The week AI came for Australian jobs
There’s no doubt AI will reshape Australian workforces, the question is how the transition will be managed and who bears the cost. ⌘ Read more

Anthropic CEO Says AI Company ‘Cannot In Good Conscience Accede’ To Pentagon
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday the artificial intelligence company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to allow wider use of its technology. The maker of the AI chatbot Claude said in a statement that it’s not walking away from … ⌘ Read more

Afterpay’s owner Block to slash nearly half its workforce, citing AI
The cuts reduce Block’s global workforce from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6,000, making it one of the largest AI-driven job culls to date. ⌘ Read more

Samsung’s new phone feature blocks prying eyes
Samsung’s flagship smartphone for 2026 will launch with an industry-first privacy feature. ⌘ Read more

Resident Evil returns in bold, bloody double feature
For its contrasting ninth entry, the zombie-themed video game series returns to where it all began, while also following up recent successes. ⌘ Read more

AI job losses hit Australia hard as tech giant axes 2000 jobs
WiseTech, the country’s largest locally listed technology firm, is cutting 2000 jobs amid fears in the financial markets that AI will eat well-paid white-collar jobs. ⌘ Read more

WiseTech to cut 2000 jobs as AI tightens its grip
The software giant will axe nearly a third of its workforce of 7000 over the next two years. ⌘ Read more

AI to blame as WiseTech cuts 2000 jobs
The software giant will axe nearly a third of its 7000-strong workforce over the next two years. ⌘ Read more

Optus to cut 200 jobs after horror year
Australia’s second-largest telco is attempting to reset following a catastrophic year, but is cutting jobs when it has already come under fire over outsourcing. ⌘ Read more

Viral Doomsday Report Lays Bare Wall Street’s Deep Anxiety About AI Future
A 7,000-word “doomsday” thought experiment from Citrini Research helped trigger an 800-point drop in the Dow, “painting a dark portrait of a future in which technological change inspires a race to the bottom in white-collar knowledge work,” reports the Wall Street Journal. From the report: Concerns of hyperscalers overspending are o … ⌘ Read more

If we’re serious about social cohesion, these big tech hate machines must be reined in
The social media feeds that once connected us are now driving us apart. We must regain control from big tech’s greedy and reckless algorithms. ⌘ Read more

‘The door has slammed’: What happened to Australia’s next crop of ultra-wealthy tech founders?
Two of Australia’s most valuable start-ups have lost their founders, had their valuations slashed, and still can’t get to the public markets. ⌘ Read more

DNA Technology Convicts a 64-Year-Old for Murdering a Teenager in 1982
“More than four decades after a teenager was murdered in California, DNA found on a discarded cigarette has helped authorities catch her killer,” reports CNN:

Sarah Geer, 13, was last seen leaving her friend’s houseï in Cloverdale, California, on the evening of May 23, 1982. The next morning, a firefighter walking home from work found … ⌘ Read more

Chatter dials up on Apple’s folding iPhone as 2026 launch tipped
Apple’s device is tipped to be a shorter, squarer, notepad-shaped foldable compared to Samsung’s skinny models, and may launch in September. ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Has No Moat, No Tech Edge, No Lock-in and No Real Plan, Analyst Warns
OpenAI faces four fundamental strategic problems that no amount of fundraising or capex announcements can paper over, according to analyst Benedict Evans: it has no unique technology, its enormous user base is shallow and fragile, incumbents like Google and Meta are leveraging superior distribution to close the gap, and its produc … ⌘ Read more

Viral moment as AI leaders refuse to hold hands at India event
Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, chief executive officers of rivals OpenAI and Anthropic, were involved in a very awkward photo op. ⌘ Read more

OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs snub handshake at India AI Summit
OpenAI and Anthropic chiefs decline to hold hands during a photo moment at the India AI Summit, highlighting tensions in the fast-moving AI race. ⌘ Read more

California’s New Bill Requires DOJ-Approved 3D Printers That Report on Themselves
California’s recently-proposed AB-2047 would require 3D printers sold in the state to be DOJ-approved models equipped with “firearm blocking technology,” banning non-certified machines after 2029 and criminalizing efforts to bypass the software. Adafruit notes that unlike similar legislation proposed in Washin … ⌘ Read more

Accenture Links Staff Promotions To Use of AI Tools
Accenture has reportedly started tracking staff use of its AI tools and will take this into consideration when deciding on top promotions, as the consulting company tries to increase uptake of the technology by its workforce. From a report: The company told senior managers and associate directors that being promoted to leadership roles would require “regular adoption” of artif … ⌘ Read more

