Stuart Mills
@stuartmills.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Leeds. Visiting Fellow of Behavioural Science at the LSE. Interested in Digital Economy + Behaviour + Political Economy. All views are my own.
Website: siu2lh.com
Website: siu2lh.com
Reposted by Stuart Mills
Interesting! We are getting better at doing the wrong things! Drucker would have a few few things to say.... "There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all."
from a wider standpoint, we show how AI can add to "efficient inefficiency" (it may improve the efficiency of already inefficient practices) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Efficient Inefficiency: Organisational challenges of realising economic gains from AI
Organisations are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI). Where AI performs productive tasks more efficiently than humans, organisations will…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Interesting! We are getting better at doing the wrong things! Drucker would have a few few things to say.... "There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all."
I have a new paper in the BMJ Open. We find 71% of GP surgeries do not follow NHS guidance around patient registration. The guidance says patients do not need documents like photo ID, but many surgeries demand them. This will reduce people's access to care.
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...
Evaluating adherence to patient registration paperwork guidelines: a mystery shopper study in English primary care
Objective To evaluate adherence to National Health Service (NHS) patient registration ID guidelines among General Practitioners’ (GP) practices.
Design A mystery shopper study, including website revi...
bmjopen.bmj.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:18 AM
I have a new paper in the BMJ Open. We find 71% of GP surgeries do not follow NHS guidance around patient registration. The guidance says patients do not need documents like photo ID, but many surgeries demand them. This will reduce people's access to care.
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...
Reposted by Stuart Mills
"One feature of capitalism is its ability to create work for people to do. A world without work is incompatible with capitalism," says me in this piece on AI and job loss - heartening to see a link to my book here www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...
‘They said it was more cost effective’: The young workers replaced by AI
In recent years, the AI boom has sparked global panic about long-term job security. For an unlucky few, AI has come for their jobs already
www.dazeddigital.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 AM
"One feature of capitalism is its ability to create work for people to do. A world without work is incompatible with capitalism," says me in this piece on AI and job loss - heartening to see a link to my book here www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...
Something I'm working on:
1) On average, only 9% of US firms were using any form of AI to produce products in September
2) US firms are consistently overestimate the rates of AI adoption (dotted line)
3) Expectations are maybe(?) starting to outpace reality...
1) On average, only 9% of US firms were using any form of AI to produce products in September
2) US firms are consistently overestimate the rates of AI adoption (dotted line)
3) Expectations are maybe(?) starting to outpace reality...
November 7, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Something I'm working on:
1) On average, only 9% of US firms were using any form of AI to produce products in September
2) US firms are consistently overestimate the rates of AI adoption (dotted line)
3) Expectations are maybe(?) starting to outpace reality...
1) On average, only 9% of US firms were using any form of AI to produce products in September
2) US firms are consistently overestimate the rates of AI adoption (dotted line)
3) Expectations are maybe(?) starting to outpace reality...
This is precisely it. We are living in an era of commoditised conflict, where local conflicts can now have global effects, conflict itself can be more ambiguous, and expensive prestige weapons are increasingly for show.
November 7, 2025 at 8:18 AM
This is precisely it. We are living in an era of commoditised conflict, where local conflicts can now have global effects, conflict itself can be more ambiguous, and expensive prestige weapons are increasingly for show.
Nice to be quoted alongside stalwarts like Gary Marcus and Carl Benedikt Frey in this article about the AI bubble. I'm not sure I think AI companies *should* raise prices, only that I think they will *have* to.
www.dw.com/en/will-the-...
www.dw.com/en/will-the-...
Will the AI bubble burst as investors grow wary of returns? – DW – 11/06/2025
Billions have poured into AI, helping stock valuations soar. But the cracks are starting to show. Slowing adoption, surging costs and elusive profits are fueling warnings that the boom may be headed f...
www.dw.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Nice to be quoted alongside stalwarts like Gary Marcus and Carl Benedikt Frey in this article about the AI bubble. I'm not sure I think AI companies *should* raise prices, only that I think they will *have* to.
www.dw.com/en/will-the-...
www.dw.com/en/will-the-...
