Crypto heists, OpenAIs mission for good continues, and the dangerous world of unregulated chatbots for minors and women. This week on Download This Show.

Content moderators suing for psychological distress, checking in on the teen social media ban, and what do we do now that ChatGPT is supposedly indistinguishable from humans? This week on Download This Show.

IVF health data hacked, virtual boyfriends, the death of Skype and solar-powered laptops, this week on Download This Show.

A worsening climate, loneliness-fighting robots, supersonic jets, and the final consensus on whether AI is making us more stupid on Download This Show this week.

Google is using AI in weapons, Meta is laying undersea cables, and teleportation could be on the horizon this week on Download This Show.

There's porn on government websites, millions of extra dollars in STEM, and a debatably effective AI summit this week on Download This Show.

The Doomsday Clock ticks ever closer to midnight, and tech could be the only thing keeping us warm in the harsh light of day.

DeepSeek's AI assistant became the number one downloaded free app this week, what does this mean for the future of AI?

It's a brand new year for Download This Show, and Trump has made headlines with his TikTok tirade.

Wrapping up his final show for 2024 and beyond, Marc Fennell says goodbye to his beloved Download This Show after 12 years.

Water hungry datacentres being put in the middle of the desert, Google ads being called out for having a monopoly, politicians on Grindr and robots in the Beijing marathon, this week on Download This Show.

AI cyclone prediction, new accessible tech for people with disability, and a cure for brain rot, this week on Download This Show.

Why there was no tech in the budget, super fund hacks, and what ever happened to the TikTok ban? This week on Download This Show.

This week on Download This Show, we're coming to you live from World Science Festival Brisbane, at the Queensland Museum, we're here to answer all your questions about the brain and technology, and the sometimes scary world where they interact. 

AI generators impersonating Indigenous art, stealth recordings via smart glasses, and child gambling in the form of video games, this week on Download This Show.

Download This Show is coming to World Science Festival Brisbane!

Get your tickets here.

Computers made of brain cells, a new Meta whistleblower, and AI being used for good, this week on Download This Show.

AI designing video games, a new app to help you choose which ones to play, and a new way to defend against deepfakes, this week on Download This Show.

This week on Download This Show, we're getting up to speed with what on Earth is going on with the teen social media ban. From new standards being announced to experts quitting in protest -- it's proving to be a busy time for the people making decisions about what our teens get to see online. 

The apps and online tools that are being used in international political action, Tesla drama and the future of autonomous vehicles, what's going on with AI search engine overviews, and the story behind 40,000 cameras being exposed to the internet. This week on Download This Show.

A lawsuit from the house of mouse, Apple being forced to let you download apps outside the app store, a huge hole in Gmail's data security, plus a world where generative AI is doing critical computer coding. This week on Download This Show.

Why do hackers have weird and wacky non-serious names? And why are British politicians blaming Apple and Google for the rise in phone thefts? Plus, there have been breakthroughs in the world of brain implants, and we break down how and when to use a VPN. This week on Download This Show.

In a special AI deep-dive episode of Download This Show, researchers Sandra Peter and Kai Remer break down how AI chatbots are changing the way humans behave, and why we now want to talk to chatbots more than we want to talk to people.

AI interviewing you for a job, hackable digital drivers licences, dating app safety, and CIA-run Star Wars websites. This week on Download This Show.

Haunted video games, a tech feud between Apple and Epic Games, how tracking apps can be used in coercive control, and Discord transitioning into cool kid territory, this week on Download This Show.

Airbnb's midlife crisis, digital ID age verification, and facial recognition software on social media, this week on Download This Show.

If you were to picture the ideal robot form to vacuum your floor all by itself, what do you see? Is it a small UFO-shaped disc that whizzes under couches, or is it a humanoid robot with eyes and ears tracking your every move? The new 1X Neo robot has been launched and has been marketed as a 'robot butler', but what issues arise when we start making the tech that serves us look more and more human?  

Also, a new AI chatbot designed for human companionship has been met with outright vitriol in New York. Friend is a wearable chatbot designed to literally replace human relationships, and people are not entirely on board. 

Plus, strict safety rules are set to be enforced for power banks on domestic flights, and Meta has just launched an AI briefing tool for Facebook users. 

GUESTS:

• Chris Berg, professor of economics at RMIT 
• Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson, future economies reporter at the Australian Associated Press 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land, in Meanjin and in Naarm.

