Just a friendly reminder to my Aotearoa New Zealand-based friends to doublecheck or update your voting enrolment: vote.nz/enrolling/en... #nzpol
Michael S. Daubs, PhD
@mdaubs.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Communication at the University of Otago. Co-Director for Kōtaha: the Internet, Social Media and Politics Research Lab at Te Herega Waka - Victoria University of Wellington | 🇨🇦 in 🇳🇿 (he/him) | @mdaubs@aoir.social
Wherein I give meandering reckons on the media spectacle that was the FIFA World Cup 2026: acmesmokescreen.substack.com/p/acme-accum...
My friend and colleague Claire Henry and I make the case for exploring an online safety regulator in New Zealand rather than just focusing on potentially harmful and ineffective age-based social media bans in a new article in The Conversation. theconversation.com/the-jurys-ou...
The jury’s out on social media bans. Here’s a better idea NZ can borrow from Australia
A version of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner could be a better way to tackle the online harm experienced by under-16s – and New Zealanders of all ages.
theconversation.com
For no particular reason, I feel the need to reiterate that the term "broadcasting" originally came from farming, i.e., the spreading of seeds, and so never 'only' meant television and radio.
Had the pleasure of working with @andrewlensen.bsky.social, @andrewtychen.bsky.social, @ethanplaut.bsky.social and @srhastraea.bsky.social on this piece about New Zealand's chance to lead on Responsible AI. theconversation.com/could-nzs-ne...
Could NZ’s next Christchurch Call be a push for fairer, safer AI?
Kiwis are using artificial intelligence in growing numbers, but trust is low. Could the push toward safer, more responsible AI offer NZ an economic opportunity?
theconversation.com
Despite a recent Stuff story that suggested we had opposing views on the topic, Cassandra and I are in complete agreement. Go read her excellent article in the Post!
Dr. Cassandra Mudgway@legallyfeminist.bsky.social · 4mo agoICYMI find me in yesterday's Press or Post talking about the lawsuit against Meta and Google, and what it might mean for NZ. Is the tide turning against the tech bros? #nzpol www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/...
Can’t emphasise this enough. I once did a media interview where the interviewee said he was “tired” of hearing about the benefits of online communities and this post helps show why his exhaustion doesn’t matter.
Elana Levin@levin.bsky.social · 5mo agoreally tired of conversations about how we need to get people to spend more time offline that don't acknowledge that one of the reasons people ARE online is their access needs aren't being met in physical spaces. This is especially true for queer people and disabled people.
In case people in the back didn’t hear her, @smittermeier.bsky.social has an important point here.
Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier@smittermeier.bsky.social · 5mo agoThe absolute mindnumbing idiocy of humanities professors admitting to the public that their work can be done by an LLM, at a time when facists and neolibs are happily defunding us and declaring our work useless… it‘s not that you‘re just bad at your job you‘re handing them everything they need.
A ban isn't radical. A real radical approach would be to no longer accept the governance and economic model that social media platforms rely, which we can and should regulate instead.
CFP for a special issue of Interface: a journal for and about social movements on "Transnational repression and social movements" available at www.interfacejournal.net/wp-content/u.... Deadline for initial submissions to this issue, to be published in October/November 2026, is 30 March 2026.
A new issue of Interface: a journal for and about social movements (Vol. 15, Issue 1), is available now at www.interfacejournal.net/interface-vo.... Open access, as always!
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
Andrew Lawrence@ndrew.bsky.social · 7mo agoone of the most effective weapons we have against fascism is mockery, especially when its really funny
The answer to this is always yes. The same is true if the animal is dog, otter, sea lion, seal, squirrel, pig, cow… any animal, really.
Mar Hicks@histoftech.bsky.social · 7mo agodo you want to see a bunny
Are these the same companies that told us the robot could do it?
In the wake of the tragedy in Australia today, someone took the time to create a fake news website and made up a white “IT professional” named "Edward Crabtree" and claimed he stopped the Bondi shooting. The real hero is a man named Ahmed Al Ahmed. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 8mo agoA man who heroically tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach gunmen has been named. He is Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney local who owns a fruit shop in Sutherland. The father-of-two was shot twice during the unbelievable act. www.news.com.au/national/nsw...
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites. The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
I‘m starting to suspect the expectation will be that teaching at a university level is less about a researcher’s field of research and more about prompt engineering sooner rather than later.
Sarah Florini@florini.bsky.social · 8mo agoUniversities have just decided that their new mission is to create permanent consumers for mostly useless and harmful technologies.
Apropos of nothing, anyone remember that Safer Online Systems and Media Platforms discussion document? Good times.
kelvin_morganNZ@kelvinmorgannz.bsky.social · 8mo ago#BREAKING Education Minister Erica Stanford confirms on the Duncan Garner podcast today the government will be following Australia’s lead and banning under 16yo’s from social media before the next election. #nzpol
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
For lots of reasons, I don’t like LLMs and I don’t use them, but I know there are serious people working on ways to meaningfully incorporate them into education and I don’t doubt there are ways to do that productively. It’s probably obvious that “Have the LLM tell you the answer” isn’t one of them.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other. Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to contribute some information on the definitional challenges and ethical questions about 'digital wellbeing' to the latest edition of CPI's TechREG Chronicle. Thanks to the editors there, who were very kind and patient. www.pymnts.com/cpi-posts/wh...
Who Is Responsible for Digital Wellbeing? An Overview of Approaches, Threats, and Perspectives on Accountability | PYMNTS.com
The widespread availability and use of digital tools such as smartphones and social media platforms have led to extensive discussions about their social
pymnts.com
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”.
Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11mo agoThe Minneapolis shooter was apparently a fan of several mass murderers who were motivated by the same "Great Replacement Theory" that has pretty much taken over the Republican Party.
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).
Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️🌈@sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · 12mo agoHere's the thing, we already were amongst the lowest levels of funding for research in the developed world. And these cuts & reprioritisations make this even worse. You can't determine immediate economic implications from a lot, if not most, research. So, these decisions misunderstand science.
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...
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.
nature.com
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.
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...
newsroom.co.nz
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...
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
teaonews.co.nz