Daragh Ó Briain
@daraghobrien.bsky.social
Flumping along in the world of data since Long Ago. Posts as @castlebridge-chief here & on Mastodon at https://mastodon.ie/@CastlebridgeChief CEO @ Castlebridge.ie.
Doctoral candidate at UL looking at #DataGovernance. Author of several books on data stuff.
Doctoral candidate at UL looking at #DataGovernance. Author of several books on data stuff.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
This is a framing error, NYT. It's different technologies. Chatbots are not the same as the machine learning involved in reading scans (better defined inputs, clearer evaluation of outputs). Calling both AI is like conflating bombs dropped from planes with cars, because they both involve explosions.
February 10, 2026 at 4:39 AM
This is a framing error, NYT. It's different technologies. Chatbots are not the same as the machine learning involved in reading scans (better defined inputs, clearer evaluation of outputs). Calling both AI is like conflating bombs dropped from planes with cars, because they both involve explosions.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
February 1, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Ok. The Department is correct that the @dpcireland.bsky.social own volition investigation didn’t focus on question of harm. It assessed if there was a valid legal basis for processing of biometric data to produce the card produced by a company called Biometric Card Services.
But…
But…
February 9, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Ok. The Department is correct that the @dpcireland.bsky.social own volition investigation didn’t focus on question of harm. It assessed if there was a valid legal basis for processing of biometric data to produce the card produced by a company called Biometric Card Services.
But…
But…
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Yes be warned, if you travel to the UK without use of a VPN and need to access a DM, you will be blocked from doing so unless you comply with age verification.
TIL that Bluesky DMs are a victim of age gating in the UK.
February 9, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Yes be warned, if you travel to the UK without use of a VPN and need to access a DM, you will be blocked from doing so unless you comply with age verification.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Without deliberate choices, AI could deepen inequality in Africa, argues Mpho Primus. To avoid this, Africa should pursue a framework that treats AI as relational and social, rather than purely technical or proprietary.
Why Africa Needs an Ubuntu-Inspired AI Framework
Mpho Primus discusses the risks of artificial intelligence widening inequality in Africa and the Ubuntu AI Framework as a response.
www.techpolicy.press
February 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Without deliberate choices, AI could deepen inequality in Africa, argues Mpho Primus. To avoid this, Africa should pursue a framework that treats AI as relational and social, rather than purely technical or proprietary.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
one chatbot told a participant in this study to go lay down in the dark when he was presenting with a brain hemorrhage... what are we even doing
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Chatbots Make Terrible Doctors, New Study Finds
Chatbots provided incorrect, conflicting medical advice, researchers found: “Despite all the hype, AI just isn't ready to take on the role of the physician.”
www.404media.co
February 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
one chatbot told a participant in this study to go lay down in the dark when he was presenting with a brain hemorrhage... what are we even doing
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
www.404media.co/chatbots-hea...
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Ofcom under fire after refusing to investigate ‘misleading’ GB News Trump interview www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Ofcom under fire after refusing to investigate ‘misleading’ GB News Trump interview
US president not challenged over false claims climate change is ‘hoax’ and parts of London have sharia law
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Ofcom under fire after refusing to investigate ‘misleading’ GB News Trump interview www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
This stuff isn't hard to look up, it took me literaly 15 mins sitting on the train on the way home, so why couldn't the @irishtimes.com do it? Ill informed attacks on lawyers and the judiciary attacks the rule of law
February 9, 2026 at 5:12 PM
This stuff isn't hard to look up, it took me literaly 15 mins sitting on the train on the way home, so why couldn't the @irishtimes.com do it? Ill informed attacks on lawyers and the judiciary attacks the rule of law
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Gemini (or any other LLM) can describe DockChain quite well. And that's great. The concern about LLMs for regulated industries is that the description is never QUITE the same two times in a row. Still, a good description of DockChain is nice!
February 9, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Gemini (or any other LLM) can describe DockChain quite well. And that's great. The concern about LLMs for regulated industries is that the description is never QUITE the same two times in a row. Still, a good description of DockChain is nice!
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal
Kerryman who is married, living and working legally in the United States for >20 years has been incarcerated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) since September 2025.
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irish man with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
ec.europa.eu/commission/p... The EU seems to have mandated agentic AI without thinking very hard about the security, scraping and other risks. Hard anti-competition makes bad law.
Press corner
Highlights, press releases and speeches
ec.europa.eu
February 9, 2026 at 12:04 PM
ec.europa.eu/commission/p... The EU seems to have mandated agentic AI without thinking very hard about the security, scraping and other risks. Hard anti-competition makes bad law.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
These are heartrending
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 12:51 PM
These are heartrending
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
I came out of retirement to write this story, because what the actual what
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:26 PM
I came out of retirement to write this story, because what the actual what
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Is anyone else in Ireland getting this error message when trying to watch Star Trek stuff on Amazon Prime (yes I know.. but)
Affecting some other Trek titles as well. Raised it with support and got an interesting explanation.
Affecting some other Trek titles as well. Raised it with support and got an interesting explanation.
February 9, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Is anyone else in Ireland getting this error message when trying to watch Star Trek stuff on Amazon Prime (yes I know.. but)
Affecting some other Trek titles as well. Raised it with support and got an interesting explanation.
Affecting some other Trek titles as well. Raised it with support and got an interesting explanation.
Siri, show me a way to show people I’ve never listened to the lyrics of a popular song.
