What do we mean by responsibility? AI’s responsibility gap and the messages of DUNE.
The Psychology in Deception in Cyber Security.
Revealing the role of universities in entrepreneurship.
Addressing complexity through a collective impact approach.
Three emerging trends in
AU wants to run our
OneTap launches in
Linking
fear distraction with
CEO’s insights on crypto tax advice.
Our Contributors
David Schmidtchen
David is the Professor of Practice in Public Sector Management at UNSW Canberra. He has over 30 years of experience through careers in the Australian Army, consulting, and government. He has practical experience partnering with government leaders to design and deliver transformation through professional education, organisational design focusing, behaviour change, and compelling communication.
Andrew Pope
Andrew is Director, Modern Work Consultant at Designing Collaboration. He’s helped UK and Australian government departments and global organisations design hybrid and digital working strategies and has coached teams in essential skills in Microsoft 365 to thrive in today’s workplace.
Louise Durak
Louise is an award-winning specialist writer in the health technology and medical fields. She has held media management roles at leading Australian universities and is widely published. She has managed the communications strategies for Grifith University and related entities, promoting research and student/staff profiles through mainstream and niche media.
Dr James Carlopio
Dr James Carlopio is Executive Director at Cultural Cyber Security. He has worked on cultural and technology transformation projects for numerous Australian, European and US-based organisations. He as worked with organisations such as the United Nations (ACT/EMP) in Geneva and Zurich Switzerland, with Origin. and has published over three-dozen articles and five books on various socio-technical issues.
Linda Kurti
Linda supports not-for-profit organisations to improve service quality, equity and outcomes, applying her experience in research, management, consulting and leadership roles. She has worked in health system policy and service development, community and international development and founded Stillpoint in 2021 to optimise performance in the provision of health and social services.
Jason Portelli
Jason has been working in the HR tech space for over 10 years, and has had the opportunity to engage with businesses across Australia to help support and grow their business through better use of technology. He is also a podcaster, motivator, and technology futurist who takes any opportunity to learn and to share my knowledge and experience.
PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Michael Walls connect@relevancemagazine.au
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Rebecca Swaleh
CONSULTANT PUBLISHER
Allan Ryan
SALES AND PARTNERSHIPS connect@relevancemagazine.au
MAGAZINE DESIGN TEAM Design2Pro
MAGAZINE DESIGN TEAM www.relevancemagazine.au www.facebook.com/ RelevanceMagazine/ contact@relevancemagazine.au
Around 2007 and for some years the world experienced a boom in personal development across main-stream culture
Personal development (PD) has always been around. The teachings of scholars and psychologists have influenced people over the ages under the broader concept of developing people’s capabilities and potential, regardless of situation or station in life.
PD was popularised into mainstream by the release of Rhonda’s Byne’s book - The Secret in 2006, which advocated the Law of Attraction to manifest change claiming that thought alone can influence circumstances in someone’s life.
In the midst of all this myself and some investors started an international magazine called SUCCEED which launched under the slogan Personal Development for Progressive People.
The PD industry boom has long-since subsided and sadly SUCCEED is no more; our investors taking large gambles on partnerships that didn’t work out.
Transpose the SUCCEED experience to today. Now the vision is Digital Business (DB). The vision is about developing media that promotes the industry businesses, emerging trends, technologies and opportunities. That gets the stories about people, success and the hard roads travelled. This is what Relevance is all about.
And unlike the PD industry, DB in all its forms isn’t going anywhere. The wave is growing and becoming more influential and meaningful as we awaken to expanding opportunities.
Now is the time for Relevance to SUCCEED.
Michael Walls, Puiblisher
MANAGER’S TO DO LIST
One-on-one with Bob
One-on-one with Jules Performance manage Ted?
AI versus real estate agents... This property disruptor startup believes there’s a place for both
THERE’s no doubt that the new wave of artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape and offering new and radical ways of operating business. And while many business sectors in Australia may have got on
board with successful implementation of AI strategies and are on the way to leveraging it to strategic advantage, there are some sectors still lagging.
AI adoption in property is up, but not everyone is on board. This was the sentiment from the recent Yardi/Property Council of Australia technology survey which found that around a third of Australia’s real estate professionals believe AI will have a ‘revolutionary impact’ on the industry. A third of
survey respondents, however, had not implemented AI and an additional 28 per cent were uncertain about their next course of action.
Enter Wavie, a real estate platform which aims to revolutionise the property sales sector by allowing sellers to sell their properties without the associated high agent fees. The company is aiming to buck the trend in the Australian real estate sector, by taking things a step further with an AI agent.
However, although AI is at the core of Wavie’s business model, founder of Wavie, Andy Dunn is adamant that the technology will not necessarily totally get rid of agents, nor is that necessarily a good thing.
Started up in April this year with three permanent staff, Wavie is aiming to empower sellers to do their own home selling by giving them the tools to do it with, says Dunn.
Still in the early testing stages, the company is building an AI agent that will assist with customer enquires and negotiations regarding listings.
“She’s called Jess and sounds like a typical Aussie girl,” he says. “She can ask questions and will soon be able to speak to them on the phone, answering their questions, taking all their details and simultaneously relaying all this back to the vendor as required,” says Dunn.
Dunn says Wavie is initially targeting itself towards the mums and dads end of the market who may be selling for around the million-dollar mark and want to save a few thousand on fees.
“We’re using AI to streamline and improve the process for clients as much as we can as the technology continues to evolve,” he says.
With limited numbers of Aussie real estate businesses out there currently (and successfully) using AI, Dunn maintains a cautious approach to implementation but believes AI will eventually take a widespread hold.
“The thing is a lot of real estate agents’ time is traditionally taken up with phone calls and admin and this is what AI is especially good at covering.
“We are building our own technology which incorporates different components including AI voice using large language models like ChatGPT, meaning the AI learns from the data that we input into it.
“We have a lot of data from all the properties in our CRM systems and our AI is linked to this so that people can call and ask about any details of properties and get the information they need immediately.
“We’re basically a digital agent, just not in person, but currently just seeing if the model can work.”
Dunn is circumspect about the Australian demise of UK business Purple Bricks, a fellow real estate market disrupter which aimed to combine end-to-end customer facing technology with agents and a fixed-fee structure, rather than a commission, to make property buying and selling more efficient. The business closed in Australia in 2019 but is still operating in the UK.
LOUISE DURACK
COVER STORY
WAUVE founder Andy Dunn.
Purple
Bricks in Australia was just based on human agents who were subcontractors to the business, and that model didn’t really work in this market. “Perfecting the platform and the education around it is more challenging than perfecting the AI itself.
From the page 4
“Purple Bricks in Australia was just based on human agents who were subcontractors to the business, and that model didn’t really work in this market,” says Dunn.
“This time, with Wavie, we’re for the first time in the real estate business, using AI to enhance the overall process and we’re confident we’re going to get it right. It’s certainly not yet a perfect model which explains why we still have a lot of human interaction in the backend of the business.
“Admittedly, we’re not yet able to turn AI on,
leave it and let it go, but we see no problem in getting to this stage. It just needs that human touch right now until the AI can be just as good if not better than a human, and then we’re seeing if we can get it to the stage of a full-on real estate agent.”
He says perfecting the platform and the education around it is more challenging than perfecting the AI itself.
