Tom Lacy
@tomlacy.bsky.social
Policy and Impact Manager, Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy. Views my own. https://www.mctd.ac.uk
New research out from our centre today on how novelists and industry practitioners are navigating AI, including headlines on just how many authors fear AI will completely replace them.
Lots to dig into in this great report, check it out or skip to the chapters that matter to you👇
Lots to dig into in this great report, check it out or skip to the chapters that matter to you👇
NEW REPORT – The Impact of Generative AI and the Novel 📚
Today we've published new research by @clemicollett.bsky.social examining how industry practitioners, from novelists to publishers, are experiencing AI’s significant impacts.
Read now: www.mctd.ac.uk/impact-of-ge...
Today we've published new research by @clemicollett.bsky.social examining how industry practitioners, from novelists to publishers, are experiencing AI’s significant impacts.
Read now: www.mctd.ac.uk/impact-of-ge...
November 20, 2025 at 10:41 AM
New research out from our centre today on how novelists and industry practitioners are navigating AI, including headlines on just how many authors fear AI will completely replace them.
Lots to dig into in this great report, check it out or skip to the chapters that matter to you👇
Lots to dig into in this great report, check it out or skip to the chapters that matter to you👇
There's still time to sign up to the online launch of our latest report: The High Stakes of Menstrual Tracking.
Wed 11th, 4-5pm, Stefanie Felsberger is a great speaker - and there's an expert panel to boot. Don't miss out 👇
Wed 11th, 4-5pm, Stefanie Felsberger is a great speaker - and there's an expert panel to boot. Don't miss out 👇
UPCOMING🩸The High Stakes of Menstrual Tracking
Join us at the launch of our report on femtech and improving access to menstrual knowledge and care. Hear from self-tracking and reproductive justice experts @flsbrgr.bsky.social, @wernimont.bsky.social, & Andrea Ford.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/events/repor...
Join us at the launch of our report on femtech and improving access to menstrual knowledge and care. Hear from self-tracking and reproductive justice experts @flsbrgr.bsky.social, @wernimont.bsky.social, & Andrea Ford.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/events/repor...
June 6, 2025 at 1:53 PM
There's still time to sign up to the online launch of our latest report: The High Stakes of Menstrual Tracking.
Wed 11th, 4-5pm, Stefanie Felsberger is a great speaker - and there's an expert panel to boot. Don't miss out 👇
Wed 11th, 4-5pm, Stefanie Felsberger is a great speaker - and there's an expert panel to boot. Don't miss out 👇
Reposted by Tom Lacy
🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings?
It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws
We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉
New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...
It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws
We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉
New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...
Democracy for Sale 1, Dominic Cummings 0
We fought to expose the £800m research agency that Cummings built to escape scrutiny - and we won.
democracyforsale.substack.com
April 24, 2025 at 9:52 AM
🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings?
It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws
We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉
New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...
It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws
We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉
New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...
Reposted by Tom Lacy
Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine
April 23, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine
Reposted by Tom Lacy
NEW 🚨 We have signed a joint letter urging PM Keir Starmer not to sacrifice online safety laws in US trade negotiations.
If the most powerful tech firms can negotiate away regulator frameworks created by our sovereign parliament, then what is left of our democracy?
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/dont-relax-t...
If the most powerful tech firms can negotiate away regulator frameworks created by our sovereign parliament, then what is left of our democracy?
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/dont-relax-t...
Don’t relax tech laws to appease Trump, campaigners tell PM – The Times
We have signed a joint letter from civil society and media urging PM Keir Starmer not to water down online safety laws and curbs on Big Tech.
www.mctd.ac.uk
April 4, 2025 at 1:23 PM
NEW 🚨 We have signed a joint letter urging PM Keir Starmer not to sacrifice online safety laws in US trade negotiations.
If the most powerful tech firms can negotiate away regulator frameworks created by our sovereign parliament, then what is left of our democracy?
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/dont-relax-t...
If the most powerful tech firms can negotiate away regulator frameworks created by our sovereign parliament, then what is left of our democracy?
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/dont-relax-t...
Our brief on AI, Copyright, and the Creative Industries is out today.
Unregulated GenAI will not lead to growth. The UK creative sector is one of our strongest - but proposals to allow AI companies to freely scrape creative work to train models puts it in harms way.
www.mctd.ac.uk/policy-brief...
Unregulated GenAI will not lead to growth. The UK creative sector is one of our strongest - but proposals to allow AI companies to freely scrape creative work to train models puts it in harms way.
www.mctd.ac.uk/policy-brief...
Policy Brief: AI, Copyright, and Productivity in the Creative Industries
In this report we examine the impacts Generative AI may have on the UK's creative sector’s workforce and productivity and provide policy recommendations for the Government.
www.mctd.ac.uk
February 20, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Our brief on AI, Copyright, and the Creative Industries is out today.
