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AU Financial Review
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- AU Financial Review
How Trump 2.0 and social media gave Orwell's 1984 new life
Even the producer of a stage adaptation of 1984 now touring the country wishes George Orwell's novel from 75 years ago did not remain so relevant. 'It's sad that the timing always seems perfect for a bit of dystopia,' said Nick Skubij, founder and co-artistic director of Brisbane-based Shake & Stir Theatre, who will bring Big Brother, his thought police and the Ministry of Truth to Sydney from July 24.
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
'Humphrey' and 'uwotm8': How Whitehall's AI assistant was given English lessons
Ministers' favourite chatbot has been given elocution classes to stop it spouting 'trash' - and get it to talk 'rubbish' instead Whitehall's AI assistant has been given elocution lessons to stop spouting 'trash' and talk 'rubbish' instead. The AI tool set, nicknamed 'Humphrey' after the manipulative civil servant in TV's Yes, Minister, has been used to cut back on expensive consultants and speed up how government departments operate. But users noticed a flaw in the bot - an irritating tendency of using Americanisms. Keen to make sure ministers' favourite official remained a true Brit, AI experts in Whitehall's Technology Ministry built a translator for Humphrey, known informally as 'uwotm8'. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: "Humphrey has the potential to transform the way government works – making things faster, more efficient, and less reliant on expensive consultants as we create a leaner state focused on delivering Plan for Change priorities. 'But an AI tool named after a British sitcom icon must speak the King's English. With this new translator, he now sounds a bit more like the rest of us – and that matters when he's advising ministers or engaging with the public. It's a simple fix with a big impact." The news comes as Elon Musk revealed a chilling plan to re-write history using his AI chatbot - with readers accusing him of copying 1984. In George Orwell's dystopian novel, hero Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite historical documents and newspapers so they match the tyrannical government's constantly changing party line. This morning, Musk vowed on X to use the latest version of AI chatbot Grok to 'rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors.' He said Grok, which X users can access directly within the app, would be 'retrained' based on the 'corrected' data. AI systems are trained on huge sets of data - mostly from publicly available sources like books, newspaper articles and other sources on the internet. ChatGPT, the main competitor for Musk's Grok AI, is estimated to be trained on more than a trillion words of information. Musk's suggestion would be for his next model to be trained not on original historical sources, but on Grok's revisions of them - with the erratic tech billionaire's team stepping in to remove 'errors'. Musk posted: 'Far too much garbage in any foundation model trained on uncorrected data.'
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
7 Donald Trump moments as President gives chilling warning: 'You are in danger'
Trump never conceded the 2020 election. He claims to believe he won the race, which he lost fair and square to Joe Biden. By a lot. But he continues to lie about that, claiming he won and the result was a fraud. In a crowded field, it's one of the most damaging things a world leader has ever attempted to do - casting doubt on the veracity of a free and fair election in the the world's proudest democracy. But because he does it so often, it's kind of background noise at this point. You tell a lie often enough, etc etc. Well, last night the US President found a way to ramp up this particular falsehood. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has big plans to set up the Ministry of Truth and JD Vance accidentally mis-named a Senator by an ethnic stereotype. Everything is fine, here's what you need to know. Trump last night took to Truth Social demanding a Special Prosecutor be appointed to investigate how the 2020 election was stolen from him. In the US, a Special Prosecutor is a lawyer appointed to investigate a case of suspected wrongdoing, when there are concerns about conflicts of interest - for example, if it is a claim of government corruption. In his post, Trump claimed "Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden" lost the 2020 election "by a LANDSLIDE!" Biden won the 2020 election by 74 electoral college votes, and more than 7 million actual votes. That's 7 million people the current US President claims doesn't exist. About the combined population of LA, Chicago and Boston combined. "Biden was grossly incompetent," he went on. "And the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING?" There is no evidence to back up the President's claims, and the claims have repeatedly been laughed out of court. People have been successfully sued for defamation over the claims. Trump added: "A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin! What this Crooked man, and his CORRUPT CRONIES, have done to our Country in 4 years, is grossly indescribable! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Morristown airfield in New Jersey, Trump issued quite a startling warning. Asked if he was concerned about Iran or its proxies launching terror attacks against the US, Trump said he was. "You are even in danger talking to me right now," he said. "Do you know that? You are in danger talking to me right now. So I should probably get out of here. But you guys are actually in danger." Close Trump watchers will be aware that Trump is obsessed with getting a Nobel Peace Prize. He hates that Barack Obama got one, and is convinced he deserves one. Well, twice in the last 24 hours, he's gone on a massive rant about why he should be given not one, but several. He posted on Truth Social about a draft peace treaty Marco Rubio managed to get Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to agree to sign next week. And maybe it's because he's still getting stick for considering joining Israel in strikes on Iran, but he seems somewhat bitter about being passed over for the award. "This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!" He wrote. "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River), and I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in "The Ages!" "No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me!" Speaking to reporters in Jersey he gave a similar rant, claiming he should have been given the Nobel Prize "four or five times." JD Vance was asked about the California democrat Senator who was tackled to the floor by police last week for trying to ask a question at a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In his reply, the Vice President referred to "Jose Padilla." The Senator, who is of Mexican heritage, is named Alex Padilla. Asked why he had, presumably mistakenly, referred to Padilla - with whom Vance served in the Senate - by a stereotypically Mexican name, Vance's Press Secretary said: "He must have mixed up two people who have broken the law." Regular readers will recall Tammy Bruce, the Press Secretary at the State Department, who has a habit of making particularly Pyongyang-style declarations of faith in the dear leader, punctuated by what can only be described as cartoon villain laughs. Well, she's at it again - urging journalists questioning Trump's approach to Iran not to "second guess" the President. Trump, she said, is "the most powerful leader in the world right now", adding he "would likely know a little more about the nature of the situation than you, or I." She, chillingly, added: "I think it's important not to second guess the President, and to not speculate and to not presume that what he's doing is not in the process of peace." Speaking of terrifying moments of authoritarianism, Elon Musk has a plan to re-write history. In George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, hero Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite historical documents and newspapers so they match the tyrannical government's constantly changing party line. Fast forward to this morning, Musk vowed on Twitter to use the latest version of AI chatbot Grok to 'rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors.' He said Grok, which X users can access directly within the app, would be 'retrained' based on the 'corrected' data. AI systems are trained on huge sets of data - mostly from publicly available sources like books, newspaper articles and other sources on the internet. ChatGPT, the main competitor for Musk's Grok AI, is estimated to be trained on more than a trillion words of information. Musk's suggestion would be for his next model to be trained not on original historical sources, but on Grok's revisions of them - with the erratic tech billionaire's team stepping in to remove 'errors'. Musk posted: 'Far too much garbage in any foundation model trained on uncorrected data.' As tension between the White House and Europe heats up, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is , select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our . Trump bitterly complained on Truth Social on Friday that Americans have it too easy, and there are too many federal holidays. "Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed," he said on Juneteenth, a national holiday to mark the end of slavery in America. "The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" So presumably he spent Friday with his nose to the grindstone, right? Well, kind of. He flew mid afternoon to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey, where he hosted a MAGA fundraising dinner. Presumably he'll get a round or two in before he returns to the White House this evening. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Musk unveils chilling plan to rewrite history and everyone's saying same thing
Elon Musk unveiled plans to rewrite history using his own AI in a chilling online post that readers compared to George Orwell's 1984. In the classic dystopian novel, hero Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite historical documents and newspapers so they match the tyrannical government's constantly changing party line. Posting on X, Musk vowed to use the latest version of AI system Grok to 'rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors.' He said Grok, which X users can access directly within the app, would be 'retrained' based on the 'corrected' data. AI systems are trained on huge sets of data - mostly from publicly available sources like books, newspaper articles and other sources on the internet. ChatGPT, the main competitor for Musk's Grok AI, is estimated to be trained on more than a trillion words of information. In May, the Grok chatbot started repeatedly mentioning "white genocide" in South Africa in responses to unrelated queries. The bot told users it had been "instructed by my creators" to accept claims of a genocide were "real and racially motivated." Musk's firm says the bot is trained on "publicly available sources" but is designed to have a "rebellious streak and an outside perspective on humanity." Musk's suggestion would be for his next model to be trained not on original historical sources, but on Grok's revisions of them - with the erratic tech billionaire's team stepping in to remove 'errors'. Musk posted: 'Far too much garbage in any foundation model trained on uncorrected data.' The post prompted many readers to respond comparing the plan to 1984. Orwell's 1949 novel paints a nightmarish picture of Britain under an authoritarian dictatorship, drawing on the censorship and propaganda seen in Nazi Germany. In the book, Smith is tasked with revising old newspapers, destroying the original documents by dropping them into the 'memory hole.'
