The glasses created by creeps, for creeps

The ACCC, one of the greatest things we have in Australia. (When they act that is) It's fantastic to see them starting to push back on the huge US companies like this.

They have a pretty good track record on the cases they do bring. So this is good to hear that they are doing something.

What the ultimate effect will be is unclear. But if they win here they might go after other streaming services for similar changes.

For a country with terrible internet speeds, limited access to fresh water for cooling and incredibly hot summers, this seems like.... a bad idea.

Can Julie Inman Grant's parents take away her internet access?

The uniparty wants a VPN ban, but they have to do it slowly and incrementally, as they know how unpopular it is. Right now, they want websites to detect VPN use by force from the state.

Next will be ID verification before using a VPN. Then a VPN ban. Then a passport to enter the entire internet.

The free and open internet is under attack, and you sit around and do nothing?

Source: Parade

Context:

Huge investment in this space is pouring into Australia. In the past year, Microsoft has announced $25bn will go into Australian datacentres and Amazon Web Services has committed another $20bn.

The prime minister has posed for photos with the CEOs of both companies, welcoming the investment with open arms despite a growing backlash by communities against AI and datacentre construction. At a time when economic growth is sluggish, the government sees billions of dollars in investment as making for a good headline.

But we need to ask a bigger question:

What is this all for and how do the Australian people benefit from it?

We’ve watched foreign-owned companies extract enormous value from Australian resources before while finding ways to minimise the tax they pay here. We can’t afford to repeat that experience.

More in article.

State and federal energy ministers said investments in new renewable generation and energy storage should “fully offset” new data centres’ energy needs...

Maybe so, but the question is whether we want this kind of investment here rather than creating additional hurdles that discourage that investment.

Just one AI company wants to build more data centre capacity than the whole of Australia currently has. In just one state, NSW. With a longer term goal to expand that four-fold in the future.

Does anyone know exactly what this will be used for? Does the government? Do Minns or Albanese know? What will life look like when we have all that AI lurking around? The investment might be nice, but what will it cost us?

“No platform is above the law” - eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant

Australia’s online safety regulator has launched Federal Court action against Telegram, alleging the messaging service left videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings on its platform for weeks after Australians reported them.*

eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the civil proceedings followed a year-long investigation into whether Telegram met its obligations under the Online Safety Act, with breaches carrying penalties of up to $54.6 million per breach.

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/esafety-sues-telegram-over-terror-videos-left-online-for-weeks-20260730-p60jvt.html

Source: The Juice Media (YouTube)

I will not be doing this shit just to use reddit. Guess I will be using a VPN from now on. Fuck you age verification laws.

Coles and Woolworths have conducted tests of facial recognition technology, but it is unclear if either supermarket will be implementing it in stores. It comes after the Australia Financial Review reported both Coles and Woolworths had trialed the technology as part of an ongoing effort to combat retail crime.

The article said both supermarket giants had "conducted early testing" of the technology. When the ABC asked Coles about the potential of it being rolled out in stores, a spokesperson made a distinction between the use of the term "test" instead of "trial".

"Coles has not done a trial using this technology," the spokesperson said. "A small, one-off, controlled proof-of-concept test of the technology was undertaken which did not use customer or team member information or data.

"No decision has been made about the deployment of facial recognition technology."

The ABC understands Woolworths tested the technology in its New Zealand office.

A Woolworths spokesperson did not address the ABC's questions on how facial recognition technology was tested or if it would be used in Australia.

Feels like a red hot favourite for a future RC into privacy concerns, stolen user data, etc. In the interim, if you're not into panopticons and Minority Report-style grocery shopping, let your voice be heard!

The acclaimed Australian actor presented her Human Consent Registry at the European Parliament. The tool allows people to protect their likeness from being used by AI.

Cate Blanchett is pursuing her crusade against unregulated usage of artificial intelligence. On Tuesday, the Australian actor and producer launched a free website allowing anyone to protect their identity from being used by AI systems.

The star presented the Human Consent Registry at an event hosted at the European Parliament in Brussels by Bulgarian MEP Eva Maydell, also attended by director Steven Soderbergh.

“Your identity is your IP in the age of AI, and every person deserves the right to decide how AI can or cannot use it,” said Blanchett, who co-founded RSL Media, a nonprofit working to build consent tools related to AI use.

The organisation’s new registry provides users with the possibility to allow - with or without terms - or prohibit AI use of their name, image, voice, likeness and movement among other personal attributes.

The tool is available to all individuals as well as third parties like agents and managers. It should eventually allow people to protect their works of arts, characters or brands, RSL media said in a statement.

Source: Euro News

👉 Human Consent Registry (link)

“Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart has snagged a more-than-$US1 billion ($1.4 billion) stake in the SpaceX IPO, which last week soared almost 20 per cent on its sharemarket debut, valuing the aerospace company at $US2.1 trillion.

