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Jean Burgess

@jeanburgess.bsky.social
4.2K followers 1.1K following 582 posts

Communication and media professor researching the internet, platforms & automation in society via cultural studies & digital methods. Brisbane/Sunshine Coast hinterland.🏳️‍🌈🏞🌄✨️

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Reposted by Jean Burgess
Rural Indexing Project @ruralindexing.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Post Office Garfield, WA
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Australian govt wants to give us an off switch for "the algorithm", which is misdirected. We need better public understanding, more imagination, and better independent oversight. Me, @antmandan.bsky.social & Amanda Third in @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/australia-wa...
techpolicy.press
Australia Wants an Off Switch for 'The Algorithm.' That's the Wrong Fix
Concerns about algorithms are real, but they are not the ‘bad guys’ in and of themselves, write Daniel Angus, Jean Burgess and Amanda Third.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
So the young folk are...re-inventing 2000s web culture? mercury.com/blog/small-w...
mercury.com
How the small web is creating an anti-slop internet
What is the small web? A new crop of platforms are answering algorithmic fatigue with a return to human-curated basics.
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Reposted by Jean Burgess
michael veale @michae.lv · 01/10/2026
The proposed social media ban, the EU KIDS Act, is perhaps the most chaotic law I have ever read! New paper: Are EU Kidding Me? Notes from a Poorly Drafted Social Media Ban. files.michae.lv/papers/veale_areEUkiddingme.pdf In the spirit of the proposal I have stayed offline and read no takes.
In September 2026, the European Commission published a proposed EU KIDS Act, responding to the demand for restrictions and further design obligations applying to digital services accessible to children, including social media. This Article argues that regardless of what one believes about the merits of this policy direction, the EU KIDS Act is not the legislative text we need. The scope and drafting are little short of chaotic, full of holes, enormous ambiguities, and unintended consequences. Recitals contradict articles. The use of scope borrowed from other pieces of legislation not designed for this purpose brings services into scope that should not be subject to the relevant provisions, like book-recommendation websites, music services, or exercise trackers. The infrastructural requirement for assurance of age and parental responsibility attestation simply omits enormous issues of complex families and childhoods. Complex design obligations are written in ways that can be plausibly interpreted as implicitly prohibiting entire swathes of products, such as voice assistants. This Article outlines these issues, and many more. The Commission should withdraw this proposal and reissue a workable and realistic text.
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Postcard From The Past @pastpostcard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Having a nice time - saw lots of bears.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Last week I was part of a very lively and challenging panel discussion about the politics and potential usefulness & downsides of the new AI labels mandated by Article 50 of the EU AI Act. Thanks to @aimediademlab.bsky.social for hosting! The video is now online: M youtu.be/FYt2KcOI4dY?...
youtu.be
The Label Paradox: Can AI transparency create more distrust?
YouTube video by AI, Media and Democracy Lab
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Beautifully written statement from a bunch of Fields Medallists. It touches on something I've been thinking about a lot: how the use of AI to accelerate progress to a goal can perversely degrade its deeper value (cf. lit reviews, a task RAs used to help with). terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/a...
terrytao.wordpress.com
A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics
I am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have…
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Just discovered I'm in a starter pack called "Academic Dog Parents" and couldn't be more proud
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AI, Media & Democracy Lab @aimediademlab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🔔 Our online panel is 1 week away: Can AI transparency create more distrust? Featuring @jeanburgess.bsky.social, @anjabechmann.bsky.social, Anders Søgaard, @tomdivon.bsky.social & @laurensnaudts.bsky.social + Moderation by @natalihelberger.bsky.social 📅 10/09 👉 Sign up now! aim4dem.nl/events/
aim4dem.nl
Events – AI, Media & Democracy Lab
AI, Media & Democracy Lab
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
If you haven’t heard, @trufelman.bsky.social and I started a new podcast about fashion and philosophy. Each month, we read canonical text — Voltaire, Rousseau, Hegel — and talk about how the author's ideas help us understand why we dress the way we do.
An illustration of Lord Chesterfield.
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Luke O'Neil @lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
By almost any measure Dolly embodied "the American Dream." Some people will come from nothing and make it big and consider the problem now solved. Others will remember that there are still others with nothing and use what they have to help.
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 25/08/2026
I have really enjoyed the experience of reading story after story about how good and selfless and beloved a recently deceased famous person was
