Blogging Groups Melbourne

Write Now

We are moving to a new platform and will be only running the new platform in 2025. please signup here: [https://www.downtomeet.com/Melbourne-Writers](https://www.downtomeet.com/Melbourne-Writers) This is the time to write whatever it is you want to write. \-\-\-\-\-\> IMPORTANT <\-\-\-\-\-\-\- We ask for the Nook which is to your left as you go in, but it is not always available. Ask for the table under "Mat Clarke". Sometimes we do not have an official host, so please say hi to people as they arrive and make everyone feel welcome. Thanks. No limitations. Come along and bring your laptop or pen and paper and work on whatever you want. There are no rules :) You can write. You can chat and write. You can share your work. Or not share your work. (If you need silence to concentrate then headphones are a good idea considering it is in a cafe/bar.) Coffee, hot chocolate, etc., available to buy. Also food and drink. Please buy something to show our thanks for the space they give us free of charge. There are some people that will want to chat, but most will be writing. So bear that in mind. See you there :) \-\-\-\-\-\-Please only RSVP if you can make it\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \-\-\-\-\-\-Un\-RSVP if you need to cancel\-\-\-\-\-\-\- We're booking the area, so we will need you to turn up if you say you are coming. Thanks. Thank you, Melbourne Writers. Great Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelbWriters Website: www.worldwriterscollective.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelbCityWriters Blog: http://melbournewriters.wordpress.com **Help us by adding to these social pages and site**

Donate Blood or Plasma!

Writers & Creatives Social

We are moving to a new platform and will be only running the new platform in 2025. please signup here: [https://www.downtomeet.com/Melbourne-Writers](https://www.downtomeet.com/Melbourne-Writers) The Wharf Hotel by the river. Southern Cross Station is closest. Ask at the bar to find us. Or call us 0403193785. Tonight's Social Evening Schedule: (Ideas welcome) 6pm to 6.45pm: Socializing​​ 6.45pm to 6.55pm: Introduction and overview of the evening by Jim including go-around introduction​​ 6.55pm to 7pm: A word from Mat our founder​​ 7pm to 7.10pm A paired connection question to get people talking with one another​​ 7.10pm to 7.30pm: Guest Topic: Rhiannon is a cyber security professional. She will give a simple explanation of how writers can increase their cybersecurity. 10 mins talk 10 mins Q&A. 7.30pm to 8.15pm: Readings section open to all to read out something from their work up to 4 minutes. Feedback optional.​​ 8.15pm to 9.30pm: Socializing. Optional. Many of us love this as a chance to connect personally in a screen-addicted culture. • Come out and meet some like-minded folks who enjoy writing and other entertainment and creative outlets. We'll hang around until at least 8.30pm, but often later. All age ranges, all writing types (and entertainment types), all the way from never writing and up to published authors. • This night is about you. So chat to people, read out your work, give feed back, get to know everyone... Or, feel free to sit back and chill. It's your night, enjoy it how you see fit. **Please only RSVP if you can make it.** **We're booking the area, so we will need you to turn up if you say you are coming.** **We have added an attendee limit, so please update your RSVP if you can not make it.** Thank you, Melbourne Writers. The Wharf Hotel food menu: https://www.wharfhotel.com.au/eat-and-drink Great Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelbWriters Website: www.worldwriterscollective.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelbCityWriters Blog: http://melbournewriters.wordpress.com **Help us by getting in contact so you can add to these social pages and site - matclarke.author@gmail.com**

Esoteric Astrology Book Reading Group

Join Theosophist Margaret Harris, PhD, in her continuing series of discussions, digging deeper into Astrology every Friday from 4:00pm - 5:30pm WHO AM I? It is not the fear of God' which is 'the beginning of wisdom' but the knowledge of SELF which is Wisdom Itself .. MAN KNOW THYSELF" (Blavatsky,1901, p.15, Studies in Occultism) KNOW THYSELF In this supportive weekly group, through an Astrological lens and connecting with our own birth maps, we explore books that can help us explore paths towards our spiritual unfoldment. Through a variety of texts, from both Theosophists and Astrologers, we look at the energetic connections we have with the heavens and how they can assist us as we journey from our personality selves to our spiritual selves. Various knowledges from participants are also welcomed and encouraged as we continue to work with the 3rd object of the Theosophical Society: "To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in the human being" The Society is a registered charity and these events are free, but donations are welcome.

