some amazing things happening over on threads — ever since they “shut down CERN”

Exclusive: All but two Australian public service agencies required to appoint an existing staff member as their chief AI officer (CAIO) have met a government deadline to do so by the start of the new financial year. Details here: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Australia’s consumer watchdog is suing Amazon for allegedly using “unfair contract terms” to introduce advertising and force users to pay more to avoid ads on its Prime Video streaming service. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

If you're in Australia and logged in to Google or Microsoft but their search engine doesn't know how old you are, you may soon be asked to share government ID, undergo facial age estimation, or complete a credit card check. 🙋‍♂️ Details in our story, featuring RMIT University's @lisagiven.bsky.social:

If you're in the market for a new Mac or iPad, now might be a good time to find a deal before local Apple retailers adjust their pricing 👀

These are the kind of subs Australia should be buying.

New from me: A flood of AI-generated code has left key open-source developers known as maintainers "inundated", with many turning to AI tools to help handle the onslaught. Featuring Aussie maintainer @lucyleeow.bsky.social, Microsoft's @aaron-powell.com, GitHub's @ashleywolf.bsky.social, and more 💻

A former chief executive of spaceport startup Equatorial Launch Australia is owed more than $2.3 million, a judge has ruled, after the collapsed firm lost a four-year legal fight in the Federal Court on Friday. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Exclusive: Several Australian customers of Budget Car Rental and financial giant American Express have been charged 100 times more than their bookings should have cost, due to a technical processing error. Full story on @information-age.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Exclusive: Several Australian customers of Budget Car Rental and financial giant American Express have been charged 100 times more than their bookings should have cost, due to a technical processing error. Full story on @information-age.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Simply cannot stop thinking about how much Snap's US$2,195 Specs clearly smoosh CEO Evan Spiegel's ears in every single photo of them.

I'm back from leave and ready to report on only the most important issues. How small can we make a QR code? 👀

We had the Ferrari x Jony Ive collab, and now we've got HP's limited edition Ferrari laptop, which will cost a whopping $8,049 in Australia. There's a glass bottom showing the fans and processor, some carbon fibre, a 3K touch OLED with "custom Ferrari user experience" - even a Ferrari power adapter

New from me: Australia is getting Claude Mythos Preview. A spokesperson for the Australian Signals Directorate said the intelligence agency welcomed Anthropic’s expansion of Project Glasswing to include the Australian government and some private companies. Story on @information-age.bsky.social:

Around one in 10 Australians are running AI agents on a dedicated device, according to a survey by analysts at Telsyte. “Among those who chose a computer for this purpose, more than 40 per cent opted for Apple silicon, a share considerably above Mac's overall market share in Australian households."

Professionals Australia director Paul Inglis told me that while the organisation welcomed WiseTech’s narrowing of its non-compete clause, the union believes employees “should be free to take up employment in their profession without unnecessary restrictions”. Story on @information-age.bsky.social:

Tensions have boiled over at WiseTech Global, where the Australian-founded software company’s CEO has allegedly been threatened with violence as staff raise concerns over the firm’s handling of AI-focused layoffs. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

New from me: The ABS must strengthen its cybersecurity preparedness ahead of the 2026 Census in August, an audit of the government agency’s ICT environment has found. “The ABS must address key remaining cybersecurity vulnerabilities by ensuring critical activities will be completed in time.”

NEW: “Anti-tech extremism” is now actively being monitored by US law enforcement as frustration over AI and data centers percolate across the country, according to records obtained by @wired.com. @drboguslaw.bsky.social has the scoop. No paywall bc FOIA www.wired.com/story/us-law...

Happy to confirm that the Ferrari Luce doesn't need to be upside down to plug into its charger.

New from me: AI tools are reducing Australia’s academic standards and being used to automate some entry-level jobs, leading to fewer roles available for recent university graduates, a Senate inquiry has heard. Story on @information-age.bsky.social: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

It seems like more and more Australian are having the experience outlined in the new Guardian story down below. Here's our @information-age.bsky.social piece from last year:

Incredible stuff. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...