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 26/08/2026
The family has said that a great way to honor Dolly’s legacy is to donate to her Imagination Library. imaginationlibrary.com
imaginationlibrary.com
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I had to say thank you.
meditationsinanemergency.com
In Praise of Dolly Parton, 1946-2026, Our Goddess of Kindness
We will always love her, and there will never be another like her, this artist who came out of deep rural poverty in the 1960s to become not just a staggeringly great performer and songwriter but phil...
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S.J. Pearce @homophonous.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has a bilingual English-Spanish option. She supported the literacy of young Spanish-language readers at a time when Spanish and Spanish-speakers were increasingly being demonized in politics. imaginationlibrary.com/bilingual-pr...
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ADM+S Centre @admscentre.org.au · 24/08/2026
How do audiences feel about Voice AI in Australian media? A new ADM+S report explores Australians’ experiences & perceptions, finding a clear desire for genuine human connection & concerns about authenticity & the impact of AI on creative workers Read more apo.org.au/node/335506 #VoiceAI #GenAI
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AI, Media & Democracy Lab @aimediademlab.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Speakers for our upcoming panel on AI label effectiveness and transparency are confirmed! Featuring @jeanburgess.bsky.social, @anjabechmann.bsky.social, Anders Søgaard, @tomdivon.bsky.social & @laurensnaudts.bsky.social + Moderation by @natalihelberger.bsky.social 👇 Sign up now!
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Some substantial changes announced by ARC for next (supposedly final) rounds of some schemes, esp. Discovery Projects👇 🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app 🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply 🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
arc.gov.au
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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 15/08/2026
There's actually research on this and it involves scrutiny. If you're Black people are going to look at your work looking for mistakes in a way they would never for white people.
theatlantic.com
Black Workers Really Do Need to Be Twice as Good
African American employees tend to receive more scrutiny from their bosses than their white colleagues, meaning that small mistakes are more likely to be caught, which over time leads to worse perform...
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ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success @coeplantsuccess.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
We partnered with 8 other @arc-gov-au.bsky.social CoEs to participate in a friendly competition about creatively communicating research! People's Choice award voting is open now: scienceart.com.au/voting/ Winners will be announced during National Science Week!
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Becca Petunia 🏳️‍⚧️ @tallgirlpetunia.northsky.social · 02/08/2026
Some great new reaction images to use when people are obtuse on BlueSky.
A Sesame Street book titled How to Say You're Sorry featuring Grover and Elmo.A Sesame Street book titled It's OK to Disagree featuring Elmo and Abby.A Sesame Street book called How to Be a Super Listener featuring Ji-Young and AbbyA Sesame Street book called How to Work Through Disappointment featuring Bert and Ernie.
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Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Remember, both the Iliad and the Odyssey were originally audiobooks.
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A.A. Dowd @aadowd.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
THE ODYSSEY's instantly, predictably enormous success is Exhibit #32176 that the right wing's grievance-farming operation is not some great American cultural shift. Most people don't give a shit about their petty crusades.
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Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
DOGE slashed 3/4 of the personnel from the CDC lab that’s supposed to prevent turbodiarrhea outbreaks www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...
wired.com
The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year
“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.
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REwadent Evil @ewacat.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
God I hate it when bad things are funny
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Reminder! There are alternatives to Substack! Which do not have its ethical problems! (My newsletter is on Ghost, which is fabulous, and Buttondown is among the others I've heard praised.) Thread--
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Jack Grimes @jackapedia.design · 16/07/2026
Furious that Chris Nolan would disregard historical accuracy in adapting The Odyssey by making a "movie" with "cameras" instead of memorizing the entire story and then going on a nationwide tour to sing it to us while tripping on ergotized barley
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
In interviews people sometimes ask me to sum up what was different for LGBT people in the early nineties when we first set up Pride Scotland. Thanks to @workingclasshistory.com for the reminder that the answer is "The press used to treat all LGBT people as badly as they now treat trans people."
Photograph of a clipping from the Daily Mail, Friday July 16 1993.

