William Perrin
@willperrin.bsky.social
Trustee at Indigo Trust, CarnegieUK. Formerly Good Things Foundation, TPW, UK Civil Service (No10, Cabinet Office, DtI, DCMS). Defence, tech, online safety, rural, tractors, cats etc.
quelle surprise www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk posted about race almost every day in January
Many social media posts by Tesla CEO on his platform are indiscernible from those of white supremacists, say experts
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:11 PM
quelle surprise www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by William Perrin
Parallel or "mixed member majoritarian" systems where voters cast a vote for a district seat and for proportional seats—but the PR seats don't compensate for district results—often result in high disproportionality like in this case when there's one dominant party and their opponents are fragmented
Japan's electoral system produced a highly unequal result in Sunday's election.
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
February 10, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Parallel or "mixed member majoritarian" systems where voters cast a vote for a district seat and for proportional seats—but the PR seats don't compensate for district results—often result in high disproportionality like in this case when there's one dominant party and their opponents are fragmented
Reposted by William Perrin
At the rate SpaceX's ambitions are receding, by 2030 they'll be promising to put a supertram service in Leeds
February 10, 2026 at 1:36 AM
At the rate SpaceX's ambitions are receding, by 2030 they'll be promising to put a supertram service in Leeds
@adrianshort.uk saw this and thought of you
February 9, 2026 at 11:07 AM
@adrianshort.uk saw this and thought of you
Reposted by William Perrin
This morning, I got one of those scam emails that are currently abundant in the writing community, where someone offers to "feature" your book at a book club for a fee. These messages always include an effuse essay about how great your book is, written by a LLM.
February 7, 2026 at 5:58 PM
This morning, I got one of those scam emails that are currently abundant in the writing community, where someone offers to "feature" your book at a book club for a fee. These messages always include an effuse essay about how great your book is, written by a LLM.
Reposted by William Perrin
Spanish PM Sanchez: "Social media has become a failed state, and when democracies start to impose order, their owners get nervous. We will move forward despite their threats."
February 7, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Spanish PM Sanchez: "Social media has become a failed state, and when democracies start to impose order, their owners get nervous. We will move forward despite their threats."
Reposted by William Perrin
Talking points from Moscow: How RT and the GRU set the agenda on German-language Telegram #Ukraine
Event 1c83c7cf... — Hybrid War Tracker
hwt.lv
February 7, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Talking points from Moscow: How RT and the GRU set the agenda on German-language Telegram #Ukraine
Reposted by William Perrin
Federal judge: "The presumption of regularity that has previously extended to [the United States Government] that it could be taken at its word—with little doubt about its intentions and stated purposes—no longer holds."
This is in a case where the Trump admin sued Oregon.
This is in a case where the Trump admin sued Oregon.
February 6, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Federal judge: "The presumption of regularity that has previously extended to [the United States Government] that it could be taken at its word—with little doubt about its intentions and stated purposes—no longer holds."
This is in a case where the Trump admin sued Oregon.
This is in a case where the Trump admin sued Oregon.
you don’t say. No one mention Spinvox
For the first time, Waymo has disclosed that it employs workers in the Philippines to monitor and support its driverless rides, which are marketed as fully autonomous.
The revelation pulls back the curtain on the manual labor still underpinning the technology www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
The revelation pulls back the curtain on the manual labor still underpinning the technology www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐨’𝐬 “𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬” 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞
For the first time, Waymo has disclosed that it employs workers… | Rest of World
𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐨’𝐬 “𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬” 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞
For the first time, Waymo has disclosed that it employs workers in the Philippines to monitor and support its autonomous driv...
www.linkedin.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:38 PM
you don’t say. No one mention Spinvox
Reposted by William Perrin
Reposted by William Perrin
so a month ago I was reading @markpackuk.bsky.social’s speech on Twitter in the lords and there were obviously fake stats the government used to justify Twitter’s UK reach and its continued importance to British audiences
Rob has now found the source of the data was… Twitter
Rob has now found the source of the data was… Twitter
UPDATE: I've had a response from the Cabinet Office!
"the statistics cited ‘19.2 million British citizens registered with X and 10.8 million families using the platform’ were provided by OmniGov, the government's media buying agency, who received this data directly from X itself."
"the statistics cited ‘19.2 million British citizens registered with X and 10.8 million families using the platform’ were provided by OmniGov, the government's media buying agency, who received this data directly from X itself."
February 6, 2026 at 9:50 AM
so a month ago I was reading @markpackuk.bsky.social’s speech on Twitter in the lords and there were obviously fake stats the government used to justify Twitter’s UK reach and its continued importance to British audiences
Rob has now found the source of the data was… Twitter
Rob has now found the source of the data was… Twitter
Reposted by William Perrin
The U.S. State Department is set to fund MAGA-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe to spread the Trump administration’s policy positions.
We eagerly await the patriots'/sovereignists' strong indignation and their demands for investigations to be carried out! 🕵️
We eagerly await the patriots'/sovereignists' strong indignation and their demands for investigations to be carried out! 🕵️
US government to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities in Europe
State department grants to spread ‘American values’ are part of Washington’s 250th anniversary celebrations
www.ft.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:38 AM
The U.S. State Department is set to fund MAGA-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe to spread the Trump administration’s policy positions.
We eagerly await the patriots'/sovereignists' strong indignation and their demands for investigations to be carried out! 🕵️
We eagerly await the patriots'/sovereignists' strong indignation and their demands for investigations to be carried out! 🕵️
Reposted by William Perrin
Meanwhile, on X (I'll spare you the screenshots) another social media induced diplomatic spat:
The US ambassador to Poland has declared to cut off all contacts with the speaker of the Sejm because he refused to back nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Price. Donald Tusk has publicly pushed back.
