Plus: Here's a fun AirDrop alternative ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 24, 2026 | Read online
# Gig workers training AI for spy planes, mental health apps exposing user data and IT manager wage drop Plus: Here's a fun AirDrop alternative
Edition 2508
"Apple Lisa (5) in Computer History Museum - California" by Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, Calif. is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mentioned in today’s edition: Appen, Android, Andrew Charlton, Panasonic, plasma TVs, Goldman Sachs and AirDrop. Plus, deals on Sony noise cancelling headphones, Garmin Epix Pro watches and the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.
# The News
### Australian company getting gig workers to train AI systems used by US spy planes
An Australian company's gig workers are providing the data used to train AI for US spy planes while their home country is being bombed by America (Crikey, $). An investigation I've been working on with the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals that the ASX-listed Appen has signed several contracts to provide data specifically for secretive US military units (Rest of World). Appen has millions of gig workers in countries like Somalia who have no idea that they are providing data that's being used by the US defence forces which, by the way, is still running military operations in Somalia that have killed civilians.
The Sizzle: This story is all about the supply chain of underpaid workers into the tools that are often used to make their lives worse. Appen relies on wage arbitrage — being able to pay workers in Africa a pittance — so it can sell this data for all kinds of purposes to whoever buys it. It's not even that these workers don't have a say in it, it's that they have no idea that they are actively training tools used to kill them. It's cruel, but, hey, at least some people made money out of it.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### What a surprise that mental health apps aren't protecting their users' data
Mental health apps on Android with millions of users are exposing their users' medical information (Bleeping Computer). Mobile security company Oversecured's researchers evaluated 10 apps on the Google Play Store and found 1,575 security vulnerabilities, including 54 rated as high severity that could be used to intercept login details, spoof notifications or locate the user. Several apps store data locally and in plain text. Simply put: apps that encourage you to trust them with sensitive information aren't doing enough to earn that trust.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Is the drop in IT manager pay an early sign of AI affecting Australian job market?
On the "AI jobs apocalypse" and "changing nature of work" themes, I was interested to see that ICT managers had a drop in wages in Australia (Information Age). These staff reported about a $10k drop in annual wages in May 2025, while other ICT roles continued to see a pay increase. That does seem a little early for this to be attributed to AI, but an expert chalked it up to the desire by companies to "stop paying people just to watch others work." One to watch.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Leftovers
Australia:
ATO wants to start getting Services Australia data again... (The Mandarin) Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton has warned against the AI 'uberisation' of the economy: Charlton (The Australian Financial Review, $) Charlton is talking here about Australia "owning" the AI tools... but what does that mean? We don't have any frontier models Tradies emerge unlikely winners of AI boom (SmartCompany) Two new EVs coming to Australia soon: Tesla's 6-seat Model Y (techAU) and a new BYD (The Driven) A new pre-print, with one Sizzler among the authors: "Definitely not to be fully relied on, but useful all the same": Developing critical AI literacy through structured assessment redesign in postgraduate health management education Artificial intelligence could play role in abattoirs to improve welfare (Sheep Central) lol Australia endorses India AI Impact Summit Declaration (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) A podcast from Australian gaming outlet SIFTER about the Xbox changes Council cut NBN and damaged asbestos pit (Reddit)
Rest of World:
Panasonic, the former plasma king, will no longer make its own TVs (Ars Technica) Inside Microsoft's big Xbox leadership shake-up (The Verge) This answers a lot of questions about the story yesterday, including why the heir apparent left There is another AI report/fan-fic that's freaking everyone out meanwhile Goldman Sachs said that AI actually added close to zero US GDP last year Nvidia set to launch laptop chip in the first half of this year (CNET)
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Oh, Also
### Here's a fun AirDrop alternative
I know Google hasn't brought AirDrop to all its devices yet, so thankfully software engineer Nicolas Seriot has come up with an alternative: using an early phone protocol to transfer data via sound that's inaudible to the human ear (Seriot). He was able to use the Bell 103 protocol, introduced in 1962, to turn other data into an audio file that can be played by most speakers but not heard by most people. So don't think airgapping your computer is as simple as unplugging the internet.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electronics
Click 6 Outlet Tower Power Board with GaN PD45W USB Charger - $20 at Bunnings Warehouse (Down from $49) Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 Bluetooth Tracker 4-Pack - $74.80 at Amazon (Down from $169) Sennheiser IE 300 In-Ear Audiophile Headphones, Black - $197 at Amazon (Down from $449) Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - $199 at Costco (Down from $439) Ecovacs Deebot Neo 2.0 Robot Vacuum Cleaner - $279 at ALDI (Down from $399) AirPods Pro 2 With MagSafe Case USB-C APPLE - $289 at Costco (Down from $399) Suunto 9 Peak Pro GPS Watch - $349 at Keep on Running (Down from $699) Roborock Q10V+ Robotic Vacuum Cleaner (White) - $488 at JB Hi-Fi (Down from $1299) TCL 50" P7K QLED Google TV 2025 - $585 at The Good Guys (Down from $695) Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition 42mm Soft Gold with Light Sand Band - $849 at JB Hi-Fi (Down from $1999) Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar and Wall Bracket at Bose (Down from $1499) Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar for $899 Bose Soundbar Wall Bracket for $0 Fujifilm X-T50 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body Only - $1785 at Amazon (Down from $2599)
Computing
Logitech Pebble Mouse 2 M350s (White) - $25 at Amazon (Down from $54) Team Group Pro Plus 1TB MicroSDXC UHS-I U3 Memory Card - $139 at PC Case Gear (Down from $199) NZXT C1200 Gold 1200W 80+ Gold Fully Modular ATX 3.1 Power Supply - $191 at Centre Com (Down from $349) Lenovo Idea Tab 11" Wi-Fi 8GB/128GB with Pen - $278 at Officeworks (Down from $349)
Mobile
Vodafone 300GB 12-Month Prepaid Plus Starter Pack SIM - $199 at TopCashback AU (Down from $320) Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 5G 128GB (Open Box) - $479 at Phonebot (Down from $817)
# The End
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