Roblox has been one of the worst culprits for child safety in the games world, and they’ve come up with something to supposedly keep our kids safe. ‘Age-gating’ is designed to keep people of different ages in different parts of the online game, but how accurate is this age verification? And is it going to cause more problems than solutions? 

Also, the government has been found using generative AI to develop plans for NDIS participants. Will rising costs and dwindling resources in disability support push workers into using standardised AI to support participants long-term, or are there better tools out there for this? 

Plus, the Hugging Face CEO has said that the famously near-bursting AI bubble is actually, in fact, an LLM bubble. But what’s the difference, in a world where cities are being razed to build water-guzzling AI datacentres? 

GUESTS: 

• Alice Clarke, freelance tech journalist and editor of Press Any Button substack 
• Gianfranco di Giovanni, journalist for ABC Arts and Content Director for ABC Perth 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal, and Whadjuk Noongar land, and in Naarm.

Technical production by Harvey Sutherland and Carey Dell.

Fanfiction has gone from photocopied zines traded at conventions to millions of stories shared online. From smut-filled Harry Potter ships to the fic that birthed Fifty Shades of Grey, we explore fanfiction's growth, its influence on writing and culture, and how Archive of Our Own has stayed free and fan-run in an internet that charges for almost everything.

GUESTS:

• Danielle Binks, fanfiction (and regular fiction) writer, literary agent, and lecturer in Creative Writing at RMIT University
• Rachel Linton, board member at the Office of Transformative Works, the group that runs one of the biggest fanfiction sites out there, Archive of Our Own (AO3)

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

Technical production by Adrian Jones.

This week, an Australian video game called Hollow Knight: Silksong is the biggest video game in the world. It’s made by a small team out of Adelaide and has already sold millions of copies worldwide. What could this mean for our quietly successful games industry here in Australia? And why do we still have so much trouble seeing video games as a form of art? 

Also, new research is out that says up to a third of all women playing video games feel guilt-ridden about their hobby. While nobody bats an eye about consuming television or film, video games are still stigmatised as something to be ashamed of. What is it about video games that make us feel so unproductive?  

Plus, what if playing a video game could actively improve your mental health? A team out of Oxford University has developed a game with the express purpose of doing just that. Does it work? And what other games are out there that could be achieving the same thing? 

GUESTS:

• Ruby Innes, co-host of Back Pocket 
• Edmond Tran, managing editor of This Week in Video Games 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal Land.

2025 is the 'International Year of Quantum Science and Technology', but what actually is quantum science? IBM and AMD are teaming up to champion 'quantum-centric supercomputing' – but what's the difference between a supercomputer and a regular computer? Will we ever see a supercomputer show up in our own homes? And why is Australia making a billion-dollar bet on a quantum computing facility in Brisbane? 

Plus, how and why did scientists develop a ‘biological qubit’, and could quantum computing be the missing piece in dealing with the impacts of climate change? 

GUESTS: 

• Justin Hendry, innovation and business reporter for InnovationAus 
• Ben McAllister, Research Fellow - ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics at Swinburne University of Technology 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

How much is human adjudication in sport worth, and how much more accurate is Wimbledon's new system? Plus, the CSIRO and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) have joined forces to research how AI can be used ethically and efficiently in sports.

When 1 in 5 people have been the victim of cybercrime and AI voice scams are on the rise, how do we protect ourselves online? Plus Google may soon be the default browser on Android phones in Australia and say 'hello!' to your new best friend, with new AI-powered kids toys.

America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a notice they intend to purchase an iris scanning technology that can identify "suspects and inmates who try to hide their identity". Unsurprisingly, it’s raised some red flags.

A sex doll brothel in Berlin is offering a combination of new VR and AI technologies in their plastic playmates. But the Cyberbrothel business falls outside traditional brothel regulations, raising questions how consent, sex work, and tech intersect.

Snapchat’s AI chatbot, My AI, is raising concerns among teens and parents — with questions about how it's used, what it says, and whether the platform is doing enough to keep young users safe. While there are parental controls available through Snapchat’s Family Centre, many parents may not know they can restrict access to the bot altogether. So, is this feature really as risky as it sounds?

Also, major automakers are cancelling their upcoming electric vehicle launches in the US - what does this mean for us here in Australia? And unlike Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface, Synchron’s doesn't require open-skull surgery, and it has an OpenAI chatbot baked in. Is this a win for disability tech? Or the first step towards a Terminator-like revolution?  

