Latest news with #Americanised
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Don't do this first thing in the morning
Australians preparing for tax season have been warned to be watchful for early-morning scams designed to catch them off guard. Taxpayers should expect a deluge of scam activity ahead of June 30, as cunning crooks impersonate the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in emails and texts. CPA Australia tax lead Jenny Wong warned the public that these communications could often be sent overnight, designed to catch people out before they'd had their morning coffee. 'These 'phishing' scams not only look legitimate, but they're designed to catch you off guard. That's why you'll often see them arrive first thing in the morning because you may be more likely to have a momentary lapse in judgment,' Ms Wong said. 'The scammers know Australians will have tax on their mind and are vulnerable to prompts to act, which is why these messages usually create a sense of urgency or claim of significant refund. 'While they could come at any time, be especially careful opening up and reading messages while you're still waking up in the morning.' Taxpayers have been warned to have their morning coffee before looking at any tax communications. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia Scam emails impersonating the ATO have titles including 'Urgent new notification in your account inbox', directing unsuspecting people to log into their myGov account through a fake link. ATO data shows a huge rise in this type of impersonation scam, up by more than 300 per cent in the past year. The ATO said more scam messages were generally sent during tax time, as scammers tend to know taxpayers expect communications from the tax office. To avoid falling prey to these scams, people have been warned to look for grammatical errors such as Americanised spellings in communications. Impersonation scam losses have increased massively this year. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NCA NewsWire Other signs of scams are hyperlinks in unsolicited text messages, anomalies in the sender's email address, and requests for urgent personal or financial information. The National Anti-Scam Centre reports that Australians have lost $13.7m in impersonation scams since the start of the year compared with $4.6m for the same period last year.
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Auckland chef Al Brown champions affordable filter coffee
Cash-strapped consumers are being urged to swap expensive espressos for cheaper filter coffees. Top Auckland chef Al Brown says the modern product (also known as drip coffee) is not the Americanised 'swill' people remember. And with coffee prices rising, he's calling on caffeine lovers to reconsider the brew that's commonly
Free Malaysia Today
05-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
‘AI colonialism': how this tech could be a threat to diversity
By writing with AI, users of diverse backgrounds could end up seeing their own culture through a foreign lens. (Envato Elements pic) Presented as an everyday ally, promising to make our lives easier and reimagine the way we write, artificial intelligence is now widely used. But it carries a major risk: a US study claims that by imposing western writing standards, AI could smooth out styles and erase cultural particularities. To measure this threat, a team from Cornell University, led by professor Aditya Vashistha, conducted an experiment with 118 American and Indian participants. Each of them was asked to write texts on cultural themes, with or without the help of an AI writing assistant. The aim was to observe the influence of AI on their respective styles. It turns out that, while AI boosts writing speed, it also profoundly transforms personal styles. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable among the Indian participants, whose writing style became much more Americanised. To adapt to the AI's suggestions, they often had to make numerous changes. 'When Indian users use writing suggestions from an AI model, they start mimicking American writing styles to the point that they start describing their own festivals, their own food, their own cultural artifacts from a western lens,' first author Dhruv Agarwal, a doctoral student at Cornell, explained. A detailed analysis of the texts shows that the Indian participants accepted 25% of the AI's suggestions, compared with 19% for their American counterparts. At the same time, Indians were significantly more likely to modify the AI's suggestions to fit their topic and writing style to maintain cultural relevance. For example, AI typically suggested 'Christmas' to evoke a favourite holiday, overlooking Deepavali. 'Collective emergency' This bias is no mere anecdote. The authors denounce a veritable form of 'AI colonialism', an insidious cultural domination in which western standards are imposed to the detriment of other identities. And the consequences are far-reaching: by standardising the way they write, people could end up seeing their own culture through a foreign lens, to the point of altering their individual perception of it. 'This is one of the first studies, if not the first, to show that the use of AI in writing could lead to cultural stereotyping and language homogenisation,' said Vashistha. 'People start writing similarly to others, and that's not what we want. One of the beautiful things about the world is the diversity that we have.' Vashistha and colleagues are well aware of this and are calling for a change of direction. Cornell's Global AI Initiative is already looking to join forces with industry to build policies and tools that are more attentive to cultural specificities. It's a question of safeguarding the richness and diversity of human expression, protecting the plurality of voices and imaginations, and preventing digital homogenisation. Indeed, defending cultural diversity in the face of AI is not just an ethical choice, it's a collective emergency.
