ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on September 11, 2026.
‘We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans’: if AI labs are so worried about AI doom, why don’t they stop?
A powerful mix of hopes, fears and arms-race dynamics means AI companies won’t slow down unless they’re forced.
Keith Rankin Analysis – AI Holocaust versus Nuclear Apocalypse
Keith Rankin writes; My key point is that a nuclear apocalypse would be more than a single-species suicide: it could be a murder-suicide that would destroy all life on Earth; indeed all life in the Universe if Earth is the only place with life. So, could an AI holocaust be a good thing? The answer has to be 'yes', if AI gets there first, killing only all humans and not all life.
Keith Rankin Analysis – An MMP Election in Germany: Saxony-Anhalt 2026
Germany is a country undergoing societal collapse – as in the Great Depression of 1930 to 1933 – and which is only keeping its economy 'above-water' by resorting to militarism. In the 1930s, the liberals failed big-time, and the population turned to the far-right for solutions. This time, it looks like the failing 'liberals' may be morphing into a new-far-right. The SPD – Germany's equivalent of New Zealand's Labour Party – is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the process.
Yes, it’s the economy, stupid. But One Nation is outflanking the government on messaging, too
Voters’ economic pain is real. But perceptions matter too, and the government must get better at selling its message on its key policies.
How to talk to your kids about edgy or violent porn in an age-appropriate way
Parents play a vital role in educating young people about sex, sexuality and pornography. But where do you start?
Pacific Islands Forum leaders in Koror – heavy on reaffirming but light on tasking
ANALYSIS: By Tess Newton Cain and Stefan Armbruster With a Chinese ballistic missile test in July as prelude, the familiar China-Taiwan tensions and preparations for the Pacific pre-COP in October and COP31 the following month, the annual Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) returned to Palau last week for the first time in 12 years,
Needling for change: the surprisingly political history of knitting
Labour MP Deborah Russell’s knitting caused a stir in parliament. But the humble craft has a long history as a tool for protest, solidarity and political change.
‘Take Thailand Back’ – Thais protest against ‘disrespectful’ Israeli tourists in Bangkok
By Wan Taufiq in Bangkok Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok yesterday to decry the behaviour of Israeli tourists and declare that their country is “not for sale” as part of a campaign dubbed “Take Thailand Back”. The demonstration, organised by former media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, follows a spate of incidents
Cook Islands war veterans’ graves vandalised at historic Rarotonga cemetery
By Susana Suisuiki of RNZ Pacific A historic cemetery in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, has been vandalised devastating families and local community members. An Australian-based researcher, who has led the restoration project at the Nikao Cemetery in Rarotonga for 10 years, says those responsible for vandalising the headstones need to be prosecuted. It was reported this
What the backlash to the Industrial Revolution can teach us about handcrafts in the age of AI
Anxiety about automation dates back hundreds of years.
Can people truly walk away from terrorism? Inside the slow work of rehabilitation
Walking away from terrorist offending is far more complicated than simply quitting a group or a cause. But evidence shows well-designed programs can work.
A new video game lets you play out the battle at Gallipoli. Is it trivialising the tragedy of war?
Historical games let us engage with the past, but what matters is how they frame this history, and what they ask players to do.
Ratko Mladić: the war criminal who became a martyr for Bosnian Serbs
On The Conversation Weekly podcast, an international law expert explains why some Serbs revered convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.
Weight-loss campaigns aimed at First Nations women look like drug marketing in disguise
Drug companies are using women of colour and First Nations celebrities in weight-loss campaigns. Not everyone’s happy.
New fossils show Tasmanian devils lived with people in outback Western Australia 45,000 years ago
Despite their name, Tasmanian devils could be found across mainland Australia thousands of years ago.
Islamic economics has questioned endless growth for centuries. What can it teach us today?
Long before the modern degrowth movement, Islamic economic thought placed limits on consumption, challenged wealth concentration and treated economic activity as a moral question.
The long shadow of 9/11 and the retreat of an independent New Zealand foreign policy
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, many of the forces now shaping NZ foreign policy can be traced back to how the US responded to the terror attacks.
The Pentagon is using polygraphs to hunt leakers, but the tests are more theater than fact
A CIA veteran explains that a polygraph campaign is not likely to eliminate leaks, but it may divert investigative energy from essential security priorities.
How heat on the Tibetan Plateau fuels powerful storms in California, half a world away
A new study connects early winter heat high up on the plateau to the jet stream and, ultimately, storms headed for the US coast. The results could mean better forecasts.
Heatwaves are making toxic algae worse, but the real problem is what we are putting into our rivers and lakes
Hot weather accelerates toxic algal blooms, but nutrient pollution provides the fuel.