Calum Rutter

Writer and journalist.

[White Fellas For Kamala 2026 @BeigeFrequency]

I think AI bros are the best evidence we have that some people don't have a "soul." They fundamentally don't understand the point of art or why people engage with it.

[yoshimi battles video game addiction @nise_yoshimi]

reactionary nationalism's core idea is that the nation is being taken advantage of by a rigged international system and must reassert itself. This is an especially stupid idea when adopted by the US, the nation that the international system is rigged *in favour of*

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

If AI slop can’t even interest children, perhaps adults who are impressed by it should take a look at themselves.

It feels like there’s a real fight coming to protect human creativity from the chronically imaginationless and their toys.

[Alex Volkov @ AI Engineer @altryne]

On the topic of our kids having AI friends (long)

I got my 6yo Daughter an AI toy for her b-day that arrived for Xmas instead. She unpacked it all excited, I explained that this isn't like other toys, that this one has AI in it (she of course knows what AI is, seen the things I've built and interacted with them, chatted with chatGPT and Santa mode, knows that daddy is "doing AI" etc')

So a very interesting experiment happened after @_magicaltoys reached out and fixed the issue referenced below (very quick turnaround! thank you!)

So...she played with this Dino, chatted with it, and then... learned to turn it off, and doesn't want it to talk anymore. She still loves playing with it, dressed it up, it now has paper shoes and a top hat that we made together, but every time I ask her if she'd like to chat with it, she says no.

The few times I turned it back on, and she did speak with it, she chatted for a bit, and then just... turned it off again, not wanting to engage at all.

I gently asked why, and wasn't able to really understand where's the resistance, it's not weird to her. In fact, at one point she was pretending the dino was a baby, and it was turned on, so I told her, let's ask it to.. pretend to be a baby, and it obliged and said ok. So we asked it to cry. Granted @_magicaltoys don't yet have the amazing advanced voice mode like openAI in there, so it did it's best but it sounded weird, which made her laugh really hard. it was basically making crying sounds like talking.

And also, there are some technical issues still, the voice is sometimes choppy, so it could be that it's still uncanny for her?

I'm honestly fascinated about why the AI aspect of this toy didn't connect with my 6yo (and btw, I have a very curious 4yo boy, who could give 0 fucks about this toy also, he's very observant, and usually wants everything his sister has, wanted 0 time with Dino)

Is this uncanny valley? a couple of times she didn't want to talk to it, and came to me to whisper to ask me to turn it off (the same happened a couple of times with chatGPT Santa mode btw now thinking about it)

Is this just now knowing what to say? 🤔

It could be the simple fact that she was playing with some other things, and the toy kept wanting to engage and take the attention to itself vs the game that she was playing.

I know that I have a sample size of 1 kid here, and I'm sure many many things will change, as she'll grow and learn to interact with more AIs in different forms, but the first "toy" contact was interestingly almost a complete failure (from the AI perspective, the Toy experience as I said, was dope)

Anyway, this area is def unexplored, will keep you guys posted how this goes and if she shows interest or picks it up again.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

We could solve a lot of the world’s problems by jangling keys 24/7 in front of the kind of person who thinks this is good

[Blaine Brown @blizaine]

Image the possibilities with @runwayml Gen3’s new Expand feature. This almost seems impossible. 🤯 (view full on mobile)

[Gráinne Cuffe @Grainne_Cuffe]

I’ve been investigating how accessible councils are for people suffering homelessness approaching in-person to get help

https://t.co/tsS3pnycFI

[Medical Aid for Palestinians @MedicalAidPal]

"The world must not be silent. Our political leaders must not continue to give the green light for atrocities to be committed in Gaza, and should remember their Responsibility to Protect Palestinian civilians from these crimes."

4/5

[Jess Clark @jclarkjourno]

I spoke to victims who have lost thousands of pounds after being scammed on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as Meta is facing pressure from MPs, banks and consumer groups to take action against fraud perpetrated on its platforms https://t.co/HENRaPSmaY

[Public Finance @public_finance_]

Woking issues section 114 notice

Huge debt and failing investments have led to Woking Borough Council’s interim finance director issuing a section 114 notice, halting all non-essential spending.

https://t.co/0h1x6qk74V

[Andy Fitchet @AndyFitchet]

Don't you just love the student loan system? I earn just about average wage and the interest means I'll never pay it back and I'll just miss an extra £1200 a year out of my salary forever.
I'd understand if there wasn't interest and I was just paying back but this is ridiculous.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

@weirdlilguys

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

I’m pretty against Musk owning Twitter, but at least it’s funny

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Because it consists of billions of bidirectional interactions per day, Twitter can be thought of as a collective, cybernetic super-intelligence

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

Any MP who talks like this about home-building needs to be asked: do you hope your young constituents are forced to leave the area to find somewhere to live, or do you hope your old constituents die to free up the existing homes?

[Rachel Cunliffe @RMCunliffe]

Wendy Morton just talked about homes being "dumped" in her constituency.

That's how she refers to the possibility that young people might be able to afford to buy a home near her. "Dumped."

And the Conservatives wonder why there's young people don't vote for them.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

If Kwasi Kwarteng is sacked/"resigns", he'll have been chancellor for just 39 days. He'll be spared the ignominy of being the UK's shortest-serving post-Victorian chancellor, but only because Iain Macleod died in office.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

Overheard at Tory conference: “our current slogan [get Britain moving] sounds like we’re advertising a laxative”

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

Admirable commitment to The Bit

[Beth Rigby @BethRigby]

Quick update from Treasury sources on chancellor and the economic plan. Told CX not resigning and there will be "no reversal of policy"

[JP Spencer @JP_Spencer_]

Very excited to have this piece published yesterday by @public_finance_ on the role of the Treasury. This debate is an important one at the heart of our constitution. But we need to be clear on how decisions are made and consider reform. (1/11)

https://t.co/pzlNlqEyMC

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

To accept even the premise of monarchy reduces us all. Can we not imagine a better world than this?

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

I’ve tried not to tweet about it because this app is a dead end, but the longer it goes on the harder it’s become, so: this country is debasing itself right now. We should not have a monarchy.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos.

[Calum Rutter @CalumRutter]

I simply refuse to learn any more about imperial measurements than I already do, and if that limits my participation in British society then, honestly, all the better.