January
Australia must face down US tech bosses and Trump
Global tech giants will still be powerful when Trump is not. Policy settings made today by Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton need to keep that future in mind.
Trump’s first day shows the ‘triumph of toxic tech capitalism’
For all their previously progressive leanings, the tech sector billionaires know that Donald Trump is the most lucrative ally they could have wished for.
Meta’s fact-check shift just confirms big tech’s cultural rethink
Mark Zuckerberg’s about-face on free speech is consistent with trends in US-based companies against a background of deepening polarisation and social division.
December 2024
‘What choice do they have?’: US CEOs bend the knee to Trump
From Hollywood to Silicon Valley and Wall Street, senior executives have been bending over backwards to meet Donald Trump since he won the election.
Google announces quantum computing breakthrough. Should we be excited?
Google has built a quantum processor called “Willow” that can solve a problem in five minutes that regular supercomputers would take longer than the lifetime of the universe.
September 2024
DEI is no longer just about ethics, it’s about profits, academics say
Australian business schools are providing an increasing amount of diversity components to reflect a growing corporate demand.
July 2024
Investors aren’t buying Google’s AI future – yet
The search giant’s parent, Alphabet, produced solid earnings, but shareholders are tiring of claims about future magic without answers to important questions.
April 2024
Alphabet surges past $3 trillion, announces first-ever dividend
Google’s parent company rose nearly 16 per cent after first-quarter earnings beat expectations and a $US70 billion stock buyback was approved.
Google’s Gemini AI can now write your emails and create spreadsheets
It turns out Google’s new AI isn’t only good for generating images of black Nazis. Soon you’ll be able to generate spreadsheets and emails with it, too.
Google ‘ghosts’ Aussie staff on promotions as cloud boss quits
The boss of Google’s local cloud division has resigned, with employees saying it has scaled back promotions as it struggles to compete with Amazon and Microsoft.
March 2024
Cheat sheet: what Nvidia has launched, and why so many people care
Everyone knows that Nvidia is the most important company in the AI world right now, but what did it actually release on Tuesday, and what does it do?
Google’s plan to dodge day in court over ‘killing’ Aussie start-up
It is six years since an arbitrary ruling by Google killed a $200m Melbourne start-up. Now, its founder’s costly crusade for justice hangs on a US judge’s ruling.
Gates, Fink, Zuckerberg set to party with Asia’s richest man
The lavish pre-wedding celebrations for Mukesh Ambani’s son include chartered jets and a performance by Rihanna. Wall Street and Silicon Valley titans are coming.
February 2024
Bye-bye, Bard: Google rebrands its AI to take on ChatGPT
Google has introduced Gemini, a free AI app to let users rely on technology to write, interpret what they’re reading and deal with other tasks.
January 2024
The AI revolution’s first year: has anything changed?
Whether generative AI turns out to be as revolutionary as boosters claim, or merely a useful addition to the IT arsenal, should start to become clearer in 2024.
December 2023
Google loses landmark antitrust case to Fortnite video game maker
A jury in California has found the big tech group abused its power to secure billions of dollars in profit from the Play Store.
November 2023
Google chief Pichai grilled over excessive fees
The tech giant’s top executive was questioned over contracts and payments in his testimony in a trial brought by Epic Games over its app store.
Google is paying someone else $40b to make sure you keep using it
The US government has made its case to prove Google is a monopolist. The Breakdown explains why some of the tech giant’s excuses are tortured.
The Aussie who testified against Google for the US government
At the top of a multibillion-dollar media and advertising giant, Joshua Lowcock was the perfect choice for the US Department of Justice’s case, colleagues say.
October 2023
Microsoft and Google’s quarterly results reveal contrasting fortunes
The performance of the two tech arch-rivals underlines the early lead Microsoft has taken in the AI race while Google struggles to catch up in the cloud.