Latest news with #Strang
Otago Daily Times
03-08-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
$20k scholarship helps UC student study 'mischevious and cheeky' penguins
A love of sea life has inspired deeper conservation research for Alexandra Strang. The 24-year-old Canterbury University PhD student hopes to find out what the population of adélie penguins is in the Antarctic Ross Sea region. Adélie penguins are an indicator species, which means their well-being can represent the overall biodiversity and environmental health of an area. Using satellite imagery, Strang will monitor penguin colonies with the aim of getting an accurate population estimate – and discover whether it is trending up or down. 'When I started Antarctic studies I thought I'd end up in some type of field conservation job. I didn't know much about research or data but I had a passion for marine biology and it's just developed from there,' she said. Strang has received a $20,000 doctoral scholarship, which will enable her to use images from commercial satellites to monitor the population. She will also stay with an American conservation research team at the Ross Sea from October to February, where she will monitor how well penguins' chicks are doing as part of her broader studies. 'It will be really cool to see the penguins in their natural environment. They're a bit mischievous and cheeky and also a bit clumsy sometimes,' said Strang. About a third of the global adélie penguin population lives in the Ross Sea. While monitoring of adélie penguins was extensive from the 1980s to 2000s, recent changes have prompted a desire for a new population estimate. Declines in sea ice and the establishment of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area in 2016 make it timely to examine penguin population trends in the region. Strang will study population change across 15 colonies through satellite images from 2009 to 2023. Then she will see if there is a link to environmental change, with the aim of predicting future population trends based on observed changes. Strang also wants to help enhance the precision of high-resolution satellite imagery even further by providing feedback for satellite operators. This could help make future monitoring of penguin populations more accurate.
Politico
31-07-2025
- Business
- Politico
GOP group launches $6 million plan to defend megabill
The conservative group Americans for Prosperity is launching a $6 million campaign to support messaging in support of the megabill, including digital and TV ad buys, touting some of the bill's popular provisions. AFP's plans, shared first with POLITICO, includes a new 30-second spot that touts 'growing our economy' and 'keeping our country safe,' as well as events with lawmakers across the country over August recess, the group said. Putting money behind the effort to defend the megabill, already a top target of Democrats ahead of the midterms, will help 'make sure this good policy is also good politically for the lawmakers who supported it,' AFP Managing Director Kent Strang said in a statement. The August recess will be key for Republican members as they go back to their districts to sell the bill. A recent memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee provided members with talking points on the bill, telling them 'the best defense is a good offense.' 'We're already seeing some opponents spread misinformation for their own political gain,' Strang said. 'That's why it's so important to go keep our foot on the gas to highlight the bill's success.'
Otago Daily Times
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Quality field set to line up for Barry Robinson Memorial Wyndham Rally
In 2023, the Eastern Southland Car Club resurrected the Wyndham Rally, an event they had previously organised from 1977 to 1998. In doing so, the club paid tribute to South Island rally great Barry Robinson, who died in March 2022. Robinson was a popular competitor who led the 1983 New Zealand Rally Championship into the final round only to suffer an engine failure which cost him the title and left him the championship runner-up. Robinson farmed in the Mokoreta area near Wyndham during the height of his rallying career and had plenty of success in rallies. A quality field will descend on Wyndham for this year's event. The 2023 winners, Andrew and Hayden Graves, of Gore, in their Mitsubishi EVO 3, are the top seeds. The duo did not compete here last year, instead concentrating their efforts on the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) in which Andrew won the drivers' title and son Hayden the co-driver championship. The second seed is the driver second in the NZRC, Robbie Stokes, of Waikuku, in the Ford Fiesta used by Gore driver Derek Ayson the past two years. Stokes is fresh from his fever NZRC round win at Canterbury recently and is coming south looking for points to assist his challenge for the Mainland Rally Series which he leads. He will have his sister, Amy, co-driving in this event. Caleb Macdonald, of Queenstown, and co-driver Larisa Biggar, of Australia, are the third seeds in an EVO 6. Macdonald finished third in 2023 and was very much in contention last year until a tyre came off the bead in the fourth special stage. He is third in the Mainland Series and leading the NZRC. Carter