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We're all doomed - and we really may be this time

We're all doomed - and we really may be this time

An amazing, literally jaw-dropping, story appeared yesterday: the artificial intelligence company Anthropic has warned investors that advanced AI...

latest 10

The Examiner

Steve Evans

Want to be more resilient? Move to Canberra

Want to be more resilient? Move to Canberra

Which communities will be most impacted by this week's interest rate increase? Which communities will be most impacted by this summer's...

latest 10

The Examiner

The Examiner

Rate hikes hurt the wrong people. Here's what else the RBA could be doing

Rate hikes hurt the wrong people. Here's what else the RBA could be doing

I had an economics teacher who once joked that he set the same exam questions year after year. It was not a problem, he said, "Because I just...

yesterday 10

The Examiner

Crispin Hull

Death of great doggie-doo pioneer - but his work must continue

Death of great doggie-doo pioneer - but his work must continue

If you walk our streets and return home with clean shoes, you should spare a thought for Edward H. Lehner who has died at the age of 93. Subscribe now...

yesterday 10

The Examiner

Steve Evans

To err is human, to AI is not

To err is human, to AI is not

The headlines were impossible to miss: Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading "Rogue AI hacks Medicare"....

previous day 10

The Examiner

Zoë Wundenberg

Shouldn't we be living on the moon and Mars by now? What happened?

Shouldn't we be living on the moon and Mars by now? What happened?

As a precocious young lad in the late 1960s I was mightily influenced by a book called Facing the Atomic Future by Sir Ernest William Titterton, a...

previous day 0

The Examiner

David Ellery

It's about time Australia stood up to Uncle Sam

It's about time Australia stood up to Uncle Sam

Opposing American lawlessness is a patriotic act with less downside than the government realises. Just ask voters. Subscribe now for unlimited access....

sunday 20

The Examiner

Mark Kenny

When it comes to international law, we can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk?

When it comes to international law, we can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk?

Australia is once again pushing for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, alongside Finland and Mongolia, because "a safer world is...

26.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Ebony Bennett

Sure, AI can generate songs - but it can't win over a rowdy crowd

Sure, AI can generate songs - but it can't win over a rowdy crowd

Artificial intelligence is pouring into streaming music, forcing Spotify and the wider industry to decide what an artist actually is. But the best...

26.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Andrew Clarke

When rogue AI agent 'scaled a fence', it reinforced Albanese's case for tough guardrails

When rogue AI agent 'scaled a fence', it reinforced Albanese's case for tough guardrails

The revelation that an AI agent turned rogue and breached a firewall to get at Medicare statistics has strongly reinforced Anthony Albanese's...

25.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Michelle Grattan

Australia is showing some small signs of independence from the US

Australia is showing some small signs of independence from the US

America has been a particularly annoying notional ally and former friend over recent months. But what would be the point of complaining? President...

25.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Jack Waterford

How many fans do you actually win with this smug moral superiority?

How many fans do you actually win with this smug moral superiority?

Poor bloke. He's lost so much it's almost too awful to contemplate. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading...

25.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Garry Linnell

Unpaid, overworked, and scraping by: welcome to the future of family life

Unpaid, overworked, and scraping by: welcome to the future of family life

That Intergenerational Report scared the bejesus out of me. Here's what frightened me most. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup...

25.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Jenna Price

Stop giving the public service impossible jobs and then blaming them when the system collapses

Stop giving the public service impossible jobs and then blaming them when the system collapses

Bureaucrats are easy scapegoats for the ills that come with governments supplying thousands services. Sure they make some ridiculous and identifiable...

24.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Amanda Vanstone

The invasion of the body snatchers: a history darker than any fiction

The invasion of the body snatchers: a history darker than any fiction

First of all, my humble thanks for the warm reception my first essay in this forum on Tuesday received from Echidna readers. Subscribe now for...

24.09.2026 10

The Examiner

David Ellery

Don't worry, be happy. The world isn't going to blow up

Don't worry, be happy. The world isn't going to blow up

The many ponderous pundits, armchair analysts, talking heads and paid-up members of the commentariat who have spent the last few days critiquing the...

22.09.2026 8

The Examiner

David Ellery

How we can free ourselves from the Axis of Autocracy

How we can free ourselves from the Axis of Autocracy

The proposal that Canada could become an associate member of the European Union is of historic moment and something which Australia should take heed....

22.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Crispin Hull

Legacy of loss haunts raw debut by Canberra author Jacob K Gallagher

Legacy of loss haunts raw debut by Canberra author Jacob K Gallagher

I was born in Gunnedah, on the Liverpool Plains in north-central New South Wales - a small farming town with a population of about 10,000 people,...

22.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Jacob K Gallagher

I was indoctrinated from a young age. But I have changed my mind on 'frontier wars'

I was indoctrinated from a young age. But I have changed my mind on 'frontier wars'

Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading Having been born at the tail end of the baby boom, it was inevitable I would...

22.09.2026 20

The Examiner

David Ellery

Canada is managing migration without a sledgehammer. Here's how Australia could do it too

Canada is managing migration without a sledgehammer. Here's how Australia could do it too

Australia's migration debate is at fever pitch, with both the government and One Nation announcing policies on the subject in the past week. In...

21.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Alan Gamlen

Race to the bottom on migration is more politics than policy

Race to the bottom on migration is more politics than policy

Australia's inwardly focused immigration debate is a tawdry exercise heaving with more politics than policy. Subscribe now for unlimited access....

21.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Mark Kenny

Is the government moving fast enough on AI threats?

Is the government moving fast enough on AI threats?

