Plus: Can you trust Albanese to manage an economy when he can't even manage his own cables? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

July 23, 2025 | Read online
# Google's traffic killer, NSW Health bans Copilot and UK's asylum seeker face scanning Plus: Can you trust Albanese to manage an economy when he can't even manage his own cables?
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Edition 2380
"Helping_students_at_the_Open_Access_Computer_lab" (Flickr: 13929733@N04)
Hey team, just a little update on my Olympiad-OpenAI beef yesterday (which I spun out into its own post): a little birdy told me that when the International Mathematics Olympiad body invited a bunch of AI companies, it did not include any of the Chinese companies. Obviously, there’s some geopolitical tension in the AI world at the moment — but mathematics is a very international community so this absence was noted.
# The News
### No matter how bad you think Google’s AI search will be for the open web, it’s worse
People who are shown a Google AI summary click on a link to one of its sources just 1% of the time, according to new research (Pew Research). This study, based on analysing users’ browser history and not surveys, also found that people who were shown one of Google’s AI answers were about half as likely to go on to click one of Google’s traditional search results a.k.a. the ten blue links (8%) than those who didn’t (15%). It also found that nearly two-thirds of users were shown at least one AI summary when Googling that month.
The Sizzle: Wow. I’ve previously covered how Google’s ridiculous previous claims that AI answers weren’t going to kill traffic referrals — honestly, insulting to anyone with basic logic and observational skills — but these numbers are even worse than anyone could’ve imagined. Combine this with the push for AI-powered web browsers and agents (WIRED, $) and it’s hard not to conclude that the end of “people going to websites and checking the sources of information” is going to come a lot faster than anyone expected.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### NSW Health bans Microsoft Copilot
NSW Health is banning its workers from using Microsoft Copilot over fears that sensitive data is being sent to the tech company’s servers, according to a news alert sent to staff. At the moment, NSW public servant staff have access to Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot (NSW Government) but health staff are being reminded not to use generative AI “in any clinical scenario”. The Department is, however, going to trial a secure version of the AI software that won’t share data outside of the government.
The Sizzle: After the NSW government found out that Microsoft Teams was collecting students’ biometric data (Guardian), I figured it would’ve been a bit more on the front foot about using AI software in delicate situations. Guess not! Relatedly, I’ve heard that the Privacy Commissioner is looking closely at the AI transcription services becoming ber-popular with doctors…
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### UK will use facial scanning to help decide on asylum claims
The UK is testing using AI to estimate the age of asylum seekers who say they are children (Guardian). Its ‘border security and asylum’ minister says the country is testing the use of age estimation technology with the intention of introducing the technology by 2026 (UK Parliament).
The Sizzle: This might surprise people here but I am open to using age check tech. In a perfect world, if scanning my face will prove my age so I could buy booze online without me having to upload my government ID — that could be a better option. What I am really concerned about is high stakes decisions made about vulnerable people being made a black-box AI model. Anyone who looks at the way the UK — or Australia — is doing immigration should feel uneasy about introducing a new, hyped technology.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
On the tail of a scammer (ABC News) Loved this Labor nears call on removing YouTube's carveout from teen social media ban (Capital Brief, $) Qantas hack: Court documents reveal scope of communications between hackers and the Flying Kangaroo (CyberDailyAU) Mastercard & Equifax launch tool to boost credit access in Australia (Security Brief Australia) Govt left waiting for PsiQuantum planning application (InnovationAus, $) Fewer Australian govt bodies updating ICT to fight fraud (Information Age) Gov quietly launches onshore instance of GPT-4o for APS (IT News) Huge data breach at Australian fashion giant SABO with 3.5 million users at risk (TechRadar) Windows 11 gets new Black Screen of Death, auto recovery tool (Bleeping Computer) Windows 11’s new update will add a bunch of AI features (The Verge) US Nuclear Weapons Agency Breached in Microsoft SharePoint Hack (Bloomberg, $) Google Home is becoming a house of glitches, users say (Android Authority) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns of an AI ‘fraud crisis’ (CNN) Apple Intelligence news summaries are back, with a big red disclaimer (Ars Technica) Exclusive: Apple set to stave off daily fines, EU to accept App Store changes, sources say (Reuters) Kioxia LC9 SSD Hits 245.76TB of Capacity in a Single Drive (Serve The Home) A power utility is reporting suspected pot growers to cops. EFF says that’s illegal. (Ars Technica) Did Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Backfire? (WIRED, $) Elon Musk's xAI tried to teach Grok how to be human — by recording its own workers' faces (Business Insider) Firefox 141 release (Mozilla) I Watched Gemini CLI Hallucinate and Delete My Files (anuraag2601’s GitHub) Reunited With My First iPhone (Decryption)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Can you trust Albanese to manage an economy when he can't even manage his own cables?
Earlier this week, Nine papers published an article about the Prime Minister’s desk (SMH, $). The article doesn’t touch on his tech set up at all — so I thought I’d open it up to you. What do you see in this pic (or this one)?
Picture: Dominic Lorrimer
Here’s a few things I see: 2.5-screen set-up, including the laptop screen. One of the screens looks to be a Cisco Desk Pro with an external webcam. Bizarre mice and keyboard set-ups (although it could be just for the photo shoot). There’s an iPhone charging on the cabinets behind him, far out of reach. Should’ve sprung for the 5M charging cable. Also, if you look in the extra photo above, the cable management needs work.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & electronics
Dreame Mova Robot Vacuum and Mop at Dreame Official AU via Amazon AU E20 5000Pa Robot Vacuum and Mop for $129 E20 Plus Auto Empty for $229 DJI Osmo Action 4 Standard Combo - $278 at MyDeal ELEGOO Centauri Carbon - $629 at ELEGOO AU
Computing
Rapoo VT9Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse at LH-RAPOO-US-DirectStore via Amazon AU 1K for $26.99 4K for $32.99 D-Link M32 Eagle Pro AI AX3200 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router (2-Pack) - $99 at Mobileciti Dell 24" 200Hz 1080p IPS Monitor SE2425HG - $132 at Dell HP OMEN Gaming Monitor at HP Official Store eBay 27q 27" QHD IPS 165Hz for $239 27q G2 180Hz for $279 BOSGAME M4NEO Oculink Mini PC Ryzen 7 7840HS 32GB RAM 1TB SSD 2x USB C - $664 at BOSGAME Amazon AU Gaming PCs at TechFast R5-7500F, RTX 5060 Ti 16GB for $1188 R7-9800X3D, RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, 850W Gold PSU for $2888 HP Omen MAX Gaming Laptop 16"Wqxga AI 9 HX 375 1TB SSD RTX 5080 32GB - $3519 at HP Ebay
Mobile
Apple iPhone 11 to 15 Series and Samsung Galaxy S10 to S24 Series Cases/Covers - $15 at Phonebot Boost Mobile 365GB Prepaid 12-Month SIM with $70 cashback - $330 at TopCashback AU
# The End
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