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  • Go your own way

    Nick Bisley     |      May 29, 2026

    Beijing’s shift away from its post-Mao foreign policy consensus and Washington’s abandonment of the liberal international order have left Canberra exposed. Australia must develop greater resilience and autonomy by building coalitions of like-minded trading states to defend and strengthen the rules-based order.

  • Can AI do science?

    Karin Verspoor     |      May 29, 2026

    As in many information-rich tasks, researchers are looking to artificial intelligence systems to speed up their work, but the complexity of the natural world means that AI “scientists” will only be truly effective when they can go beyond connecting words together, to modelling the full complexity of the systems those words describe.

  • Take back the internet

    Ashwin Nagappa     |      May 29, 2026

    Australia’s digital policy shouldn’t be dictated by a handful of giant American tech platforms and squabbling geopolitical actors.

  • Magnificent humanity

    Niusha Shafiabady     |      May 28, 2026

    Pope Leo XIV has just declared artificial intelligence one of the defining moral challenges of our time in his first encyclical. Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) argues the technology must serve humanity, rather than concentrate power or weaken human dignity.

  • Always lead with your jab

    Melissa Lyne     |      May 28, 2026

    A UNSW medical researcher says fewer Australians are getting vaccinated, with the decline hitting some communities harder than others.

  • AI ‘nothingburgers’

    Daswin de Silva     |      May 28, 2026

    Every company is an AI company now, hyping up their latest product as the next big thing, so why do so many of these fail to deliver any benefits at all?

  • The magnificent seven

    Michelle Grattan     |      May 27, 2026

    The flirtation by some “teals” with the idea of forming a new party is part of the major shakeup underway in our political system, but also fraught with danger for them.

  • The day the music died

    Tim Kelly     |      May 27, 2026

    Figures show a significant decline in the sale of new music since the adoption of music streaming, creating a crisis for new and emerging artists in the Australian market.

  • The grey invasion

    Nathan Attrill     |      May 27, 2026

    China is increasing its “grey-zone” bullying of Taiwan through its coast guard, civilian vessels and commercial shipping networks to rehearse control over Taiwan’s maritime approaches as its preparations for a full-scale invasion ramp up.

  • The gathering storm

    John West     |      May 26, 2026

    Many analysts may say the world is in a new Cold War, but the truth is even worse, according to Odd Arne Westad in his new book, The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict and Warnings from History.

  • Cracking down on AI slop

    Vitomir Kovanovic     |      May 26, 2026

    The pre-print science website arXiv has announced that researchers who put their names to papers which included errors clearly generated by artificial intelligence will face a year-long ban and ongoing restrictions.

  • How to grow your next house

    Dan Hill     |      May 26, 2026

    In the fable of the Three Little Pigs, houses of straw and sticks were no match for the Big Bad Wolf but it’s time for Australia to embrace the abundance of circular and low-emissions materials at our disposal.