Taylor Swift
Opinion

The Taylor Swift deepfakes are a reminder, yet again, that new tech is often weaponised against women

- February 3, 2024 4 MIN READ

Sexually graphic “deepfake” images of Taylor Swift went viral on social media last week, fuelling widespread condemnation from Swifties, the general public and even the White House. The circulation of false images of Taylor Swift are alarming. We know that incidences like this disproportionately impact women and girls. @POTUS is committed to ensuring we reduce… Read more »

Apple Vision pro 2
Global tech

Apple’s hoping its $5000 computer headset, Vision Pro, will be the new iPhone, but will we all walk around wearing augmented reality googles?

- January 30, 2024 4 MIN READ

Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset – which the company hopes is a “revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” – that begins shipping to the public (in the United States) later this week. Critics have doubted the appeal of the face-worn computer, which “seamlessly blends… Read more »

Ed Husic
AI/Machine Learning

‘A little light and a little late’: a risk the federal government’s AI policy doesn’t address is missing our chance

- January 18, 2024 3 MIN READ

On Wednesday, the federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic revealed an interim response from the Australian government on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). The public, especially the Australian public, have real concerns about AI. And it’s appropriate that they should. AI is a powerful technology entering our lives quickly.… Read more »

Employment, interview, job
Workplace

6 questions you should have answers for to nail your job interview

- January 18, 2024 4 MIN READ

With the new year underway employers are beginning to resume normal business activities and restart their hiring process. Similarly, many school and university graduates are beginning their job search after a well-earned break. While some employers are using increasingly sophisticated approaches to recruiting such as psychometric testing and artificial intelligence, interviews remain one of the… Read more »

Robot lawyer in a trial
AI/Machine Learning

AI is set to transform how we get legal advice, but it could still leave people without access to justice

- January 9, 2024 3 MIN READ

The legal profession has already been using artificial intelligence (AI) for several years, to automate reviews and predict outcomes, among other functions. However, these tools have mostly been used by large, well established firms. In effect, certain law firms have already deployed AI tools to assist their employed solicitors with day-to-day work. By 2022, three… Read more »

Gordon Ramsay
Life hacks

When to throw away leftovers

- December 28, 2023 2 MIN READ

Refrigeration is the most important invention in the history of food. But while commercial and home refrigerators have only been used for the past 100 years or so, people have long used cool natural environments to store foods for extended periods. Temperature is important for controlling microbial growth. Just as we find food wholesome, bacteria… Read more »

The Treachery of Images, by Rene Magritte (1929)
AI/Machine Learning

The Artist Strikes Back: How creative people are using ‘data poisoning’ to fight generative AI

- December 19, 2023 3 MIN READ

Imagine this. You need an image of a balloon for a work presentation and turn to a text-to-image generator, like Midjourney or DALL-E, to create a suitable image. You enter the prompt: “red balloon against a blue sky” but the generator returns an image of an egg instead. You try again but this time, the… Read more »

Gilmour Space rocket launch
Space

More satellites, less launches: here’s what the first survey on Australian attitudes towards space tells us

- December 18, 2023 4 MIN READ

If someone were to ask you how space technologies impact your daily life, or how much Australia should invest in space, would you have an immediate answer or would you wonder why these questions were even being asked? Understanding what the average Australian thinks about space is essential – voters and taxpayers will only encourage… Read more »

Cybersecurity
Cyber security

What you need to know about the Australian government’s 7-year plan to ramp up cyber security

- November 23, 2023 4 MIN READ

After lengthy deliberation, the Australian government has released its 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy, which aims to make Australia one of the most cyber-secure nations in the world by 2030. It’s a worthy goal, considering Australia was ranked as the fifth-most powerful cyber nation in a 2022 report by Harvard University’s Kennedy School. The strategy outlines… Read more »

Sam Altman
People

What the firing of Sam Altman from OpenAI means for the future of artificial intelligence

- November 21, 2023 4 MIN READ

On Friday, OpenAI’s high-flying chief executive Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired by the company’s board. Co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Brockman was also removed as the board president, after which he promptly resigned. In an unexpected twist, talks began today about potentially reinstating Altman in some capacity following an outpouring of industry and investor… Read more »

Grok, AI
AI/Machine Learning

What the Grok! Elon Musk’s new AI tool is sarcastic and potty-mouthed – so who’s it for?

- November 17, 2023 4 MIN READ

On November 4, X owner Elon Musk unveiled his new AI chatbot Grok: a sarcastic ChatGPT alternative supposedly “modelled” after The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, one of Musk’s favourite books. The verb Grok means “to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with”. Science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein first coined the term, which is… Read more »

Shipping contrainer terminal
Cyber security

The DP World logistics cyber attack looks like sabotage by a ‘foreign state actor’

- November 14, 2023 3 MIN READ

A serious cyberattack has disrupted operations at several of Australia’s largest ports, causing delays and congestion. Late on Friday, port operator DP World detected an IT breach that affected critical systems used to coordinate shipping activity. DP World is one of Australia’s largest port operators, handling approximately 40% of the nation’s container trade across terminals… Read more »