Green Day avoids making political statement during Super Bowl 2026 opening performance
Green Day avoids making political statement during Super Bowl 2026 opening performance
A rocking start to the Super Bowl.
pagesix.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Siri, show me a way to show people I’ve never listened to the lyrics of a popular song.
Multiple “for fuxsake” from me reading this article about the passenger cap lift at Dublin Airport. State paying 30% above market rate for properties (ffs) and exempting from ban on one off rural housing (fffs) archive.ph/zfXJW
archive.ph
February 8, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Multiple “for fuxsake” from me reading this article about the passenger cap lift at Dublin Airport. State paying 30% above market rate for properties (ffs) and exempting from ban on one off rural housing (fffs) archive.ph/zfXJW
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
The Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of the UK’s largest court reporting archive.
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
MoJ orders deletion of UK’s largest court reporting archive
Courtsdesk, which supports the media in monitoring records, is an important tool for journalists and the move raises concerns over open justice
www.thetimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:51 PM
The Ministry of Justice has ordered the deletion of the UK’s largest court reporting archive.
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
This risks undermining open justice, and I believe, undermines the public accountability role of the press by making it harder to see what is going on in the courts.
www.thetimes.com/article/77b0...
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
This is the ur-grift: it’s not the get-rich-quick scheme that makes you rich, it’s teaching other people how to sell it to someone else.
To be very clear, that lady in the NYT article is not making any money with her hundreds of AI slop books.
She makes money by *convincing people* she makes money that way and getting them to pay her to teach them how to do it.
It's an evolved MLM, and the NYT is helping market it.
She makes money by *convincing people* she makes money that way and getting them to pay her to teach them how to do it.
It's an evolved MLM, and the NYT is helping market it.
February 8, 2026 at 10:15 PM
This is the ur-grift: it’s not the get-rich-quick scheme that makes you rich, it’s teaching other people how to sell it to someone else.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
One of the easiest ways to shoot down the idea that "AI" is an expert is to show how it deals with something people know about.
Younger readers may not get this as most appliances come pre-wired, but anyone 35+ can see these are chaotic fire hazards.
From Mastodon, AI asked how to wire a plug:
Younger readers may not get this as most appliances come pre-wired, but anyone 35+ can see these are chaotic fire hazards.
From Mastodon, AI asked how to wire a plug:
February 6, 2026 at 5:20 PM
One of the easiest ways to shoot down the idea that "AI" is an expert is to show how it deals with something people know about.
Younger readers may not get this as most appliances come pre-wired, but anyone 35+ can see these are chaotic fire hazards.
From Mastodon, AI asked how to wire a plug:
Younger readers may not get this as most appliances come pre-wired, but anyone 35+ can see these are chaotic fire hazards.
From Mastodon, AI asked how to wire a plug:
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
A @klillington.bsky.social story important enough to dust off the keyboard and unretire herself?
This will be a doozy.
This will be a doozy.
February 8, 2026 at 9:27 PM
A @klillington.bsky.social story important enough to dust off the keyboard and unretire herself?
This will be a doozy.
This will be a doozy.
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
"Upon becoming aware of the individual’s presence, the patron was asked to leave the premises and was escorted out by staff in accordance with venue policy to maintain a safe and orderly environment for all patrons."
Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino tossed from Las Vegas bar
Former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino was reportedly asked to leave a Las Vegas bar out of safety concerns for the venue’s customers.
lasvegassun.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:49 PM
"Upon becoming aware of the individual’s presence, the patron was asked to leave the premises and was escorted out by staff in accordance with venue policy to maintain a safe and orderly environment for all patrons."
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
I did not know this! The USA imposed mass deportations during the great depression. One million Mexican-Americans were deported by Hoover. 50% were US citizens. Most were children. They were used as scapegoats to divert attention from capitalist market failure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican...
Mexican Repatriation - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
February 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
I did not know this! The USA imposed mass deportations during the great depression. One million Mexican-Americans were deported by Hoover. 50% were US citizens. Most were children. They were used as scapegoats to divert attention from capitalist market failure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican...
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
Time and again the clear and obvious dangers that such provisions, which are meant to make us safer, have been highlighted. Time and again Ireland’s Government has sought to lead the EU into ignoring these warnings.
- Emmet Ryan
www.irishtimes.com/business/inn...
- Emmet Ryan
www.irishtimes.com/business/inn...
EU’s push for digital IDs won’t reduce harmful behaviour online
Any system brought in to verify identification will be hacked
www.irishtimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Time and again the clear and obvious dangers that such provisions, which are meant to make us safer, have been highlighted. Time and again Ireland’s Government has sought to lead the EU into ignoring these warnings.
- Emmet Ryan
www.irishtimes.com/business/inn...
- Emmet Ryan
www.irishtimes.com/business/inn...
Reposted by Daragh Ó Briain
"Any reduction to online anonymity has the potential, and frankly likelihood, to harm all of us. Trying to push for ID verification online was wrong in 2024, it was wrong last year, it is wrong today, and it will remain wrong so long as this is the path our policymakers choose to follow."
February 8, 2026 at 12:04 PM
"Any reduction to online anonymity has the potential, and frankly likelihood, to harm all of us. Trying to push for ID verification online was wrong in 2024, it was wrong last year, it is wrong today, and it will remain wrong so long as this is the path our policymakers choose to follow."