LATEST ARTICLES

Hydro power brings reliability to renewables

Hydro power brings reliability to renewables

Massive problems have beset the Snowy 2.0 pumped storage hydro program, an ambitious renewable energy project intended to become a vast reservoir of stored energy. One of the 2000-tonne tunnel-boring machines, known as Florence or Flo, recently got stuck in very hard rock and high-pressure water jets were deployed to set the machine free. Last year, …read more

Important lessons on game-changing chatbot

Important lessons on game-changing chatbot

When ChatGPT burst on to computer screens around the world in late November 2022, Michelle Dennis knew the artificial intelligence chatbot was a game-changer. “It very quickly became apparent it would have an impact on classes,” says Dennis, head of digital at Haileybury independent school. “We knew we needed to have a policy before school year started.”

Shared networks explore AI resources

Shared networks explore AI resources

Independent schools across Australia are collaborating and forming networks to share the ways generative AI can be used for teaching and learning, say leaders in the sector. Widely considered the most significant educational technology development since the launch of the internet, the 2022 introduction of OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT sent shockwaves around the world …read more

New global frictions drive push to AI world

New global frictions drive push to AI world

Australian defence experts have been hard at work developing responsible artificial intelligence defence systems, galvanised by increasing geopolitical friction during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The nature of modern conflict, with the overwhelming amount of information for the warfighter and the use of autonomous systems, brings to the fore the need for advanced technologies such as …read more

Strategic advantage key to ADSTAR conference

Strategic advantage key to ADSTAR conference

ADSTAR 2024, the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research summit, will feature the latest developments in next-generation defence science and technology, from hypersonic missiles to artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous uncrewed systems to the limitless possibilities of quantum computing. Focused on emerging science and technology, the biennial Defence symposium hosted by the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) …read more

‘A new wave of VR and AR technology is taking off’

'A new wave of VR and AR technology is taking off'

The day will come when comfortable augmented reality headsets will replace mobile phones and be worn nearly all the time, says Tim Dwyer, leader of Monash University’s data visualisation and immersive analytics lab. Gardeners wearing one of these headsets might gaze into a garden and see a variety of plants with an overlay of Latin botanical …read more

‘Our research shows benevolence makes people happy’

'Our research shows benevolence makes people happy'

Richard Ryan has spent a lot of time researching motivation: understanding why people do what they do, why they choose certain courses of action and why they reject others. A clinical psychologist, Ryan jointly developed the self-determination theory of motivation which he says is applicable in the workplace, in education, in healthcare systems and even in …read more

Chemical weapons remain a concern

Chemical weapons remain a concern

With an Oscar for best feature documentary now linked to his name, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is one of the world’s better-known victims of a chemical weapons attack. Poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020 by Russian operatives, Navalny was airlifted in a coma from Russia to Germany where he spent months recovering.

Social media platforms are the new battlefields

Social media platforms are the new battlefields

Ballooning suspicion has pushed TikTok onto the back foot across much of the western world with increasing concerns the popular video-sharing app could double as a platform for disinformation as well as data gathering tool for China. Social media disinformation campaigns have been favoured by certain nations for years; deployed to push a range of agendas: …read more

Hiring more women is one answer to the employment crunch

Hiring more women is one answer to the employment crunch

Australia’s male-dominated supply chain and logistics industry is currently dealing with a workforce crunch exacerbated by limited range of a large proportion of the workers: mostly aging men. Hermione Parsons, appointed Australian Logistics Council chief executive officer four months ago, is working hard to drag the industry into the modern age. She is gathering a team …read more