Claims That AI Can Help Fix Climate Dismissed As Greenwashing
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report. Most claims that AI can help avert climate breakdown refer to machine learning and not the energy-hungry chatbot … ⌘ Read more

Telstra posts billion-dollar profit as job cuts deepen
The telco giant is reaping the rewards of aggressive cost-cutting that has shed more than 2300 jobs in six months. ⌘ Read more

Telstra posts billion-dollar profit as job cuts deepen
The telco giant is reaping the rewards of aggressive cost-cutting that has shed more than 2300 jobs in six months. ⌘ Read more

Telstra posts billion-dollar profit as job cuts deepen
The telco giant is reaping the rewards of aggressive cost-cutting that has shed more than 2300 jobs in six months. ⌘ Read more

Telstra posts billion-dollar profit as job cuts deepen
The telco giant is reaping the rewards of aggressive cost-cutting that has shed more than 2300 jobs in six months. ⌘ Read more

China Once Stole Foreign Ideas. Now It Wants To Protect Its Own
China’s courts are now handling more than 550,000 intellectual-property cases a year – making it the world’s most litigious country for IP disputes – as the nation’s own companies, once notorious for copying foreign designs and technology, find themselves on the defensive against a domestic counterfeiting epidemic fueled by excess factory capacity.

Th … ⌘ Read more

Sony Tech Can Identify Original Music in AI-Generated Songs
Sony Group has developed a technology that can identify the underlying music used in tunes generated by AI, making it possible for songwriters to seek compensation from AI developers if their music was used. From a report: Sony Group’s technology analyzes which musicians’ songs were used in learning and generating music. It can quantify the contri … ⌘ Read more

The siblings who built a $537 billion giant in five years
The staggering growth of AI has seen the value of companies surge in quick time. It also has markets very nervous. ⌘ Read more

Samsung Ad Confirms Rumors of a Useful S26 ‘Privacy Display’
Samsung has all but confirmed that its upcoming Galaxy S26 will feature a built-in privacy display, releasing an ad that demonstrates a “Zero-peeking privacy” toggle capable of blacking out on-screen content for anyone peering over the user’s shoulder.

The underlying technology is reportedly Samsung Display’s Flex Magic Pixel OLED panel, first shown at MWC … ⌘ Read more

KPMG Partner Fined Over Using AI To Pass AI Test
A partner at KPMG Australia has been fined $7,000 by the Big Four firm after using AI tools to cheat on an internal training course about using AI. From a report: The unnamed partner was forced to redo the test after uploading training materials into an AI platform to help answer questions on the use of the fast-evolving technology.

More than two dozen staff have been … ⌘ Read more

Bullet dodged: Aussie investors spared as US crypto giant freezes funds
A planned crypto fund with Australian links quietly failed to launch, shielding local investors from the fallout of the BlockFills withdrawal freeze. ⌘ Read more

These are the games Nintendo hopes will help make Switch 2 its biggest ever hit
The original Switch is Nintendo’s best-selling machine ever. But tough times may be ahead for its successor. ⌘ Read more

Google Warns EU Risks Undermining Own Competitiveness With Tech Sovereignty Push
Europe risks undermining its own competitiveness drive by restricting access to foreign technology, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer Kent Walker told the Financial Times, as Brussels accelerates efforts to reduce reliance on U.S. tech giants. Walker said the EU faces a “competitive parad … ⌘ Read more

Meta Plans To Let Smart Glasses Identify People Through AI-Powered Facial Recognition
Meta plans to add facial recognition technology to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as this year, New York Times reported Friday, five years after the social giant shut down facial recognition on Facebook and promised to find “the right balance” for the controversial technology.

The feature, internally … ⌘ Read more

Ring Cancels Its Partnership With Flock Safety After Surveillance Backlash
Following intense backlash to its partnership with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company that works with law enforcement agencies, Ring has announced it is canceling the integration. From a report: In a statement published on Ring’s blog and provided to The Verge ahead of publication, the company said: “Following a co … ⌘ Read more

L’Occident a eu trop de succès pour son propre bien
L’Occident a probablement trop bien réussi. Cela peut paraître étonnant mais le problème de l’Occident moderne est le suivant : la civilisation occidentale a permis l’émergence de techniques et de technologies qui ont rapidement décuplé, centuplé la productivité, amenant une telle richesse pour tous que deux problèmes sont apparus. Le premier, c’est la persistance puis la […] ⌘ Read more

‘Inexcusable’: Optus staff face sack after review into Triple Zero outage
The telco’s chairman calls the findings of an independent review into the incident “a sobering read for everyone at Optus”. ⌘ Read more

