The Conversation
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 »

Tesla, autopilot, car, self driving
Other tech

Now that Australia’s had a serious accident involving a self-driving car, it’s time to open AI’s black box and decide who’s responsible

- May 25, 2022 4 MIN READ

  The first serious accident involving a self-driving car in Australia occurred in March this year. A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries when hit by a Tesla Model 3 in “autopilot” mode. In the US, the highway safety regulator is investigating a series of accidents where Teslas on autopilot crashed into first-responder vehicles with flashing lights… Read more »

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Politics

Australia doesn’t have a strategy for moving to clean transport quickly – so we wrote this plan

- May 12, 2022 4 MIN READ

Australia has no clear strategy to decarbonise transport. That’s a problem, because without a plan, our take-up of clean technologies like electric cars, trucks and buses is slow. It’s stopping us from meeting our climate commitments. And it leaves us paying exorbitant prices for imported oil at the fuel pump, as well as in the… Read more »

Cryptocurrency

New research explains why psychopaths, narcissists, sadists and manipulators are attracted to cryptocurrency

- April 12, 2022 3 MIN READ

Since the invention of Bitcoin in 2009 the global cryptocurrency market has grown from nothing to a value of around US$2 trillion. From a price of US$1 in 2011, Bitcoin rose to an all-time high of more than US$63,000 in April 2021, and now hovers around the US$42,000 mark. Large fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices are… Read more »

submarine
Other tech

The quantum tech arms race is ramping up – and it will dramatically change national security

- April 4, 2022 3 MIN READ

Quantum technology, which makes use of the surprising and often counterintuitive properties of the subatomic universe, is revolutionising the way information is gathered, stored, shared and analysed. The commercial and scientific potential of the quantum revolution is vast, but it is in national security that quantum technology is making the biggest waves. National governments are… Read more »