Ben

New paper & surprising result. LLMs transmit traits to other models via hidden signals in data. Datasets consisting only of 3-digit numbers can transmit a love for owls, or evil tendencies. 🧵

It does.

That line - “British politicians do not see problems to be solved, only perceptions to be managed” - gets uncomfortably close to the truth. Modern politics isn’t about problem-solving; it’s about narrative control. The incentives are fundamentally broken.

I don’t get how this isn’t obvious to all concerned. When you require by law that pensions sometimes grow faster than the economy but never slower, what direction do you think pension spending as a % of the economy can go??

I feel like no one comprehends how insane the triple lock system is The cost of the triple lock of the British pension system may very well surpass British GDP during the time that I’m alive

Can’t help but think there’s little point sorting out pensions until the cost of living crisis (and housing in particular) is addressed.

Bastani’s journey from Corbynite to nativist has been interesting to watch.

The asylum spend on this one hotel is £11m per *year* Compare to the Stretford mall regeneration which will redevelop an ugly 27 acre space and deliver - 800 new homes - 140,000 sqft of commercial space - entirely new streets Enabled via £17.6m of funding. Decline is a choice

Another stunning article from @The_Fence_Mag

"Ban Cars" is a losing argument. Here's the pitch that wins: "We should build neighborhoods and cities where cars are an option, but not a necessity. Neighborhoods where you can walk your child to the park, and make a quick pitstop at the grocery store on your way home."

You might imagine that there is a balancing going on. There is not. One of the things people underestimate in environmental matters is how total these protections are once invoked. The six dead humans lie outside of any environmental calculations.

😲😲😲😲

This is the thing that niggles. We’re lowering voting to 16, just as society is increasingly infantilising young people. Lowering the voting age to 16 in this social climate, only makes sense if you see it as an act of cynical gerrymandering and nothing else. But I’m not…

Boost supply not demand in a supply-constrained market really should be economics & public policy 101. It’s so depressing.

Administrators/accountants take note if you had your way 3 great last day finish test matches would never have happened There should never be a discussion ever again on 4 day #TestCricket Put a line through it in your note pads, forget it! Hope you enjoyed the drama like we did

Properly taxing land/property is the “wealth tax” we definitely need. Incredibly unfair council tax and counter-productive stamp duty need to go! Great to see @matthewsyed making the case.

A Guardian columnist argues that widespread air-conditioning is 'philosophically problematic' because 'the screaming urgency to tackle the collective issue of a world on fire can recede slightly.' She has an AC unit herself, of course.

I've watched this happen in real time over the past 20 years. Britain is a mess. Not unfixable, but totally broken in the short and medium term. Failing.

It’s worth noting that “life and safety” and “accessibility” are two of the top reasons for why this is now illegal today. Yet this is such a quintessentially human space. In our blind pursuit of “making sure nothing ever goes wrong”—we’ve completely dehumanized our habitat.

Why do so few British homes have ACs? 1. 'Part O' Building Regs treat AC as a last resort. 2. Heat pumps that cool too are excluded don't get green grants. 3. Installing a reversible heat pump can leave you with a lower EPC score increasing the cost of your mortgage.