• Media

    How big tech wrecked the internet


    Charles Barbour |  December 6, 2025


    Cory Doctorow’s new book explains how a voracious handful of unscrupulous tech firms ruined the internet by baiting new users with free access to useful services, monetizing them on behalf of business customers, then extracting every penny of value for themselves by ruining the user experience.


  • Society

    Policy can’t grant what only hearts can give


    Roger Chao |  December 6, 2025


    Truth-telling is an institutional acknowledgment of responsibility. It requires governments to listen, not dictate; to admit wrongdoing, not justify it; and to document harm, rather than obscure it.


  • Artificial Intelligence

    What are small language models?


    Lin Tian |  December 6, 2025


    Large language models are in the news but Microsoft just released its latest small language model that can operate directly on the user’s computer – so what exactly is a small language model?


Latest Story

  • The architects of ignorance

    Daniel Angus     |      December 5, 2025

    We are supposed to live in an age of information overload, but increasingly autocratic governments around the world are starving the public of the data they need to make informed democratic decisions.

  • The case for veganism

    Roger Chao     |      December 5, 2025

    Veganism reduces the animal suffering and environmental footprint associated with food production, making it one of the most effective personal actions for protecting the planet, while also boosting personal health.

  • Grasp the nettle of tax reform

    Aruna Sathanapally     |      December 5, 2025

    The Albanese government can sit on its landslide win at the last election and enjoy the opposition’s self-destruction or it can finally grasp the nettle of reform to assure Australia’s future, including rebalancing our income tax system.

  • Understanding Australia’s AI plan

    Jake Goldenfein     |      December 4, 2025

    The Federal government’s AI is short on specifics but aims to encourage firms to train workers to use AI, rather than replace them with it, and has officially abandoned last year’s proposals for mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI systems to protect the public.

  • How much recycled water storage do Victorian farmers need?

    Max Thomas     |      December 4, 2025

    Max Thomas makes the case for a standard method to calculate the water storage requirement for recycled water irrigation in Victoria.

  • The precarious lives of older renters

    Open Forum     |      December 4, 2025

    Older Australians living in private rentals face ever greater housing insecurity, with women bearing the heaviest burden according to new Swinburne research.

  • How will AI shape the news?

    Joanne Kuai     |      December 3, 2025

    AI can accelerate newsroom workflows, help audiences navigate complex issues, and expand access to essential local information but its adoption also reduces opportunities for real journalists to counter the confident errors it generates and spreads.

  • The language of conflict

    Roger Chao     |      December 3, 2025

    When history is written about the Gaza conflict and other modern wars, it will not matter which flag flew over the rubble, but whether humanity can still see itself in what it has done.

  • Can you spell QWERTY?

    Hayley Butler     |      December 3, 2025

    Touch typing was a valuable skill half a century ago when typewriters were commonplace and was often taught in schools, but a new survey find that children are literally left to their own devices when it comes to keyboarding.

  • Why regulation alone won’t fix early childhood quality and safety

    Roger Chao     |      December 2, 2025

    Australia must do more than merely respond to incident reports and regulatory failings in the early childhood sector. We should aim higher and build the high-performing, high-trust, high-impact system that our children and our national future deserve.

  • A twist in the tale

    Open Forum     |      December 2, 2025

    Dogs think treat their owners as gods because they given them food, water and shelter, while cats consider themselves gods for exactly the same reason, so how did cats come to dominate our homes?

  • Your plastic pal who’s fun to be with

    Grant Blashki     |      December 2, 2025

    Every generation faces its own version of the genie in the bottle. For ours, it’s artificial intimacy. Do we let our children form bonds with machines designed to mimic emotion? Or do we help them engage in the messy, human relationships that teach empathy, patience and love?