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robbie

@coolrobbie.bsky.social
154 followers 273 following 54 posts

Pākehā on Wurundjeri-Woiwurung lands [-o-] robbiefordyce.com

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Reposted by robbie
SocArXiv @socarxiv.bsky.social · 23h
SocArXiv now has a limit of two papers per week. If authors submit more than that we assume they are LLM-generated and reject them all. Normal humans who need to upload a batch of papers, which sometimes happens, must make arrangements. Also today, ArXiv set a two papers per month limit.
blog.arxiv.org
Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy
arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 20h
ARC has given some details of how new Explore scheme will run ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub... ❗️There's a lottery❗️ Peer review yields 3 categories: highly competitive, competitive, uncompetitive. After funding highly competitive apps, competitive ones enter a lottery for remaining $.
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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 16h
ArXiv limits preprint submissions to two per month per submitter, as AI access fuels a record 40,363 submissions in September 2026, vs. 20,569 in September 2024 (Kat Boboris/arXiv) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 12/09/2026
AI BROS: AI can replicate itself exponentially, if you destroy one computer, it will still live on another, because AI is just code. ALSO AI BROS: AI can only run in huge power-hungry data centers.
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CAMERON WILSON @cameronwilson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
AI has made racing for mathematical breakthroughs is "pointless" That's according to Australian mathematician Tristan Buckmaster, who was at the centre of a global controversy last week. He says AI is a great tool, but what happened to him shows the risks www.abc.net.au/news/...
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
ok reasonable
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
ARC has published (inadvertently?) how many Future Fellowships & DECRAs they’ll fund (FT26 & DE27). Even though outcomes aren't out yet, these numbers & success rates are here ▶️ www.arc.gov.au/ncgp-trends-... 299 FT26s & 455 DE27s "funded". Success rate of 20% for both schemes.
Various graphs and statistics are shown in an infographic style. Screenshot from ARC's "NCGP Trends" website showing the number of funded applications for Future Fellowships, the number submitted and the corresponding success rate.Various graphs and statistics are shown in an infographic style. Screenshot from ARC's "NCGP Trends" website showing the number of funded applications for DECRAs, the number submitted and the corresponding success rate.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I've been learning R recently, and given my familiarity with Python I wanted to tell you all about skills I have recently practiced: - givign up - headaches
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
@grogsgamut.bsky.social is it possible to find equivalent Australian data to what's listed in this pic, or would it require a significant project of research? (p.s. love the pod, listen every week)
A screenshot of text that reads "Dumenil and Levy have gone so far as to argue that neoliberalism was from the very beginning an endeavor to restore class power to the richest strata in the population. They showed how from the mid-1980s onwards, the share of the top 1 percent of income earners in the United States soared rapidly to reach 15 percent by the end of the century. Other data show that the top 0.1 percent of income earners increased their share of the national income from 2 percent in 1978 to more than 6 percent by 1999. Yet another measure shows that the ratio of the median compensation of workers to the salaries of chief executive officers increased from just over thirty to one in 1970 to more than four hundred to one by 2000. Almost certainly, with the Bush administration’s tax cuts now taking effect, the concentration of income and of wealth in the upper echelons of society is continuing apace."
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
In the 1980s in one auto plant, computerisation was used extensively for worker surveillance of toilet breaks. Union agitation around this led to a 'rest allowance' being implemented in workplace agreements, with workers winning toilet breaks of 1.62 minutes (i.e. 97.2 seconds).
Photo of a book that reads "Trips to the lavatory: 1.62 minutes. It is computer precise;  not 1.6 or 1.7 but 1.62! For fatigue: 1.3 minutes. Sitting down after standing too long: 65 seconds. For monotony: 32 seconds—and so the grotesque litany goes on."
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Reposted by robbie
Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The current world chicken population is larger than the planet-wide non-chicken bird population not just today, but at any point in the history of earth.
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Idiot/Savant @norightturnnz.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Very important response setting out the Ombudsman's views on the use of AI in govt decision-making. Notably, there is a need to record reasons, and failing to do so creates a serious risk of the decision being deemed unreasonable.
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Reposted by robbie
Fan Yang @fanyang.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
RECapture team submitted to the Inquiry into the 2025 federal election. We provided our high-level and operational recommendations for improving trust and security in digital campaigns for Australian elections. @coolrobbie.bsky.social et al. Link to our submission doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
doi.org
Australian political advertising and disinformation on Chinese-language media services: Four recommendations for improving trust and security in digital campaigns for Australian elections
