Death by a thousand roundtables

For this piece, I’ve teamed up with Anastasia Bektimirova, a researcher focusing on technology and science policy. Anastasia writes in a personal capacity, so nothing in this piece should be seen as representing the views of her current or past employers. You can keep up with her work on X at @anastasiabekt. The cheap coffee, the untouched orange juice, the collection of half-stale pastries, the same two people hijacking the discussion, and the dawning sense that the Earth is rotating on its axis. These are the hallmarks of the dreaded Westminster roundtable. As friends who have routinely suffered through these events, obtaining nothing from the experience, we’ve often struggled to work out what’s in it for their conveners or sponsors. Thanks for reading Chalmermagne ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. We believe that this speaks to a wider malaise in the world of policy. Fuelled by a flood of money from technology companies with vast budgets, we believe that

For this piece, I’ve teamed up with Anastasia Bektimirova, a researcher focusing on technology and science policy. Anastasia writes in a personal capacity, so nothing in this piece should be seen as representing the views of her current or past employers. You can keep up with her work on X at @anastasiabekt. The cheap coffee, the untouched orange juice, the collection of half-stale pastries, the same two people hijacking the discussion, and the dawning sense that the Earth is rotating on its axis. These are the hallmarks of the dreaded Westminster roundtable. As friends who have routinely suff