This week Arj is joined by elevenM colleague Brett Watson to breakdown the issues surrounding the rollout of facial recognition technology (FRT) across retail settings, stadiums and other venues in Australia.
The Privacy Commissioner recently ruled that the use of FRT by Australian retailers Bunnings and Kmart breached Australians' privacy. Bunnings is appealing the ruling, while Kmart is also considering an appeal - both arguing that their use of FRT is a proportionate response to issues like violence and theft in their stores.
With that as the backdrop, Arj and Brett debate the merits of privacy advocates' arguments against FRT.
Links:
OAIC ruling against Bunnings https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/bunnings-breached-australians-privacy-with-facial-recogni…
OAIC ruling against Kmart https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/18-kmarts-use-of-facial-recognition-to-tackle-refund-frau…
Article about OAIC ruling against Kmart (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-18/kmart-facial-recognition-technology-privacy-commissioner/105…
Article about Bunnings arguments in favour of FRT (AFR - paywall) https://www.afr.com/technology/bunnings-boss-wants-new-laws-to-allow-facial-recognition-in-stores-2…
Article about Wesfarmers citing rise in retail theft (Skynews) https://www.skynews.com.au/business/finance/wesfarmers-boss-rob-scott-laments-uptick-in-retail-thef…
NZ Privacy Commissioner inquiry into Foodstuffs use of FRT https://www.privacy.org.nz/focus-areas/frt-inquiry-report/
Article about woman misidentified by Foodstuffs FRT (RNZ) https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535871/woman-wrongly-kicked-out-over-foodstuffs-facial-recognit…
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we unpack the concept of sovereign AI, which is increasingly shaping both Australian and global conversations about national AI approaches.
We explore what sovereign AI means, the problem it seeks to solve, and the variety of options being proposed.
We also debate how feasible it is for Australia to can achieve a truly sovereign AI capability.
Links:
Article urging Australia to build sovereign AI (InnovationAus) https://www.innovationaus.com/build-sovereign-ai-now-or-face-lock-in-australia-warned/
Article about Australian startups building sovereign AI (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/we-can-do-it-for-under-100m-start-up-joins-race-to-build-local-chatgpt-20250908-p5mt5o
Article about Productivity Commission's views on sovereign AI (AFR) https://www.innovationaus.com/productivity-tsar-hoses-down-sovereign-ai-support-hopes/
Oped #1 about Australia's limitations in achieving sovereign AI (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/australia-is-seeking-its-place-in-the-ai-world-order-20250910-p5mu38?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Oped #2 about Australia's limitations in achieving sovereign AI (AFR) https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/labor-must-resist-the-temptation-to-build-sovereign-ai-20250903-p5ms97
Oped by Vic senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah (AFR)https://www.afr.com/technology/our-ai-future-is-being-built-overseas-we-can-t-afford-that-20250813-p5mmlq
Blog about South-East Asia's approach to sovereign AI (ASPI) https://aspicts.substack.com/p/the-monthly-roundup-angela-suriyasenee
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we discuss the growing use of workplace surveillance technologies, triggered by a legal case involving an Australian compliance training company.
The case highlights the use of monitoring software that records an employee's screen activity and even their conversations detected by laptop microphones.
With employees increasingly working from home, the case speaks to broader implications for worker privacy and employee-employer trust relationships.
Links:
Article about Safetrac case (AFR) https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/company-turned-laptops-into-covert-recording-devices-to-monitor-wfh-20250822-p5mp0z
Article about the trend of workplace surveillance (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/27/remote-work-software-home-surveillance-computer-monitoring-pandemic
OAIC summary of workplace monitoring and surveillance laws https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/surveillance-and-monitoring/workplace-monitoring-and-surveillance
Vic Gov inquiry into workplace surveillance https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/49a1f1/contentassets/5232a88edcc34487aa0223bcbb2c8974/laeic-60-02-inquiry-into-workplace-surveillance2.pdf
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
**CONTENT WARNING**
This episode contains discussion of suicide and mental health themes. Please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
This week we discuss the rise of AI companions.
In the midst of a continued AI acceleration push in Australia, we discuss the emergence of several disturbing stories in which AI chatbots have apparently lead young people and adults alike to self-harm.
In the face of known harms, many of these AI chatbots continue to be designed primarily to increase engagement and - as some have argued - addiction and dependency.