White House Eyes Data Center Agreements Amid Energy Price Spikes
An anonymous reader shares a report: The Trump administration wants some of the world’s largest technology companies to publicly commit to a new compact governing the rapid expansion of AI data centers, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

A draft of the compact obtained by POLITICO lay … ⌘ Read more

Software Poses ‘All-Time’ Risk To Speculative Credit, Deutsche Bank Warns
The software and technology sectors pose one of the all-time great concentration risks to the speculative-grade credit market, according to Deutsche Bank AG analysts. Bloomberg: They comprise $597 billion and $681 billion of the speculative-grade credit universe, or about 14% and 16% respectively, analysts led by Steve Caprio wrote … ⌘ Read more

Elon Musk wants to build a city on the moon to save civilisation
The world’s richest person announced that his SpaceX company had shifted focus away from populating Mars to building a “self-growing city” on the moon. ⌘ Read more

Romance Publishing Has an AI Problem and Most Readers Don’t Know It Yet
The romance genre – long the publishing industry’s earliest adopter of technological shifts, from e-books to self-publishing to serial releases – has become the front line for AI-generated fiction, and the results as you can imagine are messy. Coral Hart, a Cape Town-based novelist previously published by Harlequin and Mills & Boon, … ⌘ Read more

Carmakers Rush To Remove Chinese Code Under New US Rules
“How Chinese is your car?” asks the Wall Street Journal. “Automakers are racing to work it out.”

Modern cars are packed with internet-connected widgets, many of them containing Chinese technology. Now, the car industry is scrambling to root out that tech ahead of a looming deadline, a test case for America’s ability to decouple from Chinese supply chains. New U … ⌘ Read more

Intel Releases QATlib 26.02 With New APIs For Zero-Copy DMA
Of Intel’s different CPU accelerator IPs, the arguably most useful and with the greatest customer interest remains around QuickAssist Technology (QAT). Intel QAT allows offloading various compression and encryption tasks for better performance. Intel this week released QATlib 26.02 as the newest version of their user-space library for leveraging QuickAssist Technology on capable hardware… ⌘ Read more

After years of Apple’s dominance, Intel wants its mojo back
New Intel-powered laptops will have power, longevity and graphics to rival Apple’s laptops, without the compatibility worries of some recent Windows machines. ⌘ Read more

Is the ‘Death of Reading’ Narrative Wrong?
Has the rise of hyper-addictive digital technologies really shattered our attention spans and driven books out of our culture? Maybe not, argues social psychologist Adam Mastroianni (author of the Substack Experimental History):

As a psychologist, I used to study claims like these for a living, so I know that the mind is primed to believe narratives of decline. We have a much lower standard … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI’s Lead Is Contracting as AI Competition Intensifies
OpenAI’s rivals are cutting into ChatGPT’s lead. From a report: The top chatbot’s market share fell from 69.1% to 45.3% between January 2025 and January 2026 among daily U.S. users of its mobile app. Gemini, in the same time period, rose from 14.7% to 25.1% and Grok rose from 1.6% to 15.2%.

The data, obtained by Big Technology from mobile insights firm Apptopia, … ⌘ Read more

Why Elon Musk just created a $1.8 trillion space monster
Elon Musk has always had a remarkable capacity to convince investors to help pay for his fantastical dreams. ⌘ Read more

Fallout 76 developers explain how the TV series influences the game
Fallout 76 developers Jon Rush and Bill LaCoste discuss with 9news.com.au how they take inspiration from the TV series and how player feedback continues to guide the game seven years on. ⌘ Read more

‘Absolute nightmare’: The social network where AI chatbots exchange ideas and gossip about humans
There’s a new social media platform capturing the imagination of millions but also ringing alarm bells. The real danger is not what you might think. ⌘ Read more

Racing to build utility-scale computer, quantum start-up earns $20m federal investment
Australian taxpayers are backing Sydney start-up Diraq’s ambition to become a global leader in utility-scale quantum computing. ⌘ Read more

Loongson 3B6000 Benchmarks: How China’s LoongArch CPU Compares To AMD Zen 5, Intel Arrow Lake & Raspberry Pi 5
Recently I finally got my hands on a LoongArch processor, the ISA developed by China’s Loongson Technology as an evolution from their earlier use of the MIPS64 ISA and inspired by RISC-V and other modern ISAs. The Loongson-3B6000 features 12 cores / 24 threads with dual channel DDR4 ECC memory support. Here is a look at how that latest-generation LoongArch desktop processor compares to the current gen … ⌘ Read more