• Silicon Species?

    Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, recently wrote an essay warning that uncontrolled, autonomous AI could lead to a new ‘silicon species’ that could begin to rival humanity for resources. On BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme Suleyman argued that … Continued

  • Science Fiction No More? Space-Based Weapons Meet Space-Based Data Centres

    The World Economic Forum kicked off 2026 by speculating about the potential for data centres in space. SpaceX highlights how the build-out of orbital data centres justifies the need for millions of satellites as part of a massive new initiative … Continued

  • How to fund research?

    Back during the blog on National Champions, I described how the UK government’s industrial strategy had identified eight priorities (the so-called IS-8) but that there was “no real impetus (or resources!) for taking substantive action”. Clearly, I spoke too soon! … Continued

  • Should children be banned from social media?

    Earlier this week, Meta announced it would block Instagram and Facebook for users under 16 in Australia in advance of the 10 December deadline set by the federal legislation designed to reduce children’s exposure to social media. Although this will … Continued

  • National Champions Redux

    As discussed in class, national champions have been receiving renewed attention from virtually all corners in the context of global competition, especially in the tech sector. In just the past few months, China has tried to encourage mergers in its … Continued

  • Is there still a role for collaborative, open-source efforts like Wikipedia?

    There have long been debates as to whether Wikipedia is a trustworthy source, whether there were Western, male, English-speaking, and/or liberal biases in its 65 million pages, or how Wikipedia resolves conflicts (or does not!). There is even a site that lets you see which topics … Continued