I spent my career as a process designer and business analyst — the person called in to work out why an organisation isn't doing what it thinks it's doing, and what to change so it does. I hold a first-class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, which turned out to be the right training for exactly that kind of work.
I'm based in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, and I also serve as a district councillor for Dursley — which means I spend a fair amount of time watching institutions up close, for better and worse. This site isn't about that work. It's where I write about the ideas that motivate me: chiefly what artificial intelligence is doing to democracy, and to the ordinary business of institutions trying to treat people fairly.
I'm a pragmatist above all — more interested in what works than in ideological purity — and what I write here is animated by a dislike of injustice and inequality, and a belief that everyone should have an equal chance to thrive, regardless of where they started.
Away from writing, mornings usually start with meditation and Tai Chi, most Thursdays or Fridays I'm at the local food bank, and I follow Bristol Bears rugby with more hope than the results usually justify.