Unregulated GenAI will not lead to growth. The UK creative sector is one of our strongest - but proposals to allow AI companies to freely scrape creative work to train models puts it in harms way.
www.mctd.ac.uk/policy-brief...
Unregulated GenAI will not lead to growth. The UK creative sector is one of our strongest - but proposals to allow AI companies to freely scrape creative work to train models puts it in harms way.
www.mctd.ac.uk/policy-brief...
Vital report from @raeng.org.uk today setting out recs including mandatory sustainability reporting for data centres.
The world is on course to miss even our 2 degree climate target - there will be consequences w/out serious action. More of this sort of work is needed.
The world is on course to miss even our 2 degree climate target - there will be consequences w/out serious action. More of this sort of work is needed.
Great to see coverage of our new AI sustainability report in the Guardian today.
We need to take measures to minimise risks to the environment, people and the economy by managing the resource demands of AI systems.
Find out more:
We need to take measures to minimise risks to the environment, people and the economy by managing the resource demands of AI systems.
Find out more:
Call to make tech firms report data centre energy use as AI booms
February 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Vital report from @raeng.org.uk today setting out recs including mandatory sustainability reporting for data centres.
The world is on course to miss even our 2 degree climate target - there will be consequences w/out serious action. More of this sort of work is needed.
The world is on course to miss even our 2 degree climate target - there will be consequences w/out serious action. More of this sort of work is needed.
Reposted by Tom Lacy
CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE AI❓
New @sociologica.bsky.social: @ginasue.bsky.social examines AI and democratic governance. She argues AI’s tendencies toward centralisation, unchecked economic growth, and pursuit of efficiency pose significant challenges to democracy.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/can-democrac...
New @sociologica.bsky.social: @ginasue.bsky.social examines AI and democratic governance. She argues AI’s tendencies toward centralisation, unchecked economic growth, and pursuit of efficiency pose significant challenges to democracy.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/can-democrac...
January 23, 2025 at 2:51 PM
CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE AI❓
New @sociologica.bsky.social: @ginasue.bsky.social examines AI and democratic governance. She argues AI’s tendencies toward centralisation, unchecked economic growth, and pursuit of efficiency pose significant challenges to democracy.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/can-democrac...
New @sociologica.bsky.social: @ginasue.bsky.social examines AI and democratic governance. She argues AI’s tendencies toward centralisation, unchecked economic growth, and pursuit of efficiency pose significant challenges to democracy.
➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/can-democrac...
Reposted by Tom Lacy
NEW! 📕 Antonio Casilli pulls back the curtain on automation, explaining why big tech's AI systems wouldn’t function without unpaid or underpaid human labour. He warns that the danger is not that robots will take our jobs, but that humans will have to do theirs...
➡️ www.casilli.fr/2025/01/08/m...
➡️ www.casilli.fr/2025/01/08/m...
My New Book ‘Waiting for Robots’ Is Out Now from University of Chicago Press: How AI Companies Extract Value From Every Human on Earth | Antonio A. Casilli
I am excited to announce the publication of my new book Waiting for Robots: The Hidden Hands of Automation (University of Chicago Press, 2025) on January 8th. Read more about media coverage and praise...
www.casilli.fr
January 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
NEW! 📕 Antonio Casilli pulls back the curtain on automation, explaining why big tech's AI systems wouldn’t function without unpaid or underpaid human labour. He warns that the danger is not that robots will take our jobs, but that humans will have to do theirs...
➡️ www.casilli.fr/2025/01/08/m...
➡️ www.casilli.fr/2025/01/08/m...
Reposted by Tom Lacy
Who's ready to talk about responsible AI on the Six O'clock News? This Professor
January 7, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Who's ready to talk about responsible AI on the Six O'clock News? This Professor
I saved my spiel for LinkedIn but very grateful to my managers and colleagues for putting me forward for this award - and thrilled to have made the shortlist 🎆
🎉 🎉 🎉
Congratulations to @mctd.bsky.social's Policy and Impact Manager @tomlacy.bsky.social, who was recently nominated for the Jonathan Nicholls Rising Star Award!
A very much deserved nomination, well done Tom!
Congratulations to @mctd.bsky.social's Policy and Impact Manager @tomlacy.bsky.social, who was recently nominated for the Jonathan Nicholls Rising Star Award!
A very much deserved nomination, well done Tom!
December 11, 2024 at 4:02 PM
I saved my spiel for LinkedIn but very grateful to my managers and colleagues for putting me forward for this award - and thrilled to have made the shortlist 🎆
Reposted by Tom Lacy
AI Action Summit 2025 🇨🇵
We drew together insights from our research network in response to the summit’s call for ideas – highlighting the risks that emerge from the intersection of AI systems with social, cultural, and organisational structures.
Read our submission ⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/written-evid...
We drew together insights from our research network in response to the summit’s call for ideas – highlighting the risks that emerge from the intersection of AI systems with social, cultural, and organisational structures.
Read our submission ⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/written-evid...
