Latest news with #QueenslandUniversityofTechnology
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Science
- Perth Now
Robots set to conquer the final frontiers
Small robots may be able to roam the moon's surface, comb the sea floor, or undertake search-and-rescue missions for longer after a breakthrough by Australian researchers. Three scientists at the Queensland University of Technology released their findings on Thursday, outlining a method to create a camera that processes images in ways similar to the human brain. While there are further developments to unlock, they say neuromorphic computing could deliver a robotic revolution. The latest discovery, published in the Science Robotics journal, uses a camera and computer processor the QUT team called LENS, which stands for "locational encoding with neuromorphic systems". The system is inspired by the way the human brain works, author and QUT neuroscientist Adam Hines said, to save more than 90 per cent of power compared to a traditional robotic navigation system. "The brain is so energy-efficient, it only uses about 20 watts of power to do everything from keeping us alert and awake and talking to constantly navigating and predicting where we're going next," Dr Hines told AAP. "Traditional AI systems like ChatGPT use significantly more power than that so taking inspiration from the brain is a really great way to save on energy." The LENS camera sensor and processor work by registering changes, such as light and movement, rather than recording images the entire time it operates. The QUT research team, which included Michael Milford and Dr Tobias Fisher, tested the system on an eight kilometre journey and could make it work using 180 kilobytes or up to 300 times less storage than a traditional system. Saving so much energy and storage could let robots operate and navigate by themselves in new areas or for significantly longer durations, Dr Hines said. "The real use cases in mobile robotics... are search and rescue, underwater monitoring of places like the Great Barrier Reef, or even really extremely remote areas like space explorations," he said. Neuromorphic computing has been a target for previous research but QUT Centre for Robotics director Professor Milford said it was vital to translate theory into practical applications. "Impactful robotics and tech means both pioneering groundbreaking research but also doing all the translational work to ensure it meets end user expectations and requirements," he said.
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Science
- Daily Maverick
Artificial intelligence — an aid to thought, not a replacement
'The danger of outsourcing our thinking to machines is that we still have to live in the world they end up creating. That's too big a responsibility to just hand over.' When ChatGPT briefly went offline last week, it felt, as journalist and writer Gus Silber put it, 'as if the sun had fallen from the sky'. Speaking on a Jive Media Africa webinar on the subject of 'Machines are writing – do we trust the message?', Silber and other panellists tossed around concepts of 'Uberisation', 'forklifting' and 'outsourcing' to get to grips with AI technology and its ethical pitfalls. Silber noted that in just a few years, AI had morphed from novelty to necessity and is now deeply woven into daily work across media, academia and science communication. Its seductive convenience allows us to 'outsource thinking to a machine', said Silber, while noting both the potential and the perils of doing so. Fellow panellists, science communicator and champion of language equity in science Sibusiso Biyela and Michelle Riedlinger, associate professor in the school of communications at the Queensland University of Technology, agreed, in a discussion peppered with metaphors, to highlight the divisions of labour in the partnership between technology and humans. Introducing the webinar, Jive Media director Robert Inglis said that 'artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is reshaping both the practice of research and the craft of science communication. This impact is felt by researchers, by science communicators and by others working at the intersection of science, society and media and especially those who are grappling with how AI tools influence credibility, ethics and public trust.' While many fret over the elimination of jobs and the technological encroachment on the preserve of what it means to be human, Silber readily calls himself a Utopian on the subject, believing 'it's ultimately going to be of good for humanity'. Silber notes that the reach of AI, 'originally a niche technology, has expanded dramatically, driven by advances like fibre, broadband and always-on connectivity. Tools such as ChatGPT now serve as default knowledge engines, sometimes even surpassing Google. Being able to 'outsource a lot of your thinking to, effectively, a machine,' he said, 'tempts users to let AI handle increasingly complex tasks'. In academia and media, some rely heavily on AI-generated content, resulting in a sameness of voice: 'It sounds human, but it sounds human in a very kind of generic and