Technology, society & impacts. Opinions are exactly that! Also @goagilegovt.bsky.social
50 Degrees North
Joined March 2012
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I wrote a happy birthday blog bit.ly/2TZLXx2 as #UKDigitalMarketplaceIs6 . It’s great to see transparency and success like this; desperately needed in public procurement (more please). The latest CCS Annual Report and Accounts is also worth a read alongside
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James Findlay retweeted
A most enjoyable @ComputerWeekly 60th anniversary event yesterday — here’s to the next 60! 🍾
ALT Bryan Glick gives a speech to an attentive audience
ALT 60th anniversary ComputerWeekly branded swag - a bag, notebook and pen
James Findlay retweeted
a brief look at what went wrong with data in government and a few ideas that might help get it back into a better place
ntouk.wordpress.com/2026/09/…
James Findlay retweeted
the curse of "website government" — "despite decades of grand political announcements, government remains trapped in a 'doom loop' of digitisation without transformation”
ntouk.wordpress.com/2026/09/…
James Findlay retweeted
This is a warning from the chair and co-founder of the highly respected UK AI Security Institute. I am slightly amazed it hasn’t attracted more attention, including from inside the government
James Findlay retweeted
The Economist’s “revelation” that AI assisted complaints and appeals are overwhelming the public sector isn’t exactly news.
The NAO already warned that “Organisations may...see significant increases in workload arising from AI-driven external activity (such as automated...online submissions)"
nao.org.uk/wp-content/upload…
James Findlay retweeted
"No one has the right to impersonate you for gain, yet impersonating a person’s preferences to sell to them or groom them is a significant and growing harm."
Chi Onwurah pushes to curb digital twins of real people bit.ly/4pX4bNH
James Findlay retweeted
"The week in review" — my brief look at current hot topics ranging from devolution to artificial intelligence, and from the latest machinery of government changes to digital identity
ntouk.wordpress.com/2026/07/…
James Findlay retweeted
"Hospitals using Palantir’s patient discharge tool have registered 'no noticeable improvement' in performance"
ft.com/content/cbd1a5ad-ffe7…
James Findlay retweeted
digital technologies are a gamechanger for devolution. They create options that were simply unavailable when the current model was developed in the last century—options that can help to strengthen democratic accountability while reducing duplication and lowering costs
James Findlay retweeted
So the electricity VAT cut is funded by scrapping the £1.8bn digital ID scheme. That's the £1.8bn figure that (presumably now former) DSIT permanent secretary Emran Mian said gov "did not recognise" and a budget that would not be set until the outcome of the consultation. Hmm...
James Findlay retweeted
"... the UK can design a better devolution settlement — one that makes democratic governance more effective, responsive, and cost-efficient, all while strengthening local democracy and UK cohesion in the process."
Viva la devolution – rebalancing power through technology bit.ly/4yuEsjl
James Findlay retweeted
Delivering better government after three decades of disappointment bit.ly/4ajwKOV
James Findlay retweeted
"Regular political pronouncements that the 'magic' of technology is about to fix an increasingly broken system ring increasingly hollow after 30 years"
Delivering better government after three decades of disappointment bit.ly/4ajwKOV
James Findlay retweeted
With the government announcing its consultation on digital ID, a few thoughts on why delegated authority is non-negotiable
ntouk.wordpress.com/2026/03/…
James Findlay retweeted
Amazon is experiencing AI-related outages, with a “trend of incidents” in recent months characterised by a “high blast radius” and “Gen-AI assisted changes.”
"Junior and mid-level engineers will now require more senior engineers to sign off any AI-assisted changes"
ft.com/content/7cab4ec7-4712…
James Findlay retweeted
Do you work or live in #Manchester? Join us for this FREE event!
Join us Mon 9 June, 6pm at #ManchesterMet for a free public lecture with Chi Onwurah MP: #Engineering #Science – How can the UK ensure science benefits us all?
Sign up epc.ac.uk/event/chionwurah20…
@ChiOnwurah #STEM
James Findlay retweeted
The second edition of 'Fracture. The collision between technology and democracy—and how we fix it' is out
a little more insight into what my new book, 'Fracture', is all about—in which I manage to include a reference to 'Hot Fuzz' and a clip of 'the greater good'
computerweekly.com/opinion/R…
James Findlay retweeted
.@suttontrust report internships are critical for career entry. Yet #workingclass graduates are 20% less likely to complete an internship than their wealthier peers.
I asked the Minister to ensure that career success is based on hard work and talent, not parents' social networks