Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 10h

Sorry you didn’t win. What a bummer

Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

Patrick Reynolds for a greater Auckland @patrickreynolds.bsky.social · 19h

Auckland’s once paper of record, the Herald, senior local affairs reporter wrote 0 articles on the race, even taking an overseas holiday as the campaign reached its peak. ‘No-one cares about city politics’ no doubt is the excuse, well no one can if all they are feed is imported gossip, for clicks.

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Matt Negrin still host of Hardball on MSNBC @mattnegrin.bsky.social · 1d

That (NPR!) journalists think AI is a creative engine that can finesse iconic productions is not just context for the crap quality of writing in media but alarmingly the inability among a class of supposedly professional scrutinizers to distinguish between art and slop, good and bad, truth and lie

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 2d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 2d

And he really is New Zealand’s best book reviewer

Newsroom NZ @newsroom.co.nz · 2d

NZ's best book reviewer on a major biography of the caustic, abrasive, sarcastic and loveable Chris Knox.

Book of the Week: To Chris with love

newsroom.co.nz

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 2d

A Shortlist of Federal Data the Trump Administration Has Tampered With or Destroyed talkingpointsmemo.com/news/a-short...

A Shortlist of Federal Data the Trump Administration Has Tampered With or Destroyed

The scale and scope of federal data and statistics that have been...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 3d

This is just fascinating. Great work by Jonathan Milne.

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

Ethan Landes @ethanlandes.bsky.social · 4d

The UK is within spitting distance of having more murders portrayed annually on TV shows and movies set in the country than occur in real life

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 4d

It's so incredible how low homicide rates are in Europe. The UK, with a population of 70 million people, had fewer than 600 murders in 2023.
www.connexionfrance.com/news/double-...

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

Chibdm @chibdm.bsky.social · 4d

Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 4d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 4d

It's probably wrapped around the harbour bridge by now

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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 5d

Also: back in May, MSD said: “How many people will be affected?
It is estimated that approximately 17,800 people aged 18 and 19 will not be eligible for Jobseeker Support in the first two years of implementation.”

So where does the “only 4300” number come from?

www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-an...

Jobseeker Support – tightening eligibility for 18 and 19 year olds - Ministry of Social Development

A parental assistance test will be added to the eligibility criteria for Jobseeker Support and Emergency Benefit for single 18 and 19 year olds. This test will assess whether the young person can reas...

www.msd.govt.nz

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 5d

Definitely not disputing that. I'm just wondering what 'adjunct' means in this case. Do they pay him? Or does he pay them?

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 5d

What does 'adjunct fellow' to a lobby group mean anyway

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

SCP @10-5.bsky.social · 7d

Prior to AI, a lack of artistic talent and creativity was holding back MAGA fascists.

As a movement primarily concerned with the *aesthetics* of politics but not the substance, they weren’t fluent in their own preferred language.

Now, they have been gifted the means to steal that language.

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 6d

America

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 6d

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 6d

I reckon between 99.9 and 100 percent

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 6d

Sean Plunket is also calling loudly for smelling salts

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 6d

Something called the New Zealand Centre for Political Research Facebook Group (27.3k members) is not happy. They are all cancelling their subscription

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

oratiabooks.bsky.social @oratiabooks.bsky.social · 7d

In the New Zealand Listener this week: Ernest Rutherford and the Birth of Modern Physics - by Matthew Wright
Review by Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social

#oratiabooks #NewZealandListener #ErnestRutherford #physics

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Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · 8d

Ah, the joy of freelance life. A couple of 2026 funding pools have just dried up, so if anyoneʻs interested in a project with a Wikipedian, now’s the time to get in touch. www.rove.wiki

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 8d

The "AI" responses that Google gives about me and my work are consistently error-prone, which I know because I am me. If I know Google's "AI" responses give incorrect answers about things I know about, I can't trust it to give correct answers about things I don't know. So, no, I don't use it.

John Gordon 🇨🇦🇩🇰 @johngordon.bsky.social · 8d

I’m surprised you don’t use ai answer engines in research you currently do with Google

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 10d

“There’s artificial intelligence, and there’s actual intelligence.”

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 10d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Reposted by Jenny Nicholls

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 9d

ER doc here! This is a lie. Wait times are up because the American healthcare system is an unsustainable business model and a for-profit national healthcare system just doesn’t work. These problems will continue to get worse until we change that system. It literally has nothing to do with immigrants

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Vance: "If you're an American citizen & you've been to the hospital in the last few years, you've probably noticed wait times are especially large & very often somebody who's there in the ER is an illegal alien. Why do those people get healthcare benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens?"

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 10d

I suppose you can't blame AI for not knowing how kitchens work. It has never washed a dish. It has never cooked. Hell, it has never eaten

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Jenny Nicholls @jenster.bsky.social · 10d

"It’s not so much throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks as it is a half-hearted tossing of whatever was in arm’s reach, knowing it will just slide down the wall but hoping you’re not still in the job by the time it starts to pool on the ground."

Damp squib energy reforms reject 8 of 10 review recommendations

Analysis: The Government's limited energy package doubles down on fossil fuels after a market review recommends privatising the gentailers

newsroom.co.nz

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