banner
wheresrhys.bsky.social
@wheresrhys.bsky.social
Birds are a little too real
Reposted
I've written about "disordered counterpublics" groups that reinforce shared delusions Here, the LLM becomes a 1 person counterpublic. It mirrors assumptions, absorbs contradictions, & provides the sense of a responsive, confirming audience.
It is the architecture of disordered discourse, automated.
November 19, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted
The first Water Pipit since 2021 was October's bird highlight at London's Walthamstow Wetlands. Round-up of the 97 species seen now on walthamstowbirders.blogspot.com Thanks to @samodonnell25.bsky.social @chris-farthing.bsky.social @wheresrhys.bsky.social & MLP for pics. #londonbirding
November 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted
2nd edition of our The AI Shift newsletter is out. The question today: could AI be making us LESS productive? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com www.ft.com/content/2480... At the individual level, it's clear we're not reliable witnesses on this Q. At an organisational level, it gets even more interesting...
October 30, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted
My latest newsletter with all the analysis from a historic Caerphilly byelection

willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/plaid-smas...
Plaid smash Reform to win in Caerphilly
These are the key takeaways from a massive night in Welsh politics
willhaywardwales.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Christ! I moved from Wales to London to get AWAY from the ravens and kites, not to find them both 5 minutes from my front door in zone 3!! #londonbirds
October 13, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A nice surprise today with the first jack snipe I’ve ever seen at my local waterworks nature reserve, and putting on a very endearing show of bobbing #londonbirds
October 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted
Have Disney pulled the Indiana Jones movies for being mean to nazis yet?
September 18, 2025 at 9:24 PM
@gruffrhys.bsky.social wnes i ddod ar draws rhai o’ch lyrics yn Ellis Brigham. Mymryn yn wahanol i sut o’n i’n ei cofio nhw.
September 17, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted
The radical right is winning because Labour, the Tories, most of the press and the BBC will not speak for the majority that sees Farage and the extremists beyond him as a menace
Piece from me on the failure to rally resistance
open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...
When will our spineless leaders speak for liberal Britain?
Cowardice enables the radical right
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Letter to my assembly member about the policing today #london #standuptoracism
September 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Me too.

Today I brought 1 friend, but next time I will bring 20

There are more of us, and they won’t win
Myself and my husband are protest/demo veterans. We moved to London in our early 20s and have been on many protests and marches, all the big ones. Today was the first time I've felt very scared. Not just of the violent nazi thugs but of what this country seems to have become and what comes next.
September 13, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted
Q. Who aligns the aligners?
A. alignmentalignment.ai

Today I’m humbled to announce an epoch-defining event: the launch of the 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers
We align the aligners
alignmentalignment.ai
September 11, 2025 at 1:17 PM
There appears to be a very consistent trend in "AI" help chatbots (I'm looking at you HSBC, Halifax, Ovo...) . 1) They are rubbish, not really conversational, based on preset answers... basically using tech from 10 years ago. 2) If you ask the same questions to ChatGPT you get far better answers...
September 5, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted
If I pick this as my security question will I remember that the answer I submitted was "every year, dumbass"
August 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted
Decomputing as a response to AI and to the underlying conditions that make AI seem inevitable.
Is it possible to imagine a better future where we use less computation? The effects of AI hype almost demand it.

This week @danmcquillan.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to lay out the concept of decomputing as a different way of assessing technology.

Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/286_...
July 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I’m taking part in a new scheme to reintroduce native species to the highlands
July 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Stumbled across this almost nostrodaman premonition of Amazon by @aiannucci.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfSi...
Tesco vs Denmark
YouTube video by stevethedalek
www.youtube.com
July 3, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Reposted
Very interesting, if a little alarming and depressing, thoughts from James K on how AI may impact on politics
June 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Hats off to the image + headline juxtaposition editor at @data.ft.com
June 19, 2025 at 8:03 PM
My thoughts on the government’s recent study on AI efficiency improvements in the civil service www.wheresrhys.co.uk/2025/06/07/t...

#AI #aiopportunities
Now, on to review the actual research. The objectives are defined as follows:
www.wheresrhys.co.uk
June 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Great article on AI, copyright and licencing www.techpolicy.press/ai-training-...

I'm running some focus groups to discuss this issue in the UK. Sign up here forms.gle/m65AKVoHMg9m... #makeitfair #dothewritething #aipolicy
AI Training, the Licensing Mirage, and Effective Alternatives to Support Creative Workers | TechPolicy.Press
Requiring licenses for training data won’t impede automation or provide meaningful support to creators, argues Derek Slater.
www.techpolicy.press
June 3, 2025 at 11:12 AM
I'm recruiting participants for a focus group to research public attitudes to the government's policy on AI and copyright. Please share, and fill out this form if you'd like to take part forms.gle/5KMp66VVH43y... #AI #copyright #makeitfair #DoTheWriteThing @societyofauthors.bsky.social
AI and copyright focus group participant sign up
Many artificial Intelligence (AI) tools rely on training on datasets that contain large amounts of copyrighted material. The UK government is proposing to change copyright law so that AI companies can...
forms.gle
May 28, 2025 at 11:01 AM
This juvenile coal tit - only the second we’ve ever ringed at the site - was my highlight from Walthamstow wetlands CES this morning, alongside 6 juvenile reed warblers - some very early breeding this year. Ringed under licence by @btobirds.bsky.social #londonbirds
May 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM