The search for an energy alternative to fossil fuels has renewed interest in nuclear power production across the globe. Despite nuclear boosters’ promotion of the energy source, Tim Judson of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service calls nuclear power an “elaborate greenwashing scheme.” Nuclear is “not carbon-free,” says Diné organizer Leona Morgan, who highlights the fuel costs and environmental contamination — particularly within and around Indigenous communities in the southwest United States — of the uranium mining required to produce nuclear power. Because the carbon costs before and after nuclear generation are not factored into energy calculations, says Morgan, “it’s really not going to solve the energy crisis.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Deceptive deepfake videos and voice clones will be banned during elections and referendums under Albanese government truth in political advertising laws introduced on Monday to try stem the flow of misinformation. But the new bans won’t be in force for the next federal election, with only a mandatory disclosure that material was substantially modified by…
Sydney-based laser diode manufacturer BluGlass has doubled the value of contracts signed through a United States military semiconductor innovation hub, to develop its technology for quantum computing and artificial intelligence applications. On Thursday, BluGlass announced to the ASX that it had signed a $2.9 million contract with North Carolina University for visible laser development under…
Australia risks losing out on the future prosperity that artificial intelligence presents by investing “far too little” in research and development, according to software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes. The co-founder and chief executive of the country’s most successful tech company on Tuesday said the relative decline in R&D spending over the past 20 years had put…
Recently I asked a good friend of mine who works for an artificial intelligence-based company that you’ve almost certainly heard of what questions politicians should be asking about the impending proliferation of AI. I thought he might talk about cybersecurity, data management, workplace productivity, pornographic deepfakes. Instead, almost immediately, he said that we should be…
AI and machine learning is this focus of the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s second round of long-term research and development partnerships, which opened to applications on Monday. The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) will invest in AI and machine learning technologies that build ‘decision advantage’, being “the ability to process, analyse, and act on information…
Local startup Trellis Data claims to have built the world’s fastest AI decoding technique, allowing text to be generated more than three times quicker on popular large language models. New research from the Canberra-based company reveals its Dynamic Depth Decoding (D3) technique delivers an average speed boost of 44 per cent compared with the leading…
To achieve a world-class military, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is pursuing the three parallel pillars of ‘mechanisation, informatisation and intelligentisation’. The latter gained traction after the ‘China’s National Defense in the New Era’ white paper of 2019 stated that the PLA would evolve from informationised to intelligentised warfare through technologies such as artificial intelligence […]
Sydney tech firm VueMotion has been voted the People’s Choice winner at the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence for its platform that brings the tech used by elite athletes to a smartphone. The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence were presented at a black-tie gala dinner at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney on Wednesday night. All…
Sydney-based counterdrone pioneer DroneShield has taken out the Translation Hero award at the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence for its successful commercialisation of cutting-edge radio frequency AI technology. The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence were presented at a black-tie gala dinner at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney on Wednesday night. The Translation Hero category recognises…
Melbourne startup MyLot has won the GovtTech Project, Product or Service category at the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence for its AI-powered planning tool. The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence were presented at a black-tie gala dinner at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney on Wednesday night. MyLot won the award thanks to its artificial intelligence-powered…
Envision a world where your sensitive enterprise data flows freely into artificial intelligence systems without friction. Large Language Model (LLM) firewalls may emerge as essential for Australian businesses, unlocking generative AI’s power while reducing the risks of data leaks and compliance failures. An LLM firewall works like a security checkpoint for AI, filtering data flowing…
Wikipedia pages for Australian cities, national parks and landmarks present a “sanitised” neo-colonial image of the nation, according to new research, raising concerns that artificial intelligence is amplifying and insulating the view from scrutiny. The UTS research to be released on Tuesday reveals how Wikipedia’s Australian place entries have become a battleground of ideologies while…
Quantum, AI and robotics are recognised as technologies that are critical to the growth of Australia’s economy, creating well-paying jobs and improving our lives. The path for Australia to transition from being leading developers of these technologies to creating new critical technology industries in their own right is fraught with many risks and challenges. Robotics…
“Businesses and governments often overestimate the impact of new technologies in three years and radically underestimate their impact over ten.” This was how Microsoft founder Bill Gates summed up the nature and pace of customer adoption of new transformational technologies in an interview with the author of this column – in 1995 at the birth…
Every year, people from around the world take part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign. It’s a really easy way to make a big difference by doing something “little”. It doesn’t take much time – all you need to do is write a letter, send a post or sign a petition.
