Eliza a Play by Tom Holloway

4/17/2026 at 2:22:18 PM

"Inspired by true events, this world premiere by award-winning playwright Tom Holloway is a gripping psychological thriller about the birth of AI, and the ethical consequences of outsourcing our humanity."

by abrax3141

4/20/2026 at 1:25:22 AM

Well, that is a nice premise, I would bet that no humanity has been outsourced.

by ForOldHack

4/19/2026 at 8:52:22 PM

Wow you know its gonna be good when the first thing you are hit on the page is some sorta bizarre land acknowledgement.

by petermcneeley

4/19/2026 at 9:14:52 PM

Be patient with Australians. They have have a terrible tradition of vicious racism.

The indigenous people of Australia were only considered part of Australian society (e.g. counted in the census) in 1967. As a New Zealander visiting Australia the casual racism of white Australians is mind blowing. New Zealand is not free from racism, far from it. Australia is next level

It will take a few generations for Australians to come to terms with living on stolen land, and to adjust to being colonisers. (White New Zelanders, Pākehā have been doing this for over thirty years, it is a process)

It is odd to put that declaration on a web page, how a digital asset is comparable to standing on land is clearly something the Australians are working on. Good luck to them, move on and let it be.

by worik

4/20/2026 at 12:27:08 AM

Acknowledgements of Country are not uncommon on Australian web sites, especially with arts organisations. Sometimes they're in the footer, sometimes as an interstitial. They're also common in speeches/formalities.

Edit: I'd agree though that NZ has a more mature perspective, stronger Maori population and that the condescension is probably fair.

by prawn

4/19/2026 at 11:32:21 PM

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone

by petermcneeley

4/19/2026 at 9:41:22 PM

What exactly is supposed to happen though? "Don't be horribly racist" is a nice idea, but it's not like we see people who put these acknowledgements up actually attempting to return the "stolen land"

I think it makes sense to put it on the website if you're going to do it though, since it's a website about, basically, a building in melbourne.

by IncreasePosts

4/20/2026 at 1:08:23 AM

Well, similarly to how the neo-right slowly shifted the social frame with frog memes and screaming slurs at children on online FPS game lobbies, things like land acknowledgments slowly shift the reference frame of society towords a place where some good outcomes might actually be possible.

by totetsu

4/19/2026 at 9:14:22 PM

The same performative nonsense occurs in Canada.

Land acknowledgements are the ultimate in virtue signaling; once they actually mean something, they suddenly end. Two overlapping tribal claims in New Brunswick cover 100% of the province. Thus, New Brunswick provincial employees ordered to not make land acknowledgements while working, because of legal case <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/first-nations-n...>.

by TMWNN

4/20/2026 at 5:27:24 AM

It _is_ performative (not sure it's nonsense) because it doesn't actually do or intend to do anything. It's cheap.

(I personally think it's also _disingenous_, because you can't undo things done 100+ years ago -- not because they are no longer "bad" but because you can't figure out how or who to undo it to, and you should instead focus on "who needs help today", because they are alive).

by laksjhdlka

4/20/2026 at 7:05:20 AM

> It _is_ performative (not sure it's nonsense) because it doesn't actually do or intend to do anything. It's cheap.

Yes, that's my point. Once some risk—however small—came to be of land acknowledgements within New Brunswick actually having some legal or practical ramification, poof there they went.

Given how widespread tribal territorial claims are in Canada (the entire city of Richmond BC, for example), I expect more such prohibitions.

by TMWNN

4/19/2026 at 9:15:55 PM

What is the counter factual to "virtue signaling"?

I think you need to rethink what you expect!

by worik

4/20/2026 at 1:24:35 AM

The counterfactual to virtue signaling is genuine, anonymous, or quiet action—acting on moral convictions without seeking public recognition or social status.

While virtue signaling is a public, often insincere display of moral superiority (a "recognition desire"), the true alternative is "walking the walk" through tangible deeds.

by ForOldHack