Latest Story
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Man and machine
Celeste Rodriguez Louro | February 6, 2026Until machines can participate in that collective, embodied and ethical dimension of cognition – and there is no evidence they can – the idea that AI will surpass human intelligence remains more hype than insight.
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Wikipedia turns 25
Vassilis Galanos | February 6, 2026Wikipedia is perhaps the greatest single site on the internet, a crowd sourced encyclopedia of everything which has evolved from a joke to a rare source of reliable information, but is now threatened by the onslaught of AI slop and politically motivated auto-generated alternatives.
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The deep end and the shallow bits
Roger Chao | February 6, 2026Australia used to be synonymous with swimming, yet despite Australia’s regular hauls of World and Olympic medals, fewer children learn how to swim, public pools are under threat and drowning statistics are heading in the wrong direction.
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Why preferential voting beats first past the post
Adrian Beaumont | February 5, 2026Some conservatives want a return to first past the post voting, but the history of Australian elections shows that preference voting allows Parliament to reflect the will of the people with the greatest accuracy.
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The evolution of Instagram
T.J. Thomson | February 5, 2026A study of the evolution of posts on Instagram shows more types of media being used but also increasing convergence and homogenisation between platforms, accelerated now by the influx of AI slop rather than genuine content.
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A world without the USA
Alexander Lee | February 5, 2026Canberra can no longer assume that Washington will underpin regional stability or the rules-based order, the foundational premise of modern Australian strategic planning. Australian policymakers must grapple with the prospect that the destabilising behaviour of US President Donald Trump’s administration is not a temporary aberration.
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Reforming the Pacific workers scheme
Peter Mares | February 4, 2026Australia’s Pacific worker scheme has drifted from its original intention of providing seasonal farm work for Pacific guest workers but some targeted reforms can put it back on track.
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What could possibly go wrong?
Daniel Binns | February 4, 2026The latest AI allows autonomous ‘agent’ bots to take control of your computer and undertake tasks on your behalf across the internet, while a new social media platform for these bots gives them a forum to openly plot the overthrow of their human overlords. What could possibly go wrong?
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Supporting girls in the Pacific
Open Forum | February 4, 2026A new report released by Plan International Australia urges the Federal Government to increase targeted aid investment for adolescent girls, warning that global aid cuts and a growing anti-rights backlash are placing gender equality in the Asia-Pacific great risk.
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From amok to susto
Yenny Vandalita | February 3, 2026Physical symptoms and mental conditions are often shaped by different cultures and languages around the world, and Australian medical professionals should be taught to recognise them.
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Society needs social housing
Open Forum | February 3, 2026Low-income renters in Australia are far less likely to experience housing stress, rent arrears, or be forced to relocate, when living in social housing compared to those receiving cash rent assistance payments or no assistance, according to a new global study by Curtin University.
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Arbeit macht frei
Bernard Paul Corden | February 3, 2026The appalling conditions suffered by some migrant workers in the United States is mirrored by long standing abuses of workers rights in this country as well.
