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petermiles.bsky.social
Pete Miles
@petermiles.bsky.social
3.3K followers 7.1K following 8.6K posts
Ex- consultant, manager, marketer, engineer. Interested in Complexity, Systems and Collective Intelligence. GSOH (Brit)
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petermiles.bsky.social
Pete Miles @petermiles.bsky.social · Nov 16
Welcome to Bluesky, the latest operating system for Collective Intelligence on planet Earth.

As short thread on a paper from the Royal Society in the context of innovation, which explains how you fit in.

(For those who participated in the prototype phase, Twitter/X can now be deleted.)
Abstract Innovation is often assumed to be the work of a talented few, whose products are passed on to the masses. Here, we argue that innovations are instead an emergent property of our species' cultural learning abilities, applied within our societies and social networks. Our societies and social networks act as collective brains. We outline how many human brains, which evolved primarily for the acquisition of culture, together beget a collective brain. Within these collective brains, the three main sources of innovation are serendipity, recombination and incremental improvement. We argue that rates of innovation are heavily influenced by (i) sociality, (ii) transmission fidelity, and (iii) cultural variance. We discuss some of the forces that affect these factors. These factors can also shape each other. For example, we provide preliminary evidence that transmission efficiency is affected by sociality-languages with more speakers are more efficient. We argue that collective brains can make each of their constituent cultural brains more innovative. This perspective sheds light on traits, such as IQ, that have been implicated in innovation. A collective brain perspective can help us understand otherwise puzzling findings in the IQ literature, including group differences, heritability differences and the dramatic increase in IQ test scores over time.
Reposted by Pete Miles
deanmorrison.bsky.social
January 26, 2026 at 10:00 PM
petermiles.bsky.social
I didn't realise that solid-state batteries were so close to commercialisation.

electrek.co/2026/01/25/v...
Volvo parent Geely set to produce its first solid-state battery this year
Volvo parent company Geely is set to begin production of its first in-house solid-state battery pack in 2026.
electrek.co
January 26, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
onestpress.onestnetwork.com
France announced today it’s phasing out Teams, Zoom, etc. to be replaced with a French/European solution called Visio. The data is hosted on Outscale. Transcripts and subtitles are also handled by French providers. The target is set on 2027 for government agencies.
January 26, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
adambell.bsky.social
This is really excellent and anyone who cares about how government works should read it. I would particularly highlight the reference at the end to "giving ministers the tools to manage the regulatory state." /1
samfr.bsky.social Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 1d
New post out:

"Who runs Britain?"

Politicians complain they are unable to do anything because of the machinery of state. Yet they have more power than ever.

What explains this "paradox of executive power" and how can it be fixed?

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/w...
Who runs Britain?
The paradox of executive power
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
Sam Freedman on the fundamentals of 'rewiring the state'...
Any serious attempt to rewire the state needs to focus on the disconnects between power and capacity rather than power per se. That means matching the responsibilities of the Prime Minister to the machine around them; giving ministers the tools to manage the regulatory state; creating criteria for regulation that ensures it's proportionate; and decentralising power over delivery to regions and local government. This government have some of the right instincts but they're still way off having a plan. Darren Jones said that his initial proposals were just the start of a bigger project to fix the state. He better get on with it: he doesn't have much time.
January 25, 2026 at 8:54 PM
petermiles.bsky.social
Time to sell the family silver...

(Or buy, don't take financial advice from me!)
peark.es George Pearkes @peark.es · 6h
I really can’t exaggerate how completely weird this move in silver is. Markets just don’t go parabolic for months at a time. Speaks to the fundamental cause of this move in silver: momentum and nobody with a balance sheet to take the other side of the move.
Chart of front month silver futures prices for past five years
January 26, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
mrhenrymorris.substack.com
I'm hearing Liz Truss has defected to Benidorm by accident
January 26, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
chrischirp.bsky.social
🗞️ Some news!

The Trump Action Tracker now has a bot that automatically posts new actions to Bluesky, along with link to news story & authoritarian categories.

Follow to stay up to date! We are adding about 10 actions a day at the moment 😢

bsky.app/profile/trum...
January 26, 2026 at 8:03 AM
petermiles.bsky.social
Sam Freedman on the fundamentals of 'rewiring the state'...
Any serious attempt to rewire the state needs to focus on the disconnects between power and capacity rather than power per se. That means matching the responsibilities of the Prime Minister to the machine around them; giving ministers the tools to manage the regulatory state; creating criteria for regulation that ensures it's proportionate; and decentralising power over delivery to regions and local government. This government have some of the right instincts but they're still way off having a plan. Darren Jones said that his initial proposals were just the start of a bigger project to fix the state. He better get on with it: he doesn't have much time.
January 25, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
Visual metaphor for your own interpretation...
Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson on calendar, dated 25 Jan. On the right a tiny fish about to be eaten by a bigger fish behind. Then behind that an even bigger fish. But behind that a school of smaller fish, attacking the biggest fish.
January 25, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
john-self.bsky.social
Julian Barnes in conversation with Ian McEwan earlier this week, for the publication of Departure(s).

Watching it now - McEwan doing more of the conversing than Barnes, but v interesting nonetheless.

