The Elon Musk-funded Future of Life Institute this week issued an open letter calling on artificial intelligence research labs to suspend work on their most advanced projects. Musk, who has described advances in AI as “summoning the demon” has tended to overestimate the pace of development of the field towards the artificial general intelligence (AGI) […]

For those of us who live and breathe digital tech we know how wonderful this industry can be, how well it can pay, how creative, rewarding and mentally stimulating the mahi (work) can be. Sadly we are only a tiny percentage of the population and unless someone in your immediate whānau works in our space […]

So much for venture capital drying up as chill economic winds blow. Agritech start-up Halter has just raised $85 million in a series-C capital raising round. While Kiwi-founded tech companies like Rocket Lab and Lanzatech raised considerable capital for expansion through their recent Nasdaq listings, Halter’s injection of capital is probably the largest raise closed […]

Google’s ChatGPT rival Bard became available last week to users in the United States and the United Kingdom as the generative artificial intelligence race heats up. While Bard isn’t officially available in New Zealand yet, I registered to gain access to it and am able to do so while using a (VPN) virtual private network […]

Leveraging technology in the classroom is pretty well documented and understood these days. The need for enhanced digital technology skills and capabilities to be taught to ensure our ākonga (learners) are developing the range of skills they require for their future jobs is also well understood. Here in Aotearoa NZ we have a digital technology curriculum […]

The bill to merge the IT systems of the country’s 16 polytechnics, which now operate as one education super-entity, Te Pūkenga, has been totted up – $285.9 million over four years. Te Pūkenga’s management outlined its IT spending needs as part of a request for additional funding totaling $422.6 million over four years, Pattrick Smellie […]

Australia’s National Broadband Network is in trouble, shedding 500 staff to cut costs and with declining subscriber numbers as telcos tout rival 5G wireless broadband services. For years, the differences between the NBN and our own ultrafast broadband (UFB) have been stark, with the Australian effort to extend high-speed internet access to the bulk of […]

An increasing number of people are using mobile devices – their smartphone, a smartwatch or tablet – to pay for goods and services. Mobile devices allow people to complete transactions without using cash or a traditional bank card, making shopping quicker and easier. Our recent research on China’s experience with mobile payments even suggests that […]

What a week it was for the tech community. It started with many of them fearing they may not be able to make this week’s payroll after the US Government moved to freeze the assets of the Silicon Valley Bank, a mid-sized company that was banker to 44% of venture-backed tech companies in the US. […]

I spent the day Wednesday at Massey University campus, an amazing day speaking with faculty and students, many stimulating discussions. They invited me to present on AI and ChatGPT and the opportunities these technologies will create in the near and longer term. After the Q&A, while we were enjoying a pizza lunch, a group of […]