William Cullerne Bown
@williamcb.bsky.social
Technology and politics.
Newsletter https://bit.ly/3AELZDu
Foundations of AI https://bit.ly/3WiYJab
Law https://bit.ly/40YL1fU
Research Fortnight https://bit.ly/4i0
https://signal.me/#eu/xNzjw2P7XIGjBfdQicHbMp0V5SuVpgCQOeUZNpDRqH-mkt2Tan9G6Y0ZitEKsVkN
Newsletter https://bit.ly/3AELZDu
Foundations of AI https://bit.ly/3WiYJab
Law https://bit.ly/40YL1fU
Research Fortnight https://bit.ly/4i0
https://signal.me/#eu/xNzjw2P7XIGjBfdQicHbMp0V5SuVpgCQOeUZNpDRqH-mkt2Tan9G6Y0ZitEKsVkN
Pinned
Trump, Starmer and the populist tide
Old concepts such as left vs right, trust and class aren't enough to explain the trouble we're in
open.substack.com
Today I argue Keir Starmer can only be understood in the context of deep shifts in the character of our politics that are still hard to grasp
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
So far today I have seen a lot of prognosticating after the future "leftness" that can be expected from Labour now. These split into two camps:
- Expect a lurch left for which there is no manifesto support
- No room to go further left because it's already very left.
These are both terrible takes.
- Expect a lurch left for which there is no manifesto support
- No room to go further left because it's already very left.
These are both terrible takes.
February 11, 2026 at 2:16 PM
So far today I have seen a lot of prognosticating after the future "leftness" that can be expected from Labour now. These split into two camps:
- Expect a lurch left for which there is no manifesto support
- No room to go further left because it's already very left.
These are both terrible takes.
- Expect a lurch left for which there is no manifesto support
- No room to go further left because it's already very left.
These are both terrible takes.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
There is simply no
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:27 AM
There is simply no
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Major UK research resources get long-awaited access to GP data
Naomi Allen, chief scientist at @ukbiobank.bsky.social tells me it is a “watershed moment” for the resource and for global health research in @resprofnews.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Naomi Allen, chief scientist at @ukbiobank.bsky.social tells me it is a “watershed moment” for the resource and for global health research in @resprofnews.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Major UK research resources get long-awaited access to GP data - Research Professional News
Government directive for sharing health records hailed as “watershed moment” for projects like UK Biobank
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Major UK research resources get long-awaited access to GP data
Naomi Allen, chief scientist at @ukbiobank.bsky.social tells me it is a “watershed moment” for the resource and for global health research in @resprofnews.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Naomi Allen, chief scientist at @ukbiobank.bsky.social tells me it is a “watershed moment” for the resource and for global health research in @resprofnews.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Anthropic's head of safety just resigned.
Most likely a protest against the company's pivot to working with Palantir and Gulf Arab states. The "don't be evil" stage gets shorter.
(I still think Anthropic is the most morally run of the AI corps but it's like cherrypicking rooms on fire.)
Most likely a protest against the company's pivot to working with Palantir and Gulf Arab states. The "don't be evil" stage gets shorter.
(I still think Anthropic is the most morally run of the AI corps but it's like cherrypicking rooms on fire.)
February 10, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Anthropic's head of safety just resigned.
Most likely a protest against the company's pivot to working with Palantir and Gulf Arab states. The "don't be evil" stage gets shorter.
(I still think Anthropic is the most morally run of the AI corps but it's like cherrypicking rooms on fire.)
Most likely a protest against the company's pivot to working with Palantir and Gulf Arab states. The "don't be evil" stage gets shorter.
(I still think Anthropic is the most morally run of the AI corps but it's like cherrypicking rooms on fire.)
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
An obvious lie about Canada's GDP - and the original source of the antagonism is coming from the US toward Canada, not the other way around. "It's your fault for not acceding to my threats" is the language of domestic abusers.
Greer: "The thing to keep in mind with Canada is this is a country that's 75% dependent on the United States for its gross domestic product ... it can't be a situation where the Canadians have an antagonistic relationship"
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
An obvious lie about Canada's GDP - and the original source of the antagonism is coming from the US toward Canada, not the other way around. "It's your fault for not acceding to my threats" is the language of domestic abusers.
Basically this kind of threat by Reform to target Bangor should be illegal. We cannot have this kind of intimidation in public life. It’s a prelude to dictatorship as per Trump.
Reform is threatening Bangor University over a student society’s decision. The society isn’t Bangor University—but this is a neat preview of how a Reform government would work: public money for supporters only. Trump-style politics, UK edition.
Authoritarian reflex is already working just fine.👇
Authoritarian reflex is already working just fine.👇
February 10, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Basically this kind of threat by Reform to target Bangor should be illegal. We cannot have this kind of intimidation in public life. It’s a prelude to dictatorship as per Trump.
Starting to be significant
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal - Research Professional News
Sheffield Hallam and Swansea are the latest to drop agreements with the publishing giant
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Starting to be significant
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal - Research Professional News
Sheffield Hallam and Swansea are the latest to drop agreements with the publishing giant
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Ninth UK university confirms opting out of Elsevier deal.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
No-one seems to have noticed, but many of the core developments in the Mandelson/Epstein story these last few days have been broken on this website. @pickardje.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social are both posting each breaking development on BlueSky, not X.
