On Friday I was delighted to attend the launch of @karenhao.bsky.social's book #EmpireOfAI - in conversation with @kobotic.bsky.social at #RMIT, presented by @readingsbooks.bsky.social and @drwaus.bsky.social with introductions and framing from @lisagiven.bsky.social and Lizzie O'Shea. 1/4

I had the pleasure of hosting @karenhao.bsky.social on the Melbourne stop of her book tour last night. Such an insightful and inspiring conversation, and a sell-out crowd!

Lawyer caught using AI-generated false citations in court case penalised in Australian first

Here is my latest for The Conversation, on the results of Australia’s #ageassurance trial ahead of the #socialmediaban that will come into effect in December

YouTube was found to have used AI to edit videos without creators’ consent. And it’s not the first time a media company has done this.

@lisagiven.bsky.social Was in Canberra hotel room, packing up to head to Sydney and I see this...

I’m honoured to give the keynote at CAVAL’s AI-driven Metadata Futures conference on “Preparing Ourselves for Ethical AI Futures: Strategies for Investigation, Experimentation, and Development” today at RMIT University

It’s been strange to see very few other publications covering this news we uncovered earlier in the week. Thankfully @lisagiven.bsky.social from RMIT has written about it in @aunz.theconversation.com 👏 theconversation.com/australians-...

Here is my latest Conversation article, where I discuss the preliminary results of the #ageassurance trials commissioned ahead of Australia’s under 16 #socialmediaban. Despite the optimistic tone of the Trial’s report, there are many unanswered questions and increasing concerns about implementation

Here is my latest article for @aunz.theconversation.com where I analyse Google’s announcement that its Gemini AI chatbot will be rolled out to kids under 13. This is a risky move. The system can generate fake information and mimic social behaviour, which will be confusing for young users #AIethics

I had a huge amount of fun helping my amazing colleague @lisagiven.bsky.social with this @theconversation.com article, which reflects on the environmental footprint of elections, following Australia’s general election this weekend! theconversation.com/a-rubbish-el...

This is one of the worst violations of research ethics I've ever seen. Manipulating people in online communities using deception, without consent, is not "low risk" and, as evidenced by the discourse in this Reddit post, resulted in harm. Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵

“a duty of care placed on social media platforms themselves would ensure user safety for everyone” #socialmediaban www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

Misinformation represents a serious threat to individual and global health. We need to understand more about how susceptibility to misinformation is socially patterned so that it doesn’t deepen health inequalities, say Simon Williams and @profsanderlinden.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/389/...

“all Australians will have to prove they are older than 16 to use most social media sites, but…which platforms will be covered [has not yet been formalised]. Despite that, the government now appears to be discussing the exemption for YouTube as if it is a done deal” www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

YouTube's CEO personally lobbied the communications minister less than two days before the platform was given an exemption from the under 16s social media ban, documents I obtained reveal. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The age assurance trial for the social media ban is said to be running on time but a preliminary report on its status will remain secret, meaning we won’t know how it is going before the election. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

SAVE THE PENGUINS. STOP TRUMP’S TARIFFS.

The election has just been called for April 28. If you are a Canadian living outside the country, get your mail-in ballot here ASAP: travel.gc.ca/travelling/l...

“what we are witnessing is not just an attack on academia or a set of fiscal reforms or a painful political rebalancing. It is an attack on the conditions that allow free thought to exist” #academicfreedom #research #informationaccess #humanities #socialsciences @nytimes.com

Here is my latest article for @theconversation.com on #deepfakes and #health #misinformation. Consumers must critically assess what they see, hear, and read to protect themselves from potential scams

‘“Nature has its way of taking out the weak and the not so well and the injured. The eagle likely thought it would be able to take it out quite easily,” Sequeira [the Ontario-based photographer] said. “But, it wasn’t.””

“Together, these actions will make people in the United States and around the world less prosperous and more vulnerable.” “We at Nature denounce this assault on science. And we encourage the global research community, wherever they can, to voice their opposition.”

The ARC Board has proposed a major shake-up of the National Competitive Grants Program ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/engage-us/co... I've only skimmed so far, but they propose reducing 13 grant schemes to 6, with intent & scope in the table👇 Submissions are being accepted in response until 13 April. Get to it!