samey way.' While AI offers powerful assistance in tasks like transcription – 'you can transcribe two hours' worth of interviews in five or ten minutes' – the risk is that its convenience leads to 'creative atrophy'. It's 'a real temptation, a kind of 'tyranny of ease', where you can just prompt the AI to write essays or theses. That scares me because it risks giving up your creative energy.' Collaborative use He nevertheless enthuses about the rise of multimodal AI and mentioned tools like Whisper, Notebook LMand Genspark AI, which are already revolutionising research, communication and creative industries. But he draws clear boundaries: 'I draw the line at outsourcing full creative processes to AI.' Instead, he advocates using AI collaboratively, augmenting human thought rather than replacing it. 'We're lucky to live in this creative technical renaissance. We can't go back to how things were before. My advice: explore these tools, break them, have fun and find ways to use them collaboratively. Let machines do the heavy lifting while we focus on human creativity.' Anxieties, however, are pervasive, said Riedlinger. Her research shows that news audiences 'found familiar concerns: misinformation, copyright, elections, job displacement.' But people weren't rejecting AI outright; 85% wanted transparency; visible labels, a kind of 'nutritional label' for AI-generated content.' She said there's a growing 'authenticity infrastructure' emerging, with companies like Adobe working on labelling multimodal content. Audiences want AI to support, not replace, human journalists and science communicators. 'The key is to keep humans in the loop, to ensure creativity, empathy and accountability remain central.' To help navigate this, Riedlinger reached for metaphors. First, she said, contrast 'forklifting versus weightlifting. Forklifting covers repetitive, heavy tasks – transcription, translation, drafting – where AI helps move things efficiently but under human guidance. Weightlifting represents skills that build strength: framing stories, interpreting data, learning audiences. These are areas we risk weakening if we outsource too much to AI.' The second is the 'Uber metaphor'. 'You can make coffee yourself or order it through Uber. It's convenient, but hides labour behind the scenes: the barista, the driver, data centres. Generative AI feels equally magical but isn't free; there are hidden costs in energy use, data scraping and ethical concerns. Before outsourcing, we must consider these unseen consequences. Hallucinations and bias 'In global studies, people increasingly recognise AI's limits: hallucinations, biases in gender, race, geography and class. Some see AI as a calculator, improving over time, but that's misleading. Calculators give fixed answers; generative AI doesn't.' Reaching for yet another metaphor, she said 'it's more like a talking mirror from a fairy tale', generating fluent, tailoredand sometimes flattering responses, but blending truth and invention in a way that can flatten creativity and make unique ideas more generic. 'Authenticity, trust and disclosure are vital. We need consistent labels, audience controland clear public policies.' This, said Riedlinger, will build trust over time. 'Science communicators must reflect on each task: Is this forklifting or weightlifting? Am I calling an Uber for something I should craft myself? Science communication deserves thoughtful tools and thoughtful users. We need to ensure that our publics have authentic interactions. ' The watchwords, when dealing with AI, are: 'Disclose. Collaborate. Stay in the loop as a human. Design for trust.' Picking up on the trust, or mistrust, of the machine, Biyela said 'there's a lot of antagonism around AI, especially with articles not disclosing if they're AI-assisted. When audiences hear something was generated by AI, they often turn away. It becomes less of an achievement if it wasn't really done by a human.' But, he said, 'audiences (and ourselves) need to understand AI's limitations and how it actually works. We call it artificial intelligence, but it's in no way intelligent. It's an automaton that looks like it's thinking, but it's not. It's a clever prediction model using computing power to make it seem like it's thinking for us. But it's not. The thinking is always being done by people. AI never does anything; it's always us. What it produces has been trained to give us what we want.' Biyela emphasises that 'You're the human in the loop' and have to account for every line an LLM is asked to produce. 