☕️ Antarctica risks "irreversible changes"

We hear a lot about how AI could take jobs away, but here’s a different spin on things - according to a U.S. study from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, about 25% of Gen Z say they followed ChatGPT’s career advice and are glad they did (of the group, only 3% say they regret it).

I’m curious - I want to know your thoughts on this. Let me know by voting in the poll here.

“The [North-South] relations desired by them will never come back… Anyone in [South] Korea is the top-class faithful dog of the United States.”
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in official comments made while South Korea is holding military drills with the U.S.

817.5 mm
How much rain was recorded in part of Mumbai this week. For comparison, Sydney’s main weather station recorded 148mm from Monday to Thursday night.

A social media video of a couple announcing their breakup has sparked widespread commentary. Influencers Matt Armato and Beau Ciolino were together for 12 years, and were creating content as a couple for 10. They shared a since-deleted video announcing their breakup on social media earlier this week, which included who will get custody of their various accounts. One user commented: “The way you can tell who broke up with who and I didn’t know anything about them until today”. All we can say is ouch…

Antarctica’s ocean and ecosystems are at risk of “abrupt and irreversible changes” if global greenhouse gas emissions are not lowered.

A new Australian-led study has found changes in Antarctica’s climate – including the loss of sea ice and species – will continue to "worsen with every fraction of a degree of global warming.”

Researchers say changes to Antarctica’s environment will form “climate ripple effects,” impacting global sea levels.

Greenhouse gas emissions are released when fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil are burned, and from agriculture. 

A study led by ANU researchers has found Increases in these emissions have contributed to “large and abrupt changes” in Antarctica’s ocean and ecosystems.

While most countries have signed the Paris Agreement, a commitment to stop global average temperatures from warming more than 1.5°C above 18th century levels, lead researcher Dr Nerilie Abram said “existing efforts alone… won’t be enough to protect ecosystems.”

Antarctica is losing its sea ice, which  floats on the ocean, regulating its temperature. 

It also puts emperor penguins at risk of becoming extinct, because they breed their chicks on sea ice. 

The team of scientists said they had already seen the “loss of entire colonies of chicks.” 

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet,a large area of ice covering the region, is also at risk of collapsing. If this happens, it would make sea levels rise by three metres and “threaten the world’s coastal cities and communities.”

Researchers said ice shelves (slabs of ice attached to land) and ice sheets (large flat surfaces of ice above the ocean) will be destroyed if temperatures continue to rise. This would also raise sea levels and impact species’ habitats. 

The researchers warned changes to Antarctica’s ecosystem could have “severe” impacts on Australia’s climate. 

Co-lead researcher, UNSW Professor Matthew England, said climate impacts will create “a warmer and deoxygenated Southern Ocean” that is “less able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere”. 

This means Australia could be subject to “intense warming”. 

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

This week, a lawyer in Western Australia was ordered to pay more than $8,300 after they were found to have used AI to prepare court documents.

The documents contained citations for non-existent cases.

It follows a Victorian Supreme Court murder case in which lawyers submitted misleading, AI-generated material to the court.

Since 2023, there have been at least 20 cases of false, AI-generated submissions in Australia’s courts.

Here’s how the use of generative AI is impacting Australia’s court system.

According to a 2024 report from legal research company Thomson Reuters, nearly a third of Australian legal professionals use generative AI tools to assist with tasks like drafting emails, letters, and contracts.

A recurring problem is that language models can produce cases, judgments, or quotes that seem real, but are entirely fake.

French researcher Damien Charlotin has recorded 307 incidents of fake, AI-generated content being submitted in court since May 2023, most of them in the U.S.

UNSW legal expert Professor Michael Legg told TDA that problems emerge when people use AI models for research without verifying results.

“I think we’re still going to see more cases coming out,” he said.

 Professional bodies have warned against over-dependance on AI.

The NSW Bar Association advises lawyers to “verify the accuracy, reliability, and currency of AI-generated information... before relying on it”.

Victoria: Defence lawyers apologised to the Supreme Court last week, after they filed documents that included fake quotes and non-existent case judgments generated by AI.

The documents were initially submitted in the trial of a teen boy who was found not guilty of the 2023 murder of a 41-year-old woman. Once the errors were discovered, the documents were re-filed.

Presiding Justice James Elliott said: “It is not acceptable for AI to be used unless the product of that use is independently and thoroughly verified.”

WA: A lawyer was referred to the state’s Legal Practice Board, and ordered to pay costs, after his submissions in an immigration case were found to include four citations to cases that did not exist.

The lawyer said he used Claude AI as a research tool, and then “validated” the submissions using Microsoft’s Copilot.

“I had an incorrect assumption that content generated by AI... would be inherently reliable,” he told the court.

Justice Arran Gerrard said the incident “demonstrates the inherent dangers [of] solely relying on the use of artificial intelligence in the preparation of court documents.”

Each state’s courts set their own rules on AI use. So far, these include:

According to Charlotin’s database, more than two-thirds of the Australian cases involving fake AI-generated content were from people representing themselves in court.

A Thomson Reuters report found the “unauthorised practice of law” (where non-lawyers use AI in place of real legal representation) is widely seen as the biggest risk AI poses to the legal profession.

The tasks completed by generative AI in a legal setting are often undertaken by paralegals and junior lawyers.

Data provided to TDA by job search platform GradConnection showed the number of law graduate roles advertised is down 6.1% from pre-COVID levels.

Legg said he doesn’t expect AI to “completely replace people,” but there may be less of a need for junior roles.

However, he said humans are still needed to check AI and to interact with clients, which could mean future law grads need different skill-sets.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

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🍊 Izak Rankine’s suspension has been handed down.
🍊 The Women’s Rugby World Cup is about to kick off.
🍊 A South African spinner has been flagged for his bowling action.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: rugby union, soccer, and more…

Spectral bats, also known as “false vampire bats”, are found in parts of Central and South America. They’re the largest meat eating bats in the world, but little is known about their habits. Now, researchers in Costa Rica have discovered these bats are much more social that previously thought. A motion-detection camera observed the bats in their natural habitat, where they could be seen playing together, seemingly enjoying each others company, and even hugging. The images also show parents feeding their young, in a technique scientists believe the bats use to transition their babies’ diets from from milk to meat.

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Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

U.S. supermarket giant Walmart has re-called frozen shrimp because of radioactive contamination. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the contamination came from a shipping container exposed to radioactive material.

Specifically, the shrimp’s container was exposed to Cesium-137, typically used in medical devices. 

So far, no contaminated shrimp products were given to customers, though the FDA is urging people to return any products they have as they “pose a safety concern.”

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

The evidence tampering trial of an Australian reality TV star is currently underway in Darwin's Supreme Court. Matt Wright has been accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice following a 2022 helicopter crash that left his co-star dead.

The hearings have so far uncovered serious allegations of cover-ups, falsified records, and the dangerous world of crocodile egg collecting in Australia's Top End. Today, we'll break down everything you need to know about Matt Wright and this case.