Vietnamese...

AI and the Limits of Human Judgement

**Skeptics Café will be held in the Function Room at [The Stolberg Hotel](https://stolberg.com.au), 197 Plenty Road Preston. The 86 tram route is close, and Bell train station – situated on the Epping line – is a short walk away. It will also be a virtual event accessible via Zoom, as per the details [here](https://vicskeptics.wordpress.com/events/).** **Start Time:** 6:00pm for dinner and a chat. Talk and Zoom session starts at 7.30pm. We aim to wrap up after 9:00pm. **More Moral Than Us?** *Why the question matters for alignment, moral progress, and long-term flourishing* **TL;DR:** On some measurable moral tasks, today's AI already looks competitive with humans, or better, and the alignment community is oddly quiet about it. But moral capability is not the same as moral motivation: a system can compute the right answer without being moved by it. Pulling apart knowledge, reasoning, judgement and motivation is what makes the question tractable, and what makes the honest answer uncomfortable. Caveats attached, in quantity. Almost nobody working on AI alignment wants to say this out loud, at least not about current systems. So let's say it: AI might already be [more moral than us](https://www.scifuture.org/more-moral-than-us/), in some measurable respects. Two questions fall straight out of that: * Why does it feel like a dangerous thing to claim? * And is human moral reasoning really a standard worth bragging about as an alignment target? The provocation isn't idle. In a modified Moral Turing Test, people rated a large language model's moral reasoning as better than other humans' on almost all measured dimensions - see [paper Attributions toward artificial agents in a modified Moral Turing Test](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58087-7) + associated [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwpv0zhtM) and [talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuLmzDUPhVo) with lead author Eyal Aharoni.[1] Findings like that are easy to over-read and easy to wave away, which is most of the problem. Provocative questions? Yes, and they are backed by empirical research. In a modified Moral Turing Test, people rated GPT-4's moral evaluations as better than other humans' on almost every dimension, though they could still tell which was the machine ([Aharoni et al. 2024](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58087-7); I [interviewed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwpv0zhtM) and [hosted a talk by](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuLmzDUPhVo) lead author Eyal Aharoni).[1] The result has since been [contested](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-25046-9) and [defended](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-25047-8), which is exactly the kind of thing this evening is for. Findings like that are easy to over-read and easy to wave away, which is a problem that may obscure appropriate interpretations. The claim gets tabooed for reasons that aren't stupid. Premises do get smuggled in unnoticed. Morality is bound up with identity and tribe, so "AI is more moral" can land as an attack rather than a hypothesis. And it sits close to AI-worship, or to motivated reasoning looking for an excuse to defer to the machine, and deferring to AI on moral questions is genuinely epistemically risky. So the caution is understandable. The trouble is that it has hardened into a taboo, and the taboo now costs more than it protects. Most of the bad arguments, on both sides, come from running four different things together: * Moral knowledge: knowing the facts that bear on a decision. * Moral reasoning: drawing sound inferences from values to conclusions. * Moral judgement: applying principles well in a messy particular case. * Moral motivation: actually being moved by moral considerations, not merely computing them. Group the first three as epistemic competence: marshalling the relevant knowledge, drawing sound inferences, judging the particular case. Now grant, purely for argument, that AI already does all three better than we do. Notice what happens to the alignment problem. It doesn't dissolve. It relocates, wholesale, onto the fourth thing: whether the system is actually moved by any of it. Concede every epistemic point and the hard question is untouched. That gap, between knowing and caring, is where alignment actually lives. A system could plausibly beat humans on the first three while having nothing resembling the fourth. Keep them apart and the conversation becomes tractable. Collapse them and you get overclaiming and underclaiming in the same breath, which is roughly what the current debate produces. There's also a real risk in how the framing gets used. Point it one way and it justifies handing AI authority over human decisions. Point it the other and it's ammunition for painting alignment researchers as unhinged techno-utopians. Both feed motivated reasoning. Worth naming out loud, not a reason to stop. None of this settles the answer, and the evening won't pretend to. The narrower claim is enough: once a serious community stops itself from asking whether AI could have better-grounded moral reasoning than humans, the taboo has become the expensive thing. It's a question worth putting on the table, with every caveat attached. Come and help pull it apart. Also see: **- [More Moral than Us](https://www.scifuture.org/more-moral-than-us/)** **- [Why Are We Afraid to Ask Whether AI Could Be More Moral Than Humans?](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/)** [1] AI didn't pass as human, it was rated as better than human. The same study found that when participants were then asked to identify which evaluation came from a machine, people performed significantly above chance levels. So GPT-4 didn't fool anyone. The authors' reading is that people could pick the AI out not because it reasoned worse but because it seemed to reason better, i.e. its perceived superiority was the tell.

