Category: Uncategorized
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Three reminders that are helping me engage (more) critically with ‘AI’ headlines
Have you had a conversation with chatgpt, marvelled at how well-constructed, even…friendly its output feels, then read about how it is a broadly unregulated global information machine that hallucinates facts and is known to be racist? Have you come across the (admittedly controversial) tech industry open letter calling for a temporary pause on AI development,…
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Distributed ledgers, transparency and the enduring role of trust
I’m writing this from somewhere in the guts of a house sale and purchase, fingers crossed, touching wood etc. It’s an extremely fortunate position to be in, so this is definitely not a moan about personal admin, nor a pitch for how smart contracts and digital identities could drive efficiencies in conveyancing. There are (plenty…
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The paradox of sustainable online shopping
It hit in the greengrocer’s this week. The first wave of festive nostalgia, Wham’s Last Christmas, unmistakeable even on a little shop radio. Though, increasingly I’m finding the jingle-bell memories of past Christmases are tempered with a bit of ethical reflection. The climate emergency, the cost of living crisis, imminent recession…there are so many reasons…
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Forget Twitter, what do we really want?
I’m writing this in quasi-quarantine, thanks to a visit from what we are assuming is chicken pox. It’s been a bit like a return to the lockdown days, only we’ve doubled our number of children and one of them seems to have been prematurely promoted into a leadership role. Even those of us who’ve spent…
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Post-capitalism: part 2 of potentially very many
This isn’t the post I was going to write this week. Inspired by a reasonably gruelling spin around the Stratford Westfield centre for one pair of kids’ shoes, I had something sort-of lined up on whether shopping online, especially second-hand, is as environmentally conscious as we might dream it to be. I’ll return to it…
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Bridging the digital divide is a societal imperative
This last week or so, my phone has started really pushing a specific category of Facebook reel on me. Mostly: other mothers’ daily routines. This isn’t too surprising because I’m on maternity leave, and anyone familiar with the demands of baby-care will know how strangely compatible it is with watching a 30-second video of someone…
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Five thoughts on (digital) communities
I have developed a time consuming Rightmove habit. In my defence, I’m wrangling with where and how we plan to bring up our freshly minted kids. For years, if you’d asked me what I thought was important about a home I would usually have said one thing: a strong sense of community. (Well, maybe two…
Digital Watch 