Since Write for Rights started in 2001, millions of people have changed the lives of those whose human rights have been taken away. In fact, over the past 20 years more than 56 million actions have been taken, while over 100 people featured in our campaign have seen a positive outcome in their case. For this years toolkit see:
This year’s campaign will feature nine individuals and groups from all around the world. From a TikToker in Angola to a women’s rights defender in Saudi Arabia, these inspiring people are connected because their human rights have been violated.
For results from the recent past: Meet three incredible people whose lives have been changed for the better and find out what people power means to them.
After huge public campaigning, artist and anti-war activist Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko was freed in a historic prisoner swap in August 2024. The deal was brokered between Russia and Belarus on the one hand and Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and the USA on the other.
Aleksandra Skochilenko on the day of sentencing, November 16, 2023.
Rita Karasartova is a human rights defender and expert in civic governance from Kyrgyzstan. For over a decade she dedicated her life to providing independent legal advice, helping people whose rights had been violated. Charged with attempting to “violently overthrow the government”, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, Rita and 21 other defendants were acquitted on 14 June 2024.
In August 2017, Myanmar’s military unleashed a deadly crackdown on Rohingya Muslims – an ethnic minority who have faced decades of severe state-sponsored discrimination in Myanmar. Over 620,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after security forces unleashed a campaign of violence, killing an unknown number of Rohingya; raping Rohingya women and girls; laying landmines; and burning entire Rohingya villages.
Fearing for their lives, then 17-year-old Maung Sawyeddollah and his family walked 15 days to Bangladesh, where they reached Cox’s Bazar refugee camps. Fuelled by his desire to become a lawyer, Sawyeddollah wanted to seek justice for the suffering around him.
Alongside his studies, he started a campaign calling for Facebook’s owner, Meta, to take responsibility for the way its algorithms amplified anti-Rohingya incitement on the Facebook platform, fuelling the Myanmar military’s violence.
In 2023 Sawyeddollah was facing serious security risks in the refugee camps. Together with partners Victim Advocates International and Dev.tv, Amnesty International put together resources to help ensure Sawyeddollah’s safety. Through Amnesty’s Global Relief Team he was provided with urgent financial assistance to support his security needs throughout the year. In August 2024, Sawyeddollah was granted a student visa and moved to the USA to study. He landed in New York City on 19 August 2024, and he is now an international student at New York University.
The Minns government will consider the need for a centralised office to lead artificial intelligence policy and strategy in New South Wales as part of its response to a parliamentary inquiry into the technology. With almost 200 automated decision-making (ADM) systems across the NSW public sector, the government will also look to improve visibility over…
Hydrogen storage, artificial intelligence and waste reduction are among the 23 projects to share in $55 million of funding through the the federal govenment’s cooperative research centres projects grants program. Industry and Science minister Ed Husic announced the 16th round of the CRC-P grants program on Tuesday, unlocking a further $90 million in cash and in…
Australia’s privacy commissioner says the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is mulling regulatory action against a number of companies that are skirting privacy laws when developing artificial intelligence models. Commissioner Carly Kind revealed early work by her office that she says is at a “pre-investigation phase”, as the regulator released new guidance setting out…
Have you ever stopped to think about where all the digital services you use each day physically reside, or what powers them? Whether you access them on your mobile, a tablet or a computer, those services are not really delivered atop fluffy clouds that float high above your head. Instead, they come to you care…
Our brains are our most precious asset, the literal font of innovation. Viewing our collective brains as an invaluable resource should be a national priority. They are the crucial building blocks for a productive society. Enter the concept of brain capital, which encompasses the cumulative brain health and brain skills of a society. We need…
If some of the world’s most zealous tech leaders are to be believed, 2027 is going to be a pivotal moment in human history. It’s the year the world may see the arrival of an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). And, some predict, a working quantum computer. And quite possibly an invasion of Taiwan by China….
