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Toby Walsh

Professor of AI at UNSW, Research Group Leader, Data61
Toby Walsh is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW, and Research Leader at Data61 (formerly NICTA) in the Optimisation Research Group where he leads the Algorithmic Decision Theory project. Data61 is Australia's Centre of Excellence for ICT Research.

He has been Editor-in-Chief of two of the main journals in AI: the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, and AI Communications. He is currently Associate Editor of one of the leading journals in computer science, the Journal of the ACM covering the area of Artificial Intelligence

Who is Sam Altman, OpenAI's wunderkind ex-CEO – and why does it matter that he got sacked?

Nov 21, 2023 04:00 am UTC| Technology

On Friday, OpenAIs high-flying chief executive Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired by the companys board. Co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Brockman was also removed as the board president, after which he promptly...

The US just issued the world’s strongest action yet on regulating AI. Here’s what to expect

Nov 01, 2023 07:12 am UTC| Technology

On Monday US President Joe Biden released a wide ranging and ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) catapulting the US to the front of conversations about regulating AI. In doing so, the US is leap...

Bard, Bing and Baidu: how big tech's AI race will transform search

Feb 10, 2023 06:07 am UTC| Technology

Today, if you want to find a good moving company, you might ask your favourite search engine Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo perhaps for some advice. After wading past half a page of adverts, you get a load of links to...

Can machines invent things without human help? These AI examples show the answer is ‘yes’

Dec 08, 2022 10:44 am UTC| Technology

The question of whether artificial intelligence (AI) can invent is nearly 200 years old, going back to the very beginning of computing. Victorian mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote whats generally considered the first...

An AI named Cicero can beat humans in Diplomacy, a complex alliance-building game. Here's why that's a big deal

Nov 25, 2022 14:43 pm UTC| Technology

In a rare piece of good news from Meta, artificial intelligence researchers at the company have just announced a scientific breakthrough. Their AI program named Cicero can now play the board game Diplomacy at a human...

How to preserve our privacy in an AI-enabled world of smart fridges and fitbits? Here are my simple fixes

Apr 23, 2022 08:25 am UTC| Technology

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy of a system the amount of disorder only ever increases. In other words, the amount of order only ever decreases. Privacy is similar to entropy. Privacy is...

Holding big tech companies to account: do their employees have the power?

Aug 25, 2018 07:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

When it comes to the tech giant Google, secret plans to launch a new search service in China prompted a furious reaction from more than 1,400 of the companys employees. A staff letter, obtained by Buzzfeed and published...

Economy

Mexico-EU Free Trade Deal Signals Strategic Shift Away From U.S. Dependence

Mexico and the European Union officially signed a long-delayed free trade agreement aimed at strengthening economic ties and reducing reliance on the United States amid ongoing tariff tensions linked to U.S. President...

World Bank Emergency Funding Demand Surges as 27 Countries Seek Crisis Support Amid Iran Conflict

Twenty-seven countries have moved to unlock emergency financing from existing World Bank programs following the economic shock caused by the ongoing Iran conflict, according to an internal document reviewed by Reuters. The...

Trump-China Summit Yields Limited Progress on Trade and Tech Cooperation

US President Donald Trumps May 1315 visit to China ended with both nations agreeing to strengthen communication and pursue a constructive strategic stability framework, signaling cautious progress in US-China relations....

US Economy Fueled by AI Investment Faces Rising Risks Ahead of Fed Meeting

The U.S. economy continues to outperform most developed nations, supported by resilient consumer spending and a sharp rise in artificial intelligence investment, according to new institutional research from Citi. Recent...

Goldman Sachs Sees Stronger U.S. Dollar as Global Economic Gaps Widen

Goldman Sachs expects the U.S. Dollar to remain strong as diverging global macroeconomic trends continue to favor the American economy over other major regions. In its latest global research report released Friday, the...

Politics

Trump Weighs Taiwan Arms Deal as U.S. Denies Iran War Caused Delays

A source familiar with the matter said U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are not being delayed because of the ongoing conflict with Iran, pushing back against comments from a senior American official that suggested otherwise. The...

Trump-Lai Call Remains Uncertain as U.S.-China Tensions Over Taiwan Intensify

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested he may soon speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, but sources familiar with the matter say no concrete plans for a call currently exist. A direct conversation...

Marco Rubio Visits India to Rebuild U.S.-India Ties Amid Trade and Geopolitical Tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Saturday for a four-day diplomatic visit aimed at strengthening the increasingly strained U.S.-India relationship. The visit comes as both countries attempt to move...

Xi Jinping Orders Full Rescue After Shanxi Coal Mine Gas Explosion Kills Eight

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an all-out rescue operation after a deadly gas explosion struck a coal mine in northern Chinas Shanxi province, leaving eight workers dead and 38 others trapped underground. The...

Wang Yi to Lead UN Security Council Meeting and Visit Canada Amid Improving China-Canada Relations

Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to travel to New York on May 26 to chair a high-level United Nations Security Council meeting, according to an announcement from Chinas foreign ministry on Friday. The diplomatic trip...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

SpaceX Starship V3 Test Flight Boosts IPO Momentum Ahead of Historic Market Debut

SpaceX successfully completed a major test flight of its upgraded Starship V3 rocket, marking a significant achievement for Elon Musks aerospace company as it moves closer to a highly anticipated initial public offering....

PDG Explores $1 Billion Sale of China Data Center Assets

Princeton Digital Group (PDG), a major data center operator backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, has reportedly launched a sale process for its China-based assets that could be valued at as much as $1 billion,...

Lam Research Expands AI-Powered Semiconductor Tools and Arizona Operations

Lam Research is accelerating its investment in artificial intelligence and advanced sensing technology to improve semiconductor manufacturing efficiency while expanding its presence in Arizona and California. The...

Texas Sues Meta Over WhatsApp Encryption Claims

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp, accusing the companies of misleading consumers about WhatsApps encryption and privacy protections. The...

Pentagon Expands AI Model Testing as It Seeks Alternatives to Anthropic’s Claude

The US Department of Defense is accelerating its evaluation of artificial intelligence models as it searches for alternatives to Anthropic PBCs Claude AI system, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday. The...