Mark Foden
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Mark Foden
@markfoden.com
150 followers 170 following 210 posts
Proceeding by experiment
Complexity | Digital | Change
The Clock and the Cat podcast
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markfoden.com
ChatGPT thinks that Biden is president
As of July 2025, Joe Biden is the current and sitting President of the United States. He began his term on January 20, 2021, after defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. There has not been another presidential election since then, so Trump is not currently president.
July 26, 2025 at 5:25 AM
markfoden.com
“the new plan, Just in from Washington is to keep weirdos, foreigners, and other dangerous bad apples out of all National Forests in the nation” — Hunter S Thompson’s autobiography - Kingdom of Fear - 2003

There is nothing new under the sun
Picture of a paragraph of these words: "In any case, we soon learned that "the new plan, Just in from Washington" is to keep weirdos, foreigners, and other dangerous bad apples out of all National Forests in the nation, lest they set fires and spread anthrax or anything else that swarthy terrorists are wont to do. ... They are Evil, they are savage, and they must be arrested before they set fire to the whole goddamn country"
July 13, 2025 at 9:40 AM
markfoden.com
“The real power in America is held by a fast-emerging new Oligarchy of pimps and preachers who see no need for Democracy or fairness or even trees, except maybe the ones in their own yard”

Hunter S Thompson - 2003

Prescient chap that Hunter S Thompson
I like this book, and I especially like the title, which pretty well sums up the foul nature of life in the U.S.A. in these first few bloody years of the post-American century. Only a fool or a whore would call it anything else. It would be easy to say that we owe it all to the Bush family from Texas, but that would be too simplistic. They are only errand boys for the vengeful, bloodthirsty cartel of raving Jesus-freaks and super-rich money mongers who have ruled this country for at least the last 20 years, and arguably for the past 200. They take orders well, and they don't ask too many questions. The real power in America is held by a fast-emerging new Oligarchy of pimps and preachers who see no need for Democracy or fairness or even trees, except maybe the ones in their own yards, and they don't mind admitting it. They worship money and power and death. Their ideal solution to all the nation's problems would be another 100 Year War. Kingdom of Fear Hunter S Thompson 2003
June 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
markfoden.com
Excellent talk about how the dominant means of control has come full circle: from the ownership of land (feudalism) to the ownership of the means of production (capitalism) to the ownership of digital infrastructure (techno-feudalism)

We should be concerned

@yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social #htlgi2025
Yanis Varoufakis on stage at the How The Light Gets In festival at Hay-on-Wye . He is smartly dressed in jeans, jacket and a red shirt. He is standing next to a cube serving as a table with large letters “iai” - the logo of the Institute of Art and Ideas which runs the festival.
May 26, 2025 at 4:31 PM
markfoden.com
At a session on Misinformation asked three journalists the question:

“Do you use Meta/X products and if so are you part of the problem?”

All said Yes to the first part and equivocated on the second

I’m not saying it will be easy to change but blithe learned helplessness is not the way forward
Image of a festival session description call with the title Lies, Damned Lies and Misinformation Participants were journalists and broadcasters Phil Collins, Myriam Francois, Inaya Folarin Iman, Aaron Maté. Sophie Scott-Brown hosted We want to be able to identity political facts from political lies. But, it is becoming increasingly unknown how to tell the difference. Both sides in the last US election regarded the claims of the opposition as lies. According to Gallup research, 69% of Americans no longer trust mainstream media and 85% are worried about misinformation online. But the problem goes deeper. It is not clear what misinformation is and how it is substantiated since one side's facts are the other side's lies. The very label "misinformation" is sometimes itself uncovered as misinformation. Similarly, fact-checkers can themselves be a vehicle for a predetermined point of view. Should we stop seeing politicians as liars and accept that rhetoric and propaganda will always be a part of democracy? Alternatively, should we double down on removing bias, and demand that truth be central to politics? Or should we conclude that objective truth is an impossible standard to reach, and accept that there are alternative, radically differing perspectives that are capable of being held as true?
May 26, 2025 at 7:11 AM
markfoden.com
Or… “Black smoke seen from Sistine Chapel as cardinals begin choosing the next pope”

BBC. FFS.
May 7, 2025 at 8:11 PM
markfoden.com
Whilst big on AI talk, UK government shows little sign of reducing its reliance “on management consultants, contractors [and] other third party suppliers” which Sulleyman suggests is key to sound governance of AI
Governments should not rely on management consultants, contractors, or other third-party suppliers. Full-time, well-respected staffers who are properly compensated, competitively with the private sector, should be a core part of the solution. Instead, private sector salaries can be ten times their public sector equivalents in national critical roles: it's unsustainable.
April 27, 2025 at 1:28 PM
markfoden.com
“…proactive governments will exert far greater control than if they just commission services and live off outsourced expertise and tech [that is] owned and operated elsewhere” Mustfa Sulleyman in The Coming Wave

Needs (many) more senior folk in govt with substantial tech experience
The physicist Richard Feynman famously said, 'What I cannot create, I do not understand.' Today this couldn't be more true of governments and technology. I think the government needs to get way more involved, back to building real technology, setting standards, and nurturing in-house capability. It needs to compete for talent and hardware in the open market. There's no two ways about it: this is expensive and will come with wasteful mistakes. But proactive governments will exert far greater control than if they just commission services and live off outsourced expertise and tech owned and operated elsewhere.
April 27, 2025 at 1:15 PM
markfoden.com
Anja Shortland explaining about ransomware and general digital badass-ery. Folks on slide coincidental.