Chinese social media platform TikTok said it laid off nearly 500 employees in Malaysia who were tasked with deleting inappropriate content, and will replace them with cheaper artificial intelligence tools, but analysts questioned whether machines could do a better job.
The layoffs by TikTok owner ByteDance come after the Malaysian government pressed it and other social media platforms to enhance systems and safeguards to moderate content in response to a rise in online abuse, misinformation and other harmful content.
Last year, Malaysia singled out ByteDance as not abiding by the country’s laws. The Southeast Asian nation has now drawn up strict regulations that take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Among them is a mandate that social media firms must obtain annual operating licenses.
The layoffs, announced via internal emails on Wednesday, primarily targeted employees in TikTok’s Trust and Safety Regional Operations who were responsible for content moderation, quality analysis and team management.
“They’ve been training AI [artificial intelligence] systems to take over content moderation tasks for a while now. We used to tag videos that violated content policies, and the AI would learn from that,” a ByteDance employee, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told BenarNews.
“Now they’ve decided AI can handle it better – both cost-wise and in terms of efficiency.”
In a statement to BenarNews on Friday, a TikTok spokesperson said the changes were part of an effort to improve efficiency.
“We’re making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” the unnamed spokesperson said.
“We expect to invest U.S. $2 billion globally in trust and safety in 2024 alone and are continuing to improve the efficacy of our efforts, with 80% of violative content now removed by automated technologies.”
The job of content moderators is to review user-generated posts, including texts, images and videos, to determine if they should be deleted, restricted or remain unchanged, based on platform policies. In May, TikTok said it had more than 40,000 people working as content moderators across the globe.
Some of the Malaysian workers said they moderated content not only for Southeast Asia but also for other regions.
Earlier this year, TikTok announced that Malaysia topped the list of nations in 2023 requesting it remove content deemed offensive. Its report noted that it had received 2,002 government requests to remove over 6,000 pieces of content, adding its removal rate was about 90%.
‘Not about performance’
One of the affected employees said the layoffs were sudden and shocking.
“Late on Wednesday, we received an email saying our roles were impacted. They said they will minimize staff, and most tasks will now be outsourced to external partners,” said the employee who asked not to be identified, citing fear of reprisals. “It’s not about performance – even team leaders were hit.”
The source, who spoke to BenarNews, said the workers losing their jobs would receive compensation based on years of service. Those terms were not released.
ByteDance, like other global tech firms, faces increasing global regulatory scrutiny.
Earlier this year, the internet regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) reported an increase in harmful social media content.
In August, the government reiterated the licensing regulations for social media platforms to take effect at the beginning of 2025. Those regulations are to expand oversight and protect users from scams, cyberbullying, misinformation and sexual crimes against children.
“The Malaysian government remains steadfast in implementing a regulatory framework to ensure a safer internet for the people of Malaysia, especially for children and families,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said at the time.
Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil speaks in Kuala Lumpur, March 22, 2024. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP)
In the United States in April, President Joe Biden signed a measure into law that would ban TikTok from app stores unless ByteDance divested from the platform’s U.S. business, Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews, reported.
The Associated Press news agency reported that TikTok had argued in court last month that an American law potentially banning the platform in a few months was unconstitutional, while the U.S. Justice Department said it was needed to address national security risks posed by the app.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has said it would oppose a forced sale of TikTok.
Effectiveness in question
Despite TikTok’s move toward AI-based content moderation, analysts remain skeptical about its effectiveness in fully replacing human moderators.
Policy analyst Harris Zainul, deputy director of research at Institute of Strategic & International Studies Malaysia, said that while AI could improve efficiency, it may not be as effective as human oversight.
“AI can be more efficient than human moderators, especially at scale as these platforms do with user-generated content, but efficiency is no guarantee for effectiveness,” Harris told BenarNews.
“There are still questions about the accuracy of these algorithms, and unfortunately, there are no third-party assessments of the content moderation systems these platforms implement.”
Benjamin Loh, a senior lecturer in media studies at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, pointed out that human moderation, while more expensive, is necessary for platforms operating in Malaysia and other multilingual and diverse countries.
