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beccadownes

@beccadownes.bsky.social
763 followers 1K following 161 posts

Nerdy management academic with a tech background (she/her/Dr). ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3278-5749

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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 4h
I personally would be in favour of hiring more nurses to help children with cancer. I'd even be willing to pay more tax to make it happen. I'm also willing to sacrifice tax breaks for landlords to make it happen.
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 09/10/2026
Despite what the Prosperity Gospel and the Efficient Market Hypothesis would have you believe, having billions of dollars is in no way a reliable predictor that you also possess the wisdom to unilaterally dictate how thousands or millions of other people must live their lives.
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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 08/10/2026
This picture will always be iconic. RIP Margaret Hamilton who wrote the software that successfully guided NASA’s Apollo missions through the moon.
Margaret Hamilton with printed computer code in 1969. Credit: NASA/Alamy
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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Te Ara Paerangi Com - Research Advocacy Capability @te-ara-paerangi.community · 05/10/2026
How many Masters and PhD researchers on a living wage would 1 km of this road pay for per year? *1,173* There are 11 km of the road. On average it takes 4 years to do a PhD in Aotearoa and about 2 years to do a Masters. So, 2,346 PhDs and 1,173 Masters degrees properly paid while doing research.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 10/09/2026
8 years ago, I tweeted side-by-side maps from NASA GISS showing global temperatures in 1976 and 2018 – both hot summers in the UK. It subsequently went viral and was printed in the Daily Mail! The 2026 version is stark. Two locally extreme summers separated by 50 years of global climate change.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
You can read the shorter version of the article on Newsroom NZ here newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/06/t... or the longer, open-access version in AI & Ethics journal here link.springer.com/article/10.1...
newsroom.co.nz
There's nothing irrational about resisting AI
Comment from Victoria University: Efficiency is not good in and of itself. Dr Rebecca Downes and Dr Rebecca Mines argue that saving time with AI can trade away what makes us human.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Efficiency isn't the only goal and it doesn't outweigh other values. We argue that when people choose effort instead of using AI, they’re specifically preserving the uniquely human value that effort delivers. They're making a rational choice to choose effort over efficiency.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Effort also communicates how much we care about something or someone. Effort demonstrates our care in a way that words can't. And, whether we like it or not, we live in a society where we're taught that hard work and effort shows that we're good people. So effort has levels of meaning and value.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
But we think that assumption forgets one simple fact: effort has value, in and of itself, which can’t be substituted by increased efficiency. Think of the joy of mastering a new skill or solving a tricky puzzle, for example. Effort allows us to develop ourselves, to flourish
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This basic idea has motivated automation throughout history. Following its logic, using AI starts to look like the only rational option and choosing not to use it starts to look strange, like something that needs to be explained. If you read about AI adoption, this attitude is common.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We think the logic that resisting AI is irrational goes something like this: a lot of the arguments for embracing AI are based on being able to do things more efficiently. Surely if you can get the same result with less work, then cutting effort is the rational choice?
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
However, we think that's wrong, and much too simple. Instead, my coauthor and I argue that some kinds of effort deliver uniquely human value, and when people choose effort rather than using AI, they’re specifically choosing to preserve that value.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Resistance to AI is usually put down to fear or ignorance: fear of change or job losses, or not understanding the tech & being unable to see the benefits. This frames resisting AI as irrational, not a choice to be taken seriously, just something to be overcome. #AIresistance
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LAL @lindli.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
the most a chekhov’s gun has ever chekhov’s gunned is when they introduced these years ago and swore they wouldn’t be used for policing
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FT @fucktheory.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Imagine being talented and beautiful and rich and famous and still the most noteworthy thing about you is how good a person you are.
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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of ​New Zealand children.”* *Except the harm to 1 in 7 NZ kids living in material hardship, the 1 in 4 girls / 1 in 9 boys abused before 15, or kids unable to access public health, or have clean air in schools, or be taught art history or
theguardian.com
New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media
Prime minister Christopher Luxon’s party to introduce bill seeking the ban, citing harm to a generation of children
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
An u16 social media ban on selected platforms a) won't significantly stop u16s being those platforms; Australian evidence shows this. b) will institute mass identity surveillance of all users of any age on those platforms; and c) Won't affect key sources of online safety risk (roblox, chatbots).
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CEO Johnny Cans @oldmatecans.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
It is possible to build infrastructure and make it look good and spend money on that because it belongs to all of us and we deserve nice public spaces and places.
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Dr Dean Knight @drdeanknight.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Sigh. Another legislative mistake comes to light in amendments passed under urgency without select committee scrutiny. And the minister throws officials under the bus, while trying to wriggle out of responsibility for her stewardship of legislation etc. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...
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Dylan Reeve @dylanreeve.com · 12/08/2026
It's a secondary thing, but can we talk about how ridiculous "Fix the basics" is as an election slogan for an incumbent government? Especially one that ran on that same slogan last time.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
My dad used this to get from Ōtaki to Palmy for some appointments www.stjohn.org.nz/what-we-do/c...
stjohn.org.nz
Waka Ora Health Shuttles | Hato Hone St John
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Michael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The bargain price of $138 million per km. Or one postdoc per metre.
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Richard Easther @rjme.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Here's the opening, but read the whole thing...
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Absolutely not.
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BlueShiftNZ @blueshiftnz.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Journo: Mr Prime Minister you still think New Zealand can achieve net zero by 2050? PM: Yes, maybe even a few years earlier J: Yet you are doing nothing to reduce NZ's emissions? PM: No, we expect a science-based solution to emerge soon J: So you're funding NZ scientists to do this? PM: Oh, God no
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Really? Cook? 🙄 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Yo dawg meme: We heard you like Cook. Would you like some Cook boat to sail across your Cook Strait?
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Every ad now
[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]

JANET:
Ugh...