Plus, how do you stop an AI model turning Nazi? What does the Grok drama reveal about how we train our large language models? And is there a better way to be doing it? 

 GUESTS:

• Tobias Venus, technology and travel journalist 
• Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson, Future Economies reporter for the Australian Associated Press 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Meanjin.

Technical production by Ann-Marie Debettencour and Allyse Symons.

Big Brother is getting new powers in China with a digital ID system eerily similar to that being proposed in the upcoming teen social media ban. What are the privacy risks involved in needing your government ID to use any old website on the internet? And could this tech be seen in Australia anytime soon?

Teachers have been struggling to manage student use of generative AI for years, but maybe its time teachers were taught how to use AI themselves. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are investing millions to train teachers how to use AI. Could this be the solution to teacher burnout, or just another way to reduce costs for employers?

Also, could tracking your run be a risk to national security? Bodyguards using Strava revealed locations of Swedish leaders and its raised big questions when it comes to how we engage with any app with geo-tracking software. 

Plus, a new research centre has been unveiled that will explore how AI can help humans ‘speak’ with pets.

GUESTS:

• David Braue, technology journalist at Cybercrime Magazine
• Michael Cowling, 'Professor tech', Director, Hub for Apple Platform Innovation

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal, and Wurundjeri land, and in Naarm.

Technical production by Tim Symonds and Allyse Symons. 

Do you think you can tell the difference between what's real and what's made by AI? What about writing? Or even music?

More AI-generated content is making its way into what we hear, read, and write and it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference. And when we can't tell who's making the things we consume, we can't tell their intentions behind it either. This is true when AI is causing more Australian job losses, and when the UN decides to use an AI avatar in place of real refugees.

GUESTS:

• Erica Mealy, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast
• Seamus Byrne, Head of Content at Byteside and a student member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Meanjin

Technical production by Tim Symonds and Marcus Hobbs

What happens when theology and technology collide? There's a new tech startup dedicated to building a Christian AI. It's called Gloo, launched by ex-Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, and they say it's going to 'hasten the coming of Christ's return'. 

Also, AI chat services are helping us speak to God. From innocent Bible chatbots to an AI priest that told people to baptise their babies in Gatorade, how seriously are people taking these technological embodiments of God? 

Plus, we go way back into the lore behind the Way of the Future church, a church devoted to worshipping AI. 

GUESTS:

• Rohan Salmond, producer of Soul Search and editor of the Modern Relics newsletter
• Dr Declan Humphries, lecturer in cyber security and ethics at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and ABC Top 5 Humanities resident for 2025

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and on the land of the Kubi Kubi people.

In recent years, like many other big technology firms, Microsoft has refocused its business towards developing AI, and this week the firm has announced it's slashing 9,000 jobs. A large chunk of these jobs are coming from its Xbox video gaming unit, with successful and longstanding titles like Elder Scrolls and Forza Motorport in the firing line. Why is Microsoft choosing AI over people? And what difference will this make for players of these games?

Also, Nintendo has told shareholders that they're investing in virtual reality. Is Nintendo able to revive this less-than-popular tech? Or is this just another shiny promise for investors?

Plus, two million people play eSports in Australia, which is more than five times the amount of Javelin throwers we have, so why is one an Olympic sport and not the other? Could the Brisbane Olympics be the chance for Australia to get in on the ground floor of elite competitive video gaming?

GUESTS: 

• Alice Clarke, award-winning tech journo and author of Press Any Button Substack
• Edmond Tran, managing editor at This Week in Videogames

This episode of Download This Show was made in Gadigal land and in Naarm. 

Technical production by Roi Huberman and Matthew Sigley.

How well do you think the streets of Sydney would handle self-driving taxis? What about those same self-driving taxis navigating the Melbourne tram lines? Could you imagine it? Waymo is set to launch self-driving taxis and Ubers in Australia soon after talks with Transport NSW, and not everyone is happy with it. 

Also, Elon Musk has launched his very own version of the people's encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and Facebook Dating has been quietly dominating the online dating scene, and on both counts, we’re trying to figure out why. 

GUESTS:

• Dr Erica Mealy, senior lecturer in computer science at the University of the Sunshine Coast 
• Professor Michael Cowling, lecturer and Director of the Apple Platform Hub for Innovation at RMIT 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land, in Meanjin and in Naarm. 