Strang, of Wallacetown, runner-up in this event for the past two years, starts behind him at four with Catriona Flynn alongside. Strang charged home last year taking 8.1sec out of winner Mark McMillan's lead on the final stage. Strang thoroughly enjoyed last year's event. "They are magic roads and it is so laid-back. I was touch and go in that last stage though." Strang finished second in last year's NZRC and was rookie of the year while Flynn was runner-up in the championship co-driver standings. There are two Australians in the rally — Richard Galley and Peter Leicht — and entries from all over New Zealand including from as far north as Ruakākā. The rally is based around the township of Wyndham, 45km east of Invercargill and 25km south of Gore. It will start at the MLT Three Rivers Hotel in Redan St, Wyndham at 9am on Saturday. The first special stage is Jesco Hydraulics Tuturau over 21.15km. Challenge Marshalls Garage Wyndham Valley, over 17.49km, is the second stage before the 28.12km Derek Ayson-PGG Wrightson Real Estate Waikawa Valley stage. Stage 4, the Marshall's Excavating-Pine Bush stage over 25.99km is followed by a new stage, the 13.95km Advance Agriculture Graham Rd, before the final 30.45km iHire 0800 24 7 Rent Fortification stage. The first car is expected to cross the finish line back at the MLT Three Rivers Hotel in Wyndham just before 3.30pm. During the day there will be three service parks — the first in Wyndham after stage 1 and two in Tokanui, about 44km from Wyndham, the first after stage 3 and then again after stage 5. The winning crew will be awarded the Barry Robinson Memorial Trophy. The rally is round 4 of the Mainland Rally Championship, round 4 of the H6 Cup and also carries points towards the Eastern Southland Car Club Rally Championship. Sponsors this year include Traffic Management Services and Yuasa Batteries with support from the Southland District Council, Gore District Council and the landowners on the rally route. By Lindsay Beer
Scottish Sun
10-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
How innocent people could be jailed because of sinister AI bot ChatGPT… and leave dangerous criminals walking free
ROBOCOP How innocent people could be jailed because of sinister AI bot ChatGPT… and leave dangerous criminals walking free Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JURORS could secretly be using ChatGPT to decide crunch verdicts, top US lawyers fear. Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, who starred in Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, warned it could see innocent people convicted - or let criminals off the hook. 4 Top lawyers have warned how ChatGPT could be being used to decide verdicts Credit: Reuters 4 Jerry Buting and Dean Strang, who were Steven Avery's defence lawyers The lawyers, who defended Steven Avery on the hit show, insisted it is vital jurors are stopped from accessing the AI tool during trials. Strang said jurors could be tempted to use ChatGPT as a 'sounding board' if they are uncertain about a defendant. But he stressed it could have "disastrous" consequences as jurors could get skewed answers that force a mistrial or bring them to the wrong decision. Strang, who has worked in criminal defence for more than 30 years, told The Sun: 'Jurors should be banned from using ChatGPT. More on AI TRUTH TWISTING AI could jail innocent people with fake CCTV, Making a Murderer lawyer says 'I can't prove this and I'm not a computer engineer, but my sense is that AI, in part, is assessing what it thinks we want to hear and tailoring answers to its perception of what our human wishes and purposes are. 'That would be disastrous in a jury room, to the extent that AI decides the juror is inclined to a conviction. 'You're going to get a skewed answer. To the extent AI perceives the jurors are inclined to acquittal or if AI develops its own will, which I read is at least possible, kind of developing a consciousness. 'Either way, you're getting a skew and neither skew is good, and you're substituting out what you hope is human judgment, a human assessment of what's happening in the courtroom, credibility determinations.' Asked if he fears jurors are already using the tool, or soon will, Strang answered: 'Yes. 'Some never would, and I fear that some would be tempted to or use it as a sounding board, use it as an advisor. China's new cheap AI DeepSeek sparks ALARM as it outperforms West's models like ChatGPT amid race to superintelligence 'Even if the juror says I'm going to make the decision, but I'm getting advice from AI, that's going to be advice that's probably hard to ignore.' Strang and Buting defended Avery in the 2015 documentary, which claimed Avery had been framed for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Avery has been behind bars for the crime since 2007. Before that, he spent 18 years in jail for a rape and attempted murder he was later found innocent of. Strang and Buting continue to maintain his innocence, as does Avery himself. Now, Buting fears even more alleged miscarriages of justice through the use of ChatGPT. Buting, author of Illusion of Justice, told The Sun: 'I've seen people online take situations like the Steven Avery case or the Karen Reed case, a second trial going on right now because the jury was hung, try and use GPT by putting in the facts as they know them. 