I agree, Rupert. If AI can create a genuinely better world, or a version of "Brave New World", which is humanity likely to easily acquiese to at this point in history? The latter, I fear.

Will the majority of humans choose to accept a "singularity of influence" from AI? Interesting question and tbh I think they will - at least to begin with, so cognitively exhausted are we. But those without that exhaustion will make very different choices. Market accordingly.

Love the description of events as "live podcasts". This is why I attend relatively few, so many are such passive experiences.

The real Great Replacement is that of fallible human gatekeepers with infallible algorithmic ones. It continues... and it's not the good kind of infallibility...

In the age of algorithmic echo chambers the phrase "no one is talking about" (used abundantly) might be one of the great signifiers of stupidity.

Just because you can't see anyone talking about something doesn't mean many aren't. You're just blissfully unaware of what you're not being shown.

I have 740 released movies in my Letterboxd watchlist.

Of those 103 are available to stream on my (quite a few) services. But inc buying/renting on those platforms it's 425.

We call this a streaming era, but it's amazing how much isn't available within subscriptions (or digitally at all).

Business websites with no blogs since 2018 suddenly have regular fortnightly articles.

When politics, economics, technology, society and business are simultaneously as fucked as they currently are, I'm really not going to beat myself up for not wanting any part of any of it.

I'll be available when anyone has any kind of worthwhile mission. Until then, jog on.

ICYMI with all the outages yesterday...

The crowd wisdom asset class Surveillance capitalism is entering a new era

Prediction markets seem set to displace political polling. What is surveillance capital up to?

open.substack.com/pub/exodus25...

Instant client firing if anyone does that to me.

AA driving schools ordered to refund 80,000 learner drivers over hidden fees UK motoring group fined £4.2m by CMA for not showing full price of lessons at time of booking

Every time I see a drip pricing story (or similar tactic) I think the agency that designed that website should be named and shamed alongside their client. They never are.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Italy has legislated that workers qualify for up to three days of paid leave annually when a pet requires urgent medical attention.

Can't really moan about AI if we want to be paid for not working in an ever-increasing number of ways.

I think we should be honest that, when it comes to social video content, progressives are spewing just as much dumbed-down shit as conservatives. I'm done with listening to the likes of Gary Stevenson, I was prepared to hear him out, but his shtick has worn very thin.

No, Gary. That's the world that prediction markets want to monetise and you're going to assist. The endless content, the world of casino. It is not a worthwhile mission.

Every keynote speaker or podcast guest should have their last 3 LinkedIn posts read out as their intro :)

Depends how skillful we get at prompting. But also, after a hard day's prompting, do we want to do more for entertainment? Only in a few cases I'd guess.

I see the sense in that, Will. A multiplication of what I call the "Thora Hird/Stannah Stairlifts" effect (although I'm going to need to update that reference soon)!

I should probably add that the exception to this is anything which is "relentless entertainment". That's doing great. Just not so much for anything educational, informative, thought-provoking or discursive.

I might be a tad contrarian here and say the power of parasocial relationships to influence System 1 thinking might be stronger than we care to admit. It's precisely because I don't want to think about bleach that I might outsource that decision to my favourite content provider.

Is Bluesky dying? An attempt to untangle a few different arguments around the future of Bluesky – if it has one

Social media feels in such a bad place at the moment.

From YouTubers reporting crashing view numbers, to the utter apathy of everyone towards LinkedIn, to this article about the struggles of BlueSky, it feels like a lot of platforms are not performing well at all.

open.substack.com/pub/techtris...

If Spurs' relegation happens that planned-but-binned SXSW talk on “How Tottenham is evolving beyond football to become a global cultural brand” is going to be one of my favourite examples of 2026 hubris being demolished.

Gambling is easy, right? Wrong: it turns out betting on sport is designed to disturb you | Barney Ronay Could I turn £10 into £1,000? I thought I could but was undone by the harsh reality and lost a little bit of my soul along the way

"If you need to bet to watch or chat or banter about sport, then you don’t really like sport. All you’re doing is guessing at an outcome you don’t care enough about otherwise, monetising a collective mono-culture boredom."

Absolutely.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...

Just seen an AI founder with a "marketing strategist replacement" platform admit they hated the design work done by AI for their website and hired an expert human.

I look forward to their clients discovering the same thing about creative strategy...

Digital "leech mania" Are we indulging in a new form of bloodletting in a quest for progress?

The Leech Mania of 1830's Europe vs. the AI mania of today. Are we in similar times, with similar narratives and characters? My latest article proposes that possibility, I hope you find it an interesting idea.

exodus25.substack.com/p/digital-le...

OpenAI pulls out of landmark £31bn UK investment package Artificial intelligence company cites high energy costs and regulation as reasons for putting Stargate project on hold

Another AI "investment" magically disappears. Is it us or was it always a load of smoke...

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Doug Allan, cameraman on David Attenborough’s Planet series, dies trekking in Nepal Wildlife film pioneer has died aged 74 ‘immersed in nature and surrounded by friends’, his representatives said

Immense sadness, Doug Allan was a true hero of mine, a wonderful recorder of nature's majesty.

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a...

Microsoft have updated Copilot T&Cs with this wording:

"Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk."

LOL to business users.

Consumers urged to ‘completely avoid’ UK-caught cod as population plunges Marine Conservation Society warns that fish numbers have reached dangerous point of decline

I note the latest luxury Brits must do without is... Cod. Perhaps add "Fish n' Chips Riots" to your 2026 bingo card?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A true spring double today: First flip flops day of the year AND first returning house martins sighted. Marvellous.