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Most of us will have sent an intemperate WhatsApp in our time. And if we’re messaging someone from work, it’s possible that we’re taking aim at another colleague. But increasingly, these messages are being used in employment tribunals to create a picture of a workplace that has fallen short.
A team from Salford University studied more than 2,000 tribunals where WhatsApps were used as evidence. The researchers found that messages were used to back up claims of harassment or inappropriate behaviour. And digital indiscretions also vindicated workers who felt they had been unfairly dismissed. Some cases cost the employers tens of thousands of pounds – so should workplaces ban the app? Not necessarily, but our authors have some advice for judicious messaging.
Speaking of digital indiscretions, more and more publishers are being caught out when using AI to generate content. We've seen a recent AI-generated book review section full of made-up books and authors, AI-generated product reviews posted under bylines of writers who turned out not to exist, and an AI-powered news summariser that was switched off after it started making up stories of its own.
"AI slop". "Pink slime". Whatever you call it, you won't find it here at The Conversation. All our pieces are written by humans: academics with years or decades of experience researching the topics they write about, working with an experienced journalist to make sure their knowledge can be understood. For example, today's fascinating theory about the Big Bang, which also offers explanations for some of the unresolved puzzles about the birth of the universe. Or how the reality of life in a cult is much darker than the absurdity on display in new US show Sirens, which plays it for laughs.
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