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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 9h

"Let's bomb the Oxford Union" - I couldn't agree more 😄. #ApoliticalDay

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 9h

For #ApoliticalDay we seem to have people on stage pretending to be politicians. Hazard of deciding on a debate format...

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 10h

I'd hoped that by 2025 we could get ahead of an adversarial debate as a way to discuss issues. By starting by saying both sides are right, couldn't we spend the time better by finding common ground for these ideas. #ApoliticalDay

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 10h

Planning for future - see : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Min... #ApoliticalDay

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 11h

My "agentic government" blog post before I'd heard of the term. #ApoliticalDay

medium.com/desiderium-s...

Thinking about human-like AI avatars in government

medium.com

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 13h

It's very easy to talk about agentic AI driven government services but much harder to motivate senior leaders to "fix the plumbing" of data and cross-gov collaboration than do another shiny product announcement. #ApoliticalDay

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 14h

Looking forward to a day of excellent discussions.

Apolitical @apolitical.bsky.social · 15h

It’s finally here! Today is #ApoliticalDay and we’ll be sharing photos from across the day on Linkedin and our other channels.
Welcome to all our guests from around the world!

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

I love that idea.

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 1d

I have partial think tank agnosia (self-diagnosed)

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

With a minister deciding that fewer people should be diagnosed with an illness rather than going by the evidence are we really better than having RFK?

Adam @abrokenbattery.bsky.social · 2d

Simon Wessely — the controversial psychiatrist once dubbed “Britain’s most hated doctor” has been appointed vice chair of Labour’s review into overdiagnosis of mental health and neurodivergence.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/controv...

Controversial professor to investigate overdiagnosis of mental health and neurodivergence for Labour

Get the benefits you're entitled to: help with personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and support allowance (ESA),disability living allowance (DLA). Claims, assessments...

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

Semi-regular reminder that PWEI remains the best band on the planet. New remix of old classic (and the whole new EP) absolutely kicks ass.

open.spotify.com/track/0r43uA...

Their Law (Ain't Our Law) - Edit

open.spotify.com

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

Any time when you and @lizlutgendorff.bsky.social post on the same day is an epic one!

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

And finally. we're back to reasons for having a common cross-gov "on behalf of another" system based on GOV.UK One Login.

www.publictechnology.net/2025/09/29/s...

One in three cannot access online benefits without help, DWP study finds

Government’s welfare department has published the latest version of a major citizen study which finds that, for some benefit lines, more than three in five cannot use internet services unassisted ...

www.publictechnology.net

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

I don't even know where to start with this. Like so-called robotic process automation this tool feels like is very likely a way to plaster over a problem that could be much better fixed by connecting underlying data.

www.publictechnology.net/2025/08/20/s...

Government plans to build AI agent to help citizens with ‘life admin’

Leading firms have been invited to join civil service tech experts to start work on a prototype of a ‘helper’ that ministers hope could be rolled out to the populace Government has proposed a s...

www.publictechnology.net

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

This list of AI tools retrieved via FOI from DWP is a great start but, once again, anything accessible via FOI should just be posted on GOV.UK.

drive.google.com/file/d/1mQJO...

Response - FOI2025_34864 Annex1.pdf

drive.google.com

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

The fact that the DWP still refers to their clients as "customers" in FOI responses in 2025 is equally horrific.

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

Now I've had time to read this properly there's so much good stuff in it. Beginning with how horrifying that in 2025 different government departments still maintain their own non-FOIable definitions of "vulnerable" rather than there being an agreed whole-government definition.

Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 1d

🕵️‍♀️ I FoI'd DWP to try to find out how they are using AI

⁉️ I got some answers, and a lot more questions

📩 Read all about it - and sign up for the newsletter!

Digital Welfare State edition 004 — ABD Consultancy

A special edition of the newsletter, focusing on Freedom of Information

www.abdconsultancy.co.uk

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

While this excellent video from Kurzgesagt has an upbeat ending the majority of it is just depressing...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfN...

AI Slop Is Killing Our Channel

YouTube video by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

www.youtube.com

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

Always excellent.

Liz Lutgendorff @lizlutgendorff.bsky.social · 1d

Had some thoughts after reading @hayleygullen.com's graphic novel about her breast cancer treatment: lizlutgendorff.substack.com/p/can-you-ap...

Can you apply service design principles to fix a fragmented NHS?

Big thoughts sparked by Hayley Gullen

lizlutgendorff.substack.com

Reposted by David Durant

Joseph Evans @josephevans.bsky.social · 1d

The politics of migration have shifted so far to the extreme right, the Conservatives and Reform now have a more hardline policy on deporting legal British residents than... the British National Party did in 2005

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 2d

David is slightly unfair. There is a clear difference here.

Conservatives and Reform plan to forcibly expel large numbers of people who are legal, permanent residents of migrant origin. The BNP proposal is voluntary.

David Herdson @davidherdson.bsky.social · 2d

This below is from the 2005 BNP manifesto.

Spot the difference with current Tory and Reform policy.

(p14 news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp... )

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 1d

I definitely don't agree with all of this but it's good they have a public policy. Of course it would be 1000 times better if there was a plan for a widespread common "on behalf of" policy for government services...

www.gov.uk/guidance/hel...

Help someone use GOV.UK One Login

What you can and cannot do when you help someone you know create a GOV.UK One Login and prove their identity.

www.gov.uk

Reposted by David Durant

Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 1d

🕵️‍♀️ I FoI'd DWP to try to find out how they are using AI

⁉️ I got some answers, and a lot more questions

📩 Read all about it - and sign up for the newsletter!

Digital Welfare State edition 004 — ABD Consultancy

A special edition of the newsletter, focusing on Freedom of Information

www.abdconsultancy.co.uk

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David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 2d

It's especially true for things like adults / children's social care where highly personal data is moved around like that all the time.

David Durant @bowsy.co.uk · 2d

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this. I would back-of-an-envelope estimate that maybe 50% of all data transfer in government is done by people emailing spreadsheets to each other and I just expected everyone knew that.

maggie-lee.bsky.social @maggie-lee.bsky.social · 2d

it amazes me how much is still done thru emailing excel spreadsheets around. That's no way to operate in the year of our lord 2025

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Reposted by David Durant

Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 2d

🚨*Tomorrow morning* you can receive a bumper edition of my Digital Welfare State newsletter, packed with good things about Freedom of Information, including the things I found out (and didn't) about how DWP are using AI

✉️Sign up and join over 110 other lucky readers!

Digital welfare state: origins, controversies, research — ABD Consultancy

How are governments worldwise using AI and other tech to administer the welfare state? Find out about research, policy and investigations into the digital welfare state, including digital surveillance...

www.abdconsultancy.co.uk

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Reposted by David Durant

Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social · 2d

Here's Leo from DBT on exactly that - DBT's Matchbox

www.youtube.com/live/3Zwdw_z...

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