Privacy law calls as Meta admits farming Aussie photos

11 September

Australians need greater legal protection to prevent tech giants harvesting their personal information, including photos of their children, to train generative AI tools. Politicians and academics issued the call on Wednesday after Meta executives...[Read More]

Children promised a say on social media age ban plans

11 September

Young Australians will get to have their say on a proposed age limit for using social media. The federal government wants to introduce laws by the end of the year for a ban on young people using social media to address mental health and safety...[Read More]

Why you can expect to see more Aussie doctors using AI

4 September

Next time you visit a doctor, a psychiatrist or even a vet, artificial intelligence could be listening to your concerns and taking notes. AI scribes, as the tools are known, are becoming more popular in Australian medical clinics as they promise to...[Read More]

Telcos to dial-up customer communication during outages

28 August

Telco companies will be forced to inform customers about major network outages under new rules directed by the communications watchdog. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will be able to require telcos to let customers know online, by...[Read More]

NASA’s Mars rover begins steep climb to crater’s rim

28 August

NASA’s Perseverance rover is tackling a steep new challenge on Mars. The six-wheeled rover has spent the last three-and-a-half years roaming around the bottom of a crater. On Tuesday, it began climbing to the top. The rover will go up 305m to the...[Read More]

Snapchat rejects Aussie calls to raise social media age

21 August

Snapchat’s global safety head has rejected Australian proposals to ban children under 16 years from using social media, saying the decision is one that should be left to families. Raising the age limit for social networks could disadvantage a...[Read More]

Check one, two: Google tests if AI can improve hearing

21 August

Artificial intelligence could be the key to helping hearing-impaired people tune out the din and hear what’s important, according to Google and Australian researchers. The tech giant this week revealed work on its Australian Future Hearing...[Read More]

Australians to tap into world-leading ID verification

14 August

People will be able to choose how much personal information they share with businesses or services under a form of digital-ID verification. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten will tell the National Press Club on Tuesday a “world leading”...[Read More]

Vital new technology saving lives after heart attacks

14 August

If an off-duty doctor didn’t know a nearby school had a defibrillator, Steven Simpson thinks he might not have made it through a recent heart attack. Mr Simpson had just made son Liam a coffee on June 28 when he went into cardiac arrest, leaving...[Read More]

Cracking coffee code may lead to new Australian brew

7 August

A major breakthrough by a team of international scientists could help deliver a new Australian brew of coffee. The team has been pouring its efforts into mapping the genome of Arabica beans – the world’s most widely consumed type of coffee. The...[Read More]

Star search busting one of the biggest myths in science

7 August

Scientists spend a lot of time busting myths and work is under way to smash one of the biggest of them all – what those scientists look like. A nationwide search is on for the next generation of women and non-binary science communicators,...[Read More]

Aussie founders combine to supercharge AI design tools

31 July

World-leading visual communications company Canva is joining forces with a generative artificial intelligence start-up to put the latest tools in the hands of millions of would-be designers. Australia’s largest privately held technology company...[Read More]

‘Teething issues’ to linger after global IT outage

24 July

Sectors affected by the global IT outages could take weeks to get back to normal, the home affairs minister has warned. The outage, caused by major cyber security firm CrowdStrike deploying a software update, left industries ranging from banks,...[Read More]

Medical devices at risk under 3G closure, inquiry told

24 July

Vulnerable people who use emergency medical devices connected to 3G data may slip through the cracks when the ageing mobile network is switched off in coming weeks. It is not known how many 3G-reliant medical devices, such as personal cardiac...[Read More]

‘Dystopian scenario’ of AI music over human tunes

24 July

One day soon, AI-driven algorithms could be directing music fans towards AI-generated tunes, in preference to songs written by human musicians. This possibility has been sketched out for a parliamentary inquiry looking at Australia’s live music...[Read More]