Latest @enoughaboutai.com quarterly with @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social is out and covering the investigation of the #HuggingFace attack, AI safety culture (or lack of it), data centre politics, open letters, predictions, and hideous AI posters...

"The behaviour of Infantino and Fifa has become so brazen that the most obvious recourse for so many has become a rush to fill in the blanks with their own theories." Wrote a piece for the @irishexaminer.bsky.social about conspiracy theories & FIFA. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Here's why football fans are indulging in Fifa conspiracy theories

Gianni Infantino's tenure has invited criticism, contempt and, increasingly, conspiracy theories. Ciaran O'Connor examines why

irishexaminer.com

New episode of Enough About AI is out now!

Enough About AI Podcast@enoughaboutai.com · 4mo ago

In the latest episode, @donalmulligan.com & @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social discuss "The Costs of AI", including Ireland's data centres, environmental costs, AI labour effects, token-based billing, and the costs for truth, knowledge, and our shared humanity. podcast.enoughaboutai.com/2421061/epis...

Thanks to @aidanobrien.bsky.social and @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social for contributing to this.

David Mac Redmond@davidmacredmond.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I wrote about how the people who spread fear of attacks on civil liberties and the 'New World Order' during the pandemic are back running the same playbook during this fuel crisis. jrnl.ie/6999760

New year - new hype, new harms, new nefarious things Meta is up to... First 2026 @enoughaboutai.com ep is out and to be found wherever podcasts are. @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social & I talk about Grok, OpenClaw, Safer Internet Day, and taking a deep breath. podcast.enoughaboutai.com/2421061/epis...

Hype, Hazards, Harms, and Help - Enough About AI

Dónal and Ciarán return for a new year of new updates and new concerns in the world of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Again for 2026, the podcast will provide roughly quarterly updates on major t...

podcast.enoughaboutai.com

Dónal and Ciarán return for S02 E04. In this ep, they continue 'bubble watch,' reporting on the latest expansion in valuations and hype around AI. They also discuss robots and the bizarre and emerging field of AI erotica.

New report out from us & the Hope and Courage Collective today, looking at online threats to electoral integrity in the recent Irish presidential election. In the report: 🔵 Online narratives targeting the legitimacy of election 🔵 The targeting of candidates 🔵 The use of genAI Read more below ⬇️

Institute for Strategic Dialogue@isdglobal.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Ahead of Ireland’s presidential elections, ISD & H&CC found 172 false/misleading posts, as well as 43 AI-gen ones including a deepfake claiming Catherine Connolly’s withdrawal & the election’s cancellation. The brief urges tackling both harmful content & the algorithms that amplify it. More below.

The violent events in Citywest, Dublin, last week were not without precedent. There is now a depressingly familiar pattern to how this plays out. At the centre of it all are online social media platforms. I wrote about this for @irishtimes.com. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

‘This is our country, get them f***ing out’: Citywest riot raises questions for social media giants

There is now a depressingly familiar pattern to how this plays out – and at the centre of it all are online social media platforms.

irishtimes.com

Far-right agitators exploited a local tragedy to incite violence in Citywest, Dublin—and platforms let it spread. A new ISD & Hope and Courage Collective report shows how the unrest was coordinated, not spontaneous, & communities stepped up where platforms failed. Read it below ⬇️

The Online Playbook Behind the Violence in Citywest | H&CC

All of us want to believe that our children are safe no matter where they are. It is also true that we want a community where every child is safe and cared for by systems that work, whether they live in care, in the community or are seeking international protection.

hopeandcourage.ie

Why did it take so long for these “malicious smears”, as Gavin characterised them, to be addressed? Smears, recommender systems, AI; it's been quite the two weeks in the presidential election. And the campaign has just begun. Wrote about this for @irishtimes.com. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

Ciarán O'Connor: Jim Gavin won’t be the last victim of a smear campaign. What will it take for platforms to act?

