
The Pentagon strongarmed AI firms before Iran strikes – in dark news for the future of ‘ethical AI’
Mar 02, 2026 06:57 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology
In the leadup to the weekends US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the US Department of Defense was locked in tense negotiations with artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic over exactly how the Pentagon could use the...

AI is already creeping into election campaigns. NZ’s rules aren’t ready
Mar 02, 2026 06:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology Politics
If youre often on social media, youve probably seen it: the deluge of low-quality, artificial intelligence-made material clogging up our feeds. So-called AI slop the Macquarie Dictionarys Word of the Year for 2025 is the...

Yes, there is an AI investment bubble – here are three scenarios for how it could end
Nov 13, 2025 01:29 am UTC| Technology Insights & Views
Booms and busts are a recurring feature of modern economics, but when an assets value becomes overinflated, a boom quickly becomes a bubble. The two most recent major bubble episodes were the dot-com bubble in the United...

Jul 28, 2025 05:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology
Self-correction is fundamental to science. One of its most important forms is peer review, when anonymous experts scrutinise research before it is published. This helps safeguard the accuracy of the written record. Yet...

AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
Jul 13, 2025 11:16 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Life
For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential. That process did two things: it gave you...

Chatbots are on the rise, but customers still trust human agents more
Jul 06, 2025 12:16 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology
Customers contact companies regularly to purchase products and services, inquire about orders, make payments and request returns. Until recently, the most common way for customers to contact companies was through phone...
Weaponized storytelling: How AI is helping researchers sniff out disinformation campaigns
May 30, 2025 12:06 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology
It is not often that cold, hard facts determine what people care most about and what they believe. Instead, it is the power and familiarity of a well-told story that reigns supreme. Whether its a heartfelt anecdote, a...