Prologue So, I’m going to be 60, or if you’re reading this I am 60. It doesn’t feel momentous, I’m not even sure it should be. When I was growing up it did. I was the youngest child of parents who had me much later than most of their peers. So when I hit 20,…
Read moreKind: Notes
short content: a post or status update with just plain content and typically without a title
Your Brain wasn’t built by a vendor!
Sunday morning. I rarely read newspapers anymore, so to get that same feeling of existential dread I was scrolling LinkedIn. There is a post by an “evangelist”, I’m not linking because why would I, I am not interested in debate (especially when any arguments put forward will probably have been generated). First of all let…
Read moreNew year, new low in accountability in public discourse
Well it’s new year, and I was going to blog about some of the thinking I’d done around Postdigital leadership (maybe later) but instead I am struck that we are reaching new lows in public discourse and debate. Free speech is not a shield for abuse; it is a principle built on mutual respect and…
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Climate, AI, and Technosolutionism
I’ve been working in technology and higher education for so long that sometimes I forget that I have a background in environmental science. This morning I was listening to Curious Cases with Hannah Fry and Dara O’Briain, the show was all about bubbles, soap bubbles. At one point the pair talked about giant space bubbles!…
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Toxicity and Responsibility: Is it time to reassess institutional engagement with Twitter (X)
About a year ago I left Twitter (or X), a decision based on concerns about the platform’s increasingly toxic environment. The decision was right, and has been borne out by the recent far right riots in the UK, where misinformation, outright lies, and the way in which the platform as allowed racists and nazis to…
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Some small thoughts on climate change.
Working in Higher Ed we often despair of the way people ignore the warning signs of climate change, we work at dispelling the misinformation of climate deniers. But when we are told that Gen AI is contributing to climate change, we shrug our shoulders and carry on. The energy and water consumption of AI technologies,…
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Push the Narrative Back!
“Why won’t you let us innovate?!” “You are holding us back!” “If we have to do the things you say, we won’t be able to change anything!” “You’re wrong, we’re right, and we are going to ignore all your concerns!” “Disabled Students will just have to make do with the content they can access!” It’s…
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ACCOUNT SUSPENDED: YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE
Some Background Yesterday was remembrance Sunday in the UK, as always it falls nearest the the 11th of November. I am sure people know, but the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month was the time at which “the Great War” ended. For over 100 years in countries around the world the…
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Dave Cormier, Musk, and Climate Change: A review of “Learning in a Time of Abundance”.
Back in June 2023 Musk Tweeted What has this tweet, and climate change got to do with Dave Cormier and his new book? Let’s start with Cormier’s Book. I’m oversimplifying his arguments, but essentially he argues (very well) that we are living in a time of information abundance. This means that it can seem that…
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If you set a minimum standard…
… that’s what they’ll strive for. I was recently asked how I would change something to make the accessibility elements more in line with inclusive principles. The honest answer is I don’t know. The problem is that the purpose of the thing was to get people to change things, to change practice or technology etc. And…
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