I’m watching artificial intelligence order my groceries. Armed with my shopping list, it types each item into the search bar of a supermarket website, then uses its cursor to click. Watching what appears to be a digital ghost do this usually mundane task is strangely transfixing. “Are you sure it’s not just a person in…
As a demand, it is Donald Trump at his most confusing. The American president appears, at least according to Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, to have told Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday that “American ownership” of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants would be their best protection in future – although the Ukrainian president said…
Less than two weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Meta announced to its content moderation procedures, reportedly at the behest of Mark Zuckerberg and a small group of advisors. Among those caught off guard was the company’s own Oversight Board, the independent organization created by Meta to help shape its most sensitive policy decisions. The group…
Amazon’s Alexa is undergoing its biggest overhaul since debuting more than a decade ago. On Wednesday, Amazon said it was giving Alexa a new brain powered by generative artificial intelligence. The update, called Alexa+, is set to make the virtual assistant more conversational and helpful in booking concert tickets, coordinating calendars and suggesting food to…
A Royal Australian Navy ship is bound for the Coral Sea after a Lithuanian man attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean from San Diego to Brisbane got into trouble. Aurimas Mockus activated his emergency beacon on Friday night about 740km east of Mackay, Queensland, and 90km west of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. He is travelling…
Stephen Curry is very funny – something Australia first learned when we met the actor as Dale Kerrigan in The Castle in 1997. But while Curry has a great many comedy hits under his belt, he’s also adept at more dramatic roles. His latest is as JJ Walker in Ten Pound Poms, the Stan series…