Policy

I stumbled upon this blog recently: https://heatherburns.tech/2024/04/29/cheers-ross/, which pointed me to this:

https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/chatcontrol.pdf

There is a quote from the paper that should be chiselled in the front entrance of every public body:

The idea that complex social problems are amenable to cheap technical solutions is the siren song of the software salesman and has lured many a gullible government department on to the rocks. Where ministers buy the idea of a magical software ‘solution’, as the industry likes to call its products, the outcomes are often disappointing and sometimes disastrous. And the very idea that we can replace police officers, social workers and teachers by ordering Facebook to watch our children and grandchildren more closely is a non-starter. The kids left Facebook years ago for Instagram; they’re now headed via Snapchat to TikTok, and to an assortment of gaming platforms.