“At this point, AI is definitely not reliable enough, but I understand the rationale behind it, as human moderation is far more expensive,” Loh told BenarNews.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Iman Muttaqin Yusof for BenarNews.
A parliamentary inquiry has rebuffed calls for laws banning AI-generated images and videos in election campaigns despite acknowledging the technology will almost certainly be used to spread disinformation. Crossbench senators have slammed the decision, which they say exposes Australia to deceptive AI content in the upcoming federal election, threatening to undermine trust in democracy. AI-generated…
Science is about making the world clearer and more understandable. By classifying the world into observable, repeatable, verifiable phenomena we move towards a shared sense of reality rather than an individual, subjective one. A cornerstone of contemporary science is how well any research stands up to the rigour of peers questioning and responding to it….
Destructive displays of technological prowess in Lebanon serve to distract the Israeli public from the military’s failure to achieve its long-stated war aims.
..A one-day conference was organized by African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in collaboration with Amnesty International Nigeria, to explore the nexus between whistleblowing, corruption and human rights, and in doing so highlight the essence of whistleblowing as a conveyor belt of free speech and an affirmation of individual human dignity and moral worth that requires full protection from the state or other legitimate institutions.
Its theme, ‘Amplifying Whistleblowing to reduce Corruption and protect Human Rights,’ was painstakingly decided to assert the value of whistleblowers in exposing or preventing wrongdoing, and the necessity of standing up for them for largely playing the delicate role of human rights defenders who are in most cases victimized for performing what is clearly the citizenship duty of protecting the well-being of other citizens and the wider society.
Indeed, that whistleblowing is a fundamental human right is neither theoretical nor speculative. All applicable statutes from the domestic to the international are clear on this. And Maxwell Kadiri, senior legal officer at Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and human rights advocate who was the keynote speaker, made the point succinctly in his refreshingly scholarly address by delving into the origin of whistleblowing and laying out all the laws proclaiming it as a human right that deserves protection.
However, worthy of note is that in exercising the right to hold opinion and express themselves by disclosing public interest illegalities or potential danger to competent authorities, whistleblowers are also helping – directly or indirectly – to protect the right being harmed by the wrongdoing they disclose. It isn’t for nothing, therefore, that some of the most prominent whistleblowing cases globally can be traced to whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing that amounted to human rights abuse. Just one example of such is Dr. Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Chinese ophthalmologist who was the first to blow the whistle on the covid-19 virus and other issues related to the right to life and access to healthcare. And there are many more unsung heroes like Wenliang whose disclosures have uncovered corruption and its collateral human rights violations. Whistleblowers have largely served as human rights defenders when they expose threats to human rights that the public are not able to access.
In Nigeria, they have continued to be victims of relentless persecution simply for doing the right thing: exposing wrongdoing which serves public interest. This is one of the major reasons for the whistleblowing, corruption and human rights conference. Institutions and individuals perpetrating wrongdoing often find it difficult to admit their mistake. Instead of tackling the message, they shoot down the messenger. Not a day passes without a report of public sector workers at the federal and sub-national levels being censored or penalized for challenging authorities by reporting fraud, corruption, misconduct and other illegalities. Although section 6 of Nigeria’s whistleblowing policy provides protection for whistleblowers on the receiving end of punishment for reporting wrongdoing, no whistleblower is known to have enjoyed any protection under this provision. This is because the oversight institutions are so weak that they are not able to assert themselves to implement this provision effectively. Rather than ensure honest implementation of the policy, these institutions are often found doing the bidding of the persons reported, not able to summon the courage to hold them to account for their wrongdoing and would perpetually ignore complaints of victimized whistleblowers.
At the conference, there were at least four whistleblowers with different stomach-churning tales of workplace oppression ranging from suspension, harassment, denial of salary and other benefits, punitive posting, abusive lawsuits, outright dismissal, and threat to life. At the risk of seeming immodest, it has to be stated that AFRICMIL is overwhelmed with demands for support from whistleblowers in this category. In the face of these varied attacks, it is no surprise that citizens are showing next to no interest in engaging whistleblowing despite its famed rating as an extension of the right of freedom of expression that is linked to the principles of accountability and integrity. To prevent an individual from exercising this right is much more than a denial of fundamental human right; it is a violation of humanity….