'If it summarises something you haven't seen, you have to check it. It makes the job easier, but it doesn't perform it.' Caveats aside, Biyela says 'generative AI also offers potential in communicating science in underserved languages, like African languages. Driving AI In his conclusion, Inglis, too, reached for a metaphor to guide how science communicators and other professionals and students should engage with AI: 'We would never jump into a car without having learnt to drive the thing. Now you've got these tools at our disposal and we'll use them, but we've got to be aware of the dangers that using them for the wrong things can bring about in the world.' In short, the panel agreed that in the partnership between AI and people, AI is good at the 'forklifting' work: sorting, calculating, transcribing, processing vast amounts of data quickly, but that humans still carry the mental load: setting priorities, interpreting meaning, understanding context, reading emotions, anticipating unintended consequencesand ultimately taking responsibility for decisions. Inglis further reflected: 'Our work in science communication is to play a part in solving the complex challenges we face and to ensure we do so in ways that build a better future for society and for the planet.' He cited a recent study by Apple, which reveals just how bad large reasoning models are when it comes to deep reasoning, having been found to face a 'complete accuracy collapse beyond certain complexities'. 'This underlines the need for human operators to use these tools as an aid to thinking, not as a replacement for thinking. That grappling with complex ideas is exactly what we're doing with this webinar series – these kinds of answers can't be scraped from the web, they need to be generated and discovered through exploration, conversation, dialogue and skilful engagement. 'The danger of outsourcing our thinking to machines is that we still have to live in the world they end up creating. That's too big a responsibility to just hand over because it's easier than engaging with tough issues. It's lazy and at this time in the history of our planet, we can't afford to be lazy.' DM
The Age
5 days ago
- Health
- The Age
‘There is more to someone than their data': The dating filter behind an online gender war
Dr Michael Flood, a professor specialising in masculinity at the Queensland University of Technology, says that shorter men 'experience considerable stigma and shame in relation to their height,' and that studies show 'genuine penalties to their professional lives, their working lives and their dating lives'. Loading 'The long and short of it is that being tall is prized in stereotypical masculine norms,' says Flood. 'Taller men are perceived as more masculine, more competent, more successful.' The professor says a number of studies show height affects men's involvement in society, including a study which showed teachers perceived shorter male students as less capable than taller ones, and another that found taller men are 'more likely to become corporate leaders' because of an assumed competence associated with their height. Flood says that the stigma associated with height is part of a 'growing pressure on boys and men' to meet traditional masculine stereotypes, with other factors like muscularity forming a 'rigid bodily ideal' that affects male self-esteem and dating habits. 'It may be frustrating to be instantly discarded on the basis of height. However, being instantly discarded is a pretty routine process on dating sites, and I would say in general, the bodily standards applied to women are much stricter and harsher than the bodily standards applied to men. Think of 'dad bods'. That's a positive term for a slightly overweight, middle-aged man. There's no female equivalent.' The 2022 ABS National Health Survey found the average height for adult men was 174.8 centimetres, or 5′9. For women, it was 161.5 centimetres, or 5′4. Analysis of the 2017-2018 National Health Survey found that 62.4 per cent of Australians incorrectly reported their height, with men over-reporting their height by 2.2 centimetres on average, while women over-reported by 1.6 centimetres. Similar analysis was not performed in 2022 as all height data was self-recorded due to COVID concerns. Sex and relationship expert Georgia Grace agrees that while men are subject to rigid and sometimes 'uncomfortable' standards, they pale in comparison to those applied to women. 'Speaking with a lot of straight women, being discriminated against because of their body, because of their weight, or their height, or the colour of their hair, or the size of their boobs, that's not new to them. Men are held to certain aesthetic and beauty standards, but by no means are they interrogated [equally to] women.' Loading In her role as a counsellor, Grace says that many of her male clients do not feel comfortable talking about body image issues. 'Everyone is familiar with the vulnerabilities that come with dating. We feel like a mirror is held up to the things that we're most insecure about. When you're really wanting to find someone, to connect with them, to find someone who you're also attracted to, it can feel so challenging and so hard and so vulnerable. 'A lot of people do feel insecure about the way they look, or they do feel vulnerable, or they do feel like there are these impossible standards and these sorts of new hoops that they're having to jump through, but I think it's really important for people to remember that that's a universal experience.' Grace believes the 'patriarchal systems' men are socialised in force them to conform to certain bodily standards, but bar them from discussing their struggles with expressing masculinity. 