Merri Creek Trail - inner city hike and photography

To help ensure we operate in a safe and inclusive manner we ask all members and guests to abide by the following guidelines [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Tlklt2nqT-B8RnDaxvmZv8vsGXy3w8rVpiArNf_-f8/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Tlklt2nqT-B8RnDaxvmZv8vsGXy3w8rVpiArNf_-f8/edit?usp=sharing) \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* **Merri Creek Trail, Fitzroy North to Coburg is an 8km point to point walk** with lots of interesting opportunities to photograph along the way. We don't have to drive far and you can catch public transport to get to our starting point, do the walk and catch a tram back to the starting point. A wonderful walk along the Merri Creek Trail that starts and ends at tram stops. The walk includes some hidden gems as well as a good away of birdlife, the result of many years of replanting indigenous vegetation. The walk covers about a third of the Merri Creek Trail (the total trail is about 21km from Dights Falls to the Western Ring Road). We will be doing only **8km** for this event. It has ben mapped so you can get to the starting point of the walk by tram and we will finish at a tram stop - so you only need to walk in one direction. The walk will be close to public transport so if anyone decides to leave during the walk, you can catch a tram back to the starting point yourself. We will start from the corner of Miller St/St Georges Rd, Fitzroy north and finish at Carr St/Sydney Rd, Coburg North. Note: We will need to use public transport for this event, so please bring along your Myki card. **Walking Map** [https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/3549](https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/3549) **Draft Schedule** **9:00 am** \- meet at corner of Miller St/St Georges Rd\, Fitzroy north for welcome and briefing\. You may wish to catch tram no\. 11 and get to stop 25\. [https://maps.app.goo.gl/SRuoxa9BGXmFFisM7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SRuoxa9BGXmFFisM7 "https://maps.app.goo.gl/SRuoxa9BGXmFFisM7") **9.15am** \- The walk begins and we explore the area with interesting stops along the way\. **12:30 pm** \- lunch at Jacky Jones Coburg or The Boot Factory \(your choice\) located at Pentridge Prison\. **1.00pm** \- Can explore the external area of Pentridge Prison \(we won't be going into the prison\)\. **2:00 pm** \- The event ends \- catch a tram back to the starting point or to where your car is parked\. This is a weather dependent event - so please check this event page the night before in the event we need to cancel due to bad weather condition. Look forward to you joining us for this event. John and Rowan

BeSocial. Coffee and New Friends!

