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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 9d

Delighted that @j-amesmarriott.bsky.social has identified the same problem. Digital ID compounds smartphone dystopia

www.thetimes.com/article/bcc1...

Digital ID compounds smartphone dystopia

Just as the world is understanding how damaging they are for our brains and souls, this plan makes them compulsory

www.thetimes.com

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 12d

It’s reference to supporting people who are older or can’t use a device that grinds my gears. Listening to GenZ talk about their digital lives, I heard many say they want to be free of devices. I guess encouraging young people to be device free is just when it suits rather than a consistent view

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 12d

I’ve worked on and off on digital identity for a decade. I have plenty of thoughts about the UK govt proposal.

Right now though, based on my work with 14-24 year olds I’m curious how a compulsory DIGITAL ID will help with extricating young people from mobile devices? 🤷🏻‍♀️

www.gov.uk/government/n...

New digital ID scheme to be rolled out across UK

A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services. Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks ...

www.gov.uk

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 13d

Compulsory ID.

Compulsory.

ID.

Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 13d

Telegraph readers marginally more opposed to ID cards than for them.

Times readers all in enthusiastic for them.

Curious.

Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 15d

Utterly unsurprised that when it comes to bricks and mortar shoppers want to interact with people not surveillance cameras.

‘Amazon to close all its ‘grab and go’ till-less grocery stores’

www.thetimes.com/article/cd7c...

Latest news & breaking headlines

The latest breaking UK, US, world, business and sport news from The Times and The Sunday Times. Go beyond today's headlines with in-depth analysis and comment.

www.thetimes.com

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 15d

@williamcb.bsky.social thank you for your hospitality and for hosting an interesting conversation.

Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 20d

Oh! Conor has died? This is terribly sad news. He was a great man, always so generous with his ideas and enthusiastic for the ensuing conversation. I am grateful the time I spent with him.

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · 28d

My timeline demonstrating the extent of the wealth/poverty gap depressingly clearly @gavin-kelly.bsky.social @techmeme.com

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Sep 8

Right!

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Sep 8

UK Govt report can be found here www.gov.uk/government/p...

Microsoft 365 Copilot Experiment: Cross-Government Findings Report (HTML)

www.gov.uk

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Sep 8

This report, combined with the UK Govt report on Microsoft Co-Pilot seem to be early warning signs that AI is not living up
to the vastly inflated expectations.

Trough of Disillusionment here we all come!

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Sep 8

We might be “experiencing an AI bubble,” Rogé Karma argues. “If that bubble bursts, it could put the dot-com crash to shame—and the tech giants and their Silicon Valley backers won’t be the only ones who suffer.”

Just How Bad Would an AI Bubble Be?

The entire U.S. economy is being propped up by the promise of productivity gains that seem very far from materializing.

bit.ly

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Aug 13

Wow, Diana Johnson MP twisting what surveillance means on BBC radio 4 right now. Being transparent about 24/7 live facial recognition doesn’t stop it being surveillance.

To then claim it’s adhering to the law, and in the next breath sat there will be a consultation on the law is really something

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Dutch News @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social · Aug 4

Facebook is increasingly under siege and now a new Dutch initiative – the Facebook Museum – is aiming to help users break away from the platform once and for all.

World’s first Facebook museum helps users face the future - DutchNews.nl

Facebook is increasingly under siege and now a new Dutch initiative – the Facebook Museum – is aiming to help users break away from the platform once and for all. Designed by SETUP, an arts…

www.dutchnews.nl

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · Jul 30

NEW: ChatGPT allows Google to index chats users share using the Share functionality - presumably misinterpreting "make this chat discoverable". The result? Frank admissions about sex lives and drug dependencies. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91376687/goo... tip @techmeme.com

Google is indexing ChatGPT conversations, potentially exposing sensitive user data

Thousands of shared ChatGPT chats—including deeply personal details about mental health, relationships, and trauma—are appearing in Google search results, raising major privacy concerns.

www.fastcompany.com

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Jul 31

Highlighting the funding discrepancy between funding AI safety and funding research to study the impact of AI on societal harms

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Jul 31

@orbenamy.bsky.social making some excellent points on Radio 4 Today about the lack of definitive data relating to screens, young people and mental health.

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Renate Samson @renatesamson.bsky.social · Jul 30

What next? Parents encouraged to “chip” their kids along with the family pets?

24 / 7 surveillance of each other is not a sign of love it’s a restriction of independence, fundamental to children’s development.

The Verge @theverge.com · Jul 30

You can hide an AirTag in Skechers’ new kid shoes

Help prevent your kid and your AirTag from getting lost.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Renate Samson

cliffmanning.bsky.social @cliffmanning.bsky.social · Jul 9

More Than Robots July edition is available now
A stroll around the youth/digital/equity Venn
Ft @ofcom.bsky.social @shuhbillskee.bsky.social @peteetchells.bsky.social @renatesamson.bsky.social @pshe-association.bsky.social @cfyounglives.bsky.social and more

www.morethanrobots.org.uk/more-than-ro...

⏰ More Than Robots #91 July 2025

fugit inreparabile tempus Time flies like an arrow and yet also seems to go in circles. Here are some things to make the most of the time available.

www.morethanrobots.org.uk

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Ms. Naughty @msnaughty.bsky.social · Jun 20

What a shock: age verification tools are inaccurate, invade privacy and keep too much data. But providers insist they can make it work because that's what they always say.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s

Operators of trial insist age assurance ‘can be done’ but preliminary report finds age verification tools ‘not guaranteed to be effective’

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Ada Lovelace Institute @adalovelaceinst.bsky.social · May 29

Our new report on the governance of biometric technologies in the UK covered by @financialtimes.com ⬇️

www.ft.com/content/09ce... (£)

UK must toughen regulation of facial recognition, say AI experts

Campaigners call on Keir Starmer’s government to create clear laws to tackle growing use of the technology

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · May 29

proliferation of nudify apps and the app store / social media complicity in promoting and platforming them is an absolute nightmare: www.404media.co/no-one-knows...

No One Knows How to Deal With 'Student-on-Student' AI CSAM

A new report from Stanford finds that schools, parents, police, and our legal system are not prepared to deal with the growing problem of minors using AI to generate CSAM of other minors.

www.404media.co

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Chris Plummer @chrisplummer.bsky.social · May 24

If you load this page it contacts 82 IP addresses executing 256 separate HTTP transactions to download 18MB of data writing 64 cookies to your device to tell you “no”

150 4.5K 15K

Reposted by Renate Samson

Nuffield Foundation @nuffieldfoundation.org · May 22

New technologies and social media was meant to offer opportunity. But for many young people, it’s adding pressure, not clarity.

🤖 AI is making jobs harder to get, or wiping them out entirely
📱 Social media romanticises success, leaving them feeling behind
🌐 Endless options online feel overwhelming

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Reposted by Renate Samson

Nuffield Foundation @nuffieldfoundation.org · May 22

How is Gen Z experiencing the shift from school to work?

1️⃣ Young people told us how COVID-19 fundamentally changed their sense of self & paths to employment.

The pandemic paused their lives – missed exams, lost confidence, big plans derailed – with many still dealing with the consequences today.🧵

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