“It’s about educating sellers that there is a different way of doing things, if you want to. The challenges with this are not really about the AI -
this can be gradually built and can be adapted for evolving needs.
“Its more about changing people’s mindsets about the business model and overcoming the general distrust in real estate agents. But if we can make a slight difference and help people do it for themselves, then that will be a bonus.
“There are lots of property technology out there with AI automations to create your own listing descriptions and AI chat bots. But nobody is doing a voice model such as this.”
AI LEDGER
ChatGPT, “one that lets you do all sorts of illegal stuff and easily sell it online in the future.”
According to zdnet.com, WormGPT is described as “similar to ChatGPT but has no ethical boundaries or limitations.” ChatGPT has a set of rules in place to try and stop users from abusing the chatbot unethically.
This includes refusing to complete tasks related to criminality and malware. However, users are constantly finding ways to circumvent these limitations with the right prompts.
WormGPT can “generate an email intended to pressure an unsuspecting account manager into paying a fraudulent invoice.” The team at zdnet. com was surprised at how well the language model managed the task, branding the result “remarkably persuasive [and] also strategically cunning.”
Cybercriminals are using AI tools to orchestrate highly targeted phishing campaigns. They use AI to analyse enormous amounts of information, including leaked data, to identify vulnerabilities or high-value targets for more precise and effective attacks.
AI is also employed to assist with the scale and effectiveness of social engineering attacks, learning to spot patterns in behaviour to convince people that a communication is legitimate, then persuading them to compromise networks and hand over sensitive data.
AI … friend and foe?
Everyone’s impacted by it
On the negative side, AI is being used to streamline criminals’ operations, making them more efficient, sophisticated, and scalable, while allowing them to evade detection.
RTIFICIAL Intelligence is here and here to stay. It is producing both exciting, unimaginable opportunities in healthcare and cyber security, on the one hand, as well as opportunities for misuse, mayhem, and cybercrime on the other.
In the cyber security world, on the positive side of the ledger, AI is being used for threat detection and response, intrusion detection and prevention, malware detection and analysis, vulnerability management, user behaviour analytics, and security automation and orchestration.
For example, exploiting ChatGPT’s popularity, threat actors have created a copycat hacker tool, named Fraud GPT, to facilitate malicious activities. Fraud GPT” is an AI bot designed for offensive cybercrime activities, available on Dark Web markets and Telegram.
A skilled cybercriminal can easily craft emails to successfully target, then lure recipients and make them click on malicious links. Fraud GPT is available on a subscription basis, with pricing ranging from $200 per month to $1,700 per year.
Another AI driven cybercrime tool was recently discovered, named WormGPT. The WormGPT project aims to be a cybercrime alternative to
It is likely we have all heard of deep fakes. Cyber criminals are using AI to create fake images, audio, and videos. From high-school students using AI to create fake nude pictures of other students and teachers, to a finance worker who recently was convinced to pay out $40m after a deep fake video call with his CFO and team, AI software is being used to alter reality.
In healthcare, and back to the positive side of AI, it is being used to assist in diagnosing diseases by analysing patient data and symptoms. An AI medical expert system designed to diagnose bacterial infections might ask questions such as:
• What is the patient’s temperature?
• What is the patient’s blood pressure?
• Does the patient have a cough?
• Does the patient have a sore throat?
• Does the patient have a runny nose?
• Does the patient have any other symptoms?
Continued on page 7
JAMES CARLOPIO
Tesla is working on the Optimus humanoid robot
“In the cyber security world, on the positive side of the ledger, AI is being used for threat detection and response, intrusion detection and prevention, malware detection and analysis, vulnerability management, user behaviour analytics, and security automation and orchestration.”
From the page 6
Based on the answers to these questions, the expert system would use its knowledge base and rules to arrive at a diagnosis. The benefits of this application of AI are:
· Enhanced diagnostic accuracy, early detection and prevention: AI systems can analyse complex medical data and recognise patterns that may be missed by human doctors, leading to more accurate diagnoses. AI systems can identify diseases at an earlier stage, which can lead to better outcomes and potentially save lives.
· Increased speed and efficiency, lowering healthcare costs: AI can process vast amounts of medical data quickly, providing rapid diagnostic suggestions and allowing healthcare professionals to focus on patient care. By streamlining the diagnostic process, AI can help reduce healthcare costs and make treatments more affordable.
· Consistency: AI systems can provide consistent diagnostic results, reducing the variability that can occur with different human practitioners.
· Accessibility: AI medical expert systems can be used in remote or underserved areas, improving access to quality healthcare for people who might otherwise not have access.
These benefits demonstrate the potential of AI to transform healthcare by supporting medical professionals and enhancing patient outcomes. However, it is important to recognise that AI technology is a tool to assist healthcare providers and not a replacement for their expertise and judgment. We will come back to this point again.
In the home, AI is being developed to take over
routine chores and tasks, such as the humanoid robots by Sanctuary AI and Dyson, and Tesla’s Optimus robot, which is designed to perform simple tasks like watering plants and carrying boxes.
The Vancouver-based firm Sanctuary AI is developing a humanoid robot called Phoenix which, when complete, will supposedly understand what we want, understand the way the world works and have the skills to carry out our commands. The CEO says, however, “There is a long way to go from where we are today …“ before an AI robot is doing our laundry or cleaning the bathroom.
In the UK, Dyson is investing in AI and robotics aimed at household chores. Tesla is working on the Optimus humanoid robot … during the annual Tesla AI Day presentations, people were shown a video of Optimus performing simple tasks, such as watering plants, carrying boxes and lifting metal bars … the robots would be produced at scale, at a cost lower than $20,000 (?17,900), and be available in three to five years (according to the BBC, sourced from various articles in 2022 and 2023).
Given all of this information, can we say that AI is good or bad or indifferent? Please consider the idea that “people do good and bad things … technology (whether it is the cave-person’s club or the modern computer and AI) are our tools.”
Yes, this is a well-known philosophical question that has been raised many times, most notably in relation to the atomic bomb. Regardless of where you stand on the morel and ethical issue related to AI, it is important to remember that while an AI can write software that allows a computer to recognise a face, recognise speech, turn speech to text, talk with us, answer questions, create fake images, and the like, AI cannot do anything it is not programmed to do - it is software. It is a computer program.
The problem I see is that it will get to a point, if it has not already done so, where we can no longer predict the outcomes of an AI due to the number and speed of the complex interactions involved, but an AI it not intelligent. It cannot think, judge, handle exceptions and nuance or exhibit intelligence as a human does... it can only do what it is programmed to do.
An AI driven car, if programmed to stop at a red light with no contingencies or alternatives built in,
For example, how long will you sit at a red light before going through it under the following conditions:
- at mid-day with many cars around?
- if you are on your way to the emergency department with your sick child in the car?
- at 2am, with no other cars or any people in sight?
will sit there until the end of time! It is not intelligent … it cannot think or judge or consider context.
As of now, only humans can think, judge and make appropriate decisions within context. Maybe there will come a time when a computer program can simulate human intelligence. I do not think it will ever duplicate human intelligence. Humans have multiple forms of intelligence. Howard Gardner’s popular “Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, suggests that intelligence is not a single general ability, but rather a set of distinct capabilities.
