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In today’s episode, Mark and Jason sat down with Dr Hon Weng Chong, founder of startup and research firm Cortical Labs.  We discussed the prospect of developing a computer that – in place of a silicon, the central processing can be performed instead by neurons grown in a petri dish.  That’s right, brain matter inside a computer. Hon talks about his work to develop an “off the shelf” implementation of this neuron based computer, with the intention to make it available for research world wide in the hope to accelerate the adoption and application of this new approach to compute. The post Dr Hon Weng Chong – “actual intelligence” from Cortical Labs appeared first on Technogaze.

In this episode, Michael, Mark, and Jason were joined by Josh Taylor, journalist at The Guardian. We discussed the powers United States officers have in searching and seizing devices at the border. We also discussed the latest data breach in Australia, this time affecting superannuation funds. We also discussed how to use eSIMs, and other useful tips to consider when travelling with technology. And Microsoft turned 50 years old, and simultaneously announced a slew of new features in their copilot offering. The post Data privacy and security at United States border control, magnetically influencing viruses to fight disease, Microsoft turns 50 appeared first on Technogaze.

Raena sat down with Dr Michael Milford, the director of the Centre for Robotics at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. We discussed his current research on creating next-generation navigation systems for robots, people, and various assets that move around in different environments, such as warehouses or roads. Michael explains how these technologies could help improve reliability in places where GPS is unreliable, like inside buildings. We also discussed autonomous vehicles, and their potential impact on the future of transportation, since their beginnings in the 80s. The post Dr Michael Milford – Robotics, television, movies, and Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Technogaze.

Mark, Michael, Raena, and Jason discuss the latest in tech, including the astronauts who have finally returned to Earth after an unexpected 9 months in space.  Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft malfunction caused the delay, and it would have been a relief to be back on Earth, Jason shares his excitement about the Pebble Smartwatch’s comeback, and we also discuss Apple’s ongoing issues with Apple Intelligence, where the general consensus is Apple have not come close to meeting their own expectations in delivering a personalised assistant with privacy built in. We conclude the show discussing a new music app featuring Nintendo game tunes. The post Astronauts back in gravity, Pebble smartwatch making a comeback, nostalgic video game tunes appeared first on Technogaze.

We sat down with John Buchelin from Rewiring Australia.  Rewiring Australia is a non-profit organisation that explores the concepts and the practicalities of electrifying households. John discusses the experience of building a community that focusses on replacing home appliances, and cars that burn fossil fuels with their electric equivalents. We discuss the Electrify 2515 project, where households in a community south of Sydney Australia are encouraged to look at their use of gas appliances, fossil fuel burning cars, and replace them with electric alternatives. Check out the Rewiring Australia resources here. The post John Buchelin – Rewiring Australia and the practical steps to electrifying your house appeared first on Technogaze.

In today’s show, Jason, Mark, Michael, and Raena, 4D printing, which is a new form of printing that allows objects to change shape over time based on environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature, electric current, and magnetism. They also mention potential applications for this technology in areas like energy efficiency and drug delivery. We also talk about Apple’s dispute with the UK government over encrypted data access, specifically for iCloud files protected by Advanced Data Protection. The UK government has asked Apple to provide access to a “master key” so user data can be unencrypted if required, but Apple has refused, citing privacy concerns and the technical limitations of their encryption system. The sale of gaming company Niantic and its popular title Pokémon Go to a new company called Scopely has raised some concerns within the LGBTIQA+ community due to its ownership by the Saudi Arabian government. The post 4D printing, Apple’s dispute with the UK government over consumer data privacy, Pokémon Go appeared first on Technogaze.

Getting together to celebrate International Women’s Day, we had guests Donna, Tamzyn, and Miranda, offering their perspectives on the lived experiences of women working and consuming technology. We covered a lot of ground, including participation in the industry today, and challenging historical references to participation and influences by women. We also explored the value of events like International Women’s Day, a topic reflected in the campaign hashtag #AccelerateAction. Some choose not to participate, and where the data show the rate of achieving parity with men will take generations, we discussed meaningful action that can take place to accelerate progress. The post International Women’s Day – women in technology appeared first on Technogaze.

Jason, Mark and Raena joined the show today, where Apple and its Find My network was our first topic of conversation. Researchers at George Mason University found a vulnerability in the Find My Network that allowed hackers to track Bluetooth devices after processing the device’s unique identifier through a series of GPUs to find a cryptographic key that matches the Bluetooth address.  The vulnerability is significant due to the potential to discover any Bluetooth device, including phones and smart locks. We also discussed a recent breakthrough by French scientists and how long they could sustain a nuclear fusion reaction for in the WEST research facility.  Breaking the previous record with just over 20 minutes maintained reaction time. The post Apple bugs, nuclear fusion reactions sustained for a record breaking 20 minutes appeared first on Technogaze.

