Author: The Conversation

Let’s be honest, even just writing this sentence has meant engaging with some very basic artificial intelligence (AI) as the computer checks my spelling and grammar. Ultimately, the quality and integrity of the finished article are a human responsibility. But the questions this raises go well beyond everyday word processing. Powerful AI is now changing what it means to be good at your work. The debate has moved from whether robots are taking over our jobs to who or what gets the credit for the work in a world of AI. Three-quarters of global knowledge workers are now using AI, but many are…

It’s a beautiful, clear night. The stars are out and the Moon looks breathtaking against the sky, so you reach for your phone to take a snap. The results are, to be blunt, disappointing. Try again. Steady your hands, focus on the Moon, take a photo and… it’s another underwhelming white smudge against a dark background. Hardly Instagram-worthy. Phones often take superb photos, but why do they struggle with the Moon? It’s a little bit to do with what we are photographing, and a little bit to do with phone camera technology. It’s not actually night The first mistake novice…

In the most talked-about film from the final year of the 20th century, “The Matrix,” a computer hacker named Neo finds that the world he lives and works in isn’t real. It’s a virtual reality, created by artificial intelligence (AI). At the time, the idea seemed like science fiction. In the years since, however, that concept has become an increasingly credible theory: “the simulation hypothesis.” This theory posits that, like Neo, living things are characters inside a computer-generated simulation – or, as I describe in my 2025 book, a massively multiplayer video game. In this hypothesis, the physical world around us…

As nearly half of all Australians say they have recently used artificial intelligence (AI) tools, knowing when and how they’re being used is becoming more important. Consultancy firm Deloitte recently partially refunded the Australian government after a report they published had AI-generated errors in it. A lawyer also recently faced disciplinary action after false AI-generated citations were discovered in a formal court document. And many universities are concerned about how their students use AI. Amid these examples, a range of “AI detection” tools have emerged to try to address people’s need for identifying accurate, trustworthy and verified content. But how do these tools actually work? And are they…

If last week’s trillion-dollar slide of major tech stocks felt familiar, it’s because we’ve been here before – when hype about innovation last ran headlong into economic reality. As markets slump on the back of investor unease over soaring valuations of artificial intelligence (AI) companies, commentators are asking the same question they were during the dotcom crash 25 years ago. Can technology really defy basic economics? It’s a question I discussed in my inaugural professorial lecture at the University of Otago back in August 2000, just as internet stocks were tumbling and hundreds of dotcoms were failing. I argued then that many internet firms were…

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) celebrates 20 years of observing the sky. SALT is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It’s been steadily revealing new science knowledge, ranging from the discovery of planets outside our solar system to understanding the unusual physics around black holes. It’s also 20 years of doing science for society. SALT is where I conducted much of my PhD research. I’d grown up in rural Eastern Cape, marvelling at the diamond night skies. My first fascination for astronomy was sparked when learning about the concept of SALT at a science fest in high school.…

People often take walking for granted. We just move, one step after another, without ever thinking about what it takes to make that happen. Yet every single step is an extraordinary act of coordination, driven by precise timing between spinal cord, brain, nerves, muscles and joints. Historically, people have used stopwatches, cameras or trained eyes to assess walking and its deficits. However, recent technological advances such as motion capture, wearable sensors and data science methods can record and quantify characteristics of step-by-step movement. We are researchers who study biomechanics and human performance. We and other researchers are increasingly applying this data to improve human…

The robots were taking our jobs – or so we were told over a decade ago. The same warnings are regularly heard today about the likely impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Tech breakthroughs have long stirred fears of workplaces being wiped out by automation, with generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT inspiring the latest round of occupational angst. We often see this dread of AI replacing our livelihoods in news articles reporting on new worker survey findings, or in online forums talking of AI “job massacres”. A similar gloom pervaded earlier research speculating about the future impact of automation and an impending…

The term “black swan” refers to a shocking event on nobody’s radar until it actually happens. This has become a byword in risk analysis since a book called The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb was published in 2007. A frequently cited example is the 9/11 attacks. Fewer people have heard of “grey swans”. Derived from Taleb’s work, grey swans are rare but more foreseeable events. That is, things we know could have a massive impact, but we don’t (or won’t) adequately prepare for. COVID was a good example: precedents for a global pandemic existed, but the world was caught off guard anyway. Although he…

The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern age. It is the largest, most complex, most expensive and most durable spacecraft ever built. Its first modules were launched in 1998. The first crew to live on the International Space Station – an American and two Russians – entered it in 2000. Nov. 2, 2025, marks 25 years of continuous habitation by at least two people, and as many as 13 at one time. It is a singular example of international cooperation that has stood the test of time. Two hundred and ninety people from…