Our report details recommendations provided to the Inquiry into the 2025 federal election for the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.  The report is based on our res...
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Reposted by robbie
Fan Yang @fanyang.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Our paper on the Voice referendum on WeChat shows policymakers & factchecker might be fighting the wrong battle against disinfo. Our case & numbers show how disinfo works on the ground. Check out the paper (w. Luke Heemsbergen & @coolrobbie.bsky.social) url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/fLyrCxnMJ5...
url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com
Contextualizing critical disinformation during the 2023 Voice referendum on WeChat: Manipulating knowledge gaps and whitewashing Indigenous rights | HKS Misinformation Review
Outside China, WeChat is a conduit for translating and circulating English-language information among the Chinese diaspora. Australian domestic political campaigns exploit the gaps between platform go...
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Going to be at ACMI later this month talking about what it's like to track my baby using an app - feel free to join in! events.humanitix.com/dc-x-acmi-se...
events.humanitix.com
Baby apps: (Mis)understandings of data-driven care
This panel brings together parents, professionals and researchers with lived experience & expertise to explore the role of baby apps in contemporary parenthood.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Zotero auto-identified the ACCC's Digital Platforms Inquiry as "The Cancer that Cured Me". Look forward to what subtle takes it has on the productivity commission's releases
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Some reflections from #WorldCon on how to talk to friends about "AI" buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
buttondown.com
Friends Don't Let Friends Prompt
By Emily Alex and I were at WorldCon (the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention) last week, talking about The AI Con with people whose livelihood...
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Prof. Bob Howarth @profbobhowarth.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
One study concluded 70% of increased electric cost across US due to AI data centers. apnews.com/article/elec...
apnews.com
As electric bills rise, evidence mounts that data centers share blame. States feel pressure to act
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
www.jobsandskills.gov.au/download/198...
jobsandskills.gov.au
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The Register @theregister.com · 14/08/2025
Datacenter diplomacy: Australia commits to help Vanuatu build bit barns
dlvr.it
Datacenter diplomacy: Australia commits to help Vanuatu build bit barns
$79 million is a small price to pay to keep China at bay Australia will help to fund the development of two datacenters in the Pacific island nation Vanuatu, an example of tech infrastructure becoming an important diplomatic consideration.…
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
"Finland 1932 is the only clean win I can find. [...] That’s it. That’s the success story. One time out of roughly fifty attempts, fascists were stopped because they were stupid enough to try violence before winning elections." medium.com/@carmitage/i...
medium.com
We live in a fascist nation. What now?
Once they win elections, it’s already too late.
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Reposted by robbie
Jack Ryan 🙏🧪 @jacksonwryan.com · 22/04/2025
Last week, Monash Uni and think tank The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) dropped the "Playing the Player" report. It's a really interesting survey-based study of 800 people who play games. (Don't ask why, in the year of the lord 2025, a PS1 controller is the lead image)
The Playing the Player report front page, an arm holding a PlayStation controller. The sub heading reads "Unfair digital gaming practices and their impact on Australias" with logos of Monash University and CPRC
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Nick Bowman (包尼克) he/him/his @bowmanspartan.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Just remember that we really have no interest in understanding our world. Only controlling it. And that's very, very sad.
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Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
"Our research reveals while Australian news media often focus on foreign interference, in this election cycle, disinformation is being driven by commercial and domestic political interests," write @fanyang.bsky.social, Luke Heemsbergen, and @coolrobbie.bsky.social. Read more:
ia.acs.org.au
How election misinformation spreads on Chinese social media
Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia use these platforms.
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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Really interesting and important report out today on deceptive design practices in games and how they impact players from @cprc-research.bsky.social @coolrobbie.bsky.social and @bradyjay.bsky.social - some really great recommendations on making games safer for everyone! cprc.org.au/report/playi...
cprc.org.au
Playing the Player - CPRC
Australians of all ages are engaging with gaming to relax, learn or connect with friends, but common design features can leave players worse-off – 95% of Australian adult gamers encounter manipulative...
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Got our first Q1 rejection letter written by AI! Does not invoke faith in the review process, honestly.
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ADM+S Centre @admscentre.org.au · 21/03/2025
Chinese social media new election battleground. Hear more from ADM+S researchers Fan Yang and Robbie Fordyce on ABC's The World Today @fanyang.bsky.social @coolrobbie.bsky.social #misinformation bit.ly/4iFwawv
