Tech ethics at Oxford, formerly Google. Author, 'Stand Out of Our Light.' Reluctant Twitterer. Burrito enthusiast.
Oxford, UK
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Twitter is a profoundly compromised medium. I minimize my own use of it wherever possible. If you wish to contact me, please email me at james@williams.nu.
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"Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely."
“Reading should commit us to a vision, should engage our humanity.”
Rest in peace, George Steiner (1929–2020). Read more of his Art of Criticism: theparisreview.org/interview…
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Historians, if there are any, will one day be flabbergasted that our knee-jerk 'cancel' culture did not take aim at the obviously corrupt incentives of Twitter itself. We all have a moral obligation to dismantle and destroy its influence, which is incompatible with democracy.
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Twitter has not banned political advertising. It is simply exploiting the meaninglessness of the term "advertising" for its own benefit. "Earned" still means "earned according to the success metrics of an advertising platform." It is a fake gesture. And the show goes on.
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To commemorate the Fourth I will simply share these great and prescient words of Lincoln's, in his Lyceum Address of 1838: abrahamlincolnonline.org/lin…
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Very much enjoyed the whirlwind tour across Italy his week for the Italian version of my book, which was kindly translated by @abcdeeFFe & published by @effequ. Grazie mille! #scansatevi
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James Williams retweeted
Looking for the perfect audiobook for the commute home tonight? We're pleased to let you know that you can currently listen to @WilliamsJames_ #9Dots Prize winning book, Stand Out of Our Light, for FREE at : nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook…
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James Williams retweeted
🥁 And the 2019 #PrincetonU Pre-Read is ...
"Stand Out of Our Light" by @WilliamsJames_! 📖 bit.ly/2X2ehy8
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Each year, all new @Princeton students read the same book in a wonderful tradition called the 'Pre-read.' This year, that book will be my recent exploration of a topic I care about deeply. Thrilled & honored for the book to be a part of this tradition.
princeton.edu/news/2019/04/1…
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James Williams retweeted
Every single politician who joins in with anti-politics populism, who defines their patriotism in order to enrage the country rather than to love and protect it will no doubt get some retweets. Make sure those retweets are worth it, I guarantee you'll regret it.
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Excited to announce the first translation of 'Stand Out of Our Light' - in italiano! Il libro sarà disponibile a maggio.
amazon.it/Scansatevi-dalla-L…
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Many thanks to @gregmepstein for a thoughtful & engaging conversation, & to @TechCrunch for hosting this important new series about tech ethics.
techcrunch.com/2019/03/13/th…
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James Williams retweeted
Are we living in an Age of Distraction?
Tune in tomorrow at 11am on @BBCRadio4 to hear a history of distraction, from Jane Austen to Jeff Bezos — with @superwuster @nireyal @c18abigail @WilliamsJames_
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002gq…
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James Williams retweeted
Thanks so much to my fab panellists at last night’s @FT125 WF event on digital addiction, and what good managers can do to reduce workplace stress in our “always on” culture @DrLinda_P @TomKegode @WilliamsJames_
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One of the core challenges for tech journalists in 2019 will be to distinguish those who actually know what ethics is, from those who simply use the term as a cheap marketing tool for self-promotion.
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James Williams retweeted
Should lack of evidence stop us taking action? “It’s akin to demanding proof the adversarial army marching towards you does, in fact, have bullets in their guns before you take self-preservatory action,” says @WilliamsJames_ nature.com/articles/d41586-0… #digitaldetox #ThursdayThoughts
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Interesting: the term "backlash" is actually a mechanical engineering metaphor. It refers to the empty space between the teeth of gears, without which they couldn't turn and the whole mechanism would lock up. So a backlash plays an essential role in the system functioning at all.
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James Williams retweeted
Many journalists still assume that language is neutral, that you can just repeat language and it’s completely neutral. In fact, language is never neutral. Language is always framed in a certain way, and it always has consequences. vox.com/2018/11/15/18047360/…
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