Olivier Usher
@ojusher.com
Technology | Innovation prizes | Director of Research & Design at Challenge Works, a @nestauk.bsky.social enterprise | ojusher.com
Britain has had more general elections since WW2 than Italy.
Ok folks: what is your favorite fact that you share with people (maybe a bit too) eagerly?
January 9, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Britain has had more general elections since WW2 than Italy.
Is it just me or do people rave about the opening lines of books, but about the ends of tv series?
Wonder why that is?
Wonder why that is?
Given that apparently the Stranger Things finale was meh (idk, didn't watch it, just the scuttlebutt) and we're not that far removed from the disastrous GOT finale that retroactively made everyone have never cared about the show:
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
January 7, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Is it just me or do people rave about the opening lines of books, but about the ends of tv series?
Wonder why that is?
Wonder why that is?
Broke a finger playing chess. Sliced open a finger on a can of corned beef.
Both at primary school.
(Both the same finger too.)
Both at primary school.
(Both the same finger too.)
What's the most ridiculous way you ever hurt yourself? I got out of the tub, skidded in water and tripped over the toilet. Ankle sprain.
😅
😅
January 6, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Broke a finger playing chess. Sliced open a finger on a can of corned beef.
Both at primary school.
(Both the same finger too.)
Both at primary school.
(Both the same finger too.)
Reposted by Olivier Usher
I'd really like to see some
granularity around this claim that "AI and related digital technologies [are] the new productivity frontier" because it could, frankly, mean anything giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
granularity around this claim that "AI and related digital technologies [are] the new productivity frontier" because it could, frankly, mean anything giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
US to extend productivity lead on back of AI boom, say economists
FT survey shows America’s dominance in areas such as technology is not expected to reverse soon
giftarticle.ft.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:53 AM
I'd really like to see some
granularity around this claim that "AI and related digital technologies [are] the new productivity frontier" because it could, frankly, mean anything giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
granularity around this claim that "AI and related digital technologies [are] the new productivity frontier" because it could, frankly, mean anything giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Olivier Usher
It’s a dark night when you look at the news and are forced to admit that you no longer believe in the power of the FIFA peace prize
January 3, 2026 at 7:06 AM
It’s a dark night when you look at the news and are forced to admit that you no longer believe in the power of the FIFA peace prize
Reposted by Olivier Usher
I’m sorry, but if ‘other people have views, and they’re annoying’ is news to you in govt, then you have not properly prepared for government www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Alaa Abd el-Fattah has shown supremacy of the Stakeholder State
My time working in No 10 showed me how much time and energy is sapped by people obsessed with fringe issues. It doesn’t have to be this way
www.thetimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:18 AM
I’m sorry, but if ‘other people have views, and they’re annoying’ is news to you in govt, then you have not properly prepared for government www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
It seems worth saying that if Alaa Abd el-Fattah had been born after 1983, or if it was his dad rather than his mum who was British, he would have been a UK citizen from birth.
Britain’s Byzantine and discriminatory nationality rules strike again.
Britain’s Byzantine and discriminatory nationality rules strike again.
December 31, 2025 at 10:54 AM
It seems worth saying that if Alaa Abd el-Fattah had been born after 1983, or if it was his dad rather than his mum who was British, he would have been a UK citizen from birth.
Britain’s Byzantine and discriminatory nationality rules strike again.
Britain’s Byzantine and discriminatory nationality rules strike again.
Reposted by Olivier Usher
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s tweets were wrong, but he is no ‘anti-white Islamist’. Why does the British right want you to believe he is? | Naomi Klein
I have no interest in defending his social media posts, but calls to strip the newly freed activist of British citizenship pile torment on top of torture, says Naomi Klein, Guardian US columnist and c...
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This is … not my experience at all. I get spoken at in English in France despite being (sort of) French, whereas my passable-but-not-fluent Italian gets me no end of compliments and superhuman patience in Italy.
nah Italians are the same as the French I'm afraid, spent two months there and whenever I tried to speak (admittedly minimal/shaky) Italian people would look at me like I'd spat on their nonna
I’m convinced that this map is reflecting reality perfectly.
December 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
This is … not my experience at all. I get spoken at in English in France despite being (sort of) French, whereas my passable-but-not-fluent Italian gets me no end of compliments and superhuman patience in Italy.
Reposted by Olivier Usher
Plenty of tech adoption, with huge economic impacts, is nice-to-haves that suddenly get much cheaper/more feasible.
We use a lot more light and heat than 150 years ago, we do far more discretionary travel, we use telecoms for much more than just urgent telegrams, etc. These were all nice-to-haves.
We use a lot more light and heat than 150 years ago, we do far more discretionary travel, we use telecoms for much more than just urgent telegrams, etc. These were all nice-to-haves.
December 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Plenty of tech adoption, with huge economic impacts, is nice-to-haves that suddenly get much cheaper/more feasible.
We use a lot more light and heat than 150 years ago, we do far more discretionary travel, we use telecoms for much more than just urgent telegrams, etc. These were all nice-to-haves.
We use a lot more light and heat than 150 years ago, we do far more discretionary travel, we use telecoms for much more than just urgent telegrams, etc. These were all nice-to-haves.
December 7, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reform will make bullying kids a large part of their election campaign, got it.
December 4, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Reform will make bullying kids a large part of their election campaign, got it.
Reposted by Olivier Usher
This blog post by Helen Toner (well-known by some for a stint on the OpenAI board) is *really really* interesting because it is the first thing I've read by someone in Frontier AI that starts to get to grips with sociotechnical concerns open.substack.com/pub/helenton...
