Bronwyn Isaacs
@find-bronwyn.bsky.social
Anthropologist in Aotearoa
University of Waikato
Chasing all things anthropology especially media, digital, visual life, work, production studies and politics.
University of Waikato
Chasing all things anthropology especially media, digital, visual life, work, production studies and politics.
Pinned
Digital cities and their commercial aesthetics: The celebration of monarchy in Bangkok - Bronwyn Isaacs, 2025
This article argues that the expanding role of digital urban infrastructure in Bangkok has revitalised a visual aesthetic designed to uphold royal authority. Th...
doi.org
My paper in Urban Studies is finally out! Check it out to see how cheap digital infrastructures and technologies are used to bolster inequality and monarchical authority in Bangkok. doi.org/10.1177/0042...
Businesses must "take responsibility for thinking through how their technology can be weaponised". Examples include
1. Locking the fridge to control access to food
2. Limiting car's drivable radius to 1km
3. Remote locking car, blasting horn
4. Stalking via petfeeder
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
1. Locking the fridge to control access to food
2. Limiting car's drivable radius to 1km
3. Remote locking car, blasting horn
4. Stalking via petfeeder
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
Smart cars used as 'weapons' by domestic violence abusers
A new eSafety advisory warns Australians about technology-facilitated abuse and provides advice on how to protect themselves from it.
www.abc.net.au
November 30, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Businesses must "take responsibility for thinking through how their technology can be weaponised". Examples include
1. Locking the fridge to control access to food
2. Limiting car's drivable radius to 1km
3. Remote locking car, blasting horn
4. Stalking via petfeeder
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
1. Locking the fridge to control access to food
2. Limiting car's drivable radius to 1km
3. Remote locking car, blasting horn
4. Stalking via petfeeder
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
Reposted by Bronwyn Isaacs
We had almost 300 people on the Resisting GenAI webinar this morning! There is a huge appetite for pushing back against harmful technologies. 💪
Resources! (more coming soon!) justsustainabilitydesign.org/resistinggen...
Climate Justice Universities Union: climatejusticeuniversitiesunion.org
Resources! (more coming soon!) justsustainabilitydesign.org/resistinggen...
Climate Justice Universities Union: climatejusticeuniversitiesunion.org
justsustainabilitydesign.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
We had almost 300 people on the Resisting GenAI webinar this morning! There is a huge appetite for pushing back against harmful technologies. 💪
Resources! (more coming soon!) justsustainabilitydesign.org/resistinggen...
Climate Justice Universities Union: climatejusticeuniversitiesunion.org
Resources! (more coming soon!) justsustainabilitydesign.org/resistinggen...
Climate Justice Universities Union: climatejusticeuniversitiesunion.org
“We’ve now got the data to show high loads of tyre microplastics in comparison to other types, such as from takeaway containers or clothing,” says Dr Samantha Ladewig, a marine microplastics researcher at the University of Auckland.
“Tyres come out on top by a long way.”
“Tyres come out on top by a long way.”
The mystery material? Tiny pieces of vehicle tyre.
Now it’s clear that driving is contributing to New Zealand’s – and the world’s – single largest source of marine microplastic pollution.
#nzpol
Now it’s clear that driving is contributing to New Zealand’s – and the world’s – single largest source of marine microplastic pollution.
#nzpol
Time to kick this marine menace to the kerb
Researchers have narrowed down the single biggest source of microplastic pollution in NZ’s coastal waters – and ways to curb it.
newsroom.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 12:42 AM
“We’ve now got the data to show high loads of tyre microplastics in comparison to other types, such as from takeaway containers or clothing,” says Dr Samantha Ladewig, a marine microplastics researcher at the University of Auckland.
“Tyres come out on top by a long way.”
“Tyres come out on top by a long way.”
“During the pandemic, 80 per cent of private companies across advanced economies were putting spyware on computers – it was 90 per cent in Australia. It’s a 19th-century management attitude in the 21st century.” www.afr.com/work-and-car...
States to tighten rules on watching workers in age of WFH and AI
The Allan government has backed greater protections for workers against spying bosses as technology and work from home test the boundaries of employee privacy.
www.afr.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 AM
“During the pandemic, 80 per cent of private companies across advanced economies were putting spyware on computers – it was 90 per cent in Australia. It’s a 19th-century management attitude in the 21st century.” www.afr.com/work-and-car...
