Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rachel Coldicutt

@rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social

12K followers 1.2K following 6.5K posts

Internet person. Community tech, careful innovation, socially progressive tech policy. https://www.careful.industries https://buttondown.email/justenoughinternet DMs don't work but hello [at] careful.industries will find me eventually

www.careful.industries

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · Dec 4

Anyway, yes, #FOMOisnotastrategy and here I am making it a hash tag like it's 2010 buttondown.com/justenoughin...

FOMO is not a strategy

End of year reflections on how people are using genAI at work

buttondown.com

5 6 73

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 10h

He turned up on the "responsible tech" dinner circuit, all guns blazing, promising to protect people against Theresa May for a few months before Zuck heard his siren song

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 10h

Wonder if Sunak looked in the mirror and said, "Nick Clegg, Nick Clegg, Nick Clegg" on.ft.com/3KASsUy

Rishi Sunak takes Microsoft and Anthropic advisory jobs

Former prime minister adds Silicon Valley posts to his role advising Goldman Sachs

on.ft.com

3 22

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 14h

People in policy who glibly make things up and give it a silly name in the hope that someone can deliver it really are a scourge on sensible outcomes

1 3

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 16h

I am very interested to know who got the (iirc) €250k writer job they advertised last year

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 17h

oooh thank you

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 17h

Can't see the whole post but OMG thinking caps

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Always interesting to see what kind of old-school cultural patronage Anthropic are engaging in.

PROMO - Insider, Behind the scenes at the Economist, supported by Claude

3 6

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

I would obvs be here for a separate plum-based splinternet

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Anyway, it just so happens I wrote something about the need for digital social policy the other day www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and... better support for parents and children feels like a great place to start

The digital disconnect: taking digital social policy seriously - Power to Change

In our next essay, Rachel Coldicutt explores the urgent need for a community-centred approach to technology policy in the UK. From WhatsApp-powered communit ...

www.powertochange.org.uk

2 6

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Also, I am sure the Princess of Wales means very well, but I suspect her employment obligations are at best part-time and that she has a fleet of staff to support with childcare. The balancing act of modern life is a huge PITA and parenting is tough - solve the problem through supporting parents

1 1 21

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Parents of little kids don't want 12-15 year olds hanging round playgrounds, but there's nowhere for 12-15 year olds to go, esp if they're not into sport or they don't have a mate with a big house. Yes, there are *lots* of issues with the tech industry but we also need stronger social policies

1 18

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Some useful interventions: better support and education for parents around onboarding kids to digital devices, more after-school activities for secondary age children, free wraparound childcare, places to play outside, anywhere for kids to go on long dark winter evenings

2 1 23

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Anyway, anyway, it is *very interesting* to me that almost no one regards the kids and smartphones issues as a matter of social policy. Yes there are technocratic and regulatory fixes, but that's just addressing supply, not demand. The situation is unlikely to change without demand-side improvements

2 10

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Just as an aside before I get to my actual point, would feel remiss not to note Bethell's coinage of the term "fruity internet" - be interesting to know what this means in precise language, as it seems frankly to be a bit impractical

4 5

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 18h

Coming to this just off seeing James Bethell having an opinion on LinkedIn (apparently from a week ago but just popped up in my feed now).

View James Bethell’s graphic link
James BethellJames Bethell
• 2ndPremium • 2nd
Leadership | Advocacy | CounselLeadership | Advocacy | Counsel
6d • Edited • 6 days ago • Edited • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn

Follow

The damage to our children from digital devices is now a public health emergency. This is not exaggeration or moral panic. The evidence is increasingly clear:

🙁 1 in 4 children under 13 show symptoms of screen addiction.
🙁 Rates of anxiety and depression among teenagers have doubled in the past decade, closely tied to mobile and social media use.
🙁 NHS data show a record rise in self-harm admissions among girls aged 10–14.
🙁 Cyberbullying, online grooming, and sexual exploitation are increasing as children access platforms before they are ready.
🙁 Declines in educational attainment: UK PISA scores in reading, maths, and science have fallen sharply, with excessive device use strongly linked to lower outcomes.
🙁 Sleep disruption, inactivity, and unhealthy routines are fuelling long-term physical health risks.

The “no boundaries” experiment by Meta , Google , Amazon , Microsoft , TikTok , Snap Inc. and others has failed. The results are undeniable: damaged mental health, falling educational performance, greater exposure to violence and exploitation — and a mounting burden on the NHS and our economy. We’ll be bankrupt at this rate. 🇬🇧

That is why I support the idea of two Internets: a fruity one for adults, and a safe, age-appropriate space for children. We need our CMO’s, DPH’s and CSA’s from relevant departments in all nations and regions to call it out, so we can get some proper protection for our kids before it’s too late.

1 2 3

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 19h

Interesting to see the Princess of Wales has an opinion on smartphones and children www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-fam...

Princess of Wales warns of smartphone ‘disconnection epidemic’

In a heartfelt essay, Kate calls for families to prioritise real connection over screens, saying that love begins with true presence

www.thetimes.com

2 3 6

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 20h

I mean, there's no AI without basic infrastructure.

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 21h

Just spoke to my pension provider to find out why a payment I made in July isn't showing up on my statement and it turns out that they've had an "IT incident" that continues to be ongoing. So much focus on AI just now, but properly functioning and resilient IT seems quite important?

4 3 54

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 21h

Clearly I'm not an economist, but it seems to me that extending licensing laws is probably going to quite *bad* for some people's productivity?

Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 22h

Pub industry folk: What do you make of this?

I'm sure it's not unwelcome but will it make much difference?

My impression is that you're struggling to fill space until 10pm, let alone 1am.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Pubs to stay open until early hours in push for UK growth

Exclusive: Plans for England and Wales would help the ailing hospitality sector but have attracted criticism from health experts

www.theguardian.com

3 13

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 1d

Also, feels like there should be more everyday examples of things from normal life that could be reached for as a justification. Applying for a school place not exactly a daily activity.

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely in favour of making school applications easier, but also a big fan of having a grip on the comms of a massive new policy that wasn't in the manifesto

1 8

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 1d

If you're going to say the relatable blokey thing then it is worth getting the details right. You don't need 3 utility bills for a school application. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

"I don't know how many times the rest of you have had to look in the bottom drawer for three bills when you want to get your kids into school or apply for this or apply for that, drives me to frustration," he said.

Section A
You must provide one of the following documents to confirm your address:
• Council Tax statement or letter
• tenancy agreement or solicitor's letter
• letter from the National Asylum Support
Service (NASS) or UK Border Authority (UKBA)
• a letter from any other local or national housing organisation (on headed paper)
Section B
You must provide one of the following documents to confirm the child's date of birth:
• passport
• EU national identity card
• any other legal document with your c name and date of birth on it

2 11

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 1d

Me: *receives two emails saying buttondown's not working on firefox, checks to see if it's a coincidence*
Random anon internet person:

Index Opposable @indexopposable.bsky.social · 1d

i question your ability to comment on a paradigm shift in computer science

4 5

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 1d

Folks with buttondown newsletters - are you getting reported sign-up errors for people using firefox?

2 1 1

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 2d

It is such a waste of everyone's time. All those people who will have to spend today feeling upset, speaking to the media, spinning up messages, pulling together evidence that made up thing is made up when they could have been doing something more worthwhile and making life a bit better for more ppl