Links:
Article about AI companions impact on young Australians (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-12/how-young-australians-being-impacted-by-ai/105630108
Podcast including discussion of case of Adam Raine https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-openais-chatgpt-guided-a-teen-to-his-death/id1460030305?i…
Discussion about case of Sewel Setzer III (Tech Policy Press) https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-companions-and-the-law/
Research into impacts of AI companions (Tech Policy Press) https://www.techpolicy.press/new-research-sheds-light-on-ai-companions/
Report on AI companion market size https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/ai-companion-market-117494?ref=theoverview.…
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we unpack the national conversation about AI's role in solving Australia's productivity challenges.
The Productivity Commission recently published a report arguing for a cautious approach to AI regulation, on the basis that it could prevent Australia from "unlocking a surge of productivity".
Business and technology advocates have also doubled down, using the moment to call for various legal exemptions and a more laissez-faire approach to restrictions on companies building and deploying AI models.
We explore these ideas and the specific implications for areas like privacy and copyright.
Links:
Productivity Commission report https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/data-digital/interim
Article about Productivity summit (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-07/artificial-intelligence-jim-chalmers-economics-reform-roundtable/105618958
Report on AI benefits (METR) https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/
Article on how most AI experimentation is wasted effort (HBR) https://hbr.org/2025/08/beware-the-ai-experimentation-trap
Article about CBA call center AI bungle and stats on unsuccessful AI adoption (SMH) https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/bring-back-the-humans-cba-s-embarrassing-ai-jobs-bungle-a-salutary-lesson-20250821-p5moqk.html
Privacy Commissioner's response to Productivity Commission report https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/blog/getting-ai-right-benefits-businesses,-productivity-and-the-community
Article about artists response to Productivity Commission report (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-13/productivity-commission-ai-report-copyright-law-authors-respond/105646086
Interview with Scott Farquhar (ABC) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-12/could-australia-benefit-from-the-revolution-in-ai/105645406
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we take a deeper look at recent high-profile cyber attacks, which have breached organisations like Qantas and Marks & Spencer.
For all the talk of technical sophistication, especially in the time of AI, hackers like Scattered Spider are relying less on fancy code and more on their ability to exploit gaps in our systems of trust.
We explore how the biggest vulnerabilities in our systems are sometimes found not in software flaws but in how we vouch for ourselves online, and the way we govern relationships between companies and their suppliers.
Links:
Article about Scattered Spider (Axios) https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-of-cybersecurity-fab0c0d0-5760-11f0-8c09-e72f7ef7d797?utm_source=chatgpt.comArticle about the psychological edge behind Qantas hack (AFR) https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-says-6-million-aussies-caught-up-in-cyberattack-20250702-p5mbup
Australian Government advisory on Scattered Spider https://www.cyber.gov.au/about-us/view-all-content/alerts-and-advisories/scattered-spider?utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=scatter-spider&utm_medium=social&utm_content=advisory
Darknet Diaries episode about profit driven hacking communities https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/112
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we explore why so many organisations fall short in how they respond publicly to a cyber incident or data breach.
Even for organisations that have a well-exercised "crisis communications" muscle, too often a data breach results in a response that infuriates and erodes trust in equal measure.
We explore why standard crisis comms principles don't always apply in a data breach, and what good looks like.
Links:
Article with analysis of Qantas comms response (Mumbrella) https://mumbrella.com.au/just-trust-us-were-qantas-880124
Article with analysis of Qantas comms response (Security Brief) https://securitybrief.com.au/story/experts-give-qantas-mixed-reviews-on-cyber-breach-response
Oped from James Turner on Qantas data breach (AFR) https://www.afr.com/technology/why-the-qantas-hack-should-send-chills-around-corporate-australia-20250710-p5me2r
Article about Qantas data breach (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/02/qantas-confirms-cyber-attack-exposes-records-of-up-to-6-million-customers
Article about PageUp data breach (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/07/thousands-of-job-seekers-details-potentially-exposed-in-hack
elevenM blog on cyber crisis communications (elevenM) https://elevenm.com.au/blog/the-four-pitfalls-of-cyber-crisis-communications/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we revisit the conversation around banning under 16s from social media, and the range of technologies being considered to verify the ages of would-be social media users.
We examine the preliminary findings of a government-commissioned trial of age assurance technologies, as well as some independent media reporting on technologies in the trial.
