• Culture

    The Conversation’s best books of 2023


    Open Forum |  December 5, 2023


    The Conversation asked 20 of its regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising.


  • Artificial Intelligence

    AI in Asia


    ANU Editorial Board |  December 5, 2023


    The scope for AI to reshape economies and drive growth is obvious, but effective, efficient and thoughtful regulation is desperately needed to ensure that the benefits are not monopolised or squandered.


  • Human Interest

    Bully for you


    Open Forum |  December 5, 2023


    In a unique case study, UniSA researchers have explored the lived experiences of a self-identified persistent bully – a voice that is scarce in literature – to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that may contribute to this anti-social aggressive behaviour.


Latest Story

  • Known unknowns

    Gai Brodtmann     |      November 14, 2023

    The cyber-attack against Australian ports by an unnamed foreign power highlights the threat posed to the country, but the nation’s politicians remain behind the 8 ball.

  • Doctoring the facts

    Open Forum     |      November 14, 2023

    Government and industry guardrails are urgently needed for Generative AI to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities, say Flinders University medical researchers who put the technology to the test.

  • Better health by 2030

    K. Srinath Reddy     |      November 14, 2023

    The world needs more and better skilled health workers to attain the United Nation’s sustainable development targets and continue to foster global health beyond 2030.

  • Why don’t Jews feel safe?

    Michelle Grattan     |      November 13, 2023

    Jewish organisations have criticised Foreign Minister Penny Wong over her latest comments on the Israel-Gaza conflict, while Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has said Jewish Australians “have never felt less safe”.

  • Lifting the lid on the lobby

    Katherine Cullerton     |      November 13, 2023

    Well paid lobbyists outnumber politicians three to one in Canberra, and are able to walk the corridors of power without hindrance or regulation. As well as lobbyists from the energy and mining industries, the alcohol, tobacco, fast food and gambling industries are particularly active in their attempts to bend public policy to suit their paymasters’ interests.

  • A lifeline for Tuvalu

    Jane McAdam     |      November 13, 2023

    The Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty will see Australia offer sanctuary for people from Tuvalu facing the loss of their homes due to climate change and represents the world’s first bilateral agreement on climate mobility.

  • Australia’s seismic tremor

    Bob Ford     |      November 12, 2023

    Shockwaves from the violence in the Middle East have exposed and exacerbated the growing fault lines in Australian society, and only a fresh commitment to liberal values and national unity will help to heal them.

  • Protecting Australia

    Brendan Nicholson     |      November 12, 2023

    Australia’s most senior military officer has warned that the nation faces complex and interwoven threats including high-end military capabilities, economic coercion, climate change and AI-driven dangers to democracy in a post-truth world.

  • Counting the costs of climate change

    Open Forum     |      November 12, 2023

    Progress on climate adaptation is slowing on all fronts when it should be accelerating to catch up with rising climate change impacts and risks, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme report.

  • Balancing the risks and rewards of AI

    Albert Zhang     |      November 11, 2023

    The tricky balance between innovation and safety in the realm of artificial intelligence means policymakers, intelligence agencies, industry, civil society and researchers must work together to shape the future.

  • The Pacific looms large in climate policy

    Sarina Theys     |      November 11, 2023

    Although Pacific island countries barely contribute to global warming, they stand at the frontline

  • Georgia’s lessons for Ukraine

    Beqa Bochorishvili     |      November 11, 2023

    When contemplating various scenarios for how the conflict with Russia might end, Ukraine’s leaders can take clear lessons from Moscow’s brutal military campaign against another one-time Soviet state, Georgia.