Lilian Edwards
@lilianedwards.bsky.social
Director of Pangloss Consulting for all your AI and GDPR needs! Emerita Prof Newcastle Law School: Hon Prof, @CREATe Glasgow Uni. Formerly @ATI, @SCRIPT: Trying not to be a grey skies thinker & use this place more , lilian@lilianedwards.co.uk
Pinned
Lilian Edwards
@lilianedwards.bsky.social
· Dec 12
Since approximately gazillion people have joined lately, I’ve updated my extremely random starter pack of UK and Europe tech, AI, law & policy folk
go.bsky.app/TJ2xTce
go.bsky.app/TJ2xTce
Please quote & repost. This is real.
Be clear, the American far right are coming for British democracy.
November 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Please quote & repost. This is real.
Reposted by Lilian Edwards
You can read our full analysis on #chatbots and the #onlinesafetyact here. 2/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/cha...
Chatbots and the Online Safety Act
- Online Safety Act
www.onlinesafetyact.net
November 9, 2025 at 10:30 AM
You can read our full analysis on #chatbots and the #onlinesafetyact here. 2/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/cha...
Lorna takes on Laura. Wow. More importantly I've been waiting for this analysis of how if at all AI companions etc fit into platform oriented OSA ( and by extension, DSA)
As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ...
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
Mothers say AI chatbots encouraged their sons to kill themselves - BBC News
In her first UK interview Megan Garcia speaks to Laura Kuenssberg about the death of her teenage son.
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Lorna takes on Laura. Wow. More importantly I've been waiting for this analysis of how if at all AI companions etc fit into platform oriented OSA ( and by extension, DSA)
It's a good pub quiz question ; Amazon's AI agent is (a) Rufus (b) Alexa (c) Alexis (d) Fido. Who makes these things up ( and who uses them? ) 🙄
November 9, 2025 at 10:52 AM
It's a good pub quiz question ; Amazon's AI agent is (a) Rufus (b) Alexa (c) Alexis (d) Fido. Who makes these things up ( and who uses them? ) 🙄
Well if anything s gonna get us a new ePrivacy Reg....🤣
Just look at the latest revelations that location data showing where European Commission officials live, and their movements within the Berlaymont -- data being leaked by online advertising.
Consent popups are a red herring.
What we need is enforcement of the law.
netzpolitik.org/2025/databro...
Consent popups are a red herring.
What we need is enforcement of the law.
netzpolitik.org/2025/databro...
Databroker Files: Targeting the EU
Precise locations and revealing movement patterns: the mobile phone location data of millions of people in the EU is up for sale. Collected supposedly only for advertising purposes, this data can also...
netzpolitik.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Well if anything s gonna get us a new ePrivacy Reg....🤣
Fa bu lous!
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 4, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Fa bu lous!
Absolutely fucking this. For the 2nd time I gave in & subscribed to @theguardian.com and for 2nd time it will not seem to believe this on multiple other devices. I give up
I want journalists and authors to get paid for their work. And I know that AI is part of the problem.
But the problem I personally experience multiple times a day is that it takes 500 frustrating steps to view content, even when I am a paying subscriber. 1/
But the problem I personally experience multiple times a day is that it takes 500 frustrating steps to view content, even when I am a paying subscriber. 1/
November 4, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Absolutely fucking this. For the 2nd time I gave in & subscribed to @theguardian.com and for 2nd time it will not seem to believe this on multiple other devices. I give up
Reading the very diverse reactions to the arXiv announcement- is there any practical way this could be done?
I go back to my thesis that researchers should get 5 tokens over 5 years for articles allowed to be published (front loaded for ECRs)
I go back to my thesis that researchers should get 5 tokens over 5 years for articles allowed to be published (front loaded for ECRs)
Should consider sanctions against authors who do this sort of thing
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
November 2, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reading the very diverse reactions to the arXiv announcement- is there any practical way this could be done?
I go back to my thesis that researchers should get 5 tokens over 5 years for articles allowed to be published (front loaded for ECRs)
I go back to my thesis that researchers should get 5 tokens over 5 years for articles allowed to be published (front loaded for ECRs)
This simply throws the problem back on peer reviewers for journals & conferences and in my field that system is already fundamentally broken. Many times you need a paper out there before the system slowly grinds. This is understandable but feels so regressive.
