dogecoin, cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency

The RBA is gearing up for its digital currency trial – but still can’t see the point

- December 19, 2022 2 MIN READ

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) remains sceptical about the need to introduce a fully digital dollar as it looks to begin an eAUD trial early next year. In a speech to a banking conference last week, Assistant RBA Governor Brad Jones said it remained unclear exactly what purpose a central bank digital currency (CBDC)… Read more »

Cryptocurrency

How FTX Australia got away with claiming it was ‘ASIC-licenced’

- December 14, 2022 3 MIN READ

When cryptocurrency exchange FTX Group collapsed in the Bahamas last month, its local subsidiaries FTX Australia Pty Ltd and FTX Express Pty Ltd fell over too. The Australian companies were placed into administration on November 11 and within days the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had suspended the Australian financial service licence FTX Australia… Read more »

Cryptocurrency

‘I thought crypto exchanges were safe’: the lessons from FTX’s collapse

- December 12, 2022 4 MIN READ

Anthony* (a friend) called a few weeks ago, deeply worried. A deputy principal of a high school in Queensland, over the past year he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying cryptocurrencies, borrowing money using his home as equity. But now all his assets, valued at A$600,000, were stuck in an account he couldn’t access.… Read more »

robot typing
AI/Machine Learning

An expert explains why the AI-driven writing skills of OpenAi’s new ChatGPT chatbot are so impressive

- December 8, 2022 4 MIN READ

We’ve all had some kind of interaction with a chatbot. It’s usually a little pop-up in the corner of a website, offering customer support – often clunky to navigate – and almost always frustratingly non-specific. But imagine a chatbot, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), that can not only expertly answer your questions, but also write… Read more »

Ed Husic
Other tech

Husic gets cracking on the government’s new $15 billion ‘reconstruction’ fund for renewables, fintech, AI, robotics and quantum

- December 1, 2022 3 MIN READ

The federal government has begun the formation of its flagship $15 billion manufacturing fund, with legislation introduced to Parliament and discussions with industry to kick off next week. The National Reconstruction Fund, a key election pledge from Labor, will provide funding to tech areas including medical science, renewables and low-emission technologies, and critical technologies such… Read more »

team meeting, business
Diversity

Here’s how to achieve diversity in STEM – and why it matters

- November 30, 2022 3 MIN READ

So far over 10 million patients worldwide have benefited from the diagnostic tests for cancer and infectious diseases created by Cicada Innovations incubatee, SpeeDx. In Australia, over 80% of laboratories are also using at least one SpeeDx test to report patient samples. And when COVID-19 hit, the company also manufactured COVID-19 tests and supplied them… Read more »

funding
Venture Capital

Square Peg’s Lucy Tan took a deep dive into the VC’s investments after criticism it didn’t back early stage startups – here’s what she found

- November 30, 2022 3 MIN READ

Three weeks ago, we received an influx of incredibly helpful feedback from founders after Paul Bassat reached out to the community via this LinkedIn post. One recurring theme in the feedback that resonated with me was: telling founders you invest early is actually not that helpful. Founders asked: what does ‘early’ mean? What does ‘seed… Read more »

Climate Tech

Why waiting for biotech to solve climate change problems could make things worse for the environment, rather than better

- November 29, 2022 3 MIN READ

The world is under growing pressure to find sustainable options to cut emissions or lessen the impacts of climate change. Technology entrepreneurs from around the globe claim to have the solutions – not just yet, but soon. The biotech sector in particular is now using climate change as an urgent argument for more government funding,… Read more »

concert
Global tech

The arts sector is now designed to make tech billionaires richer – and a new Australian book, Chokepoint Capitalism, ponders how to regain control

- November 28, 2022 8 MIN READ

This book speaks to a disenchanted present. The heady days of internet 2.0, with its anarchic disruption, empowered prosumers, flat hierarchies and sharing economies, are well behind us now. So too is the glamour of start-ups and creative entrepreneurs, remaking the self through pure willpower while transforming capitalism from the inside out, one almond latte… Read more »