Mathieu O'Neil

My @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleague @katemfitzgerald.bsky.social has a great new piece in @aunz.theconversation.com about what happened when we asked AI chatbots about conspiracy theories. The results were … mixed. ☹️

Democratising the rage bait for cash Fox model

People wondering why Trump was beaming at Mamdani - who follows the Sanders playbook, e.g., never deviate from your message: in this case, affordability - should track down the clip this image comes from. Trump's support from Independents has dropped by 43%. Issue driving the drop: cost of living.

Elon Musk Could 'Drink Piss Better Than Any Human in History,' Grok Says Grok has been reprogrammed to say Musk is better than everyone at everything, including blowjobs, piss drinking, playing quarterback, conquering Europe, etc.

Elon is just better, ok!?
www.404media.co/elon-musk-co...

one of the main things I did at FB in the time I worked there was research trying to expand rules against hate orgs.
there’s the hard worked results of three of the worst years of my life straight down the fucking toilet.

Fair enough, though given the number of times a person may need to evaluate dubious content, clear and evident "scents" (e.g., emotional manipulation) are probably more effective.

I have only skimmed this article which argues that info abundance can be managed with knowing what to ignore thanks to items' "scent".
No problem in theory but some proposed methods may be too time-consuming so less viable, maybe?

My mother's grandfather #ThomasSturge-Moore was a poet (mates with Yeats who rather unkindly referred to him as 'a sheep in sheep's clothing') and noted wood engraver. Below are some books he designed. #DIY publishing runs in the family. :-)

Anyway I'm sure you've probably driven an uptick in engagement with her Substack with your error at least so you know... that was silly wasn't it?

US variant of "left" - "strong left": NYT - New Yorker...

Nice!

Why oh why do governments still legitimise this..

On Friday the Government of Canada released this position paper on Digital Sovereignty.

www.canada.ca/en/governmen...

I would love to know what people think.

#DigitalSovereignty #Canada #GovTech #DataSovereignty

nature is healing

DCPC a.k.a. the digital #commons policy council is finally on #Bluesky
Please support our work by following us and spreading the good word! :-)
@grazulis.bsky.social @ramyachandra.bsky.social
@nidhalaigh.bsky.social

Yeah nah. Way over the top

Opportunity! vs reality: 'governments don’t appear ready to grapple with the reality that chatbots and image and video generators are speedrunning the harms caused by social media. The deceptive critical framing of the superintelligence argument has sent governments chasing that red herring' #auspol

TRL... or is there any AI summary? ;-)

The New York Times’ “Moderation Advantage” Is a Statistical Illusion After accounting for money and incumbency the supposed electoral bonus for moderate candidates vanishes entirely.

Chinque, high-five!
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-new-yo...

Jewish figures across the globe call on UN and world leaders to sanction Israel Exclusive: In an open letter, Israeli ex-officials, artists and intellectuals say ‘unconscionable’ actions in Gaza amount to genocide

“We bow our heads in immeasurable sorrow as the evidence accumulates that Israel’s actions will be judged to have met the legal definition of genocide,” the letter reads.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

The Australian Government makes more money from HECS repayments than it does from the PRRT.

‘Norway taxes its fossil fuel industry and gives their kids free higher education… we subsidise our fossil fuel industry and we charge our kids a fortune to go to uni.’

@richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

The solution to declining #Wikipedia editor numbers because of AI usurpation is to embed WP collaborative editing skills into the educational curriculum. For this to happen the deep distrust towards WP felt by many primary and secondary school teachers will need to be overcome. Watch this space! :-)

Go judge Immergut!

University leaders keep saying we need to prepare our students for an AI future. But this is basically what the technology is good for. This and burning up the environment while raising everyone’s utility costs.

Have not read the paper so unsure what those citizens are disgruntled about but if for ex. their economic concerns (unemployment? healthcare costs?) are unaddressed any amount of deliberation won't matter... bad of me to speculate know

No way, deliberation never fails ;-) [to read later..]

Same playbook, same funding sources. The IPA is not alone! 'Kirk promised oil and gas companies he’d fight “the myth that fossil fuels are dirty,” and target the “leftist professors” on college campuses who “perpetuated” the “myth.”' #auspol #climate

[Eventually Stewart stops interrupting with 'jokes' and] the wonderful #MariaRessa reminds us that Duterte now sits in the Hague awaiting judgement. The key is to stand against authoritarian encroachments as its much harder to regain lost rights than to defend existing ones. #auspol

Every one can do this

How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump At a fateful event last summer, Barack Obama, George Clooney, and others were stunned by Biden’s weakness and confusion. Why did he and his advisers decide to conceal his condition from the public and...

Biden and his entourage and the feckless Dems: words fail.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-pol...