(starts at 11:12)
Julian Barnes in conversation with Ian McEwan
YouTube video by Intelligence Squared
www.youtube.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
antlerboy.com
2026 Conference: Systems Thinking and Systems Practice, Hosted by the University of Hull Centre for Systems Studies (CSS), Systems and Complexity in Organisation (SCiO) and The OR Society, 24-26 March 2026 | University of Hull, UK stream.syscoi.com/2026/01/25/2...
2026 Conference: Systems Thinking and Systems Practice, Hosted by the University of Hull Centre for Systems Studies (CSS), Systems and Complexity in Organisation (SCiO) and The OR Society, 24-26 March 2026 | University of Hull, UK
Hosted by the University of Hull Centre for Systems Studies (CSS), Systems and Complexity in Organisation (SCiO) and The OR Society, 24th – 26th March 2026 | University of HullHosted by the Univers…
stream.syscoi.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:05 PM
petermiles.bsky.social
Visual metaphor for your own interpretation...
Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson on calendar, dated 25 Jan. On the right a tiny fish about to be eaten by a bigger fish behind. Then behind that an even bigger fish. But behind that a school of smaller fish, attacking the biggest fish.
January 25, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
menageri.org.uk
TIL that phone manufacturers have sold devices that will brick themselves permanently if you try to roll back the OS or install a custom ROM.
The article’s about OnePlus phones but I’m not surprised to see Samsung get a dishonourable mention too. (1/2)

consumerrights.wiki/w/Oneplus_ph...
The anti-rollback mechanism uses Qfprom (Qualcomm Fuse Programmable Read-Only Memory), a region on Qualcomm processors containing one-time programmable electronic fuses. These microscopic components are physically altered when "blown"; a controlled voltage pulse permanently changes the fuse's state from "0" to "1." This change cannot be reversed by any software means.A complete motherboard replacement is the only possible method to remedy it.
January 25, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
AI (here) and a focus on 'efficiency' narrowly defined can be a distraction from making the reforms that will make a real difference to people's lives.

(And save real money by the way!)

3/3
The solutions to many of the complex issues people who use public services face, such as poor mental health, obesity and loneliness can't be delivered just by making our current public services more efficient. They can only be delivered by making them more relational.
January 24, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
Important new report on public service reform, I hope this gets traction in central govt.

Perhaps the section "Why the UK Government’s current approach to public service reform will fail" will get someone's attention?

1/3

mmuperu.co.uk/wp-content/u...
Executive Summary Public services are in crisis after decades of under-investment, rising complex need and the long shadow of the pandemic. Demand pressures, workforce exhaustion, poor outcomes and deepening public mistrust now characterise much of public service. Against this backdrop, the Government's current focus on productivity, technology and AI, while offering some gains, cannot deliver the transformation needed. Efficiency drives alone risk repeating the failures of New Public Management, which fragmented services, eroded professional discretion and entrenched failure demand. Reform that ignores the relational core of public services will not succeed. This briefing collects widely evidenced arguments showing that genuine improvement requires a transformation based on rebuilding the relationships between citizens, frontline workers and institutions. Relational public services, already demonstrated in approaches such as Human Learning Systems (including the Liberated Method) create substantial reductions in failure demand, improved outcomes and higher staff morale. These effects are achieved not primarily through technology, but through rethinking how front-line work is structured and how organisations and local systems are led so that trust, continuity, flexibility and collaborative learning are embedded in local systems. The Government's principles of integration, prevention and devolution provide an opening for relational public services, as do initiatives such as Integrated Settlements and Test, Learn and Grow. But national policy remains overly driven by narrow productivity metrics, technology-first solutions and departmental silos. To accelerate system-wide relational practice, three actions are essential: embed preventative and devolved funding models; align regulators around learning rather than compliance; and undertake workforce reform to support relational practice at scale. Without a systemic commitment to relational methods of organising public s…
January 24, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
whoa-magic.lol
"Windows 11's online Microsoft Account requirement means your PC is automatically backing up its data encryption key to the cloud, and Microsoft says it will hand those over to the FBI if requested via legal order." #ACAB #MicrosnotSucks

www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/wi....
Microsoft will assist the FBI in unlocking your Windows PC data if asked
Microsoft says it will provide the FBI with BitLocker encryption keys if requested for PCs that upload their key to the cloud via your Microsoft Account.
www.windowscentral.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
joncooper-us.bsky.social
Please share. 💔
January 25, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
marisakabas.bsky.social
this is it. this is the level. this is the standard for democratic officials. anything less is intolerable.
January 24, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
jasonhazeley.bsky.social
There is, of course, the possibility that these are perfection.
jaunty.art Jaunty Art @jaunty.art · 2d
I’m Scottish but I am not this Scottish.
Irn Bru Pork Swirls £ 2.99 each
January 24, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
whydontyoutube.bsky.social
For Jim Moir/Vic Reeves' birthday, a reminder it's thirty years this year since this advert.
January 24, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
lbflyawayhome.bsky.social
An observation test for your inner 8-year-old.
You’ll be doing well to spot 12 deliberate mistakes.

From Treasure magazine, 1963
Official answers coming soon

(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)
A line drawing of a street scene with children skipping, a bike going by and birds in the sky
January 24, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
"...a £3.25 billion Public Sector Transformation Fund was formally announced in the Spring Statement 2025 by Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a heavy emphasis on investing in AI to improve public sector efficiency and productivity."

But this is one place where AI won't do the job.

2/3
... Government rhetoric around a narrow interpretation of public service productivity and the focus of its large investment decisions on AI seem likely to forestall a move to more relational approaches.
January 24, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Pete Miles
implausibleblog.bsky.social
Jared Huffman, "If we're real and honest about what's going on, we have a madman in the White House"

"Trump is running the biggest most corrupt criminal grift in criminal history, out of the White House"

"We take an oath to the Constitution, but it seems all of you took an oath to Donald Trump"
January 23, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Pete Miles
petermiles.bsky.social
If you need a laugh I can recommend this Dawn French comedy.

I like the writing, the acting, the music, the style. Hoping they bring it back for another series.

All episodes on iPlayer now.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC One - Can You Keep a Secret?, Series 1, Episode 1
Debbie has news for Harry: his dad isn’t dead, he’s just hiding in the loft.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 8:47 PM