peterkwells
@peterkwells.com
BlackpoolFC, books, tech, people, policy & delivery, realist. Hopes to make stuff work for everyone.
https://peterkwells.com
https://peterkwells.com
What strikes me about the Noah-Smith-cant-follow-signs story isn't that he
a) can't follow signs,
b) draws broad generalisations from not being able to follow signs, but that
c) he only draws attention to the colour of one person's skin in a quite particular way
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
a) can't follow signs,
b) draws broad generalisations from not being able to follow signs, but that
c) he only draws attention to the colour of one person's skin in a quite particular way
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
November 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
What strikes me about the Noah-Smith-cant-follow-signs story isn't that he
a) can't follow signs,
b) draws broad generalisations from not being able to follow signs, but that
c) he only draws attention to the colour of one person's skin in a quite particular way
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
a) can't follow signs,
b) draws broad generalisations from not being able to follow signs, but that
c) he only draws attention to the colour of one person's skin in a quite particular way
onemileatatime.com/news/economi...
"genAI-created ads...increasing click-through rates by up to 19%...genAI-modified ads show no significant improvement over human-created benchmarks"
but
"disclosing AI involvement in ad generation significantly reduces advertising effectiveness by up to 31.5%"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
but
"disclosing AI involvement in ad generation significantly reduces advertising effectiveness by up to 31.5%"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Impact of Visual Generative AI on Advertising Effectiveness
The advertising industry stands at a pivotal moment as visual generative AI (genAI) can transform creative content production. Despite growing enthusiasm, empir
papers.ssrn.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:44 AM
"genAI-created ads...increasing click-through rates by up to 19%...genAI-modified ads show no significant improvement over human-created benchmarks"
but
"disclosing AI involvement in ad generation significantly reduces advertising effectiveness by up to 31.5%"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
but
"disclosing AI involvement in ad generation significantly reduces advertising effectiveness by up to 31.5%"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by peterkwells
A must read, particularly for anyone in politics. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
When I met Craig he was 13 and homeless. I still thought his life might turn around. I was tragically wrong
The long read: I knew he was running away from something. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truth
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:18 AM
A must read, particularly for anyone in politics. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...
"The company mistakenly included documents indicating it had been transacting with entities based overseas, sources said. Details were written in white text on a white background but were spotted by staff at the regulator"
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Paperwork blunder by UK bookmaker reveals possible illegal offshore operation
Gambling Commission may launch inquiry after finding potentially incriminating evidence hidden in documents, sources say
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:12 AM
"The company mistakenly included documents indicating it had been transacting with entities based overseas, sources said. Details were written in white text on a white background but were spotted by staff at the regulator"
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
$1bn?
The BBC should respond by offering Trump a place on one of their reality shows
Perhaps Comedians Driving Dangerous Roads?
Or would Traitors be more appropriate?
The BBC should respond by offering Trump a place on one of their reality shows
Perhaps Comedians Driving Dangerous Roads?
Or would Traitors be more appropriate?
November 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
$1bn?
The BBC should respond by offering Trump a place on one of their reality shows
Perhaps Comedians Driving Dangerous Roads?
Or would Traitors be more appropriate?
The BBC should respond by offering Trump a place on one of their reality shows
Perhaps Comedians Driving Dangerous Roads?
Or would Traitors be more appropriate?
Reposted by peterkwells
The dog that wants to live on the beach 4evah
November 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The dog that wants to live on the beach 4evah
Reposted by peterkwells
I swear, someone *always* resigns when I go on holiday:
To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash
Corporation fails to learn from criticism, while politicians have consciously reduced its scope for quality journalism
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:43 AM
I swear, someone *always* resigns when I go on holiday:
"DWP deploys algorithm for UC journals to detect ‘risk of harm’ in two million monthly messages"
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/03/s...
HT Digital Welfare State newsletter > www.abdconsultancy.co.uk/digital-welf...
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/03/s...
HT Digital Welfare State newsletter > www.abdconsultancy.co.uk/digital-welf...
