Jun
6
2025
Westmead Health Precinct is Australia’s largest health and biomedical research precinct and a thriving hub of scientific collaboration and professional cross-fertilisation in Western Sydney – with relationships criss-crossing between four hospitals, two universities, two medical research institutes, a number of allied health centres, and NSW’s largest pathology service. Home to breakthrough research projects in genetics, …read more
Jun
3
2025
Billed as Australia’s first-of-its-kind generative AI-powered pet care assistant, the PetAI chatbot will answer client questions about a range of pets including cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, chickens, small animals, and fish. Developed by giant pet-care retailer Petbarn in collaboration with Microsoft and Insight Enterprises, PetAI has built-in guardrails and refers more esoteric or difficult questions …read more
Jun
3
2025
If a high-school student in NSW asked the education department’s new generative AI tool to write an essay on Shakespeare’s use of comedy, it would respond like a teacher and encourage the student to do the thinking. “Let’s work through that problem,” the tool might say, “who are the characters, what are the themes, how …read more
Apr
15
2025
Pharmacists know it happens. Patients give prescribed medications to other people, usually people they know well: a sister about to go overseas – “have a few of my sleeping pills”; a friend who has run out of hypertension medication – “here, have a few of mine”; even a colleague who has a nasty infection – …read more
Apr
10
2025
Co-founder of telehealth platform Updoc Dylan Coyne says he and his business partner Clifton Hodgkinson have made a point of hiring “really smart, bright, intelligent people” and giving them a large measure of autonomy. “We empower them,” Coyne says. “They can make decisions. They can work collaboratively with others. They can really do what they …read more
Apr
10
2025
Practice management software company Cliniko operates on a 30-hour week, which company co-founder Joel Friedlaender says is a substantial benefit for employees, but also a considered management decision. “It’s good for us to be able to recruit better people when we can offer a perk like that,” he says. “And in my experience, if …read more
Apr
9
2025
Australia needs “clever” defence systems and equipment to protect the nation’s interests over a huge landmass and expanse of ocean, says Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro. “We can’t just assume that we can build scale that will deter an adversary,” she tells The Australian. “So we have to do clever things.” Hundreds of defence research …read more
Mar
25
2025
Artificial intelligence can control increasingly sophisticated uncrewed aircraft and submersibles, changing the nature of warfare and raising questions about the many millions of dollars Australia is now spending on buying and developing crewed aircraft and submarines. Dominant on the frontlines in Ukraine, large-scale swarms of AI drones can overwhelm almost any opponent, says University of NSW …read more
Mar
25
2025
Australian companies are fostering internal “cultural resilience” with extensive training, by testing staff on potential outage scenarios and by using past incidents as learning opportunities. Systemic weaknesses in digital platforms have been exposed by massive disruptions in recent years and the government, clients, consumers and shareholders now expect corporate Australia to take action to repel, reduce and …read more
Mar
25
2025
Australian finance sector organisations will soon have to demonstrate oversight of their service providers’ risk management practices, providing a level of transparency now considered critical in an increasingly technologically complex and digitally interconnected world. Coming into force on July 1, 2025, APRA’s CPS 230 rule will make finance sector companies responsible for their own operational resilience …read more