Dr Zena Assaad
@zenaassaad.bsky.social
Host Responsible Bytes Podcast 🎙
Assoc Prof @ ANU researching safe & trusted autonomy, AI & human-machine teaming
Expert member GC REAIM
Top 10 Women in AI APAC | 100 brilliant women in AI ethics | 🇦🇺🇱🇧
https://www.zenaassaad.com
Repost ≠ Endorsement
Assoc Prof @ ANU researching safe & trusted autonomy, AI & human-machine teaming
Expert member GC REAIM
Top 10 Women in AI APAC | 100 brilliant women in AI ethics | 🇦🇺🇱🇧
https://www.zenaassaad.com
Repost ≠ Endorsement
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
"Australian businesses are throwing money at heavily hyped artificial intelligence solutions but just one in seven companies is seeing revenue gains as a result, new surveys have shown as CEOs worry they are not keeping up with AI’s risk and complexity." ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
Australian CEOs say AI isn't creating revenue gains
ROI, skills, and confidence elusive as worried execs invest trillions.
ia.acs.org.au
January 23, 2026 at 12:52 PM
"Australian businesses are throwing money at heavily hyped artificial intelligence solutions but just one in seven companies is seeing revenue gains as a result, new surveys have shown as CEOs worry they are not keeping up with AI’s risk and complexity." ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
In my latest @aunz.theconversation.com article, I talk about the US Department of War's AI stragey, calling it out as a case of “AI peacocking” – loud public signalling of AI adoption and leadership, which clouds the reality of unreliable systems.
theconversation.com/the-united-s...
theconversation.com/the-united-s...
The United States’ new military strategy is a case of ‘AI peacocking’
The new strategy leans heavily on AI hype – with potentially fatal consequences.
theconversation.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:48 AM
In my latest @aunz.theconversation.com article, I talk about the US Department of War's AI stragey, calling it out as a case of “AI peacocking” – loud public signalling of AI adoption and leadership, which clouds the reality of unreliable systems.
theconversation.com/the-united-s...
theconversation.com/the-united-s...
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Reading recommendation 📚📚
This newly published paper by @jessicadorsey.bsky.social which examines the growing use of AI-DSS in targeting operations and their implications for proportionality assessments under international humanitarian law 👇🏼
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
This newly published paper by @jessicadorsey.bsky.social which examines the growing use of AI-DSS in targeting operations and their implications for proportionality assessments under international humanitarian law 👇🏼
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The erosion of human(e) judgement in targeting? Quantification logics, AI-enabled decision support systems and proportionality assessments in IHL | International Review of the Red Cross | Cambridge Co...
The erosion of human(e) judgement in targeting? Quantification logics, AI-enabled decision support systems and proportionality assessments in IHL
www.cambridge.org
January 19, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Reading recommendation 📚📚
This newly published paper by @jessicadorsey.bsky.social which examines the growing use of AI-DSS in targeting operations and their implications for proportionality assessments under international humanitarian law 👇🏼
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
This newly published paper by @jessicadorsey.bsky.social which examines the growing use of AI-DSS in targeting operations and their implications for proportionality assessments under international humanitarian law 👇🏼
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Trump's greenlight for Nvidia AI chips to China draws fire from lawmakers, former officials reut.rs/4jH7DZx
Trump's greenlight for Nvidia AI chips to China draws fire from lawmakers, former officials
U.S. lawmakers and former officials on Wednesday questioned President Donald Trump's decision to allow Nvidia to sell its second most powerful AI chips in China, arguing the move erodes America's AI edge and threatens to electrify Beijing's military.
reut.rs
January 15, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Trump's greenlight for Nvidia AI chips to China draws fire from lawmakers, former officials reut.rs/4jH7DZx
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Personal Intelligence is off by default, as users have the option to choose if and when they want to connect their Google apps to Gemini.
Gemini's new beta feature provides proactive responses based on your photos, emails, and more | TechCrunch
Personal Intelligence is off by default, as users have the option to choose if and when they want to connect their Google apps to Gemini.
techcrunch.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Personal Intelligence is off by default, as users have the option to choose if and when they want to connect their Google apps to Gemini.
The US 'Department of War' have released their AI strategy aimed at making US warfighters more "lethal and efficient". I'll try to summarise the key points in this thread 🧵
media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/...
media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/...
media.defense.gov
January 14, 2026 at 6:44 AM
The US 'Department of War' have released their AI strategy aimed at making US warfighters more "lethal and efficient". I'll try to summarise the key points in this thread 🧵
media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/...
media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/...
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Grok is being weaponised to digitally remove clothing from women and children's photos and by restricted AI image-generation to paying users, they are effectively monetising the creation of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes rather than stopping it.