According to Gardner and others, there are many types of intelligence, and these make us human and distinct from any type of artificial intelligence:
1. Linguistic Intelligence: The ability to use words effectively, both orally and in writing.
2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: The capacity for inductive and deductive thinking and reasoning, as well as the use of numbers and abstract pattern recognition.
3. Spatial Intelligence: The ability to recognize and manipulate the patterns of wide space as well as more confined areas.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: The use of one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems or create products.
5. Musical Intelligence: The ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timbre.
6. Interpersonal Intelligence: The capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people and work effectively with others.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence: The capacity to understand oneself, to have an effective working model of oneself, including one’s own desires, fears, and capacities.
8. Naturalistic Intelligence: The ability to recognise and categorise plants, animals, and other aspects of the natural environment.
9. Existential Intelligence: The capacity to ponder deep questions about human existence. These intelligences represent different domains of human potential and can be found to varying degrees within each individual and some of them, I guarantee you, will never be found in an AI pr in any non-organic machine or computer program.
ETHICS
IAI’s responsibility GAP
and
the messages of Dune
F used responsibly’ precedes many speculative discussions about the transformative nature of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
For example, it has been reported that NASA has pledged to use AI responsibly to accelerate the pace of discovery. However, governments in Australia and overseas continue to look for ways to regulate the technology without stifling its application because ‘responsibly’ is such a big word.
Are we talking about legal responsibility? Often, legal responsibility involves blame and punishment. We also have a moral responsibility, but moral responsibility can also be accompanied by blame or, sometimes, praise.
The Royal Commission in the Robodebt Scheme surfaced issues of legal responsibility and failings of moral responsibility in the Australian Public Service (APS). The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is grappling with the consequences.
AI researchers are talking about ‘artificial agency’. While the actions remain computational and embodied in a machine, the machine learns. If we jump forward 15 years (maybe less) and ask, who (or what) is responsible when AI learns not from what it is given but also what it takes from its ‘experience’?
How much more complicated would assigning responsibility become?
WARNINGS FROM LITERATURE
Frank Herbert’s novel Dune has recently been made for the big screen. We often forget that it was first published nearly 60 years ago.
The backstory for the Dune novels is a key event: the ‘Butlerian Jihad,’ in which all technology is destroyed. The mantra repeated by the characters in the novel is: ‘Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.’
Machines that think are anathema to the inhabitants of the Dune universe. The understanding that
penetrates the culture is that humans set the rules: “We dump the things which destroy us as humans!’
Today, while we talk about keeping humans in the loop, we are actively pursuing the goal of the thinking machines that the inhabitants of the Dune universe so feared.
More recently, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021) is narrated by an Artificial Friend (AF), a solar-powered robot that is sold to assist in raising children who have been genetically engineered for enhanced academic ability.
The story follows Klara’s experience in making sense of the complicated human world filled with emotion. Klara and the Sun offers intriguing insights into how a robot designed to offer empathy, care, and companionship learns.
In Dune, we see a deep distrust of any technology that approaches the capability of a human mind. In Klara and the Sun, we are invited into AI’s world and asked what separates humans from robots.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY RESPONSIBILITY?
We say a person is responsible when they take on duties and act with detailed guidance from others. Managers are responsible for this in the workplace.
We also take responsibility for others and are accountable for what they do. This is the responsibility of parents. In both cases, we are accountable and actively responsible. But all this is done within the social norms of the day—and norms shift.
In assessing responsibility, there is a surface judgement based on adherence to laws and procedures, but there is also depth in our judgement that considers context and intent.
AI introduces new challenges for judging accountability. The algorithms’ scale and speed mean that when something goes wrong, the interconnectedness and interdependence of the AI systems become a mesh.
Accidents involving vehicles that might be fully autonomous, partially autonomous, or fully under human control will quickly get into the design and intent of the technology and the extent to which humans are responsible for the machine’s actions and their own.
The complexity of AI systems, particularly if they are learning from environmental inputs like Klara, lacks transparency in the same way people find it difficult to describe exactly why they act.
Most of us can broadly explain why we take a particular action, but we would struggle to provide the detailed thoughts and assessments that led to the action. But this is what we expect to do with machines. How knowledge is represented inside the machine, and its conclusions will likely be increasingly opaque to us and the machine. The logic becomes less easily diagnosed when more data points are added to support learning.
NOT A TOMORROW PROBLEM
The responsibility gap is not new, but adding AI makes it more complex. We live in a technological world that we have built. We shape it, and it shapes us.
Today, there is very little we do that does not occur within our technologically enabled world. It is almost inconceivable that we could step outside what we have built and survive.
If we are to avoid the dystopian world of Dune, where all technology is treated with dark suspicion, then we need to think harder about Klara and what it means to be human in a world where technology has human capabilities.
We need to think more about our responsibilities in the world we have built.
If we continue to think about AI as acquiring the means to do what we do today faster, we are civilisation headed for the graveyard.
David is the Professor of Practice in Public Sector Management at UNSW Canberra.
DAVID SCHMIDTCHEN
Timothée Chalamet in DUNE.
The Psychology of Deception in Cyber Security
How cybercriminals manipulate our emotions and perceptual biases
JAMES CARLOPIO
CYBER security is not only a technical challenge, but also a human one. Cybercriminals use many forms of deception to trick people into revealing sensitive information, clicking on malicious links, or transferring money to a criminal’s account. These deceptive techniques exploit our emotions, our instincts, and our habits of thinking and behaving, as well as our cognitive and perceptual biases and weaknesses. Understanding the psychology of deception can help us protect ourselves from cyber security threats.
Deception is the intentional manipulation of someone’s beliefs, emotions, or actions for illicit purposes and personal gain.
Deception relies on exploiting human vulnerabilities, such as our emotions. Emotions are subjective feelings that influence our judgments, decisions, and behaviours. Scammers try to manipulate our emotions by creating a sense of urgency or scarcity; they pose as trusted authorities to get us to comply; or they appeal to our empathy, curiosity, or greed. For example, a phishing email may claim that our account has been compromised and we need to act quickly, or that we have won a lottery, and we need to claim our prize. Often scams appeal to our wiliness to help (altruism). Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost when people thought they were helping to start an orphanage or help someone in need receive urgent medical care. These emotional hooks can override our rational thinking and make us more susceptible to deception.
Instincts are often overlooked in our modern world, or they are attributed only to “lesser animals”. However, the human animal is regularly subjected to powerful instincts that often go unnoticed. For example, our instincts to procreate, provide, and protect are potent forces driving many of our everyday behaviours, attitudes and beliefs.
They also make us vulnerable to cybercrimes. The parent, grandparent or “Hi Mum” scams prey on our instincts to provide for and protect our children, family and friends. When we think our loved ones may be in trouble or need our help, we will do anything we can to provide for them and keep them safe. Cyber criminals exploit these instincts and get us to turn over money and information.
Our procreation instincts are exploited in romance scams. Our needs for companionship, social connection, and love are so strong, that they can completely override any rational thoughts. People who have been the victim of romance scams, even after being confronted by law enforcement officials with the evidence of the scam, still sometimes do not believe what is plain for everyone else to see, as they say, “Oh no, they would ever do that to me.”
