Laurence D
@laurencediver.net
AI strategy at the FCA. Views mine and only mine.
Recovering academic (Legal {tech, philosophy}, hci, regulation, responsible innovation, and whatnot). Diver rhymes with river.
tbh I'd rather be in Assynt
Recovering academic (Legal {tech, philosophy}, hci, regulation, responsible innovation, and whatnot). Diver rhymes with river.
tbh I'd rather be in Assynt
Reposted by Laurence D
His students deserve and should demand a refund
January 22, 2026 at 10:36 PM
His students deserve and should demand a refund
Reposted by Laurence D
“According to AI companies, creativity isn’t an innate human endeavor, but a problem, an inefficiency waiting for a technological intervention…Such rhetoric conveniently abstracts creativity from a complex, embodied human experience & represents it as a computational problem to be solved.”
AI is not a tool - AI & SOCIETY
AI & SOCIETY -
link.springer.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:18 PM
“According to AI companies, creativity isn’t an innate human endeavor, but a problem, an inefficiency waiting for a technological intervention…Such rhetoric conveniently abstracts creativity from a complex, embodied human experience & represents it as a computational problem to be solved.”
Reposted by Laurence D
"The very first thing he did is launch Trump Coin and it just felt like the extractiveness has now been institutionalized"
Area crypto guy is *so close* to getting it. The whole damn thing is extractive, you numbnuts
www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/...
Area crypto guy is *so close* to getting it. The whole damn thing is extractive, you numbnuts
www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/...
Cardano's Charles Hoskinson slams Trump’s crypto policy as 'extractive,' warns of industry fallout
Cardano founder says Trump’s actions have politicized crypto and alienated half the country.
www.coindesk.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:27 AM
"The very first thing he did is launch Trump Coin and it just felt like the extractiveness has now been institutionalized"
Area crypto guy is *so close* to getting it. The whole damn thing is extractive, you numbnuts
www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/...
Area crypto guy is *so close* to getting it. The whole damn thing is extractive, you numbnuts
www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/...
Reposted by Laurence D
Why isn’t this video on the front page of every newspaper? The country we thought we had is lost.
A video of ICE agents conducting door-to-door searches today in Minneapolis
The homeowner requests a warrant repeatedly, is told they don't require one, then is told they're getting it, then the agents storm in anyway
They also point a taser at her to try and disrupt filming
The homeowner requests a warrant repeatedly, is told they don't require one, then is told they're getting it, then the agents storm in anyway
They also point a taser at her to try and disrupt filming
January 12, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Why isn’t this video on the front page of every newspaper? The country we thought we had is lost.
This is great, and its central observations about factory-fication apply far beyond the academic context
Good reading.
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
'How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is....If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem....the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls'. 1/4
WEEKEND READING: What if, in trying to ‘fix’ universities, we are quietly unmaking them? - HEPI
Join HEPI and Advance HE for a webinar onTuesday, 13 January 2026, from 11am to 12pm, exploring what higher education can learn from leadership approaches in other sectors. Sign up here to hear this a...
www.hepi.ac.uk
January 10, 2026 at 5:34 PM
This is great, and its central observations about factory-fication apply far beyond the academic context
Reposted by Laurence D
'With it, the danger is that, under a narrative of financial constraints, universities take actions that emphasise governance practices that reshape behaviour so deeply that, over time, what remains may still be called a ‘university’, but no longer acts like one.'
Astute, informed, important. 4/4
Astute, informed, important. 4/4
January 10, 2026 at 11:56 AM
'With it, the danger is that, under a narrative of financial constraints, universities take actions that emphasise governance practices that reshape behaviour so deeply that, over time, what remains may still be called a ‘university’, but no longer acts like one.'
Astute, informed, important. 4/4
Astute, informed, important. 4/4
Extremely petty peeve: podcasters (usually North Americans) saying 'with that being said' to mean 'moving on from what I just said' rather than the correct meaning which is 'despite/in contrast to what I just said'
January 9, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Extremely petty peeve: podcasters (usually North Americans) saying 'with that being said' to mean 'moving on from what I just said' rather than the correct meaning which is 'despite/in contrast to what I just said'
Reposted by Laurence D
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
January 5, 2026 at 6:50 AM
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
Reposted by Laurence D
The ethical and legal damage will be with us forever but it’s the raging incompetence that will strike first, within the next few days.
Director of the CIA is in the room but you have OSINTdefender's twitter page up on the screen
January 4, 2026 at 3:52 PM
The ethical and legal damage will be with us forever but it’s the raging incompetence that will strike first, within the next few days.
Reposted by Laurence D
2020s: AI "System Prompts" are lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "prompt engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
January 1, 2026 at 8:59 PM
2020s: AI "System Prompts" are lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "prompt engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
Reposted by Laurence D
The real breakthrough of the year -- something that matters far, far more than generative AI ever will.
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
December 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The real breakthrough of the year -- something that matters far, far more than generative AI ever will.
Just AISI there, using 'post volume' and 'negative sentiment' on the r/CharacterAI subreddit as a source of evidence for the impact of emotional dependence on AI
www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-...
www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-...
December 18, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Just AISI there, using 'post volume' and 'negative sentiment' on the r/CharacterAI subreddit as a source of evidence for the impact of emotional dependence on AI
www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-...
www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-...
of all places, why the hell would i want a 'year in review' from linkedin
December 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM
of all places, why the hell would i want a 'year in review' from linkedin
Reposted by Laurence D
🔴 REVEALED 🔴
The Institute of Economic Affairs – the anti-state, anti-climate pressure group that "incubated" Liz Truss – was bankrolled by oil giants and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
📝 Exclusive findings from @desmog.com 👇
The Institute of Economic Affairs – the anti-state, anti-climate pressure group that "incubated" Liz Truss – was bankrolled by oil giants and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
📝 Exclusive findings from @desmog.com 👇
The Institute of Economic Affairs Banked £640,000 from Oil Giants and Murdoch
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – the anti-state, anti-climate pressure group – received more than £640,000 from fossil fuel companies and Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate between 1957 and ...
www.desmog.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:05 AM
🔴 REVEALED 🔴
The Institute of Economic Affairs – the anti-state, anti-climate pressure group that "incubated" Liz Truss – was bankrolled by oil giants and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
📝 Exclusive findings from @desmog.com 👇
The Institute of Economic Affairs – the anti-state, anti-climate pressure group that "incubated" Liz Truss – was bankrolled by oil giants and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
📝 Exclusive findings from @desmog.com 👇
Reposted by Laurence D
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
September 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
"The current lack of oversight departs from established norms: regulatory mechanisms that are standard in other high-impact domains remain largely absent in AI governance"
New study on public attitudes to AI regulation, from the Ada Lovelace Institute: www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/policy-brief...
New study on public attitudes to AI regulation, from the Ada Lovelace Institute: www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/policy-brief...
Great (public) expectations
New polling shows the public expect AI to be governed with far more rigour than current policy delivers
www.adalovelaceinstitute.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:34 AM
"The current lack of oversight departs from established norms: regulatory mechanisms that are standard in other high-impact domains remain largely absent in AI governance"
New study on public attitudes to AI regulation, from the Ada Lovelace Institute: www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/policy-brief...
New study on public attitudes to AI regulation, from the Ada Lovelace Institute: www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/policy-brief...
This is an actual captioned figure in a published article, and not a bit of marketing imagery. Absolutely unbelievable
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
This is an actual captioned figure in a published article, and not a bit of marketing imagery. Absolutely unbelievable
Reposted by Laurence D
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Can we take a moment to acknowledge just how bad text-based 'asking' is as UI
November 23, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Can we take a moment to acknowledge just how bad text-based 'asking' is as UI
Reposted by Laurence D
❗ Researchers say they’ve found a universal “jailbreak” for top AI models, through poetry. A new study shows that rephrasing harmful prompts as short poems can bypass safety filters across all major models, raising questions over AI Act compliance.
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
AI models’ safety features can be circumvented with poetry, research finds | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation
A study found that poetic prompts can bypass safety features in leading AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others, triggering instructions for building chemical weapons and malware. The rese...
www.mlex.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:54 AM
❗ Researchers say they’ve found a universal “jailbreak” for top AI models, through poetry. A new study shows that rephrasing harmful prompts as short poems can bypass safety filters across all major models, raising questions over AI Act compliance.
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
www.mlex.com/mlex/article...
Reposted by Laurence D
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
Cloudflare outage in the UK -- the consequences of concentrating infrastructure in ~10 companies becoming clearer by the day
November 18, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Cloudflare outage in the UK -- the consequences of concentrating infrastructure in ~10 companies becoming clearer by the day
Interesting how often we seem to equate cleverness with constant, manic activity. I wonder how many smart folk fly under the radar simply because they know how to chill out
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Interesting how often we seem to equate cleverness with constant, manic activity. I wonder how many smart folk fly under the radar simply because they know how to chill out
Reposted by Laurence D
"Sure, our plagiarism machine ingests enormous amounts of copyrighted material without anyone's permission, but it's the users of the machine who are the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 criminals, your honor." 🙄🙄
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
November 14, 2025 at 2:39 AM
"Sure, our plagiarism machine ingests enormous amounts of copyrighted material without anyone's permission, but it's the users of the machine who are the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 criminals, your honor." 🙄🙄
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Just unbelievable levels of chutzpah.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...