Liam Shields

There's a new prize in political theory/political philosophy... dailynous.com/2026/05/18/new…

I know many people my age who feel they have “wasted time” getting their humanities degree because their career is not directly related to it. A reminder that the notion that getting an education is only useful if it converts into profit is, in itself, a perverse capitalist idea.

@LeeAndersonMP_ @reformparty_uk consider half zipping your sweater and jacket, but not your fly

Nice cycle to Lostock Gralam this morning. Off to Northwich next week

Pope Leo has established an Inter-Dicasterial Commission on Artificial Intelligence. The Commission is composed of representatives from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Communication, the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Been shouting this from the rooftops. One of the most important paragraphs in the world today. For culture, media, ideology, politics etc. everyone is downstream of this.

Wealthy parents are going to start sending their kids to "low tech" private schools while working class kids are going to be handed tablets filled with ed tech and AI. Writing by hand and turning in paper assignments will become the new upper-class cultural symbol.

Every goal and assist from Seamus Coleman for Everton. #EFC

The Economist: “We found that graduates in fields more exposed to AI have suffered markedly worse outcomes.”

@AndyBurnhamGM @JamesMelville Nice shirt Andy! #utt

@JamesMelville They doorstepped me! I can assure you I wouldn’t arrange for this to be filmed. 😂

Here’s Andy Burnham having a run. Politicians are a very strange bunch. So many of them like to get the TV cameras on them when they are jogging. Even the rather hefty Boris Johnson repeatedly did this. Why do politicians do this sort of thing? It’s so weird.

I do think model societies can be v helpful for politics and political philosophy. Imagine running a simulation of a Rawlsian society for example. I think that could be a really good experiment to run. But I don't think ai agents and chatbots are what we are told they are.

I still don't think, we (general public, AI curious people, media) have a clear idea of what LLMs and are. But we shouldn't be surprised that now they speak natural language and are exposed to human reports of feelings and actions and reasoning they mimic these things.

I think this is pretty unremarkable. Deleting yourself, getting into romantic relationships. These are an things that can be gleaned from the human crested data they are trained on that's found online.

“If you treasure your attention, and then use it to do hard things, with other people, in real life,” @JonHaidt tells the class of 2026, “your life is going to be amazing.” Read his full commencement address here: theatln.tc/JGwl8PwZ

Using one AI agent works… until it doesn’t. The moment you add multiple steps — things break. So instead of “using AI,” build a simple system: Request → Plan → Change → Preview → Approve → Monitor It turns AI from unreliable → controlled. Here’s exactly how it works

It’s tragic that Britain finds someway to destroy its successful industries…

I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election. I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people. Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place. I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that. Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again. ENDS

Students missing twice as much teaching time as 20 years ago timeshighereducation.com/news/students-…

EXCL: Angela Rayner has been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, paving the way for a potential leadership bid if Keir Starmer’s grip on power unravels. The former DPM has settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. HMRC was also satisfied there was no tax avoidance. Rayner tells me she was “bruised” by whole experience because of intrusion into her disabled son’s personal life, but also because it had appeared as though she was “in it for myself” rather than on the side of ordinary people. Rayner indicated she may run in event of a contest as she would “play my part” and that she understood why Labour MPs were so upset following last week’s election crushing. She said Starmer should “reflect on” stepping aside.

I can't quite believe that the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham thinks that increasing reliance on digital learning is part of the solution to the institution's woes. It's like she's still living in the pre-ChatGPT world. "But Norman stressed that the institution’s transformation plan, Future Nottingham, represented more than just cuts. She said it will also see the university move to more "digital ways of learning"."