Digital welfare state: origins, controversies, research — ABD Consultancy
How are governments worldwise using AI and other tech to administer the welfare state? Find out about research, policy and investigations into the digital welfare state, including digital surveillance...
www.abdconsultancy.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 8:28 AM
"DWP deploys algorithm for UC journals to detect ‘risk of harm’ in two million monthly messages"
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/03/s...
HT Digital Welfare State newsletter > www.abdconsultancy.co.uk/digital-welf...
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/03/s...
HT Digital Welfare State newsletter > www.abdconsultancy.co.uk/digital-welf...
Reposted by peterkwells
inspired by this, I have done a free extract of this section of the book here. it is about understanding that *with all its problems* the BBC is as important for our intellectual health as the NHS is for our physical health:
naomialderman.substack.com/p/the-bbc-an...
naomialderman.substack.com/p/the-bbc-an...
November 10, 2025 at 7:52 AM
inspired by this, I have done a free extract of this section of the book here. it is about understanding that *with all its problems* the BBC is as important for our intellectual health as the NHS is for our physical health:
naomialderman.substack.com/p/the-bbc-an...
naomialderman.substack.com/p/the-bbc-an...
The Clash - Career Opportunities (Live at Shea Stadium)
YouTube video by theclashVEVO
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
Alexei Sayle's Stuff (9th November 1989). The latest teenage craze is a rather unexpected one.
And Pete Murray has a complaint from 1960.
And Pete Murray has a complaint from 1960.
November 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Alexei Sayle's Stuff (9th November 1989). The latest teenage craze is a rather unexpected one.
And Pete Murray has a complaint from 1960.
And Pete Murray has a complaint from 1960.
"Trump to deport boss of Starmer-linked charity [that is involved in the online safety/free speech fights]"
www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
Trump to deport boss of Starmer-linked charity
White House to take aim at organisation accused of stifling free speech
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
"Trump to deport boss of Starmer-linked charity [that is involved in the online safety/free speech fights]"
www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
Reposted by peterkwells
Two articles that articulate the dehumanising reality and the brilliantly human possibilities of AI (and other tech) and the importance of where we direct and attention and energy.
Guardian piece on medical AI and below in 🧵and great interview with the relational tech project in the US.
Guardian piece on medical AI and below in 🧵and great interview with the relational tech project in the US.
“The problem is that when it is installed in a health sector that prizes efficiency, surveillance and profit extraction, AI becomes not a tool for care and community but simply another instrument for commodifying human life.”
What we lose when we surrender care to algorithms | Eric Reinhart
A dangerous faith in AI is sweeping American healthcare – with consequences for the basis of society itself
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Two articles that articulate the dehumanising reality and the brilliantly human possibilities of AI (and other tech) and the importance of where we direct and attention and energy.
Guardian piece on medical AI and below in 🧵and great interview with the relational tech project in the US.
Guardian piece on medical AI and below in 🧵and great interview with the relational tech project in the US.
Every time a digital team says "personalised services are extremely rare in government" I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices of teachers, nurses, social workers, &c suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced
November 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Every time a digital team says "personalised services are extremely rare in government" I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices of teachers, nurses, social workers, &c suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced
Reposted by peterkwells
Just shameful.
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Just shameful.
46% wrong?!?!?!?? They could have just flipped a coin....
I’m old enough to remember when I got scolded on this here website by people who claimed a 3% false positive rate was good actually and well now it turns out to be an order of magnitude bigger! Still good guys?
HMRC trial of child benefit crackdown wrongly suspected fraud in 46% of cases
Exclusive: Almost half of families flagged as emigrants based on Home Office travel data were still living in UK
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
46% wrong?!?!?!?? They could have just flipped a coin....
Inevitable and there'll be more of this to come in many other areas of public services and from organisations with a range of different values/goals
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
AI-powered nimbyism could grind UK planning system to a halt, experts warn
Tools that help people scan applications and find grounds for objection have potential to hit government’s housebuilding plans
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Inevitable and there'll be more of this to come in many other areas of public services and from organisations with a range of different values/goals
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by peterkwells
An interesting point at the Data and AI CSO Network this week was the distinction between "digital inclusion by getting everyone to adopt digital" and "digital inclusion by providing non-digital alternatives".
