Page 22 | Uk is in big trouble - what do you think will happen?

hippysun · 2025-08-13T09:03:34+00:00

Thames water on brink of collapse. All those CEOs getting fat bonuses. Water shortages and rising bills. the cost of living is off the chart. Every bill has gone up. Pop in to Tesco for toothpaste, butter and chicken and it costs an insane amount for just a few items. the government are crap and taxing the hell out of us. my salary is stuck. I feel constantly poor now. 10 years ago when I earned significantly less, I felt ok money wise. Chatted today to a colleague about science graduate son who is stuck doing a minimum wage job as there are no jobs here. I’ve noticed this myself in my town. The council have a few, other companies outsourced to India years ago, the pharma company moved out years ago and the land will soon be a new housing estate. the nhs is a total mess. housing costs make me want to weep! No chance of moving. Feel bad for my kids. They just keep building expensive houses here all packed into poorly designed estates. Tiny gardens. But no infrastructure. The promised schools get cancelled and drs surgeries and hospitals are rammed with patients. My mortgage of course is up. in my industry… everyone is obsessed with AI and I’m sad to say it has taken some jobs already. There is a huge push towards AI. there seems to be underlying tension here re migrants. People getting increasingly annoyed. this country feels like a right mess. Making rich people richer and poor people even poorer. The middle earners are getting squeezed. I hate it. i don’t remember it being this bad ever before. why is it so terrible? And what do you think will happen?

MumOfManyAliases · 13/08/2025 16:57

BurntBroccoli · 13/08/2025 16:30

Agree 100%. There is a lot of dark money being pumped into social media to upset the balance of power.
It was very obvious before Brexit and took off again shortly after July 2024.

Even Reddit has been infiltrated.

Show quote history

You mean by opinions that don’t align with yours?

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 16:57

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 11:05

Immigrant unrest? Don't you mean stupid racists being incited by the likes of Farage and anonymous shit stirrers from who knows where on SM?

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I think you are talking tosh, Pandora. I know people in various parts of the country who tell me that there are places and sometimes entire towns near them which have become no go areas because of the sheer numbers of housed illegal immigrants, in relation to whom no one knows who they are, where they come from. Note the word "illegal" - everyone supports legal immigration, so don't make out that I am one of your "stupid racists". Are these people all seeing things? Are they all being manipulated? Do you agree that you are talking tosh and are you doing it on purpose?

Timeforabitofpeace · 13/08/2025 16:58

@BritneyfanWe should do it anyway. There’s a moral involved. And quite a few wealthy people have been publicly suggesting it.

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 17:02

BurntBroccoli · 13/08/2025 16:30

Agree 100%. There is a lot of dark money being pumped into social media to upset the balance of power.
It was very obvious before Brexit and took off again shortly after July 2024.

Even Reddit has been infiltrated.

Show quote history

Going back to what @HPFA says, I have decided that I will be the next PM, not Farage (or Starmer).

The dark money you talk of - what side are they taking?

TheKeatingFive · 13/08/2025 17:03

mickandrorty · 13/08/2025 16:55

There's no denying times were much harder years ago but that was then. Even if a family of 12 all used a tin bath of water to wash, then cleaned their clothes in it then used the water to make soup for the month times have changed. There's no denying there are now people who were doing ok that are now living pay check to pay check, just working to keep a roof over their head, no spare money for a little luxury or fun it feels depressing. No there's not much that people can do but have a little moan about it because it is what it is and you just have to plod on but it still feels shitty.

This is a fact of life though.

Reductions in people's living standards happen all the time. I'm in ROI and the financial crash hit very hard here and plenty of people had to scale back their expectations very significantly after 2009, compared to what they'd been used to in the Celtic Tiger years.

Equally, I remember the impact of the early 90s recession on my parents, when I was growing up in Northern Ireland. We were genuinely afraid of losing our house - there were a few really rough years - thankfully it didn't come to that, but there were we didn't have a car then because we couldn't afford to replace it when it gave up the ghost, no holidays for years, no new clothes, very little treats.

Its not a new thing.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 13/08/2025 17:03

derxa · 13/08/2025 16:35

Don’t be ridiculous She was a business partner not some poorly paid employee.

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But a farmers wife isn’t really comparable to working in an office in the 70’s.

When women were treated like shit. No pensions, low pay, no protection

Snd most couples had joint accounts. Did she ever have her own account though? That’s the important thing.

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:06

It isn't about pro Labour posters. It is the hate and fear being pumped onto SM.

It was happening well before Labour got in. It has ramped up since then.

It is interesting that each Reform target du jour is mirrored by an uptick in threads on MN. If Reform is good at one thing, it is good at manipulating SM.

