Do we have free will – and do we want it? Thomas the Tank Engine offers clues

Are we free or are our actions determined by the laws of physics? And how much free will do we actually want? These questions have troubled...

What is multi-factor authentication, and how should I be using it?

Tesla’s Optimus robot isn’t very impressive – but it may be a sign of better things to come

In August 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the electric car manufacturer was planning to get into the robot business. In a presentation accompanied by a...

Why blockchain could mean fewer hassles for students and workers proving their credentials

Microcredentials — attestations of proficiency in a specific skill or knowledge base that are certified by an authority — can provide evidence of a person’s skills...

The ‘Optus hacker’ claims they’ve deleted the data. Here’s what experts want you to know

Shortly after Australian telecommunications company Optus announced the identity data of millions of customers had been stolen, a person claiming to be the hacker announced they...

The same app can pose a bigger security and privacy threat depending on the country where you download it, study finds

Google and Apple have removed hundreds of apps from their app stores at the request of governments around the world, creating regional disparities in access to...

E-scooters are becoming wildly popular – but we have to factor in the weather

The first rental electric scooters quietly appeared on the streets of Brisbane in late 2018. Four years later, distinctively coloured e-scooters are seemingly everywhere, with trial...

As pandemic measures are lifted, social media use has declined with the exception of TikTok

In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Instagram is faltering in its bid to keep up with TikTok, the wildly popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app. But...

Governments’ use of automated decision-making systems reflects systemic issues of injustice and inequality

In 2019, former UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said he was worried we were “stumbling zombie-like into a digital welfare dystopia.” He had been researching how...

NASA is crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid to test a plan that could one day save Earth from catastrophe

On Sept. 26, 2022, NASA plans to change an asteroid’s orbit. The large binary asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos currently pose no threat to Earth....