February 10, 2026 at 11:40 AM
No-one seems to have noticed, but many of the core developments in the Mandelson/Epstein story these last few days have been broken on this website. @pickardje.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social are both posting each breaking development on BlueSky, not X.
Ed Milliband says this is "a moment of change" for Labour. Here's an example of what that would mean in practice.
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Ed Milliband says this is "a moment of change" for Labour. Here's an example of what that would mean in practice.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Unusual to hear a Russell Group v-c talking in the terms Manchester's Duncan Ivison does in interview with @chrisjparr.bsky.social.
He thinks scrapping the "massive, bureaucratic" REF should be on the table.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
He thinks scrapping the "massive, bureaucratic" REF should be on the table.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
February 10, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Unusual to hear a Russell Group v-c talking in the terms Manchester's Duncan Ivison does in interview with @chrisjparr.bsky.social.
He thinks scrapping the "massive, bureaucratic" REF should be on the table.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
He thinks scrapping the "massive, bureaucratic" REF should be on the table.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
This is spot on. I’m dubious that it’ll happen under Keir but we have to hope!
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:31 AM
This is spot on. I’m dubious that it’ll happen under Keir but we have to hope!
There is simply no
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:27 AM
There is simply no
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Point getting rid of Mandelson and McSweeney if you don’t also get rid of the catastrophic political programme they forged.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
No, I don’t want technology that hallucinates anywhere near my body thank you very much
When AI was added to a tool for sinus surgery: “Cerebrospinal fluid leaked from one patient’s nose. In another… a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient’s skull. In two other cases, patients suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured”
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts
Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...
www.reuters.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:15 AM
No, I don’t want technology that hallucinates anywhere near my body thank you very much
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
February 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
💯
1) I'm only gonna say this once (and not argue about it) as I generally don't do politics on this account, but: Brits (and others) inclined to gloat over the US for descending into a real battle against fascism should take very seriously the aligned right-wing threat in the UK. ...
Err, Britain has worse right wing politics... really??!
America's cultural ubiquity means NFL terms like offense & roster are bleeding into football 🤮 How do we arrest this?
America's cultural ubiquity means NFL terms like offense & roster are bleeding into football 🤮 How do we arrest this?
February 9, 2026 at 10:46 PM
💯
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Day One of Keir 2
The deals that Mandelson and McSweeney made must be unpicked
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Day One of Keir 2 - What should change-under-Keir look like?
Over the weekend I began to get the impression that the outcome could be a change of direction under Keir. For me, this is a big pointer in that direction. Streeting’s statement, sour though it is, points in the same direction. If so, major reshuffle on the way.
February 9, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Over the weekend I began to get the impression that the outcome could be a change of direction under Keir. For me, this is a big pointer in that direction. Streeting’s statement, sour though it is, points in the same direction. If so, major reshuffle on the way.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
The trajectory from, “Trump will give Ukraine to Tomahawks to attack Russia” to “Trump has starved Ukraine of Patriots to help Russia” is the single greatest example of the failure of people to understand what Trump is and has always been.
February 9, 2026 at 4:19 PM
The trajectory from, “Trump will give Ukraine to Tomahawks to attack Russia” to “Trump has starved Ukraine of Patriots to help Russia” is the single greatest example of the failure of people to understand what Trump is and has always been.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Read this earlier today and it's a great and thoughtful piece. Too much discourse among the left on AI has fallen into a lazy hostility largely disinterested in the technology. This piece is a real antidote
People say AI will be the end of democracy. Will it? A reasoned answer here from me today.
AI and the destruction of democracy
Can we, should we, tame the beast?
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Read this earlier today and it's a great and thoughtful piece. Too much discourse among the left on AI has fallen into a lazy hostility largely disinterested in the technology. This piece is a real antidote
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
This is one of the absolute best things I’ve read on the potential impacts of AI on society and democracy. Forensic, principled, and sober. Bravo, @williamcb.bsky.social!!
People say AI will be the end of democracy. Will it? A reasoned answer here from me today.
AI and the destruction of democracy
Can we, should we, tame the beast?
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:10 AM
This is one of the absolute best things I’ve read on the potential impacts of AI on society and democracy. Forensic, principled, and sober. Bravo, @williamcb.bsky.social!!
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
There is so much to savour and appreciate in this fantastic, forensic essay from @williamcb.bsky.social.
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
AI and the destruction of democracy
Can we, should we, tame the beast?
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:47 PM
There is so much to savour and appreciate in this fantastic, forensic essay from @williamcb.bsky.social.
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
This is superb. And, apart from the power of @williamcb.bsky.social’s substantive argument, a great example of the modern use of classical sociology!
People say AI will be the end of democracy. Will it? A reasoned answer here from me today.
AI and the destruction of democracy
Can we, should we, tame the beast?
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:52 AM
This is superb. And, apart from the power of @williamcb.bsky.social’s substantive argument, a great example of the modern use of classical sociology!
The Epstein Class:
Pedo
Crypto
Klepto
MAGA
Pedo
Crypto
Klepto
MAGA
February 9, 2026 at 4:11 PM
The Epstein Class:
Pedo
Crypto
Klepto
MAGA
Pedo
Crypto
Klepto
MAGA