"Installation costs for woody meadows are comparable to business-as-usual plantings of low-diversity, low-functioning monocultures . . .But they require 75% less maintenance over time. Their adaptable design has overcome barriers to planting in hostile urban sites" apple.news/AlE6ONH0cTxC...
We planted two woody meadows a decade ago to see what would thrive. Now the concept is popular across Australia. — The Conversation AU
Woody meadows can create green corridors in urban landscapes at much less cost than traditional methods. Now keen gardeners can plant their own.
apple.news
November 16, 2025 at 8:47 PM
"Installation costs for woody meadows are comparable to business-as-usual plantings of low-diversity, low-functioning monocultures . . .But they require 75% less maintenance over time. Their adaptable design has overcome barriers to planting in hostile urban sites" apple.news/AlE6ONH0cTxC...
45% respondents wish they didn't have to listen to any AI music, but the difficulty lies in that 97% of respondents could not accurately detect if the music was generated by humans or AI. 34% of the tracks uploaded to streaming service Deezer are AI generated. newsroom-deezer.com/2025/11/deez...
Deezer and Ipsos study: AI fools 97% of listeners
Deezer and Ipsos unveil a unique study exploring perceptions around AI and music, conducted across 8 countries. Discover the surprising results!
newsroom-deezer.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:49 PM
45% respondents wish they didn't have to listen to any AI music, but the difficulty lies in that 97% of respondents could not accurately detect if the music was generated by humans or AI. 34% of the tracks uploaded to streaming service Deezer are AI generated. newsroom-deezer.com/2025/11/deez...
". . . allocated $40 million to build a National Garden of American Heroes — location TBD — depicting 250 luminaries in a neoclassical style, including George Washington, Billy Graham and Elvis Presley" www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
America’s Tech Right Is Obsessed With Building Giant Statues
With proposals for a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on Alcatraz and a 650-foot George Washington, MAGA adherents are racing to build America’s largest statue.
www.bloomberg.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:43 PM
". . . allocated $40 million to build a National Garden of American Heroes — location TBD — depicting 250 luminaries in a neoclassical style, including George Washington, Billy Graham and Elvis Presley" www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
"Part of a fascist project to offload the work of thinking, especially the reflective kind . . .[that] cultivates empathy and challenges your assumptions. vs "having a robot cheerleader telling you that you were right about everything all along" www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
"Part of a fascist project to offload the work of thinking, especially the reflective kind . . .[that] cultivates empathy and challenges your assumptions. vs "having a robot cheerleader telling you that you were right about everything all along" www.404media.co/ai-is-superc...
"Indonesia-based macro photographer, Yury Ivanov has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025, celebrated by a panel of judges for his image of two synchronised ‘ladybugs of the sea’ – a species that measures just 3mm tall" oceanographicmagazine.com/news/synchro....
Synchronised ‘ladybugs’ win Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 - Oceanographic
Indonesia-based macro expert, Yury Ivanov, has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 for his photography of two 'ladybug' amphipods.
oceanographicmagazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM
"Indonesia-based macro photographer, Yury Ivanov has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025, celebrated by a panel of judges for his image of two synchronised ‘ladybugs of the sea’ – a species that measures just 3mm tall" oceanographicmagazine.com/news/synchro....
"The documents she obtained showed the university "had negotiated directly with a foreign intelligence service to trade my academic freedom for access to the Chinese student market," she told the BBC."
This is a remarkable case of Chinese authorities threatening a UK university into halting research on human rights violations, and the university acquiescing.
China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show
Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.
www.bbc.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
"The documents she obtained showed the university "had negotiated directly with a foreign intelligence service to trade my academic freedom for access to the Chinese student market," she told the BBC."
"Drawing on comparative anthropological models and archaeological case studies, the paper highlights the complexity of kinship as manifested in practices of adoption, fosterage, commensality, co-residence, and non-biological affiliation"
Happy to announce that reflections on our workshop about non-biological kinship in Vienna last year is already published!
@anahcorral.bsky.social @sabinacvecek.bsky.social
www.sciepublish.com/article/pii/...
@anahcorral.bsky.social @sabinacvecek.bsky.social
www.sciepublish.com/article/pii/...
