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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah
@hetanshah.bsky.social
18K followers 1.5K following 28K posts
Chief Executive, The British Academy Chair, Our World in Data Board, National Audit Office Visiting Professor, Kings College London Fellow, Birkbeck College Views my own
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Oct 10
'Taking the time to do things right isn’t anti-innovation – it is what is required to get deep-rooted change in social systems.'
My piece on AI and public services in this week's @newstatesman.com
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024...
Tony Blair is wrong – AI will not magically solve our public services
Too many people might be left out of its revolution.
www.newstatesman.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 10h
Sad you didn’t get along tonight to our Living with the Planet Late? Check out the rest of the season which includes several events you can watch online
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/seasons/livi...
Living with the planet season
Delve into some of today's most urgent challenges and explore the latest research around biodiversity loss, nature recovery, the future of food and environmental justice. Living with the Planet will e...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11h
What have the Ancient Greeks got to do with the environmental crisis? The fantastic @edithmayhall.bsky.social now giving another historical view
Edith Hall
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11h
‘Arm’s-length bodies such as the Office for Students (OfS) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are particularly “vulnerable to political interference”, a new report has warned.’ www.timeshighereducation.com/news/learn-l... @timeshighered.bsky.social
‘Learn lessons from US’ and stop political interference, UK told
OfS and UKRI seen as particularly vulnerable to meddling from government, with report authors calling for more safeguards to ensure independence
www.timeshighereducation.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11h
‘The amount of energy required to refute bullshit is much more than that required to create it.’
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11h
And now a punchy talk from Bobby Banerjee on the topic ‘from greenwashing to gaslighting’ giving a business school perspective on corporate sustainability
Bobby Banerjee
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11h
What can we learn from history about responding to environmental changes? Our fantastic panel kicks off our Living with the Planet season with @wanderinggaia.bsky.social @jwwsabapathy.bsky.social and Georgina Endfield
Gaia Vince, Georgina Endfield & John Sabapathy
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12h
And if you are feeling too lazy to leave this platform, here’s a thread giving you the key highlights. The lesson from the US is it’s helpful to think about questions of independent institutions in advance!
bsky.app/profile/chri...
chrischirp.bsky.social
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 13h
🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

1/11
UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation
Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.
www.ucl.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12h
Here’s a blog from @chrischirp.bsky.social which explains more christinapagel.substack.com/p/the-uks-in...
The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation
My newly launched report on how we can safeguard the independence of our important scientific and evidence-generating institutions - not least so they can hold government to account
christinapagel.substack.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12h
Important new report from @chrischirp.bsky.social @uclpolicylab.bsky.social on how easy it would be to politicise some of our key science and research bodies, with ideas on how to strengthen their independence
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...
UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation
Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.
www.ucl.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 19h
This is going to be great. Already over 300 people registered for tonight, but if you fancy joining us you can still book last minute
wanderinggaia.bsky.social
Gaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · 19h
Looking forward to a brilliant discussion today with historians about how people understood disasters and responded in the past. At the @britishacademy.bsky.social 6-7pm. Join us!
Living with the planet LATE
Tackle big questions and explore bold ideas about the future of our planet in this season’s British Academy Late. Immerse yourself in the sounds and music of the rainforests of Papua New Guinea; discu...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 19h
It's easy to feel powerless about the environment. So I'm pleased to be chairing this public event on how communities can respond. Featuring @rachelcoxcoon.bsky.social, Nick Pidgeon and Amira Campbell. Thursday 20th Nov online/in person. Tickets are free
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/livin...
Ask the Experts: Can people power drive environmental action?
Environmental breakdown can impact our lives in immediate and personal ways, yet many feel powerless to act and find the solutions out of reach. This is your opportunity to put questions to our expert...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 22h
‘Insufficient workers, an ageing workforce, constrained ability to adapt to emerging opportunities, service shrinkflation and the steady contraction of customer satisfaction’

