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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah
@hetanshah.bsky.social
21K followers 1.5K following 31K posts
Chief Executive, The British Academy
Chair, Our World in Data
Board, National Audit Office
Visiting Professor in Practice, LSE
Visiting Professor, Kings College London
Fellow, Birkbeck College
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Jul 18
My heart is heavy that we are making a collective miscalculation in undervaluing the humanities - from my FT piece
www.ft.com/content/fbde...
Thinking is hard. Reflection is hard. Perhaps we will persist with our collective miscalculation and ignore all that philosophy, literature, classics and history have to offer us. The humanities have a word for this: tragedy.
hetanshah.bsky.social
We met with the new Science Minister Chris McDonald yesterday. He indicated his strong support across all R&D disciplines which was great to hear. He is keen to get to know the social science, humanities and arts, and has offered to meet with our community which we'll take forward
September 15, 2026 at 4:20 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
If you were worried you spend too much time on here turns out it is fine
www.thetimes.com/article/fa07...
Any type of reading is the most marvellous medicine, say scientists
Researchers from the University of Cambridge collated data to reveal the incredible benefits of sitting down with a book, comic or magazine at any age
www.thetimes.com
September 15, 2026 at 12:54 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘The report is expected to say that there is no direct evidence of widespread overdiagnosis of autism and ADHD in Britain’

Preview of what is expected in the independent review led by @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow
Peter Fonagy
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/476...
ADHD is not being overdiagnosed, major Government report set to find
Landmark report expected to rule out mass overdiagnosis but warn support can be hard to obtain
liveapp.inews.co.uk
September 15, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
Great point here from @sarahoconnorft.ft.com - it will be harder to track the effects of AI on the gig economy as our data is much weaker than for those who are employed
www.ft.com/content/a2c3...
So what happens if the shock absorber gets hit with a shock of its own? Because nobody employs gig workers, there is nobody to fire them either. Instead, the impact is likely to unfold under the radar in the form of fewer tasks and lower incomes, rather than the sort of job losses that economists usually trace.
September 14, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
I hadn’t been worried about AI existential risk before but oh boy now I’m scared
BBC Live Trump criticises Al boss who called for slowdown and says only guardrail needed is a 'smart president'
September 14, 2026 at 3:18 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, has urged the Cabinet Office to review the employment terms and conditions of top civil servants “to reduce the incidence of discretionary, extra-contractual elements of payments on departure from these rules”.’
www.ft.com/content/dd6a...
Keir Starmer approved £860,000 pay-off for sacked civil service chief
Settlement for Chris Wormald far exceeded standard contractual entitlements, former PM was told
www.ft.com
September 14, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
treadingwater1.bsky.social
Hubris
hetanshah.bsky.social Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
I hadn’t been worried about AI existential risk before but oh boy now I’m scared
BBC Live Trump criticises Al boss who called for slowdown and says only guardrail needed is a 'smart president'
September 14, 2026 at 3:23 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
I hadn’t been worried about AI existential risk before but oh boy now I’m scared
BBC Live Trump criticises Al boss who called for slowdown and says only guardrail needed is a 'smart president'
September 14, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Check out the art and the architecture, plus the history. And if you need open access data and analysis on and for the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in the UK, check out the British Academy's online SHAPE Observatory: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...
September 14, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
Who doesn’t love poking around someone else’s building? Well next Sunday (20 Sept) you can come see inside my workplace. John Nash architecture. A fascinating art collection. Do drop by!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
Open House 2026
Step inside the British Academy’s historic Grade-I listed home for Open House Festival 2026. Discover the building’s Nash-designed architecture, its rich history, and art collection. Be among the firs...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
September 13, 2026 at 10:22 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Would have been easy to have missed this as it came out with little fanfare on Friday but this is a helpful Select Committee report on the official statistics system, which also rightly makes the case for preserving independence (rather than asserting Ministerial control)
September 14, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘What private company or government agency would have funded Einstein's seemingly bonkers ideas about general relativity’?

Good letter in @economist.com from a UK scientist about why discovery research is critical and easy to undervalue
economist.com/letters/2026...
