The danger to my job from AI isn't that AI can do my job, it's that my job is made even more precarious by the way AI is shaping ideas of the value of work. It can't do my job, but it can be part of convincing people (incorrectly) that my job isn't necessary.
Really important intervention from @daniellalock.bsky.social into why both grounds for the High Court finding the Palestine Action ban unlawful matter, and that notwithstanding some of the criticism of the Court, why it matters that the court is asserting a high bar for such a ban to be justified:
Uh, not me. Had to look it up to double check.
Looking forward to hosting this workshop with my colleague Clare Frances Moran, funded by the SCGA as part of the State of the World project.
Registration open now and spaces are free: scga.scot/2026/02/10/o...
Marking: Done
Research leave: Started
📆 EVENT: after 7+ yrs, Seán Binder & 23 humanitarians have finally been acquitted of 'trumped up' charges inc money laundering and smuggling.
Seán will speak alongside others facing criminalisation for migration and solidarity on 27 JAN @citystgeorges.bsky.social 👉 www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/even...
Excited to see my analysis of Tortoise Media and Sammut published in the latest issue of Public Law. I argue that the question of constitutes a public function under the Human Rights Act is far from settled.
If Edinburgh Uni, with no operational deficit, gets to sack 1800 people, imagine what this will signal to more fiscally challenged Scottish universities?
MSPs need to realise that this is more than a local crisis – we need urgent public scrutiny of Edinburgh’s governance.
Mug on top of a pink crocheted coaster. Laptop screen in the background
Mondays at this point in the term can be a bit rough, but being given a handmade coaster by a student was definitely a bright spot today.
This sounds fantastic - does ‘any career stage’ include PGRs? I’m supervising two PhD students researching economic aspects of the UK constitution.
Congratulations! 🎉
…the uk needs a lot more high quality principled journalism like this offering from mike jempson in the bristol cable…
thebristolcable.org/2025/10/at-h...
Yesterday's piece from @jamellebouie.net is the only high-profile piece I've seen that specifically discusses the watchlist, its effect on academics, and its effect on public attitudes toward academia as a whole. (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/o...
This was Conor Gearty only a week or so ago at @prospectmagazine.co.uk on ECHR withdrawal and the Palestine Action ban.
Very interesting account of using FOI in migration research. Highlights how FOI isn’t simply a neutral tool to access information, but instead sheds light in the “politics of visibility.”
Aberdeen beach. Windmills in the North Sea
Aberdeen looking fine on my lunchtime run.
#SLAPPs: Why do we need a law preventing the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation?
Read this @lawscot.bsky.social post from our colleagues @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social's Anti-SLAPP Research Hub to find out.
www.lawscot.org.uk/members/jour... @erinferguson.bsky.social
Thanks for sharing!
The mistake was proscribing Palestine Action. Having done that, they’ve backed themselves into a corner which can only result in their looking oppressive and authoritarian.
Good #ICJ ruling. In simple English, it translates to "states have a legal obligation to mitigate & adapt. Rich, historical emitters have greater obligations. States have an obligation to cooperate climate action. Equity matters w.r.t. achieving Paris Agreement goal."
www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...
I'm lucky to have an AHRC scholarship on a proposal I developed. It was highly competitive and went through about 7 or 8 drafts before submission. And led to many collaborations with colleagues in different unis. I've loved my PhD experience partly thanks to the scholarship. This is terrible.
Excellent analysis of how contracting out shifts responsibility from the state to individuals, limiting state accountability and increasing burdens on (often vulnerable) individuals.
Call for papers for a major two-day conference on Legal Methodologies exploring the nature of the discipline, with really important keynote speakers. Any abstracts, if you are interested in participating, to be emailed to law.research@ncl.ac.uk by 7 July.
Busy picket lines across the university today. @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social striking to save jobs and #StopTheCuts
New post: Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on human rights reform in the UK and in Europe publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/06/18/j...
'A review into how the situation has been handled, commissioned by the university, found decision-making was unstructured and dominated by finances. The university said it accepted there had been "missteps".' Not the only university to harry in haste and repent at leisure.
An excellent analysis from @tomp-e.bsky.social, drawing on his insights as a GREC caseworker to explain the impacts of the shortage of immigration lawyers on access to justice in the North East.
www.lawscot.org.uk/members/jour...
Absolutely. Colleague and I have just pushed to be allowed to (re)introduce a research essay into the curriculum. I had to stress my pedagogical justifications ‘cause between workload and AI, there’s a lot of pressure to go back to the old days.
A celebration of Christopher Hood’s legacy: blogs.lse.ac.uk/government/2...
