Stilgherrian

Two major cybersecurity dramas focus the internet’s attention, Meta cops a US$25 billion fine, AI can now recognise individual lobsters, and much more.

Right now there’s a lot happening in digital policy here in Australia. The Digital Duty of Care Bill is working its way through parliament. Social media platforms are being sued. Something called AI is always in the news. So it’s time once again to chat with Johanna Weaver, executive director and co-founder of the Tech Policy Design Institute in Canberra.

My week of Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October 2026 was the third week of me doing some regular stretching and exercise, and more regular walks, and I’m already feeling the difference — although the week wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped.

Digital Duty of Care legislation introduced, new ASD cybersecurity framework released, Russian bot smashdown debunked, and much more.

My week of Monday 5 to Sunday 11 October 2026 saw me exploring food quite a bit. I baked a snapper. I made fried rice with the leftovers. I explored the wonderful world of baked potatoes. Oh, and I made a podcast. And I communed with some of the local fauna.

Firmus cancels its share float, OAIC investigates smart glasses app HeyCyan, Elon Musk gets another new job, and a very popular website returns to Australia.

I started a little stretch and exercise routine in my week of Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, and I managed to stick to it! Please congratulate me. There was also an acceptable level of productivity, as you’ll see from the lists below.

OpenAI’s Medicare hack highlights dodgy government cybersecurity, Anthropic’s US$2 trillion IPO prospectus leaked, and Australian researchers get AI models “drunk” so they spill the tea.

My week of Monday 21 to Sunday 27 September 2026 was both productive and scrumptious. A podcast posted. A livestream conducted. Two new dishes conquered. And an endangered moth sighted.

OpenAI hacks Medicare and maybe others, Meta releases a new AI agent, tighter rules coming for .au domains, and more.

The US has confirmed that it has weapons in space, although it hasn’t explained what kind. So let’s do an episode on space with space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman aka Dr Space Junk and astrophysicist Rami Mandow. What a shallow excuse!

My week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 September 2026 was sunny, productive, and full of birds — especially a very glossy Australian raven who followed me down a street in Canterbury. And I kicked off the spring series of The 9pm Edict podcast. Hurrah!

It’s a week when too much AI doomsaying is never enough; AI companies beg for regulation; more organisations ban smart glasses; and much more.

This is the first episode of the Spring Series 2026, and we’re kicking things off with one of our more popular guests, journalist Erin Cook, who covers South-East Asia. Today we’re talking about the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and more.

My week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 September 2026 relatively ordinary. I didn’t get a lot done, but it wasn’t a disaster either. I ate fish. But most importantly, a fun little film was released, one which I’d played a small part in. The photo of the pub is totally unrelated.

Australia rolls out its planned digital duty of care and algorithm opt-out laws, Anthropic researchers claim that AI has a greater than 10% chance of killing us all, and much more.

How about five of them? Quack! My week of Monday 31 August to Sunday 6 September 2026 was a mixed bag of naps and minor victories. I had hoped to get a lot more planning and organising done, but there was a lot more to sort through than I’d estimated. It was stressful.

“Second tranche” privacy laws finally appear (in draft form), AI hallucinations found in policy development workflows, and Russia warns datacentre operators to install anti-drone defences.

My week of Monday 24 to Sunday 30 August 2026 began at a conference in Bowral, where I managed to check out the local bird life as well as learning things. Once back n Sydney, I got some client work done. I fed two cats while their humans were away. And there was progress of a sort in the saga of The Lost Module.

My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 August 2026 was both productive and entertaining. I posted a podcast, I got a bunch of client work done, I saw the wonderful Takashi Wakasugi in an intimate comedy venue, and I ended the week at a delightful retreat in Bowral for the TechLeaders 2026 conference.