Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · 1d

Deloitte has to partially refund the federal government after admitting to using AI in a $440,000 report that contained several errors, including made-up references 👇🏼

www.9news.com.au/national/del...

Deloitte to partially refund the government after using AI in $440,000 report

Deloitte will partially refund the federal government after using artificial intelligence in a $440,000 re...

www.9news.com.au

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Carissa Véliz @carissaveliz.bsky.social · 4d

In a nutshell: AI creates sloppy work. We've all experienced it. So why do we remain so incredibly optimistic? And how about prioritizing the pursuit of excellence? #AIEthics

hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g...

AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity

Despite a surge in generative AI use across workplaces, most companies are seeing little measurable ROI. One possible reason is because AI tools are being used to produce “workslop”—content that appea...

hbr.org

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 10d

“In a new report, management consultants Bain & Company found that despite being ‘one of the first areas to deploy generative AI,’ the ‘savings have been unremarkable’ in programming.”

AI Coding Is Massively Overhyped, Report Finds

The AI industry's claims about AI coding assistants boosting productivity significantly appear to be massively overblown, per a new report.

futurism.com

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 10d

A federal judge has rejected drone maker DJI’s efforts to get off a Department of Defense list of Chinese military companies.

DJI loses lawsuit over classification as Chinese military company | TechCrunch

A federal judge has rejected drone maker DJI’s efforts to get off a Department of Defense list of Chinese military companies.

techcrunch.com

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · 13d

The GCREAIM strategic guidance report on the risks, opportunities & governance of AI in the military domain is now live.

Huge thank you to all the GCREAIM folks for your collaboration over the last 2 years on this mammoth project! It was such a pleasure to be a part of this

hcss.nl/report/gc-re...

Responsible by Design: Strategic Guidance Report

The responsible development and use of AI in the military domain requires informed human decisions and context-specific approaches to designing, testing, and deploying these technologies in ways that ...

hcss.nl

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · 19d

The US recently softened their ban to sell AI chips to China, allowing NVIDIA to sell RTX Pro 6000D, designed specifically for the Chinese market. China's internet regulator has now banned some of the country's biggest tech firms-TikTok, Alibaba-from buying those chips

share.google/CVmeEO5IRpTN...

'I'm disappointed with what I see' says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, amid reports that China has banned some of the country's biggest tech companies from buying its AI chips

Fits and starts, now a no-go?

share.google

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · 21d

If you missed the recent meeting of the CCW GGE on LAWS, the latest #ResponsibleBytesPodcast episode with @jessicadorsey.bsky.social goes into the details of the meeting & some of the key takeaways.

You can listen to this episode anywhere you get your podcasts 🎧

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 6

(2/2) With thanks to our authors this week:

@afreenakhter.bsky.social
@bcfinucane.bsky.social
@dooleydooley.bsky.social
Catherine Goldberg
Janet Egan
Mahwish Moazzam
@marknevitt.bsky.social
Milan Vivanco
Niamatullah Ibrahimi
@suchitauppal.bsky.social
@zenaassaad.bsky.social

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 6

(1/2) Catch up on our recent analysis:

• U.S. military strike / Venezuela
• Afghanistan
• International law / Gender violence
• Northern Ireland / Accountability
• Trump executive actions
• United States / Foreign investment
• Artificial intelligence
• Climate change

Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Sept. 2-5, 2025)

U.S. military strike / Venezuela • Afghanistan • International law / Gender violence • Northern Ireland / Accountability • Trump executive actions • United States / Foreign investment • Artificial int...

www.justsecurity.org

1 14 34

Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Sep 4

The U.S and China both recently released AI action plans. Between their trade tensions and the U.S push for deregulation, there's a lot to unpack here.

I've unpacked the details of the two action plans & the U.S - China tensions in this @justsecurity.org article 👇🏼

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 4

The U.S. AI Action Plan emphasizes technological dominance, while #China’s plan stresses inclusivity and cooperation.

This split reveals a growing fault line in global #AI governance, writes Zena Assaad.

www.justsecurity.org/119966/what-...

Dueling Strategies for Global AI Leadership? What the U.S. and China Action Plans Reveal

The U.S.-China AI rivalry raises urgent questions for global stability, intensifying fragmentation, chip chokepoints and global AI governance.

www.justsecurity.org

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Sep 3

New #ResponsibleBytesPodcast episode with Lorenn Ruster is now out. We chat about dignity in technology, rethinking responsibility & values driven practices.

🔗🔗🔗

𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲: open.spotify.com/show/2x2yNvU...

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/r...

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞: www.youtube.com/@Responsible...

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Sep 1

The latest Australian Army Journal is out & it features an article I wrote for my Australian Army Research Centre fellowship. The article presents a framework for safely scaling multi-agent teams & explores how goals of independent agents impact safety.

