🗑️🤖 “You govern in prose”: AI slop and the end of friction 🤖🗑️

Like every conference in the land, we’re talking about AI. But this episode isn’t about public servants using it. It’s about citizens using it at you. We start from Sam Freedman’s Drowning in slop , Tom Loosemore’s reply The end to governing in prose , and the Fair Work Commission’s new rules on AI in cases. We look at what’s breaking: the volume, the made-up case law, and a single missed bin that turns into four legal claims. Danielle asks whether some of the spike is people finally getting access to review rights they were always shut out of. Then we turn to Loosemore’s argument that the effort of claiming has quietly been doing the rationing, and that AI just removed it. We finish with what you might actually do, from fees and length limits to the FWC’s surprisingly excellent suggested prompts. Underneath all of it is an old question that is suddenly urgent: how does the state ration? The Soviets queued and the Brits used forms. Australia, as Danielle points out, has mostly preferred that everyone wins a prize. AI is about to force the choice into the open. Next episode: the Ombudsman’s report on the aged care assessment algorithm. Apologies to Pia Andrews, whose Rules as Code eluded Caroline on air. 📄 Sam Freedman, Drowning in slop , October 2026 📄 Tom Loosemore, The end to governing in prose , October 2026 📄 Fair Work Commission seeks user-pays price in flaky slop , February 2026 Outro from @aarongoldyboy This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!