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Plus! Social media site Digg is back. For those who remember, it may feel like returning to what was good about the internet. Is this the sign of a new era for social media? And how long can it hold out being monetised? Also, why gaming in a group, even publicly... outside, is becoming more popular. GUESTS: Phoebe Toups Dougas, associate professor of human-centred computing in the Exertion Games L...

After weeks of trying to audit, delete, and lock down her digital life, Rae hits the big, uncomfortable question: what if you can’t opt out of the internet, even if you really want to? In the final episode of Opt Out, Rae speaks with Jathan Sadowski, senior lecturer at Monash University and proud Luddite, about how surveillance creeps into everyday life — from smart cars to smart locks — and why '...

Every time you click 'accept' online, you’re legally agreeing to something. The problem is… you probably have no idea what that something is. In episode four of Opt Out, Rae tackles the fine print: the privacy policies and terms and conditions we all scroll past because life is short and the language is cooked. She speaks with Dr Katharine Kemp, privacy law expert and associate professor at UNSW,...

If someone tried to hack you right now… how long would it take? In episode three of Opt Out, Rae confronts her own extremely average cyber hygiene and tries to stop being the digital equivalent of someone who leaves their keys in the front door. She speaks with Vanessa Teague, cryptographer and privacy advocate, to unpack why passwords matter (and why humans are terrible at them), before spirallin...

The internet knows a lot about you, but what if you wanted to take it all back and delete yourself all together? In episode two of Opt Out, Rae tries to do the unthinkable: delete herself from the internet. She talks to Lawrence Gentilello, founder of data-removal service Optery, about what it really takes to scrub your details from people-search sites — and why it’s harder than it sounds. Then sh...

We all know the internet knows a bit about us. But… how much, exactly? And what happens if you actually try to look? In the first episode of Opt Out, Rae volunteers as tribute and starts poking around her own digital footprint — checking data breaches, Googling herself, and asking some pretty uncomfortable questions about where our personal info ends up. Along the way, she chats with investigative...

It was a huge year for tech in 2025, and there were a few stories that hooked our attention more than others.  The introduction of the social media ban, and the slow tease of details across the year about its implementation took up a significant chunk of our focus, while AI being embedded (to varying degrees of success) into absolutely everything meant that it was also impossible to escape.  Join...

With AI in our newsrooms, our universities, and our courtrooms, the way we understand the truth has been forever changed. But could it be for the better? Or have we embarked on an unstoppable march towards a new understanding of democracy.  How do we democratise AI development when a handful of tech companies run the digital world? And could we implement government reforms in Australia to make thi...

If you were to picture the ideal robot form to vacuum your floor all by itself, what do you see? Is it a small UFO-shaped disc that whizzes under couches, or is it a humanoid robot with eyes and ears tracking your every move? The new 1X Neo robot has been launched and has been marketed as a 'robot butler', but what issues arise when we start making the tech that serves us look more and more human?...

Roblox has been one of the worst culprits for child safety in the games world, and they’ve come up with something to supposedly keep our kids safe. ‘Age-gating’ is designed to keep people of different ages in different parts of the online game, but how accurate is this age verification? And is it going to cause more problems than solutions?  Also, the government has been found using generative AI...

What happens when theology and technology collide? There's a new tech startup dedicated to building a Christian AI. It's called Gloo , launched by ex-Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, and they say it's going to 'hasten the coming of Christ's return'.  Also, AI chat services are helping us speak to God. From innocent Bible chatbots to an AI priest that told people to baptise their babies in Gatorade , h...

How well do you think the streets of Sydney would handle self-driving taxis? What about those same self-driving taxis navigating the Melbourne tram lines? Could you imagine it? Waymo is set to launch self-driving taxis and Ubers in Australia soon after talks with Transport NSW, and not everyone is happy with it.  Also, Elon Musk has launched his very own version of the people's encyclopedia , Wiki...

How much do you trust the AI chatbots you use on a day-to-day basis? Once you send your prompt off into cyberspace, how do you now no one is interfering with it somewhere in between? Prompt injections are an increasingly common vulnerability in generative AI services and they could be tricking you into giving away majorly sensitive information. Also, Google announced a breakthrough in quantum comp...

When a major outage hit Amazon Web Services this week, websites and apps started falling like dominoes -- from Square to Duolingo, Netflix, and Adobe, why do so many major players rely on a single company to host their data? And should we be calling time on these pseudo tech-monopolies?  Also, we investigate whether its actually true that your iPhone slows down every time a new one is released, an...

The Online Safety Amendment Bill is the name on everyone’s lips this week and as the implementation date looms closer, we take a deep dive into some of the people most affected by the upcoming ban, and lay out all the info you need to know if you’re a parent or teen trying to duck and dodge this murky legislation.   GUESTS: Leo Puglisi, teenager and Founder of 6 News Australia  Nikita White, Amnes...

There are over 170 million pieces of space junk orbiting Earth right now, and that number is only growing as space orbit becomes more accessible. How are we going to deal with this astronomical littering problem, while keeping up with our satellite-hungry tech needs? Also, an increase in light and radio pollution is making it harder for astronomers to study the stars. How can space tech companies,...

You step up to a box full of prizes, and knowing that there is a chance you may not win anything, you give it your real-life money anyway. No, this isn't a game at the casino, it's a video game that children as young as four are playing in their spare time. Last year, Australia introduced classification to prevent things like this from happening, so why are we still seeing Loot Boxes show up in ki...

The Australian Finance Industry Association has modelled AI's contribution to economic growth in the years ahead. It found that "scaling", or expanding, the use of AI could add up to $60 billion to GDP over the next decade . But who is actually going to benefit from this, and where are we getting these numbers from? Also, we explain the blossoming $100 billion bromance between Nvidia and OpenAI ,...

Fanfiction has gone from photocopied zines traded at conventions to millions of stories shared online. From smut-filled Harry Potter ships to the fic that birthed Fifty Shades of Grey, we explore fanfiction's growth, its influence on writing and culture, and how Archive of Our Own has stayed free and fan-run in an internet that charges for almost everything. GUESTS: Danielle Binks, fanfiction (and...

This week, an Australian video game called Hollow Knight: Silksong is the biggest video game in the world. It’s made by a small team out of Adelaide and has already sold millions of copies worldwide. What could this mean for our quietly successful games industry here in Australia? And why do we still have so much trouble seeing video games as a form of art?  Also, new research is out that says up...

2025 is the 'International Year of Quantum Science and Technology ', but what actually is quantum science? IBM and AMD are teaming up to champion 'quantum-centric supercomputing ' – but what's the difference between a supercomputer and a regular computer? Will we ever see a supercomputer show up in our own homes? And why is Australia making a billion-dollar bet on a quantum computing facility in B...

How much is human adjudication in sport worth, and how much more accurate is Wimbledon's new system? Plus, the CSIRO and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) have joined forces to research how AI can be used ethically and efficiently in sports.

When 1 in 5 people have been the victim of cybercrime and AI voice scams are on the rise, how do we protect ourselves online? Plus Google may soon be the default browser on Android phones in Australia and say 'hello!' to your new best friend, with new AI-powered kids toys.

America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a notice they intend to purchase an iris scanning technology that can identify " suspects and inmates who try to hide their identity ". Unsurprisingly, it’s raised some red flags.

A sex doll brothel in Berlin is offering a combination of new VR and AI technologies in their plastic playmates. But the Cyberbrothel business falls outside traditional brothel regulations, raising questions how consent, sex work, and tech intersect.