BCI
AI/Machine Learning

Connecting brains to computers: 3 startups, including Australia’s Synchron, that have pioneered the technology

- March 28, 2023 4 MIN READ

Since it was founded in 2016, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink has had its moments in biotech news. Whether it was the time Musk promised his “link” would let people communicate telepathically, or when the whole company was under investigation for potentially violating the Animal Welfare Act, the hype around Neuralink means it’s… Read more »

AI
AI/Machine Learning

Google and Microsoft are adding AI to their most popular apps, which is a big win for all of us – and especially cybercriminals

- March 22, 2023 4 MIN READ

Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services. On March 16, Microsoft announced an AI-powered system called Copilot will soon be introduced to its 365 suite apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. The news came about two days… Read more »

ChatGPT
AI/Machine Learning

Is GPT-4 a game-changer in the world of AI? Here’s what we know

- March 17, 2023 4 MIN READ

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) research company behind ChatGPT and the DALL-E 2 art generator, has unveiled the highly anticipated GPT-4 model. Excitingly, the company also made it immediately available to the public through a paid service. GPT-4 is a large language model (LLM), a neural network trained on massive amounts of data to understand… Read more »

National AI Centre. Stela Solar
AI/Machine Learning

A new analysis reveals business is clamouring for AI, but struggling to find the people to do it

- March 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gone mainstream, but implementing it is still a major challenge according to a new report by the government-funded National AI Centre (NAIC). The report, Australia’s AI Ecosystem Momentum report, spoke to more than 200 business decision-makers and AI service providers about how they were using the technology to grow their revenues… Read more »

Operation, AI, doctors
AI/Machine Learning

An artificial intelligence ethics expert says Generative AI needs more rules on risk in health and medtech to prevent disasters

- March 16, 2023 4 MIN READ

A new study published in The Lancet by artificial intelligence ethicist Dr Stefan Harrer has argued for a strong and comprehensive ethical framework around the use, design, and governance of generative AI applications in healthcare and medicine, because it has the potential to go catastrophically wrong. The peer-reviewed study details how Large Language Models (LLMs) have… 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 »

ACCC
AI/Machine Learning

ACCC warns of ‘dark patterns’ used by tech giants to lock in consumers

- March 9, 2023 3 MIN READ

The five largest tech giants may be using ‘dark patterns’ to prevent consumers from adopting online services from competitors, the ACCC has warned as it solicits feedback on a new issues paper exploring the companies’ entrance into a diverse range of markets. Recent years have seen Amazon, Apple, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft, and Google… Read more »

robot typing
AI/Machine Learning

A VC analyst spoke to 50 AI startup founders to understand who to invest in – here’s what she found

- March 8, 2023 2 MIN READ

In my first few months working in deep-tech venture capital, I found and spoke to more than 50 founders building ‘AI’ companies. From climate to workflow to healthcare to transports and logistics to aged care, I canvassed the AI startup space in Australia, meeting incredible founders and gaining useful insight about the Australian AI ecosystem.… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Minority reports: is baked-in bias the Achilles heel of artificial intelligence?

- March 7, 2023 7 MIN READ

One day in mid-2013, four people, including two police officers and a social worker, arrived unannounced at the home of Chicago resident Robert McDaniel. McDaniel had only ever had minor run-ins with the law – street gambling, marijuana possession, nothing even remotely violent. But his visitors informed him that a computer program had determined that… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Does Microsoft’s Bing dream of electric sheep? The role of emotional AI in science fiction – and why it’s needed to address our existential dread

- March 6, 2023 3 MIN READ

Last month, Microsoft integrated its Bing search engine with Open AI’s GPT-4 chatbot, a large language model designed to interact with users in a conversational manner. Users interacting with Bing have reported flashes of emotion, ranging from sadness and existential angst through to depression and malice. The chatbot has even revealed its name: Sydney. Such… Read more »

Leonardo di Caprio/Catch me if you can
AI/Machine Learning

CrapGPT: OpenAI’s chatbot is a fantastic place to embellish your CV

- February 28, 2023 2 MIN READ

Amid concerns about students using artificial intelligence and programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to do assignments, we feel obliged to warn kids doing homework not to rely on it for biographical research. It seems one thing on the internet that the chatbot hasn’t bothered to scour for information is LinkedIn profiles, if the responses offering professional… Read more »