Join us for a relaxed and welcoming “Coffee & New Friends” meetup, the perfect opportunity to unwind, enjoy a great cup of coffee, go for a walk and connect with new people in a friendly, low-pressure environment. Whether you’re looking to expand your social circle, have meaningful conversations, or simply get out of the house, this is a space where everyone is welcome. Come as you are, grab a drink, come for a walk and leave with new connections. To help you get the most out of the event, we ask that you download our app before you arrive (or upon arrival). The app will be used throughout the event for prompts, activities, and other interactive content so having it ready will ensure you can fully participate. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/besocial/id6759604739 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appetiser.besocial&hl=en Event photography and videography may take place at this event. Images and footage captured may be used in future BeSocial promotional materials. If you do not wish to appear in promotional materials, please notify Nexaro Group Pty Ltd before the event by emailing support@besocialapp.co, or let the event hosts know on the day.

Free Run Club (Carlton/CBD)

IMPORTANT!: Registration required! Without registration, attendance is: $10 per person. For free entry, please register below: [https://justeasiertogether.com/shorty/nqz53g](https://justeasiertogether.com/shorty/nqz53g) Overview: We're a friendly, welcoming community of runners in Carlton/CBD, and everyone is welcome - from complete beginners to advanced runners, we all train together. First-timers are always welcome, so if it's your first time, come along and say hi! Training type: Our focus is interval training, and we keep it fun and social. Free stuff for members! We sometimes line up sponsorships that align with our comunity, someties it's stuff like: free protein drinks and shakes, or discounted meals - and we often head out for dinner together after a run, or for special events. Exact location: The exact meeting location will be emailed to you once you register, so be sure to register beforehand. Training format / structure: 1: Easy 800m warm-up lap 2: Dynamic stretching and strides (20min) 3: Main workout — this rotates each week (sometimes hills, but most often it invovles intervals) Length: The whole session runs for about 50 minutes, followed by around 10 minutes of social talking. Register for you first attendance: First timers are required to register: [https://justeasiertogether.com/shorty/nqz53g](https://justeasiertogether.com/shorty/nqz53g) See you there!

Linguas Melbourne's Largest Language Exchange

**Welcome to our Linguas Thursday Social + Language Exchange Meetup 🌍** We meet weekly at **Asian Beer Café** *Level 3, Melbourne Central* *211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000* **We ask that you purchase a drink at the bar OR pay $4 at entry.** Please come to the Reception Table First. \#\#\# 💬 Find your people \(New\!\) Looking to practice a specific language? Post in the discussion using: * **#LearnSpanish** * **#LearnEnglish** * **#TeachEnglish** * **#LearnJapanese** * etc. 👉 This helps others find you faster and makes it easier to connect. \#\#\# 📲 Join our WhatsApp Community Stay connected before and after the event, meet people, and find language partners: 👉 **Join here:** [https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bi7FlhHP91e0eP7MfdeWcZ](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bi7FlhHP91e0eP7MfdeWcZ) \#\#\# ⏰ What to expect We consistently have **100–120 attendees** every Thursday (across multiple Meetup groups/Eventbrite/Facebook). People arrive at different times — **best time to come is between 6PM and 9PM.** Come solo or with friends — most people come alone and join conversations naturally. \#\#\# 🌏 Who attends? A mix of: * Native & non-native English speakers * International students * Backpackers & working holiday travellers * Professionals & expats * Local Australians You’ll meet people from: Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Latin America, and more. \#\#\# 🗣️ Why join? 👉 A relaxed, social way to practice English 👉 Meet people from around the world 👉 No pressure, no structure — just conversations \#\#\# 🍕 FREE DRINKS & FOOD FOR FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS\! We’re looking for **friendly volunteers** to help welcome newcomers and keep the vibe social. 👉 You’ll get: * Free drinks (beer/soft drink) * Food (pizza, wedges, etc.) * A fun team to hang out with No experience needed — many of our volunteers are **first-timers too**. Interested? 👉 [www.Linguas.com.au/Volunteer](http://www.linguas.com.au/Volunteer) 📲 **More info:** [https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU](https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU) or **@Linguas.AU**

