Alex Butterworth

It’s really important to remember that there were many critics in the 90s/00s (and earlier) who were warning people not to fall for the “age of universal knowledge” techno-utopian hype. They were called Luddites for warning that we would wind up exactly where we have wound up.

Just under two weeks to go until the amazing THE IDEOLOGICAL BRAIN by @LeorZmigrod is published in the UK (@VikingBooksUK) and in the US (@HenryHolt). Lots of events coming up including Oxford, Cambridge, Hay, Bath, Cheltenham and Charleston (@ggatehouse @mariannaspring).

As we continue to master our use of AI, we will discover how to blend (see: conceptual blending) not just single concepts together, but rather entire ontologies. This is conceptual alchemy in the large.

deep research the kind of product that quietly rewires entire industries overnight. analysts, researchers, consultants—suddenly a lot of them are either redundant or scrambling to redefine their value. if something like this can be democratized for $200/month, the current knowledge work hierarchy collapses. if anyone can access highly sophisticated insights & analysis instantly, then traditional notions of authority or credentialism in fields like finance or academia erode fast. gatekeepers lose relevance, & knowledge itself becomes hyper-commoditized.

The worldview of MAGA hacks or slightly older techbros is shaped by 1990s-2010s scifi, fantasy and gaming. Understanding these sources is as relevant to understanding politics now as reading Homer, Goethe or Balzac is to understanding the 19th century European ruling class.

These beautiful bound proofs have arrived, just in time for Christmas, and on the second anniversary of @nellstevens excitedly showing me the first work-in-progress pages of a novel about forgery and authenticity — in art and in love. @ScribnerUK rebeccacarterliterary.com/news/bound-pro…

The MOD is externally advertising for a Defence Digital lead to engage with the DOD on AI and cyber issues, in Washington DC and is paying £45k ($57k) per year. The average salary in Washington DC is currently $79.5k per year...

One way of looking historically at the diverging trajectories between ISIS and HTS is to consider whether if the former is jihad led by Iraqi ex-Baathist officers then the latter is what happens to the concept of jihad when led by sons of Syrian merchants

@rooftoptilda Only if your host provides the wrong top for the bottom (if you're referring to the dairy)

Our 2024 Big Give Match Funding Campaign is taking place right now! We are raising money for Make Shift, our programme which supports around 600 young people a year to develop a creative career. Read on to find out more about how you can support 💚💛🧡watershed.co.uk/biggive

This is a highly original strand of short-form audio programme making and if you haven't yet listened, dip in at bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01… You might also want to join in calls to save it and to support more varied and creative audio storytelling at the BBC.

Eight years from Brexit to this. "HMG had not ... sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes or any activity that has had a material impact on an election, for example influencing results"

UPDATE: Confirmed. Elections have been annulled and will be repeated from round 1, almost certainly without Georgescu (which is likely to be arrested for treason).

@MarkPiesing Thank you. Yes, in the sense that I'm used to skating on precarity and know that my contracts are about to end. It's more that I wonder how far one might extrapolate from this local observation.

@AlxButterworth Hope you are ok Alex!

When both your current employers (public sector institutions) announce major redundancy programmes a fortnight before Christmas, a chill wind is surely blowing.

The new Apple iOS update is what happens when you have 10,000 random non-essential designers employed and they need SOMETHING to do and they try to justify their job by making things overly complex to make their mark on the world with no thought for the end user.

The situation: My hardworking stepson has been offered an interview for Law at Oxford. He is the only applicant at his large comprehensive to apply & achieve this. The school cannot help him 😭 Can anyone here offer to help/ chat to him? Msg below & I will follow for DM 🙏🏾🤞🏾

Very happy to announce that I have been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant @ERC_Research of €2 million for the project 'Wild Rubber in the Industrial Age.' Thanks to everyone who helped along the way, especially @veggiezabeth

Photo of all the workers who have spent the last five years restoring the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris ✨💫 🇫🇷

‘He was rich; he was a gentleman; he was a scholar; he was celebrated as a clever and accomplished person. His memory lived on after his death.’ Fara Dabhoiwala on uncovering the life of the 18th-century Jamaican scientist Francis Williams: lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/…