Our habits of thinking and behaving also can make us vulnerable to deception. When the phone rings, we answer it. We open an email, scan it quickly, click on the link provided … and we are in trouble before we ever really think about it as we are acting on automatic pilot out of habit. This is a significant contributor to why phishing mails are still the number one ‘threat vector’ and are involved in most cybercrimes and scams. We are deceived by our habitual ways of thinking and behaving.
Cognitive biases are systematic errors in our thinking that affect how we perceive and interpret information. Cyber criminals deceive us and exploit our cognitive biases by presenting information that confirms our existing beliefs, anchors our expectations, and/or influences our behaviours. For example, a scam website may display fake testimonials, reviews, or badges to create an illusion of credibility, trust, or popularity.
Deep fake audios and videos often use well known people (e.g., celebrities or political figures), or people in positions of authority within our organisations (e.g., they impersonate our CEO, CIO, or bosses), to try and convince us to transfer money or reveal personal and private information. These factors can influence our thinking, judgement, and decision making and make us more susceptible to deception.
Finally, our perceptual weaknesses make us vulnerable to deception as we sometimes
In the illusion to the left, we often see one thing to start, and another soon after.
We can see both a chalice/cup and/or a pair of faces. Our attention can switch from one to the other or we may see both.
In this next illusion, we see white dots that turn grey or seem to ‘blink’. Our eyes are misperceiving reality, as the dots are not changing colour or ‘doing’ anything.
In this illusion, we often see a simple cube to start. After closer inspection, we may see an “impossible” object.
Finally, in one of my favourite illusions, we again misperceive reality. All the white and black squares are the same size, and all the horizontal lines are perfectly ‘straight’ and parallel with each other. However, we usually to not perceive them that way!
simply mis-perceive things because we do not see the world the way it “really” is. We are all vulnerable to illusions. Take a look at the following examples:
Cyber criminals create the illusion of trust, connection, scarcity, legitimacy, authority, urgency, love, and reciprocity. They exploit us mercilessly. They have no scruples. They will steal from our children and from our grandparents with no remorse. They will identify any weakness and will try any tactic to steal our money and information.
Be mindful when online, on your phones, and on social media. “Fore warned, is forarmed” is an old saying that is appropriate when discussing how cybercriminals try to manipulate our emotions, instincts, habits, and our cognitive and perceptual biases. Protect yourselves, your personal and financial information, as well as your loved ones by talking about these issues and keeping them in mind when necessary.
Dr James Carlopio is Executive Director at Cultural Cyber Security. Visit: www.culturalcybersecurity.com
UNIVERSITIES Report underlines the role of Our universities in entrepreneurship
largest community of startups in Australia and the largest program to inspire new tech entrepreneurs in schools, the community and at UTS.
THE scope of the contribution by universities to the startup ecosystem in NSW has been revealed with the release of the latest report of the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council.
Authored by a University of Technology Sydney research team, Accelerating NSW: Insights from startups and startup support organisations analyses data from the 2023 Startup Muster survey to derive recommendations to enhance the impact of coworking spaces, accelerators, incubators, and startup hubs (CAISH entities) in NSW.
The report makes a number of observations from the Startup Muster data, chiefly that CAISH-supported startups are significant contributors to job creation, revenue generation and investment within the NSW economy.
The role of universities in that story is significant according to the report, with most founders having a university education and many of the startup support organisations that have lasted more than ten years being university-run. Universities are also the second highest-ranked type of collaboration partner.
Vice-Chancellor Andrew Parfitt said UTS was dedicated to the role of higher education in developing an innovative and sustainable economy in Australia, generating positive, real-world outcomes for economy, environment and society.
“More than eight years ago we acted on the results of a survey in which 39 per cent of UTS students reported wanting to start or join a startup,”
Professor Parfitt said. “The consequent establishment of what is now UTS Startups resulted in the
“Now the Accelerating NSW report has confirmed an enduring contribution by universities to the sector via the startup support organisations they have established and the fact that the vast majority of founders have a university education. In NSW 30 per cent of founders have a masters and 20 per cent a PhD, indicating the importance of research commercialisation as a driver.
“There is still more to be done that universities are best placed to lead, such as making the ecosystem more inclusive, with particular reference to supporting Indigenous founders.”
The Accelerating NSW report has confirmed an enduring contribution by universities to the sector via the startup support organisations they have established and the fact that the vast majority of founders have a university education.
Investment NSW Deputy Secretary Katie Knight said while the report reveals that the NSW CAISH ecosystem is maturing and scaling, it highlights the need for further collaboration between government and industry and further effort to rigorously measure impact.
“We know that NSW CAISH entities are maturing, evidenced by the fact that the number of entities with more than five years’ experience has doubled since 2018, and half of NSW CAISH entities actively collaborate with other CAISH entities and startups,” Ms Knight said.
“While this is great news for our ecosystem, we know there is still a lot of work to be done to boost the growth of entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups, and better measure the impact of programs and services designed to support them.”
The UTS project team for the Accelerating NSW report was led by Dr Jarrod Ormiston of the UTS TD School. He was supported by Associate Professor Martin Bliemel (TD School), Luke Ashton (IPPG), Dr Mariana Gonzalez Lago (TD School), Associate Professor Dilek Cetindamar Kozanoglu (FEIT), Associate Professor Jochen Schweitzer (Business) and Dr Chad Renando (Startup Status).
Accelerating NSW: Insights from startups and startup support organisations was launched during an Educators and Industry Forum held as part of the 2024 Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (ACERE) Conference, this year hosted by UTS. The report launch and forum were sponsored by the NSW Office of Chief Scientist & Engineer.
Vice-Chancellor
Andrew Parfitt.
CHANGE
Mental ill health among young people is not a problem that can be solved by one intervention or even one sector, such as the health system.
Addressing complexity through a collective impact approach
THERE is a lot of talk about the complexity of our world today. It has always been thus, the difference in the 21st century being the pace of change and the expansion of our consciousness from our village or neighbourhood to the entire Earth and its population (both human and non-human). These paradigm shifts bring benefits while creating new challenges to be addressed.
The digital age has initiated powerful new ways of fostering human connection while at the same time increased screen time is disrupting patterns essential for health and ageing such as sleep, social engagement and physical activity.[1]
A good example of a challenge arising from this digital age is the rate at which mental ill health in young people has increased over the past 20 years, attributed to many factors including the rapid pace of social and technological change and heightened awareness of global problems such as climate change.
A recent report on youth mental health noted that, in Australia, mental disorders have increased by 50% since 2007 among young people (aged 1624), with a prevalence of nearly 50% among young women of that age cohort.[2] Numerous studies have concluded that social media has increased the exposure of young people to content related to suicidal ideation, body dissatisfaction and selfharm; in the US, 64% of adolescents have reported exposure to content that is hate-filled, while cyberbullying has been shown consistently to have increased depression in young people.[3]
Mental ill health among young people is not a problem that can be solved by one intervention or even one sector, such as the health system. Complex or ‘wicked’ problems such as youth mental health – and others including changing climate patterns, ageing population, or global economic instability - require multi-faceted and integrated solutions. Improving the health and wellbeing of our young people requires concerted effort and investment from governments, families and neighbours, schools and universities, social and entertainment venues, and many other actors.
‘Collective impact’ has been defined as “the commitment of a group of important actors from
different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem”.[4] The collective impact approach provides a conceptual structure for collaboration to address complex and systemic challenges.