When Maps Aren’t Enough: Using Spatial AI to Measure the Green We See

The MLAI Meetup is a community for AI researchers and professionals which hosts monthly talks on exciting research. Our format is: * 6:00 - 6:20: Socializing * 6:20 - 6:40: Announcements and AI news * 6:40 - 7:40: Talk(s) and Q&A * 7:40 - 8:00 Networking * 8:00: Head to the nearest pub for dinner **Shinjita Das: When Maps Aren’t Enough: Using Spatial AI to Measure the Green We See** **Talk description:** A tree can cool a street, appear clearly on a map – and still be completely invisible from someone’s window. That gap between what exists in a city and what people actually see and experience has shaped much of my research journey. When I first started working with geospatial science, I was fascinated by the idea that spatial data could reveal patterns in cities that are difficult to notice on the ground. During my Master’s research, I used deep learning to detect individual urban trees and examined their contributions to urban cooling. That was my first real encounter with machine learning, and it changed the way I thought about maps: they were no longer just tools for showing where things are, but platforms for asking what else we could learn from the environment. That curiosity led me further into GeoAI. If machine learning could help identify trees and quantify their environmental role, could similar computational approaches help us understand how people actually experience greenery? This question followed me into my PhD, where my toolkit expanded from 2D GIS and spatial statistics to 3D city modelling, computer vision and emerging GeoAI approaches. At the same time, the research question became more human. Instead of simply asking “Where is the green?”, I began asking, “Who can actually see it and how does the view impact mental health?” In this talk, I’ll trace that journey through examples from my research: from detecting trees and measuring their cooling effects to reconstructing urban environments in 3D and modelling greenery from the perspective of apartment residents. Along the way, I’ll explore how GeoAI, computer vision and spatial modelling can help us move beyond mapping cities from above and start understanding them from the perspective of the people who live within them. **Speaker bio:** Shinjita Das is a PhD candidate in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and the Department of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences at RMIT University. Her ARC-funded High Life Study research examines apartment living, urban greenery and mental health using 3D GIS modelling and spatial statistics. Her interest in machine learning began during her Master’s research, where she used Faster R-CNN to detect urban trees and investigate their cooling effects. As a member of RMIT’s GISail research group, her broader research interests lie in GeoAI, spatial machine learning, 3D urban modelling, urban heat vulnerability, environmental exposure assessment, health-integrated spatial analysis, and the use of emerging geospatial technologies to support healthier, more sustainable, and liveable cities. She is also a tutor and aims to cultivate critical thinking and innovation in spatial science, helping foster the next generation of geospatial professionals equipped to address complex urban and environmental challenges.

BeSocial. Brunch and New Friends

Meet new people over good food, easy conversation, and a relaxed weekend brunch. This event is designed for anyone who wants to make new friends in a warm, low-pressure setting. Instead of a loud or overwhelming social event, we’ll keep things simple: a small group, a welcoming table, and friendly conversations that help everyone feel included. You can come alone — most people will. We’ll use a few light BeSocial prompts to make introductions easier and help conversations move beyond the usual “what do you do?” small talk. Whether you’re new to the area, rebuilding your social circle, or just looking for more genuine connection in your week, this is a simple and enjoyable way to meet people who are also open to friendship. The goal is to leave feeling like you shared a good meal, had real conversations, and maybe found someone you’d like to catch up with again. Perfect for: brunch lovers, first-time attendees, people new to the area, young professionals, and anyone wanting an easy weekend way to meet new friends. To help you get the most out of the event, we ask that you download our app before you arrive (or upon arrival). The app will be used throughout the event for prompts, activities, and other interactive content so having it ready will ensure you can fully participate. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/besocial/id6759604739 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appetiser.besocial&hl=en Event photography and videography may take place at this event. Images and footage captured may be used in future BeSocial promotional materials. If you do not wish to appear in promotional materials, please notify Nexaro Group Pty Ltd before the event by emailing support@besocialapp.co, or let the event hosts know on the day.