Nick Taylor
@ntaylor.bsky.social
Lecturer at Queen Mary Uni of London | History of welfare, unemployment; history of economics; finance & climate change 🚲🌳
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Today is the official UK publication day for Silicon Empires! I'm excited to have it out and hear what people think.
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
October 31, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Today is the official UK publication day for Silicon Empires! I'm excited to have it out and hear what people think.
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
There's an enormous amount happening every day in AI, and it's difficult to gain a stable perspective. I wrote the book to try and get some secure hold on that constant flux. 🧵
And here was me walking around warning people of the 8-9% success rate 😮💨
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 11:28 AM
And here was me walking around warning people of the 8-9% success rate 😮💨
Chief Economist at Nesta, the 'innovation agency', seems to have run out of innovative ideas...
Let’s fall in love with cars again on.ft.com/47nn6IG
Let’s fall in love with cars again
Investing more into roads will only mean higher economic returns for the UK
on.ft.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Chief Economist at Nesta, the 'innovation agency', seems to have run out of innovative ideas...
I feel like this one is talked about, tho it could always be more so. The question is rather why not enough change is happening despite the fact that we know how bad things are. In many ways the answers got more obvious recently.
Here's something that's not talked about enough
The air pollution from burning fossil fuels kills an estimated 10 million people a year
1 in 6 deaths is caused by fossil fuels
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The air pollution from burning fossil fuels kills an estimated 10 million people a year
1 in 6 deaths is caused by fossil fuels
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I feel like this one is talked about, tho it could always be more so. The question is rather why not enough change is happening despite the fact that we know how bad things are. In many ways the answers got more obvious recently.
Reposted by Nick Taylor
“[Last year] CO2 in the global surface atmosphere increased by 3.5 ppm, the largest one-year increase since modern measurements began... This increase was driven by continued fossil CO2 emissions, enhanced fire emissions and reduced terrestrial/ocean sinks… which could signal a climate feedback.”
October 15, 2025 at 6:30 PM
“[Last year] CO2 in the global surface atmosphere increased by 3.5 ppm, the largest one-year increase since modern measurements began... This increase was driven by continued fossil CO2 emissions, enhanced fire emissions and reduced terrestrial/ocean sinks… which could signal a climate feedback.”
Reposted by Nick Taylor
🎉 Just launched!
We’ve collaborated with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch @transitionsec.bsky.social — a new research centre that will develop alternative approaches to security and investigate the US & UK military industrial complexes as economic, climate and geopolitical threats.
Find out more. 👇
We’ve collaborated with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch @transitionsec.bsky.social — a new research centre that will develop alternative approaches to security and investigate the US & UK military industrial complexes as economic, climate and geopolitical threats.
Find out more. 👇
While the US & Europe ramp up military spending, millions live in poverty.
Today, we launch Transition Security Project, investigating how militarisation makes us poorer and less safe amid climate crisis — and what genuine security could look like. 🧵
transitionsecurity.org
Today, we launch Transition Security Project, investigating how militarisation makes us poorer and less safe amid climate crisis — and what genuine security could look like. 🧵
transitionsecurity.org
Transition Security Project
transitionsecurity.org
October 16, 2025 at 1:22 PM
🎉 Just launched!
We’ve collaborated with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch @transitionsec.bsky.social — a new research centre that will develop alternative approaches to security and investigate the US & UK military industrial complexes as economic, climate and geopolitical threats.
Find out more. 👇
We’ve collaborated with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch @transitionsec.bsky.social — a new research centre that will develop alternative approaches to security and investigate the US & UK military industrial complexes as economic, climate and geopolitical threats.
Find out more. 👇
Reposted by Nick Taylor
It's finally here! 100+ scholars, global scope, practical insights. “Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment” shows how organized interests stall policy—and how governance can respond.
Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
October 14, 2025 at 3:22 PM
It's finally here! 100+ scholars, global scope, practical insights. “Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment” shows how organized interests stall policy—and how governance can respond.
Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
techpolicy.press/generative-a...
Lots of good stuff in this article on AI and productivity, including the concept of 'workslop':
“AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”
Lots of good stuff in this article on AI and productivity, including the concept of 'workslop':
“AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”
Generative AI’s Productivity Myth | TechPolicy.Press
People may be using artificial intelligence, but that doesn’t mean it’s useful, writes Eryk Salvaggio.
techpolicy.press
October 14, 2025 at 4:47 PM
techpolicy.press/generative-a...