Abortion hope after 'gay genes' findings

by Jason Lewis

Scientists in America claim to have found the first definite evidence of a genetic link to homosexuality.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
My Bluesky feed is wall to wall Sam Neill and I've never felt happier to be here.
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
You write your eulogy in life. If you want people to mourn, make your life something to celebrate. If you want people to celebrate, make your life something to mourn.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Morning! Socceroos in extra time, you can see all the way to the ocean, and another glorious hinterland sunrise is on the way
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Gonna be some messy watch parties tomorrow morning www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...
abc.net.au
Qld pubs to open early for Socceroos match with special licence
The trial changes to licence laws will allow venues to apply to open from 3am to 7am to broadcast the game.
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WOR$T GIRL IN ACADEMIA @medievaliste.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Do people not know that there are at least ten musicologists on here who want to explain the answer to your music question to you so badly that they will drop everything to do it?
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Abbey @abbeyarletto.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
A wonderful example of how touching American humorist prose can be. Reminds me a bit of E.B. White on dogs. 😭
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Kateryna Kasianenko @kkasianenko.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I am helping @ashwinnag.bsky.social with an important project trying to understand what makes decentralised platforms like Bluesky prosocial. Anyone who sees this message and cares about the state of online platforms is eligible to participate - we'd really appreciate your help.
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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 14/06/2026
I really wanted this to mean "it is solved by going for a little walk to think about it" because that's so often true for me Solvitur ambulando - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvitu...
Solvitur ambulando on Wikipedia 
Solvitur ambulando (Latin: [ˈsolwitur ambuˈlandoː]) is a Latin phrase which means "it is solved by walking", referring to an anecdotal, practical solution to a seemingly complex philosophical problem. It is often attributed to Saint Augustine in a refutation of Zeno's paradoxes of motion.[1]
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JP @jpbrammer.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I went from reading a few books a year to around one a week. I wanted to write down how I got there, how it involved rethinking my relationship to attention, and why I believe reading books can heal your brain. I hope this gives you something useful! johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/how-i-lear...
johnpaulbrammer.substack.com
How I Learned to Read Way, Way More
I had to rethink my relationship to attention
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Braised white beans with spinach, parmesan, and rocket from the garden on a rainy Saturday
Comfort food all plated up with a slice of buttered bread
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Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
It’s a wrap. Thanks @icahdq.bsky.social staff and all volunteers for a wonderful edition. Thanks for bringing #ica26 to Africa 🌍 See you #ica27 Glasgow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Following my usual practice of attending panels outside my usual orbit whether in terms of geography or topic is paying dividends as always. Here to learn new things #ica26
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rasmuskleis.bsky.social @rasmuskleis.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
"I was born for the second time when the Iron Curtain was lifted in 1989" @thanitzsch.bsky.social says in personal and profoundly important Presidential Address on academic freedom at #ICA26, noting attacks in his native Germany as well as the US, Hong Kong, destruction in Gaza, and many other cases
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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Hi. Librarian here. Let me settle this once and for all: audiobooks are reading. Graphic novels are reading. It's all fucking reading. Stop gatekeeping and stfu. Thank you an have a good night.
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ADM+S Centre @admscentre.org.au · 04/06/2026
Leading researchers in digital governance & AI ethics from ADM+S & the Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics have released a new policy brief in response to the Australian Government's Issues Paper on a proposed Digital Duty of Care for online services admscentre.org/3ShnlAV
admscentre.org
Digital duty of care
This policy brief responds to an issues paper on a Digital Duty of Care. It argues for legislating a systems‑based framework to improve online safety, protect rights and deliver long‑term public value...
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Most. Un. Helpful.
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ADM+S Centre @admscentre.org.au · 31/05/2026
Have you ever received a phone call & wondered whether you were speaking to a human or an AI agent? Jean Burgess speaks to ABC Radio host about her recent experience with an AI cold-calling “real estate assistant” admscentre.org/3QaL9pC @jeanburgess.bsky.social #VoiceAI #GenerativeAuthenticity
admscentre.org
AI cold-calling “real estate assistant” raises issues of consent, trust and transparency - ADM+S Centre
An ABC Brisbane Radio host has described receiving a cold call from an AI “real estate assistant,” prompting discussion with ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess about the implications for transparen...
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
It's not quite as simple as an Encyclical "against AI" www.wired.com/story/anthro...
wired.com
Why the Vatican Invited Anthropic to the Pope’s AI Encyclical Presentation
Pope Leo’s first encyclical marks an unprecedented alliance between the Church and Silicon Valley.
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Jean Burgess @jeanburgess.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
This is so good
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Not The Onion
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