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Future technology

This Month

The new sky blue MacBook Air.

Apple debuts new MacBook Air, Mac Studio with AI-ready chips

The tech titan has rolled out updated laptops and desktops, seeking to maintain a sales resurgence for the company’s computer line.

February

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic.

Labor is throwing money at quantum but drowning AI in regulation

The unanswered question is how can any country effectively regulate a fast-changing emergent technology and expect to be competitive in the global digital economy.

Sam Altman immediately rebuked Elon Musk’s OpenAI buyout plans.

Sam Altman calls Musk ‘insecure’ as AI race gets personal

The OpenAI chief accused the billionaire of playing games over his offer for control of the start-up. “I wish he would just compete by building a better product”.

Robyn Denholm, chair of the review of Australia’s R&D system, says over the past 25 years Australia has “slid steeply backwards”.

Australia’s critical slide in R&D is now a national emergency

In a world reshaping through emerging technologies, the nation needs to put innovation at the centre of its competitive DNA to set up its fortunes for decades.

January

Donald Trump.

Trump under pressure to tackle China’s DeepSeek

The president said US industries need to be “laser-focused” on winning the AI race. But he also faces calls for a tighter export ban on American chips to China.

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AI

For business, AI can be the new electricity for productivity

If we are to shift productivity momentum back in our favour, it’s worth asking what this kind of progress means in our modern context.

December 2024

Ten wildcard scenarios for 2025

To navigate the future, it can help to anticipate the unlikely. Here are 10 unbelievable-sounding things that could happen next year.

November 2024

PsiQuantum technology.

Coalition claims PsiQuantum deal falling behind

The Coalition claims the $1 billion deal to build a world-leading super computer had missed milestones.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli

Albanese tells Queensland to stick with $1b quantum deal

New Premier David Crisafulli is reviewing the deal with US-based start-up PsiQuantum and says speculation about its future is premature.

SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son.

Meet the oddest of the oddball billionaires

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son may have made and lost more money than anyone alive. It’s unlikely that he’s finished yet.

September 2024

Blue-sky thinking … Andrew Grill, ‘the actionable futurist’.

Meet the ‘actionable futurist’ who demystifies tech for the C-suite

Futurist Andrew Grill reckons execs will struggle to make good decisions about deploying tech in their businesses if they’re not actively using it themselves.

June 2024

Adam Taras, with supervisor Dr Don Dansereau, completed the research as part of his Honours thesis.

Aussie experts can stop your smart-device cameras spying on you

When photos snapped by a robot vacuum cleaner of a woman on the toilet went viral, the smart home sector knew it had a problem; Aussie academics claim to have solved it.

May 2024

Google Australia’s managing director Mel Silva says AI will touch every part of the economy.

Big business braced for AI wave – and plenty of uncertainty

Executives are certain artificial intelligence will transform every part of the economy. They just want to “separate the hype … and the pragmatism”.

April 2024

AI’s advances will echo the internet, not the steam engine

The metaphor has not only become a cliché; it paints an oversimplified and too-rosy picture of how this technology will reshape our lives.

March 2024

Interlune intends to conduct a prospecting mission to the moon as early as 2026.

Private company intends to be the first to mine the moon

US start-up Interlune intends to be the first to collect, return and then sell lunar resources.

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February 2024

Sam Altman’s AI chip project could require raising as much as $US7 trillion.

AI hype has echoes of the telecoms boom and bust

The tech transformation may take years longer than suggested by the record share prices and funding targets.

January 2024

Expectations of strong growth are at risk from conservatism and an aversion to innovation, according to a new survey of Australian CEOs.

Complacent Australia falling behind on new ways to make money

Australian CEOs are less likely to embrace innovation than their international peers, putting at risk future opportunities for growth, a survey says.

December 2023

Investors are pouring billions into data centres.

Your office could double as a data centre – with free hot water

Liquid-cooled server racks can create opportunities in technology and real estate as demand for computing power grows with artificial intelligence.

September 2023

Investors are pouring billions into data centres.

Energy-hungry data centres can also be a source of power

The facilities use a lot of energy, but could also be tapped as a local power source for buildings or precincts – if Australia’s laws allow it.

August 2023

NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie says the demand for AI will generate “extraordinary growth” for the data centre company.

NextDC plans nearly $1b spend on data centres as AI wave looms

The Brisbane-based company told shareholders it had signed the largest amount of new contracts in its history during the past financial year.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/future-technology-1ml5