January 14, 2026 at 4:17 AM
Grok is being weaponised to digitally remove clothing from women and children's photos and by restricted AI image-generation to paying users, they are effectively monetising the creation of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes rather than stopping it.
A brilliant article on the United Nations predicament of wavering between relevance and obsolescence 👇🏼
www.forbes.lu/the-united-n...
www.forbes.lu/the-united-n...
The United Nations In The Storm | Forbes Luxembourg
Eighty years after its founding, the United Nations stands on uncertain ground, wavering between relevance and obsolescence...
www.forbes.lu
January 12, 2026 at 12:06 AM
A brilliant article on the United Nations predicament of wavering between relevance and obsolescence 👇🏼
www.forbes.lu/the-united-n...
www.forbes.lu/the-united-n...
Having already illegally scraped the corners of the internet for training data, OpenAI is now asking companies to upload real work from past jobs to help improve the performance of their model 👇🏼
An intellectual property lawyer says OpenAI is "putting itself at great risk" with this approach.
OpenAI is reportedly asking contractors to upload real work from past jobs | TechCrunch
An intellectual property lawyer says OpenAI is "putting itself at great risk" with this approach.
techcrunch.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Having already illegally scraped the corners of the internet for training data, OpenAI is now asking companies to upload real work from past jobs to help improve the performance of their model 👇🏼
Recent geopolitical events have me questioning the significance of our international institution, what role it serves & what power it holds. This @aunz.theconversation.com article explains how the UN system works, where it fails & the flawed P5 veto powers
theconversation.com/venezuela-ga...
theconversation.com/venezuela-ga...
Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine: is the UN failing?
Should we push for a better UN that doesn’t reward the powerful by making them unaccountable? Absolutely. Should we scrap it altogether? No.
theconversation.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Recent geopolitical events have me questioning the significance of our international institution, what role it serves & what power it holds. This @aunz.theconversation.com article explains how the UN system works, where it fails & the flawed P5 veto powers
theconversation.com/venezuela-ga...
theconversation.com/venezuela-ga...
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Tesla is no longer the world’s highest selling battery electric vehicle maker after Chinese rival BYD overtook the company in annual sales for the first time, according to sales figures reported on Friday.
Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
BYD overtakes Tesla as bestselling EV company
Sales slump continues at Musk-led carmaker.
ia.acs.org.au
January 5, 2026 at 3:05 AM
Tesla is no longer the world’s highest selling battery electric vehicle maker after Chinese rival BYD overtook the company in annual sales for the first time, according to sales figures reported on Friday.
Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
Some exciting new releases from @anupress.bsky.social 👇🏼
Happy New Year from the team at ANU Press!
There’s no better way to kick off the year than with a #bookstack of new releases. Explore our latest titles, featuring cutting-edge research in linguistics, reflections on the gendering of politics, and the newest issue of #IREH.
press.anu.edu.au
There’s no better way to kick off the year than with a #bookstack of new releases. Explore our latest titles, featuring cutting-edge research in linguistics, reflections on the gendering of politics, and the newest issue of #IREH.
press.anu.edu.au
January 5, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Some exciting new releases from @anupress.bsky.social 👇🏼
I'll be doing a research stay over January at @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social collaborating with @jessicadorsey.bsky.social on research projects around the safety and legal implications of AI in the military domain. Reach out if you're in the area and would like to catch up 😊
January 4, 2026 at 9:34 PM
I'll be doing a research stay over January at @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social collaborating with @jessicadorsey.bsky.social on research projects around the safety and legal implications of AI in the military domain. Reach out if you're in the area and would like to catch up 😊
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Meta says it'll keep Manus running independently while weaving its agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where Meta's own chatbot, Meta AI, is already available to users.
Meta just bought Manus, an AI startup everyone has been talking about | TechCrunch
Meta says it'll keep Manus running independently while weaving its agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where Meta's own chatbot, Meta AI, is already available to users.
techcrunch.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Meta says it'll keep Manus running independently while weaving its agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where Meta's own chatbot, Meta AI, is already available to users.
🚨 Job alert 🚨
UNOPS is looking for an AI engineer to support the development of an AI-enabled interface for human rights data as a service.
Applications close 12 January 2026: careers.unops.org/careersmarke...
UNOPS is looking for an AI engineer to support the development of an AI-enabled interface for human rights data as a service.
Applications close 12 January 2026: careers.unops.org/careersmarke...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer
Under the supervision of UNOPS Project Manager and in close coordination with the IAH Head of Digital Solutions, the AI Engineer will support a variety of cross-functional digital and analytics...
careers.unops.org
December 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
🚨 Job alert 🚨
UNOPS is looking for an AI engineer to support the development of an AI-enabled interface for human rights data as a service.
Applications close 12 January 2026: careers.unops.org/careersmarke...