2sidesofcoins · 13/08/2025 17:10

I think personal circumstance is very relevant here. Those who are fortunate think it's down to their choices and feel a buffer from the decline because they believe it can't happen to them.
I've been on both sides and when misfortune has found me it stings and you lose hope. When things improve, you start to get a false sense of security.

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:11

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 16:57

I think you are talking tosh, Pandora. I know people in various parts of the country who tell me that there are places and sometimes entire towns near them which have become no go areas because of the sheer numbers of housed illegal immigrants, in relation to whom no one knows who they are, where they come from. Note the word "illegal" - everyone supports legal immigration, so don't make out that I am one of your "stupid racists". Are these people all seeing things? Are they all being manipulated? Do you agree that you are talking tosh and are you doing it on purpose?

Show quote history

Illegal immigrants aren't "housed".

Kitte321 · 13/08/2025 17:12

Britneyfan · 13/08/2025 16:45

Coming back to the AI stuff, I do think it’s a significant worry for the future, and I’ve been worried about it for many years now. I do think we will have to pivot hugely in terms of employment and how society is set up generally (I do wonder if a universal basic income is where we are eventually headed), and I’m worried that the pace of AI progress seems to be rampant with no controls on it (I know it sounds far fetched but I actually DO worry about the robots taking over the world lol). I feel like if we can make sure that doesn’t happen when the AIs are literally hugely more intelligent than any human that has ever lived and might start seeing us humans as a problem to be solved etc, then we will probably find a way round everything else like any technological innovation in history but the upheaval is bound to be difficult and painful for many.

I could be wrong but I genuinely actually think my job as a doctor is reasonably safe for some time yet, compared to many other jobs. Yes, the role is likely to evolve yet further from what I did as a doctor when I first started out compared to now (it’s a long time since I made up the IV antibiotics physically myself!) and may involve AI to some degree, but I don’t think doctors are that easily replaced. People still want and need a human connection, especially when they are unwell, there is a therapeutic aspect to that.

Also I don’t think AI is easily going to evolve to pick up on certain things like a human being does, there is absolutely a certain amount of art, psychological understanding, and lateral thinking to medicine as well as a science. For example, I know that when a South Asian woman points to the top of her head complaining of headache, it’s usually stress related, but culturally she will never say she is stressed or depressed, or when she says “I have a swallow problem” it’s not actually anything to do with swallowing and they’re complaining about something being swollen. AI won’t have the context that another patient is a raging hypochondriac and will always say any symptom is 10/10 severity and say something has been going on for months when it’s actually been a week and a half. AI won’t know like I do that another patient’s son’s best friend just tragically died in childhood from a brain tumour and that’s really why they’re suddenly worried sick about their headaches. AI won’t have the human rapport and trust built up in order for another patient to be able to be persuaded to go to A and E when they absolutely need to, even though it’s the last thing they want to be doing right now, and won’t know the best way to persuade that particular individual of this. AI won’t know that this patient is a farmer and would never normally darken our doors so something must be terribly wrong even if they play it down.

I hope I’m right about this though lol.

AI related - in the industry I’m in we have see a huge uptick in the use of tech. A couple of observations

most ‘AI’ currently seems to be tech replacing administrative/unskilled tasks. More analysing/categorising data. This is still meaning that there is far less graduate recruitment (as there isn’t lower level work available).
Generative AI is still developing - though admittedly very quickly! This is a different ball game.

BUT the labour government were crazy to add in huge costs to employment at a point where the trends were moving away from human capital and towards tech/efficiency. They advanced the agenda for most and meant businesses looked at a combination of tech and outsourcing to avoid UK based recruitment cost. If they implement day 1 rights you will see even higher unemployment rates.

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 17:12

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:06

It isn't about pro Labour posters. It is the hate and fear being pumped onto SM.

It was happening well before Labour got in. It has ramped up since then.

It is interesting that each Reform target du jour is mirrored by an uptick in threads on MN. If Reform is good at one thing, it is good at manipulating SM.

Hmm...links or it isn't true. Please give 3 recent examples of this link between Farage and MN threads with as much info as possible to enable us to have a look and verify your claims.

And as a separate point - it seems you aren't on Team Farage - and so Team Whom are you on?

Kitte321 · 13/08/2025 17:12

Britneyfan · 13/08/2025 16:45

Coming back to the AI stuff, I do think it’s a significant worry for the future, and I’ve been worried about it for many years now. I do think we will have to pivot hugely in terms of employment and how society is set up generally (I do wonder if a universal basic income is where we are eventually headed), and I’m worried that the pace of AI progress seems to be rampant with no controls on it (I know it sounds far fetched but I actually DO worry about the robots taking over the world lol). I feel like if we can make sure that doesn’t happen when the AIs are literally hugely more intelligent than any human that has ever lived and might start seeing us humans as a problem to be solved etc, then we will probably find a way round everything else like any technological innovation in history but the upheaval is bound to be difficult and painful for many.

