Chris Stokel-Walker
@stokel.bsky.social
Tech journalist and author, who increasingly also talks on TV and radio. Interested in the sparks that happen when the online and offline worlds collide
@stokel on the other place. Buy my book: How AI Ate the World!
@stokel on the other place. Buy my book: How AI Ate the World!
Here’s what seems to have gone wrong in the US with AWS, and a couple of reasons why it might be messing you up elsewhere
October 20, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Here’s what seems to have gone wrong in the US with AWS, and a couple of reasons why it might be messing you up elsewhere
Excited to make my debut in BBC Science Focus this month answering their big question: has AI got as intelligent as it’ll get? Buy your copy today
October 15, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Excited to make my debut in BBC Science Focus this month answering their big question: has AI got as intelligent as it’ll get? Buy your copy today
What in the name of ChatGPT is this opening sentence from Liz Kendall?
October 13, 2025 at 8:31 AM
What in the name of ChatGPT is this opening sentence from Liz Kendall?
"Not for all the tea in China" could become more meaningful in decades to come thanks to climate change. My latest for @economist.com Espresso
October 12, 2025 at 7:48 AM
"Not for all the tea in China" could become more meaningful in decades to come thanks to climate change. My latest for @economist.com Espresso
I have been unable to get any editors interested in this so can someone tell me why taxpayers have paid for David Davis to be able to watch YouTube without ads every month for the last *five years*? Or why we paid for his FlightRadar subscription in 2023? www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-...
September 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I have been unable to get any editors interested in this so can someone tell me why taxpayers have paid for David Davis to be able to watch YouTube without ads every month for the last *five years*? Or why we paid for his FlightRadar subscription in 2023? www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-...
Microsoft Teams is so unbelievably shit that competitors seemingly believe it'll die on the vine if it's not bundled into Office www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
September 4, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Microsoft Teams is so unbelievably shit that competitors seemingly believe it'll die on the vine if it's not bundled into Office www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
My latest for @economist.com 's Espresso is on the surprising drop in people reading for pleasure
August 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
My latest for @economist.com 's Espresso is on the surprising drop in people reading for pleasure
I reviewed a new book about noise's impact on our lives, while subtweeting two of my annoying neighbours, for @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
August 21, 2025 at 8:19 AM
I reviewed a new book about noise's impact on our lives, while subtweeting two of my annoying neighbours, for @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
UPDATE: OpenAI is removing the feature following my reporting, and is working to remove indexed chats. "We think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn't intend to," admits OpenAI's CISO.
August 1, 2025 at 6:10 AM
UPDATE: OpenAI is removing the feature following my reporting, and is working to remove indexed chats. "We think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn't intend to," admits OpenAI's CISO.
The UK Online Safety Act may be designed to stop kids looking at porn but it's written to stop anyone viewing anything that might be adult in any way without ID, and I wish they'd polled on that, rather than how the government wants to frame it
July 29, 2025 at 8:34 AM
The UK Online Safety Act may be designed to stop kids looking at porn but it's written to stop anyone viewing anything that might be adult in any way without ID, and I wish they'd polled on that, rather than how the government wants to frame it
AI is transforming archaeology, as I wrote about for @economist.com's Espresso today
July 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
AI is transforming archaeology, as I wrote about for @economist.com's Espresso today
Hoo boy lots of people are about to wake up very quickly to the realities of the Online Safety Act today
July 24, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Hoo boy lots of people are about to wake up very quickly to the realities of the Online Safety Act today
AI chatbots lean slightly leftwards - despite what Grok has been doing lately. My latest for @economist.com Espresso
July 20, 2025 at 6:22 AM
AI chatbots lean slightly leftwards - despite what Grok has been doing lately. My latest for @economist.com Espresso
Needing to show a private company your passport or credit card (or rely on good-but-far-from-perfect age estimation services) to get your rocks off is a dystopian shift for one in five people in the UK www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
June 26, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Needing to show a private company your passport or credit card (or rely on good-but-far-from-perfect age estimation services) to get your rocks off is a dystopian shift for one in five people in the UK www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
It is very weird that the CMA is choosing to go after Google *now* for dominating the search and ad markets when its share of the market is easing off for the first time in 15 years www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
June 24, 2025 at 8:58 AM
It is very weird that the CMA is choosing to go after Google *now* for dominating the search and ad markets when its share of the market is easing off for the first time in 15 years www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
What a great first line for an obituary. Very sad about Brian Wilson - was one of my very earliest music obsessions
June 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
What a great first line for an obituary. Very sad about Brian Wilson - was one of my very earliest music obsessions
Not super keen on the tech secretary, who has previously gone on record saying government should be more humble to tech execs, asking a tech exec to act as a “sense check” on government oversight of those same countries democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-s...
June 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Not super keen on the tech secretary, who has previously gone on record saying government should be more humble to tech execs, asking a tech exec to act as a “sense check” on government oversight of those same countries democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-s...
I do wish interviewees realised we record interviews for a reason
May 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I do wish interviewees realised we record interviews for a reason
AI chatbots tend towards toxic responses with an alarming frequency, my latest for @economist.com's Espresso shows
May 19, 2025 at 7:45 AM
AI chatbots tend towards toxic responses with an alarming frequency, my latest for @economist.com's Espresso shows
In today's @economist.com Espresso, I wrote how LLMs can form human-like codes and norms when clubbed together
May 17, 2025 at 10:38 AM
In today's @economist.com Espresso, I wrote how LLMs can form human-like codes and norms when clubbed together
The M&S-related spam emails begin
May 13, 2025 at 12:56 PM
The M&S-related spam emails begin
My latest for @economist.com Espresso on detecting deepfakes and the challenges of doing so
May 4, 2025 at 7:21 AM
My latest for @economist.com Espresso on detecting deepfakes and the challenges of doing so
That's a nope, sorry
April 28, 2025 at 7:51 PM
That's a nope, sorry
If you're a civil servant with access to Redbox (and, for instance, its user guide or associated documentation) and something to share, scan the below to Signal me - from a non-work device
April 28, 2025 at 10:50 AM
If you're a civil servant with access to Redbox (and, for instance, its user guide or associated documentation) and something to share, scan the below to Signal me - from a non-work device