Lots of good stuff in this article on AI and productivity, including the concept of 'workslop':
“AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”
Lots of good stuff in this article on AI and productivity, including the concept of 'workslop':
“AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com
Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Has Accepted £2.3 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Climate Deniers, and Polluters Since 2019 Election
Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations...
www.desmog.com
October 12, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Insurance industry maps millions of UK homes at increased risk of flooding as climate change impacts ratchet up
Obviously, the insurance industry needs to make money and can't afford claims likely to result from higher flood risks
So... no insurance for some?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Obviously, the insurance industry needs to make money and can't afford claims likely to result from higher flood risks
So... no insurance for some?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Millions more homes in Great Britain at risk of flooding, investigation finds
Every constituency projected to be at greater risk, with many areas likely to be uninsurable
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Insurance industry maps millions of UK homes at increased risk of flooding as climate change impacts ratchet up
Obviously, the insurance industry needs to make money and can't afford claims likely to result from higher flood risks
So... no insurance for some?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Obviously, the insurance industry needs to make money and can't afford claims likely to result from higher flood risks
So... no insurance for some?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
An important reminder in the context of:
1. The UK gov's pledge to invest £22bn in CCS;
2. the surge in fossil fuel lobbying in advance of that pledge.
1. The UK gov's pledge to invest £22bn in CCS;
2. the surge in fossil fuel lobbying in advance of that pledge.
A reminder.
October 13, 2025 at 9:44 AM
An important reminder in the context of:
1. The UK gov's pledge to invest £22bn in CCS;
2. the surge in fossil fuel lobbying in advance of that pledge.
1. The UK gov's pledge to invest £22bn in CCS;
2. the surge in fossil fuel lobbying in advance of that pledge.
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Very important paper by @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social that shows, as I have argued, that tax policy is climate policy. We cannot phaseout #fossilfuels without attacking their wealth.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Very important paper by @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social that shows, as I have argued, that tax policy is climate policy. We cannot phaseout #fossilfuels without attacking their wealth.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Interesting-looking article on how technological developments are used as a "technofix" is used to delay real action to reduce emissions in the aviation sector doi.org/10.1080/2158...
October 9, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Interesting-looking article on how technological developments are used as a "technofix" is used to delay real action to reduce emissions in the aviation sector doi.org/10.1080/2158...
Interesting that AI firms are looking to set up captive insurance arms. Also used by big oil & gas firms, they are typically located in offshore jurisdictions & allow companies to boost profits, reduce tax liabilities & mask how financial liabilities are managed.
on.ft.com/46Voxh5
on.ft.com/46Voxh5
Insurers balk at multibillion-dollar claims faced by OpenAI and Anthropic
Companies struggle to assess scale of financial risks emerging from artificial intelligence
on.ft.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Interesting that AI firms are looking to set up captive insurance arms. Also used by big oil & gas firms, they are typically located in offshore jurisdictions & allow companies to boost profits, reduce tax liabilities & mask how financial liabilities are managed.
on.ft.com/46Voxh5
on.ft.com/46Voxh5
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Interested about financialisation and why states foster policies that lead to the dominance of financial capital? Come to CLaSP's seminar:
Event: Financial Capital, the State, and Politics
When: 30th October, 2025; 4-530 PM
Where: Graduate Centre, QMUL Mile End Campus
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Bernards
Event: Financial Capital, the State, and Politics
When: 30th October, 2025; 4-530 PM
Where: Graduate Centre, QMUL Mile End Campus
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Bernards
October 8, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Interested about financialisation and why states foster policies that lead to the dominance of financial capital? Come to CLaSP's seminar:
Event: Financial Capital, the State, and Politics
When: 30th October, 2025; 4-530 PM
Where: Graduate Centre, QMUL Mile End Campus
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Bernards
Event: Financial Capital, the State, and Politics
When: 30th October, 2025; 4-530 PM
Where: Graduate Centre, QMUL Mile End Campus
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Bernards
Stranded assets.
🫣 Profits are for wimps. Revenues are for losers. Ideas sell, not fundamentals
Over half the Nasdaq market is loss making. About 1-in-8 companies have no revenues
There are a lot more in these camps than in the past
Over half the Nasdaq market is loss making. About 1-in-8 companies have no revenues
There are a lot more in these camps than in the past
October 8, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Stranded assets.
Reposted by Nick Taylor
A great article that also highlights how profitable insurance remains for investors, and makes a nice contrast to insurance as solidarity/interdependence. The moral economy of climate change, risk and responsibility, as Rebecca Elliott et al. have written about so well.
The New Republic chimes in on climate danger to insurance markets, mortgage availability, and property values.
How McKinsey and Climate Change Wrecked Insurance
A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse.
newrepublic.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM
A great article that also highlights how profitable insurance remains for investors, and makes a nice contrast to insurance as solidarity/interdependence. The moral economy of climate change, risk and responsibility, as Rebecca Elliott et al. have written about so well.
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Today is the day!!! Existential Politics is out in the world!
Read about why we’re doing climate policy wrong (too focused on measuring emissions) & what we should do instead (focus on $$ to constrain fossil asset owners & expand green asset owners). Just in time for #COP30.