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:02 PM
This simply throws the problem back on peer reviewers for journals & conferences and in my field that system is already fundamentally broken. Many times you need a paper out there before the system slowly grinds. This is understandable but feels so regressive.
Very informative piece on the material ecology of AI - not as doomerist as the intro makes it sound but effectively chilling overall
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Inside the Data Centers That Train A.I. and Drain the Electrical Grid
A data center, which can use as much electricity as Philadelphia, is the new American factory, creating the future and propping up the economy. How long can this last?
www.newyorker.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Very informative piece on the material ecology of AI - not as doomerist as the intro makes it sound but effectively chilling overall
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“Regulation isn’t a roadblock – it’s a roadmap” more intelligent pushback from the DRCF ( natch 🤣) against the prevalent deregulation vibe www.drcf.org.uk/publications...
“Regulation isn’t a roadblock – it’s a roadmap”: Takeaways for innovators from the DRCF AI and Digital Hub
www.drcf.org.uk
November 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
“Regulation isn’t a roadblock – it’s a roadmap” more intelligent pushback from the DRCF ( natch 🤣) against the prevalent deregulation vibe www.drcf.org.uk/publications...
Outstanding
jump scare
November 1, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Outstanding
Always love a good analysis of CMA s3A but what's really interesting is if AI can do all these things successfully for criminals why can they not seem to for lawful markets! I'm not seeing such intelligent price discrimination...
My latest post analyses the potential criminal liability in the UK of AI companies in light of the August report from Anthropic that its generative AI tool Claude has been used by hackers to commit cybercrimes. TL;DR: s3A CMA is a problem. open.substack.com/pub/issuesin...
New Hacking Tools: AI and Criminal Liability
Are AI companies breaking UK law by offering tools which help hackers commit cybercrime offences?
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Always love a good analysis of CMA s3A but what's really interesting is if AI can do all these things successfully for criminals why can they not seem to for lawful markets! I'm not seeing such intelligent price discrimination...
While I'm self publicising, my piece on the hellmouth of UK AI policy and regulation post EU AIA and Trump is up on SSRN, "From the Brussels Effect to the Mar-a-Lago Effect? : AI Governance in the UK" papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... v much 1st draft so comments truly welcome not-just-saying-it!
From the Brussels Effect to the Mar-a-Lago Effect? : AI Governance in the UK
<p><span>The UK has had a chequered and difficult history in determining its style of AI governance. Having historically seen itself in general regulatory terms
papers.ssrn.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
While I'm self publicising, my piece on the hellmouth of UK AI policy and regulation post EU AIA and Trump is up on SSRN, "From the Brussels Effect to the Mar-a-Lago Effect? : AI Governance in the UK" papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... v much 1st draft so comments truly welcome not-just-saying-it!
Happy to announce that I'm giving a CIPIL seminar in Cambridge on Nov 20th, "Faithful or Traitor? The Right of Explanation in a Generative AI World", and it's attendance on zoom as well as in person but registration needed : see www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/press/events...
CIPIL Evening Seminar: 'Faithful or Traitor? The Right of Explanation
Speaker: Professor Lilian Edwards, Prof of Law, Innovation & Society, Newcastle Law School Biography: Lilian Edwards is a leading academic in the field of Internet law.
www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk
October 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Happy to announce that I'm giving a CIPIL seminar in Cambridge on Nov 20th, "Faithful or Traitor? The Right of Explanation in a Generative AI World", and it's attendance on zoom as well as in person but registration needed : see www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/press/events...
Shout at to @wired.com who almost uniquely in this hellish world tell you your sub is about to renew BEFORE it does rather than after. And just for that, I'm keeping it going when I'm blitzing everything else 🤣
October 26, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Shout at to @wired.com who almost uniquely in this hellish world tell you your sub is about to renew BEFORE it does rather than after. And just for that, I'm keeping it going when I'm blitzing everything else 🤣
Quick, abolish juries..
October 26, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Quick, abolish juries..
The Liars Dividend Lives ( Trump an early deployer way back in the grab them by the pussies era..)
NARRATOR: It was not, in fact, AI.
