Stephen Hill

Why does cheating matter? A personal anecdote and an appeal to junior colleagues.

got inspired by some questions from phd students the other day — and also really irritated by senior academics who seem to refuse to get the issues and continue to blame students; hope useful for you! 🩷

olivia.science/cheating

Paper bag of feijoas from an Eastern Suburbs aunty via Roskill distribution hub

Socialist fruit season has begun

Why I Don’t Vibe Code A “brief” accounting of various reasons why vibe coding has just never clicked for me personally as a developer.

Hey all, I decided to write up some of my thoughts in more detail about why I don't vibe code, in case it's interesting to any of you

jacobharr.is/personal/i-d...

Some reasonable adjustments may have just become academic misconduct Lots of universities across the UK permit the use of Grammarly in reasonable adjustment plans for disabled students, and some permit it in some circumstances for those whose first language isn't Engli...

Grammarly is now an enemy of education

"Universities risk putting students in impossible positions where they’re simultaneously told they can use a tool and that using certain functions of that tool constitutes cheating."

Seriously, ban it. It's no friend of education
wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/...

'I want to sounds smart and inspirational': How ministers use AI Most ministers say they don't use AI – but those who do use it for speechwriting, research, drafting questions to officials and generating images. Marc Daalder reports.

Over summer, I OIA'd every minister for their AI chat logs.

Here's what I found:
newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/06/h...

Staying off social media isn’t always a sign of a healthy social life Parents often worry about screen time, but how teens use apps matters more. A new study reveals distinct user profiles, suggesting that online platforms mostly reinforce existing friendships rather than helping isolated youth build new connections.

Staying off social media isn’t always a sign of a healthy social life

AN OPEN LETTER ABOUT THE FUTURE OF CRITIC TE ĀROHI.

Conservatives underestimate the environmental impact of sustainable behaviors compared to liberals A new study reveals that conservatives tend to view sustainable actions as less impactful than liberals do. This divide is driven by how uncommon these eco-friendly behaviors appear to be within their own political circles.

Conservatives underestimate the environmental impact of sustainable behaviors compared to liberals

Towards the study of world misinformation | HKS Misinformation Review What if nearly everything we think we know about misinformation came from just a sliver of the world? When research leans heavily on online studies from a few wealthy nations, we risk drawing global c...

This paper argues that misinformation research needs to move beyond studies of a few wealthy countries and online samples to include diverse, real-world information environments worldwide in order to produce more accurate and effective insights. I agree!
misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/towa...

New paper from team @aial.ie! aial.ie/research/gpa...

EU's AI Act Article 53(1)(d) is an obligation for GPAI model providers to publicly provide a 'summary' on their model’s training data. The team assessed published summaries along 6 dimensions & found that all big providers failed on all 6.

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Right-wing authoritarianism is linked to belief in the paranormal, independent of cognitive style New research suggests that people who endorse right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance are more likely to believe in the paranormal. This connection persists even when accounting for a person'...

Well, well, well. Right-wing authoritarianism is linked to belief in the paranormal, independent of cognitive style www.psypost.org/right-wing-a...

Memo from NZ to Mark Carney, governor of Canada, northern USA An unhinged rebuke on a matter of historical fact....

Memo from NZ to Mark Carney, governor of Canada, northern USA

A sign at the supermarket advertising “Whole Raw Australian Banana” - as a “Meat and Seafood Deal” - and you have to read the fine print to discover these are, in fact, prawns. Banana prawns I guess…is that a thing??

Bananas defying categorisation, becoming ungovernable…

Banana's Loose

Dire warning at the supermarket

Novels were compared to narcotics, and people pushing the moral panic wanted restrictions placed on who could purchase them. Reading was compared to gluttony and it was believed those who read novels were brain rotted, low IQ.

I hope he managed to mention flat whites, pavlova, Russell Crowe, Crowded House, and Phar Lap too.

'A bit embarrassing': Canada's PM praises Australia for first allowing women to vote Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour cheekily clapped back, saying Canada's "founder George Washington would be really embarrassed".

'A bit embarrassing': Canada's PM praises Australia for first allowing women to vote

And, to their credit, ACT says something similar ... although there's a strong libertarian, 'free speech' vibe to their bit, and they can't resist comparing the proposal to North Korean etc approaches to regulating the internet.

The report's differing views section has this from the Greens:

Every university in the country is one of them!

The main recommendations Introduce under-16 age restriction for social media. Establish a national regulator for online safety. Ban “nudify” apps and non-consensual deepfake sexual imagery. Explore regulating online platforms’ algorithms and ways to evade restrictions, such as VPNs. Increase platforms’ liability for the content they host, and their platform design. Restrict online advertising of alcohol, tobacco, and gambling — to over-18s. Review laws, consider new offences and penalties associated with online harm. Invest in public campaigns or resources about online safety.

Banning VPNs is a joke policy that could not be taken seriously by anyone who has ever worked remotely for a medium or large organisation or one with a significant international presence

These are not serious people

www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

New Zealand economic policy since 2023 in 10 charts Steven Hail argues New Zealand is enduring a period of economic self-harm and offers a way to end this and create a future based on hope

I couldn't possibly comment ...

www.interest.co.nz/economy/1374...

We're filling the gap that was once a pillar of the previous science reform. What happened to it?

Need for Workforce Strategy as Job Losses Escalate

scientists.org.nz/news/13605014

NZ politicians from *all* parties should recognise that science is not something to 'conveniently' repackage to suit your government’s short-term goals, but a long-term driver of good for the country.

When you cut at it, you cut at *everyone’s* longer-term future.

1/n

"symbiotic of a sense"??? 🧐

Well of course they were going to go after VPNs too: the whole point is to end your privacy online, not to take action that would actually protect people and democracy.

Banning VPNs is bizarre - I can't access my work admin systems from home without one (that is provided by my employer!). Makes me wonder where they are getting their advice from.

Good news: Scientists were wrong about how bad sea level rise is.

Bad news: It’s even worse than we thought.

Well! I thought South Africa looked on to win the whole T20 World Cup, not just the semi. Never did I expect NZ to knock them out, let alone so clinically. Finn Allen, 100 off 33, fastest T20I century between two full member nations if you don't mind! Those were exhilarating highlights to wake up to

A new Love Island? Berry bloom leads to baby boom for New Zealand’s goofiest parrot A massive bloom of rimu berries fueled a mating surge among the world’s heaviest (and strangest) parrots

Trust me, you don't want to miss the incredible photos of these goobers: 🧪 🪶 www.scientificamerican.com/article/kaka...