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You're killing me
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Blood, Andrew; Slaughter, Tracey; Chidgey, Catherine
If we build superintelligence, the joke is on us. By the 2050s, when most human skills have been replicated and automated by artificial intelligence, humanity has one last trick up its sleeve. Humour. Because AI doesn’t have a funny bone. Yes, it might be super intelligent, but it cannot fathom how or why jokes work. It just doesn’t get it. Worse, jokes expose bugs in its operating system and any AGI trying to understand them gets tied up in recursive knots. Comedy is an existential threat. Likewise, the authoritarian regimes that control the algorithms behind AI also feel threatened by comedians because comedy, amongst many other things, often contains deep human truths. And that’s something that scares them. Therefore, to the authorities and artificial intelligence alike, the comedian is the most dangerous person in the room. You’re Killing Me, is a speculative fiction novel. A twisted retelling of the Pandora myth, where all the techno plagues released upon humankind refuse to go back into their black boxes, and our last remaining hope comes courtesy of those who are prepared to stand up. Page by page, we are drawn into a world that is ever more complex and disorienting, where omnipresent AGI surrounds us, and synthetic human companions called Pandoras live alongside us. We work with them, fall in love and make love to them, and even reproduce with them. Which also means we commit adultery with them, fight with them, divorce and despise them, and are openly species-ist towards them. In fact, everything we do to humans we do to them, so their arrival, instead of making us happier, only multiplies the ways in which we are unhappy. To make matters worse, synthetic human population growth outstrips that of humans, and the colossal data centres that power them push our planet’s resources to the limit. ‘Machines drink first. Humans drink second,’ is the law. The only sane response is to laugh. And thankfully, comedy is a weapon. Humour has always been a survival mechanism, and now it’s our only chance of survival. The battle between humanity and AI is set. The question is, who will have the last laugh? The future’s dark. But at least it has a funny side.
From user feedback to iterative decision-making: A low-burden multi-channel feedback framework for mobile health applications targeting non-communicable diseases
(ACM, 2026) He, Yuyu; Wang, William Yu Chung; Zahid, Arnob
Mobile health applications (mHealth Apps) can support the long-term management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, their practical value is commonly limited by low user dropout rates and declining engagement over time. To identify meaningful directions for further improvement, a more comprehensive user evaluation is needed. Existing evaluation methods generally rely on questionnaires and interviews, which can provide valuable quantitative and qualitative evidence. At the same time, studies on user-generated content (UGC) show that free-text feedback can also reveal specific directions for product iteration. Yet these sources of feedback are often collected and analysed separately. Further exploration is required on how to integrate multiple feedback sources while minimising the burden on users with limited time and energy, thereby generating actionable evidence to support subsequent iterations. Therefore, this study proposes a low-burden, multi-channel user feedback framework for NCDs mHealth Apps. It integrates three types of feedback—questionnaires, interviews, and UGC—to obtain more comprehensive user feedback evidence and provide a basis for subsequent iterations. The framework comprises three stages: feedback collection and problem identification, cross-source evidence collation, and iteration-oriented outcome delivery. It aims to gather more comprehensive, timely user feedback, facilitating product iterations that better align with user needs and laying the groundwork for future validation in real-world settings.
The impact of data aggregation: Advocating for individualized analysis in wearable sensor research
(ACM, 2025) König, Jemma; Penaredondo, Jascha; Lim, Nick Jin Sean; Hinze, Annika; Bowen, Judy; Viller, Stephen; Paay, Jeni; Fredericks, Joel; Turner, Jane; Vickery, Nicole; Wadley, Greg; Muñoz, Diego; Capel, Tara; Atiq, Arzoo; Davis, Hilary; Boden, Marie; Harman, Joel; Ploderer, Bernd
The use of wearable sensors to record physiological data is becoming increasingly common, both in research and in daily life. User studies collect data using wrist bands, chest straps, and headbands to measure heart rate, skin conductance, and brain activity, to name a few. These readings can then be used to classify a range of physical and cognitive functions, such as cognitive and physical workload, cognitive and physical fatigue, stress, and attention. However, while physiological data is highly individualized, many researchers use machine learning classification methods that combine the participants' data into one dataset. In this paper, we demonstrate the negative impact this has on results and show that the individualized nature of physiological data requires individualized analysis and classification.