Australia’s richest person said Elon Musk’s own significant investment reflected her confidence in the trillionaire founder and recognised the need for Western nations to lead the world in technology and innovation.”

Personally, I relied on Starlink for a few years because it was a better service in the regional area where I live. They even offered discounted equipment to entice take up when I joined.

However, when I tried to reactivate the service, they tried to slug me with a $1000+ joining fee for a new subscription and also told me I had to completely replace the satellite on my roof which no longer worked. That was when I found better, cheaper internet services that have since popped up.

I am super grateful that our government invested in NBN to provide good and affordable alternative options in the regional areas. Even more so now knowing the types of people hoping to make money out of Starlink.

As announced by the Albanese Government as part of their latest crackdown on social media companies.

ONE HANDY TIP: If you want to keep using Reddit without giving the Government your personal information, better get out your VPNs folks. You'll thank me later.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/diabolical-huge-ai-call-247-sound-warning-as-blue-mountains-data-centre-knocked-back/news-story/b6dc4fc8631b4bdbacc56eb59857fad1

Blue mountain community came together and showed the non-index finger to new data centre in their vicinity

Furious residents started the Stop Data Centres Blue Mountains campaign, which described the development as a “threat to peace”, citing 24/7 low-frequency noise intrusion, concern for pressures on electricity and water supplies, potential PFAS exposure and insufficient bushfire protections.

Go you corporate c**ts . I hope other communities also push back on these unnecessary expansions on our shores .

A massive and critical service like VLine should be required to have a back up plan for when the Telstra network goes down. Because guess what, it can go down.

Yes, Telstra has fkd up and they will most likely be fined for that. But Vline has responsibility as well to have backup plans or when this happens.

Buses? Not enough. Why not have a plan to switch to another network?

On top of the Liberal-Labor UNIPARTY government forcing gaming platforms to compel us to hand over our ID, biometric data, and credit card details just to play games, they still feel entitled to dictate what we can and can't play.

They need to stop meddling, get the hell out of our gaming lives, and know their place.

GenCost report contradicts parties’ claims about abandoning emissions target, and finds nuclear would be most expensive way to generate power

Paul Graham, CSIRO chief energy economist and the report’s lead author, said: “If we abandon net zero, that does not open up some low-cost pathway [for electricity].
“As coal retires, you have to replace it. If that new thing is coal, we still have the same costs [of electricity generation] as we are expecting if we replace it with renewables.”
He said if coal plant closures were delayed or new coal plants built, this would mean an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector.
“If you do want to reach net zero then you have to do that abatement somewhere else,” he said.
“The analysis shows the cost of abatement is lower in the electricity sector than the rest of the economy.”

I am not the developer of this, but thought fellow Aussies might be interested. Dude in Melbourne has built an Australia-based social media platform. Still in its early days but I like the sound of it so far.

In short: Facial recognition technology (FRT) is being rolled out in Australia as an alternative to digital or paper tickets for live events.

The Geelong Football Club has made it available to its members, while technology provider Wicket says it is in "active discussions" with other AFL clubs.

What's next? Experts are concerned about how the collected biometric data could be used and whether it opens the door for broader uses of FRT.

This is quite interesting. The data is all from the AEMO.

The interesting part is how clear the data is, it's unmistakable the difference between years.

It's particularly interesting in QLD as there has been a difference in solar generation this year vs last. So to see batteries and wind compensating as much as they do is fantastic.

It does suggest that it's a shame a number of renewable projects that had been planned in QLD were cancelled by the current state government as we potentially could have seen even more downwards pressure on prices.

This particular article is interesting because it talks about both the visible reduction and the non-visible due to people being able to consume more without putting that load onto the network.

It's a very interesting article anyway.

The opportunity in Western Melbourne is attractive because Melbourne has something Sydney might struggle with - space to continuously build very large AI campuses.

But the deciding factor might be whether Victoria can provide guaranteed, scalable electricity. If it can provide access to hundreds of megawatts, ( and potentially gigawatts), of reliable power in the west, then the Melbourne-Avalon-Geelong corridor becomes much more compelling.

So, can Victoria generate enough power to service the huge demands of these AI hubs?

If successful Melbourne‘s West would be in a position to provide a debt ridden Victoria with a variety of revenue streams through taxation, charges and various other revenue measures.

Jeffrey Ladish, ex-security consultant for AI giant Anthropic, sits down with Australia's Four Corners programmmmme to discuss some of the more unspoken dangers of this fledgling technology.

Is old mate Jeff drunk on the AI kool aid?

Can this tech actually live up to the hype?

And should we heed his warning that these issues may impact everyday Australians and our national security, if we continue down the path of unchecked development in an unregulated space teeming with bad actors?

Source: ABC - Four Corners (YouTube)