bit.ly
Chinese social media new election battleground - ABC listen
Nearly 700,000 Australians use the Chinese platform Rednote, and it's become a new battleground for targeting Chinese-Australian voters.
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Reposted by robbie
ADM+S Centre @admscentre.org.au · 21/03/2025
In this investigative report, ADM+S researchers Fan Yang, Robbie Fordyce, with Luke Heemsbergen worked with ABC, to uncover political disinformation on Chinese social media platform RedNote @fanyang.bsky.social @coolrobbie.bsky.social sky.social bit.ly/41KYczP
bit.ly
A deepfake Dutton speaks Mandarin on Chinese social media platform
A series of attacks on Australian political parties on emerging Chinese social media platform RedNote raise concerns about misinformation, disinformation and the risk of foreign interference ahead of ...
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Benjamin Riley @benjaminjriley.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Who is up for a short thread on the intriguing parallels between OpenAI and Enron, as told by one of Enron's investment bankers -- that is to say, me? Here goes...
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Graham Lea @evolvable.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
My local MP is pushing more misinformation on Facebook, telling people nuclear power "will deliver cheaper, cleaner and consistent energy". Below is my response. Feel free to plagiarise it in responding to your own coalition MPs when they try the same. (1/6) #auspol #EnergyAus
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Tim Lyons @picketer.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Remind me again why we are letting an American bloke with no relevant research experience but who wrote an airport book to scare parents make digital policy in Australia? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?
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.
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Dr Caitlin McGrane @caitlinaithne.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Yay new publication day! Last year, Larissa Hjorth, Peta Murray and I looked into older adults' animal pet image sharing practices. We found while there are myriad reasons, many of them revolve around kinship. Paper is open access so please share and cite widely: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
One to watch
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David Milner @davemilbo.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
The latest footage out of Gaza today is utterly horrific. Not that it hasn't all been. I've seen 10,000 things this year that fall into the category. More misery, more evil, just as shocking as the first time. Fuck Israel and everyone excusing and supporting its landgrab and genocide.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
The US's equivalent to the updated online safety bill has been co-authored with X's CEO. Unlike the OSB, it has a focus on 'impacts' and 'individual perceptions' experienced by users, but apparently doesn't provide clear definitions or enforcement pathways
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Australian government proposing to tax search platforms, a tax that would be waived if they negotiate with local news. Basically a re-hash of the NMBC, but calling out TikTok in particular. www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
abc.net.au
Facebook, Google to fund Australian journalism under new tax plan
The government wants to impose a new tax to push the tech platforms to make funding agreements with news organisations.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Useful report on social media perceptions! Especially in the context of broader debates about mental health and the value of media platforms generally
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
My key takeaway from this is that I'd expect Dutton to cut CSIRO funding further if (when?) he gets elected.
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Red Easter Rabbit @therabbitkyle.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
I love Mad Magazine
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Daniel Angus @antmandan.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Great to see the Journal of Advertising themed issue on Computational Advertising Research Methodology out today, featuring work from our @admscentre.org.au team on the development of computational methods for improving the observability of platform advertising. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Computational Methods for Improving the Observability of Platform-Based Advertising
The advertising ecosystem has been progressively reshaped by computational advertising models facilitated and controlled by digital media platforms. Meta and Alphabet, two of the dominant players i...
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Sonia Livingstone @sonialivingstone.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
“Is the internet good for children?” For those who missed my #DigitalFutures4Children public lecture with @LSEMedia.bsky.social @5RightsFound.bsky.social You can now watch or listen here Podcast www.lse.ac.uk/lse-player?i... Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70X...
lse.ac.uk
Is the internet good for children?
Public anxiety about children’s digital lives and wellbeing is reaching a fever pitch, marking a notable turnaround from the decades-long efforts to ensure children are fully digitally included, liter...
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 28/11/2024
This is one of those examples that illustrates a harm of algorithmic systems that is often invisible—system “predicts” who is likely to miss appointments, and recommends double booking those slots, thus punishing poor people by wasting their time. arstechnica.com/health/2024/...
AI guardrails

