BREAKING - @zackpolanski.bsky.social is telling defence surveillance corporation Palantir to 'pack its bags and get the hell out of the NHS'
www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2026...
Image: Graphic of an alert symbol with 'Access Denied' written below on a red background. Text: Exclusion by Design Report – "“A year after it was supposed to come into effect, the eVisa system is still beset with problems. This research highlights the human cost of these hostile digital systems that are flawed by design.” Quote by Sara Alsherif, Programme Manager – Open Rights Group
Fear, anxiety and stress. This is the experience of migrants under the digital immigration system.
A new report reveals how glitches, data errors and complex processes make it difficult to access to work, housing, study, travel and services.
Read more ➡️ www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releas...
Yet another reason for me to cite Stewart Lee in everyday conversation, though this time it's a thinkpiece and not a comedy set I know off by heart.
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
Very pleased to announce Kate Jones and I have been elected onto the Green Party Executive as the Trade Union Liaison!
@greenparty.org.uk @kate-jones.bsky.social #GreenParty #GreenPartyExecutive greenparty.org.uk/members/inte...
"Asked to generate intervention plans for struggling students, AI teacher assistants recommended more-punitive measures for hypothetical students with Black-coded names and more supportive approaches for students the platforms perceived as white" www.chalkbeat.org/2025/08/06/a...
The fact that the first people big tech want to chew up and spit out are the people who work for them - and how disempowered those people are about resisting their own demise - should be a signal warning.
Former Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has even said Starmer and Reeves should consider a wealth tax.
They can only bury their heads in the sand for so long.
Now is the time to tax the super-rich properly and close the inequality gap.
🗳️Green Party Internal Elections🗳️
@kate-jones.bsky.social & I are standing for Trade Union Liaison Officer!
Find out more about us here -
greenparty.org.uk/members/inte...
#GreenParty #InternalElections #TradeUnionLiaison
The 2025 @unison.org.uk U magazine should be landing with members soon and features an interview with me about AI, unions, workers and our public services.
Bottom line? It is absolutely vital that we organise and campaign on tech in public sector workplaces NOW ✊
More info at unison.org.uk/aihub
Who's really in control of AI? AI is changing the workplace fast and your rights matter.
📲 Know your rights unsn.uk/4isPBcd
THE GUARDIAN: Labour MP calls for swift AI regulation to ensure safety and maintain international credibility amid delays and rising tech concerns, including potential copyright violations linked to Trump's administration.
- by Kiran Staceyand Dan Milmo
Keynote from DSIT'S Maggie Jones emphasised the role of standards in fulfilling the gov's vision for widespread AI in the UK's public sector.
Reflecting on what this rollout will mean for @unison.org.uk members - and how we can ensure workers are involved in the development of standards.
Stage at AI Standards Hub Global Summit, with Baroness Maggie Jones on the stage delivering a keynote address.
Representing @unison.org.uk members at the AI Standards Hub Global Summit today and tomorrow 🌍
The suit exchange should go down in history showing how brilliantly sharp and funny Zelensky is and how he put Vance down (all in his second language).
Vance: Why don’t you wear a suit? You never wear a suit.
Zelensky: When the war is over I’ll wear one. Maybe one like yours or maybe a better one.
Unbelievable. Donald Trump has been invited to a state visit to the UK. We should not be rolling out the red carpet to celebrate this man. Agree? Add your name to the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...
I’m just going to say it - it’s been pretty distasteful to me that other than oblique references there’s not been clear discussion at this Paris AI summit about the impact of Trump and Musk on the US. Why are people acting like shit is normal? 1/
Everyone is talking about how #ArtificialIntelligence will transform #teaching & #learning, but perhaps the biggest potential for impact will be on school administrative functions & support staff, writes @kate-jones.bsky.social from @unison.org.uk in SecEd: buff.ly/4hPdNVv #edtech
This plan is long on ideas for Big Tech & short on how to help people transition to the AI economy. It's a missed opportunity to address the things that people are really worried about AI: jobs, trust, power. Instead it's 50 points of ✨: like data centres = growth. Politically, it seems tone-deaf.
“If AI is to play a positive role in public services, it must be managed carefully and responsibly. That means proper input from workers and all parts of society to ensure it’s not only the voice of big tech being heard.”
www.unison.org.uk/news/2025/01...
Reading this from the PM, I think my assessment is right. This isn't so much a technology plan or a delivery strategy but a shop window for investment. on.ft.com/4gNko2L
Hearing about a public body that's just bought Microsoft Copilot licenses – because a senior leader thinks everyone should be using AI! – and told their staff to tell them what they could be used for.
No policies, no training, no method of assessment about impact or for learning about what works.
Be a gem and welcome our tech research and policy centre @mctd.bsky.social to the Bluesky party. Follow us for new thinking about AI, social media, online platforms and their impact on work, trust and the environment.
Omg perfect, thank you!
So excited to see this work grow in UNISON.
Great way to start my Saturday (also, incidentally, my birthday - pub recs in Birmingham v welcome)
and 4) Workers are *so* interested in AI and playing their part in its rollout.
There's a real appetite for dialogue and learning about new technologies, and employers have no excuse for not engaging with workers and unions when they're introduced.
3) Workers want technology to work for them.
The activists there today weren't afraid of AI taking their jobs - they were afraid of AI making their jobs worse.
2) Employers aren't consulting with staff when rolling out new tech.
The only employers who had engaged in any sort of "consultation" exercise had done it after the fact - informing unions of decisions already made.
Key takeaways!
1) Algorithmic management is everywhere.
Not one rep there wasn't aware of some form of performance management, location tracking or task assignment software being used at their workplace.
So useful to talk to UNISON's reps in energy - nearly all of whom work in customer contact and call centres, and are experiencing rapid introduction of new AI technologies across their workplaces.
Got to run a session at @unisontheunion.bsky.social's energy branch seminar today in Birmingham, talking to union activists about AI in workplaces and implications for workers (see: photo of me dramatically pointing at headlines)