Written Evidence: Priorities for the France AI Action Summit 2025
Our submission to the AI Action Summit 2025 call for ideas draws together insights from our research network on questions which intersect with our Centre’s three strategic research areas: Work, Trust,...
www.mctd.ac.uk
November 26, 2024 at 4:09 PM
AI Action Summit 2025 🇨🇵
We drew together insights from our research network in response to the summit’s call for ideas – highlighting the risks that emerge from the intersection of AI systems with social, cultural, and organisational structures.
Read our submission ⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/written-evid...
We drew together insights from our research network in response to the summit’s call for ideas – highlighting the risks that emerge from the intersection of AI systems with social, cultural, and organisational structures.
Read our submission ⬇️ www.mctd.ac.uk/written-evid...
Workplace protections against AI and technology driven abuse must be more than an afterthought for Gov's employment rights programme.
And civil society & unions have already done the legwork. My comments in a new blog here👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/ai-protectio...
And civil society & unions have already done the legwork. My comments in a new blog here👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/ai-protectio...
AI protections must be more than a footnote in the UK Government's 'Plan to Make Work Pay'
Our Policy and Impact Manager Tom Lacy on the wide-ranging harms of new tech that should be in scope of the Government’s consultation on workplace protections This October saw the introduction of the ...
www.mctd.ac.uk
November 13, 2024 at 9:38 AM
Workplace protections against AI and technology driven abuse must be more than an afterthought for Gov's employment rights programme.
And civil society & unions have already done the legwork. My comments in a new blog here👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/ai-protectio...
And civil society & unions have already done the legwork. My comments in a new blog here👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/ai-protectio...
"Inside the belly of AI is a hidden workforce fuelling the 21st century’s largest case of human exploitation"
If you're in/near Cambridge Tuesday next week (12th) drop by our free event for chat and a documentary preview on the invisible workforce behind AI ⬇️⬇️
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/anton...
If you're in/near Cambridge Tuesday next week (12th) drop by our free event for chat and a documentary preview on the invisible workforce behind AI ⬇️⬇️
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/anton...
In the Belly of AI / Feeding the Machine – Antonio Casilli in conversation with James Muldoon
A conversation with Antonio Casilli and James Muldoon on the hidden workforce that powers Big Tech's AI systems.
www.mctd.ac.uk
November 4, 2024 at 4:10 PM
"Inside the belly of AI is a hidden workforce fuelling the 21st century’s largest case of human exploitation"
If you're in/near Cambridge Tuesday next week (12th) drop by our free event for chat and a documentary preview on the invisible workforce behind AI ⬇️⬇️
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/anton...
If you're in/near Cambridge Tuesday next week (12th) drop by our free event for chat and a documentary preview on the invisible workforce behind AI ⬇️⬇️
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/anton...
Reposted by Tom Lacy
Digital ID in the UK: A rapid response study by me for @carefultrouble.bsky.social, published today, drawing on public polling by @survation.bsky.social and a landscape map of known govt plans.
Do govt's plans for digital ID meet the public's needs?
www.careful.industries/digital-iden...
Do govt's plans for digital ID meet the public's needs?
www.careful.industries/digital-iden...
September 19, 2024 at 6:31 AM
Digital ID in the UK: A rapid response study by me for @carefultrouble.bsky.social, published today, drawing on public polling by @survation.bsky.social and a landscape map of known govt plans.
Do govt's plans for digital ID meet the public's needs?
www.careful.industries/digital-iden...
Do govt's plans for digital ID meet the public's needs?
www.careful.industries/digital-iden...
If you'll be at Labour Conference on the Sunday, don't forget to join us and whole bunch of other progressive tech folks at the tech for everyone reception. 6-8pm👇👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/labou...
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/labou...
Labour Party Conference: 'Building Tech for Everyone' Reception
Come join us for networking, drinks and a special speaker outside Labour Party Conference 2024 in Liverpool.
www.mctd.ac.uk
September 17, 2024 at 3:40 PM
If you'll be at Labour Conference on the Sunday, don't forget to join us and whole bunch of other progressive tech folks at the tech for everyone reception. 6-8pm👇👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/labou...
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/labou...
MCTD will be hosting a free online reading & in-conversation with author Sasha Abramsky on 25 September, 6pm.
We'll be discussing Sasha's upcoming book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America
More info here 👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/chaos...
We'll be discussing Sasha's upcoming book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America
More info here 👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/chaos...
Chaos Comes Calling - Reading and Conversation with Sasha Abramsky
Celebrate the upcoming publication of Sasha Abramsky's new book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-right Takeover of Small Town America - out 26 September
www.mctd.ac.uk
August 29, 2024 at 10:33 AM
MCTD will be hosting a free online reading & in-conversation with author Sasha Abramsky on 25 September, 6pm.
We'll be discussing Sasha's upcoming book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America
More info here 👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/chaos...
We'll be discussing Sasha's upcoming book - Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America
More info here 👇
www.mctd.ac.uk/events/chaos...