plain.txt

Australia is one of the world's top per capita users of AI, but outside of large enterprises many businesses aren't using it. In this episode, we speak with Lee Hickin, Executive Director of the National AI Centre (bio below) about what it will take to close the gap between awareness of AI and safe and confident adoption. We explore current attitudes to AI in Australia, what the NAIC's...

This week we explore a shift in how social media platforms are perceived, which could open the door to them taking greater accountability for potential harms experienced by users. The trigger is two recent landmark verdicts in the US. In California, a jury found Meta and Google negligent for the design of their platforms while in New Mexico, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after it was arg...

Is AI going to take all our jobs? This week we dig into this question, starting with a report from Anthropic released this year that cuts against the prevailing panic. We identify some deeper and more nuanced impacts of AI on the labour force beyond the possibility of jobs disappearing - including the re-design of roles, the loss of insight that comes when we handover "mundane" work to A...

This week we take a closer look at the rapid spread of customer‑facing chatbots on websites and explore the growing risks that come with them. While they often look like a simple website widget, chatbots are increasingly deeply integrated AI agents with access to sensitive systems, personal data and business processes. We talk about some of the real‑world snafus that have occurred, and then step t...

To celebrate Privacy Awareness Week, Jordan sits down with Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind to reflect on the PAW theme, her time in the office so far, and what the future holds. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) chosen theme for Privacy Awareness Week is Trust is built here. In every privacy complaint. In every resolution . In a wide-ranging interview, Jordan talks wit...

This week Jordan is joined by Dr Kate Bower from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to discuss the biggest shake-up to online privacy for Australian kids in 25 years, and how you can have your say. The Children’s Online Privacy Code will set out new rules for the handling of children’s personal information by apps games and websites likely to be accessed by children or pr...

This week we unpack the dispute between Anthropic and the US Department of Defense and it what it says about AI governance more broadly. What began as a contractual disagreement rapidly turned into a political and legal stoush that culminated in the designation of Anthropic as a US national supply‑chainrisk. We break down the areas of concern - fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic sur...

In this episode we explore the implications of an Administrative Review Tribunal ruling that Australian retailer Bunnings was reasonably entitled to use facial recognition technology (FRT) to combat crime and staff abuse in its stores. The ruling comes after a protracted dispute, with Bunnings appealing a 2024 determination by Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind that it had breached privacy laws in us...

In our first episode for the year we revisit the big themes of 2025, and explore how they're shaping in 2026. We discuss changing sentiments around AI, its impact on the online information ecosystem, the social media ban and ongoing focus on children's privacy, and how cyber threats are evolving in the AI age. Links: TWIDT #146 Australia's grand plan for AI https://podcasts.apple.com/c...

In this episode we break down the National AI Plan released by the Government in December. The plan broadly sets out how Australia will capture the opportunities of AI, how the benefits will be spread across the economy and how it guide the safe and responsible adoption of AI. We debate whether the plan strikes the right tone, pursues the right opportunities and whether it does enough to manage th...

AI chatbots are becoming increasingly intimate spaces, with people using them for companionship, therapy and as a helpful personal assistant. While our interactions with chatbots like ChatGPT and Copilot get more personal, we're also seeing logs and transcripts of these interactions increasingly find their way to the public - via FOI requests, court orders and security and privacy breaches. We...

This week we analyse the implications of the first ever civil penalties ordered under the Privacy Act. In October, the Federal Court ordered that Australian Clinical Labs pay $5.8 million in civil penalties in relation to a data breach by its Medlab Pathology business in February 2022 that led tothe exposure of the personal information of over 223,000 people. We discuss the key insights for cyber,...

This week Arj is joined by elevenM colleague Brett Watson to breakdown the issues surrounding the rollout of facial recognition technology (FRT) across retail settings, stadiums and other venues in Australia. The Privacy Commissioner recently ruled that the use of FRT by Australian retailers Bunnings and Kmart breached Australians' privacy. Bunnings is appealing the ruling, while Kmart is also...

This week we unpack the concept of sovereign AI, which is increasingly shaping both Australian and global conversations about national AI approaches. We explore what sovereign AI means, the problem it seeks to solve, and the variety of options being proposed. We also debate how feasible it is for Australia to can achieve a truly sovereign AI capability. Links: Article urging Australia to build sov...

This week we discuss the growing use of workplace surveillance technologies, triggered by a legal case involving an Australian compliance training company. The case highlights the use of monitoring software that records an employee's screen activity and even their conversations detected by laptop microphones. With employees increasingly working from home, the case speaks to broader implication...

**CONTENT WARNING**  This episode contains discussion of suicide and mental health themes. Please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.   This week we discuss the rise of AI companions. In the midst of a continued AI acceleration push in Australia, we discuss the emergence of several disturbing stories in which AI chatbots have apparently lead young people and adults alike t...

This week we unpack the national conversation about AI's role in solving Australia's productivity challenges. The Productivity Commission recently published a report arguing for a cautious approach to AI regulation, on the basis that it could prevent Australia from "unlocking a surge of productivity". Business and technology advocates have also doubled down, using the moment to c...

This week we take a deeper look at recent high-profile cyber attacks, which have breached organisations like Qantas and Marks & Spencer. For all the talk of technical sophistication, especially in the time of AI, hackers like Scattered Spider are relying less on fancy code and more on their ability to exploit gaps in our systems of trust. We explore how the biggest vulnerabilities in our syste...

This week we explore why so many organisations fall short in how they respond publicly to a cyber incident or data breach. Even for organisations that have a well-exercised "crisis communications" muscle, too often a data breach results in a response that infuriates and erodes trust in equal measure. We explore why standard crisis comms principles don't always apply in a data breach,...

This week we revisit the conversation around banning under 16s from social media, and the range of technologies being considered to verify the ages of would-be social media users. We examine the preliminary findings of a government-commissioned trial of age assurance technologies, as well as some independent media reporting on technologies in the trial. The preliminary results have received mixed...

This week we explore growing tension between the importance of safeguarding user privacy online, and the public and social value that comes from researchers having access to growing volumes of data on social media platforms. In recent years, researchers have used platform data to shed useful light on a range of issues including mental health, social and cultural dynamics, the evolution of democrac...

This week we discuss the increasing prevalence of AI generated content online (aka 'AI slop'), on social media and even in books, journalism and academic journals.  We explore how AI tools are enabling the generation of slop at scale, unleashing a flood of low quality content that is degrading our information ecosystem, making it harder to access high quality, verified information, and even gettin...

This week we discuss the observable global shift in mood away from AI regulation and safety towards acceleration and innovation. It's a trend we observed several episodes ago, but appears to be gathering further speed with announcements by global political and business leaders of the urgency of re-doubling efforts to enhance AI capability. With Trump setting the tone at a federal level in the US,...

This week we reflect on one of the most visible and annoying features of the recently concluded federal election campaign - the incessant spam from political parties. We break down the various exemptions and carve-outs that make it legal for political parties to collect information about voters and spam us without consent. While the premise of the exemptions is to preserve the freedom of political...

This week we're in conversation with Rys Farthing, who is Research Director at Reset. Tech Australia, a Not-for-profit that aims to develop evidence around digital issues so that policy makers can be more informed. We explore some of the challenges for effective digital policy making in Australia and around the world, and discuss our hopes and expectations for the Children's Online Privacy...