Search Results: surveillance
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ECONOMICS
- Daniel Simons
- 14 September 2023
In a world increasingly governed by algorithms and AI, the ancient deity Moloch emerges as a haunting metaphor for our tech-driven sacrifices. Drawing parallels from historic rituals to present-day digital dynamics, ancient fears offer insight into today's most pressing existential challenges.
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AUSTRALIA
Dr. Eve Vincent's book, 'Who Cares? Life on Welfare in Australia', provides an in-depth exploration of the intricate dance between power, control, and social policy, unearthing unsettling truths about our society's inherent power structures. This discourse further underscores the urgent need for a radical reimagining of our socio-economic systems.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Binoy Kampmark
- 06 June 2023
8 Comments
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger continues to be a subject of fascination and controversy, with his role in statecraft garnering praise and criticism. Amidst the accolades and accusations, questions of justice and accountability remain as Kissinger reaches his centenary.
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AUSTRALIA
- Nathan Campbell
- 07 March 2023
1 Comment
The evolution of profit-driven poker machines has sparked a debate over the role of personal beliefs in shaping policies aimed at curbing addiction. As society grapples with the ethical implications of technology designed to maximize addiction, can a policymaker rely on a 'religious gut'?
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ECONOMICS
- David James
- 12 January 2023
There is a great deal of commentary about the growing importance of artificial intelligence, or AI, especially in business circles. To some extent this is a self-fulfilling prophecy — if people think something will have a seminal effect then it probably will. But if the supposed commercial benefits are significant, the dangers are potentially enormous.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Barry Gittins
- 20 December 2022
1 Comment
There's something to it, the Advent adventure. Its allure transcends and moves us beyond the corny. The sentimental. When we wade our way through the tinsel, the lights and jolly holly, we find there's a deep, sweet magic to the season.
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AUSTRALIA
- Paul Cleary
- 21 November 2022
2 Comments
An intense and often ugly battle over marine resources has been unfolding between State authorities and Aboriginal people along the NSW coast. At the heart of the conflict is the NSW government’s refusal to acknowledge the right to cultural fishing by Aboriginal people, unlike other states and the federal Native Title Act (1993).
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INTERNATIONAL
- David Halliday, Beth Doherty, Tim Dunlop, Matthew Howard
- 26 August 2022
When former Facebook employee Frances Haugen released a trove of documents revealing internal research on the negative effects its social media products were having on mental health, the darker side of social media became hard to ignore. So how might the harmful effects of social media be mitigated into a social benefit for a saner, more coherent society?
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AUSTRALIA
- Damien Linnane
- 27 July 2022
Two months into a 10-month prison sentence, I was placed in solitary confinement after having a nervous breakdown. I’d originally made a fruitless attempt to keep my breakdown to myself, because I’d been told what would happen if Corrective Services found out I was having mental health issues. One of the first friends I made in prison, like many of the inmates, was suicidal. ‘The best advice I can give you if you’re struggling with your mental health’, he told me, ‘is to do everything you can to keep it from the officers.’
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ECONOMICS
The question that should be posed is how effective has the Reserve Bank been at ‘managing’ the economy and financial system? ‘Not very’, has to be the answer. Not that the RBA is alone. The same pattern has been seen across the developed world. Central banks have one weapon at their disposal, the cost of money (the interest rate), and there is not much evidence they have used this tool to make their systems sustainable. Mostly, they have made matters worse.
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AUSTRALIA
- Brigid Meney
- 31 January 2022
13 Comments
When COVID-19 first arrived, it was described as the great equaliser. Infection could happen to anyone. Your race, creed, or the balance of your bank account didn’t matter to the virus that was spreading. But after a summer of dodging the virus and hunting for rapid tests, it is abundantly clear this isn’t a pandemic of equals. Now we have the data which quantifiably measures just how Australia's socio-economic fault lines were exposed and exacerbated by COVID-19.
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ECONOMICS
- David James
- 31 January 2022
5 Comments
There is a great deal of commentary about the growing importance of artificial intelligence, or AI, especially in business circles. To some extent this is a self-fulfilling prophecy — if people think something will have a seminal effect then it probably will. But if the supposed commercial benefits are significant, the dangers are potentially enormous.
READ MORE