beccadownes
@beccadownes.bsky.social
Nerdy management academic with a tech background (she/her/Dr).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3278-5749
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3278-5749
Reposted by beccadownes
"An academic discovers a paper attributed to him that does not exist has been cited 42 times" is a sentence with an actual referent in 2025.
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
"An academic discovers a paper attributed to him that does not exist has been cited 42 times" is a sentence with an actual referent in 2025.
Reposted by beccadownes
Another way to restart the world’s idea machine is to restore funding and grants to universities, researchers, and artists.
America, you have spoken loud and clear: You do not like AI. But what if AI is the way to restart the world’s idea machine?
We’re running out of good ideas. AI might be how we find new ones.
What if the best use of AI is restarting the world’s idea machine?
www.vox.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Another way to restart the world’s idea machine is to restore funding and grants to universities, researchers, and artists.
Reposted by beccadownes
I'm hiring a postdoc -- come and do awesome cosmology with great people in one of the nicest cities in the world (not that I'm biased or anything) 🔭 🧪
cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2025/12/12/p...
cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2025/12/12/p...
Post-doc @ Auckland
Looking for a cosmology post-doc at the University of Auckland
cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz
December 12, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I'm hiring a postdoc -- come and do awesome cosmology with great people in one of the nicest cities in the world (not that I'm biased or anything) 🔭 🧪
cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2025/12/12/p...
cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2025/12/12/p...
And as a picture, it has no meaning. It's not aesthetically pleasing and it has no content. Why are they on a beam? Why are they above that city? Why are they bobble-heads?
At best it's an attempt to recast them as working class labourers but as bsky.app/profile/sifi... says, that's grotesque.
At best it's an attempt to recast them as working class labourers but as bsky.app/profile/sifi... says, that's grotesque.
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
December 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
And as a picture, it has no meaning. It's not aesthetically pleasing and it has no content. Why are they on a beam? Why are they above that city? Why are they bobble-heads?
At best it's an attempt to recast them as working class labourers but as bsky.app/profile/sifi... says, that's grotesque.
At best it's an attempt to recast them as working class labourers but as bsky.app/profile/sifi... says, that's grotesque.
Reposted by beccadownes
Broke: social media ban
Woke: everyone media ban
Bespoke: butlerian jihad
Woke: everyone media ban
Bespoke: butlerian jihad
December 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Broke: social media ban
Woke: everyone media ban
Bespoke: butlerian jihad
Woke: everyone media ban
Bespoke: butlerian jihad
Reposted by beccadownes
If you want students to do well in life, including in their careers, then give them the tools to forge their own path. They don’t know what tools they might need, and neither do we. We should be offering them a rich array of skills, rather than pretending we are a widget factory.
December 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
If you want students to do well in life, including in their careers, then give them the tools to forge their own path. They don’t know what tools they might need, and neither do we. We should be offering them a rich array of skills, rather than pretending we are a widget factory.
Would university online learning management systems (used to deliver course-related information, lecture slides, and to submit assignments) like Canvas qualify? Definitely if the course uses discussion boards. Even without, arguably yes.
The purpose of that tech is to connect people
#nzpol
The purpose of that tech is to connect people
#nzpol
In other bait news, Catherine Wedd's "Social Media (Age-Restricted Users) Bill" defines a "social media platform" thusly, which is some bullshit because surely it would categorise SMS as such.
December 9, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Would university online learning management systems (used to deliver course-related information, lecture slides, and to submit assignments) like Canvas qualify? Definitely if the course uses discussion boards. Even without, arguably yes.
The purpose of that tech is to connect people
#nzpol
The purpose of that tech is to connect people
#nzpol
Reposted by beccadownes
Hey, so guess what I did? 🧵
Can I prove Deloitte used AI to write this report? No. But that would honestly be the less embarrassing option. The research in this report is below par for a 1st year undergrad, where they even bother to show research.
Let's unpack some of the mistakes I found.
#nzpol
Can I prove Deloitte used AI to write this report? No. But that would honestly be the less embarrassing option. The research in this report is below par for a 1st year undergrad, where they even bother to show research.
Let's unpack some of the mistakes I found.
#nzpol
Just noting which consultancy wrote this report and the history of their reports for public agencies internationally. Anyone check the footnotes of this one?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Hundreds of job cuts proposed in new report to Wellington City Council
Wellington City Council could save tens of millions of dollars through cost-cutting, such as reducing staff, according to a new report.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 8, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Hey, so guess what I did? 🧵
Can I prove Deloitte used AI to write this report? No. But that would honestly be the less embarrassing option. The research in this report is below par for a 1st year undergrad, where they even bother to show research.