This reads more like Rogoff advertising his books than him making some profound comment about the state of economics discourse.
The centrist economist doth protest too much, methinks www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The perils of centrist economics in a polarised world | Kenneth Rogoff
A decade ago, a prominent analysis was falsely cast as a call for austerity. Our real offence was suggesting there might be a trade-off between debt and growth
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:10 AM
This reads more like Rogoff advertising his books than him making some profound comment about the state of economics discourse.
Data suggest generative AI is being used for backroom firm activities, rather than on the frontline. Adoption rates imply low productivity returns, too, which is also consistent with backroom rather than frontline applications. Some thoughts from my ongoing research:
siu2lh.com/articles/wha...
siu2lh.com/articles/wha...
What's AI's 9-to-5?
siu2lh.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Data suggest generative AI is being used for backroom firm activities, rather than on the frontline. Adoption rates imply low productivity returns, too, which is also consistent with backroom rather than frontline applications. Some thoughts from my ongoing research:
siu2lh.com/articles/wha...
siu2lh.com/articles/wha...
When people talk about AI boosting productivity, do they ever account for the time lost now that every website on the internet has to have an 'are you human?' check which depends entirely on whether Cloudlfare decided to switch their servers on today?
October 22, 2025 at 9:43 AM
When people talk about AI boosting productivity, do they ever account for the time lost now that every website on the internet has to have an 'are you human?' check which depends entirely on whether Cloudlfare decided to switch their servers on today?
The US military took 15 years to restructure itself around IT. When they did, they followed Soviet ideas.
The Soviets lacked IT, so needed to predict how the US would use IT, to learn how to counter them.
Jumping head-first into AI means you're likely to get concussion.
siu2lh.com/articles/how...
The Soviets lacked IT, so needed to predict how the US would use IT, to learn how to counter them.
Jumping head-first into AI means you're likely to get concussion.
siu2lh.com/articles/how...
How the Soviets Beat the American's Computer Game
siu2lh.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The US military took 15 years to restructure itself around IT. When they did, they followed Soviet ideas.
The Soviets lacked IT, so needed to predict how the US would use IT, to learn how to counter them.
Jumping head-first into AI means you're likely to get concussion.
siu2lh.com/articles/how...
The Soviets lacked IT, so needed to predict how the US would use IT, to learn how to counter them.
Jumping head-first into AI means you're likely to get concussion.
siu2lh.com/articles/how...
Right now, a smart government would be massively investing in publicly owned renewables, supported by commitments to domestic manufacturing and nationalised steel production. They'd be talking about driving the price of electricity in the UK to zero, and labelling anti net zero an energy tax.
Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com
Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Has Accepted £2.3 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Climate Deniers, and Polluters Since 2019 Election
Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations...
www.desmog.com
October 12, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Right now, a smart government would be massively investing in publicly owned renewables, supported by commitments to domestic manufacturing and nationalised steel production. They'd be talking about driving the price of electricity in the UK to zero, and labelling anti net zero an energy tax.
Reposted by Stuart Mills
Our article on the politics of AI prompts is out now @econsocjournal.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/n
Politics of the prompt: Government in the age of generative AI
This paper addresses the politics of the technique of prompting in machine learning, at a time when bureaucratic and democratic government is undergoing transformation. Drawing on the case of the U...
www.tandfonline.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Our article on the politics of AI prompts is out now @econsocjournal.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/n
Is generative AI profitable? Probably not.
Would businesses pay more for it? Also no.
Is it politically useful? Yes.
Would politicians pay a lot for it? Also yes.
New paper with @richardrwhittle.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Would businesses pay more for it? Also no.
Is it politically useful? Yes.
Would politicians pay a lot for it? Also yes.
New paper with @richardrwhittle.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Price for Promises: The Generative AI Pricing Problem and the Role of the Public Sector
<div>
Since 2022, the AI industry has pursued a blitzscaling strategy. Supported by venture capital (VC) funding, many AI companies have charged substantially
papers.ssrn.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Is generative AI profitable? Probably not.
Would businesses pay more for it? Also no.
Is it politically useful? Yes.
Would politicians pay a lot for it? Also yes.