Mark sits down with Dr Tauel Harper, Associate Professor with the School of Media and Communication at Murdoch University. We discuss the impact of social media platforms on public discourse and democracy, platforms use of algorithms in big data mining for media preferences, amplifying the “tyranny of the majority”. The conversation also touched upon the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, comparing it to the spread of viruses but emphasizing that extreme claims and emotive content travel faster than evidence-based opposition or engagement with real people. Tauel discussed his 2011 book “Democracy in the Age of New Media: Politics of the Spectacle,” which delves into the failure of democracy due to the inability of citizens to critically interrogate how democracy functions. The post Dr Tauel Harper – social media platforms and their influence on society and politics appeared first on Technogaze.

In today’s episode, Michael, Mark, and Jason discuss various types of scams and how to avoid them, particularly focusing on phone calls, emails, and websites claiming to be from banks or other official institutions. Recommendations include always verifying contact information by calling a listed number rather than clicking on links in emails or following instructions without proper verification. We also share examples of common scam scenarios, such as overdue accounts and suspicious activity notifications. Later we discuss tech predictions from years past, mentioning some famous tech predictions that did not come true, such as Steve Ballmer’s claim that there was no chance the iPhone would gain significant market share due to its lack of a keyboard. The post Avoiding online scams, tech predictions of the past appeared first on Technogaze.

We’ve moved to a Saturday time slot! If you’d like to catch us live on-air, you can tune-in Saturdays 4-5pm Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time. JOY broadcasts live in Melbourne on 94.9 FM, DAB+ under the name “JOY”.  You can also tune in anywhere in the world via our online stream – joy.org.au/listenlive. In today’s show, Sam Floreani, a digital rights advocate and PhD student joined us to discuss artificial intelligence, automation, discrimination, and the impact of AI on various aspects of our lives. We discussed so-called “gender recognition” systems, which have been used in various contexts, raising concerns about unfairly restricting access to services, and privacy. We also discussed the impact of technology on landlords and housing justice in Australia. Sam highlights issues such as excessive fees charged to tenants during the application process, data privacy concerns, and the lack of protection for renters under the Privacy Act. The post Sam Floreani – Artificial Intelligence, online discrimination, landlord tech and tenant rights appeared first on Technogaze.

Jason and Mark joined you today to discuss the recent announcement by Meta to remove fact checking from its platforms, starting in the United States.  We also got together to discuss how content is both consumed, and created in the year 2025. The post Meta announces the removal of facts from its platforms, content consumption and content creation in 2025 appeared first on Technogaze.

Today Raena, Michael, and Mark were joined by old friend of the show, Jason to discuss tech news including the recent class action settlement with Apple around the “unintentional” recording of private conversations.  We discuss electric vehicles, focusing not just on cars but on various types of electrically powered transport, and how this shift could contribute to decarbonisation efforts. The show also covers a news item about “Matter,” a connectivity standard designed to unify smart home devices and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Michael explains that while smart speakers like Google and Apple can act as Matter controllers, they are not yet fully Matter-aware. The hosts discuss the frustration of managing smart home devices that don’t communicate well with each other, with Matter offering the potential to simplify and streamline device compatibility, particularly for everyday smart gadgets. The post Latest tech news, electric vehicles in 2024, city transportation appeared first on Technogaze.

Michael, Mark, and Raena got together to discuss the evolving landscape of social media platforms, examining where people are spending their time and which platforms are gaining popularity. We also discuss a unique story published by QNews about a Sydney man who created an “unwrapped” version of his Grindr profile, summarising his hookup experiences in a similar way to how music services recap your year. We also touched on the topic of 3D printing as a way to create customised items, ranging from home gadgets to specialised components. The post The year 2024 in tech wrapped, 3D printing appeared first on Technogaze.

After a 9 year hiatus, Raena, Mark and Michael are back on air talking all things Tech! Some of the changes in the tech space over this period included the increase in popularity of QR codes, working from in light of COVID and how electronic drivers licenses are now a thing, with organisations adopting their use slowly. Our newish studios at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda and some of their unique capabilities were examined. AI debuted on the show, reminding us that we were listening to Technogaze, which led to a discussion about AI, describing what a large language model was and how it provides answers to questions. We had a quick look at each of the major players in this space, including Apples unique run it on local hardware approach. Always running out of time, we had a quick look at Microsoft Recall and NBN’s fibre rollout plans. The post Weeeeee’re Back! appeared first on Technogaze.