We're just not good at fact checking things. We skim them, assuming they're accurate, and then the errors settle in, like stones at the bottom of a pond. Sharp ones. Stones that may well cut our feet when we inadvertently step on them later. adsei.org/2026/03/24/h...

good on Grace Tame for being difficult. Being difficult is how we make progress! adsei.org/2025/11/17/t...

Putting together some clips of my speaking and this story about @linseymarr.bsky.social proving that flu is airborne and not droplet spread gets me every time. youtu.be/4ySzpyJH5_0?...

If there's something you really REALLY want people to know, the more ways you present that information the better, whether we're talking about graphs or train stations! adsei.org/2026/02/23/c...

The AI Hype industry wants us to believe that megascale LLMs developed and operated unethically and unsustainably are the only possible path to the future, that's nonsense. Smaller systems designed to do one thing really, really well can be game changing. adsei.org/2026/02/18/p...

Are you a Melbourne based organisation interested in supporting a data science education charity with a hot desk once or twice a week? Reach out!

The video from my AdaConf Keynote: The Art of Being Difficult is now up! If you're a problem solver, think tech could be better, and want to see the world make progress, check it out. Text & Video both available here: adsei.org/2025/11/17/t...

oh, look! A tool for providing legal advice that they are selling with the caveat that it does not constitute legal advice. How predictable. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Does anyone have any photos of the new melbourne metro train stations from inside the train that I could use in a blog post? Or if you're going through the metro tunnel today, could you take some photos of the station, from the train (through door or window) when the train is stopped please?

brilliantly spicy take on ai and automation from the always on point @floreani.bsky.social

Systems that assume people will pay attention and perfectly follow instructions are doomed to fail.

interesting! The folks who assign safety ratings for cars are asking manufacturers to bring back tactile buttons for basic functions in cars, becausetouch screens are distracting. I talked about this in my adaconf keynote. I hope manufacturers take note! theconversation.com/yes-those-bi...?

"Technology could serve life instead of serving capital." Ursula le Guin 1975

ADSEI is on summer break until January 27th 2026. Have a delightful festive season, be kind to yourselves, and remember to breathe. kind regards, Linda McIver and the ADSEI team.

As ever is the case, your hot take linked to a tragic event is generally not required.

Spread empathy and kindness rather than fear and rage. lindamciver.wordpress.com/2025/12/15/t...

"It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. 1/2

Our final episode of Make Me Data Literate for the year is a fantastic conversation about Inclusive Qualitative Research with the amazing @hdicko.bsky.social . An absolute eye opener for me. Check it out! adsei.org/podcast/hele...

The social media ban is the Platonic ideal of contemporary politics: An ill-conceived, superficial "we must do something" response to a serious systemic issue The real harm it will cause terrifies me Can it inspire us to create a better politics? in-between-days.ghost.io/the-social-m...

Banning kids under 16 from social media might make great headlines, & give the government the appearance of doing something meaningful, but it's tokenistic at best, harmful at worst. We could have an internet that doesn't consume us for fun & profit. We're choosing not to. adsei.org/2025/12/09/t...

🧵Spotted While Running Errands in Aotearoa New Zealand: A small human (5?) skips into a post office and skids to a halt in front of a special postbox to Santa. With great ceremony she posts a letter with some impressive pictures drawn on the envelope, then turns to give Nana a triumphant grin. (1)

Banning kids under 16 from social media might make great headlines, & give the government the appearance of doing something meaningful, but it's tokenistic at best, harmful at worst. We could have an internet that doesn't consume us for fun & profit. We're choosing not to. adsei.org/2025/12/09/t...

Oh, look! It's "let's reinvent phrenology" o'clock. It seems to roll around faster every time. Note that these papers have been retracted, but due to concerns about the ethics and validity of the dataset, NOT the phrenology angle. www.thetransmitter.org/retraction/e...

A fantastic Make Me Data Literate conversation with Pawsey's Mark Stickells AM on AI and the role of Humanities in STEM. “I fundamentally believe knowledge is a human insight. And we work with these tools that are incredibly powerful, but can be incredibly stupid.” adsei.org/podcast/mark...

The nice thing about this is, if this one person is saying it so clearly, then many, many, others are thinking it and acting to change it in lots of ways. Very much worth a read!