How much do you trust the AI chatbots you use on a day-to-day basis? Once you send your prompt off into cyberspace, how do you now no one is interfering with it somewhere in between? Prompt injections are an increasingly common vulnerability in generative AI services and they could be tricking you into giving away majorly sensitive information.

Also, Google announced a breakthrough in quantum computing, the first ever algorithm to gain an actual quantum advantage on every day hardware. But again, what actually is quantum computing?

Plus, ChatGPT is entering its horny era, and Labor has banned the tech giants from using copyrighted content to train AI.

GUESTS:

• Sarah Moran, co-founder of AI Patient Notes
• Jocelyn Brewer, psychologist and founder of Digital Nutrition

This episode of Download This Show was made on the land of the Gadigal and the Dharawal people, and in Meanjin.

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and Brendan O'Niell.

When a major outage hit Amazon Web Services this week, websites and apps started falling like dominoes -- from Square to Duolingo, Netflix, and Adobe, why do so many major players rely on a single company to host their data? And should we be calling time on these pseudo tech-monopolies? 

Also, we investigate whether its actually true that your iPhone slows down every time a new one is released, and what’s going to happen to the 400 million computers that are going to become obsolete thanks to the Windows 11 update.  

Plus, Instagram has announced new teen controls for parents, but will they have any impact in Australia after the teen social media ban comes into effect? 

GUESTS:

• David Braue, technology journalist at Cybercrime Magazine 
• Alex Kidman, technology journalist at Alex Reviews Tech  

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and Matthew Sigley.

The Online Safety Amendment Bill is the name on everyone’s lips this week and as the implementation date looms closer, we take a deep dive into some of the people most affected by the upcoming ban, and lay out all the info you need to know if you’re a parent or teen trying to duck and dodge this murky legislation.  

GUESTS:

• Leo Puglisi, teenager and Founder of 6 News Australia 
• Nikita White, Amnesty International Campaigner 
• Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Safety Comissioner

This episode of Download This Show was made on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

Technical production by Richard Girvan.

There are over 170 million pieces of space junk orbiting Earth right now, and that number is only growing as space orbit becomes more accessible. How are we going to deal with this astronomical littering problem, while keeping up with our satellite-hungry tech needs?

Also, an increase in light and radio pollution is making it harder for astronomers to study the stars. How can space tech companies, governments, and even you do something about it?

Plus, we check in with the latest from SpaceX, and figure out what messages we're sending out into the great unknown on life, love, and the universe.

GUESTS:

• Professor Andy Koronios, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute
• Nick Carter, Lead of the Space Research Group at CSIRO

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land, Kaurna land, and the Country of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people.

Technical production by Allyse Symons.

You step up to a box full of prizes, and knowing that there is a chance you may not win anything, you give it your real-life money anyway. No, this isn't a game at the casino, it's a video game that children as young as four are playing in their spare time. Last year, Australia introduced classification to prevent things like this from happening, so why are we still seeing Loot Boxes show up in kids games?

Also, one of the largest video game companies in the world, Electronic Arts (responsible for games like The Sims and the FIFA franchise), has just agreed to a record-breaking sale. If a Saudi Arabian private equity fund, a Trump advisor, and Silicon Valley investors are joining billion-dollar forces to buy out EA games, what does the future of our games industry look like? 

Plus, we take a look at one of the weirdest, most wonderful consoles in gaming and check in on what’s happening for Melbourne International Games Week October 4-12.

GUESTS:

• David Smith, producer at ABC Gamer 
• Seb Chan, Director & CEO of ACMI 

This episode of Download This Show was produced on Gadigal land, and in Naarm. 

Technical production by Riley Mellis.

The Australian Finance Industry Association has modelled AI's contribution to economic growth in the years ahead. It found that "scaling", or expanding, the use of AI could add up to $60 billion to GDP over the next decade. But who is actually going to benefit from this, and where are we getting these numbers from?

Also, we explain the blossoming $100 billion bromance between Nvidia and OpenAI, and how Gen Z elected their new PM via the gaming app Discord amidst a wave of protests.

Plus, the latest on the teen social media ban.

GUESTS: 

• Mark Serrels, Editorial Director at CHOICE
• Peter Marks, software developer at Access Informatics

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land.

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and John Jacobs.