Minister for further education James Lawless promotes government’s AI summit… … with picture of a six-fingered hand typing on a laptop
Dónal Mulligan
@donalmulligan.com
Lecturer in Media, Design, Data Comms, etc., at DCU in #Dublin. Interested in digital research & ethics, educational tech & #GenAI, politics, and formerly #Eurovision Podcast: http://EnoughAboutAI.com More: https://www.donalmulligan.com
DCU has been ranked in the world’s 300 top universities for the first time! The @timeshighered.bsky.social (THE) World University Ranking for 2027 places DCU in 284 for 2027, climbing 24 places since 2026. DCU is also ranked first in Ireland for Research Quality. Read more: launch.dcu.ie/4z6hajA
The Irish Government continues to provide for the interests of US tech companies…
🤖 Will the profits of #AI companies trump data protection? In a #leaked document, the Irish Presidency proposes to #EU Member States that, if they train or use an AI product, companies should automatically be assumed to have an overriding “legitimate interest”. 👉 Read more: noyb.eu/en/ai-eu-mem...
I genuinely hate this. Using AI for science communication tells me that no creativity, craft, or thought went into it. Might as well not bother.
EU Researcher Night in Ireland received almost €300k in EU funding (to run the one-day event in 2026 and again in 2027).
This is insanity. Irish Presidency's draft text of amendments to the GDPR allows training & operation of any AI without safeguards & tough legal basis (under "legitimate interest" a company claims what it is doing is OK. Up to you to find out and challenge in court). This is a free pass for US Tech.
i would like to have a lot fewer high-breathlessness low-details confessional letters/essays/tweets/resignations from big ai and a lot more specificity & transparency
Daniel Selsam, an OpenAI researcher, said that "merely pacing the frontier more carefully will not adequately limit the long-term risk." https://bit.ly/4dwR4xx
Trump: "The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!"
EXCLUSIVE: Humans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 Media.
Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats
Humans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 M...
404media.co
when you work at the BPAF but you’re beginning to realize there’s not going to be a successful IPO
Dónal and Ciarán return in time for the new school and college terms to help you get back to learning about GenAI. Here, they bring you up to speed on the mounting political backlash to data centres in Ireland. #genai #technology #artificialintelligence #openai #anthropic #datacentres
You weren't kidding. This ad is deranged. Google is cooked as hell. www.youtube.com/watch?v=37EY...
Stop fishing for answers | Find them with Gemini in Chrome
YouTube video by Google Chrome
youtube.com
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...
This intricate vase was created by Namikawa Yasuyuki, perhaps one of the most celebrated enamellers of the Meiji period (1868-1912).
I've never heard anyone discuss Dolly Parton's success, influence or contributions to the world in terms of her net worth. I'm sure it was substantial, but I am blissfully unaware of it. Cos it doesn't fucking matter. What's important is not what you earned but what you *gave* to the world.
The Netherlands will not participate in next year's Eurovision Song Contest, with its broadcaster saying the event can "no longer be considered neutral" given divisions over the Gaza war. The contest has recently been hit by a wave of boycotts over Israel's participation. jrnl.ie/7139814
Netherlands to continue Eurovision boycott and says event can ‘no longer be considered neutral’
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said it will not participate in next year’s song contest as ‘one of the participating countries is still involved in a large-scale military conflict’.
jrnl.ie
Off the Beaten Path, painting by Padraig McCaul, Irish artist.
(All other many issues aside). Eh, yes, you are defintely deciding because only STEM researchers included; humanities and social science researchers omitted from scheme --->"Our strategy is not to decide which scientific problems deserve attention..." www.axios.com/2026/07/29/o...
OpenAI launches free AI access program for academic researchers
The program will provide selected researchers access to advanced models through 2027.
axios.com
Saw The Odyssey and it’s enjoyable and definitely merits a cinema where the intense soundtrack bass can fully shudder your bones. (Though Nolan having Odysseus solemnly say “Our Age of Bronze is collapsing” also does that at one point!) Overall certainly worth seeing - and on a very big screen.
📢 #CallForPapers: Are you a PhD researcher with ideas on Media, Democracy, and Society? If so, you have until ⏳ 2 August 2026 ⏳ to submit your abstract for the 3rd FuJo PhD Conference 2026! 👉 Link for submission: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Call for Papers: Media, Democracy, and Society: 3rd FuJo PhD Conference 2026
Call for Papers: Media, Democracy, and Society The 3rd FuJo PhD Conference welcomes submissions from PhD researchers working across the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and related discipline...
docs.google.com
"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
ru.nl
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n
Vogelkop Super Paradise, found in the rainforests of Papua, is only found in Indonesia's Papua province. Its clove-black feathers absorb 99.5% of light, which makes its blue eyes and chest appear like a digital illusion. www.allaboutbirds.org/news/new-vog... #globalmuseum #birds
How 'Freed from Desire' became soccer's favourite anthem. @donalmulligan.com @dublincityuni.bsky.social tells the story of how a 1990s' Eurodance hit inspired by Buddhism became the soundtrack to happy stadiums and terraces years later www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
How 'Freed from Desire' became soccer's favourite anthem
The story of how a 1990s' Eurodance hit inspired by Buddhism became the soundtrack to happy stadiums and terraces years later
rte.ie
The story here is not this stupid movie – which will never get made and never come out – but how the Tilly Norwood people keep getting these credulous articles placed in national news sources despite zero demonstration of any success or demand for this.
The comedy-drama will star AI "actor" Tilly Norwood in a “hybrid production with traditional film and TV professionals — such as directors, writers and editors — working alongside AI specialists, with AI training and mentorship built into the production itself,” the company says.
📢 Applications are now open for the #ChangingTIDE Media Literacy Incubator in Dublin! Are you aged 18–30 and resident in an EU/CERV country? Join us to explore media literacy, disinformation, and more with young people from across Europe. Apply now 👇 fujomedia.eu/news/call-fo...
FuJo | Call for Applicants: Media Literac
Dublin City University is the Irish partner in ChangingTIDE, an EU-funded project that aims ...
fujomedia.eu
Dónal and Ciarán are back to discuss some of the various costs of AI. Here, they discuss Pope Leo’s recent papal encyclical on AI and humanity, which the pope called for AI to be “disarmed” and to be prevented “from dominating humanity” through “monopolistic control.” #genai #artificialintelligence
Exclusive: I have seen OpenAI's audited financials for 2024 and 2025. In 2025, OpenAI had $13.07 billion in revenue and $34 billion in costs. $867 million of its revenue came from SoftBank, and $303 million came from Microsoft. www.wheresyoured.at/exclusive-op...
Exclusive: OpenAI Losses Increased Nearly 8X in 2025, With Spending Hitting $34 Billion
Soundtrack: In Flames - Colony To further support my independent journalism, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $7 a month or $70 a year. If you’re subscribed to the free newsletter and ...
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