Studies of the structures and redox chemistries of chromate zeolites
(The University of Waikato, 1994) Brown, Mark Langtry; Langdon, Alan G.; Cartner, Tony
Solid-state reactions of sodium chromate, sodium molybdate, and sodium tungstate and zeolites of the types A, X, Y, mordenite, and silicalite at temperatures between 465°C and 655°C resulted in substantial uptakes of the salts. The occluded oxyanions could not be removed by boiling water indicating either a strong interaction with the zeolite lattice or occlusion in β-cages. Factors found to influence the amount of oxyanion occluded were temperature, time, and zeolite to oxyanion mole ratio. Under certain conditions maximum loading was achieved within 24 hours in the absence of significant zeolite framework degradation. In the chromate system, solid-state reactions performed near 800°C resulted in collapse of the zeolite framework and crystallisation of chromate nosean. The kinetics of chromate uptake by 13X followed a √t dependence over the initial stages of reaction indicating a diffusion controlled rate determining step. An apparent activation energy of 124 ± 10 kJ mol⁻¹ was calculated. Occluded sodium chromate was removed from X and Y type zeolites upon heating in strong alkali or salt solutions. A salt-exchange mechanism for chromate removal is proposed. The physiochemical nature of chromate loaded zeolites was examined using a variety of experimental techniques including PXRD, EPR, XRF, DTA, SEM, XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies, and BET surface area determination. All results were consistent with the occlusion of chromate within the α-cages of X, Y, and A type zeolites. No evidence for β-cage occlusion was observed. Maximum chromate uptakes per unit cell were 13.6 for 13X, 13.4 for Y52, and 32.3 for 5A. These uptakes correlated with half the number of S6R facing α-cages of these zeolites suggesting coordination across two S6R. A model consisting of the oxyanion coordinated across its two sodium cations located near the Sɪɪ sites is proposed. Coordination across S5R of mordenite and silicalite was proposed. The Si/ Al ratio had no effect on the maximum chromate uptake. Redox reactions of sodium chromate salt were investigated. Reduction by H₂₍g₎ formed NaCrO₂ and NaOH. Reoxidations were incomplete ceasing at an average oxidation state of Cr(+4.67) through the formation of Na₂CrO₄ and Na₂CrO₃ in a 1:2 ratio. The addition of NaOH to the partially oxidised product allowed full oxidation indicating a dependence of oxidation product on NaOH concentration. A mechanism consistent with the degree of reoxidation was deduced. Chromate occluded in zeolites was reduced by H₂₍g₎ and reoxidised by O₂₍g₎ The degree of loading affected the product of reduction. Reductions of chromates in lowly-loaded zeolites ceased at Cr(IV), chromates in moderately-loaded zeolites (MLZ) were reduced to Cr(III), while chromates in highly-loaded zeolites (HLZ) were reduced to an average oxidation state of Cr(+3.5) containing equimolar amounts of Cr(III) and Cr(IV). The formation of occluded Cr(III)-Cr(IV) “dimers” was postulated. Chromates in chromate nosean reacted with H₂₍g₎ to give a reduction product similar to that of HLZ, i.e. with an average oxidation state of Cr(+3.5). A unit cell edge contraction from 9.107(2) Å for chromate nosean to 8.916(6) Å upon reduction was shown to be consistent with the formation of [Na₄.CrO₂]³⁺, [Na₄.CrO₃]²⁺, [Na₄.OH]³⁺, and [Na₄]⁴⁺ clusters per two unit cells. Changes to the X-ray pattern upon reduction to an average oxidation state of Cr(+3.5) indicated transformation of chromate noselite to a reduced chromate sodalite. The movement of the reduced chromate species off the anion site and coordination to the lattice was envisaged. Reaction with O2(g) at 600°C formed chromate sodalite. Retention of the sodalite framework was attributed to the anion lying off the anion site. Heating the chromate sodalite in air at 1000°C for 2 hours reformed chromate noselite through movement of the chromate oxyanions back to anion sites. The effect of temperature, zeolite type, and degree of loading on the kinetics of redox reactions were investigated. Unlike the reactions in nosean, transport control was not a feature of the reactions and zeolite structure had no significant effect on the redox kinetics. Reductions generally followed second-order kinetics and were highly activated processes with apparent activation energies between 86 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹ and 97 ± 10 kJ mol⁻¹. In contrast, reoxidations were usually described by chemisorption kinetics. Preliminary investigations indicated a lack of activity of chromate zeolites in ethylene polymerisation and oxidation of methanol reactions. Chromate zeolites were also unable to oxidise CO(g) and CHi(g).
Using technological contexts for teaching school physics a study based in two cultures
(The University of Waikato, 1994) Mohamed, Abdul Muhsin; Carr, Malcolm; Jones, Alister
The study reported in this thesis explored the process and outcomes of using technological contexts that are relevant to students for the teaching of senior secondary school physics in the Maldives and in New Zealand. Recent research findings indicate that the use of contexts that are relevant to the learner in the teaching of science enhances the affective and cognitive outcomes (e.g. Rodrigues 1993, Yager and Tamir 1993, The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt 1990, Cosgrove 1989, Jones 1988). These research studies were conducted in western countries, using a strategy referred to in this thesis as contextual teaching. Although these studies indicated that teachers and students may face difficulties in using the contextual approach, very little information about the nature of these difficulties was provided. This study explored the possibility of using the contextual teaching strategy in a non-western country, the Maldives, and further clarified the process by using the same strategy in a western country, New Zealand. Particular attention was given to the difficulties teachers faced in using the strategy for the first time. The research was conducted in four iterative phases. The first phase explored technological contexts students in the targeted populations considered relevant. Students in a sample of boys and girls from Grade 10 and Grade 11 physics classes in the Maldives (n=32) and the corresponding Form 5 science and Form 6 physics classes in New Zealand (n=32) were individually interviewed to clarify their interest and ideas about applications used in an area of technology common to the two countries - telecommunications. The reasons for student interest in the applications were very similar in the two samples. The similarity in student interest in the two samples indicated that similar contextual teaching strategies may be successfully used in physics classrooms in the two countries. During the second, third, and fourth phases of the study classroom interventions, based on the ideas of social constructivism, were conducted in physics classrooms in New Zealand and the Maldives. The interventions were designed to teach secondary school electromagnetism in the two countries. While the second and third phases of the study clarified the process and outcomes of contextual teaching, the last phase of the research concentrated on the difficulties faced by teachers in using the strategy for the first time. The contextual teaching strategies used in this study had similar success with students from the two cultures. The cognitive and affective outcomes for the majority of the students, particularly the weaker students, were enhanced. In spite of the socio-political and economic differences between the Maldives and New Zealand, students responded in a similar manner in the two countries. Teachers, particularly those who were used to organising their lessons along conceptual hierarchies, faced difficulties in using the approach. These difficulties were mainly related to structuring and managing classroom activities during contextual teaching. The difficulties were partially addressed during the study. The outcomes of the study has implications for learning, teaching, teacher development, and curriculum development.