The first is impossible, the second shows the limits of the digitalness of digital ID.
The first is impossible, the second shows the limits of the digitalness of digital ID.
Josh Simons, the junior minister responsible for digital ID (and former Labour Together director) has promised govt will embark on “the largest ever digital inclusion programme ever delivered in this country" to deliver digital ID. www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
Government ‘considering physical alternatives’ for those unable access digital ID
Ministers reveal that the digitally excluded may be able to use familiar locations on the high street to obtain a more traditional ID card that could be kept in wallets
Government is exploring ...
www.publictechnology.net
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
An interesting point at the Data and AI CSO Network this week was the distinction between "digital inclusion by getting everyone to adopt digital" and "digital inclusion by providing non-digital alternatives".
The first is impossible, the second shows the limits of the digitalness of digital ID.
The first is impossible, the second shows the limits of the digitalness of digital ID.
Reposted by peterkwells
Josh Simons, the junior minister responsible for digital ID (and former Labour Together director) has promised govt will embark on “the largest ever digital inclusion programme ever delivered in this country" to deliver digital ID. www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
Government ‘considering physical alternatives’ for those unable access digital ID
Ministers reveal that the digitally excluded may be able to use familiar locations on the high street to obtain a more traditional ID card that could be kept in wallets
Government is exploring ...
www.publictechnology.net
November 8, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Josh Simons, the junior minister responsible for digital ID (and former Labour Together director) has promised govt will embark on “the largest ever digital inclusion programme ever delivered in this country" to deliver digital ID. www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
The language in here is really confusing & convoluted
Conceptually I think of UK as launching a govt ID verification service with mandatory checks on ID/right to work when starting a job, both physical & smartphone ("digital") alternatives will be available
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
Conceptually I think of UK as launching a govt ID verification service with mandatory checks on ID/right to work when starting a job, both physical & smartphone ("digital") alternatives will be available
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
Government ‘considering physical alternatives’ for those unable access digital ID
Ministers reveal that the digitally excluded may be able to use familiar locations on the high street to obtain a more traditional ID card that could be kept in wallets
Government is exploring ...
www.publictechnology.net
November 8, 2025 at 8:51 AM
The language in here is really confusing & convoluted
Conceptually I think of UK as launching a govt ID verification service with mandatory checks on ID/right to work when starting a job, both physical & smartphone ("digital") alternatives will be available
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
Conceptually I think of UK as launching a govt ID verification service with mandatory checks on ID/right to work when starting a job, both physical & smartphone ("digital") alternatives will be available
www.publictechnology.net/2025/11/05/s...
November 7, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by peterkwells
Our Immigration and Data Security teams worked together this week to understand how immigration-linked data grabs and shoddy facial recognition apps are laying the groundwork for a surveillance state.
unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...
unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...
This week at Unbreaking, November 6 — Unbreaking
Unbreaking is built to be an antidote to information overload. Since we launched, we have been meticulously documenting lawsuits, executive orders, court rulings, countermoves, and other key events.
unbreaking.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Our Immigration and Data Security teams worked together this week to understand how immigration-linked data grabs and shoddy facial recognition apps are laying the groundwork for a surveillance state.
unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...
unbreaking.org/blog/this-we...
I hope this works out - and undoes some of the excessive centralisation in UK govt
But "first ever Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) in UK government"?
_raises eyebrow quizzically_
ai.justice.gov.uk/blog/announc...
But "first ever Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) in UK government"?
_raises eyebrow quizzically_
ai.justice.gov.uk/blog/announc...
Announcing the first UK government Forward Deployed Engineers
Introducing the first Forward Deployed Engineers working on the frontline across prisons, probation and courts.
ai.justice.gov.uk
November 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I hope this works out - and undoes some of the excessive centralisation in UK govt
But "first ever Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) in UK government"?
_raises eyebrow quizzically_
ai.justice.gov.uk/blog/announc...
But "first ever Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) in UK government"?
_raises eyebrow quizzically_
ai.justice.gov.uk/blog/announc...