This Month
- Opinion
- Opinion
Recreating dead actors with AI does not make for a wonderful life
It may seem harmless to recreate Jimmy Stewart’s voice for a wellness app, but it is the start of a slippery slope that doesn’t end well for humanity.
- Paul Smith
November
- Analysis
- Analysis
DP World took longer to speak than Optus. Why hasn’t it faced the same fury?
Optus has a PR problem because it has an actual problem. The same fate could befall DP World if it can’t get all its containers moving and explain the outage.
- Nick Bonyhady
October
- Analysis
- AI
The AI ‘Nora Ephron problem’ is fast spreading
Hollywood’s screenwriters may have succeeded in halting the march of AI into movie scripts but recent upgrades to ChatGPT mean other workers might not be so lucky.
- Nick Bonyhady
September
- Analysis
- High school
Schools and business embrace AI, but do we know what they’re doing?
Artificial intelligence seemingly lets students and workers do new and exciting things more efficiently, but without care, we risk sacrificing genuine knowledge for short-term gains.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Opinion
Gig economy stoush shows government’s trouble fixing tech ‘disruption’
There is a lack of logic on both sides of the debate about planned changes to workplace rules for online service marketplaces.
- Paul Smith
August
- Opinion
- Opinion
Telcos struggle for public sympathy in big tech battle
The telco sector will open a can of worms if it goes after big tech for more payments, and it may struggle to win the argument.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Opinion
Metigy shows the dark side of start-up myth making
The loudest parts of the industry spruik the idea that founders are gifted with a unique ability to turn outlandish visions into reality, doubters be damned.
- Nick Bonyhady
July
- Analysis
- Analysis
Bye bye bank fees, as tech cuts out costly foreign exchange pain
Banks will hate it, but tourists and expat workers will be cheering as new tech lowers FX fees across SE Asia, while fintechs compete to transform the world’s largest financial market.
- Tom Richardson
- Analysis
- Analysis
Why bosses will pay a premium for Microsoft’s ChatGPT tools
The premium price for Microsoft’s AI-based Copilot product looks cheap, if it can deliver on its productivity promises, bosses say.
- Tess Bennett
- Opinion
- Social media
For Musk and Zuck size matters, but it’s what you do with it that counts
As Threads battles Twitter with record breaking user sign-ups the stoush between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg is getting ever more puerile and bizarre.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Opinion
Bored Ape owners sent broke after NFT price collapse
The cartoon apes that became a status symbol during the NFT boom of 2021 have become a financial albatross for some of their once proud owners, who have plunged into debt.
- Jessica Sier
June
- Opinion
- Opinion
VCs told to get real about their role in the tech wreck
A seasoned investor watching last week’s AFR Entrepreneur Summit was stunned to see their VC peers’ lack of self-reflection about hugely over-valued start-ups.
- Paul Smith
May
- Opinion
- AI
Deepfakes spell deep trouble for markets
A fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon showed the ability of cheap AI apps to move global financial markets, and nobody seems to know what to do about it.
- Paul Smith
- Analysis
- AI
Meet the AI humanoid robot that is already stacking shelves
Depending on your perspective you will either be delighted or terrified to meet Phoenix, the humanoid robot, who his creators say, is here to help.
- Paul Smith
Snapchat’s rushed AI rollout has horrific results
Launched without necessary training, bots from huge companies are showing themselves to be dangerously bad, and rules are urgently needed to force responsibility.
- Paul Smith
March
- Opinion
- Opinion
Optus and Telstra unite in cyber battle
In the aftermath of its massive cyberattack Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin cut a lonely figure, but now even Optus’ bitterest rivals are in her corner.
- Paul Smith
February
- Opinion
- AI
Robo-debt disgrace shows why AI cannot replace important jobs
New AI systems such as ChatGPT are untrustworthy, and the robo-debt scandal has shown the peril of abdicating responsibility to unfeeling bots.
- Paul Smith
December 2022
- Opinion
- Opinion
No shame in NBN’s blowout, Labor was on the right side of history
The government should own its mistake in promising unlikely commercial returns on the NBN because it was ultimately right on the bigger picture.
- Paul Smith
November 2022
- Opinion
- Opinion
SBS makes tech trade-offs to avoid ‘Floptus’ World Cup disaster
At the last World Cup soccerl fans adopted the word ‘Floptus’ to rage at the failings of Optus’ coverage, but this time – like the Socceroos – SBS is delivering the goods.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Playing on ‘cheat mode’, Alameda still lost billions
Every trader I speak to is stunned by Alameda’s collapse. Not because FTX was found to be shovelling customer money over to Alameda - though that’s sickening enough - but because Alameda actually lost it in the market.
- Updated
- Jessica Sier