🔗🔗 researchcentre.army.gov.au/library/aust...

researchcentre.army.gov.au

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · Aug 22

Mississippi's new social media age-verification law has now forced BlueSky to block Mississippi IP addresses.

Our Mississippi Free Press team is now urgently having to grapple with what that means for our audience—and for press freedom.

My new editorial:

Ed Note | State Law Compels BlueSky to Block Mississippi IPs

Ashton Pittman writes about how Mississippi’s social media age-verification law prompted BlueSky to block access to Mississippi IP addresses.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 26

A lot of people are predicting a crash in the AI market, comparing the AI boom to other revolutions (e.g. industrial revolution) with differences being dysfunctional financial markets, concentration of corporate power, the surge of populism & climate change 👇🏼

share.google/axIBHUHp75mG...

History shows we should brace for an AI crash

Research reveals tech revolutions follow a predictable cycle of installation and creative destruction, accompanied by financial mania and sharemarket bubbles.

share.google

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 22

The US government now owns 10% of INTEL shares, which they got for free.

Remember when Trump was publicly calling for the INTEL CEO to resign?

Imagine being publicly bullied to hand over 10% of your company's shares for free by a lunatic who happens to be president.

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · Aug 22

Corporate statism, to quote the WSJ editorial page

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 21

Google has signed a deal with Australian Associated Press to provide content for Gemini - AAP’s articles will now be available in the Gemini app.

Concentrated info sources are not great in terms of impartiality of information, but I mean, at least they asked this time 🤷🏽‍♀️

www.afr.com/companies/me...

Google inks first commercial AI news deal in Australia

The tech giant will take articles from Australian Associated Press for its Gemini AI platform as it tries to maintain its grip on the lucrative search market.

www.afr.com

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 19

There's been a lot of talk about how GPT-5 is actually not better than its predecessor. Here's a helpful article outlining how and why it has fallen short 👇🏼

share.google/bR3oRneTEKyZ...

The question suddenly sweeping through Silicon Valley

OpenAI’s underwhelming new GPT-5 model suggests progress is slowing – and competition is changing. Everyone is asking: what if this is as good as it gets?

share.google

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · Aug 19

Australia is stuck in the “worst of possible worlds” when it comes to AI and the use of local data, according to Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood, arguing that reforms to copyright law could help Australian companies compete globally and strengthen the local AI industry.

Read more:

Copyright reform could power local AI industry

Productivity Commissioner says critics have missed the point.

ia.acs.org.au

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 19

Google has been slapped with a $55 million fine for paying Telstra and Optus to only install its search engine on Android phones.

Google then provided them with a share of the ad revenue generated from those customers using its search engine on their phones 👇🏼

share.google/Ajc52TttZBjz...

App on almost everyone's phone earns Google $55 million fine

share.google

2

Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 17

Australia is disappointingly, but unsurprisingly, following the US de-regulation trend for AI. Calls for AI laws to protect IP and jobs are being pushed aside because apparently we all just need to be "pragmatic about all of this"....

share.google/WMgfjKgcNI4a...

Labor shrinks from AI rules

Amid pressure from tech giants and the promise of massive productivity gains, the industry and innovation minister is stepping back from a plan for new laws to regulate the use of AI.

share.google

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · Aug 13

“…the sensational framing obscures what's really happening: design flaws dressed up as intentional guile. And still, AI doesn't have to be ‘evil’ to potentially do harmful things.”

Is AI really trying to escape human control and blackmail people?

Opinion: Theatrical testing scenarios explain why AI models produce alarming outputs—and why we fall for it.

arstechnica.com

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Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · Aug 12

🔴‘Free Speech for the 0.1%: Why the Online Safety Act Is Failing’

This broken law isn’t only failing to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation, it’s actively protecting the ability of the most powerful and privileged to do so, argues Kyle Taylor

bylinetimes.com/2025/07/31/f...

'Free Speech for the 0.1%: Why the Online Safety Act Is Failing'

This broken law isn't only failing to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation, it's actively protecting the ability of the most powerful and privileged to do so, argues Kyle Taylor

bylinetimes.com

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Dr Zena Assaad @zenaassaad.bsky.social · Aug 11

So when GPT-5 was first released, there was a 200 message a week limit for subscribers. That's now been changed after serious backlash. This goes to show how costly these tools actually are when I see companies trying to milk every possible option for profit 👇🏼

share.google/lZpLnaVglmAn...

Sam Altman tries to calm furious ChatGPT Plus subscribers by reversing one of GPT-5’s big downgrades

200 messages a week? No thanks

share.google

1

Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad

Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · Aug 11

An entire news crew working for Al Jazeera was killed by Israel as they sought to bring the world firsthand reporting from #Gaza.

Among them was prominent journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who had been previously smeared and threatened by the IDF.

#NotATarget

Full statement: cpj.org/2025/08/isra...

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalists in targeted Gaza City airstrike - Committee to Protect Journalists

New York, August 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled to learn of the killing today of Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and M...

cpj.org

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