Latest news with #UniversityOfAuckland
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
The new band that wasn't: AI created Velvet Sundown
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. AI generated image Photo: Spotify When Velvet Sundown recently released its new album, it made a rapid rise through the Spotify charts and attracted nearly two million monthly listeners. Not bad for a band that didn't exist before June, and actually, doesn't really exist at all. Spotify has now changed the band's bio to confirm the music's been created using artificial intelligence, while "guided by human creative direction". "It's not a trick" - the bio states - "it's a mirror". So are we through the looking glass when it comes to how our creative content is generated, thanks to AI? Can we trust our ears? And where does it leave the artists whose work it's probably been trained on? Dr Joshua Yuvaraj has been considering this, he's a senior lecturer in the faculty of law at the University of Auckland. He also a co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Intellectual a musician himself.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Lost satellite cost NZ extra $3m because of delays
Artist rendering of MethaneSat. Photo: Supplied / Environmental Defence Fund A satellite that has been lost in space cost taxpayers $32 million, $3m more than originally planned, because of delays. The extra cost was to staff a mission control that will now never be used to drive the satellite. Leading scientists say too few questions were asked before deciding to invest in the mission, and red flags were missed. However New Zealand Space Agency and scientists who worked on the mission say New Zealand has gained valuable experience. The Space Agency, which sits inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), says multiple delays to the satellite's launch meant University of Auckland needed more money to keep employing staff at its mission control centre. The agency says $26m of the total was spent on New Zealand-based organisations. Delays to the launch pushed out the date when the university was meant to take over the mission control. The handover was then delayed another six months when the satellite was handed back to its manufacturer to work on unspecified problems. The handover was finally due to happen in late June, when the satellite was lost. The final cost to the government included $6m to the MethaneSAT organisation for flight software and other items, $12m to Rocket Lab for scoping and establishing the mission control, which it ran for the first year after launch, $6m to the University of Auckland to operate the mission control centre after Rocket Lab handed it over, and $6m to Earth Sciences NZ (formerly NIWA) for a science programme to measure farming's emissions methane from space. The final $2m was for MBIE to manage the programme. Earth Sciences NZ says the agricultural science programme already has a wealth of data and will continue as planned. The lead scientist for MethaneSAT says there's very little chance the satellite will be recovered. The mission is a collaboration with the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. Its chief scientist and MethaneSAT mission lead Dr Steven Hamburg said they did not know what caused the satellite to lose power and become unresponsive on 20 June. "There's a very small chance, we were able to observe it by using another satellite to look at it and it does not currently have power. We are working it, we continue to work it, but we have to be realistic the probability of recovery is diminishing." Hamburg said a group was investigating the cause. RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems" . Hamburg said the MethaneSAT had been transparent, and the Space Agency said the mission had kept people as informed "as possible." However University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther said the space craft carrying the methane detector "seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch." He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly. Associate Professor Nicholas Rattenbury of the Department of Physics at University of Auckland said he sympathised with those involved in the mission, but the question needed to be asked of whether New Zealand should have taken a closer look "under the hood" before investing in MethaneSAT. Dr Rattenbury questioned who was asking questions on behalf of taxpayers about the mission design, satellite construction and testing before the government committed the money. He said the science sector had "very limited resources" to spend. Space Minister Judith Collins has declined to comment on the loss or whether the public had been adequately informed during the mission. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Missing satellite cost NZ extra $3m because of delays
Artist rendering of MethaneSat. Photo: Supplied / Environmental Defence Fund A satellite that has gone missing in space cost taxpayers $32 million, $3m more than originally planned, because of delays. The extra cost was to staff a mission control that will now never be used to drive the satellite. Leading scientists say too few questions were asked before deciding to invest in the mission, and red flags were missed. However New Zealand Space Agency and scientists who worked on the mission say New Zealand has gained valuable experience. The Space Agency, which sits inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), says multiple delays to the satellite's launch meant University of Auckland needed more money to keep employing staff at its mission control centre. The agency says $26m of the total was spent on New Zealand-based organisations. Delays to the launch pushed out the date when the university was meant to take over the mission control. The handover was then delayed another six months when the satellite was handed back to its manufacturer to work on unspecified problems. The handover was finally due to happen in late June, when the satellite was lost. The final cost to the government included $6m to the MethaneSAT organisation for flight software and other items, $12m to Rocket Lab for scoping and establishing the mission control, which it ran for the first year after launch, $6m to the University of Auckland to operate the mission control centre after Rocket Lab handed it over, and $6m to Earth Sciences NZ (formerly NIWA) for a science programme to measure farming's emissions methane from space. The final $2m was for MBIE to manage the programme. Earth Sciences NZ says the agricultural science programme already has a wealth of data and will continue as planned. The lead scientist for MethaneSAT says there's very little chance the satellite will be recovered. The mission is a collaboration with the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. Its chief scientist and MethaneSAT mission lead Dr Steven Hamburg said they did not know what caused the satellite to lose power and become unresponsive on 20 June. "There's a very small chance, we were able to observe it by using another satellite to look at it and it does not currently have power. We are working it, we continue to work it, but we have to be realistic the probability of recovery is diminishing." Hamburg said a group was investigating the cause. RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems" . Hamburg said the MethaneSAT had been transparent, and the Space Agency said the mission had kept people as informed "as possible." However University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther said the space craft carrying the methane detector "seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch." He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly. Associate Professor Nicholas Rattenbury of the Department of Physics at University of Auckland said he sympathised with those involved in the mission, but the question needed to be asked of whether New Zealand should have taken a closer look "under the hood" before investing in MethaneSAT. Dr Rattenbury questioned who was asking questions on behalf of taxpayers about the mission design, satellite construction and testing before the government committed the money. He said the science sector had "very limited resources" to spend. Space Minister Judith Collins has declined to comment on the loss or whether the public had been adequately informed during the mission.
Times of Oman
02-07-2025
- Health
- Times of Oman
Higher Education Ministry signs cooperation agreements with New Zealand Universities
Wellington: The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, represented by its Cultural Attaché in Australia, has signed two cooperation agreements with New Zealand's University of Otago and University of Auckland to support Omani students wishing to pursue studies in healthcare specialisations. The first agreement with the University of Otago aims to enhance academic cooperation through the exchange of expertise and facilitate admission procedures for Omani students in health and medical programs. The agreement stipulates the allocation of 20 seats annually for scholarship students, provided they meet the academic admission requirements, contributing to raising the efficiency of academic qualification according to the highest international standards. The second agreement with the University of Auckland focuses on supporting Omani students in the Bachelor of Human Medicine programme. Under this agreement, the Ministry will annually provide the university with a list of nominated students, while the university will allocate 5 study seats each year for qualified students who meet admission criteria. Dr. Hamad Khalfan Al Nu'amani, Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in Australia, stated that New Zealand universities rank among the world's best in medical and health education, offering diverse academic programs and continuously updating curricula to align with the healthcare sector's evolving requirements and challenges. He noted that the outstanding performance of Omani graduates from New Zealand universities across various health specializations reflects the quality of education and the completeness of the academic experience. These signings come as part of the Ministry's series of initiatives to strengthen international partnerships and provide quality educational opportunities for Omani students, in line with national development aspirations and enhancing human resource readiness in vital sectors.
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Measuring human progress in a positive way
life and society 16 minutes ago The University of Auckland's Professor Krushil Watene wants to shift the dial on how we measure progress, She says a Nature Relationship Index could concentrate on how well countries care for eco-systems, equitable access to nature and preventing environmental harm. She tells Jesse why it's time to reward positive action, rather than just recording decline.