The preliminary results have received mixed reviews, with particular concerns over the accuracy of facial recognition-based age estimation.
Links:
Preliminary findings of age assurance trial https://ageassurance.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/News-Release-Preliminary-Findings-for-publication-20250620.pdf
Article about preliminary findings of age assurance trial (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-20/age-assurance-trial-preliminary-report/105440288
Article highlighting issues with facial age estimation technologies (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-19/teen-social-media-ban-technology-concerns/105430458
Article about expert resigning from assurance trial advisory board (Crikey) https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/23/expert-resigns-teen-social-media-ban-tech-trial-advisory-board/
TWIDT #79 The long and winding road to age verification https://elevenm.com.au/podcast/episode/the-long-and-winding-road-to-age-verification/
TWIDT #122 Big ban theory – Why Australia’s social media ban for kids is raising eyebrows https://elevenm.com.au/podcast/episode/122-big-ban-theory-why-australias-social-media-ban-for-kids-is-raising-eyebrows/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we explore growing tension between the importance of safeguarding user privacy online, and the public and social value that comes from researchers having access to growing volumes of data on social media platforms.
In recent years, researchers have used platform data to shed useful light on a range of issues including mental health, social and cultural dynamics, the evolution of democracy online ... but also, importantly, how the platforms themselves are managing domains like user privacy, content algorithms and content moderation.
In some cases, the inability to access the data safely has either thwarted research or led to unsavoury data access practices.
We look at ways researchers could be granted safe and ethical data access, including legislated transparency requirements.
Links:
Article about researchers accessing Discord user data (404) https://www.404media.co/researchers-scrape-2-billion-discord-messages-and-publish-them-online/
Article about Twitter clamping down researcher access to its API (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/14/twitters-restrictive-api-may-leave-researchers-out-in-the-cold/
Article about Meta disabling researcher access to data (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/6/22613525/facebook-nyu-research-ban-cambridge-analytica-platformer
Statement: Research Cannot Be the Justification for Compromising People’s Privacy (Meta) https://about.fb.com/news/2021/08/research-cannot-be-the-justification-for-compromising-peoples-privacy/
Article about DSA transparency requirements (Tech Policy Press) https://www.techpolicy.press/researcher-access-to-platform-data-and-the-dsa-one-step-forward-three-steps-back/
Report on achieving digital platform transparency in Australia (Reset.Tech Australia) https://au.reset.tech/news/achieving-digital-platform-public-transparency-in-australia/Mozilla research into platforms data access initiatives (Mozilla) https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/blog/new-research-tech-platforms-data-access-initiatives-vary-widely/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we discuss the increasing prevalence of AI generated content online (aka 'AI slop'), on social media and even in books, journalism and academic journals.
We explore how AI tools are enabling the generation of slop at scale, unleashing a flood of low quality content that is degrading our information ecosystem, making it harder to access high quality, verified information, and even getting in the way of our ability to connect with other humans online.
Links:
Max AI slop feature article (New York Magazine - paywalled) https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ai-generated-content-internet-online-slop-spam.html
Max Read discussing his article in New York Magazine - linked above (Read Max newsletter - not paywalled) https://maxread.substack.com/p/were-in-our-slop-era
Article on ecosystem behind AI slop content (The Conversation) https://theconversation.com/side-job-self-employed-high-paid-behind-the-ai-slop-flooding-tiktok-and-facebook-237638
Article about Meta using AI to generate comments (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/21/meta-spotted-testing-ai-generated-comments-on-instagram/
Article about Trump's use of slop (New Yorker) https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/trump-is-the-emperor-of-ai-slop
Article about LinkedIn posts being AI slop (WIRED) https://www.wired.com/story/linkedin-ai-generated-influencers/
Article: AI slop is killing the internet (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2025/jan/08/ai-generated-slop-slowly-killing-internet-nobody-trying-to-stop-it
404 Media coverage of AI slop (some paywalled) https://www.404media.co/tag/ai-slop/
Article on the closure of Wordfreq (404 Media) https://www.404media.co/project-analyzing-human-language-usage-shuts-down-because-generative-ai-has-polluted-the-data/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we discuss the observable global shift in mood away from AI regulation and safety towards acceleration and innovation.
It's a trend we observed several episodes ago, but appears to be gathering further speed with announcements by global political and business leaders of the urgency of re-doubling efforts to enhance AI capability. With Trump setting the tone at a federal level in the US, lawmakers have even gone as far as proposing a 10-year moratorium on ant state-based AI laws.
We explore the implications of this mood shift for Australia, as a re-elected Albanese Government and its new Industry minister plot the way forward for AI in this country.
Links:
Article about 10-year moratorium (Tech Policy Press) https://www.techpolicy.press/us-house-committee-advances-10-year-moratorium-on-state-ai-regulation/
Article about Trump rescinding Biden exec order (Cybersecurity dive) https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/trump-repeals-biden-ai-executive-order/738114/
Article about OpenAI CEO reversing AI regulation position (The Information) https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/apparent-reversal-openai-ceo-advocates-less-ai-regulation
Article about tech execs pushing back on regulation (Seattle Times) https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsofts-brad-smith-other-tech-execs-give-congress-ai-wish-list/
Article about new Industry Minister Tim Ayres (InnovationAus) https://www.innovationaus.com/tim-ayres-named-industry-minister-in-new-look-cabinet/
Article about need for Australia to pursue AI sovereignty (InnovationAus) https://www.innovationaus.com/owning-the-algorithm-australias-path-to-ai-sovereignty/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we reflect on one of the most visible and annoying features of the recently concluded federal election campaign - the incessant spam from political parties.
We break down the various exemptions and carve-outs that make it legal for political parties to collect information about voters and spam us without consent.
While the premise of the exemptions is to preserve the freedom of political communication in the name of democracy, we explore how the practice might be subverting our democratic ideals.
Links:
Article explaining how political parties can legally spam voters (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-29/political-parties-can-send-you-texts/105226350
Article breaking down Trumpet of Patriots spam campaign (SBS News) https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/trumpet-of-patriots-texts/vsqj4l75x
Article about "H Fong" the man behind Trumpet of Patriots spam campaign (SBS News) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/01/who-is-h-fong-harry-trumpet-of-patriots-sms-text-messages-federal-election-ntwnfb
Crikey for PM campaign (Crikey - Paywalled) https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/04/28/spam-texts-election-clive-palmer-trumpet-of-patriots-monique-ryan-privacy-act-crikey-for-pm/
Article about political parties' postal vote application texts (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-31/aec-warns-of-unsolicited-postal-vote-texts/105116220
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we're in conversation with Rys Farthing, who is Research Director at Reset.Tech Australia, a Not-for-profit that aims to develop evidence around digital issues so that policy makers can be more informed.
We explore some of the challenges for effective digital policy making in Australia and around the world, and discuss our hopes and expectations for the Children's Online Privacy Code.
If you're a regular listener, you'll know that Reset's work comes up somewhat regularly (both episode #120 about real time bidding and #93 about data brokers were based on research reports published by Reset, for example). We believe that there's a real need for the kind of work that Reset.Tech Australia does, to build an Australian evidence base around tech policy issues and solutions, and how they play out in the Australian context.
Links:
The OAIC's announcement about phasing consultation is here: https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/blog/sunshine-and-double-rainbows-building-a-better-online-environment-for-children-and-young-people
The law that give rise to the Children's Online Privacy Code is here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_LEGislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7249
About grooming on Facebook. The leaked files that 75% of grooming came from Facebook's People You May Know (PYM) feature were reproduced in a US court, on page 12 here: https://socialmediavictims.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Spence-Complaint-6_6_22.pdf Also Zoe Daniels asked if PYMK was still turned on for Australian kids in Sept 2024, and the answer was yes: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/metas-disregard-for-the-public-interest-is-galling-says-independent-mp-zoe-daniel/news-story/7783e5551f8669f665c7599d4e1dc47c
The document that notes that industry was aware of the issues of setting the bar of protection at 16 not 18. In response to a number of orgs raising this in their consultation process they responded: "in response to feedback the Code provisions concerning privacy settings on children's accounts have been amended to apply to children under 16." https://onlinesafety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/221118_Submissions-log-responses_FINAL.pdf
Finally, we also mention the Centre for automated decision making & society's Australian ad observatory project - a fantastic participatory research project providing much needed visibility into how ads are targeted to people in Australia: https://www.admscentre.org.au/australian-ad-observatory-investigating-mobile-and-dynamic-advertising-via-computational-and-participatory-approaches/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we discuss how recent turbulence in geopolitics is translating into impacts on the digital environment.