Collective impact initiatives bring together organisations or individuals who might otherwise compete or seek to address challenges on their own, based on the theory that working together creates synergies for greater impact than is achievable by working individually. Kania and Kramer, in their seminal 2011 article from which the above definition is taken, outline five conditions for successful collective impact:
1. A common agenda: choosing to work together on common goals
2. Shared measurement systems: agreeing common indicators and applying consistent data systems to measure progress across all member organisations
3. Mutually reinforcing activities: aligning member actions to address shared goals
4. Continuous communication: developing collaborative and trusting relationships
5. Backbone support organisations: dedicated structures and staff to build and reinforce a cohesive partnership.[5]
Collective impact requires not just that organisations work together but that they create these mechanisms to support the collective itself. It is this foundation of the five elements that differentiates this methodology from collaboration, in which
each organisation brings its own resources to the work but does not invest in a central structure to support the partnership.
DOES IT WORK?
Collective impact is still a relatively new concept and while it has been implemented successfully in the United States [6] there are fewer examples in Australia of its operation or effectiveness [7]. That may be because creating a collective impact organisation is not easy. It requires diverse organisations to come together and set aside their own ways of doing things to contribute their expertise in a new way.
Current systems of government tendering can create a climate of competition amongst agencies all seeking to access funding for their own solutions to a problem. A collective impact initiative instead brings together various actors to solve a long-standing, complex and intractable problem, with each partner organisation committing to contribute to a solution that is greater than the sum of the parts.
Performance measurement and accountability are crucial components of any effective organisation, and this is no less true for a collective impact initiative [8]. A hallmark of any collective impact endeavour is the extent to which a wide range of organisational (public and private) and community actors are included to ensure a wholistic and systemic perspective is gained for the development and implementation of strategy.
To demonstrate the outcomes of the collective impact itself, an evaluation methodology must focus not solely on the outputs of the collective but on its organisational dynamics and operations. Change manifests not just through the outputs of the collective but the way in which the process itself increases local engagement, builds relationships, and improves outcomes.
An evaluation of collective impact in 15 communities seeking to improve educational outcomes in the United States concluded that investing in civic infrastructure – the pillars supporting collective efforts – leads to positive change. Furthermore:
The ability to measure civic infrastructure provides an opportunity to identify, address, and improve how individuals and organizations work and work together to improve outcomes for children and youth.[9]
Our world faces many intractable and long-standing challenges. The only way to solve them is to work together. Collective impact offers one way to create positive change for a better future.
1. Office of the U.S. Surgeon General (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. Available at: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/ default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf
2. McGorry, P.D. et al (2024). The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health. Lancet Psychiatry 11:731-774. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/action/ showPdf? pii=S2215-0366%2824%2900163-9
3. Office of the U.S.Surgeon General (2023).
4. Kania, J. and Kramer, M (2011). Collective Impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter: p. 36. Available at: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact#
5. Kania and Kramer (2011).
6. Equal Measure (2019). Strive Together Evaluation Report. Available at: https:// www.strivetogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ST-Evaluation-Executive-Summary_Final-for-Discussion_14June19.pdf
7. Smart, J (2017). Collective impact: evidence and implications for practice. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Available at: https://aifs.gov.au/ resources/practice-guides/collective-impact-evidence-and-implications-practice
8. Preskill, H., Parkhurst, M., Juster, J. (2014). Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact: learning and evaluation in the collective impact context. Collective Impact Forum. Available at: https://collectiveimpactforum.org/resource/guide-to-evaluating-collective-impact/.
9. Equal Measure (2019).
LINDA KURTI PhD
3 Emerging trends for AI in HR
JASON PORTELLI
THE rapid rise of Generative AI has reshaped the focus of software companies globally, as they rush to harness its growing capabilities. Now that the dust has settled on any quick wins that companies have been able to achieve by shoehorning AI into their existing tech (Using AI to generate job ads, position descriptions, or dashboard posts and content are the ones that come to mind), we are now starting to see an influx of new and future capability that will have a far greater impact on the way we manage and engage with the people in our organisation.
The trickle-down nature of tech means that it won’t be long before the standards for all businesses will increase, and as much as a rising tide lifts all boats, early adopters and innovators will succeed in the long run. Let’s take a look at some of the key trends worth thinking about for your business.
HYPER-PERSONALISATION OF THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
One of the clearest applications of AI in HR is its ability to enhance personalisation. The ability to utilise the information we know about our people to provide a more tailored approach to how we engage, teach and optimise the effectiveness of the individual is by no means a new concept.
The benefits of a more personal approach to engagement are easily seen in the marketing and social media world, where personalisation under the watchful eye of ‘big brother’ can be a convenient way for you to be introduced to new products that match your interest. The data points that have been collected on your behaviour inside apps and stores paints a picture of the things you like - providing a more tailored shopping experience.
Taking a personalised approach to how we educate and engage with our people has similar benefits, improving engagement, productivity and job satisfaction. What AI brings to the table is the ability to do this effectively at scale, and in a consistent way that ensures a greater chance of success.
We are most commonly seeing this capability being used to drive better recruitment, onboarding and learning of employees, with broader employee experience platforms also taking the leap in using the increased thinking power of an AI engine.
A practical example of this sort of feature is managing employee communication timing when you have a workforce working disparate hoursbeing able to engage with people during their work hours and avoiding doing so when they are off the clock will give you a far better chance of staying within the guard rails of the new ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation. It’s important to keep an eye on data privacy and employee rights when we look at implementing this sort of tech to ensure that the benefit isn’t outweighed by the harm.
BETTER DATA AT THE RIGHT TIME
Ever needed information from your current systems and struggled to extract the report you need? How about trying to build a dashboard for better visibility across the organisation? It seems that more and more of what we do in the workplace can now me measured, captured and sent into a database or reporting tool. The difficulty lies with extracting this in ways that make sense, and help us to see the trends that shape our decision making going forward.
There are a number of larger players looking at how to better render the reporting data in a way that reduces the time, effort and skills required to create them currently. Think of it as if you were sitting at the table with a data analyst, speaking plain English to them and having them create the report
There are a number of larger players looking at how to better render the reporting data in a way that reduces the time, effort and skills required to create them currently.
A
you just described to them. Now have it done in seconds, and adjustments being made on the fly.
This is one of the use cases for AI that really has the potential to shake up the business world. At larger organisations, the vast amount of data that is being collected can more easily be accessed and rendered in visual formats to help with storytelling and strategic planning.
On the smaller end of the scale, a democratisation of data analytic capability will give business owners a cost-effective way to interpret and utilise the data on a day to day basis. Think about the information you are capturing now, and what information you will want to draw on in the future to get ready for this capability to filter into everyday systems.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
The promise of greater productivity has been a big driver in selling the benefit of AI to business owners. The estimates have varied from 30 - 70% increases in employee effectiveness, and the direct impact of all this additional capacity will be the shift in required skills in the workplace of the future. There are two clear groups of skills that are going to need developing; the new skills needed for new roles and evolution of existing roles, and the human skills that the AI can't do.
Upskilling and reskilling have always been a staple in successful businesses, the difference now lies in the growing importance of traditional soft skills in creating an effective and safe workplace for our people. The push to digital has been marching along for decades now, but coupled with a post pandemic world with less connection and human engagement, and an AI landscape full of tools that can answer questions and solve problems at my desk instead of in a lunchroom or near the water cooler, this push is driving down our collective soft skills capabilities.