Trump: "They cheated on a commercial. Ronald Reagan loved tariffs and they said he didn't. And I guess it was AI or something. They cheated badly. Canada got caught cheating on a commercial. Can you believe it?"
October 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The Liars Dividend Lives ( Trump an early deployer way back in the grab them by the pussies era..)
@skyscanner.net do you really need 137 "partners" for me to look up the price of a flight to Morocco? Yeh don't answer that question
October 25, 2025 at 3:53 PM
@skyscanner.net do you really need 137 "partners" for me to look up the price of a flight to Morocco? Yeh don't answer that question
A bit late but a solid rec for this pinpoint dissection of where regulation is in the tatters of the joint Trump and EU decision to fall behind regulation as anti innovation . Despair , but useful . ainowinstitute.org/publications...
Artificial Power: 2025 Landscape Report
In the aftermath of the “AI boom,” this report examines how the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies - and the tech oligarchs that run them - power that goes far beyond their d...
ainowinstitute.org
October 24, 2025 at 2:27 PM
A bit late but a solid rec for this pinpoint dissection of where regulation is in the tatters of the joint Trump and EU decision to fall behind regulation as anti innovation . Despair , but useful . ainowinstitute.org/publications...
Convo with bunch of 22 yr olds working in library yesterday.
"Have any of you er taken out a BOOK from this library?"
Blank looks.
1 girl : well everyone's on their computer so I guess maybe the books are... In there?"
Everyone goes back to writing... something.
Scholarship is dead, get over it.
"Have any of you er taken out a BOOK from this library?"
Blank looks.
1 girl : well everyone's on their computer so I guess maybe the books are... In there?"
Everyone goes back to writing... something.
Scholarship is dead, get over it.
October 21, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Convo with bunch of 22 yr olds working in library yesterday.
"Have any of you er taken out a BOOK from this library?"
Blank looks.
1 girl : well everyone's on their computer so I guess maybe the books are... In there?"
Everyone goes back to writing... something.
Scholarship is dead, get over it.
"Have any of you er taken out a BOOK from this library?"
Blank looks.
1 girl : well everyone's on their computer so I guess maybe the books are... In there?"
Everyone goes back to writing... something.
Scholarship is dead, get over it.
Great observation
How is it possible that Amazon is +1.28% on a day like this 🤔? Disciplining power of markets is only for losers...Alternatives?
October 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Great observation
Always worth nominating EU based work for this !! ( I have no dog in this fight so can say this !)
Deadline approaches, please nominate key scholarship!
Call for papers! @futureofprivacy.bsky.social annual best privacy papers for policymakers program
fpf.org/privacy-pape...
fpf.org/privacy-pape...
October 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Always worth nominating EU based work for this !! ( I have no dog in this fight so can say this !)
Government to back student limits for ‘low-quality’ universities www.timeshighereducation.com/news/governm...
God almighty. The immediate problem with UKHE is not "subpar" degrees whatever they are : it's elite unis poaching huge amounts of overseas students so whole markets income distorted.
God almighty. The immediate problem with UKHE is not "subpar" degrees whatever they are : it's elite unis poaching huge amounts of overseas students so whole markets income distorted.
Government to back student limits for ‘low-quality’ universities
Higher education institutions could be penalised if they offer courses deemed subpar as universities await Labour’s reform plans
www.timeshighereducation.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Government to back student limits for ‘low-quality’ universities www.timeshighereducation.com/news/governm...
God almighty. The immediate problem with UKHE is not "subpar" degrees whatever they are : it's elite unis poaching huge amounts of overseas students so whole markets income distorted.
God almighty. The immediate problem with UKHE is not "subpar" degrees whatever they are : it's elite unis poaching huge amounts of overseas students so whole markets income distorted.
Interesting footnote from the footnote salt mines :) - how many Anglo-Saxon surnames are equally likely as singular and plural? looking at Humphries and thinking "but you don't get Smiths and ones is un, not plural??" Is this a plural or a genitive?
October 20, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Interesting footnote from the footnote salt mines :) - how many Anglo-Saxon surnames are equally likely as singular and plural? looking at Humphries and thinking "but you don't get Smiths and ones is un, not plural??" Is this a plural or a genitive?