Grading a science paper Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House office of science, laid out his case for refocusing American science on harnessing AI and competing with China (By Invitation, August 15th). He showed a lack of understanding of scientific research and the application of scientific breakthroughs. Mr Kratsios's advice was singularly focused on endeavours with predictable applications. However, bureaucrats tasked with placing bets on the direction of scientific research would never have predicted or funded past revolutionary discoveries. Industry has not funded these fundamental scientific breakthroughs, and never will do. Basic science involves research without an initially obvious application or with a time horizon that a private company would never stomach. Examples of such discoveries are endless. Genetic engineering would not exist without curious scientists investigating how bacteria thrive in hydrothermal vents. CRISPR-mediated genome editing stems from blue-skies research on how bacteria gain immunity to viruses. X-ray crystallography, which is essential for our understanding of protein folding and structure-guided drug design, The 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry for an understanding of protein-folding was not, as Mr Kratsios insists, "largely achieved through industry resources and talent". The training data behind these AI algorithms required many decades of x-ray crystal structures funded almost entirely by basic science-related government grants. These examples extend beyond biology. What private company or government agency would have funded Einstein's seemingly bonkers ideas about general relativity with the hope of creating a global positioning system? We need to ask ourselves what breakthroughs and their ultimate applications we will miss out on if we carry out this "overhaul" of science. PROFESSOR BRIAN STRAMER Professor of cell and developmental biology King's College London
September 13, 2026 at 6:42 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Great point here from @sarahoconnorft.ft.com - it will be harder to track the effects of AI on the gig economy as our data is much weaker than for those who are employed
www.ft.com/content/a2c3...
So what happens if the shock absorber gets hit with a shock of its own? Because nobody employs gig workers, there is nobody to fire them either. Instead, the impact is likely to unfold under the radar in the form of fewer tasks and lower incomes, rather than the sort of job losses that economists usually trace.
September 14, 2026 at 8:05 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘What private company or government agency would have funded Einstein's seemingly bonkers ideas about general relativity’?

Good letter in @economist.com from a UK scientist about why discovery research is critical and easy to undervalue
economist.com/letters/2026...
Grading a science paper Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House office of science, laid out his case for refocusing American science on harnessing AI and competing with China (By Invitation, August 15th). He showed a lack of understanding of scientific research and the application of scientific breakthroughs. Mr Kratsios's advice was singularly focused on endeavours with predictable applications. However, bureaucrats tasked with placing bets on the direction of scientific research would never have predicted or funded past revolutionary discoveries. Industry has not funded these fundamental scientific breakthroughs, and never will do. Basic science involves research without an initially obvious application or with a time horizon that a private company would never stomach. Examples of such discoveries are endless. Genetic engineering would not exist without curious scientists investigating how bacteria thrive in hydrothermal vents. CRISPR-mediated genome editing stems from blue-skies research on how bacteria gain immunity to viruses. X-ray crystallography, which is essential for our understanding of protein folding and structure-guided drug design, The 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry for an understanding of protein-folding was not, as Mr Kratsios insists, "largely achieved through industry resources and talent". The training data behind these AI algorithms required many decades of x-ray crystal structures funded almost entirely by basic science-related government grants. These examples extend beyond biology. What private company or government agency would have funded Einstein's seemingly bonkers ideas about general relativity with the hope of creating a global positioning system? We need to ask ourselves what breakthroughs and their ultimate applications we will miss out on if we carry out this "overhaul" of science. PROFESSOR BRIAN STRAMER Professor of cell and developmental biology King's College London
September 13, 2026 at 6:42 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘At a time when many policymakers are concerned about strengthening public control, humanities and social sciences research is central to ask questions about how and in whose interests technology is being developed, how it can be adopted, deployed and governed’
ukri.substack.com/p/why-ai-wil...
Why AI will fail without the humanities and social sciences
AI can transform society. But only if society has a say in shaping it, writes Hetan Shah, Chief Executive of The British Academy.
ukri.substack.com
September 13, 2026 at 10:58 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Who doesn’t love poking around someone else’s building? Well next Sunday (20 Sept) you can come see inside my workplace. John Nash architecture. A fascinating art collection. Do drop by!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
Open House 2026
Step inside the British Academy’s historic Grade-I listed home for Open House Festival 2026. Discover the building’s Nash-designed architecture, its rich history, and art collection. Be among the firs...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
September 13, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
dlknowles.bsky.social
The readership of a newspaper shapes its output far more than the writership (to invent an ugly word). People want to read stuff that accords with their worldview. Yet Millennials - who have the resources and willingness to pay for news! - are still generally stuck with options tailored to boomers
September 13, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
This New Statesman cartoon is the perfect antidote to Amol Rajan’s Spectator column
Outside the box By Becky Barnicoat (cartoon) GARY AND AMOL'S FREE OF THE BBC!! SHOW HI AMOL! HI GARY THIS IS FUN THIS 1S FUN CONGRATULATIONS ON LEAVING THE BBC! THANK YOU THE SWEET, SWEET TASTE OF FREEDOM, EH? ANSWERABLE TO NOBODY BUT OURSELVES IT TASTES SO GOOD, GARY DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE TASTES GOOD, AMOL? TELL ME MAGNUMS OOH, LOVE A MAGNUM THE MAGNUM DOUBLE UTOPIA HAZELNUT IS INCREDIBLY RICH, CREAMY AND DECADENT MM WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE MAGNUM, AMOL? WELL, GARY...