'So a lot of men are feeling down about themselves, but also isolated and unable to speak to other men about this vulnerability.' A spokesperson for Tinder says the height filter was employed as 'part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally,' while describing the filter as a test that may not become a permanent feature of the app. A similar feature is available on other dating apps like Hinge and Bumble. Salvaggio says that he does not use filters beyond the standard age and location filters. He says this was not to cast a wide net, but rather because he believes 'there is more to someone than all of their data'. 'When you add too many filters, you cut off the opportunity to meet someone great just because they don't match every single box that you have in your head.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘There is more to someone than their data': The dating filter behind an online gender war
Dr Michael Flood, a professor specialising in masculinity at the Queensland University of Technology, says that shorter men 'experience considerable stigma and shame in relation to their height,' and that studies show 'genuine penalties to their professional lives, their working lives and their dating lives'. Loading 'The long and short of it is that being tall is prized in stereotypical masculine norms,' says Flood. 'Taller men are perceived as more masculine, more competent, more successful.' The professor says a number of studies show height affects men's involvement in society, including a study which showed teachers perceived shorter male students as less capable than taller ones, and another that found taller men are 'more likely to become corporate leaders' because of an assumed competence associated with their height. Flood says that the stigma associated with height is part of a 'growing pressure on boys and men' to meet traditional masculine stereotypes, with other factors like muscularity forming a 'rigid bodily ideal' that affects male self-esteem and dating habits. 'It may be frustrating to be instantly discarded on the basis of height. However, being instantly discarded is a pretty routine process on dating sites, and I would say in general, the bodily standards applied to women are much stricter and harsher than the bodily standards applied to men. Think of 'dad bods'. That's a positive term for a slightly overweight, middle-aged man. There's no female equivalent.' The 2022 ABS National Health Survey found the average height for adult men was 174.8 centimetres, or 5′9. For women, it was 161.5 centimetres, or 5′4. Analysis of the 2017-2018 National Health Survey found that 62.4 per cent of Australians incorrectly reported their height, with men over-reporting their height by 2.2 centimetres on average, while women over-reported by 1.6 centimetres. Similar analysis was not performed in 2022 as all height data was self-recorded due to COVID concerns. Sex and relationship expert Georgia Grace agrees that while men are subject to rigid and sometimes 'uncomfortable' standards, they pale in comparison to those applied to women. 'Speaking with a lot of straight women, being discriminated against because of their body, because of their weight, or their height, or the colour of their hair, or the size of their boobs, that's not new to them. Men are held to certain aesthetic and beauty standards, but by no means are they interrogated [equally to] women.' Loading In her role as a counsellor, Grace says that many of her male clients do not feel comfortable talking about body image issues. 'Everyone is familiar with the vulnerabilities that come with dating. We feel like a mirror is held up to the things that we're most insecure about. When you're really wanting to find someone, to connect with them, to find someone who you're also attracted to, it can feel so challenging and so hard and so vulnerable. 'A lot of people do feel insecure about the way they look, or they do feel vulnerable, or they do feel like there are these impossible standards and these sorts of new hoops that they're having to jump through, but I think it's really important for people to remember that that's a universal experience.' Grace believes the 'patriarchal systems' men are socialised in force them to conform to certain bodily standards, but bar them from discussing their struggles with expressing masculinity. 'So a lot of men are feeling down about themselves, but also isolated and unable to speak to other men about this vulnerability.' A spokesperson for Tinder says the height filter was employed as 'part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally,' while describing the filter as a test that may not become a permanent feature of the app. A similar feature is available on other dating apps like Hinge and Bumble. Salvaggio says that he does not use filters beyond the standard age and location filters. He says this was not to cast a wide net, but rather because he believes 'there is more to someone than all of their data'. 'When you add too many filters, you cut off the opportunity to meet someone great just because they don't match every single box that you have in your head.'
