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Life is full of boringly complicated tasks – from tax returns to travel bookings. But “AI agents” might soon be able to take care of these chores on your behalf. These tools won’t need fine-tuned prompts to operate – simply tell an AI agent to buy you a home insurance policy, and it will do the rest, negotiating with other agents as it completes the task.
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg reckons AI Agents will soon outnumber the global human population, and companies such as Google, OpenAI, Salesforce and others are racing to roll them out. But Uri Gal from the University of Sydney warns this technological frontier comes with profound risks.
Interactions between AI agents can be complex, riddled with biases and competing interests, and hard to monitor. They could make mistakes, with nobody held accountable. They will also need access to sensitive information. Are we really ready to surrender human agency at such an unprecedented scale?
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Signe Dean
Science + Technology Editor
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Uri Gal, University of Sydney
AI systems that can autonomously make decisions on our behalf will be a huge time saver – but we must deploy them with care.
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Athena Lee, Edith Cowan University
Aboriginal message sticks are hand-carved wooden objects traditionally used to send messages across long distances, complemented by oral messages.
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Carmen Lim, The University of Queensland; Wayne Hall, The University of Queensland
Aggressive and misleading marketing is fuelling demand for medicinal cannabis. Here are some of the ways clinics bend the rules.
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Gina Perry, The University of Melbourne
A French science historian dug deep into the true story of the Stanford prison experiment – revealing ‘guards’ were actually coached to be brutal. His findings are now available in English.
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Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Australian Catholic University
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Liz Giuffre, University of Technology Sydney
Tracing the Triple J’s approach to social issues is a way to trace the priorities of many young people in Australia.
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TC Weekly podcast
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Political theorist Elke Schwarz talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast on her new research about venture capital investment into defence start-ups.
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Our most-read article this week
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Steve Turton, CQUniversity Australia
It’s vital to understand how climate drivers played out before and during the LA wildfire emergency – because many Australian cities face the same climate risks.
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In case you missed this week's big stories
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Marika Sosnowski, The University of Melbourne
After 467 days of violence, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a detailed peace plan. But with more negotiating ahead, the future is far from certain.
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Ian Parmeter, Australian National University
Why did it take so long to reach an agreement? How will aid get to Gazans in need? These are just some of the issues left unresolved.
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Paul Williams, Griffith University
Anthony Albanese burst out of the blocks to announce a cash-splash in the Sunshine State, but with very few seats likely to come Labor’s way, why start there?
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The Opposition Leader is gearing up for the official election campaign, but the rhetoric remains fuzzy on details.
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John Hawkins, University of Canberra
The recent fall in the Australian dollar against the US dollar is more a matter of the US dollar being strong than the Australian dollar being weak.
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Milad Haghani, UNSW Sydney
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Susan Jordan, The University of Queensland; Karen Tuesley, The University of Queensland; Penny Webb, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
The contraceptive pill is responsible for preventing more cancers than it contributes to. Long-acting contraceptives seem to be as safe when it comes to cancer risk.
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Louise Baur, University of Sydney; John B. Dixon, Swinburne University of Technology; Priya Sumithran, Monash University; Wendy A. Brown, Monash University
A larger body doesn’t necessarily mean you have ‘clinical obesity’, according to a proposed new definition of the disease.
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Elizabeth Little, Deakin University
Assault allegations against Neil Gaiman raise some serious moral questions about the unequal power relations between star authors and their fans.
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Ian A. Wright, Western Sydney University
A ‘brain-eating amoeba’ might sound like a science fiction creature. Unfortunately, it’s real – and while infections are rare, they are usually fatal.
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