Let's unpack some of the mistakes I found.
#nzpol
Can I prove Deloitte used AI to write this report? No. But that would honestly be the less embarrassing option. The research in this report is below par for a 1st year undergrad, where they even bother to show research.
Let's unpack some of the mistakes I found.
#nzpol
Reposted by beccadownes
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by beccadownes
Generative AI is this weird little ferret that is carrying a tall pole with a red flag at the top, and it roots out the worst pre-existing problems in society and plants a little slop-flag in them
eg: how companies have made scientific publishing into a for-profit low quality content mill
eg: how companies have made scientific publishing into a for-profit low quality content mill
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Generative AI is this weird little ferret that is carrying a tall pole with a red flag at the top, and it roots out the worst pre-existing problems in society and plants a little slop-flag in them
eg: how companies have made scientific publishing into a for-profit low quality content mill
eg: how companies have made scientific publishing into a for-profit low quality content mill
I don't care if you think I'm an AI. Or if proof-readers try to take them out. I'm never giving up my em dashes.
November 22, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I don't care if you think I'm an AI. Or if proof-readers try to take them out. I'm never giving up my em dashes.
Reposted by beccadownes
I think user pays is a silly philosophy for infrastructure in general but if New Zealand has nowhere near the traffic volumes to fund these roads then…why do we need these roads?
Hard choices lie ahead, Bishop says, as he explains funding the $56 billion in motorways promised by the Government would require a nearly 50c per litre lift in petrol taxes.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop says funding $56b in roads a 'challenge'
Hard choices lie ahead, Bishop says, as he explains funding the $56 billion in motorways promised by the Government would require a nearly 50c per litre lift in petrol taxes.
dlvr.it
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I think user pays is a silly philosophy for infrastructure in general but if New Zealand has nowhere near the traffic volumes to fund these roads then…why do we need these roads?
Rebecca's law: As an academic discussion grows longer, the probability of concluding that capitalism is to blame approaches one.
(With apologies to Godwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%...)
(With apologies to Godwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%...)
November 13, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Rebecca's law: As an academic discussion grows longer, the probability of concluding that capitalism is to blame approaches one.
(With apologies to Godwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%...)
(With apologies to Godwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%...)
Reposted by beccadownes
Tomorrow is the Fifth of November – but let’s forget Guy Fawkes and his actions against an arrogant Protestant king and instead look to our own history: the unlawful attack on Parihaka and, by extension, Māori sovereignty.
🧵
#kikorangi
🧵
#kikorangi
November 4, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Tomorrow is the Fifth of November – but let’s forget Guy Fawkes and his actions against an arrogant Protestant king and instead look to our own history: the unlawful attack on Parihaka and, by extension, Māori sovereignty.
🧵
#kikorangi
🧵
#kikorangi
Using AI for research is a trip.
Ex: Gemini gives me 5 sources, the first 3 don't exist. I Google the titles (to double check they don't exist) & the Google AI summary gives me a complete explanation of the articles that don't exist including "their" key arguments & findings.
Crazy-making.
Ex: Gemini gives me 5 sources, the first 3 don't exist. I Google the titles (to double check they don't exist) & the Google AI summary gives me a complete explanation of the articles that don't exist including "their" key arguments & findings.
Crazy-making.
November 4, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Using AI for research is a trip.
Ex: Gemini gives me 5 sources, the first 3 don't exist. I Google the titles (to double check they don't exist) & the Google AI summary gives me a complete explanation of the articles that don't exist including "their" key arguments & findings.
Crazy-making.
Ex: Gemini gives me 5 sources, the first 3 don't exist. I Google the titles (to double check they don't exist) & the Google AI summary gives me a complete explanation of the articles that don't exist including "their" key arguments & findings.
Crazy-making.
Reposted by beccadownes
what is the point of having Society if we aren't using it as a means to take care of each other
October 27, 2025 at 10:45 PM
what is the point of having Society if we aren't using it as a means to take care of each other
Reposted by beccadownes
Sign this petition about the Regulatory Standards Bill, please
petitions.parliament.nz/212f27b2-98f...
petitions.parliament.nz/212f27b2-98f...
October 24, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Sign this petition about the Regulatory Standards Bill, please
petitions.parliament.nz/212f27b2-98f...
petitions.parliament.nz/212f27b2-98f...
I will die laughing if after investing $500B generative AI's only meaningful market traction turns out to be making porn.
OpenAI to allow mature content on ChatGPT for adult verified users starting December reut.rs/3J8NTAi
OpenAI to allow mature content on ChatGPT for adult verified users starting December
OpenAI will allow mature content for ChatGPT users who verify their age on the platform starting in December, CEO Sam Altman said, after the chatbot was made restrictive for users in mental distress.
reut.rs
October 15, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I will die laughing if after investing $500B generative AI's only meaningful market traction turns out to be making porn.
