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."

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).

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.

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.

No fan of guns, but there is a gun range in Port Botany, would that throw out this data? Not sure if that's classed as 'private ownership' or if it operates under something like a business ownership.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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

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...

Some reflections from #WorldCon on how to talk to friends about "AI"

buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...

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.

One study concluded 70% of increased electric cost across US due to AI data centers.
apnews.com/article/elec...

Jobs and Skills Australia has released a report on the impacts of AI for Australian workplaces, and I think there's some interesting takeaway points that are pithily summarised in the executive… |... Jobs and Skills Australia has released a report on the impacts of AI for Australian workplaces, and I think there's some interesting takeaway points that are pithily summarised in the executive summar...

I've written a brief overview of my thoughts about this report on, unh, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/robbie...

www.jobsandskills.gov.au/download/198...

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.…

Datacenter diplomacy: Australia commits to help Vanuatu build bit barns

Barthes said something to the effect of 'we don't really know what a scandal is except everyone clamouring to work out if it matters.'

"Every single time it goes like this: Conservatives panic about socialism or progressives or whatever. They ally with fascists as the “lesser evil.” Fascists take power. Fascists immediately purge anyone who stands in their way. Then it’s 30–50 years of dictatorship."

We live in a fascist nation. What now? Once they win elections, it’s already too late.

"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...

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

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)

Just remember that we really have no interest in understanding our world. Only controlling it. And that's very, very sad.

How election misinformation spreads on Chinese social media Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia use these platforms.

"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:

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...

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...

Got our first Q1 rejection letter written by AI! Does not invoke faith in the review process, honestly.

I arrived in Australia after his apparent about face in the culture wars, but I understand it was taken as quite a shift?

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.

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

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 ...

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

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...

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

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.

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...

Congratulations!

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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/...

One to watch