Happy Friday, everybody. We’ve made it through another week! Before you head into the weekend, let’s get you up to speed on what’s headlining tech news in Australia today.
1. Biography alleges Elon Musk’s removal of Starlink access to Ukraine during attack on Russia
Starlink CEO Elon Musk reportedly worried about his role in the Ukraine War, prompting him to shut down the satellite communications network near Crimea last year. That’s according to an excerpt from a biography written by Walter Isaacson, titled Elon Musk. In the biography, Isaacson reports that Musk ordered engineers to turn off the satellites to avoid a “mini Pearl Harbor” as Ukraine planned an attack on Russia. Musk told Isaacson he based his decision to shut down the satellites on a conversation with senior Russian officials, according to the excerpt from Isaacson’s book, CNN reported.
2. Scientists claim to have grown a whole human embryo from scratch
A team of scientists in Israel say they’ve accomplished an incredible biological feat: The creation of a completely human-like embryo model without the need for a sperm or egg. The synthetic embryos were grown using stem cells instead and appeared to have the same structures and components of a typical human embryo up through 14 days of development. The team believes their work will help us better understand the earliest stages of pregnancy and could even one day pave the way for breakthroughs in organ transplantation and other fields of medicine. Last year, the team published a study showing their creation of mice embryos derived entirely from mouse stem cells—mere weeks before another team from the UK published findings on their own mice model. Now, they seem to have done the same with human stem cells.
3. Social media platforms failing to address misinformation in Australia
A report published by Reset. Tech Australia has outlined the failure of social media platforms in Australia to address rampant misinformation. Analysing 99 pieces of content that contained clear electoral misinformation across TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter (in particular, claims that included misinformation surrounding the Voice), the independent research organisation said that reporting would make little difference and that organic moderation was largely ineffective. “Our findings are a major wake-up call for both the tech industry and regulators. Electoral process misinformation poses a serious threat to democratic processes, and platforms need to take immediate action to improve their content moderation practices,” Reset. Tech executive director Alice Dawkins said.
4. NBN Co overhauls its fibre upgrade process
As reported by itNews, NBN Co has made changes to its fibre upgrade process, under which Fibre to the Node customers would be upgraded to faster connection types like Fibre to the Curb. The new process is intended to upgrade customer internet connection types in only one appointment, with NBN Co expecting to see the benefits of the new deployment plan in 2024.
5. Florida man arrested for trying to run across the Atlantic ocean in a hamster wheel
As reported by Jalopnik, 51-year-old athlete Reza Baluchi has been arrested in the U.S. after attempting to cross the Atlantic ocean in a *checks notes* floating hamster wheel. The wheel was spotted 112 kilometres off the coast of Georgia on August 26, and after a three-day standoff, Baluchi was charged with obstructing a boarding and violating a Captain of the Port order.
BONUS ITEM: We get the odd pitch like this, and every time it makes us cringe a little.
Have a fabulous day, and a lovely weekend.
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