Do Supreme Court justices in the Philippines show loyalty to their appointing president? Find some answers in our paper @LSI_Journal👇 Justices and Political Loyalties: An Empirical Investigation of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 1987–2020 cup.org/41RURhq

I’m a College Professor. Writing Isn’t as Important as We Think. nytimes.com/2026/09/29/opini…

MIT published a brutally honest report on what AI is doing to students. A committee of professors and students spent five months studying how AI changed learning on campus, and the findings read like a warning to every university on the planet. Study groups are disappearing. Office hours are emptying out. Problem sets and take-home exams no longer prove anything, because AI can produce credible solutions to almost any written assignment in the undergraduate curriculum. Students who lean on chatbots lose mastery and confidence, and some slip into what the report calls cognitive surrender, reaching for AI at the first hint of struggle. The numbers are rough. 46 percent of surveyed MIT undergrads use LLMs daily. 90 percent worry about their own overreliance. Undergrads who feel AI makes them replaceable now outnumber those who feel it makes them capable. The committee's answer surprised me. They refused to fight AI with surveillance. The report calls AI detectors unreliable, says lockdown browsers feel like spying, and warns that policing students builds a classroom atmosphere of mutual distrust. Instead, MIT wants to rebuild education around the things AI can't replace. That means oral exams, semester portfolios, in-person project work, and a required social component in every subject. The report even floats the idea of rethinking grades entirely, since without a GPA to optimize, much of the incentive to cheat with AI evaporates. The committee warns professors against replacing undergrad research assistants with AI agents just because they're cheaper, because a university exists to grow people, not output. The most famous tech school on earth admitted the machines broke its way of teaching. Its answer is more humans, not more software.

Two more days to go till the submission deadline! Please consider applying for the workshop on democracy and changing the information environment in Asia, to be held in Taipei in Nov, with a deadline of July 31.

For those unable to attend the Perspectives: Asia talk on 'Who is the Modern Tyrant' you're welcome to review the recording: youtube.com/watch?v=jswYV5sh… Sincere thanks to the Director of GAI, Prof Ge, GOMA, and the super team that made the presentation possible.

This paper is so unbelievably good. Absolutely blown away. Why is it the case in Kenya that the cost of food is so high, but the prices received by farmers so low? It's the intermediaries -- they all know each other, and they're colluding. 1/

The three forces writing the future of higher education share.google/gs5BJiL00Ncc1iR…

The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself share.google/EET5uq8VtTOU8YY…

👉New Job Opportunity We are excited to announce that we are hiring for the position of Postdoctoral Fellow to join the ANU Philippines Institute at @ourANU Interested? Learn more and apply here: quicklink.anu.edu.au/qmps

📣 Applications now open: 2026 Visiting Fellowship - ANU Philippines Institute Each year, we offer short-term Visiting Fellowships for outstanding academics based in the Philippines to undertake research at the ANU for up to two months. Apply here: quicklink.anu.edu.au/nm03

Well worth a read!

After 26 years at the World Bank, I gave my farewell public lecture: Policy for the People. Development works when we design with people, not for them. Listen first. Co-produce. Build agency. 🎥 Video: youtu.be/_UzbwmOL80o?si=LXE6… 📑 Slides: thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc… I reflect on: • what numbers miss • the value of narratives and open-ended interviews • why tracking process matters as much as outcomes • the importance of culture, history & context in policy design • listening to those affected by policy Three examples: • the underside of growth in Malaysia • how women’s groups transformed Bihar • the added value of village democracy in Karnataka Many thanks to Deon Filmer (chair) and Nandini Krishnan & Robin Mearns for their thoughtful discussions. 🙏🏽

Australia is stronger because of our vibrant Filipino community. Together, Australia and the Philippines have built a strong friendship going back decades. President Marcos and I met today to discuss how we can work more closely on trade, defence and security and more. 🇦🇺🇵🇭

🚨 New Opportunity! The ANU Philippines Institute has launched its Special Grants Round 2026 — funding travel, research & event collaborations that strengthen 🇦🇺–🇵🇭 engagement. Apply now 👇 🔗 quicklink.anu.edu.au/nm03 #ANU #Research #Philippines

Proud moment as a supervisor! 🎉 My brilliant student Amalina Yasmin Binti Mohd Sokri (@ANUCrawford) has won the 2025 AsianJLS-ALSA Graduate Student Paper Competition for her work on judicial legitimacy in Malaysian corruption trials. 👏 More info: alsa.network/awards-competit…

New article out! Grateful for brilliant collaboration with Cristina Bonoan on 37 years of Philippine constitutional reform (1987-2024). Our finding: Oligarchic competition actually protects the 1987 Constitution. #Philippines #ConstitutionalLaw journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.…

Due to enthusiastic support, our 'Age of the Deal' event has now moved to a larger avenue. Please come by if you are around town!

Delighted to be collaborating with @ANUMyanmar @ANUPhilippines & Indonesia and Malaysia Institutes for this upcoming public plenary @ANU_SEAsia @ANUasiapacific seasiainstitute.anu.edu.au/e…

🚨 New article out! A New Era of Vaccine Diplomacy: Navigating the US-China Rivalry in Southeast Asia, 2020–2022 — co-authored with brilliant Crawford PhD student Andree Suarianta. Final output of the ASEAN+6 COVID-19 Observatory (ASEAN Council grant). tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…

The trend of #democraticbacksliding is driven by elected #governments who use weaknesses in the #constitution to dismantle checks on power and hinder free and fair #elections buff.ly/8Ql8yCW

Looking through the lens of #AuthoritarianInternationalLaw!🔍 Michael Bigl analyzes the 2016 #PCA ruling in favor of the #Philippines & #China’s rejection of it as “null and void.” What does this framework reveal about China’s vision for #GlobalOrder? 🌍⚖️ voelkerrechtsblog.org/steeri…