September 12, 2026 at 9:56 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
This New Statesman cartoon is the perfect antidote to Amol Rajan’s Spectator column
Outside the box By Becky Barnicoat (cartoon) GARY AND AMOL'S FREE OF THE BBC!! SHOW HI AMOL! HI GARY THIS IS FUN THIS 1S FUN CONGRATULATIONS ON LEAVING THE BBC! THANK YOU THE SWEET, SWEET TASTE OF FREEDOM, EH? ANSWERABLE TO NOBODY BUT OURSELVES IT TASTES SO GOOD, GARY DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE TASTES GOOD, AMOL? TELL ME MAGNUMS OOH, LOVE A MAGNUM THE MAGNUM DOUBLE UTOPIA HAZELNUT IS INCREDIBLY RICH, CREAMY AND DECADENT MM WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE MAGNUM, AMOL? WELL, GARY...
September 12, 2026 at 9:56 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Diana Rigg on what it means to be a Dame
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Asked what it meant to be made a dame, she replied: "I think it means I'm not supposed to say 'fuck' anymore."
September 12, 2026 at 8:47 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
My heart melted a bit at this one. His dad was a lorry driver and during his summer holidays as a ten year old he’d go with dad and loved stopping at the Little Chef
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Experience: I’ve visited every motorway service station in Britain
Some people don’t understand my lifelong enthusiasm for roadside stop-offs – now visiting and cataloguing them is what I do for a living
www.theguardian.com
September 12, 2026 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
pmf2.bsky.social
Yes excellent piece. And absolutely nailed on ( ex DCMS/HMT here) the Treasury would reduce govt grant if charging worked. As they do now with sales of assets. So a sector with fewer visitors, a worse welcome and higher running costs (tills, staff and payment app charges) would be punished for it.
September 12, 2026 at 1:19 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Really good piece on whether free UK museums should move to charge. Great point on the weird incentives here from Chris Smith - would those who are successful in getting commercial income just open the door to losing state support?
www.ft.com/content/f243...
Smith, the former culture secretary, says the push for charging "has come from the Treasury... They thought it would be an easy and attractive way of raising money, given the difficult fiscal picture. "But of course for the museums that did charge, the Treasury would just claw back a portion of the grant-in-aid that they give them," he adds. "So we would not see a new dawn for the sector, just a fall-off in visitors, reputational strength and soft power."
September 12, 2026 at 1:11 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
The younger amongst you may find it hard to get your head around this:

‘at one stage seven in ten Americans believed that Saddam Hussein…was responsible for 9/11’
www.thetimes.com/article/685a...
Bush started using the phrase "war on terror" just days after 9/11. Soon his administration began conflating the al-Qaeda attacks of 9/11, perpetrated largely by Saudi citizens, with an entirely unrelated country: Iraq. The confusion was so great that at one stage seven in ten Americans believed that Saddam Hussein, Iraq's dictator since 1979, who hated radical Islamism and had brutally suppressed its fanatical adherents, was responsible for 9/1l.
September 12, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Hetan Shah
hetanshah.bsky.social
Lovely piece on Habitat, the first massively multiplayer online game in the late eighties on Commodore 64s and how so many aspects of today’s online world were foreshadowed there
www.worksinprogress.news/p/the-invent...
A happier surprise was the spontaneous emergence of performing arts groups. To coordinate their movements despite the latency of their slow connections, performers practiced using stopwatches and telephone calls. 'It looked like it was done in synchrony when in fact it was all wildly asynchronous and decoupled, Morningstar recalled in a 2022 interview. 'The fact that people would go to the kinds of lengths that were required, the kinds of obsessive attention to detail, to engage in that kind of creativity - it speaks to something very powerful about people's drive to interact with each other and be creative
September 10, 2026 at 9:15 PM