Have you played Esoteric Ebb? Is it actually good? the trailer was extremely nudge-nudge-wink-wink, which put me off.

Disco Elysium seems to manage to do all this, in interesting ways, and remain playable; one more reason why I keep thinking so highly of it.

Frankly embarrassing.

What about an unserious ground operation?

from Fraser Nelson:

Between him and Milton, the alternate spelling of your surname bodes very ill.

Abject racism by the UK government

Ooohh, LDAC is huge fun.

Well, yeah.

My refined theory for this specific instance:

On February 24th, VERTIC & @rusi.bsky.social hosted a book launch & panel discussion on Dr. John Walker's new book, Britiain & Weapons of Mass Destruction Verification. The book discusses Dr. Walker's three decades of contributions to the development of multiple arms control verification regimes.

Claude cannot actually feel, it can't think, it doesn't have opinions, it isn't self aware, it doesn't have context outside the immediate window you are using it with. By asking for its comment on war crimes you are legitimizing the idea that it can be used autonomously or for war at all. Stop it.

Yes, that's my understanding.

Agreed on the point of what audience you're trying to convince and of what.

As ever - how much verification is enough verification? (the answer is similar to how long is a piece of string, and how many angels can dance on the tip of a pin, turns out).

I'm not sure a standard of "no reasonable doubt" is particularly helpful, especially in absence of more direct measuring - say, an on-site inspection.

That said, I'm not a dark magician of seismology, myself, so I hear you.

Of course, if only there were a mechanism for on site inspections...

Friends have been looking into it, and what evidence there is seems convincing - though more needed.

Unfortunately it's true that we need an urgent discussion on how to defend the norms on test ban.

Of course, the first step towards that is not quitting the treaty in the first place.

Every time I see someone cite Yudkowsky as a thinker worthy of attention, I die a bit inside.

However, now that one of Those Guys has accused "the enemy" of saying it, I start to suspect they actually want to.

If only there was a treaty with clear provisions forbidding it and setting out how to verify such an allegation.

If only.

I'm sure that if anyone had aired this idea before now, both the US and China would have RUSHED to ratify it.

Alas, we only thing of good ideas way late.

I'll chip in to make it every month.

Happy new year!

Get started the right way (?) with this VERTIC/KCL on all things BWC #verification: proliferation scenarios, revisiting #VEREX and impact+challenges of #Emergingtech and #AI

Co-written by our own Hailey Wingo, @filippalentzos.bsky.social, Jez Littlewood,and myself.

Not on here as much, because I have a newborn

But:
International law matters

The norms strongmen scoff at were put in place as a bulwark against barbarism

What's happening in (to) Venezuela is illegal - regardless of what you think of Maduro

Equivocating on it by world leaders is appeasement

I know, incredible how

*check notes*

basically all major cities in continental Europe make it work.

Really makes you think.

This is a clown-car government elected on a seriousness ticket iandunt.substack.com/p/a-clown-go...

I'd be seriously surprised if terraced house approached anywhere near the density of even mid-rise residential flat blocks.

But again, I think that conversation - and that image of what a city looks like - is utterly unimaginable to brits! Not sure why, I put it down to culture clash mostly.

My most "you didn't grow up here" opinion is that entire neighborhoods of charming but inefficient and poorly maintained Victorian terrace houses should be demolished and replaced with 4-6 floors flat blocks (+ necessary parks and amenities) all over London and likely beyond.

This is very good indeed on how Mahmood talks about race. To suggest that immigration policy and racism are linked "reflects this government’s biggest failing, which is that it is essentially incapable of saying that racism is wrong, full stop".

Labour Peer Who Fled The Nazis Condemns His Party's Immigration Crackdown Lord Dubs said he was "lost for words".

Alf Dubs is a 92 year old man who spent his life fighting for refugees, and in particular for refugee children. He fought the Tories tooth and nail during their last three terms, only to see Labour adopt far-right policies on immigration.

“But to use children as a weapon ... I’m lost for words.”

🇰🇭 VERTIC is at the NACW of Cambodia for a 3-day workshop to assist with the drafting of biosecurity legal measures to further implement the BWC in the national system of Cambodia. We are looking forward to working with participants over the next three days! Thank you to @norad.no for their support!

Good to see some Labour MPs speaking out about today's announcement. I've already written to my own MP @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social and hope he will join the ranks of those doing the right thing.