Head of Digital Policy @whichuk | advising @CMAgovUK @ChathamHouse | own views | x-@techUK x-@ODIHQ x-@royalsociety x-@TuringInst | literary interests @mgzimeta
Joined July 2020
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I'm delighted to join @WhichUK heading up their Digital Policy team, covering fair and safe internet access, data, online markets, AI & consumer tech.
We're also recruiting for Principal to join my team 12-month FTC (FT/PT) - deadline for apps 14th Sept: careers.which.co.uk/jobs/pri…
Wow - all these years I'd only known the Latin version, "Ars longa, vita brevis" ("art is long, life is short"), which I took to mean that I wouldn't be able to read or write all the books I want to...
I hadn't known the original was "tekhnē". The sentiment does feel very Greek
(5) "Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine, prize-winning lyric essay/prose poem
My "way in" was this interview with systems engineer Professor @whkchun:
"What does it mean to understand race as techne—as something that makes things possible?"
artnews.com/art-in-america/i…
(4) "Voices from Chernobyl" by Svetlana Alexievich
It broke me.
Here's her 2015 @NobelPrize lecture describing the necessity of creating new artistic forms and new artistic languages to explore our new political, technological and cultural jeopardy:
nobelprize.org/prizes/litera…
(3) "How Does Government Listen to Scientists?" - essential book on science policy by my former boss Claire Craig (now Provost @QueensCollegeOx)
Grapples with the political realities of uncertainty & failure. I read it with this @JonParryHis/@LRB essay lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n08/…
(2) "The Birth of Tragedy From The Spirit of Music" by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Combines philosophy of science with philosophy of art - what's not to love? It was also widely denounced at the time, ending Nietzsche's academic career as soon as it began, which set him free...
(1) "Archaeologies of the Future" by Fredric Jameson
On "utopia" as a form of science fiction, and science fiction as the genre that discloses our political hopes and fears
We had a lot of fun with this at @ODIHQ with @JeniT @halcyene @enficcion @adjoa_a theodi.org/insights/projects…
I'm thrilled that this is now out in the world! @five_books is one of my favourite websites, my go-to for learning new things, so it was a delight to be interviewed by @UriBram on "The 5 Best Books On Tech Utopias and Dystopias"
Here's my 5, what would yours be, and why? 🧵
"It’s worth remembering that utopia is an impossibility, and yet we still feel compelled to think about it a lot." Tech policy expert Mahlet Zimeta (@TechMilly) recommends the best books on tech utopias and dystopias:
fivebooks.com/best-books/tec…
Fabulous news! + for anyone attending in-person or online, check out this @nesta_uk AI Explainer, which includes bias in AI
It's open to Comments so you can add your thoughts and feedbacks in the doc itself
docs.google.com/document/d/1…
Don't forget to check out this handy Explainer on AI that I've been working on with @nesta_uk which also explores how bias in AI happens
xitter.cf/nesta_uk/status/171899…
NEW: What is AI exactly? What are the building blocks? We’ve put together an explainer to try and reduce the barriers to participation in discussions about how best to harness digital tech, including AI🧵👇 #AIFringe
I've just found out that some more tickets for attending in person have been released! - Tickets are free: aifringe.org/
Today @AISummitFringe 1.30pm GMT I'll be on a panel on AI, Bias and Law with the brilliant @sarahchander/@edri (TIME AI 100) & Prof @SandraWachter5/ @OxGovTech, chaired by Herbert Swaniker/ @Clifford_Chance
Tickets have run out but the livestream is here: youtube.com/@AISummitFringe
Today @AISummitFringe 1.30pm GMT I'll be on a panel on AI, Bias and Law with the brilliant @sarahchander/@edri (TIME AI 100) & Prof @SandraWachter5/ @OxGovTech, chaired by Herbert Swaniker/ @Clifford_Chance
Tickets have run out but the livestream is here: youtube.com/@AISummitFringe
Dr Mahlet (Milly) Zimeta | now bsky & mstdn.social retweeted
#TheStandardPodcast
Musk at AI Safety Summit as Biden regulates tech
Plus!
Race to control self-learning tech
How AI’s used daily
China AI development race
Expert analysis with @ConnectedByData’s Dr @JeniT
🎧pod.fo/e/1fd99a
But then is it the right theme?
It feels a bit odd to claim both "UK can lead the world in this important topic" and, at the same time, "UK has almost no civil society capacity in this important topic".
(Notwithstanding the wider pushback about the importance of the topic...)
If I recall correctly, 3 recurring themes were (1) ordinary people's understanding of cybersecurity affected the likelihood of behaviour letting risks in; (2) national sec folk don't have capacity to carry everything; (3) cyber develops too quickly to be 100% contained by natsec.
I recently attended a roundtable on cybersecurity w/ a keynote from Lizzie Coles-Kemp/ @ISGnews, who explored a sociological approach with community empowerment, literacy & DEI at its core. Many others there (incl national sec folk) backed this holistic, collaborative model.