The US ambassador to Poland has declared to cut off all contacts with the speaker of the Sejm because he refused to back nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Price. Donald Tusk has publicly pushed back.
US cuts ties with Polish parliament speaker over Trump Nobel row | Euractiv
The episode adds fresh strain to otherwise close US–Poland security ties
www.euractiv.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Meanwhile, on X (I'll spare you the screenshots) another social media induced diplomatic spat:
The US ambassador to Poland has declared to cut off all contacts with the speaker of the Sejm because he refused to back nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Price. Donald Tusk has publicly pushed back.
The US ambassador to Poland has declared to cut off all contacts with the speaker of the Sejm because he refused to back nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Price. Donald Tusk has publicly pushed back.
Reposted by William Perrin
Some sort of corporate sponsorship / naming rights type deal perhaps?
February 5, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Some sort of corporate sponsorship / naming rights type deal perhaps?
Reposted by William Perrin
A new report shows the enormous pressure EU lawmakers are coming under from American big tech giants.
US tech giants pressuring EU to keep us addicted to social media
"They can leverage Trump's America First policies, framing EU digital laws as foreign extortion, censorship or discrimination."
www.brusselstimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:23 AM
A new report shows the enormous pressure EU lawmakers are coming under from American big tech giants.
Reposted by William Perrin
After this swam into my brain last night (unbidden, if you will, but clearly there are neural pathways that divert here at the slightest nudge), it occurred to me that a few people may not have experienced it. Put that hot drink down. Now. Yes before you start reading.
February 5, 2026 at 7:48 AM
After this swam into my brain last night (unbidden, if you will, but clearly there are neural pathways that divert here at the slightest nudge), it occurred to me that a few people may not have experienced it. Put that hot drink down. Now. Yes before you start reading.
Reposted by William Perrin
Didn't I say that getting rid of shortwave radio services was a very 1913 thing to be doing?
The BBC has launched a temporary emergency 30-minute daily radio programme for Iran on mediumwave and shortwave to combat the ongoing internet blackout. It will complement the existing BBC News Persian video and digital services www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
BBC launches emergency lifeline radio programme for Iran
The programme will air daily for 30 minutes across medium and shortwave frequencies
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Didn't I say that getting rid of shortwave radio services was a very 1913 thing to be doing?
Reposted by William Perrin
I just identified Jeffrey Epstein's Wikipedia account (I'll post a link here shortly)
February 3, 2026 at 7:45 PM
I just identified Jeffrey Epstein's Wikipedia account (I'll post a link here shortly)
Reposted by William Perrin
Reposted by William Perrin
we don't really know why Bezos decided to fully give up on the project but it's not hard to sketch out an explanation. Owning the Post was supposed to give him a foothold in Washington. Instead it made him a target of the Trump administration and got him nothing during the Biden administration
February 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM
we don't really know why Bezos decided to fully give up on the project but it's not hard to sketch out an explanation. Owning the Post was supposed to give him a foothold in Washington. Instead it made him a target of the Trump administration and got him nothing during the Biden administration
Reposted by William Perrin
We're building a machine that hallucinates and training it on deranged hallucinations to come up with even more unhinged hallucinations
NEW: NEW: HHS is working on an AI tool to analyze VAERS—a database of vaccine injury claims to which anyone can make submissions—and "generate hypotheses." This is from @emilymullin.bsky.social:
HHS Is Making an AI Tool to Create Hypotheses About Vaccine Injury Claims
Experts worry Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health Department will use an internal AI tool to analyze vaccine injury claims in a way that furthers his anti-vaccine agenda.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM
We're building a machine that hallucinates and training it on deranged hallucinations to come up with even more unhinged hallucinations
Reposted by William Perrin
To some extent it started to bother me that we're now ascribing everything bad to this select group who are we refer to as Epstein's friends, as if they're some sort of James Bond baddie cabal
February 4, 2026 at 10:42 AM
To some extent it started to bother me that we're now ascribing everything bad to this select group who are we refer to as Epstein's friends, as if they're some sort of James Bond baddie cabal
Reposted by William Perrin
Thinking of those relatively junior civil servants who were jailed for substantial periods for leaking information in return for relatively small amounts of reward during the hacking scandal.
February 3, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Thinking of those relatively junior civil servants who were jailed for substantial periods for leaking information in return for relatively small amounts of reward during the hacking scandal.
Reposted by William Perrin
On the sleight of hand that uses free speech as a diversion from questions of who controls the digital infrastructure of democracy and to what purpose. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When Maga oligarchs control the platforms, it isn’t really a debate about ‘free speech’ | Rafael Behr
The debate over banning under-16s from social media should raise deeper questions about who controls democracy’s digital infrastructure, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 AM
On the sleight of hand that uses free speech as a diversion from questions of who controls the digital infrastructure of democracy and to what purpose. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by William Perrin
FT exclusive
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor discussed ways round restrictions on his making investments while an official UK trade representative and shared official documents from the role with Jeffrey Epstein, files released by the US Department of Justice show
www.ft.com/content/6b2f...
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor discussed ways round restrictions on his making investments while an official UK trade representative and shared official documents from the role with Jeffrey Epstein, files released by the US Department of Justice show
www.ft.com/content/6b2f...
Former prince discussed with Jeffrey Epstein ways to get round investment rules
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared official documents while serving as a UK trade envoy
www.ft.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:30 PM
FT exclusive
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor discussed ways round restrictions on his making investments while an official UK trade representative and shared official documents from the role with Jeffrey Epstein, files released by the US Department of Justice show
www.ft.com/content/6b2f...
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor discussed ways round restrictions on his making investments while an official UK trade representative and shared official documents from the role with Jeffrey Epstein, files released by the US Department of Justice show
www.ft.com/content/6b2f...