Bijan Parsia
@bparsia.bsky.social
I am a Prof of Comp Sci at Uni of Manchester, UK. UCU NEC disabled member rep (2023-24). UCUCommons. All posts are my own behalf alone. He/him/they.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
But it’s NOT a bubble or worthless tech
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates on.ft.com/4ij0yh8
OpenAI needs to raise at least $207bn by 2030 so it can continue to lose money, HSBC estimates
A burning platform
on.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:02 PM
But it’s NOT a bubble or worthless tech
Honestly I don’t know what they are thinking. In this environment where so many institutions are financially fragile AND the government puts more systematic strain at every turn, a single failure could cascade through the system.
'“During that roundtable, we heard that a provider could collapse before the end of the year,” she [Helen Hayes] said. As the hearing was in late November, this was “essentially a warning of an imminent collapse of a higher education institution”, she added.' 1/3
MPs told collapse of UK higher education provider could happen by Christmas
Education Committee chair says situation is “not hypothetical”, but skills minister and regulator rebut claim
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Education Committee chair says situation is “not hypothetical”, but skills minister and regulator rebut claim
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Honestly I don’t know what they are thinking. In this environment where so many institutions are financially fragile AND the government puts more systematic strain at every turn, a single failure could cascade through the system.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
'But skills minister Jacqui Smith (pictured right), whose brief includes higher education, and the Office for Students chief executive Susan Lapworth disputed that a provider was on the brink.
“I do not think that before the end of the year there is an imminent collapse,” Smith said.' 3/3
“I do not think that before the end of the year there is an imminent collapse,” Smith said.' 3/3
November 25, 2025 at 4:41 PM
'But skills minister Jacqui Smith (pictured right), whose brief includes higher education, and the Office for Students chief executive Susan Lapworth disputed that a provider was on the brink.
“I do not think that before the end of the year there is an imminent collapse,” Smith said.' 3/3
“I do not think that before the end of the year there is an imminent collapse,” Smith said.' 3/3
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
'“During that roundtable, we heard that a provider could collapse before the end of the year,” she [Helen Hayes] said. As the hearing was in late November, this was “essentially a warning of an imminent collapse of a higher education institution”, she added.' 1/3
MPs told collapse of UK higher education provider could happen by Christmas
Education Committee chair says situation is “not hypothetical”, but skills minister and regulator rebut claim
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
Education Committee chair says situation is “not hypothetical”, but skills minister and regulator rebut claim
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
MPs told collapse of UK provider could happen by Christmas - Research Professional News
Education Committee chair says situation is “not hypothetical”, but skills minister and regulator rebut claim
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:41 PM
'“During that roundtable, we heard that a provider could collapse before the end of the year,” she [Helen Hayes] said. As the hearing was in late November, this was “essentially a warning of an imminent collapse of a higher education institution”, she added.' 1/3
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.
www.cnbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
ah yes, the people yearn for the dersh
"elevate charismatic figures such as Alan Dershowitz"
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November 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
ah yes, the people yearn for the dersh
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Efficiency is at the forefront of my teaching practice. Especially when I get a roomful of students in floods of laughter about rotary printing presses and c19–20th American copyright law. Pure, uncut efficiency.
"A system built on specialisation, efficiency", that right there is the death knell for the current university system in the UK, if (big if) government pushes it through. They actively don't want HE to grow, they will intervene, apparently, to help it shrink.
per this morning's education committee.
per this morning's education committee.
November 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Efficiency is at the forefront of my teaching practice. Especially when I get a roomful of students in floods of laughter about rotary printing presses and c19–20th American copyright law. Pure, uncut efficiency.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Yet again, the OfS proving both that it's useless for its core purpose & actively damaging to the sector.
November 25, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Yet again, the OfS proving both that it's useless for its core purpose & actively damaging to the sector.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Asked how many institutions have reported less than 30 days funding (statutory obligation), Lapworth says "yes", but cannot find the number, goes searching for it.
November 25, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Asked how many institutions have reported less than 30 days funding (statutory obligation), Lapworth says "yes", but cannot find the number, goes searching for it.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
here's your headline:
They (OfS) still expect 45% of ALL universities to report a deficit this academic year. They are not accounting for "significant variation" across the system (i.e. different types and sizes of institution).
They (OfS) still expect 45% of ALL universities to report a deficit this academic year. They are not accounting for "significant variation" across the system (i.e. different types and sizes of institution).
November 25, 2025 at 10:16 AM
here's your headline:
They (OfS) still expect 45% of ALL universities to report a deficit this academic year. They are not accounting for "significant variation" across the system (i.e. different types and sizes of institution).
They (OfS) still expect 45% of ALL universities to report a deficit this academic year. They are not accounting for "significant variation" across the system (i.e. different types and sizes of institution).
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
"this government has now given certainty to the universities about their funding"
NO YOU HAVEN'T, you are LITERALLY raiding the international fees income TOMORROW
NO YOU HAVEN'T, you are LITERALLY raiding the international fees income TOMORROW
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 AM
"this government has now given certainty to the universities about their funding"
NO YOU HAVEN'T, you are LITERALLY raiding the international fees income TOMORROW
NO YOU HAVEN'T, you are LITERALLY raiding the international fees income TOMORROW
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
"A system built on specialisation, efficiency", that right there is the death knell for the current university system in the UK, if (big if) government pushes it through. They actively don't want HE to grow, they will intervene, apparently, to help it shrink.
per this morning's education committee.
per this morning's education committee.