'Then they ask ChatGPT whether the person is guilty or innocent and they come up with an answer. 'It's bulls*** basically, because it depends on what you put in as the facts. What are the arguments against AI? Artificial intelligence is a highly contested issue, and it seems everyone has a stance on it. Here are some common arguments against it: Loss of jobs - Some industry experts argue that AI will create new niches in the job market, and as some roles are eliminated, others will appear. However, many artists and writers insist the argument is ethical, as generative AI tools are being trained on their work and wouldn't function otherwise. Ethics - When AI is trained on a dataset, much of the content is taken from the internet. This is almost always, if not exclusively, done without notifying the people whose work is being taken. Privacy - Content from personal social media accounts may be fed to language models to train them. Concerns have cropped up as Meta unveils its AI assistants across platforms like Facebook and Instagram. There have been legal challenges to this: in 2016, legislation was created to protect personal data in the EU, and similar laws are in the works in the United States. Misinformation - As AI tools pull information from the internet, they may take things out of context or suffer hallucinations that produce nonsensical answers. Tools like Copilot on Bing and Google's generative AI in search are always at risk of getting things wrong. Some critics argue this could have lethal effects - such as AI prescribing the wrong health information. 'This would be the problem with jurors doing it because jurors listen to the evidence. "If they go back in there and they can't really resolve something themselves, well then that's probably reasonable doubt in most cases. 'But if they say, well, we can't resolve this, you think this and I think that and there's a dispute, let's put it into ChatGPT and see what it says, and then it comes up with an answer, then somebody may be swayed by that. 'AI, at least in its current iteration, has built in biases because of the algorithms.' Buting previously told The Sun he fears AI could destroy the entire justice system by sending innocent people to jail with fake CCTV. ChatGPT exploded onto the scene in 2022 and has since become an essential tool for individuals and businesses worldwide. Buting said: 'We don't know at this point exactly how it's filtering, how it's learning. 'The idea is that it learns from more fact situations presented over and over, but what fact situations, what trials, for instance, is it looking at? 4 Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in 2007 Credit: AP:Associated Press 4 Jerry Buting argued to jurors that Steven Avery had been framed in Making a Murderer Credit: NETFLIX 'Are there already ones where there has been a built-in bias? Because there is a lot of bias in America's legal system. Bias against minorities in particular. 'So are they kind of underrepresented in the algorithm, machine learning that is happening with AI? A lot of people wonder about that. 'I just know I've seen people use ChatGPT. I can use it and put in facts, and leave out facts that I want to, and it'll come up with an answer probably that I want. 'So I think there's a real problem.' When The Sun asked ChatGPT if Avery was guilty, the response was: "Legally: Steven Avery is guilty, he was convicted and remains in prison. What does the law say? UNDER UK law, judges are allowed to use ChatGPT to assist them when making rulings. AI assistance was given the green light by a landmark ruling in 2023. Guidelines from the Judicial Office sent to thousands of judges across England and Wales said that the tech can be useful for summarising large volumes of text or carrying out administrative tasks. However, it cautions that chatbots should relied upon for researching legal frameworks, because there is a risk it will fabricate cases or legal documents. The guidelines also warn that generative AI technology could be used to create false evidence - such as deepfake pictures or videos. The US is currently grappling with the integration of AI in its legal proceedings. Spearheading progress is the Illinois Supreme Court, which issued guidance on the use of AI by judges and lawyers in December 2024. The document encouraged the responsible and supervised use of AI, and suggested that the use of chatbots in drafting pleadings need not be declared. Its tone is generally pro-AI, and emphasises that existing legal and ethical guidance can be applied. In early May 2025, a federal judicial panel advanced a proposal to seek the public's feedback on a draft rule designed to ensure AI-produced evidence meets the same standards as human evidence. 'Public opinion and expert debate: Divided. Many believe he may have been wrongfully convicted again, especially given the suspicious handling of evidence. 'No definitive proof of innocence or of a frame-up has yet convinced the courts.' It comes as fears continue to be raised about its threat to jobs, and the dangers of the software outsmarting humans. Many experts have also warned of the security dangers of advanced AI – and how cyber-crooks could abuse them to scam innocent victims. The Sun has approached ChatGPT for a response.