Whistleblowing is about promoting the culture of truth, self-expression and democracy. Dr. Chido Onumah, coordinator of AFRICMIL and his counterpart at the Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, have agreed as much and stated their resolve to work together to preserve the freedom of expression rights of citizens as it relates to whistleblowing.
Change must start at the top, with upskilling of Australian executives and leaders. As consumers, Australians are world-leading in adopting new technologies. But our businesses, and their corporate boards, are often much slower and unprepared when adopting new and disruptive technologies. But technology is essential for Australia’s transition to become a more complex, high-value economy….
Famed Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla thinks artificial intelligence will be able to do 80% of the work of 80% of jobs.
That will mean humans have a lot more free time because the value of our labor will fall. One way to cushion the blow: universal basic income.
Khosla, who cofounded Sun Microsystems and who has invested in OpenAI, wrote in a lengthy post on the website of his eponymous venture capital firm that AI would reduce costs and make expertise nearly free.
That means everyone from doctors to those in sales to people who work on farms and assembly lines could see AI take over much of their work — and mostly do it better, he wrote.
“As AI reduces the need for human labor, UBI could become crucial, with governments playing a key role in regulating AI’s impact and ensuring equitable wealth distribution,” Khosla said.
Advocates of universal basic income, including Silicon Valley luminaries like Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, have said it could help blunt disparities that threaten to widen as AI absorbs aspects of jobs — or replaces some roles altogether.
AI isn’t like other technological advances
Khosla, who described himself as an “unapologetic capitalist and technology optimist,” contends that widespread payments to supplement income will likely be necessary, at least for a time, because AI isn’t like many recent technological advances.
The microprocessor, the internet, and the mobile phone emerged as tools humans could use, he said, but “AI, by contrast, amplifies and multiplies the human brain much as the advent of steam engines and motors amplified muscle power.”
He expects AI to drive down costs well beyond what the microprocessor could. In addition to making all expertise broadly available and nearly free, Khosla expects AI will usher in everything from bipedal robots to cheaper materials — including metals and drugs by supercharging science and the discovery of materials.
He understands concerns over the idea of handing out cash to people who are pushed out of jobs by AI. Khosla wrote that it might seem “impractical” because of economic constraints. And, he added, ignoring those problems had led to “disasters” in places like Argentina and Venezuela.
Yet Khosla expects the breadth of gains from AI will gradually reduce the economic constraints that animate some criticisms of UBI.
One of those is that UBI programs could remove an incentive to work. Since 2019, more than 100 municipalities in the US have tried a version of handing out money. So-called guaranteed basic income programs are focused on lower-income households as a means of fighting poverty.
A recent study found that rolling out a worldwide UBI would increase global GDP by 130%. Last week, Pope Francis reiterated his support for UBI because, he said, it could help lift some people who haven’t seen the benefits of globalization.
Discussion is needed
Khosla also said it’s important to be careful when making recommendations for any particular policy fix or premature moves at a national scale that would be drastic or irreversible.
“Debate and discussion are definitely called for,” he said.
Yet interventions are needed to help those hurt by broadening income disparities, Khosla said. That will mean watching these changes closely and making “small policy changes” in this decade.
He noted that even if AI continues to make rapid gains in its abilities, the impact and adoption might be slower, “much like the flat part of an exponential curve.”
A billion robots
Khosla predicted that robots will produce sufficient value to “support the people they replace.” He said that in 25 years, there could be one billion two-legged robots handling various tasks.
That could eliminate the need for people to handle sometimes-grueling tasks like working on an assembly line or a farm, and such a market could become larger than the auto industry, Khosla said.
“Few are preparing for how this will radically change GDP, productivity, and human happiness and free people of the servitude of these assignments we call jobs,” he wrote.
The rapid advancement of generative AI is challenging long-held notions of expertise and mastery. The traditional belief, epitomised by Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000-hour rule” – that expertise demands extensive practice – is being upended by AI’s capability to produce outputs of high quality, both creative and technical, with minimal human input. This shift requires reevaluating the…
