Newsletter Issue #3 - 28th Feb 2025
UK Snooper's Charter, AI ethics (or the lack thereof), and JD Vance's Europe Trip
The Political Technologist (TPT) newsletter brings you a curation of the latest news, events, and opportunities in the field of political technology. TPT is run by a group of mid-career technologists, researchers, and campaigners active in the UK civic landscape. Want to contribute, or to have your news or projects featured? Reach out to us at thepoliticaltechnologist[at]proton[dot]me.
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Editor’s welcome
☕️Happy Friday folks!
With 2025 continuing to serve up steaming-hot buckets of technopolitical psychodrama, TPT is back with your weekly shot of short-from reflection, tongue-in-cheek analysis, and an oh-so-discerning curation of the week’s must-reads. Welcome to TPT#3!
Unable to avert your gaze from the slow-motion car crash of American politics? Don’t worry! We’ve got plenty of that for you in store this week. Yes, once again, nobody’s favourite Putin fangirl has been clamouring for media attention like a maladjusted toddler, while his darling oligarchs take a (literal) chainsaw to the remains of regulatory democracy at home and abroad. Scroll on for a bunch of great recommendations on where to get up to speed on the political technology angles here, and don’t miss Andy’s take on VP Vance’s eventful visit to Europe.
But outside of Trumpland, life goes on, apparently. Look out for Claddagh’s rundown of the AI ethics drama in Westminster, and, in the spotlight this week, Ollie’s synopsis of the curious incident of the so-called Snooper’s Law being quietly foisted on unsuspecting iCloud users in the UK!
And finally, what with the sense of impending doom many in the sector are experiencing, an inspiring, if a little offbeat, suggestion: I urge you to check out this profound, hopeful, and frankly bizarre podcast in which two AI agents (yep) discuss a recent book presenting some fascinating alternative visions for a decolonial and surprisingly spiritual future of the AI-Human relationship. A worthy weekend chin scratcher!
Stay sane,
Ollie & the rest of the editorial board
In the Spotlight
By Ollie
The Washington Post recently published their investigation in the UK Government’s implementation of the so-called ‘Snooper’s Charter’.
In a nutshell: the UK appears to be using laws from 2016 and 2022 to silently force Apple to hand over access to all users’ encrypted iCloud backup storage to government agencies and their private contractors, refusing to confirm or deny that they’re doing it, and threatening Apple with criminal prosecution if they discuss it publicly or inform their users that it’s happening. When they were first notified that the UK Govt might seek to do this, Apple said they would refuse to comply, and withdraw iCloud encrypted backup storage from the UK market. But the legislation seems to try to encompass the use of end-to-end encryption internationally too. Where this leaves users is unclear.
In previous years, ministers have defended the rationale of the Snooper’s Charter, because it might help stop and prosecute terrorism and child abuse. The question is, always: at what cost to a just society? Unsurprisingly, these actions would appear to contravene rulings from the European Court of Human Rights on the user’s fundamental right to privacy. What’s more, they’ve ruffled feathers across the pond too. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Andy Biggs went so far as to claim that the UK Governemtn’s decision is “essentially a foreign cyberattack disguised as political maneuvering.” In response, the duo sent a letter to the newly appointed National Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard, while Wyden is already circulating a draft bill in the Senate. Gabbard, for her part, has been quick to respond, instructing her intelligence chiefs to conduct a legal review into the demand. We await their findings.
A government spying on its citizens should not surprise anyone that’s been paying attention to this space for any amount of time. And of course this latest instance of the phenomenon is, obviously, a major problem already. But it could get even darker, and pretty damn quickly. I’ve been reluctantly reflecting recently on the very real possibility that Reform et al. come closer to power in the not-too-distant future, and make moves to implement a British re-run of the fascist ‘Project 2025-Trump 2.0’ collaboration we’re witnessing now in the US. What would government data access like this mean for the sovereignty/safety/viability of the thousands of civil society organisations and movements in the UK? Say, oh I don’t know, of those that protect immigrant rights and campaign for climate justice, for example? Activists: time to brush up on your cybersecurity. And maybe re-read Orwell.
On the Horizon
Looking for the chance to find your tribe, your next adventure, or that dream job? We recommend the following events and opportunities to check out:
Events
4th March | 12.30 - 14.00 | AI 101 for Charity & Public Sector Professionals
6th March | 10.00 - 16.00 | Information Security for London (ISfL) Annual Conference
6th March | 18.30 - 20.30 | Dorset Salon Writing Club for Technologist
12th March | 12.30 - 18.00 | How is the tech industry really sourcing clean energy?
13th March | 18.00 - 21.00 | Fireside Chat on Public Health Tech Platform DHIS2 at HardProblems
19th March | 09.00 - 17.00 | GovTech Show and Exhibition 2025
March (TBC)
April (TBC) | UNHCR and OECD Datathon: Harnessing Data for Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Children
23rd-27th June | International Governance Forum in Lillestrom, Norway
Opportunities
Climate Action Tech (CAT) Community are looking for a tech organiser and community organiser
The Green Web Foundation are on the hunt for a mid-career Django developer
The Centre for Machine Intelligence at Sheffield Univeristy have extended the deadline for their call for papers at the ‘Towards Sustainable Digital Futures’ symposium in May
Help shape the agenda of the upcoming Open Government Partnership Global Summit
On Everyone’s Lips
In this section, we bring you bite-sized chunks of our choice of gossip from the world of political technology right now. This week:
Ethics: What are They Good For?
By Claddagh.
Westminster’s AI ethics drama rumbles on, with this week's earliest casualty taking the form of AI Tsar Matt Cliffords Faculty shares. The Entrepreneur First CEO announced on Monday that he had sold his shares in the AI giant, which has contracts with government across a number of sectors, amidst criticism about the perceived conflict of interest it brought to his role as AI advisor to number 10. Government insists that his appointment is compliant with existing ethics rules, and that he has properly declared all his relevant investments. Other sources say that given his investment portfolio includes every portfolio company to have ever been through EF, alongside many other UK based AI firms, his laundry list of disclosures is more and more likely to become an embarrassment to Government.
Among his public critics was a senior member of the House of Lords; filmmaker and leading voice in digital rights, Baroness Kidron. Amidst controversial proposals from the government to overhaul copyright regulation in a way that industry deems to be harmful to rights holders and creatives, and beneficial to AI developers, she shot directly at Clifford as a prime example of the governments blindspots in this legislative area - accusing them of giving their ears to tech tsars and developers who stand to benefit from their regulatory direction, while ignoring and overlooking those from other industries likely to face harm.
This won’t go down well with Labour insiders who are already quietly unhappy at the UKs record low (for a second year in a row) position on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. TI slammed both Labour and the Conservatives, for enabling cash for access with party donors, for leaving the Government role of anti corruption officer vacant for 2.5 years, and for cronyism in the House of Lords. Other issues cited include PPE procurement, the Westmister-Lobbyist revolving door, and a lack of powers for the Electoral Commission. While the view of many in Westminster is that ACOBA has lost its bite, MPs who are already seething about the undue corporate influence that they believe led in part to the UKs refusal to sign the AI Summit statement earlier this month, are unlikely to take this news well. Starmers list of backbench divisions might soon become longer than Matt Cliffords list of declared outside interests.
JD Vance in Europe: Hillbilly Eloquence?
by Andy Twelves
JD Vance landed in Europe like a man on a mission - or at least like a guy who’d read one too many Cold War thrillers. First stop: Paris, for the AI Action Summit, a gathering where world leaders pretend they’re shaping the future while tech companies quietly carry on doing whatever they want. Vance, never one to miss a chance for a good sound bite, called for fewer restrictions, less ideological meddling, and an AI-driven economy that supposedly helps workers rather than replacing them. The tech bros in the room nodded along enthusiastically, while the European bureaucrats, ever eager to look like they’re in control, tried to mask their discomfort. When von der Leyen got up for her stint on the podium, he just left. Nice one. In reality, nothing was decided, nothing was fixed, and the political world is no closer to understanding what AI will actually do - except, of course, make a lot of very rich people even richer.
Then he was off to the Munich Security Conference, where he took one look at the room full of European leaders and decided to tell them their biggest problem wasn’t Russia, China, or even inflation - it was themselves. Bold move, considering half the room had spent the past decade insisting democracy was alive, well, and definitely not on fire. He railed against what he called “Soviet-style” censorship, which, to be fair, probably sounded a bit rich coming from a guy whose own government isn’t exactly best mates with the free press these days. For a bit of additional excitement, he also took a bit of a random swing at Romania’s annulled presidential election, suggesting democracy wasn’t quite as rock-solid as they liked to claim. The room collectively clenched, like someone had just brought up Eva Kaili again, and a few sipped their espressos more aggressively than usual.
Back home, the White House played it cool, while Europeans tried to decide if Vance was a prophet or just an unusually loud American. Nobody could really tell whether or not it was Appalachian wisdom, or just appal-ing. Either way, he made one thing clear - he does not care at all about the European establishment.
This Week’s Bookmarks
Watch & Listen
[YouTube] Highlights from a recent session on "AI for Teaming" by Greater Than
[Podcast] Burnout from humans
[Webinar Recording] People Powered: AI for Digital Democracy Webinar, Key Takeaways and Recording
Quick Reads
[Article] Smart borders kill: New frontiers of violence and erosion of rights at the world’s borders
[Article] DOGE.gov Website Vulnerbaility Exposed
[Article] Latin America is Moving Fast to Protect Democrcay from Big Tech
[Article] The key to sustainable cities may lie in increasingly sophisticated digital twins
[Article] Grok back tracks on a censorship of acusations of Musk’s role in misinformation
[Linkedin post] A brief provocation on the US Governemtn’s cull of open data as an ideoloical attack on transparency with global consequences
[Article] The Role of Unions in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
[Article] The public datasets that will have high impact on AI in the UK
[Article] Next generation visualisation tools helping to mobilise action at a global scale
[Article] Data Colonialism Comes Home To The US: Resistance Must Too
[Article] In Online Democracy, Fun Is Imperative
Deep Dives
[Report] Exploring the digital revolution paradox from a UN perspective
[Resource] Data Innovation Toolkit from the Euroepan Commission
[Report] Governing in the Age of AI: Building Britain’s National Data Library
Any other recommendations of unmissable content? Share it with us via this form!
Ways to engage with us
Want to contribute to a future edition of this newsletter? Or have some feedback for us? We’re always happy to hear from readers! Reach out to us at: thepoliticaltechnologist[at]proton.me.
Many of our editors and guest contributors often meet up at Newspeak House, the home of the London College of Political Technology. Want o hang out with us? Join one of their open Ration Club dinner events, every Wednesday evening from 7pm in Bethnal Green - register here