the term a new way of calling people pretentious, or does it reflect a deprioritization of the written word?
www.newyorker.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
adalovelaceinst.bsky.social
🎄All we want for Christmas is for AI regulation to work for people and society.

Our new polling shows the UK public are concerned that tech companies’ needs are being prioritised over their own when it comes to AI regulation.

Read the full findings ⬇️
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/policy-brief...
84% of the UK public are concerned about the government putting technology sector needs ahead of the public when regulating AI. Source: A nationally representative online poll with 1,928 UK adults aged 18+ between 8–24 September 2025
December 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
halcyene.bsky.social
"VC strategy thrives on rapidly scaling up growth for extraordinary returns... VC investment, especially in defence, comes with its own dynamics."

Sharp analysis from @elkeschwarz.bsky.social on UK government's growing entanglement with US venture capital:

transitionsecurity.org/venture-capi...
Venture Capital Statecraft: The UK’s New Growth Model
The UK government has tied its growth model and security strategy to the development of a US-dominated defence tech sector.
transitionsecurity.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Matt Davies
poltheoryother.bsky.social
"This is the disaster of the the Starmer administration so far - preemptively absorbing the most simplistic account of conventional economics, so as to endlessly signal their conformity to what they imagine the lowest common denominator of conservative financial opinion to be..." - Adam Tooze
February 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
the-breakdown.bsky.social
Submissions for ISSUE #3 – AIRBORNE, are now open!

We are accepting pitches exploring the importance of air in the climate and ecological crises, its role in environmental history and activism, and its future on a transformed planet.

More details 👇
Pitching
What We Publish We’re interested in original ideas and clear, compelling writing that breaks down complex subjects for an engaged but non-expert audience. The best guide to what we might like is to…
www.break-down.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
lastpositivist.bsky.social
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/75ce2fba-f6df-4d72-a5a4-0a297d50891f?emailId=5ae282da-81cb-4162-8f99-b98a89b5f638&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22 Successful social democracies spread both taxation and spending across the population. Everyone pays their way and everyone reaps the benefits in the form of high-quality and well-funded public services, fostering socio-economic solidarity with buy-in from the top and bottom alike. At the other end of the spectrum, the US has lower taxes and public spending, but a far more dynamic economy and strong incentives for work and innovation. Its robust growth means high living standards are no longer confined to the top but increasingly shared across much of the population. The UK has the worst of both worlds: it collects much less tax revenue from the middle of the income distribution than its European neighbours with better-quality public services, while at the top the combination of high and rising taxes with the abrupt withdrawal of public goods creates bad incentives and resentment all round. The UK’s curious experiment in eating the rich while shrinking the state has left Britons less satisfied with their public services than not only Scandinavians but most Americans, and poorer than not only Americans but most Scandinavians.
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by Matt Davies
anooshc.bsky.social
Remember integration? That thing voters "really, really" care about? Where's that in the latest plans?

My column:
Labour has given up on integration
Shabana Mahmood's latest asylum plans prioritise return at the expense of integrating newcomers
www.newstatesman.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
martinoneill.bsky.social
Ahead of the Budget, good to see this briefing from @acadsocsciences.bsky.social & @fairness.bsky.social, looking at how high levels of inequality hold back the UK economy. The briefing draws on the report on wealth taxes that Howard Reed and I published last month. 1/2👇

acss.org.uk/publications...
Wealth inequality and growth in the UK – Academy of Social Sciences
acss.org.uk
November 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
pmbigger.bsky.social
Another absolute banger in our war/climate/geopolitics series
transitionsec.bsky.social Transition Security Project @transitionsec.bsky.social · Nov 18
Our tech and energy systems being transformed. But how & in whose interests?

Read @iliasalami.bsky.social's Imperial State Capitalism to understand how the development of AI & the energy transition are being shaped by profiteering & geopolitical competition.
transitionsecurity.org/imperial-sta...
Imperial State Capitalism
A new geopolitics is shaping the development of AI and the energy transition.
transitionsecurity.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
turns out when you legitimate a taste for bigotry people gravitate to the parties that serve it as an entree rather than as a garnish
anatosaurus.bsky.social Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · Mar 11
"To the contrary, voters are on average more likely to defect to the radical right when mainstream parties adopt anti-immigration positions, a pattern that has been particularly pronounced for established RRPs."
March 11, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
patrickdunleavy.bsky.social
Is the Office for Budget Responsibility anti-democratic? blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Is the Office for Budget Responsibility anti-democratic? | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) plays a pivotal role in shaping fiscal policy. But, it may also inadvertently constrain political imagination.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
rebeccabuxton.bsky.social
This Labour government are (frustratingly) making my work more and more relevant every week. Five years ago, I argued that temporary protection policies for refugees are grossly unjust, and here we are making things worse for them again.

philpapers.org/rec/BUXJIW
Rebecca Buxton, Justice in waiting: The harms and wrongs of temporary refugee protection - PhilPapers
Temporariness has become the norm in contemporary refugee protection. Many refugees face extended periods of time waiting for permanent status, either in camps or living among citizens in their state ...
philpapers.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Reposted by Matt Davies
davidandress.bsky.social
With impeccable timing, "Labour Together" sharing analysis that shows that immigration only tops issue-polls because politicians won't stop banging on about it.

What actually matters to people's lives is the soaring cost of living.
cwp-weir.bsky.social Calum Weir @cwp-weir.bsky.social · Nov 17
Yesterday, we put out a report on the most important issues to voters.

We know that immigration now tops the traditional most important issues question (see below from @yougov.co.uk).

But that doesn't tell the full story.

Here is a rundown of the experiments we did to test this out (A THREAD):
November 17, 2025 at 12:26 PM
halcyene.bsky.social
"The problem is this Labour government, in which Streeting is only a more compelling character with just as few ideas, competencies or materially defining projects."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Labour has entered its musical chairs era – and we’re sucked into another pointless death spiral | Nesrine Malik
Briefing wars, toxic infighting, paranoid office politics: we’ve seen it all before. And once again, the drama at No 10 has absolutely nothing to do with us, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Matt Davies
adambienkov.bsky.social
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM