U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

Sigh. 🧪

www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

The loss of expertise is staggering. The US is sacrificing its future under the Trump administration. 🧪

So Alex Honnold is free climbing Taipei 101 and my mum wants to know why he is not wearing socks.

Australian CEOs say AI isn't creating revenue gains ROI, skills, and confidence elusive as worried execs invest trillions.

Australian businesses are throwing money at heavily hyped artificial intelligence solutions but just one in seven companies is seeing revenue gains as a result, new surveys have shown as CEOs worry they are not keeping up with AI’s risk and complexity.

Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Why the price of RAM is skyrocketing Rising costs being 'passed through to customers'.

The AI boom is driving major price hikes for consumer electronics as AI chipmakers take first dibs on critical memory hardware. 📈

Read more, including thoughts from RMIT University's @olegzendel.bsky.social and UNSW's @suekeay.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Merry Christmas. Enjoy!

China’s AI surge exposes America’s blind spot: research security COMMENTARY | AI research matters more than ever.

This should set off alarms. China didn’t just catch up in AI- it scaled faster, trained younger, and plugged itself into global research networks, including ours. This isn’t hype- ignoring it would be a strategic mistake. #AI #China #NationalSecurity
www.nextgov.com/ideas/2025/0...

Proposal to allow use of Australian copyrighted material to train AI abandoned after backlash Productivity Commission recommends waiting three years to establish review into technology after furious response from creative industries * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Productivity Commission has abandoned a proposal to allow tech companies to mine copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence models, after a fierce backlash from the creative industries. Instead, the government’s top economic advisory body recommended the government wait three years before deciding whether to establish an independent review of Australian copyright settings and the impact of the disruptive new technology. Continue reading...

Proposal to allow use of Australian copyrighted material to train AI abandoned after backlash

Where’s my robot butler? Podcast Episode · If You're Listening · 03/12/2025 · 22m

🤖Do yourself a favour and listen to this podcast from Matt Bevan (ABC). In this episode Matt tackles the humanoid robot hype, the inherent technical challenges, and how our dreams for useful robot helpers has a long history of attracting grifters of all sorts. ❤️🦾 podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/i...

Data Dreams at MCA Sydney. Hard not to be enchanted by Anicka Yi’s Radiolaria, an otherworldly installation that felt alive with speculative intelligence. I could watch these all day.

Join us in Sydney www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-ai-wor...

Why we joined an international investigation into how big tech lobbying is rewiring the future The influence of lobbyists on media and tech policy is no secret, but this project gathered reporters from across the world to compare notes on the tactics and talking points of big tech.

Crikey's Anton Nilsson was one of several dozen journalists who traveled to Bogotá, Colombia to plan a global investigative series into the lobbying tactis of big tech. Here's how the project took shape.

I had fun moderating the Emerging Technologies panel at #CAETS2025 in Brisbane, hosted by ATSE. 🌏

Inspiring insights from Sir Peter Gluckman, Dr Yuko Harayama, Dr Liang Zheng & Chandrakant Patel on shaping a sustainable future in 50 years.

#AI #Sustainability #Engineering

And the winner of 2025 Australian Museum Eureka Prize outstanding mentor of researchers is …. Michael Milford! Eureka prizes @eurekaprizes.bsky.social

Enjoying the anticipation at the 2025 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes for Science and Innovation #eurekaPrizes with finalist for outstanding mentor of researchers Michael Milford with Therese Milford @eurekaprizes.bsky.social

Someone working at the Qantas Club has OCD

How about we develop AI with integrity. www.linkedin.com/pulse/produc...

As @waltmossberg.bsky.social always said: The tech leaders are rapacious information thieves.

The moment you realise it was a mistake to get up early and go to the gym

You know it’s a rough day when you turn up to the airport and can’t figure out which boarding pass to use as you are not sure what city you are in…

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign? Meta Wrongfully Disabling Accounts with No Human Customer Support

So there's a petition going around to hold Meta to account... might not get anywhere but if you've been banned it's a place to start: chng.it/KLKTP4BXrG

Digital sovereignty is a big issue. Denmark and some German states are considering how they could operate without Microsoft. I think it is worth Australia doing the same. Since we already have entrusted our national security to AWS cloud it is hard to envisage how our government could go it alone

I would recommend contacting a few professional cybersecurity firms to find out what they can do and how much it would cost.

There were some people on Reddit offering to help with either how to take legal action against Meta or how to fill out the right forms but I felt this would take quite a bit of work to sift through who was authentic.

Very sorry to hear your story. I did not spend more than a few hours trying to track down help. I heard rumours that you could contact our e-safety commissioner. It sounded like some people in the US had success taking Meta to small claims tribunal but not sure you can do this in Australia.

An entire village in Dorset is facing eviction – proof that private money holds all the power in rural England | George Monbiot This scandalous story gives lie to the claim that the biggest threat to country life comes from city dwellers, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Found myself standing up reading this: YES @georgemonbiot.bsky.social, absolutely my rural experience, all around us. The rhetoric, the shutting out. ‘The real conflict is not town v country, but money & power v people.’
‘Never let powerful people tell you who you are.’ @righttoroam.bsky.social

Digital Exile is the New Black: My Meta Misadventure and Why Digital Sovereignty Matters There used to be a lot of different ways that people could connect with me but please know that you are no longer able to contact me via Meta Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads or Messenger for Bu...

Exploring life without Meta www.linkedin.com/pulse/digita...

Political Figures Warn Against Voters Using AI For Election Decisions | 10 News First YouTube video by 10 News First

On Channel 10 re AI and the federal election m.youtube.com/watch?v=T8rV...

Talking AI and the Australian election with Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on Channel 9’s Today Show.

Should people be turning to AI tools like ChatGPT to help them decide how to vote?

#AI #AIPolicy #DemocracyAndAI #AustraliaVotes2025 #ElectionIntegrity #DigitalLiteracy #UNSWAI #AIandPolitics