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Business IT

November

Shaneen Marshall, chief of technology and strategy at Zurich Financial.

AI gets real as big business finds its feet

An era of cautious, low-stakes experimentation is rapidly giving way to tangible changes in how some of Australia’s largest operations run.

  • Paul Smith

October

Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind says giving ChatGPT personal information to generate tailored marketing or financial recommendations may be a breach of privacy laws.

Why you could be fined for using ChatGPT at work

Giving ChatGPT personal information to generate tailored marketing or financial recommendations may be a breach of privacy laws, the Privacy Commissioner says.

  • Tess Bennett
Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic.

Tech giants, major banks warn Labor to tread lightly on AI regulation

The companies say sweeping rules like those in Europe and called for by public interest groups will do more harm than good, and could restrict new uses.

  • Updated
  • Amelia McGuire
KPMG Australia

This is the kind of consulting work KPMG Australia will send offshore

The firm’s consulting arm plans to send 44,000 hours of work to employees based overseas this financial year as part of a push to change the way KPMG operates.

  • Edmund Tadros

September

Home Affairs and Cyber Minister Tony Burke will unveil new laws at the AFR Cyber Summit on Tuesday.

Business to get cyber ‘safe harbour’ protections

New laws will mean companies cannot be punished based on data they share with authorities while trying to recover from cyberattacks.

  • Paul Smith
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August

Cisco is making cuts as it looks to focus on faster growth areas like AI and cybersecurity.

Cisco plans thousands of jobs cuts in cyber, AI shift

Cisco will reportedly eliminate 4000 jobs in a second round of layoffs this year, as it moves its focus to areas such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

  • Ian King
  • Exclusive
  • AI
Luke Anear, founder and CEO of SafetyCulture says

This Aussie unicorn is paying millions for a chief AI officer. Should you?

SafetyCulture is on the hunt for its first AI boss as companies scramble to find executives to help unlock billions of value from the hot technology.

  • Tess Bennett
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos handed over the reins of the company in 2021 and his successor Andy Jassy has been spending heavily on AI services.

Amazon shares drop as AI costs spook market

Like Microsoft earnings earlier in the week, Amazon investors are ignoring profits, and starting to worry about whether big AI investments will ever be recouped.

  • Spencer Soper

July

Companies are starting to measure gains from generative AI, but research shows over half of Australian workers are using the technology without rules or guidance.

Workers are using AI in the office - but where are the rules?

Companies are starting to measure gains from generative AI. But research shows over half of Australian workers are using the technology without rules or guidance.

  • Paul Smith
Google planned to make Wiz a key part of its fight against Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

Google’s biggest acquisition falls over as $35b offer rejected

Cybersecurity firm Wiz has turned down a mammoth takeover bid from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, sticking with an IPO plan.

  • Lynn Doan and Julia Love
Medibank is facing increasing legal challenges related to a 2022 data breach.

Huge cyber fines to be ‘Ford Pinto’ moment Australian business needs

The threat of business-crushing penalties could change the economics of storing sensitive data and cybersecurity investment.

  • Paul Smith
Experts say the swift and effective intervention of the National Co-ordination Mechanism, under Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, was a positive sign that Australia is becoming better at responding to IT disasters.

Why business is left helpless when big tech stuffs up

Experts say there is little most organisations can do to avoid future calamities like the CrowdStrike outage, but Australia’s emergency responses are improving.

  • Paul Smith
A blue screen of death.

CrowdStrike failure raises billion-dollar compensation question

Insurers could bear the brunt of costly fallout from the global IT outage on Friday, as techies at companies worked over the weekend to get services back up and running.

  • Paul Smith and Ronald Mizen
ASX CIO Tim Whiteley is attempting to deliver a raft of tech upgrades.

ASX cuts back on overpaid tech contractors who were ‘taking the p---’

The company’s tech boss is reducing reliance on contractors and consultants after insiders blew the whistle on temporary staff.

  • Paul Smith
ASX CEO Helen Lofthouse, had to pull the pin on the CHESS upgrade early in her tenure.

Regulator needed as ASX techies tinker with critical infrastructure

The ASX has a glut of big tech upgrades to deliver, on top of its CHESS debacle ‘do-over’. If it stuffs them up, then everyone in the market suffers.

  • Paul Smith
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The ASX board on Bridge Street in Sydney. The exchange is replacing four key systems, including CHESS.

The ASX faces a ‘ticking time bomb’ as technology upgrades delayed

The market operator is attempting to simultaneously upgrade several major systems, one of which is at an early stage and already seven months behind schedule.

  • Paul Smith
Redactive co-founders Lucas Sargent, Andrew Pankevicius, and Alexander Valente have international ambitions after raising capital.

Ex-Atlassian insiders pull in millions for AI development start-up

Redactive has raised $11.5 million from local and US-based investors after convincing financial services clients to use it to help software engineers develop AI tools.

  • Paul Smith

May

Productivity Commissioner Stephen King at Tuesday’s inaugural The Australian Financial Review AI Summit.

Companies ‘must take responsibility for not breaking laws with AI’

The competition and corporate regulators say businesses have all the information they need to experiment with AI, after being accused of providing a lack of guidance.

  • Paul Smith
Employees at Melanie Perkins’ Canva are higher paid than tech staff elsewhere, but are increasingly unionised, according to Professionals Australia.

Study shows pay gaps between tech’s big names and the rest

A new study shows a stark difference in pay at newer tech stars like Atlassian and Canva, compared to public sector and other tech company specialists.

  • Paul Smith
AFR WorkForce Summit,
Helen Mayhew, Partner, QuantumBlack, AI, McKinsey & Company
 22nd February 2023 Photo:  -

Why McKinsey wants to send its consultants back to class

McKinsey has launched an internal training academy to develop that most sought-after of modern executives: a leader who understands a company’s business and technology needs.

  • Edmund Tadros

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/business-it-5vk