Allegations about the presidential candidate received thousands of comments and nearly a million views, as platforms did little to stop the spread

irishtimes.com

A Guide To Monitoring Conflict Amidst a Sea of Misinformation www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of...

A Guide To Monitoring Conflict Amidst a Sea of Misinformation - bellingcat

How does one monitor a conflict zone on the brink of civil war, especially in a region which is difficult to access, experiences frequent internet shutdowns and where misinformation is common? In this...

bellingcat.com

New episode of our podcast is out, this time discussing the AI bubble, overinflation & valuations and dot-com comparisons.

Dónal Mulligan@donalmulligan.com · last yr.

On this quarter's @enoughaboutai.com episode, @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social and I are talking about the #AI bubble, and the consequences for jobs whether it pops or not. As well as ChatGPT5, bad graphs, third devices, and whatever a "non-woke" chatbot might be.

Ciarán O’Connor: The Epstein files have become a purity test for MAGA diehards and, unable to substantiate the claims they campaigned on for years, these political figures have found themselves cast as the villains they once promised to oust. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

Ciarán O’Connor: Donald Trump is in danger of being swallowed up by an Epstein conspiracy he helped to create

Trump is learning that conspiracy theories are elastic, self-sealing and practically impossible to disprove to a base radicalised over time

irishtimes.com

I'm going back to the Galway International Arts Festival once again for another fascinating tech-focused conversation, this time chatting to @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social and Cian O'Mahony about conspiracy theories! Dress code: Tinfoil hats optional. www.giaf.ie/festival/eve...

Conspiracy Theories | Galway International Arts Festival

Endless conspiracy theories flood our phones in conversation with Saoirse McHugh every day, straining credulity, but with an increasing number of enthusiastic followers.

giaf.ie

New episode of the Enough About AI podcast with @donalmulligan.com & @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social is out now, discussing alignment, AI being "too sycophant-y" and the risk of letting superintelligence out of the box. Available on all pod platforms & our site: podcast.enoughaboutai.com/2421061/epis...

New @enoughaboutai.com episode with @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social out, covering alignment issues, the problems of powerful AI persuasiveness, AI in academia, and letting superintelligence out of the box. Find it wherever you get podcasts, or on the site here: podcast.enoughaboutai.com/2421061/epis...

Alignment Anxieties & Persuasion Problems - Enough About AI

Dónal and Ciarán continue the 2025 season with a second quarterly update that looks at some recent themes in AI development. They're pondering doom again, as we increasingly grapple with the evidence ...

podcast.enoughaboutai.com

DCU's Dr Dónal Mulligan @donalmulligan.com and Ciarán O'Connor @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social discuss key issues related to AI and academia in the latest episode of their podcast 'Enough About AI'. You can listen to the full episode here: launch.dcu.ie/3YHqlHk

Quite an interesting story going on in Derry. Would really like to hear more from anyone in contact with this group. ***** Illicit masses in Derry. The Bishop has issued a warning about services held by fundamentalist group SSPX Resistance. Via @drivetime.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Illicit masses being held in Derry

Illicit masses are being held in Derry where priests are administering the sacraments without the authority of the Catholic Church. The Bishop of Derry has issued a warning about the services carried ...

rte.ie

Ireland’s Kate O’Connor wins pentathlon silver medal at World Indoor Championships www.independent.ie/sport/other-...

Ireland’s Kate O’Connor wins pentathlon silver medal at World Indoor Championships

Kate O’Connor was won her first ever global medal – and Ireland’s first at the World Indoor Championships for 19 years – after a superb showing in the pentathlon in Nanjing, China, today.

independent.ie

Disinformation, used to advance the cause of resurgent nativist populism, has succeeded. I wrote something for the @irishexaminer.bsky.social about the last few weeks in disinfoland. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Springtime for Putin as Trump embraces Kremlin’s distorted reality

Vladimir Putin must be rubbing his hands with glee that Russian-backed disinformation campaigns backing Brexit and Trump 1.0 have caused an existential crisis in the West, writes Ciaran O'Connor

irishexaminer.com

A new year and a new season of our Enough About AI pod. This episode takes stock of everything that's happened since November including: Trump, Musk and OpenAi; China and Deepseek; and a runthrough of reasoning models. Available on all the usual platforms.