The Hill
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Why are we still talking about Biden's presidency?
On June 4, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the White House Counsel and the Attorney General to investigate former President Biden and his aides to see if they 'abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority.' 'This conspiracy,' the order says, 'marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.' Democratic politics invites citizens and political leaders to leave the past alone, except in extreme cases like genocide or apartheid. It requires victorious parties not to try to rewrite it to suit the fancies and fantasies of the moment. However, Trump seems unable to resist casting his eye backward to denigrate and impugn his predecessor. His memorandum called 'Reviewing Certain Executive Actions' is just the latest example. The president's Joe Biden-focused memorandum comes from the same place as his election-denialism. He wants to discredit everything Biden touched and sweep the last four years into the dustbin of history. Readers of literature may recognize this impulse. George Orwell's classic novel, 1984, offers a startling and imaginative rendition. In that book, Orwell describes a political party bent on securing its power and dominating the society that it ruled. The party creates a Ministry of Truth and charges it to change narratives of the past to suit the whims of the Leader. It seeks, to quote from the book, to create a world where 'nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.' Eerie. Recall the moment in February when Trump passed out 'TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING' hats to members of the press, and his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, intoned the administration's mantra, 'Always say yes to the president.' Another literary classic, Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon, conjured another fictive regime intent on revising the past to suit its purposes. In its version of history, 'The party,' one of Koestler's characters says, 'was always right, even when it was wrong.' Later, he says, 'The liquidation of the past is the precondition for the acceptance of the future.' This seems an apt description of Trump's worldview. As the Organization of American Historians explains, the Trump Administration proposes 'to rewrite history.' That impulse animates last week's presidential memorandum. There, the president asserts that 'For years, President Biden suffered from serious cognitive decline. … Biden's cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even 'worse' in private, and those closest to him 'tried to hide it' from the public.' 'Notwithstanding these well-documented issues,' the memorandum continues, 'the White House issued over 1,200 Presidential documents, appointed 235 judges to the federal bench, and issued more pardons and commutations than any administration in United States history. Although the authority to take these executive actions, along with many others,' it continues, 'is constitutionally committed to the President, there are serious doubts as to the decision-making process and even the degree of Biden's awareness of these actions being taken in his name.' Note the impersonal construction: 'There are serious doubts.' It is left unspecified who is experiencing or entertaining those doubts. It might help, however, to recall Lutnick's admonition to his colleagues in the administration: 'Always say yes to the president.' Driving home its point, the president's memorandum offers this insinuation: 'If his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity … that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden's name.' As I noted in March, when Trump first raised a question about the Biden Administration's use of an autopen, there is nothing to this. The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a 2005 opinion that presidents can validly sign bills by directing subordinates to 'affix the President's signature to it.' That should settle the matter. Biden's judicial appointments, grants of clemency, and other official acts are not going anywhere. But that is not the point of Trump's fixation on Biden and his directive. It is instead another sign of a president hoping to dismantle the legacy that his predecessor left behind, or, if he can't do that, to use his power to tarnish it. The comedian Jon Stewart was on to something last August when he said of Trump's obsession with all things Biden, 'It's all he knows. He misses (Biden) so much … He would give everything for just one more moment with 'crooked Joe.'' Whatever the psychological roots of Trump's Biden fixation are, it does this country a great disservice. It stokes grievance, resentment, and division. It invites the kind of corrosive cynicism and disrespect that makes it hard for partisans to take a breath and agree on a shared version of history. Trump is entitled to conjure conspiracy theories about Biden and his advisors, but Americans would be well advised not to join him. Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College.
