Michael S. Daubs, PhD

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They are saying 32% GST and 72 for retirement age so we will happily accept 20% GST and 68 for retirement age. Why don’t they say 5% wealth tax and 40% corporate tax on big conglomerates? No of course they won’t say that no siree.

Sadly, this is not surprising. And people in influential positions are still pushing this “theory”.

As we were discussing elsewhere, cuts to Catalyst and Marsden funding are a full on assault on knowledge and critical thinking (in addition to a complete misunderstanding of research and its value).

Amazing photo of a magnificent building. I’ll be there in a few short weeks and can’t wait to experience it in person.

The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness? Nature - The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.

As we talk about the cheerful insanity of Australia's Social Media Ban again this morning, here's your periodical reminder that the book it's inspired by - The Anxious Generation - is hogwash.

Not just me saying it, but this little journal you might have heard of: Nature.
www.nature.com/artic...

Govt's AI strategy is all hype and no vision Opinion from the University of Otago: The long-awaited artificial intelligence plan proposes 'greater use of AI in business', but that’s basically where the goals begin and end, writes Dr Michael Daub...

If you're not tired of my hot takes on AI, I have another piece in @newsroom.co.nz, this time on the recently announced AI Strategy in NZ and its lack of a clear, er... strategy. newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/29/g....

Many thanks to @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social for her feedback and suggestions.

Electoral law changes spark fears of lower Māori voter turnout, Minister ignored advice The Government’s proposed overhaul of New Zealand’s electoral laws is being criticised for potentially undermining Māori voter turnout, particularly among young & first-time voters

Research has consistently shown that voting restrictions always have disproportionate impacts across the population. Those with less privilege, those at the margins, who are vulnerable, who are less embedded in societal institutions, are more likely to be impacted.
www.teaonews.co.nz/2025/07/24/e...

I/s asks: One for the constitutional lawyers: given the demonstrated ability to manage same-day enrolment, is its removal a violation of the BORA s 12 right to vote? Andrew Geddis answers: Yes.

Andrew is literally NZ's pre-eminent expert on electoral law. His view on this should be taken incredibly seriously.

At absolute minimum, the BOR vet for the proposed change must be released immediately to see what official advice is & so that advice + govt's justification can be scrutinised.

I know how you feel. My partner said the other day, "Have you ever thought of saying 'no' to something?"

Funnily enough, the answer was, "No?"

Public-use AI helping in surveillance and warfare Analysis from the University of Otago: Will ChatGPT users find themselves unwittingly contributing to increasing population surveillance, human rights violations, or warfare?

I’ve been told I’ve been negligent by not sharing that I wrote a thing in @newsroom.co.nz on big AI getting cozy with militaries and what that might mean for its users: newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/18/p...

Falls ihr euch fragt, ob es cancel culture wirklich gibt. Ja, gibt es. Aber nicht die, die von rechts immer mit Schaum vor dem Mund behauptet wird.

Why Canada needs to build a public cloud Dependence on US tech giants must end if the country is serious about digital sovereignty

Canada can see the costs of dependence on the US first hand. Trump is bullying us and Silicon Valley used his leverage to kill the digital services tax.

As the Canadian government looks for a new cloud provider, it shouldn’t just prioritize local companies; it should invest in a public cloud.

Can’t emphasise this point enough. The comments are designed to evoke responses, which leads to the further spread of those comments.

I know this is hyperbole, but seriously I am going to knock my head against a wall.

Unless you actually understand the technology you're making policy around, you will end up manifesting the negative externalities of such in profound ways with at best no mitigates nor even an assessment of benefit.

It’s so funny to me how bad the Free Speech Union is at their only job.

Academics being targeted by the literal embodiment of the State (acting Prime Minister)? That’s not a free speech issue, don’t be silly! Free speech is only for when you want to force a campus to host your crappy event!

Maybe it’ll become the new “Facebook as panopticon”.

Ha! Quite a few, but not as many as there could be. Lots about aura, of course, and I’ve seen more than one variation of “The Work of Art in the Age of AI” in titles.

A not-actually-a-dichotomy I wish people would stop talking about is "free speech vs hate speech". Despite both containing the word 'speech', these two are concepts are *entirely* different categories.

Hate speech is a type of speech.

Free speech is a right (or liberty) not a type of speech.

Oh hell. Spiegel reports that the Christmas market attacker in Magdeburg is an Islamophobic fan of Alex Jones and Elon Musk (with Saudi roots). This while Musk is posting pro-Nazi content in response. 🤬

www.tickaroo.com/e/F...

Marsden Fund refocused for science with a purpose Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins today announced the Government has updated the Marsden Fund to focus on core scientific research that helps lift our economic growth and c...

I hope I’m reading this incorrectly, but it looks like the Marsden Fund will no longer fund Humanities projects because they don’t contribute to economic growth. The cultural and intellectual bankruptcy of this kind of thinking is beyond belief.

www.beehive.govt.nz/release/mars...

Extremists Links: Online Far Right Extremists Activity 'Consistently Increased' Throughout Week of Election The online activity of far right extremists 'consistently increased throughout election week,' however, post-election has 'declined to the lowest overall level for at least a month,' according to ISD.

Extremists Links: Online Far Right Extremists Activity 'Consistently Increased' Throughout Week of Election

A tan dog with a white chest and blue collar named Figgis and a white dog with black eye patches and an orange collar named Stewie sitting on a bed with a colourful bedspread.

Just emptied my Xwitter account of content, so here are my dogs because the world needs good things and dogs are the best.

Analyse von Extremismus in Online-Spieleplattformen. Ansätze und Herausforderungen - Nomos eLibrary Online gaming platforms play a central role in racially motivated mass shootings worldwide. In order to critically reflect on this phenomenon, the article…

If that last publication announcement wasn’t enough for you, I also have a new German language article written with my colleague Jeffrey Wimmer in Communicatio Socialis on methods to analyse the spread of extremism on online gaming platforms, available at www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/0010...

Wellness communities and vaccine hesitancy - Michael S. Daubs, 2024 This article articulates the intersection of wellness communities and anti-vaccine (‘anti-vax’) groups to demonstrate how vaccine misinformation and pseudoscien...

Pleased to use my first post here to share a new publication in Media International Australia on the linkages between wellness communities and anti-vax views, available at journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/....