“I live with a kid and 2 cats so I am well aware of how it feels when someone randomly starts typing on your keyboard while you are trying to do something. It’s not exactly helping to say the least” #AIassistants

I’m pleased to share IPIE's scientific report on Global Standards for AI Audits. This ensures independent, transparent audits — critical to building trust in AI   📖 Full report: www.IPIE.info/research/sr2... (www.ipieipie.info/research/sr2...)   #AIGovernance #AIEthics #AIAuditing #AIActionSummit

Young Europeans face rising threat from misinformation as social media becomes main news source www.euronews.com/my-europe/20... "...social media is now the number one news source for young people." TikTok "a blatant source of misinformation. 27% find "it difficult to identify deceitful content."

An inspiring talk today by Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley on the society’s challenges including how #misinformation and #disinformation. A clarion call for supporting research and universities at this critical time, by focusing on evidence-based approaches for #societalimpact

Not cautionary enough, apparently, since this keeps happening. One difference in this case is that it was apparently an "internal" #AI platform (presumably meant to be more fit for the purpose...) www.404media.co/lawyers-caug... #ethics #law #tech #business #courts

All set for our interactive event #donoharm exploring ethics, design, and AI at #ACMI in #Melbourne tonight @chrisspeed.bsky.social #RMIT

This podcast is a must listen, so many great insights and learnings especially for ECRs, but also for research professionals. Thank you @lisagiven.bsky.social and @wadekelly.com and to my great colleague Davina for the recommendation 👍🏻 podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/a...

“generative AI…merely has to be considered a plausible competitor to human decision-making long enough to dislodge the existing human decision-makers…who embody the institution's values and mission. Once replaced, the human knowledge that produces the institution will be lost”

This is me, with an analysis of the recommendations made by the Online Safety review. In short, the review recommends government hold #bigtech companies to account by introducing a #dutyofcare to keep Australians safe from online harms #auspol

A small Chinese artificial intelligence lab, DeepSeek, stunned the world by revealing the technical recipe for its cutting-edge model, turning its reclusive leader into a national hero. Find out how the start-up shocked Silicon Valley: on.ft.com/4jvooqi

Mark Zuckerberg has chosen to disregard longstanding human rights norms in favor of a simplistic approach to free speech, writes NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights policy advisor on technology and law Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat. It's not too late to change course.

Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X https://go.nature.com/42tH8Ai

Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to dismantle Meta’s US fact-checking partnerships opens a new, troubling chapter in platform governance and lays bare the deep entanglement of tech corporations with reactionary political agendas, writes Charis Papaevangelou.

The new public square is fact-free social media – and it couldn’t come at a worse time for Australia | Ed Coper

How should AI companies collect the data they use to train their systems? And how can website operators and publishers better convey their preferences and ensure that restricting one type of bot doesn’t interfere with others? Courtney Radsch on the necessity of consent:

ACCS, the company undertaking the age assurance trial has published a long project plan on the trial... ageassurance.com.au/wp-content/u...

Gonna test this theory, I suspect. ageassurance.com.au/wp-content/u...

"Much like Musk, Zuckerberg also called out #socialmedia #law in Europe and Brazil as 'institutionalizing censorship'... [H]e conspicuously excluded autocratic governments like India and Turkey that have bullied #Meta into explicitly censoring certain groups": slate.com/technology/2... #ethics #tech

Also the PM says other leaders are looking to do the same but the UK just walked away from it. www.ft.com/content/22fd...

They'd been going this way for a while but mask off www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

#ARCschedule Jan25 No outcomes expected. Other events: 🔹Applications open for DECRA, LIEF & Centres of Excellence Data ▶️ docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Fascinating segment produced for @onthemedia.bsky.social by Mark Henry Phillips, a composer contending with the rise of generative AI. www.markhenryphillips.com/ai-is-going-...

“findings indicate that gender incongruences are real, substantial, and universal in academia, even in disciplines with larger proportions of women, such as health and education. The dominant incongruences for women arise from workplace climate…a major reason that women faculty leave academia”

Me in 2019: “It doesn’t feel safe to imagine riding in a shared driverless vehicle. Not just because the technology doesn’t work — but because it doesn’t feel safe to be alone in a small, enclosed space with strange men.” www.vox.com/2019/3/27/18...

Australia’s social media ban for under-16s faces fake ID problems https://www.ft.com/content/d9ec13e2-4501-40ec-99fc-994ea07684ca

“Despite 96% of C-suite executives expecting AI to boost productivity…77% of employees using AI say it has added to their workload and created challenges in achieving the expected productivity gains”