New paper with @richardrwhittle.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Would businesses pay more for it? Also no.
Is it politically useful? Yes.
Would politicians pay a lot for it? Also yes.
New paper with @richardrwhittle.bsky.social
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
This would be an enormous mistake for the UK and an error of judgement which will only compound as climate change bites. Gross negligence on the part of our politicians to bet the house on this stuff. Selling out our future for today's naive delusions.
We're going to act as storage for US high energy, high water usage cloud data banks. 7.500 jobs for 150 billion investment - I think ITV News last night - means it will mostly be automated.
It will end up being costly for our water and energy.
It will end up being costly for our water and energy.
September 19, 2025 at 7:31 AM
This would be an enormous mistake for the UK and an error of judgement which will only compound as climate change bites. Gross negligence on the part of our politicians to bet the house on this stuff. Selling out our future for today's naive delusions.
Reposted by Stuart Mills
10,000 have joined us as paid-up members!
Some people have experienced issues due to such high traffic!
It is a safe and secure platform so please keep trying: www.yourparty-membership.uk
Some people have experienced issues due to such high traffic!
It is a safe and secure platform so please keep trying: www.yourparty-membership.uk
September 18, 2025 at 10:53 AM
10,000 have joined us as paid-up members!
Some people have experienced issues due to such high traffic!
It is a safe and secure platform so please keep trying: www.yourparty-membership.uk
Some people have experienced issues due to such high traffic!
It is a safe and secure platform so please keep trying: www.yourparty-membership.uk
Last week, I spoke to the BBC about contactless payments. I appreciated them reaching out to me, and they quoted me in their subsequent article. It's a reasonably normal thing which happens every now and then.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Spending without thinking is a risk with unlimited contactless cards
Spontaneous spending is likely to rise if the £100 limit on contactless cards is scrapped, academics say.
www.bbc.com
September 18, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Last week, I spoke to the BBC about contactless payments. I appreciated them reaching out to me, and they quoted me in their subsequent article. It's a reasonably normal thing which happens every now and then.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Stuart Mills
Last week I wrote to Coventry City Council about their £500,000 contract with Palantir.
Palantir is a partner in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, collaborates with ICE in the US & is embedded in our NHS.
Coventry (& the NHS) must divest from genocide & protect jobs, services & data.
Palantir is a partner in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, collaborates with ICE in the US & is embedded in our NHS.
Coventry (& the NHS) must divest from genocide & protect jobs, services & data.
![House of Commons letterhead:
Dear ClIr Duggins,
Re: Coventry City Council's contract with Palantir Technologies
I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding the recent contract awarded by Coventry City Council to the software company Palantir Technologies UK Ltd, the UK subsidiary of the US-headquartered Palantir Technologies Inc.
Coventry City Council's decision to award a £500,000 service contract [procurement reference: COV - 21614] to Palantir for the development of a strategic Al platform for the Council, running from February 2025 to February 2030, raises serious questions given the company's troubling human rights record, including its complicity in Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Palantir is one of the tech giants enabling Israel's advanced Al targeting and weapons system by equipping the Israeli military with computing systems as well as surveillance and communications technologies to accelerate the genocide in Gaza and automate apartheid in the West Bank.'
I note that the Labour-led Council has passed two motions this year condemning any activity which has been deemed in breach of international law and calling for international laws to be upheld, as well as calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. The Council's decision to procure services from a company associated with and profiting from Israel's genocide on the Palestinian people seems to undermine those commitments.
Beyond continuing to supply the Israeli military with data and Al services used in targeting systems linked to deaths in Gaza, Palantir has also been involved in developing surveillance platforms for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), used in deportations that have been widely condemned.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xvmfn4sqxoxa5qjovw5tcehg/bafkreicazgoiubws5sgtclnawiqgvsqtcbbsoktidjxbbv7nczfkosde4i@jpeg)
September 7, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Last week I wrote to Coventry City Council about their £500,000 contract with Palantir.
Palantir is a partner in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, collaborates with ICE in the US & is embedded in our NHS.
Coventry (& the NHS) must divest from genocide & protect jobs, services & data.
Palantir is a partner in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, collaborates with ICE in the US & is embedded in our NHS.