Taking Jaggedness Seriously
Why we should expect AI capabilities to keep being extremely uneven, and why that matters
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:32 AM
This blog post by Helen Toner (well-known by some for a stint on the OpenAI board) is *really really* interesting because it is the first thing I've read by someone in Frontier AI that starts to get to grips with sociotechnical concerns open.substack.com/pub/helenton...
Since Scottish football is in the news, this seems as good a time as any to reshare my favourite Scottish football video youtu.be/3DOVxhwQuUk?...
Walter Smith: Fans remember legendary interview with Chick Young
YouTube video by The Scottish Sun
youtu.be
November 19, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Since Scottish football is in the news, this seems as good a time as any to reshare my favourite Scottish football video youtu.be/3DOVxhwQuUk?...
Reposted by Olivier Usher
basically believe that this mostly depends on when you got Properly Online - before a certain cut-off your normal internet experience was high agency/high effort, but it eventually became low agency/low effort, and it's impossible to create a social media experience that caters to both groups
yes I think @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com has talked about this, it's deeply alienating to find out that the vast majority of people do not want the curated timeline / engagement / discussion version of social media that I find to be the only good version of the experience
November 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
basically believe that this mostly depends on when you got Properly Online - before a certain cut-off your normal internet experience was high agency/high effort, but it eventually became low agency/low effort, and it's impossible to create a social media experience that caters to both groups
👀 Em-dash. Did his holiness use ChatGPT?
I wanna invite Pope Leo to my Intro to Science and Technology Studies class
November 8, 2025 at 9:52 PM
👀 Em-dash. Did his holiness use ChatGPT?
Just realised that in about 2045 there is obviously going to be an ironic revival of vintage “slopcore” 2020s-style AI aesthetics. Makes me sad.
November 7, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Just realised that in about 2045 there is obviously going to be an ironic revival of vintage “slopcore” 2020s-style AI aesthetics. Makes me sad.
David Olusoga is going to have one hell of a REF impact case study
November 6, 2025 at 10:03 PM
David Olusoga is going to have one hell of a REF impact case study
Looks like the naysayers they executed were right after all. Oh well.
I guess they might try executing the yes men now?
I guess they might try executing the yes men now?
NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives.
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Looks like the naysayers they executed were right after all. Oh well.
I guess they might try executing the yes men now?
I guess they might try executing the yes men now?
I’m fine with Americans I follow talking about it, but I have less than zero interest in America-brained Brits’ hot takes.
Being a Brit on BlueSky means seeing 1000x more messaging about an election in New York than your local council. Might as well message Zohran about my bin collection.
November 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I’m fine with Americans I follow talking about it, but I have less than zero interest in America-brained Brits’ hot takes.
Amazing click bait. Yes, the A1 is 0.1 miles from where I live. But it’s also over 400 miles long.
November 2, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Amazing click bait. Yes, the A1 is 0.1 miles from where I live. But it’s also over 400 miles long.
LLMs are an interesting technology, but chatbots are an appalling way to interact with them and I hope they go away. ojusher.medium.com/chatbots-are...
Chatbots are a terrible way of interfacing with AI
At best, they mislead us about AI’s capabilities. At worst, they make us go nuts.
ojusher.medium.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:20 PM
LLMs are an interesting technology, but chatbots are an appalling way to interact with them and I hope they go away. ojusher.medium.com/chatbots-are...
Reposted by Olivier Usher
I agree, adding that I’m very concerned about its effects on adult brains too. I think it’s much more psychologically dangerous to interact with an LLM designed to reflect your own ideas back flatteringly than to post on social media, where someone will always be ready to call you a c***
I personally am significantly more worried about the effects of LLMs and AI video slop on children’s brain development than I am about even social media. I am very worried that our school systems and laws are pushing kids toward AI artificial “friends” while banning social apps.
Yeah I think there are going to be more families who do the equivalent of “we don’t own a TV, we simply all sing madrigals around the piano by candlelight for entertainment” during these next decades. There isn’t a safe amount of AI slop for kids to be exposed to. So if a platform has it: then no.
October 29, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I agree, adding that I’m very concerned about its effects on adult brains too. I think it’s much more psychologically dangerous to interact with an LLM designed to reflect your own ideas back flatteringly than to post on social media, where someone will always be ready to call you a c***
A recipe for, uh, Christal meth?
![The Church embraced that great invention of the day to literally change humanity,” Gelsinger said of the printing press. “And so my question today is: are we going to embrace [and] shape AI as a technology that truly does become a powerful embodiment of the Church and the expression of the Church?”
Jesus’s hackathon
Straddling the worlds of AI, Christianity, and faith-tech, Gloo isn’t solely focused on shaping the AI sector through Silicon Valley. It’s wielding influence in other ways, such as by supporting and funding a Christian tech ecosystem. The company hosted a three-day hackathon following the seminar at Colorado Christian University; its event saw more than 600 participants compete for over $250,000 in prize money – nearly triple the attender count from 2024.
Though growing, the event was not without hiccups. Ryan Siebert, an AI product developer and hackathon attender, said he was able to get Gloo’s newest LLM, which has not yet been publicly launched, to provide him a recipe for methamphetamine through a prompt injection”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qbispr2bksazucagmo5zx6ec/bafkreigue444bon4vep7djzdbuspcqy4x5hhscxlqhxpbjt6ystzt6nila@jpeg)
October 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
A recipe for, uh, Christal meth?