Kevin: And Here We Go…

Imagine asking Gemini about the Musket Wars and being told, in not so many words, that it can’t help you because it’d make Māori look bad. Make no mistake. This isn’t about human rights or “te Tiriti”. It’s a blatant power grab.

 

The Human Rights Commission is calling for a human rights and te Tiriti-centred approach to artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

The commission’s new report, AI and Digital Technologies: A Human Rights and te Tiriti o Waitangi Approach, was released on Friday and said Māori data sovereignty and te Tiriti o Waitangi must be at the heart of how artificial intelligence was developed and governed in Aotearoa New Zealand.

No, I don’t know what “Māori data sovereignty” means either.

Kevin: What Does This Change?

Consent has always been problematic and what is being proposed isn’t going to change that.

National is promising to modernise laws on sexual consent, saying there must be consent before sex every time, rather than assuming it has been given.

The party says if it is re-elected, it will ensure that consent is actively given, meaning there must be a “yes” rather than the absence of a “no”.

Kevin: Now No Separation of Church and State

That’s racist!

A Hastings District councillor refused to attend a council strategic planning session because it was held at a marae.

First term councillor Steve Gibson posted on his Facebook page that he refused to attend the council’s strategic planning session on Wednesday because he was “not comfortable participating in council business where religious or spiritual practices form part of official proceedings”.

He said the meeting venue had changed “at the 11th hour” from a “neutral civic venue to a marae”.

Raaaacist!

Kevin: Did You Know There’s an Uprising?

The people of Iran are on the street because they want the regime gone and the momentum keeps increasing. This isn’t just a protest – it’s an uprising.

Did you know there’s an uprising in Iran? Well, unless you closely follow X, chances are you don’t. Until recently, there has been a near-total media blackout – nothing on New Zealand media and nothing on the BBC.

So why has the BBC been so quiet about this?

Kevin: Thoughts for the Year

As it’s the end of the year I’d thought I’d do a ‘thoughts of the year’ post – a list of things and events that were important to me. So, in no particular order:

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Here, it’s not so much his murder, which was a tragedy, but the reaction of his detractors: from outright mocking to lying and taking what he said out context. I really have no words for the staggering level of vitriol, although I’m not sure if even vitriol is the right word.

Kevin: Another One Who Doesn’t Get Freedom of Speech

Anne Salmond.

Newsroom’s series of articles on the Free Speech Union has been illuminating.

Perhaps the most entertaining was David Williams’ account of their AGM in Christchurch, which featured the Wizard of Christchurch, Brian Tamaki and ‘prominent conspiracy influencer’ Chantelle Baker as well as Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers’ Union and Eric Crampton from the New Zealand Initiative.

Note the subtle put down of using the word entertaining.

Kevin: They Are Passing the Buck

Auckland Central MP Chloë Swarbrick says moving rough sleepers out of the city centre will only shift the problem to another place.

And?

 

Central government and Auckland Council are considering how they can move homeless people out of the CBD ahead of summer.

Kevin: Some Good News for You Boomers

You now have science on your side.

We know you like to think you’re smarter, wiser and more mature than all those youngsters. The good news is that you now have science on your side.

Kevin: Yes Virginia, AI Is Coming for Your Job

 If you’re a middle manager, AI is coming for your job. Who is safe? Tradies and jobs involving some sort of human creativity or judgement beyond what AI can or will ever do. And we will always need people to work one step above AI. But overall, yes, AI is coming for your job.

Kevin: The Law Commission and Trans

Something I’ve noticed recently is that the more you deal with, in good faith, transactivists, the less intelligent you become. Case in point: The New Zealand Law Commission.

 

The Law Commission has recommended changes to the Human Rights Act to clarify how protections are applied to transgender, non-binary and intersex New Zealanders, although it says the reforms would not significantly change current practice.

Kevin: Free Speech and Holocaust Denial

You may have heard people say, ‘If you really believe in free speech then denying the Holocaust shouldn’t be a crime: after all, isn’t the antidote to bad speech more good speech’?

It’s an argument that I’ve seen even people who believe in free speech make.

Kevin: You Count the Fallacies

Is this really the best the pro-Palestine side can do?

I came across this article by Herald senior journalist Audrey Young and, hoo boy, I couldn’t help but notice all the logical fallacies, including false premises. I’ve noted all the ones I’ve managed to find but feel free to add any others in the comments.

Kevin: The Left Can’t Satire, Either

We all know the left can’t meme. They can’t do satire either. Case in point, the following article written by a senior writer at the Spinoff.

 

If the emergency alert woke you up this morning, warning of strong currents and surges occurring after the M8.8 earthquake off the coast of Russia, do you even care about this country?

Kevin: It Ain’t Over

How is the endgame going to be played out? Honestly, I don’t know. But you can bet that Trump and Netanyahu are surrounded by people who are strategy experts.

They say that on the world stage you’re either playing chess or you’re playing poker.

Kevin: We Were Right, Again

The ethnicity of people involved in grooming gangs has been “shied away from” by authorities, according to a new report by Baroness Louise Casey.

The finding comes after the peer was tasked with producing an audit on the nature and scale of group-based child sexual abuse in England and Wales.

Kevin: Why Your Kids Can’t Write

Do you mean to say you’re still having to teach basic grammar even when your students are at senior level? Convince me that this isn’t a Monty Python sketch.

Consultation on a draft intermediate and secondary school English curriculum that prioritises Shakespeare, grammar and 19th century literature closes on Friday.

English teachers told RNZ they were worried the draft set unrealistic workloads for students and failed to mention the Treaty of Waitangi.

Kevin: The Greens and Their Idealism

I regard Chlöe Swarbrick as highly intelligent. I know many of you will disagree but hear me out. She is also an idealist. My definition of idealism is being in a place where you are unable to see that your ideas are at best mindnumbingly stupid and at worst homicidally dangerous. And that doesn’t depend on how smart or stupid you are. So with that in mind:

Kevin: The Quagmire of Pay Equity

I’ve been reluctant to wade into the whole pay equity quagmire, but it’s actually quite easy. But first…

 

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden said under the previous rules, claims were “able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation”, or without proving the difference in pay was “due to sex-based discrimination or other factors”.

Kevin: UK Supreme Court Rules on ‘Woman’

Now, at least in the UK, “woman” means sex not gender. That sign above the women’s bathroom? [below] It means only those whose sex is female can go in, not those who gender-identify as a woman.

Kevin: Why We Need DOGE

A consultant’s report to the government says Health New Zealand lost control of spending, sending it off the rails.

Health NZ released the report soon after Minister Simeon Brown declared the “recklessly mismanaged” system under the previous government “changes today.”

[…] Deloitte, one of the ‘big four’ consultancies, did the 77-page report – released midday Friday – to find causes behind Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora’s sudden lurch last year from forecasting a half-billion-dollar surplus to a half-billion-dollar deficit that then grew to over $1 billion.