Interesting Links for 22-07-2025

[andrewducker]

1. HS2 was doomed to be a mess before it began, say insiders

(tags:hs2 uk regulation trains planning epicfail )

2. Is it cake? M&S vs HMRC tax edition

(tags:uk tax food cake viaSwampers )

3. In a Major Reversal, the World Bank Is Backing Mega Dams

(tags:hydroelectric investment renewables )

4. UK's Biobank, the biggest human imaging study scans its 100,000th volunteer

(tags:uk mri health research )

5. ChatGPT advises women to ask for lower salaries

(tags:ai inequality women pay OhForFucksSake )

Comments

2. Is it cake?

[doug]

It would in many ways be better to have a simpler tax system but, on the other hand, (a) given it is how it is, better to have impartial courts deciding the stupid (and occasionally entertaining) edge cases, and (b) it is evidently successful as a way to promote an industry (corporate and tax law) in which England-and-Wales enjoys a substantial degree of comparative advantage.

Re: 2. Is it cake?

[andrewducker]

Agreed on all counts!

[bens_dad]

2. Hang on. Cake is not confectionery ?

According to the tax system, cake is not a luxury !

[andrewducker]

What else can you eat when there's no bread?

[bens_dad]

Oakcakes !

Hmm. They do have cake in the name :-(

[hilarita]

5. Now you can get your algorithmic discrimination presented to you in coherent English straight from the computer, with no human intervention! Another magnificent win for humanity!!!!!

[andrewducker]

Hurray! High fives all round.

[nancylebov]

5. One of the co-authors is in the ethical AI business, so it's to his advantage to find unethical AI. I'm not saying the results are wrong, but I await replication.