Last, the administration's proposal also tries to shore up guardrails for the use of AI in health care with edits to existing policy. The goal is to make sure Medicare Advantage insurers don't adopt flawed AI recommendations that deepen bias and discrimination or exacerbate existing inequities.

As an example, the administration pointed to the use of AI to predict which patients would miss medical appointments—and then recommend that providers double-book the appointment slots for those patients. In this case, low-income patients are more likely to miss appointments, because they may struggle with transportation, childcare, and work schedules. "As a result of using this data within the AI tool, providers double-booked lower-income patients, causing longer wait times for lower-income patients and perpetuating the cycle of additional missed appointments for vulnerable patients." As such, it should be barred, the administration says.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
The report on the social media ban submissions are fairly disingenuous, such as this fairly specious reading of the submission from the Digital Child. Ping @tamaleaver.bsky.social if you haven't seen it.
Screenshot of text that reads:

2.64 Similarly, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child stated:

"In regulatory terms, the government’s plan to focus on a Digital Duty of Care, which requires platforms to evaluate the potential risks of their tools before they release them, is a much more productive legislative direction, placing the initial burden on platforms, not parents"
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
OK, here’s a doozy🤯 What if I told you that, until very recently, some researchers could infer their grant outcome in ARC’s Research Management System (RMS) at least a month before official release? Unbelievable, right? (OK, this is the ARC, so not unbelievable😑) Thread👇
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
The government is publishing submissions to the social media ban here: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar... At this rate, they'll clear one percent by this afternoon.
aph.gov.au
Submissions
Submissions
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casey briggs @caseybriggs.com · 25/11/2024
LinkedIn has requested it be declared exempt from the government's age verification regime (per its submission to the senate inquiry), which raises a fun hypothetical that LinkedIn could become the social media platform of choice for teens
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 25/11/2024
Fun with misleading stats. Elon claims that ExTwitter is "numero uno" but that's ONLY because they self-labeled the app as news. On the full charts... they're #54 while Bluesky is #2.
Elon declaring "X Number Uno" as a quote tweet of "Doge Designer" saying "BREAKING: 𝕏 remains the #1 News App in the US in both Free and Grossing categories on the AppStore.

Rankings | November 24th 2024" And showing the top 10 free and grossing *news* apps which have X as number one.Showing the *actual* top free apps with Threads first, followed by Bluesky and ChatGPT.Showing where X is in the list at #54, after SnapChat and Fox Sports, but before Indeed Job Search and Reddit.
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robbie @coolrobbie.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Our submission to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024. robbiefordyce.com/wp-content/u... by @katemannell.bsky.social @fanyang.bsky.social Kyle Moore and myself.
robbiefordyce.com
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