#WeekendOfMistakes www.kcl.ac.uk/people/anja-...
A speaker session at the Weekend of Mistakes event shows two women on stage in discussion, seated under exposed wooden beams. One holds notes, while the other gestures expressively. Behind them is a screen displaying the word “Hackers” and images of computer hackers and tech figures, including Steve Jobs. The audience watches attentively. The atmosphere is informal and focused.
March 23, 2025 at 2:30 PM
markfoden.com
Fascinating discussion on how to not to target GDP growth involving a Buddhist nun and GOD

#WeekendOfMistakes
Four speakers sit on a brightly lit stage at Hay Castle during the “Weekend of Mistakes” event. Behind them, a screen displays the session title “The Gross National Happiness Index – Measuring What Matters” and the names of the panelists: Alice Sherwood, Professor Rachel Jenkins, Lord Gus O’Donnell, and Emma Slade. The panelists are engaged in discussion, with Emma Slade dressed in red monastic robes and Lord Gus gesturing as he speaks. The atmosphere appears thoughtful and informal.
March 23, 2025 at 11:06 AM
markfoden.com
Tom True introducing the #WeekendOfMistakes at Hay Castle
A gathering of people in a historic-style venue with exposed stone walls and large windows. A man stands on a staircase addressing the crowd with a microphone. Attendees, some wearing red lanyards, are listening attentively, holding drinks, and browsing a display of books and postcards at a reception desk. A chandelier with multiple lights hangs from the ceiling. The atmosphere appears to be a formal or networking event.
March 21, 2025 at 6:17 PM
markfoden.com
Alexa > bin
March 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
markfoden.com
Extraordinary. Plenty of information about how to buy but not so much on how to sell. Being a crypto newbie there’s perhaps nuance I’ve missed
March 7, 2025 at 9:35 AM
markfoden.com
“We should ban Twitter. Completely. In the UK and in Europe” - Rory Stewart youtu.be/N_IoR_lfEik

Have you considered stopping posting on it yourself?

@rory-stewart.bsky.social @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social
@therestpolitics.bsky.social
Example of a Repost on X by Rory Stewart on 4 March 2025
March 5, 2025 at 8:32 AM
markfoden.com
“…the tech giants constantly shift the discussion to their supposed role as moderators of human-produced content and ignore the active role their algorithms play in cultivating certain human emotions and discouraging others. Are they really blind to it? “ - Nexus - Yuval Noah Harari
A Facebook spokesperson similarly said in October 2021, 'Like every platform, we are constantly making difficult decisions between free expressions and harmful speech, security and other issues... But drawing these societal lines is always better left to elected leaders. In this way, the tech giants constantly shift the discussion to their supposed role as moderators of human-produced content and ignore the active role their algorithms play in cultivating certain human emotions and discouraging others. Are they really blind to it?
March 1, 2025 at 4:34 PM
markfoden.com
“Within a few months of such reinforcement learning, the algorithm turned many YouTubers into trolls“ - Yuval Noah Harari - Nexus

Don’t feed the trolls: don’t use YouTube
February 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
markfoden.com
The sun about to set on the US constitution?
Ruins of buildings in Gaza at sunset, with debris and rubble covering the ground and a few people walking through the destruction
February 5, 2025 at 8:34 AM
markfoden.com
I’m puzzled. How is it that Starmer’s comms team have concluded there is still net benefit in posting on X?
January 3, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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I might be way behind the times here but today, for the first time, I used the Government Digital Service’s ID Check app to assert my identity with HMRC. Encouraging cooperation?
This image shows the GOV.UK ID Check app’s welcome screen. It features the GOV.UK logo at the top, a white crown symbol on a blue background. Below the logo, the text reads: “GOV.UK ID Check” followed by a description: “GOV.UK ID Check is a secure way to confirm your identity when you sign in to a government service with GOV.UK One Login.” At the bottom, there is a large green “Continue” button, indicating the next step in the app’s setup process. The background of the screen is black, and the text is white for clear visibility.
December 18, 2024 at 7:02 AM
markfoden.com
UK and US neck and neck in consumption of ultra-processed foods (if you’ll forgive the expression)

www.economist.com/science-and-...
The image is a chart titled “Foods for thought” showing the consumption of ultra-processed foods as a percentage of total calories by country, based on studies conducted between 2015-2021. The horizontal axis represents the percentage of total calorie consumption (from 0% to 75%), while the vertical axis lists countries, including Britain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Malaysia, France, Spain, Mexico, South Korea, and Italy. Key points include: • Britain, the United States, and Canada have the highest percentages, with multiple data points above 50%. • Brazil, Australia, and Malaysia show moderate consumption, with most data points around 25-50%. • France, Spain, Mexico, South Korea, and Italy display lower consumption, with data points mostly below 25%. Each country features multiple studies represented as red dots, showing variations within each nation. A single data point labeled “One study” is highlighted. The data source is “A systematic review of worldwide consumption of ultra-processed foods: findings and criticisms” by M. Marino et al., published in Nutrients, 2021.
November 26, 2024 at 7:13 AM
markfoden.com
Elisabeth Frink in the Dorset Museum
November 23, 2024 at 1:19 PM