I could be wrong but I genuinely actually think my job as a doctor is reasonably safe for some time yet, compared to many other jobs. Yes, the role is likely to evolve yet further from what I did as a doctor when I first started out compared to now (it’s a long time since I made up the IV antibiotics physically myself!) and may involve AI to some degree, but I don’t think doctors are that easily replaced. People still want and need a human connection, especially when they are unwell, there is a therapeutic aspect to that.

Also I don’t think AI is easily going to evolve to pick up on certain things like a human being does, there is absolutely a certain amount of art, psychological understanding, and lateral thinking to medicine as well as a science. For example, I know that when a South Asian woman points to the top of her head complaining of headache, it’s usually stress related, but culturally she will never say she is stressed or depressed, or when she says “I have a swallow problem” it’s not actually anything to do with swallowing and they’re complaining about something being swollen. AI won’t have the context that another patient is a raging hypochondriac and will always say any symptom is 10/10 severity and say something has been going on for months when it’s actually been a week and a half. AI won’t know like I do that another patient’s son’s best friend just tragically died in childhood from a brain tumour and that’s really why they’re suddenly worried sick about their headaches. AI won’t have the human rapport and trust built up in order for another patient to be able to be persuaded to go to A and E when they absolutely need to, even though it’s the last thing they want to be doing right now, and won’t know the best way to persuade that particular individual of this. AI won’t know that this patient is a farmer and would never normally darken our doors so something must be terribly wrong even if they play it down.

I hope I’m right about this though lol.

AI related - in the industry I’m in we have see a huge uptick in the use of tech. A couple of observations

most ‘AI’ currently seems to be tech replacing administrative/unskilled tasks. More analysing/categorising data. This is still meaning that there is far less graduate recruitment (as there isn’t lower level work available).
Generative AI is still developing - though admittedly very quickly! This is a different ball game.

BUT the labour government were crazy to add in huge costs to employment at a point where the trends were moving away from human capital and towards tech/efficiency. They advanced the agenda for most and meant businesses looked at a combination of tech and outsourcing to avoid UK based recruitment cost. If they implement day 1 rights you will see even higher unemployment rates.

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 17:14

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:11

Illegal immigrants aren't "housed".

Show quote history

Semantics, or tosh.

CaptainMyCaptain · 13/08/2025 17:17

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 13/08/2025 16:08

No, they weren’t working in offices full of sexist managers who could feel them up whenever they wanted. And sexually harass them.

l got sexually harassed in the mid 80’s when l was just starting a job after university.

Show quote history

It was rife in the the 70s and 80s.

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:19

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 17:12

Hmm...links or it isn't true. Please give 3 recent examples of this link between Farage and MN threads with as much info as possible to enable us to have a look and verify your claims.

And as a separate point - it seems you aren't on Team Farage - and so Team Whom are you on?

Edited

Show quote history

I have never interacted with you before two minutes ago, but I seem to have upset you. I am not sure there is much mileage in this exchange.

Team Plaid Cymru at the moment.

EasternStandard · 13/08/2025 17:21

PandoraSocks · 13/08/2025 17:06

It isn't about pro Labour posters. It is the hate and fear being pumped onto SM.

It was happening well before Labour got in. It has ramped up since then.

It is interesting that each Reform target du jour is mirrored by an uptick in threads on MN. If Reform is good at one thing, it is good at manipulating SM.

13% are happy with Labour atm. The majority are not. Mn will reflect that shift, although likely still have more Labour posters saying things are being pumped onto SM.

BurntBroccoli · 13/08/2025 17:26

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 13/08/2025 16:08

No, they weren’t working in offices full of sexist managers who could feel them up whenever they wanted. And sexually harass them.

l got sexually harassed in the mid 80’s when l was just starting a job after university.

Show quote history

I did too when I was a 17 year old by a middle aged manager.
Reported him but nothing happened about it.

CountryCob · 13/08/2025 17:26

PringlesTube · 13/08/2025 12:04

Our landlord raised our rent 22.5% last year. Have our wages risen? Of course not. Everything has gone up in price. I don’t see how this is going to get any easier.

No doubt someone will be along soon to say that interest rates were high in the 70s ignoring the fact that housing has never been so expensive.

AntikytheraMech · 13/08/2025 17:28

MoominMai · 13/08/2025 15:03

Tbh, this is far from the truth. You’re playing about with the most basic free/cheap AI apps.