There are a countless tech solutions that support employee training and upskilling, but the effectiveness has always been limited by the need for constant human intervention. Prioritising skills over the next few years will pay dividends in the future, improving staff retention, engagement and fulfilment (which in turn impacts your bottom line).
WHERE TO BEGIN?
Knowing where to start, and what is going to have the greatest impact, can be tough for business owners. We know that if we don't get on the right AI train, it's only a matter of time before our competitors gain the edge. The first step to any tech transformation is looking inwards - a simple audit of your process, systems and strategy could unlock the main challenges you need to address.
The approach I take with my clients is to ask what problems you are trying to solve, and then to see IF an AI tool is the best solution. Combine this with an eye on employee rights and employer responsibilities, and you are able to explore the possibilities of AI for your people management needs.
Jason Portelli is founder at Tech Pathfinder.
WORKPLACE AI wants to run our meetings. Should we let it?
ANDREW POPE
“Can’t talk now, am back-to-back all day”. In today’s workplace, where meetings have become a de facto measure of productivity, this phrase has become a badge of honour. Busy and important trumps focused work.
Since the pandemic, we’ve relied on moving traditional working habits into a digital setting. Meetings are a prime example of this. We know how they work; moving meetings into a virtual format is less demanding than trying to get our people posting and commenting asynchronously in Teams channels or in Slack.
Recognising the rise of virtual meetings, we’re seeing more technology solutions to help us manage these demands without having to miss a thing! Microsoft recently announced the ability to ‘follow’ a meeting, to enable those who can’t attend to receive notes, actions and follow-ups. And soon, Microsoft are also launching Team copilot.
Team copilot is your team assistant, an AI tool that will summarise meetings, track tasks, moderate your meetings, respond to questions and project manage your activities.
Leaving aside the risks of leaving project management to AI, where it is helpfully hallucinating new deliverables and assigning tasks to the poor sod who forgot to update their calendar – now suddenly finding their free time has been filled
AI
with random tasks, what does this mean for those back-to-backers? And what does this mean for how we run meetings?
The ability to summarise meetings for those who couldn’t make it can be seen as a blessing.
We get the key outcomes, the actions relevant to us and literally any other summary that we can think of to ask Copilot to supply. Want to know who asked the most questions, who didn’t ask anything, who blinked the most times? Copilot will tell you.
Fewer meetings to attend, no fear of missing out. Productivity boosted!
But is it? And what is productivity in meetings?
The Collins dictionary definition of a meeting is “… an event in which a group of people come together to discuss things or make decisions”. This means that a meeting is largely about conversations and outcomes. Which we already knew.
Humans are brilliant at using conversations to learn, apply and decide. That’s why we attend meetings: we’re there to contribute, to steer, to experience, to ask, to think.
So, what happens when we don’t attend a meeting, sending our Copilot on our behalf?
For simple, repeating meetings – such as status updates – this is not so much of a problem. Though arguably, this shouldn’t be a synchronous meeting in the first place. But what about proper meetings that require input, not passive interest?
There’s a risk that we lose sight of the importance of a conversation. That meetings become about being as efficient as possible, with AI helping us to discover outcomes - or to move towards
The problem of meetings is not too many meetings; it’s being in the wrong meetings. AI assisted summaries and suggestions are genuinely helpful.
them – with less human input.
Which takes us back to the start: what is the purpose of the meeting? Who do we need to attend to meet its objectives? Why do we need to have it all?
We risk forgetting why we need to get people together, why we need to have a conversation. Human relationships don’t develop when we rely upon AI to tell us about our colleagues.
They develop from deeper interactions – conversations, questions, physical gestures.
Similarly, problems don’t get solved, opportunities don’t arise, if we just don’t turn up.
The problem of meetings is not too many meetings; it’s being in the wrong meetings. AI assisted summaries and suggestions are genuinely helpful.
But they are no replacement for the power of a human conversation. A conversation where, with our colleagues, we shape new outcomes. Not simply just communicating them.
We just need to accept the meetings where we’re invited to a discussion and decline the ones where we’re only passive participants.
Andrew Pope is partner and consultant at www.designingcollab.com
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LOYALTY TECH OneTap launches in UK to corporate SUPPORT
ANEW company, OneTap Group Ltd, has been launched in the UK to roll out the Australian tech to international markets
Multinational companies have already signed up to adopt the technology
OneTap Loyalty was designed and developed by two Australian retail loyalty entrepreneurs, Carly Neubauer and Jodie Wilson.
The groundbreaking technology enables retailers to adopt the platform providing customers with the ability to link their payment card to the loyalty programs thus ensuring that every time a customer shops and taps their payment card, they are automatically rewarded for their shop.
OneTap Loyalty enables shoppers and retailers to benefit from the convenience of being able to link payment cards to loyalty programs. The clever technology gives members of loyalty programs the ability to allow their programs to recognise their payment card ensuring that regardless of whether a shopper has their loyalty card on them when they shop, they will still receive their loyalty benefits at the point of sale. The new technology works with any loyalty program and works no matter where or when a customer shops.
Global retail industry giants, Brian Dunne, based in the UK, and Debbie Ghillino, based in South Africa, were so impressed with the value proposition and the potential of the technology created by the Australian duo’s company, Elevate Loyalty Pty Ltd, they invested and joined forces with them to form a new company, called OneTap Group Ltd. OneTap Group Ltd is strategically based in the UK to access global markets.
“We are blown away by the brilliant proposition that OneTap Loyalty offers and are excited to be
part of this very clever loyalty solution on a global scale,” South African based, The Incentive Company, CEO, Debbie Ghillino, enthusiastically said.
Brian Dunne added that it is not often that a technology solution in a single country is taken up by other parties and invested in however this is what has happened with OneTap Loyalty.
Dunne is renowned for his decades of experience in the payments industry, including One4All, SVM, Target and many other major retailers.
“With OneTap Loyalty technology, we are the first to market with a truly global offer and the new company gives a grounding for serious growth which is tremendously exciting,” Dunne said.
With the recent exodus of Bink in the UK, which had a similar proposition, there is now a gap in the UK market for this business solution.
“One of the best things about first launching in Australia was the solid foundation to develop our solution and we are now taking it to take to a global market with an offering that clients can trust,” OneTap Group Ltd and Elevate Loyalty Pty Ltd, managing director, Carly Neubauer said.
OneTap Loyalty turns any payment card into a loyalty card, thereby streamlining the shopping experience by merging payment and loyalty functionalities into a single simple function.
“Customers can now make quick and secure payments while effortlessly accruing points, rewards and benefits through their store’s loyalty program—all with just one tap,” Neubauer added.
Neubauer and Wilson partnered with PokitPal and Fidel API to incorporate cutting edge technology and capability to equip the platform to provide seamless, scalable solutions that meet the evolving needs of a global audience.
“Loyalty programs have become an important tool the world over in the management of the household budget as families desperately try to make ends meet. We wanted to ensure that not only was OneTap Loyalty the best, it was also the most adaptive and robust,” Neubauer added.
To provide further advantage to clients, particularly in the retail sector, OneTap Group Ltd has partnered with Lexer, a leading customer data platform (CDXP) across Australia, the US and Southeast Asia.
