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Innovation

This Month

Elon Musk

This is why the US military takes Elon Musk’s Martian dream seriously

The Pentagon figures a rocket transport system could shuttle troops and weapons to Asia within 90 minutes if a war broke out with China – and SpaceX’s Starship rocket is about a decade ahead of any rival.

  • Eva Dou and Aaron Gregg
Fiona Wood spearheaded the creation of Avita Medical’s spray-on skin in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Time to reverse the R&D slide

I encourage everyone with an interest in our long-term prosperity to engage with the review of the system so we get the best possible recommendations.

  • Ed Husic
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm will lead the review on behalf of the government.

Tesla’s Robyn Denholm to lead review of R&D settings

The Albanese government has ordered the first review of research and development spending in Australia in almost 20 years.

  • Tom McIlroy

November

Venture capital is not all Canva and Culture Amp.

Dear VC, can you please improve our farming industry?

Fruit and vegetable growers have called in the white sneaker brigade to solve the horticulture sector’s problems and open up new markets sooner.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Cicada boss Sally Ann Williams.

A top CEO reveals what you shouldn’t do in a job interview

Cicada Innovations chief Sally-Ann Williams discusses tips when trying to advance your career, and the thing she does every morning to make better decisions.

  • Sally Patten and Martin Peralta
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Aphantasia: What it’s like when your mind’s eye is blind
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Aphantasia: What it’s like when your mind’s eye is blind

When a viral tweet made Yolanda Redrup realise she couldn't create a picture in her mind it changed her understanding of herself and the world around her.

  • Updated
cartoon image

How to give customers and investors what they want

Meeting the expectations of increasingly demanding customers while satisfying investors with strong returns requires more than just good intentions.

  • Nigel Andrade, Enrico Rizzon and Michael Hone

October

Neara’s co-founders Daniel Danilatos, Karamvir Singh and Jack Curtis are seeing international expansion opportunities.

PE giant buys in as Aussie AI infrastructure start-up raises $45m

Swedish private equity giant EQT is one of the lead investors in a $45 million funding round at Australian AI infrastructure start-up Neara.

  • Paul Smith
Commonwealth Bank told investors earlier this month that it would tread carefully in rolling out uses for AI. But ASIC says that, across the banking industry, demand for AI is booming.

Everything we know (so far) about how banks and insurers are using AI

It has been two years since ChatGPT burst onto the stage – and artificial intelligence is becoming more complex. An ASIC survey sheds more light on the future.

  • Lucas Baird and James Eyers
Footage online appears to show an Optimus model talking to an attendee at the event and having a discussion about where it lives and where it was trained.

Elon Musk’s robots were remotely operated by humans at Tesla event

Optimus’ conversation was so authentic, it prompted speculation the machine may have had external help. The billionaire did not reveal that staffers oversaw interactions.

  • Updated
  • Ed Ludlow
ANZ and HESTA are exploring how stablecoin technology can streamline employer contributions under looming payday super laws.

HESTA, ANZ pilot use of A$DC stablecoin for payday super

Bringing data and payments together promises efficiencies for super funds grappling with new laws that will more than double incoming contributions.

  • James Eyers
George Evans is Head of Consulting, Asia-Pacific & Japan at Cognizant.

Assessing innovation hands on with AI and experts

Cognizant employed a multifaceted approach in judging of The Australian Financial Review 2024 BOSS Most Innovative Companies Awards.

  • George Evans
Experimental nanomaterial is released during a demonstration cloud seeding flight over Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

The storm chasers trying to save the world from drought

Everyone agrees the planet needs more water. So why is cloud-seeding so controversial?

  • Jeremy Miller

September

Matthew McMillan, Partner at Lander + Rogers.

‘Gold rush mentality’: Lawyers pile into AI advice

Lawyers are taking advantage of uncertainty around the legal implications of artificial intelligence use to build out new practices in the area.

  • Maxim Shanahan
Fred Schebesta, founder of Finder, pictured in Sydney after his appearance at the AFR Crypto & Digital Assets Summit on Monday.

ASIC sets off the crypto fire alarm, Canberra will have to respond

Delegates to this week’s Summit pleaded for clarity about how digital assets are defined under corporate laws.

  • James Eyers
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Reserve Bank of Australia.

RBA warms to its own digital currency – but only for other banks

The central bank says it could save billions of dollars by making transactions faster. But it has decided digital cash for the public is far riskier.

  • James Eyers

August

Robotic Hand Holding Service Bell In Plate Against Grey Background Robot chef, automated kitchen
iStock

The robochef revolution poised to take over restaurants

Robot-driven kitchens are delivering profit margins that traditional restaurateurs can only dream of, and their spruikers argue that human chefs will benefit too.

  • Matt Oliver and Daniel Woolfson
a world leader in renewable energy Tianyi Ma and has enjoyed breakthroughs in relation to Hydrogen production and CO2 conversion technologies

The three words that unite these emerging leaders

Finalists in the emerging leadership category of the Higher Education Awards are focused on research that has “real-world impact”.

  • Euan Black
Consumer data right is meant to make switching accounts and finding cheaper products easier.

Familiar with the consumer data right? Here’s why you should be

The philosophical basis for the right is that data generated by consumers of commercial services is their property and not that of the company.

  • James Eyers
Consumer data right is meant to make switching accounts and finding cheaper products easier.

Banks say consumer data right ‘action initiation’ rescue will cost $3b

Ahead of a parliamentary vote next week to extend the consumer data right to boost switching, the ABA is pointing to costs and risks as reason for delay.

  • James Eyers

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/innovation-5yn