Enough About AI Podcast@enoughaboutai.com · 2y ago

Hello, we're back! @donalmulligan.com & @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social start a new season for 2025 with a slight change in format to give you roughly quarterly updates on the big themes and topics in #AI. This new ep gives a summary of what's happened since last November & answer some of your questions

The 'feeling' that X under Musk is a different place than before is quantified in this new study titled 'Substantial Hate' 1️⃣ hate speech up to 50% higher; 2️⃣ hate speech increase persistent; 3️⃣ no reduction in inauthentic accounts #commsky @polcomm.bsky.social journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity

Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite ...

journals.plos.org

“During COVID … there was a subsection of those interested in wellness who saw it as the "ultimate truth” and their own thinking overlapped with conspiracy theories." I spoke to Brendan O’Connor about 'conspirituality' on @rteradio1.bsky.social on Feb 8th. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

"A supposedly UK-based network of Telegram channels is hoping to spark civil war in Britain – but the operation appears to be run from Russia. HOPE not hate can reveal that a network of Telegram channels is offering cash to UK citizens willing to commit acts of terror and vandalism"

Joe Mulhall@joemulhall.bsky.social · 2y ago

Terrifying and important new piece by @gregorydavishnh.bsky.social for @hopenothate.org.uk. A Russia linked Telegram channel is behind hate crimes in the U.K. and is encouraging terrorism for money! hopenothate.org.uk/2025/02/10/e...

“We know that the architecture of platforms makes it astonishingly easy for sensationalist allegations to go viral – enragement sadly equals engagement – and platforms often prioritise user attention over accuracy.”

The Journal FactCheck@factcheck.thejournal.ie · 2y ago

Yesterday's attack in Stoneybatter provided the latest opportunity for racist social media users and fake news outlets, who routinely pounce on any report of a violent incident in Ireland, to spread unfounded claims before the full details have emerged. jrnl.ie/6618886

What happened when two Northern Irish journalists reported on a loyalist massacre? They were arrested and spied on by police Plus: Two former Tory ministers and ex chief whip break government anti corruption rules All new on Democracy for Sale: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/the-police...

The police broke the law to spy on journalists - and that should worry us all

A landmark judgment has found that forces across the UK illegally tried to discover journalists’ sources—now we need the full story

democracyforsale.substack.com

Mick O'Keeffe has the same issue Chay Bowes has, except that the former is talking to Americans and the latter to Russians. Both have to say shit like "speaker", "Irish Prime Minister", "The Irish Parliament" etc.

‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says

‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says

Pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their productsBusiness live – latest updatesThe developer OpenAI has said it would be impossible to create tools like its groundbreaking chatbot ChatGPT without access to copyrighted material, as pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their products.Chatbots such as ChatGPT and image generators like Stable Diffusion are “trained” on a vast trove of data taken from the internet, with much of it covered by copyright – a legal protection against someone’s work being used without permission. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Why did the far right and anti-immigration parties fail to make a breakthrough in the General Election? I went on @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social's Dark State podcast and tease out some potential explanations. www.patreon.com/posts/why-fa...

Why the Far Right Stumbled in Ireland’s Election | The Dark State

Get more from The Dark State on Patreon

patreon.com

REPORT: Over the last eight months I've been trying to get to the bottom of why (despite being the ideal candidate) Ireland is not a video game development hub. The answer? A lack of government understanding surrounding the sector. For Shacknews: www.shacknews.com/article/1424...

Ireland is primed to be a video game development hub, so why hasn't it broken big?

Ireland is home to a well-educated, English-speaking, diverse workforce and is already the tech hub of Europe. So why hasn't it truly penetrated the video game industry?

shacknews.com