When SpaceX’s share price fell last week, Elon Musk lost another vast slice of his fortune. That hardly qualifies as a national tragedy. But it is a reminder that one of the richest men in history owes much of his wealth to a company routinely presented as the ultimate triumph of private enterprise. The reality … Read more
People worry that AI is getting smarter. Genius science curmudgeon Richard Dawkins recently declared that AI was conscious — or at least conscious without knowing it. The singularity is apparently coming. People are already forming emotional bonds with chatbots, in some cases even falling in love. But that’s not my experience. I’m angry about the … Read more
This month I decided to fill a few gaps in my record collection. I already own nearly complete sets of singles by The Jam, Dexys, The Undertones, The Who, Small Faces, The Kinks, and a few others. Just a few dozen records, each costing £2–£3, would be enough to complete the sets. The most expensive … Read more
This week, the government launched its long-awaited 10-year plan for the NHS. At 165 pages, it’s a dense, managerial, and thoroughly technocratic document—very on brand for a government that wants to appear serious and reformist, while hoping most people won’t read past the executive summary. There are three main themes: It’s a top-down, big-state programme … Read more
AI, Journalism, and Manipulation For the past few months, I’ve been using AI to sub-edit my blogs. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m experimenting with AI. But a few weeks ago, while writing a blog on Elon Musk, I noticed something odd—the AI had added an extra paragraph that I hadn’t written. I’ve also … Read more
I make no apologies for returning to the on going disaster that is Universal Credits. I have covered this ongoing public policy catastrophe previously: Universal Credits continues to blight the lives of millions of people. Most of the criticism of UC stems from 3 problems: George Osborne used the introduction of UC to push through … Read more