Beyond Genetics: Exploring Aspects of
Non-Biological Kinship in Prehistoric Times
This article explores alternative ways of
conceptualizing kinship in prehistoric contexts beyond the confines of genetic
reductionism. While ancient DNA research has revitalized interest in the
archae...
www.sciepublish.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"Drawing on comparative anthropological models and archaeological case studies, the paper highlights the complexity of kinship as manifested in practices of adoption, fosterage, commensality, co-residence, and non-biological affiliation"
Reposted by Bronwyn Isaacs
I'm not 100% sure but I think Newsroom may have omitted a 'f*cking' from my phrase "Do these people read the news?"
October 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I'm not 100% sure but I think Newsroom may have omitted a 'f*cking' from my phrase "Do these people read the news?"
Fascinating new report on inter-ethnic racism in Aoteaora "Notions of purity and
authenticity are sustained through casteism, colourism, linguistic hierarchies" wero.ac.nz/wp-content/u...
authenticity are sustained through casteism, colourism, linguistic hierarchies" wero.ac.nz/wp-content/u...
wero.ac.nz
October 24, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Fascinating new report on inter-ethnic racism in Aoteaora "Notions of purity and
authenticity are sustained through casteism, colourism, linguistic hierarchies" wero.ac.nz/wp-content/u...
authenticity are sustained through casteism, colourism, linguistic hierarchies" wero.ac.nz/wp-content/u...
"If brains need friction but also instinctively avoid it, it’s interesting that the promise of technology has been to create a “frictionless” user experience, to ensure that, provided we slide from app to app or screen to screen, we will meet no resistance." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?
From brain-rotting videos to AI creep, every technological advance seems to make it harder to work, remember, think and function independently …
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"If brains need friction but also instinctively avoid it, it’s interesting that the promise of technology has been to create a “frictionless” user experience, to ensure that, provided we slide from app to app or screen to screen, we will meet no resistance." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Bronwyn Isaacs
Halloween is near! It's time to post this marvellous articulated Roman skeleton, presumably meant to be a reminder to enjoy life to the fullest, since pleasure ends irrevocably with death.
In Petronius’ Satyricon, the host of a dinner party brings out a small skeleton with moveable...🧵1/2
In Petronius’ Satyricon, the host of a dinner party brings out a small skeleton with moveable...🧵1/2
October 13, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Halloween is near! It's time to post this marvellous articulated Roman skeleton, presumably meant to be a reminder to enjoy life to the fullest, since pleasure ends irrevocably with death.
In Petronius’ Satyricon, the host of a dinner party brings out a small skeleton with moveable...🧵1/2
In Petronius’ Satyricon, the host of a dinner party brings out a small skeleton with moveable...🧵1/2
Reposted by Bronwyn Isaacs
I don't know how many times to point out that is absolutely ghoulish and non-consensual and disgusting behavior.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.
October 13, 2025 at 8:31 PM
I don't know how many times to point out that is absolutely ghoulish and non-consensual and disgusting behavior.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.
"The world’s oceans have been absorbing about 90% of the extra heat created from the human-caused climate crisis.
New Zealand is bearing the brunt of these warming seas because of its position in the ocean, which makes it more vulnerable" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
New Zealand is bearing the brunt of these warming seas because of its position in the ocean, which makes it more vulnerable" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
New Zealand oceans warming 34% faster than global average, putting homes and industry at risk, report finds
NZ$180bn worth of housing and $26bn of infrastructure at risk of flooding and storm damage, new government report finds
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 8:43 PM
"The world’s oceans have been absorbing about 90% of the extra heat created from the human-caused climate crisis.
New Zealand is bearing the brunt of these warming seas because of its position in the ocean, which makes it more vulnerable" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
New Zealand is bearing the brunt of these warming seas because of its position in the ocean, which makes it more vulnerable" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
If you submit a report with fabricated sources and quotes as a University student, you would fail the assignment. Government and consultancy companies need to hire people to do serious plagiarism checks on the reports they produce when work relies on generative AI. apnews.com/article/aust...
Deloitte to partially refund Australian government for report with apparent AI-generated errors
Deloitte Australia will partially refund the Australian government for a report filled with apparent AI-generated errors.
apnews.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:35 PM
If you submit a report with fabricated sources and quotes as a University student, you would fail the assignment. Government and consultancy companies need to hire people to do serious plagiarism checks on the reports they produce when work relies on generative AI. apnews.com/article/aust...
"Discovering that forests are losing their colours was frightening and revelatory, says Spaniol. . . 'A decline in their colour diversity may reflect a loss of complexity in ecosystems as a whole, with potential cascading effects'" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
As forests are cut down, butterflies are losing their colours
The insects’ brilliant hues evolved in lush ecosystems to help them survive. Now they are becoming more muted to adapt to degraded landscapes – and they are not the only things dulling down
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:54 AM
"Discovering that forests are losing their colours was frightening and revelatory, says Spaniol. . . 'A decline in their colour diversity may reflect a loss of complexity in ecosystems as a whole, with potential cascading effects'" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
David Karpf: "this is the year that tech companies have decided they don’t give a shit"
Emily Bender, "an oil spill. . .weakening and breaking relationships of trust”
Joan Donovan “It has no fidelity to history, it has no relationship to the truth,” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Emily Bender, "an oil spill. . .weakening and breaking relationships of trust”
Joan Donovan “It has no fidelity to history, it has no relationship to the truth,” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
OpenAI launch of video app Sora plagued by violent and racist images: ‘The guardrails are not real’
Misinformation researchers say lifelike scenes could obfuscate truth and lead to fraud, bullying and intimidation
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 9:37 PM
David Karpf: "this is the year that tech companies have decided they don’t give a shit"
Emily Bender, "an oil spill. . .weakening and breaking relationships of trust”
Joan Donovan “It has no fidelity to history, it has no relationship to the truth,” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Emily Bender, "an oil spill. . .weakening and breaking relationships of trust”
Joan Donovan “It has no fidelity to history, it has no relationship to the truth,” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
" A robot-lead reality is unlikely, but a reality where we accept violence as the status quo is already here" tacticaltech.org/news/insight...
Part 10. It’s All Downhill From Here
What is technology actually facilitating?
tacticaltech.org
October 2, 2025 at 10:03 PM
" A robot-lead reality is unlikely, but a reality where we accept violence as the status quo is already here" tacticaltech.org/news/insight...
Reposted by Bronwyn Isaacs
Reports of modernity's disenchantment of the world were apparently wildly premature. "Science" has seamlessly replaced the "supernatural" as the preferred medium of magical thinking.
The thing about medbeds as a QAnon conspiracy theory is that the exact same *idea* of magical immortality-granting technology (though in different formats) is a dominant myth in Silicon Valley technofuturism and also taken seriously by many powerful elites in that space
September 29, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Reports of modernity's disenchantment of the world were apparently wildly premature. "Science" has seamlessly replaced the "supernatural" as the preferred medium of magical thinking.
"One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda, holds the record for the most copies published in the same comic book series by a single author, with 500m copies printed worldwide" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
‘A symbol of liberation’: how the One Piece manga flag became the symbol of Asia’s gen Z protest movement
Carried by a band of pirates that stand up to corrupt and repressive rulers, the meaning of the One Piece flag has resonated across borders
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:40 AM
"One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda, holds the record for the most copies published in the same comic book series by a single author, with 500m copies printed worldwide" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Want to work in the Waikato, New Zealand? My school is hiring a few positions in #Psychology:
Senior Tutor in Psychology
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Analysis
elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Senior Tutor in Psychology
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Analysis
elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
University of Waikato Careers Careers
elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Want to work in the Waikato, New Zealand? My school is hiring a few positions in #Psychology:
Senior Tutor in Psychology
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Analysis
elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Senior Tutor in Psychology
Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Analysis
elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
"Why does this absolutely unfounded myth that the Family Court somehow always sides with women and always harms men have so much traction? Because it resonates with underlying stereotypes,” she says. “It’s familiar to us, because it’s the baggage that we all carry around"
A great piece from Alex Casey about the noxious soup: "It’s like men’s potential suffering is tragic, and women’s actual suffering is just our lot in life."
thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-0...
thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-0...
Decoding the ‘cult of masculinity’ around Tom Phillips
The support for the Marokopa fugitive reveals several pervasive myths about masculinity, fathers and the court system.
thespinoff.co.nz
September 17, 2025 at 6:26 AM
"Why does this absolutely unfounded myth that the Family Court somehow always sides with women and always harms men have so much traction? Because it resonates with underlying stereotypes,” she says. “It’s familiar to us, because it’s the baggage that we all carry around"