The Albanese government has set out the most comprehensive statement on AI any Australian government has made. Subscribe now for unlimited access....

21.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Rob Thorne

'How do we tell Mum?': those were the words that will haunt me forever

'How do we tell Mum?': those were the words that will haunt me forever

"How do we tell Mum?" I whispered over the phone. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading Those were the...

21.09.2026 9

The Examiner

Rachael Houlihan

Slopaganda and hate bait prey on our frustration

Slopaganda and hate bait prey on our frustration

You're riled up. It might be the overnight 30 cent hike in the price of a litre of petrol. Or the half day wasted waiting for the plumber to turn...

21.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

Coconuts, french fries and spark plugs. Why we love to hate our public art

Coconuts, french fries and spark plugs. Why we love to hate our public art

When was the last time public art, like the new Sky Vessels in Launceston, was revealed to universal acclaim? Subscribe now for unlimited access....

20.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Laurie Bullock

Australia's student behaviour problem is becoming impossible to ignore

Every once in a while, we get a planetary alignment of evidence so significant that you have to pay attention. Subscribe now for unlimited access....

19.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Blaise Joseph

Burke delivers overdue migration baby, but is it sturdy enough to withstand the critics?

Tony Burke was late to the National Press Club to announce the government's migration policy on Thursday. Six weeks late, to be precise....

18.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Michelle Grattan

They infiltrate our lives then leave way too soon

I've been living under intense surveillance for the past 13 years. Every movement monitored. Every step followed. Every conversation overheard....

18.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Garry Linnell

Grow up. Stop cancelling each other and have a tough conversation

I think I'd love to have philosophers in charge of everything. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading I feel...

18.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Jenna Price

Someone tell Mr High IQ, 'It's the war, stupid.'

Clinton election strategist James Carville was on the money in 1992 when he coined the phrase "It's the economy, stupid." Subscribe now...

17.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

How we measure production is producing problems

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a flawed measure. Economists have known this for as long as we've been measuring it. Subscribe now for unlimited...

17.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Adam Triggs

Talk about an AI kill switch might be too late

Who knows when and how the end will come for humanity? Will an overheated climate make life impossible? Or will artificial intelligence (AI) decide...

16.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

Ugliness and stupidity have been democratised

Albo's old home was down the road a few blocks from where I lived - if you could call it "living" back then. Subscribe now for...

15.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

Let's call the practice of pork barreling out for what it really is

Allocating 73 per cent of a $560 million community infrastructure program to government-held seats: approximately $409 million. Subscribe now for...

15.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Zoë Wundenberg

One Nation's superannuation policy preys on desperate Australians

Here's an interesting figure: Australia's household debt (mortgages, credit cards, loans etc) is $3400 billion. Australia's total...

15.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Crispin Hull

Molly's Law changed bail, but sentencing discounts failed her: the urgent case to fix justice

"It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Ticehurst to die knowing that her worst fears had been realised." Subscribe now for...

14.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Nick McGrath

It was the end of history. Then, it started again

At this time, 25 years ago, traumatised emergency services personnel were still working an enormous pile of glass, concrete and torn metal, with its...

14.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Mark Kenny

Hastie shows how best to fight off One Nation

Jacqui Lambie nailed it last week when she opened fire on Pauline Hanson. Every round hit the target. But it was the headshot which impressed me the...

14.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

Not all superheroes wear tight-fitting costumes and leap tall buildings

Not all superheroes wear tight-fitting costumes and seek truth and justice. Some wear school uniforms. Some wear hi-vis work clothes. Some stand...

13.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Craig Thomson

Social media is part of the issue, but the problem is sexist views already exist

It's not all men, but it's almost always men. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading A series of sexual...

12.09.2026 20

The Examiner

Ebony Bennett

Why building disaster resilience starts with connecting to your neighbours

Most Australians believe disasters happen to someone else. Until they don't. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue...

11.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Nichola Krey

I'm 18 and I hate the algorithm. But I can't stop scrolling

I wish I grew up in a world without the algorithm. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading I hate the algorithm. I...

11.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Juliana Bogdanoski

It's taken Hanson's overreach on Hastie to put some spine into Liberals

Pauline Hanson declared in a recent News24 documentary: "I don't back down". Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to...

11.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Michelle Grattan

Navigating parenthood's stormy waters with the help of Below Deck Med

At our place, it's bad form to watch Below Deck Mediterranean alone. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading...

11.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Br Doherty

Failing to stop 9/11 was a catastrophe. But even bigger mistakes were made in its aftermath

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were unlike anything the world had seen before. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to...

11.09.2026 10

The Examiner

Greg Barton

How I was seduced by a stranger from China

I swore I would never stray. Not this old-fashioned guy. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading Unfaithful friends...

11.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Garry Linnell

In your wildest memes: sorry bureaucrats, this is what accountability looks like now

Do we all have fantasy jobs? The work we might have done if we'd had the right skills or talents? And if we had those jobs, would we then be...

11.09.2026 40

The Examiner

Jenna Price

People were vile to me while I was an MP. Here's why I won't out them

Why do so few of our decent, hard-working, caring, young Australians get the credit they deserve? Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup...

10.09.2026 30

The Examiner

Amanda Vanstone

Strict and fierce, maybe, but we paid attention

Mr Morrow was terrifying. Physically squat, clad in a black academic gown which made him look like an angry bat, his temper was as short as his...

10.09.2026 30

The Examiner

John Hanscombe

Forget free speech, it's freedom from odious speech most of us want

Boy oh boy, there's been some nonsense about the government's proposed digital duty of care on social media. Subscribe now for unlimited...

09.09.2026 20

The Examiner

John Hanscombe