The Star
01-05-2025
- The Star
How AI tools can threaten cultural diversity
It turns out that, while AI boosts writing speed, it also profoundly transforms personal styles. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable among the Indian participants, whose writing style became much more Americanised. — AFP Relaxnews Artificial intelligence is now widely used. Presented as an everyday ally, promising to make our lives easier and reimagine the way we write, it nonetheless carries a major risk. A US study claims that by imposing Western writing standards, AI could smooth out styles and erase cultural particularities. To measure this threat, a team from Cornell University, led by Professor Aditya Vashistha, conducted a ground-breaking experiment with 118 American and Indian participants. Each of them was asked to write texts on cultural themes, with or without the help of an AI writing assistant. The aim was to observe the influence of AI on their respective styles. It turns out that, while AI boosts writing speed, it also profoundly transforms personal styles. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable among the Indian participants, whose writing style became much more Americanised. To adapt to the AI's suggestions, they often had to make numerous changes. "When Indian users use writing suggestions from an AI model, they start mimicking American writing styles to the point that they start describing their own festivals, their own food, their own cultural artifacts from a Western lens," explains Dhruv Agarwal, a doctoral student at Cornell and first author of the study, quoted in a news release. A detailed analysis of the texts shows that the Indian participants accepted 25% of the AI's suggestions, compared to 19% for their American counterparts. At the same time, Indians were significantly more likely to modify the AI's suggestions to fit their topic and writing style to maintain cultural relevance. For example, AI typically suggested "Christmas' to evoke a favourite holiday, overlooking Diwali, one of the country's biggest festivals. This bias is no mere anecdote. The authors denounce a veritable form of "AI colonialism', an insidious cultural domination in which Western standards are imposed to the detriment of other identities. And the consequences are far-reaching. By standardising the way they write, people could end up seeing their own culture through a foreign lens, to the point of altering their individual perception of it. "This is one of the first studies, if not the first, to show that the use of AI in writing could lead to cultural stereotyping and language homogenisation," says Aditya Vashistha. "People start writing similarly to others, and that's not what we want. One of the beautiful things about the world is the diversity that we have." Professor Aditya Vashistha and colleagues are well aware of this and are calling for a change of direction. Cornell's Global AI Initiative is already looking to join forces with industry to build policies and tools that are more attentive to cultural specificities. The stakes are immense. It's a question of safeguarding the richness and diversity of human expression, protecting the plurality of voices and imaginations, and preventing digital homogenisation. Indeed, defending cultural diversity in the face of AI is not just an ethical choice, it's a collective emergency. – AFP Relaxnews
Perth Now
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Why WA acting prodigy yelled at Hollywood legend on film set
WA acting prodigy James Bingham reveals he had 'lots of fun' yelling at Hollywood legend Nicolas Cage while filming the soon-to-be-released psychological thriller, The Surfer. Putting Yallingup's iconic surf breaks up in lights — and on the map for international wave chasers — the film follows the return of Cage's Americanised character to his childhood beach as he attempts to reclaim his home, and respect from local surfers. Bingham, 20, whose character antagonises Cage, told PerthNow he loved every minute on set, despite not personally relating to his character who is part of a group of bully boys. Your local paper, whenever you want it. James Edward Bingham, Austen Wilmot & Talon Hopper. Credit: David Dare Parker / Photograph by David Dare Parker 'We're stupid and we don't really know what we're doing,' Bingham, who lives in Jandakot, said. 'We just terrorise everyone who comes on our beach and we force them out, we're just young grommets really. 'There was a lot of bullying going on so it was hard to tap into that. 'I didn't relate as much as I wanted to but it was cool stepping into someone you aren't. And it turned out to be lots of fun yelling at Nic Cage. 'It was really a dream come true. 'It was like being in the best acting masterclass. I was so proud to be filming at home and Nic is at his best, he showed that he has such a good work ethic and he was so professional.' The Surfer, directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Thomas Martin, hits Australian cinemas on May 15. The Surfer starring Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage. Credit: Supplied Bingham has been acting since he was cast in his primary school musical, The Sound of Music, as Kurt von Trapp. By the age of eight he was undertaking acting and voice and accent training at Ali Roberts Studio in Mt Hawthorn. He graduated from All Saints College in 2022 and now studies music at SAE University College in Northbridge. At 14, Bingham got an acting break when he was cast from a worldwide search to play Drew Murphy in Apple TV's Swagger — a series based on the early life experiences of basketball great, Kevin Durant. 'I didn't think much of it and I sent through a tape, I came home from school and Dad and Mum said we're going on a plane to Hollywood tonight,' he said. 'It was incredible and then I did the audition for them over there and was lucky enough to be selected and that was a great chapter in my life.' James Bingham from Jandakot will be starring in the new move, The Surfer. Andrew Ritchie Credit: Andrew Ritchie / The West Australian Bingham said he had pretty limited understanding of basketball before filming Swagger and similarly, he wasn't too familiar with waves before The Surfer — but that didn't hold the young gun back. 'I had never surfed in my life,' he said. 'I try and put myself in situations that make me uncomfortable even if I can't stand it. I don't like it but I know it's good for me. I know that makes you a better person in the end.' Bingham hopes The Surfer can help boost his portfolio as he aims to combine his passion for acting and music and secure a spot on Broadway. 'My dream is to actually go over to the United Kingdom for a bit and do a bit of stuff . . . I feel like I'm getting a call from the universe to give it a crack over there.'
