Bob Edlin: We are talking here about AI mischief at Stanford University.....

....but there are lessons for NZ media and our electoral laws

The name “Stanford” has popped up in a slew of news reports in this country in recent days, as Education Minister Erica Stanford wriggles her way – or tries to – through various controversies.

She and the Principals’ Federation president are firing insults at each other after she delivered a speech at a recent federation conference.

She is embroiled in controversy over Official Information Act issues (here and here).

John McLean: Enduring love of big Pharma & Maori quackery

Free societies enjoy a defining feature that distinguishes them from totalitarian States. The particular feature I have in mind is that, in a free society, what’s not prohibited is allowed. In other words, a free society’s citizens - including corporate citizens - can do whatever they like unless it’s legally prohibited. On the other hand, the default setting to which citizens under totalitarianism are subjected is that they can only do what’s expressly authorised by the State; everything else is verboten.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 19/12/24

Waitangi dissidents are denied the chance to chuck mud (or t-shirts) at Luxon next year – but his February 7 plans stay secret

Will he be there – or won’t he?

That was the question raised earlier this week when Prime Minister Christopher Luxon would not confirm whether he will attend Waitangi Day commemorations at Waitangi next year.

Ele Ludemann: Free speech loss

Stuff refused to publish this advertisement from Hobson’s Pledge:

Karl du Fresne: Wellington Airport's rebranding exercise - And the point is?

I’m not a shareholder in Wellington Airport but if I was, I’d be getting up on my hind legs at the next annual meeting to object to an extravagant promotional charade that demonstrates how completely the corporate sector has been captured (or should I say conned?) by the twin forces of marketing hucksterism and feel-good wokery.The online platform Stop Press, which uncritically chronicles all the absurdities perpetrated by the bullshit artists of the PR and advertising industries, reports that the airport company is undertaking a rebranding exercise in which it will become “WLG – a portal to the future”.

Ron Smith: Some thoughts on democracy

One of the riveting features of the US Presidential election just finished, is the billions of dollars spent in advertising on behalf of the contending parties.  The little girl who was filmed in floods of tears, spoke for many in expressing the sentiment that it was all too much (though she might not have been thinking purely of the cost).  On the other hand, it seems clear that it was effective, in the ‘swing states’ and particularly in the early stages, when attitudes were being formed.  It looks as if this, together with superior long-term organisation, was key to the Democratic victory. 

Of course, there is nothing wrong with planning ahead and deploying appropriate forces for the task in hand, and an incumbent president can do this in a way that a candidate who emerges from the protracted primary process, cannot.  But there is something wrong with the vast amounts being spent on television material and the careless negativity of its content.