David Smith
@preoccupations.bsky.social
Reposted by David Smith
will admit i don't fully understand this but POETRY OUTFOXES AI is the best case for preserving English degrees i have ever heard. 'all the teenage girls who were really into Sylvia Plath at one point vs tech bros' is the battle for civilisation we deserve
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
will admit i don't fully understand this but POETRY OUTFOXES AI is the best case for preserving English degrees i have ever heard. 'all the teenage girls who were really into Sylvia Plath at one point vs tech bros' is the battle for civilisation we deserve
Reposted by David Smith
Yes and - this could be really quite relevant to the current situation - there was a lot of "ah well fun and games, easy come easy go" for the first 12 months, as the dot com bust segued into the much more damaging telecom bust, which had much more debt financed capex.
November 18, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Yes and - this could be really quite relevant to the current situation - there was a lot of "ah well fun and games, easy come easy go" for the first 12 months, as the dot com bust segued into the much more damaging telecom bust, which had much more debt financed capex.
Reposted by David Smith
A question, when did people realise that the dot com bubble had actually peaked?
Just looking at the old NASDAQ chart.
I can - and suppose will - look back through old FT and Economist stories.
But there must be some people on this site who remember it?
Just looking at the old NASDAQ chart.
I can - and suppose will - look back through old FT and Economist stories.
But there must be some people on this site who remember it?
November 18, 2025 at 10:58 AM
A question, when did people realise that the dot com bubble had actually peaked?
Just looking at the old NASDAQ chart.
I can - and suppose will - look back through old FT and Economist stories.
But there must be some people on this site who remember it?
Just looking at the old NASDAQ chart.
I can - and suppose will - look back through old FT and Economist stories.
But there must be some people on this site who remember it?
Reposted by David Smith
Strikes me that if the rightwing PP win the next election in Spain, governing as they'll have to, in coalition with the Trumpian Vox, webpages like this one from RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, might well disappear in days...
November 15, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Strikes me that if the rightwing PP win the next election in Spain, governing as they'll have to, in coalition with the Trumpian Vox, webpages like this one from RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, might well disappear in days...
Reposted by David Smith
New map produced by RTVE, Spanish national TV, of the 6000 mass graves in Spain. In the last 25 years some 17,000 bodies of men, women and children have been exhumed out of the ~120,000 dumped in mass unmarked graves by the Franco regime.
www.rtve.es/noticias/fos...
www.rtve.es/noticias/fos...
November 15, 2025 at 11:40 AM
New map produced by RTVE, Spanish national TV, of the 6000 mass graves in Spain. In the last 25 years some 17,000 bodies of men, women and children have been exhumed out of the ~120,000 dumped in mass unmarked graves by the Franco regime.
www.rtve.es/noticias/fos...
www.rtve.es/noticias/fos...
Reposted by David Smith
also you know refugees are allowed to have unremarkable lives - they don't need to prove that giving them refuge was 'worthwhile' their need is justification enough
November 15, 2025 at 10:38 AM
also you know refugees are allowed to have unremarkable lives - they don't need to prove that giving them refuge was 'worthwhile' their need is justification enough
Reposted by David Smith
NEW - we've data showing huge numbers of people reducing their income to avoid high marginal income tax rates. Not just at the £100k point (as previously reported). But at the £50k point:
November 14, 2025 at 12:47 PM
NEW - we've data showing huge numbers of people reducing their income to avoid high marginal income tax rates. Not just at the £100k point (as previously reported). But at the £50k point:
Reposted by David Smith
Unless someone in the Treasury reassures the markets pretty soon, there’s every chance the UK will need to raise *more* tax for less in return. Total clusterfuck in the making, this.
Having a budget fall apart more than a week before it’s actually be delivered might be a new record.
Having a budget fall apart more than a week before it’s actually be delivered might be a new record.
November 14, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Unless someone in the Treasury reassures the markets pretty soon, there’s every chance the UK will need to raise *more* tax for less in return. Total clusterfuck in the making, this.
Having a budget fall apart more than a week before it’s actually be delivered might be a new record.
Having a budget fall apart more than a week before it’s actually be delivered might be a new record.
Reposted by David Smith
Aaaaaand gilt market hates it
November 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Aaaaaand gilt market hates it
Reposted by David Smith
I've noticed the extent to which "do you need a VPN for that?" has cropped up in general conversations about the Web and has become a go-to nudge nudge wink wink on podcasts. But also, there is a whole world in which this could have been easily anticipated by Ofcom and DSIT
The British government admits it is now monitoring VPNs use by UK residents. Regulator Ofcom has contracted with an AI-powered surveillance service to detect the number of citizens using VPNs to evade the Online Safety Act.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
The UK tech minister has said a VPN ban is on the table.
Exclusive: Ofcom is monitoring VPNs following Online Safety Act. Here's how
Ignoring VPNs risks creating ineffective laws, but tracking them threatens people's privacy
www.techradar.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:47 AM
I've noticed the extent to which "do you need a VPN for that?" has cropped up in general conversations about the Web and has become a go-to nudge nudge wink wink on podcasts. But also, there is a whole world in which this could have been easily anticipated by Ofcom and DSIT
Reposted by David Smith
"The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN." www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
www.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN." www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Reposted by David Smith
John Le Carre was right about the British establishment and how the alumni of the best schools will sell out their own country for status and money and in particular a desperate desire for American attention
November 11, 2025 at 10:52 AM
John Le Carre was right about the British establishment and how the alumni of the best schools will sell out their own country for status and money and in particular a desperate desire for American attention
Reposted by David Smith
Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’ https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-to-sue-bbc-over-misleading-edit-of-the-vicar-of-dibley/
November 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’ https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-to-sue-bbc-over-misleading-edit-of-the-vicar-of-dibley/
Reposted by David Smith
Now that Guiliani has been pardoned, he's working on his credentials to be Trump's next choice for NYC Mayor.
November 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Now that Guiliani has been pardoned, he's working on his credentials to be Trump's next choice for NYC Mayor.
Reposted by David Smith
The BBC should offer an apology, and then to underline the point, broadcast Trump's speech in its entirety, followed by footage of how the people he has subsequently pardoned responded to it.
mainly boggling at the idea that any British media organisation has $1billion to be sued for (did Elon not tell him that we are but a simple land of hobbits, going about our hobbit business in the shires?)
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Donald Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1billion
President Trump has set a deadline of 5pm EST (10pm in the UK) this Friday to 'comply' with his demands.
www.dailymail.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The BBC should offer an apology, and then to underline the point, broadcast Trump's speech in its entirety, followed by footage of how the people he has subsequently pardoned responded to it.
Reposted by David Smith
Should Gibb be sacked? yes, obviously. He's an abomination of basic journalistic standards. His GB News channel spreads conspiracy theory & disinformation. His Jewish Chronicle newspaper spreads invented stories. He is plainly trying to undermine the BBC so it's as bad as everything else he touches.
November 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Should Gibb be sacked? yes, obviously. He's an abomination of basic journalistic standards. His GB News channel spreads conspiracy theory & disinformation. His Jewish Chronicle newspaper spreads invented stories. He is plainly trying to undermine the BBC so it's as bad as everything else he touches.
Reposted by David Smith
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
Reposted by David Smith
The impossible dream some people on the British right are chasing is that you can have a BBC News operation that retreats from detail and expertise, that takes dictation from the government, but this will only create incompetence and failure when it suits you:
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 10:01 AM
The impossible dream some people on the British right are chasing is that you can have a BBC News operation that retreats from detail and expertise, that takes dictation from the government, but this will only create incompetence and failure when it suits you: