Alexander Iosad
@a_iosad
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Director @InstituteGC – governing in the age of AI. Views own, &c. Past: edtech VC, history of science DPhil. Fan of universities, progress, 🏏. ✡️.
London, England
Joined May 2007
Mokyr’s *The Gifts of Athena* is such an excellent book, and the concept of the cost of access to knowledge, in particular, continues to shape my thinking on a lot of things – like the impact of AI on science and the wider knowledge economy. Very well deserved, this.
BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth” with one half to Mokyr
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So the Conservative leader’s answer to privacy concerns is to launch a data-harvesting operation? Got to respect the hustle.
We will fight Keir Starmer’s digital ID every step of the way. Because Starmer has no backbone or plan to tackle illegal immigration, he is instead going to impose compulsory ID on law abiding citizens and our children. Join the fightback here:
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🪩The one and only @stateofaireport 2025 is live! 🪩 It’s been a monumental 12 months for AI. Our 8th annual report is the most comprehensive it's ever been, covering what you *need* to know about research, industry, politics, safety and our new usage data. My highlight reel:
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@DailyMail I ran the cybersecurity of Estonia - including that of our ID cards. This article is ill-informed, badly researched, filled with spurious claims and unsubstantiated arguments. The chauvinist tone of the piece is embarrassing.
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…Conclusion 2: Building will look different in different places. This is a tale of two countries: London and the Southeast desperately need more homes. Other towns & cities lack good transport, and industrial heartlands depend more on energy. (graph from @jburnmurdoch)
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The BoD is right. Even before the murder of Jews in Manchester, it was clear that Britain has a growing problem with antisemitism. But running into the arms of the far-right because – for now –they’re pretending they don’t hate us too, would be a terrible, dangerous mistake.
“Tommy Robinson is a thug who represents the very worst of Britain. His presence undermines those genuinely working to tackle Islamist extremism and foster community cohesion. Minister Chikli has proven himself to be a Diaspora Minister in name only. In our darkest hour, he has
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“Tommy Robinson is a thug who represents the very worst of Britain. His presence undermines those genuinely working to tackle Islamist extremism and foster community cohesion. Minister Chikli has proven himself to be a Diaspora Minister in name only. In our darkest hour, he has
In the wake of the horrific Manchester terrorist attack, Israel and the Jewish people stand firmly with our allies in the United Kingdom. On behalf of the State of Israel, I am proud to host British patriot @TRobinsonNewEra who will visit Israel in mid-October. Tommy is a
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This whole story is mad, of course; but at least a silver lining: DSIT response suggesting a focus on in-house delivery for digital ID. That’s exactly the right approach, and a chance to build on @i_dot_ai successes & show how modern digital delivery can happen within govt.
The government said the claim – repeated on the BBC's Have I Got News For You – that Tony Blair's son's firm is linked to the digital ID scheme was false The scheme is set to be "designed, built, and run" in-house, not outsourced to external suppliers https://t.co/qYZNKrqoIN
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To add to this: when those in power fail to visibly use it to make things better (what we’d call “delivery”), some will think they only want that power for its own sake. Which feeds a pervasive sense of “in it for themselves”, “they’re all the same”, etc. This is a good thread.
Phone snatching, fare evasion, dodgy money-laundering shops, public transport safety - all downstream, day-to-day signifiers that the left in power isn’t doing the second bit well. All entirely solvable! With the slightest exertion of power *the left already has*! But it’s icky!
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I wrote a short piece for the Observer on the attacks in Manchester. https://t.co/VRVbllii9G
observer.co.uk
The Manchester attack didn't come as a shock. The only surprise is it hasn’t happened sooner
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I can’t remember a time when there has not been security outside my synagogue. When I say “security”, this is mostly volunteers from the community, who stand in the sun or rain, each week, to be a first line of defence against potential attackers. At the little synagogue in
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Real change demands disruptive ideas and bold delivery to unite a divided electorate. We’ve been live at #Lab25 convening leaders, thinkers and reformers to chart a path from decline to transformation.
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AI and innovations like digital ID offer a once-in-a-generation chance to reimagine services, from healthcare access to personalised education — but only if challenges around privacy and trust are addressed. At #Lab25 @leicesterliz, @ServiceNow’s Damian Stirrett, @Smyth_Chris
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How the government's new digital ID will work… and why I’ve changed my mind on ID cards (FREE TO READ!) https://t.co/ksBLSMM00T
takes.jamesomalley.co.uk
And why I've changed my mind on ID cards
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Two things can be true at the same time: 1. Without additional advances, LLMs won't get us to general intelligence. 2. Even without additional advances, LLMs will radically transform the economy.
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This week at #Lab25 we’ll be sharing bold ideas that can cut through the noise and deliver a tangible impact. We call this disruptive delivery – turning ambition into action, and delivering a Britain Transformed. See you there.
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oh cool — this is a great early doc on the initial plans for digital ID, written by someone who knows what they’re talking about on privacy & security
great thread would love to see a whitepaper from govt soon on the planned architecture for digital ID, which hopefully looks like this & would dissolve concerns if so:
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there are good and bad ways of doing digital ID — I would’ve liked to see it deployed for clear public benefit first, with a privacy-preserving architecture, before being used for immigration enforcement — but the principle is sound if you’re serious about state capacity you
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Time for digital ID. Time to deliver.
#DigitalID will be the foundation for a new model of public services that come to you when you need them - based on fairness and convenience. TBI’s @a_iosad reacts to the PM’s announcement today on the introduction of digital IDs, at the Global Progress Action Summit ⬇️
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1/ I don’t instinctively like the idea of ID cards. It offends my liberal sensibilities. But Digital IDs aren’t the privacy catastrophe they would have been in the 2000s.
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