November 25, 2025 at 10:06 AM
"A system built on specialisation, efficiency", that right there is the death knell for the current university system in the UK, if (big if) government pushes it through. They actively don't want HE to grow, they will intervene, apparently, to help it shrink.
per this morning's education committee.
per this morning's education committee.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
This sentence was taken out of a lecture they commissioned, reviewed through the full editorial process, and recorded four weeks ago in front of 500 people in the BBC Radio Theatre.
I was told the decision came from the highest levels within the BBC. /2
I was told the decision came from the highest levels within the BBC. /2
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
This sentence was taken out of a lecture they commissioned, reviewed through the full editorial process, and recorded four weeks ago in front of 500 people in the BBC Radio Theatre.
I was told the decision came from the highest levels within the BBC. /2
I was told the decision came from the highest levels within the BBC. /2
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Cancer remission.
xkcd.com/3172/
xkcd.com/3172/
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Cancer remission.
xkcd.com/3172/
xkcd.com/3172/
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Gallego to Hegseth: "You will never ever be half the man that Sen. Kelly is. You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. I can't wait until you are no longer the secretary of defense."
November 24, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Gallego to Hegseth: "You will never ever be half the man that Sen. Kelly is. You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. I can't wait until you are no longer the secretary of defense."
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
“A few months later, at 107 years old, she and her brother traveled to Ghana.
“Somehow,” she wrote of the trip, “it has made me feel more whole, and sure of my belonging in this life and on this planet.”
“Somehow,” she wrote of the trip, “it has made me feel more whole, and sure of my belonging in this life and on this planet.”
November 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM
“A few months later, at 107 years old, she and her brother traveled to Ghana.
“Somehow,” she wrote of the trip, “it has made me feel more whole, and sure of my belonging in this life and on this planet.”
“Somehow,” she wrote of the trip, “it has made me feel more whole, and sure of my belonging in this life and on this planet.”
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
“She found some healing during the massacre’s centennial, when Michael Thompson, the co-founder of a social media company… asked her if there was something she had always wanted but never had. Without hesitation, she blurted out that she wanted to go to Africa and meet “real live African people.”
November 24, 2025 at 10:40 PM
“She found some healing during the massacre’s centennial, when Michael Thompson, the co-founder of a social media company… asked her if there was something she had always wanted but never had. Without hesitation, she blurted out that she wanted to go to Africa and meet “real live African people.”
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
“From the night of the massacre onward, Ms. Fletcher was never again able to sleep comfortably in a bed, she wrote…
“When I sleep, it is never very deep or for very long because of the anxiety and the things I see,” she wrote. “Imagine having the same horrible nightmare every night for 100 years.”
“When I sleep, it is never very deep or for very long because of the anxiety and the things I see,” she wrote. “Imagine having the same horrible nightmare every night for 100 years.”
Viola Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:39 PM
“From the night of the massacre onward, Ms. Fletcher was never again able to sleep comfortably in a bed, she wrote…
“When I sleep, it is never very deep or for very long because of the anxiety and the things I see,” she wrote. “Imagine having the same horrible nightmare every night for 100 years.”
“When I sleep, it is never very deep or for very long because of the anxiety and the things I see,” she wrote. “Imagine having the same horrible nightmare every night for 100 years.”
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
There actually has not been enough reflection in the tech community about DOGE
November 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
There actually has not been enough reflection in the tech community about DOGE
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
I think there's so much buried grief and I feel it seeping around all the edges when I get yelled at in this industry, truly
November 24, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I think there's so much buried grief and I feel it seeping around all the edges when I get yelled at in this industry, truly
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
Cat is hitting on a very real point, here. Honestly, my gut instinct is that this is part of what happens when shame is outlawed as an acceptable emotion to feel
Tech doesn't *have* shame, and its workers are forbidden from feeling it. Ergo, anything shameful cannot be tech.
But DOGE is shameful!
Tech doesn't *have* shame, and its workers are forbidden from feeling it. Ergo, anything shameful cannot be tech.
But DOGE is shameful!
There actually has not been enough reflection in the tech community about DOGE
November 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Cat is hitting on a very real point, here. Honestly, my gut instinct is that this is part of what happens when shame is outlawed as an acceptable emotion to feel
Tech doesn't *have* shame, and its workers are forbidden from feeling it. Ergo, anything shameful cannot be tech.
But DOGE is shameful!
Tech doesn't *have* shame, and its workers are forbidden from feeling it. Ergo, anything shameful cannot be tech.
But DOGE is shameful!
I know I post a lot of gloomy doomy stuff but it’s usually from the news. Every now and again I look on Twitter and it’s absurd. If not bots then people being weirdly awful (and some lovely people battling them but I don’t understand why). So strange.
November 24, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I know I post a lot of gloomy doomy stuff but it’s usually from the news. Every now and again I look on Twitter and it’s absurd. If not bots then people being weirdly awful (and some lovely people battling them but I don’t understand why). So strange.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
The last safe day to vote is Wednesday 26 November.
The ballot closes Friday 28 November.
If you haven’t voted, do it now.
If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted.
Post your ballot today.
We are the university.
The ballot closes Friday 28 November.
If you haven’t voted, do it now.
If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted.
Post your ballot today.
We are the university.
November 24, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The last safe day to vote is Wednesday 26 November.
The ballot closes Friday 28 November.
If you haven’t voted, do it now.
If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted.
Post your ballot today.
We are the university.
The ballot closes Friday 28 November.
If you haven’t voted, do it now.
If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted.
Post your ballot today.
We are the university.
Reposted by Bijan Parsia
If you dare to displease the despot, you will be declared an enemy of the state and every lever of it will be deployed against you.
November 24, 2025 at 5:24 PM
If you dare to displease the despot, you will be declared an enemy of the state and every lever of it will be deployed against you.