Alberto Muti

Timely and important, be sure to follow the Bulletin's investigations into how AI is shaping our world and the future.

Reminder of this event tomorrow!

A good person to contribute further (i don't know how much he's using bluesky though) is @persbo.bsky.social

Ouch, just ouch.

You are very kind, Marty - I agree it's black magic, and I'm no wizard!

Your answer to @cherylrofer.bsky.social seems right-sounds like the thermal/visual double flash. The (simplistic) one I have for seismic is that nuclear explosions are sudden while earthquakes show a ramp-up of sorts.

Obvious answer to that is that not everybody can demand to see identification documents; again, these are very simple things that other countries have figured out aaaages ago.

I realise the audience for this would just be "me, and also maybe other foreigners" but I would love to read something on why Brits, who are happy to live in a country where their every movement outside is filmed by CCTV, hate the idea of having ID cards, something plenty of countries happily have

With address registered on ID, 2nd factor wouldn't add anything.

I had a landlord who cheated credit card companies by creating fake tenants and providing their fake contracts as proof of address (it was, somehow, not his most repulsive trait). System's bad.

Yep, that sucks, and I was telling other friends that I was sure this would be the case. Again, we don't disagree on trans issues.

Situation on trans rights is horrible and requires more pushback, for sure.

I am not sure ID card is THE instrument that will mark another significant change for the worse, but I agree this is an area of concern.

...I'm sorry but have you had any experience living and doing stuff in a country where ID is actually used? because... nope that's not it.

Not really.

2FA relies on different factors (sthg you know + sthg you have), & on 2nd factor being harder than the first (eg steal a phone vs leak a password).

In the current UK system, most of the documents you'd provide are *EASIER* to steal, acquire, or forge, than a gov't issued card.

Btw, as an immigrant WITHOUT a simple way to prove my identity and rights, I'd much rather have a piece of paper. I have settled status, I depend on a gov't computer being willing to give me a code every time. If the servers crap themselves, or the government decides to interfere, I'm in trouble.

Identity theft: absolutely the opposite; at the moment, proof of identity in the uk is a confusing hodgepodge, stressful for people to do, and with so many loopholes. an ID card* makes that much safer.

*but you'd need a physical one, the idea of a digital one is idiotic

trans harassment: some aspects are worrying for sure (e.g. bathroom provisions in EHRC guidance) - but it's more to do with the rest of the government activity. plenty of states have ID for everyone; some are good on gender recognition and some are bad.

(cont)

But the point is, the UK has been *excellent* at doing this, and doing mass surveillance, and using bureaucratic processes to constrain people's options, *without* an ID.

On the other hand, difficulties in proving one's identity ARE an issue.

A GSTE-NDV would be a generational goal: concrete international collaboration in discussing crucial practical aspects of nuclear disarmament.

Join us next Friday for an online discussion of how this could work, and why it's so necessary!

Join NPSGLOBAL Foundation and VERTIC for a timely global webinar that will explore how a Group of Scientific and Technical Experts (GSTE-NDV) could strengthen multilateral nuclear disarmament verification.

Friday 3rd October, 9am New York

Learn more and register:
www.vertic.org/2025/09/glob...

Trump’s blast toward Russia is a ‘negotiating tactic,’ White House says The president’s escalation in rhetoric is a marker of Trump’s frustration toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a senior White House official.

Ah yes, I remember when I negotiated with the Russians and Chinese and North Koreans and Iranians that the best way to maximize your impact is to admit up front that it is all a negotiating position and not a deeply held policy.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

And they won't stop at trans people, and Buttigieg should know better than some comments he's made recently.

"I'm very skeptical of books... I think, if you wrote a book, you f—ed up, and it should have been a six-paragraph blog post"

Sam Bankman-Fried, a Clearly Wise And Smart Man Who Should Be Trusted.

The are where I'm critical is specifically the investment side, where he was supposed to bring principle and expertise and... it all went a bit Italian, in the worst way.

Don't get me wrong though, I like the man. His report to the EU Commission finds me in great agreement.

His presence was a strong encouragement to EU leaders that Italy would do its homework now.

A few years down the line, in between home renovations, new football stadiums, etc, it's less clear that he was effective on that.

As an Italian PM, he was successful in handling the COVID response (alongside others); but also he was there to oversee spending on the COVID recovery fund - Italy has struggled with using EU funds effectively, avoiding mis-spend, and being transparent. His presence (cont)

He was a hero as central banker - one of few roles that look as purely technical as possible; and yet, he took steps that were not only technically sound, but also strategic, and a bit out of the "standard" playbook. The man actually has a political mind, and a great one, I think.

(cont)

Still sucks - sorry you're being subjected to this.

The Draghi government in Italy comprehensively failed.

This is specific about the idea of primarily technocratic governments, as seen in Italy - and the parallels with starmer.

(More broadly, I've grown increasingly skeptical of the existence of a "pure" technocratic skill, separate from sound political vision)

Iran signs a new agreement with the IAEA. Then tries to sell it at home After Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog signed an agreement to resume inspections and avoid sanctions, Tehran struggled to explain to Iranians that it was not a humiliation.

What next in Iran? A new piece by @thebulletin.org, including comments from my VERTIC colleague Hugh Chalmers

Also, again, I would strongly argue that technocratic governments with no strong political push were not very effective at fixes beyond the short term, and sowed the seeds of discontent and populism that later 5S, Salvini and Meloni reaped. Not a good recipe anyway.