LIZ:
What's up?

JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!

LIZ:
Have you tried...

AI peas?

JANET:
AI peas?

LIZ:
They're peas with AI!

[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].

LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas

JANET:
What

LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]

Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?

[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]

LIZ:

Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine

[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]

LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!

JANET:
What

LIZ:
Shut up

LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow

From opening the bag of peas

to boiling the peas

to eating the peas

To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.

JANET:
Is it really necessary to-

LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET

[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:

AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.

[Ends]
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Connor Sharp @connorsharp.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
If they sign one of the RoNS which might actually happen, Warkworth to Te Hana, as a Public Private Partnership, the annual payments for that could be over $300m per year, for 25 years+ So yeahhhhh enough money for the Marsden fund for 100 years on one road...
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𝚂𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 ☽|☾ 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔰𝔰 🎃🧛 @chaospriestess.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
My favorite Sam Neil fact will always be that he designed a future Australian flag that replaces the union jack with the aboriginal flag for Event Horizon and insisted the film use it.
Screencap of Sam Neil in Event Horizon, his flight suit features an Australian flag with the union jack replaced by a yellow circle on black and red, the Australian aboriginal flag
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Sacha @sachadylan.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
State funeral
stuff.co.nz
Actor Sam Neill has died
Sam Neill has died in hospital, his family said in a statement on Monday.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Lastly, Torment Nexus... Panopticon... Etc, etc, etc.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Also, "Diamandis briefly argues that these companies are offering transparency, and that “transparency is a tool, and tools don’t have ethics.”" is a perfect example of why tech executives should be forced to pass humanities courses.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I have couple of questions: What constitutes "better"? Whose definition? Who's doing the watching? Is everyone being watched, including the tech executives, or are they just doing the watching? techcrunch.com/2026/06/26/x...
techcrunch.com
Xprize founder says 'humans behave better when they’re being watched' | TechCrunch
Peter Diamandis is the latest tech executive to argue that global surveillance will make the world a better place, following Larry Ellison's comments in 2024.
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Russell Brown @publicaddress.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
This is good policy, and a very strong contrast with how the government chose to allocate new transport spending in the Budget. I hope they have a good plan for selling it, eg ...
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I'm assuming it means "average time between wave peaks" or something to that effect
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Not specifically but the RNZ article seems to suggest it'll make the wave impact worse www.rnz.co.nz/news/weather...
Screenshot from RNZ article that says "the height and long period of the swells would cause them to carry a lot of energy and a greater potential to run up the beaches"
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Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 08/06/2026
By far the biggest problem with delegating judgement to machines is the people who own the machines can tune them towards outcomes they prefer but those who don't own anything can't. It's not the technology. It's a transfer of decision making power from rational accountable systems to capital.
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Francis Sealey @globalnet21.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Paris air pollution is down 50% after its radical bike-friendly transformation Cars have been banned from more than 100 streets. Tens of thousands of parking spots have been eliminated. Hundreds of miles of bike lanes have been added. And air pollution is plummeting
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Daniel Vernon @yeehawtheboys.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Time to court the women's vote, once we define what one actually is. I chat more about this over at my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/yeehawth...
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Julie Blommaert @drjulieb.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
“Vote for us and we’ll do something we know is really popular and that we could do now” says the party that’s passed more things under urgency, against expert advice, and against public submissions in the last three years than anyone else
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
This is beautiful on so many levels. It names clearly and directly one of the insidious tactics that tech uses to evade effective regulation. It exemplifies a way in which humanistic scholarship provides critically important insight. >> link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Waiting for AGI - AI & SOCIETY
AI & SOCIETY -
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
I saw a small flock of kākā near the zoo this morning. When I was young, I thought maybe if was I lucky I might see one in the wild one day. Now they flock in my neighbourhood. It's honestly a miracle.
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Jordan S. Carroll 🌹 @jordanscarroll.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
They stole over 3 TB of data from Canvas but 2 TB is just required syllabus language copied from a university website.
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Turns out the people going on about data sovereignty and the risk of chucking everything on the servers of massive overseas companies were entirely onto something and our institutions probably should have listened to them. Who could have imagined? (quite a few people, in fact)
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Interesting thread on “AI”. I don’t agree 100% but I do think the current model doesn’t scale economically & maybe technically, which means what we’ll have in the future will be very different. Likely just small embedded fragments of “AI”, not a huge world changing systems.
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Here is a smallish dog, one that sometimes gives me anxiety, offered in solidarity. She's watching the staff at pak n save, wondering why they're not open yet. Difficult to understand if you're a smallish dog that's been awake since 4:30am. FWIW, you do good work. Pippa the dog would agree.
A medium-sized white dog with a dark patch on her back, seen side-on, looks intensely through the windscreen of a car. She's sitting in the passenger seat wearing an olive green harness and there's an empty-looking carpark and a large yellow building in the background. She has small, almond shaped eyes because at least one ancestor was a staffy, a small black nose, and square, enquiring ears. Her focus is absolute.
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Me and a small nugget of love. 🇸🇪♥️🇺🇦 @mnotme.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
The human circulatory system, before and after proper cable management.
two images of the human body's circulatory system. One of them with good cable management
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beccadownes @beccadownes.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Laughing out loud at this. They say hard times make for good art.
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