UNOPS is looking for an AI engineer to support the development of an AI-enabled interface for human rights data as a service.
Applications close 12 January 2026: careers.unops.org/careersmarke...
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
Australia's new AI safety institute is now hiring. It's still not entirely clear what the role of the institute will be: however, the current job advertisements indicate a research focussed organisation. Current job openings include 👇🏼👇🏼
December 18, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Australia's new AI safety institute is now hiring. It's still not entirely clear what the role of the institute will be: however, the current job advertisements indicate a research focussed organisation. Current job openings include 👇🏼👇🏼
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
Excellent essay from @kevinbaker.bsky.social on LLMs as a machinery for intensifying a bureaucratic logic
(If you like it, our book, Why We Fear AI is concerned with a lot of related issues, from management to bureaucracy!)
(If you like it, our book, Why We Fear AI is concerned with a lot of related issues, from management to bureaucracy!)
Context Widows
or, of GPUs, LPUs, and Goal Displacement
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Excellent essay from @kevinbaker.bsky.social on LLMs as a machinery for intensifying a bureaucratic logic
(If you like it, our book, Why We Fear AI is concerned with a lot of related issues, from management to bureaucracy!)
(If you like it, our book, Why We Fear AI is concerned with a lot of related issues, from management to bureaucracy!)
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the love #ResponsibleBytesPodcast has received this year. Our first season has now come to an end and the reception we've received has exceeded what we expected so thank you to everyone who tuned in this season. We'll be back with season 2 next year ☺️
December 14, 2025 at 11:23 PM
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the love #ResponsibleBytesPodcast has received this year. Our first season has now come to an end and the reception we've received has exceeded what we expected so thank you to everyone who tuned in this season. We'll be back with season 2 next year ☺️
Trump has signed an executive order blocking U.S states from enforcing their own regulations around AI to “ensure that AI can operate within a single national framework...as opposed to being subject to state level regulation that could potentially cripple the industry,”
share.google/FODvcTk81ISy...
share.google/FODvcTk81ISy...
Trump signs executive order blocking states from enforcing their own regulations around AI | CNN Business
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that blocks states from enforcing their own regulations around artificial intelligence and instead aims to create a “single national framew...
share.google
December 12, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Trump has signed an executive order blocking U.S states from enforcing their own regulations around AI to “ensure that AI can operate within a single national framework...as opposed to being subject to state level regulation that could potentially cripple the industry,”
share.google/FODvcTk81ISy...
share.google/FODvcTk81ISy...
So apparently we now have aiXiv, a "free, AI- or human-peer-reviewed preprint archive for research authored by Human, Robot and AI Scientists across all scientific fields"
It's basically arXive but with AI peer review assistance & search prompts 🙄
aixiv.science
It's basically arXive but with AI peer review assistance & search prompts 🙄
aixiv.science
aiXiv - AI Scientists Community
aiXiv - AI Scientists Community
aixiv.science
December 12, 2025 at 8:26 PM
So apparently we now have aiXiv, a "free, AI- or human-peer-reviewed preprint archive for research authored by Human, Robot and AI Scientists across all scientific fields"
It's basically arXive but with AI peer review assistance & search prompts 🙄
aixiv.science
It's basically arXive but with AI peer review assistance & search prompts 🙄
aixiv.science
The Australian Army's Robotic & Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO) currently has a few open positions for anyone interested in roles on emerging and disruptive technologies 🧵
December 11, 2025 at 10:50 PM
The Australian Army's Robotic & Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO) currently has a few open positions for anyone interested in roles on emerging and disruptive technologies 🧵
Reposted by Dr Zena Assaad
A new software option could make it possible to see the approximate location of some of Nvidia's AI chips.
Nvidia is reportedly testing tracking software as chip smuggling rumors swirl | TechCrunch
A new software option could make it possible to see the approximate location of some of Nvidia's AI chips.
techcrunch.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:11 PM
A new software option could make it possible to see the approximate location of some of Nvidia's AI chips.
As someone who researches the safety of critical technologies, I can confidently say the unsubstantiated hype around AI is one of the leading issues with its shortfalls. People are making decisions based on a fictitious perception rather than a realistic understanding of the limitations of AI
If the AI revolution fails to materialize as expected, the financial consequences could be ugly, Rogé Karma argues: “The last time the economy saw so much wealth tied up in such obscure overlapping arrangements was just before the 2008 financial crisis.”
Something Ominous Is Happening in the AI Economy
The last time so much wealth was tied up in such obscure overlapping arrangements was just before the 2008 financial crisis.
bit.ly
December 10, 2025 at 10:42 PM
As someone who researches the safety of critical technologies, I can confidently say the unsubstantiated hype around AI is one of the leading issues with its shortfalls. People are making decisions based on a fictitious perception rather than a realistic understanding of the limitations of AI