Hundreds of documents of Sir Adrian Dingli now part of National Archives

Jan 27 2023

Hundreds of documents of Sir Adrian Dingli, which date back to the 19th century when Malta was still part of the British Empire, have just became part of the National Archives.

This collection is the largest out of six collections which the National Archives acquired from Dr Albert Granado.

This was announced by the Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici during a press conference.

There, he explained how these documents are of massive importance as, due to them, Malta’s history will continue to be preserved and be given the importance it deserves.

The Minister thanked Dr Granado and his family for their work centred around safe-keeping this collection, thanking as well the workers of the National Archives for their dedication.

The National Archiver Dr Charles Farrugia explained how these collections are important because they complement the documents which are already to be found in the National Archive.

Sir Adrian Dingli was born in Valletta in 1817 to a family with ties to administrative justice. His father, Paolo, served as a president of the court and a judge. Some of the documentations of Paolo Dingli are to be found in this new collection.

The collection also contains various reports about legal materials, documents tied to laws and other important historical artefacts. Documents tied to Sir John Stoddart (1773-1856), the last English judge in Malta, are also among the collection.

The National Archives also acquired collections from Dr Albert Ganado collections about the Bonita, Emmanuele Mizzi, Paolo Testaferrata Abela, Caruana Gatto and Albert Laferla families.

#MaltaDaily

Late Silvio Parnis to be commemorated with garden in Paola

Jan 27 2023

The Paola Local Council announced on a social media statement that, following a meeting, it was decided to begin a process whereby the garden situated in Triq San Alwiġi will be named after the late politician Silvio Parnis.

Parnis himself was the first mayor of the locality, and the naming of the currently closed down garden will form part of the regeneration process which was planned before Parnis passed away.

In the following days, a permit is set to be issued by the Planning Authority as the tender process gets finalised.

Parnis, who was heralded as a spokesperson for the most in need of society, passed away earlier this month. This passing saw many, including politicians from different parties, celebrating his life of activism and service.

#MaltaDaily

Chat GPT took real exams – and it got a C+ average

Jan 27 2023

A group of University of Minnesota Law School instructors gave the AI bot ChatGPT four exams alongside some real students. The bot, which is considered the world’s most advanced form of generative AI, was found to be a C student.

The professors were curious about how ChatGPT might be used to help students cheat or aid teachers in teaching. Jon Choi, an associate law school professor, ran exam questions through the AI, reformatted them to fix the exam and then mixed the exams in with student’s tests.

The bot earned a C+ average in Constitutional Law, Employee Benefits, Taxation and Torts, which is considered a low but passing grade.

The bot came 36th out of 40 students in Constitutional Law, 18th out of 19 in Employee Benefits, 66th out of 67 in Tax, and last out of 75 students in Torts.

Choi said that the bot could recite legal rules and correctly describe cases without citations. However, it proved ineffective at spotting issues and providing deep reasoning for analysis.

ChatGPT performed better on essays than on multiple choice questions, and performed particularly poor at multiple choice questions which involved mathematics.

Of the experiment’s three human grades, who graded tests blindly, at least two told Choi they suspected which exams were from AI. They were correct. For now, spotting an AI generated exam result is easy, but a ChatGPT generated rough draft which was revised by a student will prove much more difficult, Choi said.

#MaltaDaily

MFA may elect not to accept Joseph Portelli’s resignation

Jan 27 2023

A statement released by the Malta Football Association addressed the recent news that entrepreneur and Ħamrun Spartans FC President Joseph Portelli handed in his resignation to be able to play with the team.

The Association revealed that such a resignation has indeed been received whilst being mindful that this may be related to a possible request from the club to register the same person as a player.

‘In that case, the Association may elect not to accept such resignation’ the statement. The statement explained that it would rather be referred to the competent bodies in compliance with its Reputational Risk Management Policy. This is a document which is public and which is endorsed by its Executive Board.

What do you make of this?

#MaltaDaily