The Irish Sun
10-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
How innocent people could be jailed because of sinister AI bot ChatGPT… and leave dangerous criminals walking free
JURORS could secretly be using ChatGPT to decide crunch verdicts, top US lawyers fear. Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, who starred in Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, warned it could see innocent people convicted - or let criminals off the hook. 4 Top lawyers have warned how ChatGPT could be being used to decide verdicts Credit: Reuters 4 Jerry Buting and Dean Strang, who were Steven Avery's defence lawyers The lawyers, who defended Steven Avery on the hit show, insisted it is vital jurors are stopped from accessing the AI tool during trials. Strang said jurors could be tempted to use ChatGPT as a 'sounding board' if they are uncertain about a defendant. But he stressed it could have "disastrous" consequences as jurors could get skewed answers that force a mistrial or bring them to the wrong decision. Strang, who has worked in criminal defence for more than 30 years, told The Sun: 'Jurors should be banned from using ChatGPT. More on AI 'I can't prove this and I'm not a computer engineer, but my sense is that AI, in part, is assessing what it thinks we want to hear and tailoring answers to its perception of what our human wishes and purposes are. 'That would be disastrous in a jury room, to the extent that AI decides the juror is inclined to a conviction. 'You're going to get a skewed answer. To the extent AI perceives the jurors are inclined to acquittal or if AI develops its own will, which I read is at least possible, kind of developing a consciousness. 'Either way, you're getting a skew and neither skew is good, and you're substituting out what you hope is human judgment, a human assessment of what's happening in the courtroom, credibility determinations.' Most read in Tech Asked if he fears jurors are already using the tool, or soon will, Strang answered: 'Yes. 'Some never would, and I fear that some would be tempted to or use it as a sounding board, use it as an advisor. China's new cheap AI DeepSeek sparks ALARM as it outperforms West's models like ChatGPT amid race to superintelligence 'Even if the juror says I'm going to make the decision, but I'm getting advice from AI, that's going to be advice that's probably hard to ignore.' Strang and Buting defended Avery in the 2015 documentary, which claimed Avery had been framed for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Avery has been behind bars for the crime since 2007. Before that, he spent 18 years in jail for a rape and attempted murder he was later found innocent of. Strang and Buting continue to maintain his innocence, as does Avery himself. Now, Buting fears even more alleged miscarriages of justice through the use of ChatGPT. Buting, author of Illusion of Justice, told The Sun: 'I've seen people online take situations like the Steven Avery case or the Karen Reed case, a second trial going on right now because the jury was hung, try and use GPT by putting in the facts as they know them. 'Then they ask ChatGPT whether the person is guilty or innocent and they come up with an answer. 'It's bulls*** basically, because it depends on what you put in as the facts. What are the arguments against AI? Artificial intelligence is a highly contested issue, and it seems everyone has a stance on it. Here are some common arguments against it: Loss of jobs - Some industry experts argue that AI will create new niches in the job market, and as some roles are eliminated, others will appear. However, many artists and writers insist the argument is ethical, as generative AI tools are being trained on their work and wouldn't function otherwise. Ethics - When AI is trained on a dataset, much of the content is taken from the internet. This is almost always, if not exclusively, done without notifying the people whose work is being taken. Privacy - Content from personal social media accounts may be fed to language models to train them. Concerns have cropped up as Meta unveils its AI assistants across platforms like Facebook and Instagram. There have been legal challenges to this: in 2016, legislation was created to protect personal data in the EU, and similar laws are in the works in the United States. Misinformation - As AI tools pull information from the internet, they may take things out of context or suffer hallucinations that produce nonsensical answers. Tools like Copilot on Bing and Google's generative AI in search are always at risk of getting things wrong. Some critics argue this could have lethal effects - such as AI prescribing the wrong health information. 