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Quantum computing sounds like science fiction, but all of a sudden the biggest names in tech are treating it like the next industrial arms race. Google, Microsoft, IBM are all chasing breakthroughs that could transform everything from medicine to finance.
However! It does pose a serious security threat. Cybersecurity experts are warning those same machines could one day unravel the encryption protecting our bank accounts, private messages and government secrets. 
So, are we finally on the verge of the quantum future we've been promised, and are we actually ready for what comes next? 
GUESTS:
Jacinta Bowler, ABC science reporter and host of the new ABC Science Friction series Dead or Alive.
Justin Hendry, Editor at InnovationAus.com.
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This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Burramattagal, Darug, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri peoples.
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Get in touch:
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.au
Find all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Anthropic has just released the Spotify Wrapped equivalent of Claude. Claude Reflect claims it can help you optimise your AI use. But will a tool built by an AI company ever genuinely encourage you to use it less? 
Also on the program, the humans hired to train AI are secretly getting AI to do it. How does this "AI inbreeding" degrade quality?
Meta launched a tool that would allow someone to generate pictures based on individual Instagram accounts. They've since gone back on this decision, but will this idea become a problem?
And in case you missed it, we also cover the Prime Minister's announcement of the Office of AI in our headlines section.
Fergus mentioned the book Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams.
GUESTS:
Fergus Halliday, journalist at Whistleout.
David Braue, tech journalist at Information Age.
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This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Burramattagal, Darug, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri peoples.
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Get in touch:
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.au
Find all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Microsoft and Xbox have laid off thousands of staff. Sony, Xbox and publishers like Rockstar all seem to be moving away from physical discs. And the UN Secretary General has called for a ban on AI powered ‘killer robots’. What does it all mean? 
GUESTS:
Kai Riemer, professor at the University of Sydney Business School and Director of Sydney Executive Plus.
Gianfranco Di Giovanni, games reporter at ABC Arts and 102.5 ABC Perth Content Director. The articles Gianni mentioned are here and here.
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This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Burramattagal, Darug, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri peoples.
------------
Get in touch:
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.au
Find all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Australian government wants to double the penalty tech companies will face for not keeping kids off their social media platforms. The proposed bill would also compel companies to release documents that prove whether they have been keeping kids off their platforms. How effective will this actually be?
Plus, there's been shifts in the energy sector that mean everyday Australians are missing out on potential savings. Changes have also been made to the energy requirements of data centres in Australia, but will that actually make a difference to household energy prices?
Our final topic this week is the 'tokenpocalypse'. After encouraging everyone to use it as much as possible, all sorts of companies are blowing through their AI token budgets. What does this mean for the viability of AI?
GUESTS:
Petra Stock, climate and environment reporter for Guardian Australia. You can find Petra's work here.
Daniel Van Boom, business journalist at Forbes Australia. You can find Daniel's work here.
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This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Burramattagal, Darug, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri peoples.
------------
Get in touch:
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.au
Find all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

If your phone seems impossible to put down, that's because it's intentional. So how can we break our addictions?
Also on the show, how safe is online voting? With our traditional political system in a bit of a chaotic state at the moment, it's safe to say we're lacking trust in our politicians. But Australians are still very trusting in our electoral processes. Will changing to online voting jeopardise that?
And, more Australian artists have identified they have been caught up in AI model training without permission. And they're not happy about it! Cate Blanchett has just launched the Human Consent Registry as one way to combat this. Is there an end in sight?
GUESTS:
Professor Vanessa Teague, CEO of Thinking Cybersecurity and Adjunct Professor at UNSW.
Professor Michael Cowling, Professor of Educational Technology at RMIT aka Professor Tech.
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This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.
------------
Get in touch:
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.au
Find all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.