West Australian
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company presents Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman's The 7 Stages Of Grieving in Subiaco
Powerful Aboriginal Australia story The 7 Stages Of Grieving has become a theatrical classic over the past 30 years as a way for directors to showcase their skills and shine a light on a talented actor in the sole role of narrator. While the one-woman play written by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman may not have originated with such lofty ambition, it is nonetheless an incredible honour for the close friends who met during their days at Queensland University of Technology. 'We were looking for a project to do together and then my grandmother died,' 56-year-old Enoch says, a proud Quandamooka man from Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah). 'When I was explaining to Deborah the grief ritual that my family undertakes, she said 'That might be what we need to make the show on' and off we went from there.' Presented by Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts, The 7 Stages Of Grieving first premiered in Brisbane in 1995 with Enoch directing Mailman as she stood alone on stage tracing the seven phases of Aboriginal history — Dreaming, Invasion, Genocide, Protection, Assimilation, Self-Determination and Reconciliation. 'We were so caught up in it and didn't even know what it was,' Enoch shares. 'But there's a story I tell about opening night where this elder stood up clapping and then walked down the stairs to the stage, walked onto the stage and grabbed Deborah, hugging her, crying. There was this moment where we went, 'Oh, we've done something more than just make a show here'. 'As a country in 1995, we were on this journey of reconciliation. There was a sense of hope, a sense of what would go forward, but then a very complex sense of 'What do we leave behind? What do we grieve for in our history, that needs to be told?' It's interesting now, after the referendum in particular, we're in this moment of saying 'Actually we're engaged in truth-telling'. We're trying to tell the truth, and the best way to tell the truth is by telling the stories of our families.' Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company is presenting a 30th anniversary season of The 7 Stages Of Grieving with the WA premiere featuring an all-female team of creatives, as director Bobbi Henry works with actors Shontane Farmer and Shahnee Hunter performing as narrator in alternating shows. Enoch will be in Perth for Yirra Yaakin's opening night, the play coinciding with a writers' retreat here for another he is working on, and visiting his long-term and long-distance partner, WA Ballet guest artistic director David McAllister. The playwright defines the production as a collection of stories that has an accumulative emotional impact on an audience. It features a series of 23 vignettes to express the grief, but also the joy, of being Aboriginal in this country. 'Someone told me that what makes it a classic is that it's open to interpretation and open to people finding their own way through it,' he says. 'Deborah and I have always been open to allowing productions to shift the order of scenes and keep it alive for the now, because what was right 30 years ago, may not be right now. 'When I look back over my body of work, I am fascinated by women and fascinated by women's perspectives on stories, even though I'm a man. This notion of how women see the world differently. There's a toughness in women that also goes hand in hand with a vulnerability. Not to say men can't do that, but there's something about watching a woman go through the emotional highs and lows and the anger of it, it says something about our history and the resilience of women.' Enoch's own anger as a young man, resulting in violent and antisocial behaviours as a tween, is what led him to find the therapeutic benefits of the arts, discovering a release through storytelling. 'I found that the art could actually heal me, and by telling my story, I could actually help others,' he adds. Starting out as an actor, he soon discovered he did not respond well to the required repetition, something he takes his hat off to other actors for, especially Mailman who toured in The 7 Stages Of Grieving sporadically for six years. 'I remember her saying at one point, 'I don't know if I can cry anymore' and I said, 'Oh, you're an actor, you'll find a way', but there's something in going over that emotional territory where I'd rather be moving on to the next thing,' Enoch says. 'I love Deborah. We use the word 'love' flippantly, but there is such a deep bond and love for that woman, and I am so happy for all of her success. 'I'm incredibly grateful for 7 Stages. I call it 'the ambassador piece' . . . it gave me every other job for the next 10 years.' The 7 Stages Of Grieving is at Subiaco Arts Centre, July 3 to 12. Tickets at