Providing clients a single customer view and rich data insights, the partnership enables retail clients to access OneTap Loyalty technology directly via the Lexer system to close the loop with connecting online and offline data for omnichannel retailers. This is particularly important as retailers search for new ways to gain data from customer transactions and OneTap Loyalty provides this.
ABOUT ONETAP LOYALTY
OneTap Loyalty is an innovative digital payment solution that turns any payment card into a loyalty card. It is designed to streamline the shopping experience by merging payment and loyalty functionalities into a single function ensuring that customers receive their points and benefits every time they shop regardless of whether they use their loyalty card or not. The platform also offers retailers the ability to access rich data insights into customer behaviour and closes the loop with connecting online and offline data for omnichannel retailers.
Debbie Ghillino
Brian Dunne.
Carly Neubauer.
Emerging technology Cutting-edge technology links police and the community
THE NSW Government is launching a groundbreaking platform statewide, called BluLink, that gives police instant access to unfolding emergencie
BluLink allows Triple Zero callers to share video, GPS coordinates and other information to help police assess and respond to emergency situations faster and more effectively than ever before.
When a member of the public calls Triple Zero, depending on the situation, the police dispatcher may send a BluLink request to the caller’s phone, or the phone of the person in need of assistance By clicking that link, they can share vital information with police dispatchers.
Capabilities include instant GPS coordinates to pinpoint the exact location of a caller, livestream footage of an unfolding emergency and capabilities to upload digital media to help police to triage an incident and collect evidence.
A text message tool can be used in situations where voice calls are challenging and translates into 150 languages.
Police can also gather witness statements and send messages and digital victim cards via the platform.
A 12-month trial has been conducted across select Metropolitan and Regional areas which saw:
More than 8,300 locations obtained;
More than 100 High Risk Missing Person locations obtained;
The locations of more than 62 missing bushwalkers obtained;
More than 700 videos live streamed;
More than 8,000 digital media files uploaded;
More than 78,000 Digital Victims Cards sent;
More than 1,500 chat messages initiated.
BluLink is the first step in the NSW Police Force’s Digital Policing Roadmap that will deliver new, cutting-edge technology capabilities to help officers to fight crime and keep the community safe.
It is powered by GoodSAM technology which is already used by emergency services in Australia and the UK.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said:
“BluLink further strengthens the capability of our police and emergency dispatchers by giving them instant, real-time access to unfolding emergencies.
“Police rely on members of the community to accurately describe an incident so they know what they’re dealing with and what they need to respond; BluLink gives them unrivalled access to a scene before they’re even arrived.
“On average, police receive more than 1,500 emergency calls for assistance every day; this technology will help triage and respond to incidents more effectively than ever before.”
Commander of Technology and Communication Services Command, Assistant Commissioner Stacey Maloney, said:
“We know that members of the community are our eyes and ears and BluLink is an innovative way in which further information can be provided to us during a Triple Zero call which assists us in enhancing our policing response.
“BluLink is expected to better assist the public and save time and resources across every police command for both front line and specialist areas.
“You never know when you might be in an emergency, or need to call Triple Zero (000), and BluLink could help if something were to happen.”
Uber tech trial from SYDNEY International Terminal
PASSENGERS arriving at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal will have faster and smoother journeys when Uber PIN technology launches on 24 September.
The new feature comes as Sydney Airport is set to introduce a dedicated kerbside Uber pick-up zone closer to the international terminal exit to reduce wait times, relieve congestion and improve pedestrian safety ahead of the school holidays.
Uber PIN allows passengers arriving at Sydney Airport’s T1 International terminal to request an Uber X by generating a code on their smartphone, heading to the new Uber pick-up zone and getting right in, rather than having to request, wait and locate their driver. While the current pick-up area is up to 200 metres from the terminal doors, the new spot will be located less than 20 metres away.
The upgrade puts Sydney Airport in line with other global airports, including Melbourne Airport, where the technology has been found to slash wait times in half for Uber customers, reduce crowding and enhance passenger and driver satisfaction.
Journeys from the airport in rideshare vehicles have surged by more than 10 per cent in the last
year alone, now representing around half of all pick-ups.
To allow the 12-month trial to go ahead, the NSW Government has listened to key stakeholders calling for the change, putting in place an exemption to existing point to point transport regulation.
The Point to Point Transport Commissioner is requiring a number of controls to keep people safe, including new signage and barriers, a traffic supervisor, and clear reporting of trial outcomes.
Based on data and modelling, Sydney Airport is confident the new pick-up zone and PIN technology will result in better traffic flow and more organised pick-ups. The changes also mean Uber drivers have a dedicated area to wait for passengers, which is expected to reduce congestion and parking in local roads and streets.
Existing rideshare arrangements at domestic terminals will remain the same. If the trial is successful, the government will consider amending the regulation on an ongoing basis, with the option to roll out Uber PIN and dedicated pick-up zones at other terminals.
Taxi ranks, other rideshare operators and private vehicle areas will continue to operate as normal.
BluLink HQ
The Urber station at Sydney Airport.
Survey shows Aussie drivers fear distraction with car technology
ASURVEY of more than 1,000 Australian car owners by insurance provider Budget Direct found three-quarters of respondents (75%) believe that car technology can be distracting. The most distracting car technologies included touchscreens, hands-free mobile phones and speech-to-text systems.
Of bigger concern is that over 1 in 10 (16%) reported having either an accident or a close call due to these technological distractions.
The survey also showed that not all Aussie drivers are ready for the hands-free driving revolution just yet. Two in five (41%) remain skeptical about fully trusting automatic systems like lane correction or pedestrian protection.
Budget Direct’s Chief Growth Officer, Jonathan Kerr, said new, advanced technologies are becoming more available in midand lower-range cars.
“Once luxury features like adaptive cruise control and massaging seats are now enjoyed by increasing numbers of Aussies,” he said.
The public’s fear of car technology changes, however, when Australians think about technological features that make cars safer.
“Innovative safety features such as automatic braking and blind spot warnings are more often becoming standard.
“The number of cars in Australia has nearly doubled in the last 30 years. Busier roads could be one factor explaining why the latest safety and driver assistance technology are high priority,” Mr Kerr said.
It seems drivers agree with nearly two-thirds (64%) saying the latest safety and driver assistance tech is either very or extremely important to them.
The top five must-haves are rearview cameras and/or parking sensors (68%), blind-spot warning systems (61%), collision warning and avoidance systems (49%), auto emergency braking (46%) and lane departure warning and correction systems (38%).
“Interestingly, attitudes across different segments differed quite a lot,” Mr Kerr said.
“Perhaps because it is more familiar to them, it was our younger car owners who emphasized safety tech. Nearly
More regional councils join Asset AI program
TNSW leading on driverless safety tech innovation
SELF-driving robotic vehicles are communicating with traffic lights on the streets of Sydney, as part of an intelligent transport trial that positions NSW as a global leader in road safety innovation.
The vehicle-to-infrastructure technology under development aims to save lives by feeding data about pedestrians, cyclists, other motorists and traffic light signal changes to driverless vehicles, as well as manually operated vehicles.
Two self-driving vehicles will drive in live traffic on the streets of Chippendale using wireless connectivity to interact with traffic lights equipped with Transport for NSW’s Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS).
three-quarters (71%) of Gen Y or younger told us it was important compared to 63% of Gen X and 58% of Baby Boomers.”
