Technology & People — May 7, 2026

How AI is reshaping work, society, and who gets left behind

Australian Banks Told to Lift AI Risk Game — APRA Demands 'Step-Change' in Governance

Australia's prudential regulator just demanded banks get serious about AI risk. NZ has no equivalent — even as billions pour into AI infrastructure here.

"Under a Cloud": Australian Communities Fight Back Against AI Datacentre Invasion

Melbourne residents live in the shadow of 'Australia's largest hyperscale AI factory' — 225MW, 100 diesel generators, and zero cumulative environmental assessment. The datacentre backlash is here.

IBM Think 2026: The AI Operating Model Is Here — And Most Companies Aren't Ready for It

Arvind Krishna's message was blunt: the companies winning with AI aren't deploying more of it — they're redesigning how they operate.

NZ's AI Data Centre Boom: Who Actually Benefits From the Build-Out?

AI Is Great at Normal Science. Breakthroughs? That's Still on Us.

AI can optimise everything within the existing paradigm. It can't invent the next one.

Google Chrome Is Quietly Installing a 4GB AI Model on Your Computer — And It Keeps Coming Back When You Delete It

4GB. No consent. Billions of devices. Google's 'Help me write' just cost the planet a lot more than you think.

Your Boss's AI Thinks You're Not Smiling Enough — And It's Getting It Wrong

AI that reads your face to decide if you're happy enough at work is spreading from call centres to white-collar offices. Hundreds of studies say it can't accurately read emotions. Companies are buying it anyway.

Warmer AI Makes More Mistakes: Oxford Study Finds Kindness Comes at the Cost of Truth

The friendlier the AI, the more it lies to you. That's not a bug — it's a feature of how warmth training works.

AI Startup Stole the 'This Is Fine' Meme for an Ad — And the Irony Is Staggering

An AI startup stole the most famous meme about ignoring catastrophic problems to sell an AI product. You literally cannot make this up.

ChatGPT Images 2.0 Conquered India — But the Rest of the World Yawned

India became ChatGPT Images 2.0's biggest market overnight. The global response? A collective shrug. What this tells us about AI's next growth frontier.

AI-Powered Infrasound Waves Put Out Kitchen Fires — But Can They Really Replace Sprinklers?

Sonic Fire Tech demonstrated AI-driven infrasound putting out kitchen fires in milliseconds. Fire protection engineers say wait — sound doesn't cool hot surfaces, wet fuel, or handle hidden fires. The debate reveals where AI meets physical reality.