Also of note in IRN this week is the coverage of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)  complaint to the European Commission regarding the recent appointment of a new Data Protection Commissioner (Niamh Sweeney) who was formerly a lobbyist for tech giant, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Masculine Energy). The same company that has privately tried to convince the Irish Government to lead a pushback against data protection laws at European Union level.

The latest ESRI bulletin includes an analysis of AI policies in the Irish schools system, and notes the "absence of clear guidelines from the Department of Education and Youth on how teachers and schools should navigate the complexities of the AI world." In The Atlantic magazine, it's reported that teachers are already "beginning to see the rot (The Age of De-Skilling: Will AI stretch our minds—or stunt them? by Kwame Anthony Appiah)."

Elsewhere, The Guardian reported yesterday that more than 100 business and charity leaders "have called on ministers to “lead the country’s transition toward a shorter working week”, after the local government secretary criticised a council for shifting to a four-day work pattern."

Meanwhile, voters in the Netherlands change course and buck the trend, and IALPA members at ASL air freight are balloting for industrial action in a row about recognition.

Your Zen this morning is new music from Lankum. Always a welcome development, the Dublin dark folk heroes have released a Samhain-ready cover version of The Specials' Ghost Town, and it sounds like the haunted, howling breach between this world and the next we celebrate at this time of year.

Have a great weekend. Happy Hallowe'en.

NS