Ignacio Castro
@ignactro.bsky.social
(Mostly) Internet data science.
Lecturer (aka Assistant Prof.) at QMUL and IRTF chair of RASP RG. My orthography is creative, no typos here.
Lecturer (aka Assistant Prof.) at QMUL and IRTF chair of RASP RG. My orthography is creative, no typos here.
Pinned
Ignacio Castro
@ignactro.bsky.social
Β· Jan 19
If you're curious about the growth of @bsky.app, a few of us published a paper using April'24 data. Since, all stats have gone through the roof... arxiv.org/pdf/2408.12449
More than 5xusers and well beyond 300K starter packs since April 2024. How did Bluesky looked before the stampede out of X?π [1/n]
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
We're having an AT Proto gathering at FOSDEM, on the Friday right before, at 17h00. Come! It'll be nice and fun.
luma.com/jj7nths0
luma.com/jj7nths0
@proto @fosdem Β· Luma
The AT Protocol is an open, decentralized network for building social applications.
https://atproto.com/
Start your FOSDEM with a convivial evening of casualβ¦
luma.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:16 PM
We're having an AT Proto gathering at FOSDEM, on the Friday right before, at 17h00. Come! It'll be nice and fun.
luma.com/jj7nths0
luma.com/jj7nths0
"Argentine regime willingly exploited these career concerns and placed the most pressured agents in the most repressive unit within the secret police (...) career boosting effects were most pronounced for agents with the lowest early career performance"
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
βWe donβt want clever people. We want mediocrities.β
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
βWe donβt want clever people. We want mediocrities.β
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
January 14, 2026 at 7:22 PM
"Argentine regime willingly exploited these career concerns and placed the most pressured agents in the most repressive unit within the secret police (...) career boosting effects were most pronounced for agents with the lowest early career performance"
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Internet shutdown in Iran has now surpassed 140 hours making it one of the most severe internet shutdowns in history. #IranianRevolution2026 #DigitalBlockoutIran
Egypt shutdown (Jan 2011) lasted 129 hours and didn't disconnect phone lines like is happening in Iran.
Egypt shutdown (Jan 2011) lasted 129 hours and didn't disconnect phone lines like is happening in Iran.
January 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Internet shutdown in Iran has now surpassed 140 hours making it one of the most severe internet shutdowns in history. #IranianRevolution2026 #DigitalBlockoutIran
Egypt shutdown (Jan 2011) lasted 129 hours and didn't disconnect phone lines like is happening in Iran.
Egypt shutdown (Jan 2011) lasted 129 hours and didn't disconnect phone lines like is happening in Iran.
The excellent Twenty Twelve comes to mind en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_...
en.wikipedia.org
January 13, 2026 at 12:38 PM
The excellent Twenty Twelve comes to mind en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_...
"...contractors, who had lobbied for the railway, were embedded as project managers (...).
That left too much power in the hands of contractors and government officials without technical expertise."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
That left too much power in the hands of contractors and government officials without technical expertise."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
January 13, 2026 at 12:32 PM
"...contractors, who had lobbied for the railway, were embedded as project managers (...).
That left too much power in the hands of contractors and government officials without technical expertise."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
That left too much power in the hands of contractors and government officials without technical expertise."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Weβre hiring hungry ghost wranglers β I mean Machine Learning Engineers.
As well as Typescript, React Native, and Go devs.
As well as Typescript, React Native, and Go devs.
January 12, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Weβre hiring hungry ghost wranglers β I mean Machine Learning Engineers.
As well as Typescript, React Native, and Go devs.
As well as Typescript, React Native, and Go devs.