'This would be the problem with jurors doing it because jurors listen to the evidence. "If they go back in there and they can't really resolve something themselves, well then that's probably reasonable doubt in most cases. 'But if they say, well, we can't resolve this, you think this and I think that and there's a dispute, let's put it into ChatGPT and see what it says, and then it comes up with an answer, then somebody may be swayed by that. 'AI, at least in its current iteration, has built in biases because of the algorithms.' Buting previously told The Sun he ChatGPT exploded onto the scene in 2022 and has since become an essential tool for individuals and businesses worldwide. Buting said: 'We don't know at this point exactly how it's filtering, how it's learning. 'The idea is that it learns from more fact situations presented over and over, but what fact situations, what trials, for instance, is it looking at? 4 Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in 2007 Credit: AP:Associated Press 4 Jerry Buting argued to jurors that Steven Avery had been framed in Making a Murderer Credit: NETFLIX 'Are there already ones where there has been a built-in bias? Because there is a lot of bias in America's legal system. Bias against minorities in particular. 'So are they kind of underrepresented in the algorithm, machine learning that is happening with AI? A lot of people wonder about that. 'I just know I've seen people use ChatGPT. I can use it and put in facts, and leave out facts that I want to, and it'll come up with an answer probably that I want. 'So I think there's a real problem.' When The Sun asked ChatGPT if Avery was guilty, the response was: "Legally: Steven Avery is guilty, he was convicted and remains in prison. What does the law say? UNDER UK law, judges are allowed to use ChatGPT to assist them when making rulings. AI assistance was given the green light by a landmark ruling in 2023. Guidelines from the Judicial Office sent to thousands of judges across England and Wales said that the tech can be useful for summarising large volumes of text or carrying out administrative tasks. However, it cautions that chatbots should relied upon for researching legal frameworks, because there is a risk it will fabricate cases or legal documents. The guidelines also warn that generative AI technology could be used to create false evidence - such as deepfake pictures or videos. The US is currently grappling with the integration of AI in its legal proceedings. Spearheading progress is the Illinois Supreme Court, which issued guidance on the use of AI by judges and lawyers in December 2024. The document encouraged the responsible and supervised use of AI, and suggested that the use of chatbots in drafting pleadings need not be declared. Its tone is generally pro-AI, and emphasises that existing legal and ethical guidance can be applied. In early May 2025, a federal judicial panel advanced a proposal to seek the public's feedback on a draft rule designed to ensure AI-produced evidence meets the same standards as human evidence. 'Public opinion and expert debate: Divided. Many believe he may have been wrongfully convicted again, especially given the suspicious handling of evidence. 'No definitive proof of innocence or of a frame-up has yet convinced the courts.' It comes as fears continue to be raised about its threat to jobs, and the dangers of the software outsmarting humans. Many experts have also warned of the security dangers of advanced AI – and how cyber-crooks could abuse them to The Sun has approached ChatGPT for a response. Who is Steven Avery? STEVEN Avery is serving a life sentence at Wisconsin's Waupun Correctional Institution. He and his nephew He has been fighting for his freedom ever since he was found guilty of murder in 2007. Avery argued that his conviction was based on planted evidence and false testimony. In 1985, It took 18 years for his conviction to be overturned and he was given a $36million (£28.2million) payout in compensation. But days later, he was re-arrested for the murder of The 62-year-old is continuing serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the 2015 Netflix original series Making a Murderer, Avery documented his struggle for "justice." In the last episode of the series, viewers were told that Avery had exhausted his appeals and was no longer entitled to state-appointed legal representation.
