I'm genuinely fascinated with the movement using #GenerativeAI's coding capabilities to build open source, non-cloud based versions of most of the Adobe Cloud and Microsoft Office suites of tools! https://getartcraft.com/apps
Is this the AI for good I keep hearing about?
ARC has given some details of how new Explore scheme will run ▶️ https://www.arc.gov.au/news-and-publications/media/advance-information-about-explore-grant-opportunity-2028
❗️There's a lottery❗️
Peer review yields 3 categories: highly competitive, competitive, uncompetitive. After funding highly competitive apps, competitive ones enter a lottery for remaining $.
I shall call my @muse Mr DataThief.
Helps keep the whole experience in context.
(Okay, you got me, I'm not actually planning to use Meta's data extraction Tamagotchi at all.)
#privacy #Meta #MuseCharm
The Trump Administration has very loudly and publicly told the Australia got to basically to rip up the (currently in draft) Digital Duty of Care legislation: https://au.usembassy.gov/u-s-government-response-to-the-australian-consultation-on-the-online-safety-amendment-digital-duty-of-care-bill-2026/
It was a pleasure to be on the BBC's Asia Specific podcast this week, joining host Mariko Oi and BBC Australia correspondent Katy Watson to discuss the exposure draft of the Australian Government's Digital Duty of Care legislation and what 'turning off the algorithm' might actually mean.
🎧 BBC website: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0p9p06m
🎥 YouTube: https://youtu.be/aKPn02oNkEI?si=UH0ADKqYODCBxUWG
I learnt a lot working on this piece with my colleagues from the #AudioDescription Past, Present & Futures project.
Uneven advances: a decade of audio description provision for blind and low vision Australians https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2026.2713211
(🔓#OpenAccess)
Chronological feed or opt-in algorithms are being floated as simple solutions to complex issues created by ad-driven social media platforms.
In this @theconversationau piece @antmandan and I present the nuances of social media feed
We look to the decentralised platforms for answers. And point to the directions that are being led by Mastodon, @bsky.app @freeourfeeds.com
📣 AoIR is happy to announce the fourth roundtable in our lecture series, on Alternative Platforms. We bring together long-standing AoIR members Nick Couldry, Patricia Aufderheide, Kevin Discoll, Aram Sinnreich, and Rob Gehl for a roundtable reflecting on the decision to launch AoIR.social, our mastadon instance.
🎙️Moderated by Meg Jing Zeng
📅 1 September 2026
⏰️ 17:00–18:30 UTC
📲 Register here https://members.aoir.org/event-6769944 or via the QR code in the graphic.
#Meta settling the big case about child safety in the US looks like it will meaningfully improve teen safety on Instagram & Facebook, but will also put a lot of onus on parents to actively use Meta's parenting tools, & seeks to force TikTok & YouTube make similar changes.
New from me in The Conversation today:
More than half of children and teens are using AI for personal reasons. This comes with risks https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.swpcad45g #generativeAI #digitalchild #childrights
Young Indigenous creators dealing with social media 'cesspit'
By Rachel Jackson
Young creators specialising in topics as innocuous as fishing and cooking have been met with torrents of abuse social media companies are reluctant to do anything about.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-31/indigenous-content-creators-social-media-racism/106967658
Finally got around to updating my media page with links to all the media interviews and commentary I've done this year: https://tamaleaver.net/media/
It's basically all #GenerativeAI and #socialmediaban all the way down!
When people ask me what the phrase "artificial intelligence" means, my short answer is, it means "venture capitalists, give me some money".
But OUP asked me for a longer answer, given here and summarized in the section headings:
Delighted to be able to launch M/C Journal issue 29.3: '#immortality', edited by Angelique Nairn and Deepti Bhargava. #mcjournal
https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/issue/view/immortality
And that's my first five #AoIR2026 reviews done; if all of you do yours in time perhaps they won't need to assign me any more, either... 🙏
And remember, folks: these are your peers, so give useful feedback rather than just a score, even (especially) when you recommend rejecting a paper proposal...
The first installment of the #AoIR legacy talks with Steve Jones - co founder of AoIR - is happening tomorrow! Are you joining? Still time to sign up (members only) 😊
♾️ CFP OUT NOW: M/C Journal '#immortality' issue, edited by Angelique Nairn and Deepti Bhargava. Article submissions due 17 Apr. 2026; issue launch date 17 June 2026. #mcjournal ♾️
https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/information/authors#immortality
Zoë Hitzig's piece in the NYTimes really hits home why OpenAI's inevitable, but even more intrusive, shift to deploying ads in ChatGPT shows (a) an exploitation of private data that eclipses even social media platforms; & (b) that there really are no new ideas coming out of AI companies at all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/opinion/openai-ads-chatgpt.html
Here's my colleague @tama on the perils of #Roblox and how best to engage with this platform as a parent. Online content for kids is not always child-safe. #parenting