Cracking piece from @urbandirt.bsky.social on the tricky situation the new Japanese PM inherits
on.ft.com/4oeQJ5O
Japan has an ‘enshortification’ problem
An ageing workforce is affecting all sorts of professions
on.ft.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 22h
‘correlation risk is becoming worse given the AI firms’ obsession with cross-shareholdings & partnerships. The deal whereby OpenAI will pay Nvidia for chips, & Nvidia will invest $100bn in OpenAI, has been criticised as circular because that’s exactly what it is’ www.theguardian.com/technology/n...
The AI valuation bubble is now getting silly | Nils Pratley
The broad parallels are genuinely close to the madness of the late-1990s dotcom bubble
www.theguardian.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 22h
‘concentration risk in markets is off the charts. The “Magnificent 7” tech companies – Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia – now represent slightly more than a third of the whole S&P 500 index.’
www.theguardian.com/technology/n...
The AI valuation bubble is now getting silly | Nils Pratley
The broad parallels are genuinely close to the madness of the late-1990s dotcom bubble
www.theguardian.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 23h
The BoE said that on a number of measures “equity market valuations appear stretched, particularly for technology companies focused on artificial intelligence”.
on.ft.com/4o3RheA
IMF and BoE warn AI boom risks ‘abrupt’ stock market correction
Kristalina Georgieva and UK financial stability watchdog say valuations are closing in on dotcom bubble levels
on.ft.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
Ah no I’m on BBC4
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
Putting Margaret Thatcher on Celebrity Traitors seems inspired
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
👇
historianhelen.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @historianhelen.bsky.social · 1d
Wisdom, moral imagination, an enlarged sympathy for those who live or have lived differently from yourself. This is what you get from studying the Humanities. So quite important, actually.
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
From our @britishacademy.bsky.social Journal
hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
'While legislation and regulation may move quickly to prevent the unauthorised use of voice cloning and protect the speaker’s personal data, guidance on legal and intentional uses and their impacts on both speakers and listeners will likely lag behind'
journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...
Voice conversion and cloning: psychological and ethical implications of intentionally synthesising familiar voice identities
Voice identity conversion and cloning technologies use artificial intelligence to generate the auditory likeness of a specific human talker’s vocal identity Given the deeply personal nature of voices...
journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
Best thing I've read today. Support for growth transcends normal left/right boundaries. The occupational group that is most against growth is the skilled manual worker - perhaps due to concerns about being automated away (in a way that lower skilled service jobs aren't easy to replace with tech)
jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social
James Breckwoldt @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social · 1d
What do the public actually think about economic growth, technological change and "abundance"? I’ve done an original survey looking at just this!

There actually is an “anti-growth coalition” and “pro-growth coalition” out there, but the make up of both of these creates some very strange bedfellows…
What Do The Public Actually Think About Economic Growth, Technological Change and "Abundance"?
There's an "anti-growth coalition" and a “pro-growth coalition” out there, it’s just not necessarily the people you think it is
jamesbreckwoldt.substack.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d
As with much of “Operation Midway Blitz”, as the immigration crackdown in Chicago is officially called, the production of video content seems to be a priority.’ @dlknowles.bsky.social on the money here
economist.com/united-state...
What a Chicago immigration raid says about Trumpism
The worst excesses seem designed to produce content
economist.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d
Great column from @sarahoconnorft.ft.com where she casts her forensic eye over the introduction of collective bargaining in the social care sector. TL:DR it could work given adult care is a weird market largely paid for by local authorities; but as usual will there be enough cash? on.ft.com/4mSfeVm
The most radical Labour plan you haven’t heard about
Collective bargaining in social care could save an ailing sector — but only if it’s done properly
on.ft.com
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d
To mark Black History Month in the 250th anniversary of Austen's birth, British Academy Global Professor Robert Morrison explores how themes of slavery appear in the periphery of her novels including how the unfinished Sanditon introduces a mixed race character thebathmagazine.co.uk/austen-and-a...
Austen and Abolition - The Bath Magazine
Celebrated for her romantic plots and social satire, Jane Austen’s novels largely avoid direct engagement with the turbulent political issues of her time, such as the transatlantic slave trade. But wh...
thebathmagazine.co.uk
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d
Must read from @stephenkb.bsky.social
on.ft.com/4mVRb83
Israel seems more important — and less desirable — than ever for British Jews
Amid rising antisemitism at home, our lifeboat abroad seems less attractive
on.ft.com
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