burnout
Workplace

Australia’s ‘great burnout’: there was no ‘great resignation’ – a new study reveals workers are simply exhausted

- March 21, 2023 3 MIN READ

You’ve probably heard about the “great resignation” which saw large numbers of people resigning from their jobs in the US in 2021 and 2022. We didn’t see resignations over and above what is normal in Australia. However, we did see workers resisting the post-COVID return to the office. To better understand these trends, we conducted… Read more »

AI
AI/Machine Learning

From brain implants to super-intelligent humans: will we become homo ex machina?

- March 14, 2023 5 MIN READ

Most people are familiar with the deluge of artificial intelligence (AI) apps that seem designed to make us more efficient and creative. We’ve got apps that take text prompts and generate art, and the controversial ChatGPT, which raises serious questions about originality, misinformation and plagiarism. Despite these concerns, AI is becoming ever more pervasive and… Read more »

Airbnb
Politics

Yes, Airbnb is now part of Australia’s housing shortage problem, but what should governments do about it?

- March 10, 2023 5 MIN READ

The current housing crisis has renewed debates about how to regulate short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. The international research on the impact of these rentals is clear: when landlords “host” tourists rather than residents, housing supply is depleted, rents rise and neighbourhoods change. Given Australia’s dire shortage of rental housing, restricting short-term rentals seems… Read more »

Gender gap
Women in tech

From pinkwashing to progress: the impact of using a gender lens when investing in companies

- March 8, 2023 3 MIN READ

Gender equity continues to be a significant problem in business globally. We all know the story: the gender pay gap is a persistent issue and female-dominated industries tend to be lower paid. Female representation in senior leadership and board positions remains low in many countries, particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand. Women comprise only 28.5% of… Read more »

AI
AI/Machine Learning

AI detection tools are struggling to keep up with ChatGPT – and why that’s concerning

- February 20, 2023 4 MIN READ

As the “chatbot wars” rage in Silicon Valley, the growing proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools specifically designed to generate human-like text has left many baffled. Educators in particular are scrambling to adjust to the availability of software that can produce a moderately competent essay on any topic at a moment’s notice. Should we go… Read more »

I Robot
AI/Machine Learning

5 experts on how ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools will change work for creatives and the knowledge industry

- January 17, 2023 8 MIN READ

From steam power and electricity to computers and the internet, technological advancements have always disrupted labor markets, pushing out some jobs while creating others. Artificial intelligence remains something of a misnomer – the smartest computer systems still don’t actually know anything – but the technology has reached an inflection point where it’s poised to affect… Read more »

Afterpay
Fintech

More than a quarter of young people in financial trouble this year used ‘buy now, pay later’ services

- December 21, 2022 3 MIN READ

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have dramatically changed the landscape of personal lending, largely by being easy to access and not charging interest – thus avoiding national credit laws. In the 2021-22 financial year, according to data from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the number of active BNPL accounts in Australia rose from 5… Read more »

cyber hacking
Politics

The Optus data breach shows why Australia needs mandatory disclosure laws

- October 20, 2022 3 MIN READ

The Optus data breach, which has affected close to 10 million Australians, has sparked calls for changes to Australia’s privacy laws, placing limits on what and for how long organisations can hold our personal data. Equally important is to strengthen obligations for organisations to publicly disclose data breaches. Optus made a public announcement about its… Read more »

Cyber security

The Optus hacker says they deleted the stolen data, but here’s what experts want you to know

- September 29, 2022 4 MIN READ

Shortly after Australian telecommunications company Optus announced the identity data of millions of customers had been stolen, a person claiming to be the hacker announced they would delete the data for US$1 million. When Optus didn’t pay, the purported hacker published 10,000 stolen records and threatened to release ten thousand more every day until the… Read more »

Global tech

Why Uber signed a gig economy deal with the Transport Workers’ Union

- June 30, 2022 3 MIN READ

Uber Australia has struck a historic agreement with the Transport Workers’ Union – a statement of principles that re-regulate work in the Australian rideshare and food delivery industry. This is a major shift to industrial relations in the gig economy. Uber and its rival platforms have largely treated their workforce as independent contractors, not employees… Read more »

Data

There’s a big, dirty data secret in edtech that we need to talk about if we’re going to protect our kids and their futures

- June 13, 2022 4 MIN READ

Schools’ use of educational technologies (edtech) grew exponentially at the height of COVID lockdowns. A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has exposed children’s rights violations by providers of edtech endorsed by governments in Australia and overseas. The lockdowns have ended but edtech remains embedded in education. Children will have to navigate issues of data… Read more »