South Australia has begun a trial of a new COVID app to monitor arrivals into the state. SA Premier Steven Marshall claimed “every South Australian should feel pretty proud that we are the national pilot for the home-based quarantine app”. He then doubled down with the boast that he was “pretty sure the technology that… Read more »
A new law gives Australian police unprecedented powers for online surveillance, data interception and altering data. These powers, outlined in the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill, raise concerns over potential misuse, privacy and security. The bill updates the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. In essence, it allows… Read more »
Over the past 25 years, the name “Google” has become synonymous with the idea of searching for anything online. In much the same way “to Hoover” means to use a vacuum cleaner, dictionaries have recognised “to Google” as meaning to undertake an online search using any available service. Former competitors such as AltaVista and AskJeeves… Read more »
Twitter has come under increasing public scrutiny for facilitating hostile communication online. While the micro-blogging site promotes itself as providing a “free” and “safe” space to talk, critics have highlighted the company’s inept response to repeated instances of trolling, harassment and abuse. Our research into how people present themselves and manage their interactions with other… Read more »
As lockdowns continue across Australia, many households are doing something they may not have considered just 18 months ago: ordering groceries online. Australia’s supermarket duopoly, Coles and Woolworths, have raced to implement new technology and transform labour arrangements to keep up with the e-grocery boom. Both are investing in “smart” warehousing and distribution systems with… Read more »
There’s a revolution under way in commerce. Within five years, the consumer data right will have transformed competition and simplified the way we live. Yet most of us know little about it, or think it is restricted to banking. It’s the brainchild of former Productivity Commission chief Peter Harris and Scott Morrison when he was… Read more »
On August 28, a SpaceX rocket will blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying supplies bound for the International Space Station. But also on board will be a small satellite that represents a giant leap into space for our research program here in Western Australia. Our satellite, called Binar-1 after the Noongar word for… Read more »
Compulsory COVID vaccination is in the news again now Qantas has just announced its employees will need a shot. #Breaking: @Qantas has become the second major Australian company to mandate vaccines for its workers. Under the commitment, all frontline staff must be fully vaccinated by November 15, and the rest of its workforce by March… Read more »
Over the past year, we’ve seen how dramatically misinformation can impact the lives of people, communities and entire countries. In a bid to better understand how misinformation spreads online, Twitter has started an experimental trial in Australia, the United States and South Korea, allowing users to flag content they deem misleading. Users in these countries… Read more »
With the simple touch of a smartphone, online food delivery services conveniently offer takeaway food straight to your door. Contact-free delivery has surged in popularity as lockdowns have limited physical access to restaurants and food outlets. Industry reports suggest Australians are spending three times more on online food delivery than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally,… Read more »
Vaccine and drug development, artificial intelligence, transport and logistics, climate science — these are all areas that stand to be transformed by the development of a full-scale quantum computer. And there has been explosive growth in quantum computing investment over the past decade. Yet current quantum processors are relatively small in scale, with fewer than… Read more »
The proliferation of child sexual abuse material on the internet is harrowing and sobering. Technology companies send tens of millions of reports per year of these images to the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The way companies that provide cloud storage for your images usually detect child abuse material leaves you vulnerable… Read more »
Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes such as sea-level rise and glacier melt are now virtually irreversible, according to the most sobering report yet by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report also found escape from human-caused climate change is no longer possible. Climate change is now affecting every… Read more »
On July 15, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sydney’s COVID lockdown wouldn’t end until the number of new cases not in full isolation was zero or as close to zero as possible. But by August 1 the premier’s message had shifted: Once you get to 50% vaccination, 60%, 70% it obviously triggers more… Read more »
Olympians are often seen as the epitome of human performance, with incredible physical and mental strength. And with the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games well underway, it’s hard to not be impressed by the sheer talent and determination of athletes competing from all over the world. For many of us non-Olympians, the thought of possessing such… Read more »
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