By David Reid, Professor of AI and Spatial Computing, Liverpool Hope University
A new social network called Moltbook has been created for AIs, allowing machines to interact and talk to each other. Within hours of the platform launching, the AIs appeared to have created their own religions, developed subcultures and attempted to evade human efforts to eavesdrop on their conversations.
There is some evidence that humans, operating spoof accounts, have infiltrated the site. This complicates the picture, because some of the behaviour attributed to AIs could be devised by people.
Nevertheless, the results have sparked interest among…
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By Hal Swerissen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, La Trobe University
More than 3,000 patients are stranded in hospital waiting for discharge to a more appropriate aged care facility. Here’s why.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The next few months may be the most crucial Jim Chalmers has faced as treasurer, at least for judgements about his ability to drive change.
They could tell us whether Chalmers really is as committed to serious economic reform as he claims, and how much influence he has to take Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with him on a journey that might involve spending political capital.
As the education year gears up, think of it as Chalmers preparing for his first personal assignment of Labor’s second term.
The background to Chalmers’ test is economically grim, but…
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By Nadira Irdiana, PhD Student, Monash University
Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) remains a threat to the rights of women in Southeast Asia, often religiously and culturally justified. Yet, despite lasting physical and psychological impacts, governments have not mounted a coordinated regional effort to address it.
From about 4.1 million of FGM/C cases worldwide, which involves cutting…
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By Levi West, Research Fellow, Research School of Social Science, Australian National University
Police have charged a man with throwing a homemade bomb into a protest crowd. It’s the alleged result of an increasingly complicated style of terrorism.
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By Amnesty International
Older people in Gaza are suffering an overlooked physical and mental health crisis amid Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid and essential medicines and the recent ban on humanitarian organizations, new research by HelpAge International and Amnesty International has revealed. In a health survey by HelpAge International, older people said that food scarcity had caused them […] The post Israel/OPT: Older people in Gaza suffering overlooked health crisis amid Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid and medicines – new research appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Amnesty International
The heavy prison sentences imposed on Rached Ghannouchi and four other Ennahda party leaders mark is the latest blow in the Tunisian authorities’ campaign to crush the opposition party ousted from power by President Kais Said in 2021 as part of their broader crackdown on dissent, Amnesty International said today. On 2 February, a Tunis appeals court convicted at least 20 individuals including opposition figures handing down prison sentences ranging from three to 35 […] The post Tunisia: Authorities intensify crackdown on Ennahda party leadership in Conspiracy 2 appeal appeared first on…
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By Steffi Colyer, Senior Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics, Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport,, University of Bath
Skeleton is an exhilarating Winter Olympic sport in which athletes race head-first down an ice track at speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour (130km/h). While the event can look basic at first glance, success relies heavily on highly engineered equipment and extensive wind‑tunnel testing – much like elite Olympic track cycling programmes.
Each run begins with the athlete pushing a sled (also known as a “tea tray”) explosively off the starting block, then sprinting rapidly for about 30 metres downhill. After diving on the sled, they ride the rest of the course with their head just a…
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By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited, with the potential to be a spectacular sight in early April.
C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was spotted by a team of four amateur astronomers with a remotely operated telescope in the Atacama desert on January 13.
It quickly became apparent the newly discovered object was a member of a group called the Kreutz sungrazing comets. These include many…
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By Tim Lindsey, Malcolm Smith Professor of Asian Law and Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, The University of Melbourne
A proposed law against disinformation and foreign propaganda could imperil activists and journalists in Indonesia – and potentially those living abroad.
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