AI/Machine Learning

Meta used pirated books by Australian authors to train its AI and now US courts may decide if this is ‘fair use’

- April 2, 2025 5 MIN READ

Companies developing AI models, such as OpenAI and Meta, train their systems on enormous datasets. These consist of text from newspapers, books (often sourced from unauthorised repositories), academic publications and various internet sources. The material includes works that are copyrighted. The Atlantic magazine recently alleged Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had used LibGen,… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Why Generative AI is the next step in centuries of technology shaping human knowledge

- March 27, 2025 4 MIN READ

Where would we be without knowledge? Everything from the building of spaceships to the development of new therapies has come about through the creation, sharing, and validation of knowledge. It is arguably our most valuable human commodity. From clay tablets to electronic tablets, technology has played an influential role in shaping human knowledge. Today we… Read more »

Politics

Trump bump: Tax cuts for all in Labor’s 4th budget ahead of the election

- March 25, 2025 3 MIN READ

The Albanese government’s fourth budget is a pitch for the votes of a sour and alienated electorate, framed against a background of extraordinary international uncertainty. US President Donald Trump isn’t mentioned by name. But he is the colossus in the background of this budget and indeed the imminent election campaign. While the opinion polls and… Read more »

Business

We asked kids about playing Roblox and one said it’s ‘literally just child gambling’

- March 24, 2025 4 MIN READ

Roblox is one of the world’s most popular online platforms for children, offering a variety of “experiences” including games and virtual spaces. Most of the experiences are free, but offer upgrades, bonuses and random items in exchange for cash. What do kids make of it? In new research, we interviewed 22 children aged seven to… Read more »

Leadership

The great gossip paradox – is what you’re talking about just chat or laying the groundwork for scandal?

- March 18, 2025 3 MIN READ

When two junior employees bump into each other in the corridor and start chatting about their manager’s overbearing manner, it’s typically considered gossip. But what about when two managers have an off-record catch-up to discuss an under-performing employee? Both scenarios meet traditional definitions of gossip – the information being shared is about other people, the… Read more »

MIcrosoft CEO Satya Nadella
AI/Machine Learning

Microsoft’s AI price hikes and why they ditched their data centre plans

- March 6, 2025 4 MIN READ

After a year of shoehorning generative AI into its flagship products, Microsoft is trying to recoup the costs by raising prices, putting ads in products, and cancelling data centre leases. Google is making similar moves, adding unavoidable AI features to its Workspace service while increasing prices. Is the tide finally turning on investments into generative… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Christie’s, the auction house that flogged NFTs at their peak, is now selling AI works – and more than 6000 artists want it stopped

- February 24, 2025 4 MIN READ

Thirty-four artworks created with artificial intelligence (AI) have gone up for sale at Christie’s in New York, in the famed auction house’s first collection dedicated to AI art. Christie’s says the collection aims to explore “human agency in the age of AI within fine art”, prompting viewers to question the evolving role of the artist… Read more »

Other tech

Lessons from New Zealand’s 45-year-old home-grown and forgotten school computer: The Poly-1

- February 19, 2025 3 MIN READ

Some 45 years ago, a team of staff and students at Wellington Polytechnic designed and built a desktop computer with an operating system customised for the needs of New Zealand schools. The Poly-1 was far ahead of international competition, but New Zealand failed to capitalise on the opportunity. At the time, public investment in a… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Google backflipped on its policy of not using AI for weapons

- February 12, 2025 3 MIN READ

Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first published in 2018, the tech giant removed statements promising not to pursue: technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm weapons or other technologies… Read more »

Politics

Australia’s Rickard report into tech’s ‘digital duty of care’ recommends $50 million fines for failing to act

- February 6, 2025 4 MIN READ

Large social media companies should have to proactively remove harmful content from their platforms, undergo regular “risk assessments” and face hefty fines if they don’t comply, according to an independent review of online safety laws in Australia. The federal government this week released the final report of the review conducted by experienced public servant Delia… Read more »