August 20, 2025 | Read online
# Aussies aren't high on AI hype, ad-block legal challenge and kids see p*rn on X
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Edition 2400
"...La Stampante Era Di Troppo..." (Flickr: Paolo Signorini)
# The News
### Aussies aren’t buying the AI hype, but still want someone to reel the nerds in
Australians expect AI won’t take their jobs but they still expect firm regulation to protect them, according to two surveys released today. Polling from the Tech Council of Australia found that most people expect that AI will help with their work, with equal numbers excited and concerned about the tech (AAP). Meanwhile, some other polling from billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s charity, the Minderoo Foundation, suggested that nearly two-thirds want “strict regulation” even at the cost of innovation and productivity (The Australian, $)
The Sizzle: If you only pay attention to tech leaders and critics, you’d either think the technology was God or the Devil. The average Aussie seems to believe that AI is like any other new technology: useful if used correctly. Why is there such a drastic difference in opinion? I think this New York Times article ($) about CEOs and their use of AI gave the story away. The people who are talking most about replacing workers and a new tech era don’t actually use AI that much. By now, many of us have had a fiddle with AI and realise that we won’t be replaced by a technology that can’t correctly count the number of Rs in strawberry (OpenAI) any time soon.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### Ad-blocking under threat from German copyright lawsuit
A German lawsuit between a news publisher and an ad-blocking tech company risks making the technology illegal (Bleeping Computer). Axel Springer, which owns publications like Business Insider and Politico, sued Adblock Plus browser extension creator Eyeo over claims that the extension interferes with a website’s HTML/CSS which is an “unlawful reproduction and modification”. The claim was initially dismissed, but an appeal has opened it back up for ruling.
The Sizzle: The idea that you can’t fiddle around with a webpage’s HTML code on your own device is a crazy finding. You know what else alters a web-page? Right-clicking, inspecting, and typing a few characters in.
If this is a crime, ✊🔗lock me up officer 👮 🚓 .
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### More kids see p*rn on X than they do on p*rn sites
More UK kids are seeing explicit adult material online now than before its Online Safety Act passed in 2023, research has found (The Guardian). Social media platforms were the most common source for p*rn for underage kids (80%), with more children seeing it on Elon Musk’s X (45%) than dedicated adult sites (35%) — up from two years before. Nearly two-thirds said they’d seen p*rn online by accident, more than the 35% who’d sought it out.
The Sizzle: It’s a bad thing that trends are leading people towards less moderated, dodgier websites. This research shows that more kids are being exposed to explicit material in places other than dedicated adult websites because Elon Musk laid off most of X’s employees (including its trust and safety team). It’s easy to point the finger at P*rnhub or whatever, but maybe we should be more worried about alternatives run by people who don’t give a fuck at all.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Federal government’s $500 million Battery Breakthrough grant program now open (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) ATO and FWO chiefs bullish on AI to help businesses stay on track (Smart Company) CSIRO fights deepfakes with revolutionary AI tool (The Canberra Times, $) Labor's digital maven Andrew Charlton pitched OpenAI's top brass on Aussie data centres (Capital Brief, $) Queer youth at risk of losing mental health support access in social media ban (MJA Insight+) UK drops demand for Apple to break encryption for US warrant (The Verge) Google is using its AI to help build a next-generation nuclear reactor (The Verge) Microsoft’s next Copilot for Excel trick auto-fills spreadsheets with AI (The Verge) Starlink keeps trying to block fiber deployment, says US must nix Louisiana plan (Ars Technica) A Chastened Mark Zuckerberg Bets Meta’s Future on A.I. (The New York Times, $) Microsoft has removed users' control over app updates in the Windows Store (TechSpot) Working offline in Notion: Everything you need to know (Notion) Why We Shouldn’t Trust Facial Recognition's Glowing Test Scores (Tech Policy Press) An AI Mass-Delusion Event Is Coming (The Atlantic, $) Google is killing the Open Web (oblomov) How to draw Space Invaders (muffinman) TIL iPhone alarm numbers aren't in an endless loop (Reddit)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### A leaderboard for under-quoting real estate agents
Sizzler Dan surfaced this website that cleverly uses real estate sales data to point out the systematic underquoting of house prices: RealEstats’ leaderboard ranks NSW real estate agents by how much their listing prices vary from the eventual sales.
And what do you know — not one agent in their system seems to overquote prices. Curious 🤔.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electronics & electrical
Toocki Bluetooth 5.4 Audio RT/TX Airplane Adapter - $14.69 at Toocki Direct via AliExpress Motorola Moto Tag 4 Pack - $108 at Harvey Norman (Down from $133) All-in-One Video Kit for Smartphone Creators - $160 at SmallRig AU Official Website (Down from $209.90) iFi Audio Zen DAC 3 Headphone Amplifier & DAC - $239 at Addicted to Audio Reolink RLC-823S2 4K PTZ PoE Security Camera 16X Optical Zoom - $291 at Reolink Official AliExpress Dyson V15s Detect Submarine Absolute Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner - $829 at Dyson eBay Samsung Crystal UHD U8000F 4K TV at Samsung Government Store 75'' for $849 85" for $1249 Samsung 55" S90F QD-OLED 4K Vision AI Smart TV (2025) - $1649 at Samsung Government Store Roborock Qrevo Curv - $1798 at Harvey Norman Fujifilm X100VI Black - $2414 at digiDirect
Computing
Logitech Pebble Mouse 2 - $33 at Amazon AU ASUS RT-AX3000P V2 Dual Band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Router - $101 at Amazon AU Patriot Viper Venom Ddr5 32GB (2x 16GB) 7000MHz Udimm Desktop Gaming Memory KIT - $153 at Amazon AU GL.iNet GL-MT6000 (Flint 2) Wi-Fi 6 Router - $161 at GL.iNet Official Store Aliexpress Store Alldocube iPlay60 Mini Turbo Tablet 8.4" SD6 Gen1 128GB - $190 at Alldocube Global Store AliExpress ASUS TUF Gaming AX6000 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Router - $208 at Amazon AU AOC 27" Gaming Monitors QHD Fast IPS at Centre Com Q27G11E 180Hz for $209 Q27G42ZE 260Hz for $299 ASUS RT-AX86U Pro AX5700 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Router - $239 at Amazon AU Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad Pro 2025 (12.7" 2.9K 144Hz, 8GB/128GB, Widevine L1) - $274 at Goldway AliExpress Asus RT-AX82U V2 AX-5400 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Router - $299 at JB Hi-Fi Amazon Eero 6+ 2 Pack - $300 at MyPort Orico OG7000 4TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD - $339 at ORICO G.O.A.T AU via Amazon AU Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 WINDFORCE OC SFF 12GB GDDR7 - $899 at Smarthomestoreau eBay Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 GAMING OC 16GB GDDR6 Graphics Video Card - $989 at smarthomestoreau eBay Legion Pro 5i (16", Gen 10) (14900hx, 32GB RAM, 1T SSD, RTX 5070) + Legion R27qe Monitor + Bag - $2871 at Lenovo
Mobile
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G: 12GB RAM, 256GB Dual SIM + eSIM (Import Stock) - $599 at MyMobile Google Pixel 9a 256GB - $847 at JB Hi-Fi Apple iPhone 16 Plus 256GB - $1549 at Hub by Triforce
# The End
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