Read about why we’re doing climate policy wrong (too focused on measuring emissions) & what we should do instead (focus on $$ to constrain fossil asset owners & expand green asset owners). Just in time for #COP30.
Existential Politics
A new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation
press.princeton.edu
October 7, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Today is the day!!! Existential Politics is out in the world!
Read about why we’re doing climate policy wrong (too focused on measuring emissions) & what we should do instead (focus on $$ to constrain fossil asset owners & expand green asset owners). Just in time for #COP30.
Read about why we’re doing climate policy wrong (too focused on measuring emissions) & what we should do instead (focus on $$ to constrain fossil asset owners & expand green asset owners). Just in time for #COP30.
Reposted by Nick Taylor
One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.
They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.
They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.
@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.
Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr
Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr
October 7, 2025 at 4:03 AM
One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.
They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.
They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.
If you're wondering whether academics have written on 'asylum hotels', I can point you in the direction of Martina Tazzioli's work on refugee carcerality & value extraction in the UK, Greece & Italy. See esp. section on financialised asylum accommodation in the UK.
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263...
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263...
October 7, 2025 at 9:07 AM
If you're wondering whether academics have written on 'asylum hotels', I can point you in the direction of Martina Tazzioli's work on refugee carcerality & value extraction in the UK, Greece & Italy. See esp. section on financialised asylum accommodation in the UK.
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263...
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263...
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Interview: The economic style of reasoning is not value-neutral! An interview with Elizabeth Popp Berman, by Ditte Andersen
doi.org/10.1177/0001...
doi.org/10.1177/0001...
October 3, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Interview: The economic style of reasoning is not value-neutral! An interview with Elizabeth Popp Berman, by Ditte Andersen
doi.org/10.1177/0001...
doi.org/10.1177/0001...
Reposted by Nick Taylor
Just arrived:
The Social Foundations of Global Finance
edited by @chris-clarke.bsky.social & @benclift.bsky.social
Chapters by @johannespetry.bsky.social, @hozic.bsky.social, Randall Germain, Magnus Ryner, Matthew Watson & others...
#OpenAccess eBook available 👇
www.agendapub.com/page/detail/...
The Social Foundations of Global Finance
edited by @chris-clarke.bsky.social & @benclift.bsky.social
Chapters by @johannespetry.bsky.social, @hozic.bsky.social, Randall Germain, Magnus Ryner, Matthew Watson & others...
#OpenAccess eBook available 👇
www.agendapub.com/page/detail/...
September 26, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Just arrived:
The Social Foundations of Global Finance
edited by @chris-clarke.bsky.social & @benclift.bsky.social
Chapters by @johannespetry.bsky.social, @hozic.bsky.social, Randall Germain, Magnus Ryner, Matthew Watson & others...
#OpenAccess eBook available 👇
www.agendapub.com/page/detail/...
The Social Foundations of Global Finance
edited by @chris-clarke.bsky.social & @benclift.bsky.social
Chapters by @johannespetry.bsky.social, @hozic.bsky.social, Randall Germain, Magnus Ryner, Matthew Watson & others...
#OpenAccess eBook available 👇
www.agendapub.com/page/detail/...
Reposted by Nick Taylor
On October 16th, CLaSP are hosting a preview screening of Om's Behind the Furrow, followed by discussion with the director. Register for a free ticket:
www.claspblog.org/events/behin...
www.claspblog.org/events/behin...
BEHIND THE FURROW: Film Screening and discussion with Jonathan Om — CLaSP Blog
CLaSP invites you for a preview screening and discussion of a documentary film by Jonathan Om.
www.claspblog.org
October 6, 2025 at 8:12 AM
On October 16th, CLaSP are hosting a preview screening of Om's Behind the Furrow, followed by discussion with the director. Register for a free ticket:
www.claspblog.org/events/behin...
www.claspblog.org/events/behin...
Reposted by Nick Taylor
New on the CLaSP blog: artist & filmmaker Jonathan Om interviews CLaSP's Matan Kaminer about Thai migrant workers in Israel's agricultural frontier settlements.
www.claspblog.org/blogposts/sx...
www.claspblog.org/blogposts/sx...
Farming on the Frontlines: A conversation between Jonathan Om and Matan Kaminer — CLaSP Blog
Artist and filmmaker Jonathan Om interviews CLaSP member Matan Kaminer about his ethnographic work on Thai migrant workers in Israeli agriculture. They discuss the history behind how these workers cam...
www.claspblog.org
October 6, 2025 at 8:12 AM
New on the CLaSP blog: artist & filmmaker Jonathan Om interviews CLaSP's Matan Kaminer about Thai migrant workers in Israel's agricultural frontier settlements.
www.claspblog.org/blogposts/sx...
www.claspblog.org/blogposts/sx...