We explore how the Trump tariffs and general shift towards increased trade protectionism might impact a swathe of tech policy initiatives around the world.
We also look at the increasingly cavalier attitudes to security, privacy, and risk management from the US Government, primarily through the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency, and the extent to which such attitudes might affect Australia as we head to an election.
Links:
Article about potential impacts to News Media Bargaining Code from US tariff policies (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/media-bargaining-code-tariffs-trump/105124278
US Government list of Foreign Trade Barriers https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Reports/2025NTE.pdf
Article about DOGE increasing cyber security risks (TIME) https://time.com/7268032/doge-cybersecurity-elon-musk/
Article about DOGE cyber security cutes (TechCrunch) https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/11/doge-axes-cisa-red-team-staffers-amid-ongoing-federal-cuts/
Article about war plans shared on Signal (The Atlantic - Paywalled) https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we discuss increased the scrutiny on how charities and not-for-profits manage the data they collect.
Several breaches in recent years have led the Australian privacy regulator to issue specific guidance on privacy obligations to the NFP sector, particularly warning them against the practice of retaining donor data longer than necessary.
We explore the challenges charities face in getting privacy and cyber security right, including limited knowledge and resourcing, and pressures to make use of data to fundraise more effectively.
Links:
Privacy regulator's guidance for charities and NFPs https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/draft-media-release-updated-nfpcharities-guidance
Podcast conversation with Privacy Commissioner about charities https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/defending-charity-data-privacy-commissioner-shares-insights-latest-charity-chat-podcast
Report on financial and workforce challenges faced by charities (ACNC) https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/cost-living-issues-impact-australian-charity-sector-latest-acnc-data
Cyber threat report on Australian charities (CyberCX) https://cybercx.com.au/news/cyber-risks-to-australian-charities-sector/
Charity telemarketer data breach (ABC News) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-21/qld-pareto-phone-charity-hack-cyber-criminal/103002650
Article about Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation use of data-driven marketing (The Australian) https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/growth-agenda/childrens-charity-borrows-from-retail-sector-for-story-of-growth/news-story/4bfead86c5cab9607e342836bef66e00
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week Jordan is joined by fellow Victorian elevenM-er and OVIC alumnus Piotr Debowski to explore some of the challenges, trends and quirks of privacy complaints in Victoria and to introduce a new, free, elevenM resource: The Victorian Privacy Case Notes Database.
Piotr led the development of the database, which provides case notes and commentary on Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Victorian Supreme Court decisions involving the interpretation and application of the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) from the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).
We hope the database will be a useful resource for Victorian privacy officers or anyone with an interest in Victorian privacy case law. Feedback very welcome via https://elevenm.com.au/contact/.
Links:
elevenM's Victorian Privacy Case Notes Database - https://viccasenotes.elevenm.com.au/
Our case note on Gao v Victoria Legal Aid [2012] VCAT 5223 - https://viccasenotes.elevenm.com.au/case-note/gao-v-victoria-legal-aid-2012-vcat-5223/
OAIC determination in 'WP' and Secretary to the Department of Home Affairs (with guidance on quantum of compensation) - https://www.oaic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/3077/wp-and-secretary-to-the-department-of-home-affairs-privacy-2021-aicmr-2-11-january-2021.pdf
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by bensound.com
This week we explore the how the Australian privacy regulator is transforming itself in an attempt to have a stronger impact - in the face ongoing funding pressures and a reform agenda that hasn't quite met the expectations of privacy advocates.
A year into the tenure of Carly Kind as Australian Privacy Commissioner, we are seeing a more public and vocal regulator, a series of targeted enforcement actions and the issuing of more frequent communications and guidance.
It's all part of a self-described transformation by the OAIC into a "more proactive, harms-focused regulator".
Links:
Our episode with Commissioner Carly Kind https://elevenm.com.au/podcast/episode/107-power-up-your-privacy-with-privacy-commissioner-carly-kind/
Oct 2024 Interview with Carly Kind (Mi-3) https://www.mi-3.com.au/09-10-2024/enforcement-mode-privacy-commissioner-carly-kind-takes-aim-widespread-pixel-data
Article about OAIC staff cuts (InnovationAus) https://www.innovationaus.com/privacy-watchdog-axes-30pc-of-staff/
OAIC Corporate Report 2024-25 https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-the-OAIC/our-corporate-information/corporate-plans/corporate-plan-2024-25
OAIC restructure report released under FOI https://www.oaic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/245559/FOIREQ24-00563-Document-for-release.pdf
OAIC settlement with Meta https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/landmark-settlement-of-$50m-from-meta-for-australian-users-impacted-by-cambridge-analytica-incident
OAIC enforceable undertaking with Oxfam https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/oaic-accepts-oxfam-australia-enforceable-undertaking
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we analyse what appears to be a global shift in sentiment away from AI safety.Our discussion is triggered by the AI Action Summit in Paris, where world leaders overtly sought to minimise focus on AI risks and regulation in favour of an acceleration agenda.
Links:
AI Action Summit (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_Action_Summit
Report on AI Action Summit (Politico) https://www.politico.eu/article/ai-action-summit-france-paris-macron-vance-modi-artificial-intelligence-technology/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Alondra Nelson speech https://www.techpolicy.press/three-fallacies-alondra-nelsons-remarks-at-elyse-palace-on-the-occasion-of-the-ai-action-summit/
Tim Hwang on X https://x.com/timhwang/status/1889646392995377534
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
This week we dive into the hype and fear around DeepSeek, the Chinese AI start-up taking the tech world by storm.
We break down the apparent concerns driving the collective freakout over the app, which include bans by various national governments.
We also explore the broader takeaways for Australia's AI capability and ecosystem and the responsible AI movement.
Links:
DeepSeek FAQ (Stratechery)https://stratechery.com/2025/deepseek-faq/
Article about DeepSeek market impact (ABC News)https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-02/deepseek-nvidia-financial-markets-frenzy-ai-race/104866302
Matt Levine on the links between hedge funds and LLMs (Bloomberg - paywall)https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-01-27/hedge-fund-ai-is-cheap-aiArticle about DeepSeek being banned from Australian government devices (Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/04/deepseek-banned-from-australian-government-devices-over-national-security-concerns
Article about DeepSeek censorship (Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/28/we-tried-out-deepseek-it-works-well-until-we-asked-it-about-tiananmen-square-and-taiwan
Article explaining how DeepSeek censorship works at a technical level (WIRED)https://www.wired.com/story/deepseek-censorship/
Casey Newton analysis (Platformer)https://www.platformer.news/deepseek-ai-explainer-china-worries/
Article reporting potential shift in Australia's focus on AI safety (InnovationAus - paywall)https://www.innovationaus.com/not-just-the-guardrails-chalmers-shifts-govt-focus-on-ai/
Article on Australia's unique AI opportunity (InnovationAus - paywall)https://www.innovationaus.com/deepseek-unearths-australias-ai-opportunity/
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) www.eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com
We're back in 2025.
In this episode we break down Meta's decision to cease factchecking and permit dehumanising speech on its platforms.
We explore the likely motivations and impacts of these changes, and the broader takeaways for Australia.
Links:
Article about Meta's factchecking changes (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-ends-third-party-fact-checking-program-adopts-x-like-community-notes-model-2025-01-07/
Analysis of factchecking changes (Platformer) https://www.platformer.news/meta-trump-pivot-messenger-themes-labor-zuckerberg-wishlist/
Detail on Meta's change to dehumanising speech (Platformer) https://www.platformer.news/meta-new-trans-guidelines-hate-speech/?ref=platformer-newsletter
Oped on factchecking changes (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/opinion/meta-fact-checking-policy.html
Article on response to factchecking changes (Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/08/australia-meta-ending-factchecking-facebook-misinformation-sarah-hanson-young
Meta explainer on its factchecking https://transparency.meta.com/en-gb/features/how-fact-checking-works/
Meta's marked up Hateful Conduct Policy (Meta) https://transparency.meta.com/en-gb/policies/community-standards/hateful-conduct/
Blog post on why collective understandings on social media can be dangerous (Programmable Mutter) https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/were-getting-the-social-media-crisis
Blog post about Zuck's weird 'masculine energy' thing (Unmanned) https://sorayachemaly.substack.com/p/1-masculine-energy-or-the-vengeful
Credits:
Editing and post-production by Martin Franklin (East Coast Studio) eastcoaststudio.com.au
Music by Bensound.com