Hopeful technologist. Community tech, careful innovation, socially progressive tech policy. https://www.careful.industries https://hopeful.technology https://buttondown.email/justenoughinternet DMs don't work but hello@careful.industries will find mehttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtvaui57gk2yOne of the things the guys (always guys) hyper-rationalising on behalf of data centres seem to not understand is that these physical bits of infrastructure are also doing a lot of metaphorical heavy lifting for people who are ambivalent about and/or have low trust in tech [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Aug 2026 07:03 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvaui57gk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtv7ue6ar22yWell this is sort of magical https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/25/japan-1800-people-move-pull-400-tonne-hirosaki-castle-with-ropes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other25 Aug 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtv7ue6ar22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtty5dbwlc26Just got a noisy environment alert from my Apple watch for filling up my water bottle with a particularly enthusiastic gush of tap water24 Aug 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtty5dbwlc26https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtssljapdc2pvg piece from Peter. I would add that Westminster remains shockingly naïve about the conception of the pot of gold at the end of the technology rainbow, and could just be a bit more sensible about it. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Aug 2026 07:43 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtssljapdc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtrgl3vdsc2iI never need to see another genAI image for a think tank report that somehow juxtaposes the Union Jack with some kind of smokey "industrial" imagery23 Aug 2026 18:35 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrgl3vdsc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtor4mpe4s2ySo what is the situation with barbecues now? i don't mean to trivialise anything but the thing about sending everyone a one-off alert is that there needs to be some kind of ongoing comms structure to back it up.22 Aug 2026 17:06 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtor4mpe4s2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtlqxb6gps2xAnthony's critique is rather more eloquent than mine [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Aug 2026 12:25 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlqxb6gps2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtlqrtaakk2x*vomits* surely, completely unnecessary21 Aug 2026 12:22 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlqrtaakk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtlhp3snjk27yet again I find myself umming and ahing over whether or it's appropriate to invoke the Scunthorpe Problem of moderation in this quite serious piece of writing. (Also, really, one of the travails of working on technology impacts is that the most important things often look v silly and trivial.)21 Aug 2026 09:39 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlhp3snjk27https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtk3jlbn7s2fAI chatbots would be a lot better if they had been explicitly designed to support perimenopausal memory loss. "What's the name of the person I spoke to on Tuesday who wore glasses? No, the other one." "Why did I open this browser window?" "Is it warm in here or is it me?"20 Aug 2026 20:29 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtk3jlbn7s2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtiwhx23hk2eI believe I may have received the spammiest thing in the world, the pinnacle, perhaps the Platonic ideal of online nonsense. An actual calendar invitation to a webinar about managing cortisol and stubborn belly fat like a senior finance professional. (I am not, btw, a senior finance professional.)20 Aug 2026 09:26 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtiwhx23hk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mthfpd2nhs2eInterested lot of projects funded by UKSA but I'm particularly interested in this one https://www.gov.uk/government/news/better-wifi-on-remote-trains-and-access-to-cutting-edge-tech-for-british-farmers-through-13-million-boost-to-drive-next-gen-satellite-communications19 Aug 2026 18:53 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthfpd2nhs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtggakymh226I have spent so many hours typing recently that I think I may actually have acquired some new callouses on the ends of some of my fingers. Who says knowledge work is not extremely hazardous, eh?19 Aug 2026 09:30 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtggakymh226https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtfbvlg2k22vMy cat has forgotten how to use the cat flap, so guess I'm going to stay up all night to open and close the back door.18 Aug 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtfbvlg2k22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtdzxtqzm226Has Mamdani created the precedent for "showing your process" in the age of genAI? I like the idea that we could be all be known by our authentic blooper reels https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcJ_f-FxC3q/?l=1 (except for the fact that they are "Reels™️" ofc)18 Aug 2026 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdzxtqzm226https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtdngprbws26So, little thought experiment here. WHAT IF ignoring latest AI models actually increased productivity? [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Aug 2026 07:00 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdngprbws26https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mtc6dlp7u222No thanks Google17 Aug 2026 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtc6dlp7u222https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt7atsdje22fAh, do you know what is even MORE FUN than doing remote tech support for an older relative? Doing it for a teenager! Honestly, middle-age, the gifts, they keep on giving.16 Aug 2026 13:05 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt7atsdje22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt6syj73d22dI've had a lot of responses to this (both here and in a related thread) and what stands out is the fact that doing an enjoyable online talk is a completely different thing to doing an enjoyable real-life event and perhaps involves more (or at least different) kinds of work from the speaker. However [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Aug 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6syj73d22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt6oqfgqik26Good morning. I am wearing a jumper. Repeat, I am wearing a jumper.16 Aug 2026 07:40 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6oqfgqik26https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt5emvkrjc2dWho, please, is going to write an indepth Freudian analysis on taboo, generative AI, and intellectual shame, because - frankly - I need to read it. Just write your disclosure statement, don't be a big baby. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Aug 2026 19:07 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt5emvkrjc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt4hue5nt22gAll I really want from modern technology is the ability to quickly and easily indent a quotation without also indenting all the text above and below it at least twice before I press the magic combination of buttons needed to create a hard return without also leaving a massive space above or below15 Aug 2026 10:32 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4hue5nt22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt2t6pt4ec27My earlier fondness for Bluesky somewhat dampened by this. Because I had the temerity to suggest the alert sound on the govt emergency notification was Quite Loud, this person has suggested I should form a political party and try to become Prime Minister. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2026 18:49 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2t6pt4ec27https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt2qlmatxs2sWell thanks very much to the UK Govt for the absolutely terrifying cacophony of alert noises that just rippled through our household, informing us not to light any fireworks.14 Aug 2026 18:03 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2qlmatxs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt27mzws7c26Obvs this is a very self-selecting group of responses, but interesting the number of other people who don't really enjoy doing online talks, and I wonder if it would be possible to design a set of conditions that make them feel less weird? [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2026 13:00 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt27mzws7c26https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mt25alurnk24If you regularly do talks for your job, do you enjoy doing online-only talks? I know that online-only events are much better for accessibility but I find doing online talks to be very weird and they invariably send me into a spiral of self-consciousness and self-loathing. Is that just me? 😂14 Aug 2026 12:17 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt25alurnk24https://bsky.app/profile/rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social/post/3mszxwsgqtc2rIn case anyone was wondering about it, there should absolutely be protections in place to stop people marrying a few lines of computer code, and there should probs also be some pretty urgent psychological support available [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2026 10:42 +0000at://did:plc:dvvvi2lfda3eq46zikkozitb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mszxwsgqtc2r