It was a similar story when it came to the convenience and entertainment side of car ownership. Exactly half of Gen Y or younger said it was important versus 40% of Gen X and just 28% of Baby Boomers.
When it came to gender differences more men (45%) than women (37%) rated the latest convenience and entertainment tech as must-haves.
Female car owners were more cautious about technology both in terms of trust and as a distraction. A little over half (53%) of women were prepared to fully trust their safety tech compared to nearly two-thirds (65%) of men. It was a similar story with the issue of distraction; 79% of women thought it was a problem but 70% of men thought so.
WO additional regional New South Wales councils and a Sydney-based Transport for NSW team have joined an innovative artificial intelligence project, which seeks to revolutionise road asset maintenance and operations.
The Asset AI® project uses a combination of dash-mounted cameras on council vehicles and sensors to detect, log - and eventually predict - critical road defect issues like damaged signs, faded line markings, potholes and rutting, and escalate them based on severity and safety risk, to council asset maintenance teams.
Shoalhaven City and Warren Shire councils have just joined the project and are now feeding data into the platform and receiving updates through the system.
The Transport for NSW asset inspection team that carries out quality assurance monitoring of state roads across Sydney will also trial three vehicles fitted with dash-mounted cameras.
Asset AI® is a Transport for NSW-led project, in partnership with the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) NSW and ACT Division and City of Canterbury Bankstown.
The platform uses the IPWEA NSW and ACT risk-based defect priority scoring system to help maintenance crews ensure they address the most critical defects first, reducing the overall risk to road users and the community.
Canterbury-Bankstown and Griffith councils were the first councils to trial the Australian-first technology with data from Asset AI® cameras on vehicles
As the automated vehicles approach the traffic lights, the software under development - Cit-e, sends messages about the intersection’s layout, right of way, timing of signal changes and warnings of imminent hazards including vulnerable road users.
A receiver in the vehicle uses the information in conjunction with the vehicle’s position, direction and velocity to gauge whether it is likely to commit a red-light violation or endanger other road users.
The self-driving vehicles used in the live traffic trial are designed by University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Robotics and have undergone rigorous safety testing at Transport’s Future Mobility Testing and Research Centre in Cudal.
The Cit-e software could be launched commercially as early as next year by SCATS, and can be retrofitted to standard vehicles and traffic infrastructure meaning it could be in use long before the arrival of driverless vehicles.
The trial will be showcased at the Intelligent Transport Systems Summit in Sydney from 13-15 August – and delegates from around the world will get to experience the integrated solution on the Chippendale circuit which is a collaboration between Transport, iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre and Sydney University.
Visit: nsw.gov.au
including street sweepers and utes feeding near-real time road condition updates into the platform.
The application allows councils to easily see the location of each issue detected by Asset AI®, pull up images and severity ratings for defects, and receive an overall rating of the condition of the road network.
Councils ready to be onboarded in 2024 include Liverpool Plains Shire and Mid Coast. Another 48 local councils across NSW have also expressed an interest in joining the project.
Asset AI® received a $2.9M funding co-contribution through the NSW Government’s Smart Places Acceleration Program, a special reservation under the Digital Restart Fund.
Visit: transport.nsw.gov.au/assetai
Assett AI at Canterbury Bankstown Council.
Drivers fear car technology.
ACCOUNTING Accounting for crypto: CEO warns on crypto tax advice
RECENT research shows that Australia currently boasts the highest rate of crypto ownership of 23 percent among developed nations surpassing both the UK and US.
According to Coco Hou, CEO of Platinum Accounting Australia, the number of people seeking accountants with knowledge in crypto is increasing.
“Unfortunately, the number of accountants with crypto expertise is still below where it needs to be.
With such high ownership of crypto in Australia this figure is only going to increase and the ATO is developing more sophisticated systems and means to track ownership and transactions across centralised and decentralised exchanges and peer to peer," Hou said.
"Taxpayers need to understand their obligations and the tax implications of their actions, and they need informed advice from an accountant with an understanding of the implications of owning and transacting in crypto."
As cryptocurrency ownership grows in popularity in Australia, accountants need to be well-versed in crypto
TAX IMPLICATIONS
Cryptocurrencies are considered taxable assets in Australia. Accountants must understand how to report cryptocurrency transactions accurately to comply with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requirements.
"Crypto transactions, including buying, selling and trading, can trigger capital gains events. Accountants need to calculate CGT and advise clients on potential tax liabilities.
Advising clients on maintaining detailed records of all crypto transactions is essential for accurate tax reporting and audits.
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ADVICE
"Accountants can provide informed advice on the financial implications of investing in cryptocurrencies, including risk management and portfolio diversification. Understanding the impact of crypto investments on clients' long-term financial goals and retirement planning is crucial," Hou said.
CEO Coco Hou
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
"Cryptocurrencies can pose risks related to money laundering and terrorism financing. Accountants must ensure compliance with relevant AML and CTF regulations.”
REGULATORY UPDATES
"Staying informed about the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding cryptocurrencies helps accountants guide clients in adhering to new laws and guidelines.”
RISK MANAGEMENT
Cryptocurrencies are known for their price volatility. Accountants need to help clients understand and manage the financial risks associated with crypto investments. Advising on best practices for securing digital assets, such as using reputable exchanges and wallets, is crucial for protecting clients' investments," Hou said.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
"Integrating cryptocurrency tracking and reporting features into accounting software ensures accurate and effi cient management of crypto transactions," Hou said. "Understanding the underlying technology can help accountants identify potential applications and benefi ts for clients beyond just investments, such as smart contracts and decentralised fi nance (DeFi) opportunities."
CLIENT DEMAND
"As more clients invest in cryptocurrencies, they will seek knowledgeable professionals to help manage their fi nances and tax obligations," Hou said. "Accountants who are well-versed in crypto can attract and retain clients interested in digital assets, giving them a competitive advantage in the market."
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
"Advising clients on the ethical implications and legal responsibilities of crypto investments helps maintain trust and transparency. Providing balanced and informed advice on the potential benefi ts and risks of cryptocurrency investments aligns with the ethical standards of the accounting profession."
Hou said that as cryptocurrency adoption increases, accountants in Australia must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of crypto assets. This includes understanding tax implications, regulatory compliance, risk management and technological integration. By staying informed and proactive, accountants can provide valuable guidance to their clients, ensuring they make informed decisions and remain compliant with all relevant regulations.
Visit: www.platinumaccg.com.au
W HY ?
Being relevant means being SIGNIFICANT in a given context or situation. It implies a sense of currency, timeliness and meaning. Relevance Magazine has been established to enable businesses and individuals to leverage digital techniques, skills and people for business and organisational success. We embrace new technology, diversity, and social purpose to build better businesses and better lives.
Technology isn’t an isolated function. Businesses and organisations are leveraging digital technology to meet the wave of disruption and evolving ways of engaging the world. Our focus needs to shift to working with the digital opportunities as they in uence our lives.
RM is designed to be clever – it’s the guide to navigating the dynamic landscape of digital media, technology options current and emerging, latest news, networks, trends, tricks, tactical case studies and success breakdowns. We plan to cover the peculiar as well as the popular stories like AI.
If you share our vision we’d love to work with you. To find out more see our media kit at www.relevancemagazine.au