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
A bunch of us are working on the practical questions of how to decentralize ATProto and create other strong nodes that complement Bluesky. And Bluesky itself wants this. Coming soon: a European identity for ATProto, 1st step toward Euro infra: www.eurosky.social/register @eurosky.social
Register for a eurosky.social account - one web identity, dozens of apps β eurosky
www.eurosky.social
January 12, 2026 at 9:41 PM
A bunch of us are working on the practical questions of how to decentralize ATProto and create other strong nodes that complement Bluesky. And Bluesky itself wants this. Coming soon: a European identity for ATProto, 1st step toward Euro infra: www.eurosky.social/register @eurosky.social
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
π¨Internet (and other comms) has been down in Iran for 96 hours and counting...π¨
Iran is now implementing a whitelist to allow access to approved internet sites β a sign that the govt is preparing continue the shutdown indefinitely.
#IranProtests #DigitalBlackoutlran
Iran is now implementing a whitelist to allow access to approved internet sites β a sign that the govt is preparing continue the shutdown indefinitely.
#IranProtests #DigitalBlackoutlran
January 12, 2026 at 5:26 PM
π¨Internet (and other comms) has been down in Iran for 96 hours and counting...π¨
Iran is now implementing a whitelist to allow access to approved internet sites β a sign that the govt is preparing continue the shutdown indefinitely.
#IranProtests #DigitalBlackoutlran
Iran is now implementing a whitelist to allow access to approved internet sites β a sign that the govt is preparing continue the shutdown indefinitely.
#IranProtests #DigitalBlackoutlran
As crime decreases, for the same quantity/quality of policing, the ability to deal with crime should increase --which is great. May be tricky to consider this as a proxy, though
January 12, 2026 at 3:32 PM
As crime decreases, for the same quantity/quality of policing, the ability to deal with crime should increase --which is great. May be tricky to consider this as a proxy, though
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Interesting discussion between @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and & @sarahoconnorft.ft.com on what developments in AI like Claude Code might mean for social science, including the risk it will lead to an increase in low quality work
www.ft.com/content/9183...
www.ft.com/content/9183...
January 12, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Interesting discussion between @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and & @sarahoconnorft.ft.com on what developments in AI like Claude Code might mean for social science, including the risk it will lead to an increase in low quality work
www.ft.com/content/9183...
www.ft.com/content/9183...
Is neo-royalism the other side of the coin of Curtis Yarvin's neo/ceo-monarchy? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Curtis Yarvinβs Plot Against America
The reactionary bloggerβs call for a monarch to rule the country once seemed like a joke. Now the right is ready to bend the knee.
www.newyorker.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Is neo-royalism the other side of the coin of Curtis Yarvin's neo/ceo-monarchy? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
A good take in understanding a (developing) new order: greed, pride & cliques www.politico.com/news/magazin...
January 11, 2026 at 3:53 PM
A good take in understanding a (developing) new order: greed, pride & cliques www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Isn't digital autonomy more tractable than military one -specially when the latter depends on the former. Investment though, focuses on military. One might wonder if this is because it is easier to think in terms of guns & tanks than bits & nets -free access FT giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Europe has βlost the internetβ, warns Belgiumβs cyber security chief
EU law enforcement too dependent on digital infrastructure from US tech companies, Miguel De Bruycker says
giftarticle.ft.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Isn't digital autonomy more tractable than military one -specially when the latter depends on the former. Investment though, focuses on military. One might wonder if this is because it is easier to think in terms of guns & tanks than bits & nets -free access FT giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Peter Mandelson's belief that the UK has to "demonstrate that we are relevant & useful to the United States", that the US is committed to Europe's security, that Trump won't invade Greenland & believes in an independent & democratic Ukraine, seems as misplaced as his (earlier) trust on J. Epstein
January 11, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Peter Mandelson's belief that the UK has to "demonstrate that we are relevant & useful to the United States", that the US is committed to Europe's security, that Trump won't invade Greenland & believes in an independent & democratic Ukraine, seems as misplaced as his (earlier) trust on J. Epstein
"Greenland [...] is a second order issue". Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. One might wonder what is for today's Tories a first order issue www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
January 11, 2026 at 12:46 PM
"Greenland [...] is a second order issue". Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. One might wonder what is for today's Tories a first order issue www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Are you in media or open tech? Interested in exploring the future together? Based in the UK or Europe, or willing to travel there? @protocolsforpublishers.com in London next month should be awesome - and the conversations are ever more important. Iβd love to see you there.