"For many people, it feels like the world is burning. The government’s recent changes to benefits feel like this: the house is on fire, and this policy is them turning off the smoke alarm and saying it’s fixed"
#nzpol Sometimes a policy is so stupid it makes you question the very fabric of reality. Decisions so fabulously, almost wantonly dumb, you wonder if we actually live in a simulation. Welcome to the world of removing Jobseeker Support for 18 & 19-year-olds. craigrenney.substack.com/p/a-small-wr...
A small wrinkle in the Jobseeker policy
The government’s recent changes to benefits feel like this: the house is on fire, and this policy is them turning off the smoke alarm and saying it’s fixed
craigrenney.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 1:13 AM
"For many people, it feels like the world is burning. The government’s recent changes to benefits feel like this: the house is on fire, and this policy is them turning off the smoke alarm and saying it’s fixed"
Reposted by beccadownes
Does your university have a contract with Grammarly? Write to the decision-maker asking if they think the university should be paying for a tool that is fast integrating features that can only be used for academic misconduct and cognitive offloading and request they drop the contract.
It is not "attribution and sourcing" to generate post-hoc citations that have not been read and did not inform the student's writing. Those should be regarded as fraudulent: artifacts testifying to human actions and thought that did not occur.
www.theverge.com/news/760508/...
www.theverge.com/news/760508/...
October 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Does your university have a contract with Grammarly? Write to the decision-maker asking if they think the university should be paying for a tool that is fast integrating features that can only be used for academic misconduct and cognitive offloading and request they drop the contract.
Reposted by beccadownes
Genuine question: for those enthusiastically pushing AI tools into every part of our education system—what checks/guardrails are there around algorithmic biases like this?
The administration “is currently pressuring OpenAI and other AI companies to make their models more conservative-friendly.”
OpenAI is trying to clamp down on ‘bias’ in ChatGPT
GPT-5 is better at resisting liberal ‘pressure,’ the company says.
www.theverge.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Genuine question: for those enthusiastically pushing AI tools into every part of our education system—what checks/guardrails are there around algorithmic biases like this?
Reposted by beccadownes
Selling off productive publicly owned companies/infrastructure to reduce govt debt is like selling off your car to reduce your mortgage, then taking an uber/taxi to work each day.
Sure you have lower debts, but it costs more in the long run.
#nzpol
Sure you have lower debts, but it costs more in the long run.
#nzpol
October 10, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Selling off productive publicly owned companies/infrastructure to reduce govt debt is like selling off your car to reduce your mortgage, then taking an uber/taxi to work each day.
Sure you have lower debts, but it costs more in the long run.
#nzpol
Sure you have lower debts, but it costs more in the long run.
#nzpol
Huh. Who could have predicted that once all the experienced staff were fired, work would slow down and, needing experience, those same staff would be hired back at consulting rates... [Shocked Pikachu face]
Comment: Minister Judith Collins has relaxed constraints on consultants spend, after the public sector massively over-delivered on promised spending cuts ... and the Govt work-rate slowed accordingly.
Public spend on consultants slashed – but not to those embedded deep in govt
newsroom.co.nz
October 10, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Huh. Who could have predicted that once all the experienced staff were fired, work would slow down and, needing experience, those same staff would be hired back at consulting rates... [Shocked Pikachu face]
Full credit to @metservice.com, that arrived exactly as predicted
October 7, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Full credit to @metservice.com, that arrived exactly as predicted
Reposted by beccadownes
18 & 19 year olds with no income support should “just go where the jobs are” said the Prime Minister who famously had his limo deliver him across the road.
“Good luck with the train-hopping, you plucky young hobos,” he added, suggesting hedge-&-ditch as an affordable alternative to bed-&-breakfast.
“Good luck with the train-hopping, you plucky young hobos,” he added, suggesting hedge-&-ditch as an affordable alternative to bed-&-breakfast.
Watch: Christopher Luxon defends cuts to benefits for youth
The prime minister says businesses are 'crying out for young people' as advocates decry the changes as a punishment.
www.rnz.co.nz
October 6, 2025 at 4:17 AM
18 & 19 year olds with no income support should “just go where the jobs are” said the Prime Minister who famously had his limo deliver him across the road.
“Good luck with the train-hopping, you plucky young hobos,” he added, suggesting hedge-&-ditch as an affordable alternative to bed-&-breakfast.
“Good luck with the train-hopping, you plucky young hobos,” he added, suggesting hedge-&-ditch as an affordable alternative to bed-&-breakfast.