The Art of Being Difficult This is a 🔥brilliant🔥 read. 🙏 @lindamciver.adsei.org

Finally get to publish this fantastic conversation with Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre's very own Quantum Computing Mastermind, the very wonderful Dr Pascal Elahi. "You know, you have data, but you don't have the infinite true data set you have a sample" adsei.org/podcast/pasc...

Finally get to publish this fantastic conversation with Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre's very own Quantum Computing Mastermind, the very wonderful Dr Pascal Elahi. "You know, you have data, but you don't have the infinite true data set you have a sample" adsei.org/podcast/pasc...

Oh, this is wonderful stuff from @lindamciver.adsei.org Powerful mix of anger and love, darkness and light, detail and story, articulating the bullshit around AI and tech, and the need to be "horrible, ungrateful people". Give it a read

AI boosters say, 'Get in, loser!' and so-called leaders & decision-makers in various fields climb on board... Not so fast. "Fascism needs us to be afraid, but it also needs us to be accepting." Other choices are possible—I really liked this from @lindamciver.adsei.org

oh look, it's "reinvent phrenology" month already. 😬

this is so succinct. Just because the parts you need are easier to steal, that doesn't make stealing them ok!

A rather wide ranging keynote by @lindamciver.adsei.org Difficult and unreasonable to summarise in a pithy one liner but many great and pertinent quotes and themes that ought resonate with anyone who looks around and sees a lot of “big on promise poor on delivery” in the world at large… Bravo.

This one is really striking a chord with people!

This is about people, about systems, what it takes to make progress, and why being difficult is so important. From fire alarms to hospital beds. From music apps to cars. From climate change to education. Our systems are not serving us well, and it's time to push back. adsei.org/2025/11/17/t...

Using AI to detect AI use? Sounds great, but there's a catch...

Set an AI to catch an AI? They don't work like that. adsei.org/2025/11/03/s...

I am so thrilled to be shortlisted among such a fascinating set of pieces!

So you haven’t got time to read through hefty books about the AI industry. You’ve had fun with image generators, and you find chatbots useful although occasionally alarming. But there’s information firing at you from all directions What the heck are you supposed to do? adsei.org/2025/09/25/m...

Looking for a new way to convey the issues with AI? A way to reach the folks who just don't get it? Try a modern fairytale! adsei.org/2025/09/10/a...

A fairy tale for our times...

Another amazing episode of Make Me Data Literate, this time with the phenomenal Dr Kat Ross. We covered everything from Diverse representation of Scientists in education to the place of errors in Science. A great intro to Scientific Method, too! Check it out! adsei.org/podcast/dr-k...

On the implications of oligarchs building an All Things to All People device. adsei.org/2025/09/10/a... ‎ #AI #ArtificialIIntelligence #ChatGPT

A spectacularly fabulous conversation with Dr Emily Kahl from Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. "I wanted to use the tools of maths and science and the life of the mind and thinking about things rigorously to make things better for people and to help people out.” adsei.org/podcast/dr-e...

Oh look! it's gone public! My "From Hypnotised to Heretic: Immunising Society Against Misinformation" piece is being published in the Best Australian Science Writing of 2025 Anthology. so chuffed! unsw.press/books/the-be...

Can Chatbots be creative? What is creativity anyway? Creativity requires a new take on something. An original perspective. LLMs, by definition, produce the kinds of things they have already seen. That reinforce the status quo, entrench bias, and emphasise the mundane. adsei.org/2025/08/18/w...

A fantastic episode of Make Me Data Literate on the science and data of sleep with Professor Darren Mansfield. adsei.org/podcast/dr-d...

Regardless of what the frantic hype machine tells us, chatbots don’t think, or reason, or try to give us correct answers. They are racist lie generators that happen, by bizarre coincidence, to occasionally get the right answer. adsei.org/2025/08/08/h...

Awesome episode of Make Me Data Literate Podcast with Dr Sarah Beecroft. "I like puzzles. I like figuring things out. I really always want to understand the why of these types of things. And I love biology. So it's like, puzzle biology. Well, what more could you want?" adsei.org/podcast/sara...

This project has been a slow burn, a wonderful dialogue with Linda across many months. I hope some teachers find this and find it useful, there’s more sections to come and of course any feedback or requests will help us shape it!