Francis Bacon

Consultant @publicdigitalhq. Interested in technology, innovation, science, society, better government, better charities. Mastodon: @[email protected]

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

Interesting ideas for how monopolies for local gov digital services could be disrupted and those services rebuilt on sustainable open source components.
https://t.co/tU8p65GKQP

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

So much of the UK needs improving. But we don't have money to throw at problems, so the attention needs to be on how we do things instead. This is the clearest argument I've seen for how we can improve our public services. By @nesta_uk and @PublicDigitalHQ https://t.co/dWV6ybDNF8

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

If anyone was in doubt about ai changing everything

[Marques Brownlee @MKBHD]

Every single one of these videos is AI-generated, and if this doesn't concern you at least a little bit, nothing will

The newest model: https://t.co/zkDWU8Be9S

(Remember Will Smith eating spaghetti? I have so many questions)

[Jonathan Ware @ReassessHistory]

@arthistorynews It's a pivotal moment, and the Museums Association published the following.

As, you know, there can't be "free and creative" choice in just, err... copying images.

The general market trend is slowly towards Creative Commons anyway... /26

https://t.co/AGMSmT8NjG

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

My reflections from UK Charity Camp - thanks @neontribe for organising https://t.co/XVAAvGr72A

[UKCharityCamp @ukcharitycamp]

Last few tickets available for #UKCharityCamp next week.

If you can get to Birmingham next Thursday and want to join an unconference for the #ThirdSector, drop us an email 🙂

📧 [email protected]

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

@marxculture Lasses

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

This is interestingly the opposite of what a lot of commentators say is needed in UK. Also poses a lot of questions about future democratic control, if local and middle tiers are left only with 'in person delivery'

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

AI, big data and robotics create a further centralising force in government (from local->central gov). Academic paper from Dunleavy and Margetts: https://t.co/c36SKHOX23

[Simon Willison @simonw]

I'm old enough to remember "Photoshop could never be a web app"

[Good Law Project @GoodLawProject]

“My action was to literally uphold the law,” she said. “This is a gross abuse of state power. It is a chilling attack on freedom of speech and should concern everyone.”

Trudi Warner now faces contempt of court proceedings – just for holding a placard.
https://t.co/MrNwomAgJM

[Clare Moriarty @ClareMoriarty]

I'm looking for an Executive Director for Digital to join my top team @CitizensAdvice. We're a people-centred service with digital at the heart of all we do, from advice to the data that powers our amazing advocacy, and a big strategic agenda. Interested? https://t.co/buEKB7Cat8

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

As generative AI creates content that proliferates online, does it pollute the very lake from which it drinks? Presuming it is less valuable to train on inauthentic data. Maybe this will even constrain the ability to train future models?

[@jamestplunkett.bsky.social @jamestplunkett]

A Sunday game for digital geeks:
What institutions are we missing when it comes to public digital infrastructure?
I’m thinking long-term - ones we should build in the next 10 years. My starter list to critique/build on: 🧵

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

https://t.co/hRTbYd8sRq

[dxw @dxw]

.@HarryTrimble explores using #DigitalProof to make delivering and accessing public services easier.

The more public services someone needs, the more they have to prove facts about themselves. It's a slog for government too. So, what can we do?

https://t.co/KQI2BEA6qD

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

Interesting use of openness as a competitive strategy - Meta, Microsoft and Amazon release large openly licensed map data https://t.co/AtsHbyDxP0

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

Overall - 9% chance of catastrophe by 2100

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

Superforecasters - people who are extremely good at making quantitative predictions - consistently rate catastrophe/extinction risk from AI as much lower than AI experts do https://t.co/KNXJWcJ3rP

[Francis Bacon @andeggs]

This is brilliant - 5 simple heuristics for making change on big and complex problems https://t.co/zEy7Rtwomn