Category: Opinion

Off the Record: Labor may not get a chance to prove us wrong about the Budget

Off the Record: Labor may not get a chance to prove us wrong about the Budget

The political establishment is cracking, in Australia and abroad. We should have listened when the US first warned us during the rise of Trump, and we should be taking notes now as party control diversifies in places like the UK.

Off the Record: Circling the drain of centrism

Off the Record: Circling the drain of centrism

Bipartisanship is threatening to replace bravery in Parliament House. Consensus now serves as the mark of good politics. But reform does not begin with unanimity.

Palantir says it’s just a software company. Its manifesto suggests something much worse.

Off the Record: What does the ‘kill chain’ have to do with your groceries?

Palantir says it’s just a software company. Its manifesto suggests something much worse.

Off the Record: The panic buying paradox

Off the Record: The panic buying paradox

Humans innately desire predictability. During times of crisis, it’s only natural to seek a sense of control in an unpredictable environment.

Off the Record: Prediction markets, plastic straws and the new panopticon

Off the Record: Prediction markets, plastic straws and the new panopticon

On Polymarket, crises are no longer lived realities; they are odds to watch and positions to take.

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Off the Record: A lack of curiosity killed the cat

If you find that after less than a minute of mental effort your subconscious is nagging you to “just ask ChatGPT”, you may be letting go of your cognitive wheel and becoming a passenger to the “thoughts” of your LLM of choice.

(Image source: NASA)

Off the Record: Do space barons dream of electric fleets?

Our traditional industries are scrambling to keep the lights on. Ordinary people are weighing the gamble of filling a tank. And even Elon Musk, long fixated on building a “self-growing city” on Mars, has pulled his gaze back to the Moon.