In reality, the AI that companies and governments use is incredibly advanced. Eg AI is already revolutionising warfare as the military is utilising AI to make itself more effective. And it’s attracting millions to develop rapidly, eg the US govt last month awarded a key player OpenAI (who own ChatGPT), a $200 million contract to develop its military capabilities further.

It’s predicted by the industries themselves such as Accounting, Banking, Insurance, Coding, Creative Design including the Civil Service who freely admit that the corporate AI providers they use are so effective and capable that they said they believe AI can do two thirds of a junior officers job and cuts are already planned wholly based on AI capabilities.

The threat from AI is very real. It’s not comparable to anything that’s gone before. People sleepwalking still are due a sharp shock when they wake up.

Show quote history

I was asked to help develop AI swarm drones for the British military forces and I declined about 9 years ago.
I didn't subscribe to the principal.
I also walked out of a very well paying job when I walked past departments called DEW and WMD.
I quit the next day. One wasn't allowed to step off the carpet into areas that were color coded depending on your badge.
The kind of place where you had to put your mobile phone into a locker before you went into a meeting.
So many people have no idea what's going on in the background.
This is what is starting to happen in warfare using drones.

And this is over five years old and technology has progressed massively since. The last couple of minutes are by a professor from Oxford who talks about AI drone technology.
Just take a look at Boston dynamics.
12 years ago when I first noticed them they were producing some noisy diesel mule type Project.
The current version does parkour.
I'm not trying to scare anyone but if you give one of these or their robot dogs are gun or one of the drones small explosives and things go tits up, there's no hiding from it.
https://youtube.com/shorts/3QRtVZRblmg
This is happening people. The technology you see on the street today is 30 years behind what has been developed by military companies.
Just teach your children to be resilient and recognize the signs.
Please.

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MiloMinderbinder925 · 13/08/2025 17:29

areyouthepredator · 13/08/2025 17:14

Semantics, or tosh.

Show quote history

Can you name the towns that have become no go areas? Illegal immigrants are rejected asylum seekers or those who have overstayed their visa. Facts matter.

Poddingtonpeace · 13/08/2025 17:31

We're all going to die! There's no hope.

or, life will go on as normal. Either people get used to things or we riot. Which may not change things anyway.

HTH

Julen7 · 13/08/2025 17:32

EasternStandard · 13/08/2025 17:21

13% are happy with Labour atm. The majority are not. Mn will reflect that shift, although likely still have more Labour posters saying things are being pumped onto SM.

Show quote history

Exactly, there is really nothing sinister about it.

EasternStandard · 13/08/2025 17:33

AntikytheraMech · 13/08/2025 17:28

I was asked to help develop AI swarm drones for the British military forces and I declined about 9 years ago.
I didn't subscribe to the principal.
I also walked out of a very well paying job when I walked past departments called DEW and WMD.
I quit the next day. One wasn't allowed to step off the carpet into areas that were color coded depending on your badge.
The kind of place where you had to put your mobile phone into a locker before you went into a meeting.
So many people have no idea what's going on in the background.
This is what is starting to happen in warfare using drones.

And this is over five years old and technology has progressed massively since. The last couple of minutes are by a professor from Oxford who talks about AI drone technology.
Just take a look at Boston dynamics.
12 years ago when I first noticed them they were producing some noisy diesel mule type Project.
The current version does parkour.
I'm not trying to scare anyone but if you give one of these or their robot dogs are gun or one of the drones small explosives and things go tits up, there's no hiding from it.
https://youtube.com/shorts/3QRtVZRblmg
This is happening people. The technology you see on the street today is 30 years behind what has been developed by military companies.
Just teach your children to be resilient and recognize the signs.
Please.

Show quote history

These two posts don’t surprise me. I don’t feel there’s much I can do about it but I think the changes will be pretty big.

TheNuthatch · 13/08/2025 17:33

MiloMinderbinder925 · 13/08/2025 17:29

Can you name the towns that have become no go areas? Illegal immigrants are rejected asylum seekers or those who have overstayed their visa. Facts matter.

Show quote history

Really? Starmer (the human rights lawyer PM) describes anyone arriving by small boat as 'illegal' on SM.

MiloMinderbinder925 · 13/08/2025 17:36

TheNuthatch · 13/08/2025 17:33

Really? Starmer (the human rights lawyer PM) describes anyone arriving by small boat as 'illegal' on SM.

Show quote history

Starmer said that Israel had the right to cut power to Palestine, is supporting a genocide, is having the elderly holding up signs arrested and has been warned by 200 immigrant organisations to moderate his language.