Protocols for Publishers β¨ London
Join us in London on Feb 4-5, 2026
protocolsforpublishers.com
January 10, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Are you in media or open tech? Interested in exploring the future together? Based in the UK or Europe, or willing to travel there? @protocolsforpublishers.com in London next month should be awesome - and the conversations are ever more important. Iβd love to see you there.
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
Profile of George Borjas and his influence - Marginal REVOLUTION
Profile of George Borjas and his influence - Marginal REVOLUTION
More recently, his research has found new attention and urgency in President Donald Trumpβs second term: Borjas, 75, worked as a top economist on the Council of Economic Advisers, a post he stepped down from last week. Borjas is an immigrant and refugee who escaped Cuba for the United States in 1962 and later obtained [β¦]
marginalrevolution.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Profile of George Borjas and his influence - Marginal REVOLUTION
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
π¨ BREAKING: EU countries have approved the Mercosur trade deal after 25 years of talks.
Read the story: politi.co/4suWWNO
Read the story: politi.co/4suWWNO
January 9, 2026 at 11:27 AM
π¨ BREAKING: EU countries have approved the Mercosur trade deal after 25 years of talks.
Read the story: politi.co/4suWWNO
Read the story: politi.co/4suWWNO
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
What if using American cloud services becomes untenable for Europe due to deteriorating geopolitics? It's hypothetical for now, but no longer unthinkable. By @quentinsf.com: statusq.org/archives/202...
Local-first software to the rescue?
Local-first software to the rescue?
Living without America | Status-Q
Quentin Stafford-Fraser's blog
statusq.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:45 AM
What if using American cloud services becomes untenable for Europe due to deteriorating geopolitics? It's hypothetical for now, but no longer unthinkable. By @quentinsf.com: statusq.org/archives/202...
Local-first software to the rescue?
Local-first software to the rescue?
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
An advance look at Barry Blittβs βGuzzler,β the cover for next weekβs issue. #NewYorkerCovers
January 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
An advance look at Barry Blittβs βGuzzler,β the cover for next weekβs issue. #NewYorkerCovers
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
The rise and fall of Stack Overflow. Graph shows number of questions posted per month.
Discussion: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4648...
Discussion: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4648...
January 6, 2026 at 9:48 PM
The rise and fall of Stack Overflow. Graph shows number of questions posted per month.
Discussion: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4648...
Discussion: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4648...
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
βPalantir, a technology company with close ties to the Trump administration has cemented its role analyzing data for the U.K.βs military β despite an ongoing standoff between the two governments over trade and digital regulations.β
www.politico.eu/article/pala...
www.politico.eu/article/pala...
Palantir lands biggest ever UK defense deal
The Β£240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence has renewed a debate about Britainβs dependence on American technology.
www.politico.eu
January 6, 2026 at 9:07 AM
βPalantir, a technology company with close ties to the Trump administration has cemented its role analyzing data for the U.K.βs military β despite an ongoing standoff between the two governments over trade and digital regulations.β
www.politico.eu/article/pala...
www.politico.eu/article/pala...
Reposted by Ignacio Castro
If you follow this argument through to its logical conclusion there should be a UK Government channel on pornhub.
Cabinet Office Minister Baroness Anderson tells the Lords the Government will keep on using X.
"I still believe that X is an appropriate platform to use because I believe in freedom of speech..."
"It is incredibly important that there is a counter narrative on those platforms," she says.
"I still believe that X is an appropriate platform to use because I believe in freedom of speech..."
"It is incredibly important that there is a counter narrative on those platforms," she says.
January 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM
If you follow this argument through to its logical conclusion there should be a UK Government channel on pornhub.