CES, the annual trade show packing some of the latest – and often strangest – new technologies, returned to Las Vegas this week for its 2025 iteration. Dominated by the continued rise of artificial intelligence and some interesting visions for consumer electronics, the event offered a glimpse of what we can expect to see on… Read more »
The Victorian government’s controversial $2 billion venture fund has been embroiled in an unfair dismissal case launched by the cofounder of one of its portfolio companies. Seer Medical founder Dr Dean Freestone launched Federal Court action against the company he helped launch and Breakthrough Victoria earlier this year, alleging he was forced out of the… Read more »
A new guide for technology workers in Australia aims to encourage industry employees to become whistleblowers when they witness wrongdoing by organisations and digital platforms. The Technology-Related Whistleblowing guide, released this week by advocates from the Human Rights Law Centre, Reset Tech Australia, Psst, and Digital Rights Watch summarises existing laws and protections for raising concerns… Read more »
R&D incentive uncertainty, migration changes, and the cost of living crisis are slamming the Australian startup community, according to the 2024 Startup Muster report. Launched on Monday, the 2024 report found Australians are starting ventures at an increasingly older age with more looking at overseas markets and investors. The cost of living crisis, however, was… Read more »
The federal government has deprioritised 218 occupations while escalating some 456 others – including a range of cyber security and ICT roles – as it works to boost flagging national productivity by focusing its evolving skilled visa program on the areas of highest need. Designed “to replace complex, out of date and inflexible occupation lists… Read more »
Financial institutions, fintechs, and regulators have welcomed new buy now, pay later (BNPL) rules that will finally treat the sector like other credit providers, with new legislation passed hours before shoppers tapped BNPL to propel Black Friday sales to record-breaking heights. The new regulations will apply corporate regulator ASIC’s National Credit Code (NCC) to a BNPL sector that has… Read more »
A parliamentary inquiry into generative artificial intelligence has suggested products of tech giants such as OpenAI, Amazon, Meta, and Google should treated as “high-risk” under dedicated AI laws. On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence tabled a report on the “opportunities and impacts” coming from Australia’s uptake of AI. The 222-page report raised 13… Read more »
The 2024 Pearcey Awards saw industry pioneers recognised and the 75th anniversary of the first Australian computer celebrated at a gala dinner in Brisbane on Tuesday night. Professor Svetha Venkatesh received the 2024 Pearcey Medal for her work in pattern recognition, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and was inducted into the Pearcey Hall of Fame. Canberra defence… Read more »
AI, underwater drones, deepfakes and online gambling are some of focus areas for the five tech recipients of the 2024 Churchill Fellowships. Fellowship awardees are granted up to $35,000 to fund four to eight weeks of overseas travel to investigate a topic or issue of national interest. “Fellows return home ready to challenge the status quo… Read more »
Australian and international technology companies are among more than 1,200 organisations which did not pay tax in the 2022-23 financial year, according to an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report. The ATO’s tenth corporate tax transparency report, released last Friday, showed around 30% of the 3,985 entities that lodged tax returns for 2022–23 did not pay any… Read more »
Australian computer scientist and debunked Bitcoin ‘inventor’ Craig Wright has been accused of contempt of court after filing a $1.79 billion lawsuit against payments firm Block. Despite a storied early career in Australia’s IT industry, Wright is most known for his unwavering and controversial claim of having invented leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The… Read more »
Social media companies are being “contemptuous” to the Australian people and have done “nothing” to help protect their users from scams and crimes, according to former government cyber security tsar Alastair MacGibbon. MacGibbon, who after a 15-year career with the Australian Federal Police served as special adviser to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security and… Read more »
Australia is struggling to find technology workers with the right cyber security and artificial intelligence skills but could tap 1.1 million “near tech” workers with similar capabilities to reskill and support the workforce, the 10th annual ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse report has found. Demand for cyber security skills has increased by 80% in Australia since… Read more »
Despite Australia’s everlasting cyber security skills shortage, graduates and industry newcomers are struggling to get a foot in the door. AustCyber’s latest Sector Competitiveness Plan showed some 125,791 people were employed in the Australian cyber security workforce in 2022, with 51,309 of those workers in roles with a “dedicated focus” on cyber security. Meanwhile, it’s estimated 85,000… Read more »
Australia’s cyber security industry has welcomed a new advocacy and growth champion with the launch of the Australian Cyber Network (ACN) – a not-for-profit set to pick up where its predecessor AustCyber left off. Launched Wednesday at Parliament House in Canberra, ACN said its goal is to address the “current and future needs” of Australia’s cyber security… Read more »
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