Microsoft’s national security officer for Australia and New Zealand, Mark Anderson, told me that “we echo ASD’s advice to consumers and organisations to remain vigilant”. 👇

Lmao what do they think X is

A federal court in the United States has ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, after a jury found the billionaire had waited too long to file his case and missed a statutory deadline. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Free!

ngl this livestream of Figure robots autonomously processing packages is pretty hypnotising www.youtube.com/watch?v=luU5...

Based in Australia and bought an iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, or 16 Pro Max between June 2024 and March 2025? 📱 Do you think Apple should pay you for advertising a Siri AI upgrade it's yet to deliver? 🤔 Would love to hear your thoughts: [email protected]

Australia’s technology industry has largely welcomed the Albanese Labor government’s latest federal budget, yet concerns remain for startups over changes to how capital gains are taxed, as well as for researchers who benefit from government grants. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

The 2026 federal budget, handed down by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government on Tuesday night, features more for the technology sector and its workers than last year’s budget – but some of it will still be contentious. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Breaking: Instructure says it has reached an agreement with hackers after its popular learning platform Canvas suffered a data breach that potentially exposed details of up to 275 million students at around 9,000 institutions worldwide. No confirmation of a ransom payment to ShinyHunters just yet.

Cloudflare in 2025: We want 1,111 new interns. Cloudflare in 2026: We are cutting more than 1,100 staff.

Surely they've suffered enough?

Nintendo is raising the price of the Switch 2 in Australia (and a bunch of other countries) from September, as chip shortages continue. www.nintendo.com/au/news-and-...

Australian’s largest tech startup community, Fishburners, has entered voluntary administration. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Exclusive: NSW Health has defended BreastScreen NSW’s use of Korean AI technology after federal assistant minister Dr Andrew Charlton suggested it should have backed an Australian system instead – despite there being no TGA-approved local equivalent. Full story: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Prime with ads. Just how Kubrick intended.

An AI coding agent took only nine seconds to delete a production database and backups belonging to American software company PocketOS without permission to do so, according to the firm's founder and CEO, Jeremy Crane. Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

The NSW parliamentary inquiry into data centres has just kicked off. Tune in to the live stream here: ponsw.events.corrivium.live/jubilee

New from me: Residents and schools near the proposed Western Sydney site of what would be Australia’s most power-hungry data centre have raised concern over potential health and environmental impacts of the planned development, which is expected to cost AirTrunk more than $5 billion to build.

New scoop from me: Telstra’s international arm is proposing to cut around 160 roles as it seeks to reduce “manual steps” in its work by implementing “re-engineered processes, automation, analytics and AI” under a new agreement with consultancy giant Accenture. Details: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

New scoop from me: Telstra’s international arm is proposing to cut around 160 roles as it seeks to reduce “manual steps” in its work by implementing “re-engineered processes, automation, analytics and AI” under a new agreement with consultancy giant Accenture. Details: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...

Fresh gelato scoop from @lennyeggsbenny.bsky.social 🍦

I only once had the privilege of being interviewed on radio by James Valentine (I think it was about dumbphones), and I remember him off-mic being friendly, funny, and a calming voice for a younger journo. A true legend of the game.

I’ll be discussing Tim Cook’s stepping down (and John Fernus’ stepping up) at Apple on ABC Radio Gold Coast this arvo at around 3:20pm local. Tune in and geek out. 🍏

New from me: Australian cyber officials and financial regulators are warning local organisations to bolster their security posture following Anthropic’s announcement of Claude Mythos. Comments inside from ASD, the National AI Centre, RBA, APRA, ASIC, Anthropic, and more 👇

With Apple announcing Tim Cook’s upcoming departure as CEO, here are some of the differing opinions I heard recently from former Apple employees and longtime Apple collectors about Cook’s tenure. [ From my @information-age.bsky.social feature on Apple’s 50th: ia.acs.org.au/article/2026... ]

Incredible news.

Breaking: Tim Cook will step down as Apple CEO later this year. John Ternus will replace him, as expected. www.apple.com/newsroom/202...