The Empty Promises of the Tech Industry: a review of Uncanny Valley
By Amy WaltersAspiration and disillusionment come to the fore in Anna Wiener’s memoir, Uncanny valley, as she charts the rise and fall of the tech start-up industry.
Technology
COVID-19 must not normalise digital surveillance
By David ParisAfter a huge campaign to encourage every smartphone user in Australia to install and use the ‘COVIDSafe’ app, the effectiveness of the app has been negligible. But the impact of the app is much more significant, writes David Paris.
MIFF 2020: Right Now’s top picks
By Rosa Ritchie, Samaya Borom, David Branigan and Caitlin CassidyMIFF 68 1/2, 2020’s online version of the festival, is streaming across Australia from 6-23 of August. MIFF is bringing to the country another round of captivating and inspiring films and our writers discuss four of Right Now’s top picks.
Just Keep Scrolling: On attention, distraction, and human rights
By Janelle KohJanelle Koh considers the distracting influence of social media on our daily lives, and the implications it has for human rights.
Too many milkshake ducks: Elections, digital rights and privacy
By Lyndsey JacksonWhen it comes to trusting those in power, we comfort ourselves with the belief that checks will balance back to our favour. But what if they’re written out of the legislation?
Hunting the trolls: Interview with Ginger Gorman
Jay Daniel Thompson in conversation with Ginger GormanJay Thompson speaks to Ginger Gorman about the harm caused by online trolling and how it can cross over into the offline world.
The future of work: how can we adapt to the automation of the workforce?
By Elisabeth Perrin and Nadia HanHow will automation and globalisation affect the way we work in the future?
The Cleaners: protection or censorship?
By Caitlin CassidyWho has the right to censor our not-so-private lives? Hans Block and Moritz Riesewick explore censorship and trauma in this disturbing documentary.
The internet holds society together and the government is setting out to break it
By Tim NortonDutton’s gone but the Department of Home Affairs is going full steam ahead with its draft bill on encryption, putting Australians’ data privacy at risk.
Blockchain can transform manufacturing supply chains
By Isobel RechterBlockchain, the technology underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, might be the key to transforming supply chain transparency – and could even help to end modern slavery in the process.
GDPR and data privacy in Australia
By Gary DicksonGDPR is a new set of rules that aims to protect data privacy of European citizens – but how will it affect the data rights of Australians?