Coventry (& the NHS) must divest from genocide & protect jobs, services & data.
The rumour is OpenAI and co. are seeking revenue splits from retailers as a way of making their products profitable. This raises big concerns about dark patterns and online manipulation. A whole new frontier for consumer protection. Some of my thoughts below.
theconversation.com/openai-looks...
theconversation.com/openai-looks...
OpenAI looks to online advertising deal – AI-driven ads will be hard for consumers to spot
What consumers need to known about OpenAI and Shopify working together.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:06 PM
The rumour is OpenAI and co. are seeking revenue splits from retailers as a way of making their products profitable. This raises big concerns about dark patterns and online manipulation. A whole new frontier for consumer protection. Some of my thoughts below.
theconversation.com/openai-looks...
theconversation.com/openai-looks...
I increasingly struggle to separate the AI productivity debate from the computer productivity debate of the 1990s. Actually, I think it's all still the same debate. Some initial thoughts on what I think will become something more substantial:
siu2lh.com/articles/are...
siu2lh.com/articles/are...
Are Computers Actually Useful?
siu2lh.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I increasingly struggle to separate the AI productivity debate from the computer productivity debate of the 1990s. Actually, I think it's all still the same debate. Some initial thoughts on what I think will become something more substantial:
siu2lh.com/articles/are...
siu2lh.com/articles/are...
Reposted by Stuart Mills
Again, I have some mild concerns about universities paying for unrestricted access to this technology to every single undergraduate on campus!
![Five days before his death, Adam confided to ChatGPT that he didn't want his
parents to think he committed suicide because they did something wrong. ChatGPT told him
"[t]hat doesn't mean you owe them survival. You don't owe anyone that." It then offered to write the first draft of Adam's suicide note.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jkj7qm4o4kwjbk6geoatopu3/bafkreicpqmrgkbhd2a3lqfyvutjutevlborsiodcomvcachphtv25f3fbe@jpeg)
August 27, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Again, I have some mild concerns about universities paying for unrestricted access to this technology to every single undergraduate on campus!
Reposted by Stuart Mills
I think this is a larger pattern:
"AI" allows you to roleplay competence.
"AI" allows you to roleplay competence.
I think the Vibecoding reddit has accidentally stumbled on the best description of vibecoding:
It's "roleplay for guys [it is always guys] who want to feel like hackers without doing the hard part".
#ai #vibecoding
It's "roleplay for guys [it is always guys] who want to feel like hackers without doing the hard part".
#ai #vibecoding
August 19, 2025 at 7:51 AM
I think this is a larger pattern:
"AI" allows you to roleplay competence.
"AI" allows you to roleplay competence.
This received quite a positive response so I wrote the paper.
Comments are welcome.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Comments are welcome.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
August 15, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This received quite a positive response so I wrote the paper.
Comments are welcome.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Comments are welcome.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
AI models downplay women's health issues. This is an important result, and one which should seriously temper calls to introduce AI into public life.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
AI tools used by English councils downplay women’s health issues, study finds
Exclusive: LSE research finds risk of gender bias in care decisions made based on AI summaries of case notes
www.theguardian.com
August 11, 2025 at 11:32 AM
AI models downplay women's health issues. This is an important result, and one which should seriously temper calls to introduce AI into public life.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Stuart Mills
Letter of the day (in the Times)
August 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Letter of the day (in the Times)
Reposted by Stuart Mills
truly abhorrent, and for a labour party to be doing this. it should be unconscionable. the UK needs jeremy corbyn and zarah sultana’s new party more than ever.
🚨 BREAKING | Labour is set to impose a sweeping ban on trans people using any "single-sex space".
In EHRC guidance that Labour is set to approve, trans people will be barred from accessing toilets, gyms and changing rooms that match their gender.
(Source: @TheTimes)
In EHRC guidance that Labour is set to approve, trans people will be barred from accessing toilets, gyms and changing rooms that match their gender.
(Source: @TheTimes)
August 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
truly abhorrent, and for a labour party to be doing this. it should be unconscionable. the UK needs jeremy corbyn and zarah sultana’s new party more than ever.